Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Prison Maintenance (1)
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I felt like there had been some system notifications while I was sleeping...
By the time I opened my eyes to check, they had all vanished.
Thanks to that, I had no choice but to return to Berryhill with a nagging sense of unease.
Still, hearing that Jeong is doing well makes me pretty happy.
The drab prison visible beneath the eternal snow-capped mountains.
It had only been two weeks since I'd left, but it already looked even more rundown.
The office I returned to after so long had undergone quite a few changes.
More precisely, it was overflowing with stuff that hadn't been there before.
"Wolf Boys Group Portrait"
"Wolf Boys Mug Cup"
"Wolf Boys Perfume"
It was packed with merchandise from some group I'd never even heard of.
Damas was sorting through the goods with the most exhausted look on his face.
"What the hell is all this?"
"That's what I want to know. What the heck have you been up to in the capital?"
A group poster of sleazy men in white suits.
Damas glared resentfully at his older brother Decker's face printed on it.
"What kind of warden starts up an entertainment agency? Visits to the prison have spiked tenfold because of you."
I took off my uniform cap with a dumbfounded expression.
Ruffling my disheveled silver hair, I gazed at Clea and the poster.
"I just don't get it. How is a creep like that popular with the young ladies?"
"Agreed. I can't figure out why a guy with those slanted, snake-like eyes gets called Wolf."
Clea and I made disgusted faces in unison.
"Still, those Bakar guys do look pretty reliable. Seems a waste for them to be just bodyguards."
"It's all Decker's marketing. The guy's a demon at packaging looks."
I shoved away the perfume that supposedly contained Decker's sweat scent.
Feels like I shouldn't have gotten this guy involved after all.
"There's even a love letter here addressed to Chi-Chi."
"He's handsome, after all. And bad boys seem popular with the ladies."
At the words "bad boy," Damas and Clea both fixed me with a steady gaze.
"What."
"No merch of you, though."
"It would've been nice to have some for chasing away riffraff."
Damas burst into laughter at Clea's joke.
"Fair enough. Sitting in that leather chair with that chunky ring on, you totally give off mafia boss vibes."
"Number one face you don't wanna mess with."
I strode right up to Damas.
Thrusting my "touch me and explode" face close, I said,
"Time to head back to your cell yet?"
"Y-Yeah... Got it."
The blond man startled and turned away.
This guy's the same—lately, the prisoners have been treating me like a pushover.
"So why are all these goods coming here? The Wolf whatever-they-are are all in the capital, right?"
"Northern fans are too far away, I guess. They probably sent them since the prison feels like a Minster Group subsidiary."
"Well, it's good to see the security team's running smoothly..."
"If you're jealous, I could make some warden-exclusive merch for you."
I shuddered and turned her down.
"No thanks. I'm gonna go meet the prisoners for the first time in ages, so bundle this crap up and ship it back to the capital."
"Understood."
As I left the office, Clea knelt to sort the goods.
Sure enough, most of it was bromides of that pervert second son.
"What do people even see in this trash?"
She tossed them roughly into a box with a picky glare.
But her hand stopped dead at one item.
Amid the bodyguards in white suits stuck out a single portrait.
The prison warden in a black suit, legs crossed, cigar in mouth, staring down.
A decadent gaze looking her way.
Curious who drew it—it was the epitome of a handsome villain.
"...Some of it's surprisingly decent."
Clea glanced around like a fox checking for enemies.
Then, she slyly pocketed the one and only Derek merch.
"They've got good taste."
His poster bore a feminine signature.
From the Violet Mage Tower, renowned as the pinnacle of magic alongside the White Tower.
The first place I headed was Dark's cell.
The dignified blond man sat at a desk, poring over various documents.
"Busy, Elder?"
"Back, are you, Derek? Come in, don't stand on ceremony."
"These are new documents I've never seen."
"Letters inquiring if the company your family founded is worth investing in."
"Word's spread that fast already?"
"After the huge fuss you made, it's only natural."
Grand Elder Dark looked healthier than before after just a few weeks.
"Didn't expect you'd absorb the Bakar Mafia too. Smart choice—they're a force both the Princess and Prince avoided for the sake of face."
"Wasn't intentional."
Grand Elder Dark chuckled and pointed at the ring on my finger.
"Suits you, stone-faced denial."
"It really wasn't..."
The lifeblood of politics is hiding your emotions.
Standing taller than his own son at poker face, Grand Elder Dark rose.
His health seems even better now. Thanks to the vegetable garden?
"Anyway, I'm not getting involved this time. Just remember—you're one of the Princess's inner circle now."
"I know. That's why I legalized all the mafia's businesses. Should be no major issues."
I followed Grand Elder Dark out to the garden, shrugging it off.
"Camillia may seem indifferent on the surface, but she'll never let go of what she likes."
"If I behave myself, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Who knows. Hard to read her true feelings, that one."
"Even a seasoned elder like you can't gauge her? Then I'm totally lost."
Dark mentioned an anecdote that hinted at the Princess's personality.
"Around age five, I think—His Majesty the Emperor gave her a small dragon doll."
Camillia must've had a cute girlhood phase too.
Hard to picture now with her icy demeanor, though.
"She cherished it so much that even when it got old and its wings tore off, making it look like a snake, she wouldn't let go."
"Must've really treasured it."
"Yeah, even past twenty, it sat in a corner of her bedroom. With a cute collar on it, even."
"A collar on a doll? Like a pet? She had a cute side after all."
