Inmates appeared at their doors one after another. Aiden entered the corridor with Franda for inspection as usual, followed closely by the ever-loyal Amalgam Golem.
Sophie also leaned against her door, observing left and right.
"The discipline in this prison is quite good. So many tough-looking characters locked up, yet they're still obedient during inspection," she commented.
"It wasn't like this before," Fei whispered back.
Today, when Aiden stepped in, the entire prison was silent. Not even a single word of complaint drifted out from the cells—overall, the discipline level was indistinguishable from that of the regular blocks.
Veronica becoming the riot squad captain, Carmilla turning into Aiden's loyal enforcer inside, and the improvement in inmates' quality of life after the prison funds became sufficient... various factors contributed to a significant improvement in discipline within the Core Block cells.
Furthermore, after the previous mass escape attempt was harshly suppressed by Aiden, numerous participants were beaten up by other inmates under Aiden's arrangement and subsequently forced into labor in the textile workshop. Currently, almost no one in this prison dared to openly defy Aiden.
"Hey hey, Lord Aiden! Over here, over here! I've been waiting for you for days!!" Fei started waving her arm out through the bars before even seeing Aiden.
"Inmate 3307, retract your hand!" Franda reprimanded.
"You seem... quite close to the Warden?" Sophie asked in a low voice upon seeing this.
"Hmph hmph, naturally!" Fei instantly switched to bragging mode. "Our relationship is very intimate!"
"How intimate?" Sophie asked curiously.
"Imagine whatever you like. Anyway, whenever he needs something, he comes to me for help," fei said meaningfully.
Indeed, whenever he needs (to use the succubus's abilities for help), Aiden comes to her, fei thought. Surely that doesn't count as lying.
"Really? Then you must get along very well in this prison," Sophie asked with interest.
"Of course!" Fei answered decisively—after all, this was her fifth time incarcerated, and she had money power backing her up; naturally, she navigated prison life easily. "Don't worry, newcomer. I'll look out for you here."
"Well... thank you then, hmm," Sophie thought to herself that with the money in her account, she didn't really need to worry about not surviving in prison anyway.
Soon, Aiden walked nearby.
"Lord Aiden, over here, over here! Come chat with me for a bit! Mwah!" Fei greeted Aiden as always, even blowing a kiss.
"Oh," Aiden responded flatly, merely glancing at her before shifting his gaze to her cellmate.
"What?" Anne, also residing in Cell Thirteen, glanced back at Aiden unhappily, exhaustion written all over her face.
Having lost the backing of her father's Red Shark pirate crew, Anne Drake was now just an ordinary inmate whose privilege level had been reduced to the minimum. The continuous overtime these past few days had completely worn down her sharp edges.
Aiden sighed inwardly with regret. When the disciplinary measures first began, Anne still showed some resistance. But now, this inmate had completely lost the will to oppose him, which felt somewhat dull.
Then he skipped past the succubus, who was still clamoring for him to come into the cell for some "intimacy," and arrived in front of Cell Fifteen.
"Warden, you're here... Did you come specifically to see me this time?" Sophie greeted Aiden with a smile.
"Sort of. Came to see how you're adjusting," Aiden replied.
At this moment, Fei muttered while gripping the bars, "Lord Aiden, you never show this kind of concern for me..."
"What's there to worry about with you?" Aiden shot Fei a sideways glance.
Fei was already a regular in this prison; each visit was like coming home. Worrying about her adjusting was entirely superfluous.
"Warden, isn't this 'gift' a bit... excessive?" Sophie raised her hand, shaking her handcuff.
"I think it suits you very well," Aiden replied nonchalantly.
Sophie's ability could actually conceal even the shackles when changing her appearance to others', but it seemed she could only alter others' "perception." The shackles on her hands still existed physically, continuing to restrict her movements to some extent.
"Gift? What gift?" Fei, unable to see the situation next door, shouted eagerly. "Lord Aiden, you've never given me a gift! I want one too!"
"Stop making a fuss," Aiden glanced at her.
"That officer on duty keeps staring so intently, even walks over here occasionally to check," Sophie said, pointing towards the main gate. "I already said I wouldn't cause trouble for you. Aren't you trusting me too little by doing this?"
The person on duty in the watch room today was indeed Veronica; Aiden had instructed her to monitor Sophie closely.
"Weren't you worried about your personal safety being threatened? I'm just worried about you," Aiden completely ignored Sophie's protest.
"Lord Aiden, you never worry about me!" Fei protested along.
Aiden directly ignored her this time.
Anne, who had once been set up by Fei using money, silently looked at her cellmate.
"Warden, mind a quick word in private?" Sophie beckoned.
Aiden thought for a moment, then stepped closer to the cell door.
Seeing Aiden's action, Fei immediately shouted, "Lord Aiden, why are you so close to this newcomer but ignore me? It's not fair!!"
"Quiet!" Aiden pointed at Fei.
Then, Sophie leaned close to Aiden and spoke in a voice only the two could hear: "I truly have no ill intentions towards you. Could you do me a favor and not be so strict with me?"
"Sorry, my principle is not to trust inmates casually. I must take precautions against your ability. Since you're using my place as a sanctuary, you should expect this kind of treatment," Aiden refused without hesitation.
"I thought you were an easy-going person," Sophie stepped back from the cell door with a regretful expression.
"Easy-going people rarely do this job well," Aiden finished speaking, turned, and continued his inspection deeper into the block.
After Aiden left, Sophie whispered to fei, "You just said you have a good relationship with the Warden, right..."
Hearing fei brag like that earlier, Sophie thought perhaps she could try getting on fei good side to soften Aiden's vigilance towards her. They had just hit it off quite well, and Fei had even said she would look out for her.
However, Fei's attitude completely reversed. She retorted indignantly, "Are you showing off to me? Damn it! Don't be smug, I'll remember this!!"
"Eh?" Sophie froze.
They were getting along so well just now, how did it feel like... the ship of friendship just capsized instantly?
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