Uncle Dark smirked, recalling the memory.
I chimed in, surprised.
"First time the Emperor showed her affection. Her harsh childhood left her starved for it."
I nodded with a bittersweet expression.
Yeah, she'd said before she doesn't trust people easily.
"Anyway, point is, Camillia spares no support for those she trusts."
"Got it. I'll work hard not to lose her favor."
We arrived at the garden.
Tomatoes bursting with green fruit, grown so much already.
The fresh scent seemed to waft all the way here.
"By the way, what's that tree blocking the garden expansion?"
Grand Elder Dark pointed to the barren trees near the plot.
All saplings I'd planted when I first arrived.
"Grown well, but no idea what they are."
"Makes sense. They don't grow on our western continent."
Conveniently, I pulled a glass vial from my uniform's inner pocket.
A plant-exclusive elixir I'd bought for the price of a whole carriage.
"You'll like them too once they're in full bloom, Elder."
"What flowers do I care about at my age? Still, if you're this attached, they must be something special."
Dark watched contentedly as I carefully sprinkled the elixir around the trees.
"I'll go check on the other prisoners now."
"Sure, see you at dinner."
Emptying the vial, I headed back up to the prison.
Gifts prepared for the prisoners I hadn't seen in ages.
First stop: the coldest cell among ours.
Myoran's confinement, too heavy with yin energy for even plants to grow.
I grabbed the doorknob and flung it open.
"Long time no see. Been well?"
A silhouette lay sideways on the bed.
A beautiful hourglass curve.
"Warden."
Myoran turned slowly toward me.
Her black cheongsam-clad form gazed up steadily.
Why'd I picture Myoran with pigtails and a school uniform? First time seeing her in a while?
Neatly braided hair on one side, elegant Eastern garb.
She looked every bit the pure maiden like this.
"Long time. Been a good girl?"
Myoran whipped her head away again.
A flat reply in a toneless voice.
"You can see for yourself."
Her cell was unchanged, sure enough.
The one who'd single-handedly doomed the world, behaving herself for two whole weeks.
Makes my heart swell.
"Good job. Anything you wanna eat for dinner?"
"......"
Didn't hear me?
I approached her bed slowly.
"I can reward you with peach jam toast."
"......"
I patted her shoulder gently.
Instantly, Myoran bolted upright and glared at me.
"Got nothing to say to me?"
"Huh?"
As I froze, she quickly scanned my body.
Soon, she dropped her head at my lack of items.
"None after all."
"What, need something?"
I spoke softly, like soothing a little sister, but it was no use.
She just pursed her lips and muttered softly.
"The ring... You only gave it to the Princess after all."
Just as Anje planned—to bolster the warden's forces while boosting his infamy.
That way, the Princess couldn't easily accept his proposal.
But it wasn't a real fix.
His confession to Camillia hadn't changed.
Was the warden just another pathetic guy after upward marriage after all?
All the kindness he'd shown her mere pity?
Gloomy thoughts crept closer to reality.
With them, thick yin energy rose from Myoran's body.
Enough to knock out an ordinary man.
"Never mind. You can go now that you've seen my face."
Still, the best man she'd met in the Western Regions so far, she judged.
She lay back on the bed with an emotionless voice.
She looks down.
I left her cell calmly for her sake.
As the cold iron door slammed shut.
Myoran's face darkened further.
He'd really left without a single question.
"Right... This is the Western Regions."
Too weary, too long—she'd deluded herself.
The Eastern Sword Sage resolved to hone her emotions sharp as a blade.
"Time to leave this place soon."
Quietly, in a forgotten corner.
Grow strong alone, then revenge on the world that killed her father and comrades.
Myoran opened her cool green eyes wide, refocusing on her true goal.
Lips bitten tight in resolve.
Then—
"Myoran, come to the window for a moment?"
His voice from outside made her eyes go round.
From vengeful ghost to black cat face in an instant.
"Derek?"
The Eastern Sword Sage rose, smoothing her tousled hair.
Shabby as she was, she went to the window.
Brilliant sunlight poured in, unlike her darkness.
As she poked her face out.
―――.
Pink petals drifted softly past her.
The Sword Sage caught one, staring blankly.
"Peach blossoms...?"
Peach blossoms bloomed only on the Eastern Continent.
Especially famous were those from her clan.
Thousands of peach trees around the beautiful estate.
Memories of frolicking with comrades under flower rain.
Buoyed by nostalgia, the prisoner gazed outside.
That moment.
"Hope this makes a decent gift."
Dozens of peach trees bloomed behind the prison, filling her view.
Her lifeless eyes tinted pink.
"Brought them from the capital. Took time, so it's late."
The silver-haired man under the flower rain.
Dark circles gone in the bright sun, he smiled with his eyes.
"You're different, after all."
Myoran stared blankly at his face awhile.
Enough to fully quell her long-smoldering vengeance and yin energy.
"Living together on the Eastern Continent doesn't sound bad."
Like rebuilding the martial clan side by side.
The black-haired girl faintly smiled at the sudden fancy.
"Guess I need to revise my goals."
She bit her lip to hide her feelings.
Forcing a blank face, she stepped back from the window.
As if adding one more when she returned east someday.
"Already gone?"
I smacked my lips at her quick disappearance.
If I'd had more money, I'd have blanketed the whole forest in peach blossoms.
"These prisoners really are so emotionless. Such a hassle."
Fits a dark fantasy world—all the kids are stoic.
Worried one day they'll get way stronger, smash the prison, and bolt.