The Warden of The Witches

Chapter 3:

Death Row Inmate

(TN : rose iron prison -> rose prison)

The next day, in the warden's office.

"Warden, all the cell blocks have been inspected, and everything seems normal," Cell Block Supervisor Franda respectfully saluted Aidan, who was seated behind his desk.

"Alright," Aiden nodded while immersed in processing documents.

"These are the letters that were delivered to the warden's mailbox today. I've brought them for you," Franda handed over a neatly bundled stack of envelopes.

"Why there's so many today? Are any of them with official stamp?" Aiden looked up for a moment.

"No, they're all regular letters."

"In that case, set them aside for now. I'll look at them later," Aiden gestured with his pen towards the corner of the desk.

Warden mailbox at the Rose Prison was open to the public, accepting not only work-related letters but also deliveries from the public to gather feedback.a practice Aidan had established since taking the office.

However, it was rare for the general public to send letters to the prison. Most of the ordinary mail came from inmates' relatives, friends, or other relevant individuals, and their contents varied widely.

These letters had a lower priority in terms of work and were usually dealt last.

"And this is the suggestions submitted by inmates from the Core Area yesterday. I have compiled it, please review it," Franda presented another report paper.

The provision allowing inmates to regularly submit suggestions to the warden was also newly added after Aiden took office.

In the old Rose Prison, it was unimaginable for inmates to have a communication channel with the wardens.

"Just read them out to me," Aiden instructed without lifting his head.

"Room Two Tiger BeastMan, Felipa, requests permission to purchase a hairbrush, stating it's for grooming during shedding season..."

"Approved."

"All inmates in Room Four apply for the addition of the complete series of the novel 'The Dominering Duke of Hell and Little Witch' to the reading room."

"Do they really manage to read that trashy novel? Approved."

"Room Six Katherine, applies to buy a dagger, claiming it's just for warding off evil."

"Denied. Tell her not to take the guards for fools."

"Also from Room Six, Anna... She left a comment on the application saying she'll hang you sooner or later, and then hoist the body onto the mast of her flagship."

"Denied. Have that pirate's meals changed to her least favorite dried radishes for the next couple of days."

"Room Thirteen Succubus Fei applies for a sentence reduction, promising to thank you in a special way..." ¯⁠⁠_⁠(⁠ ͡⁠°⁠ ͜⁠ʖ⁠ ͡⁠°⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

"Denied. Let her know that any similar applications in the future will result in solitary confinement!"

...

Aiden responded one by one to the applications read out by Franda, while efficiently managing his workload. Franda couldn't help but show a hint of admiration for her superior.

Apart from Aiden himself, no one knew how he could handle this job so skillfully.

This was mainly because he had work experience that didn't belong to this world.

Before coming to this world, he had gone by another name, working diligently as a prison guard in a world without magic and fantastical species, until he passed away due to illness.

Then, inexplicably in this world, he transmigrated into the body of a young police officer who was assassinated in the outskirts and started a new life.

The "Aiden" before him, was a senior investigator proficient in marksmanship, swordsmanship, and even black magic.

He belonged to an enforcement agency called the Inquisition Bureau and had personally apprehended many dangerous criminals— including yesterday's escapee Blood Princess Ophelia.

Of course, this had also earned him numerous enemies.

After inheriting the memories of his predecessor, he immediately realized a serious problem— with his level of experience, it was likely he wouldn't last long on this role in his second life.

Fortunately, he soon discovered that in this world, he had the opportunity to transfer to other judicial departments.

Following the principle of loving what he did, he did everything he could to transfer himself to a prison job, just like in his previous life, becoming a prison guard.

In just a few years, he had used the accumulated work experience from his previous life to steadily rise to the position of warden.

Although he didn't have any peculiar "cheats" in the traditional sense, the experience from his previous life proved useful, and he was generally satisfied.

After finishing his current tasks, Aiden lifted his face and was surprised to see Franda still standing in front of his desk. He asked, "Is there anything else?"

"All the new inmates are scheduled to be brought in tonight, and I wanted to report this to you," Franda replied.

"What kind of inmates?"

Aiden knew this wouldn't be an ordinary inmate. Normal inmates wouldn't require a special report to the warden. They would only be briefly mentioned in the weekly reports, like yesterday succubus illicit trade.

"She's a senior officer from the Mounted Police, named Veronica Wolfie, twenty-two years old. She's been sentenced to hanging for the murder of a civilian, and the execution date is set for the twelfth of next month. It's been requested that she be transferred to the Core Area."

"Why does she need to be transferred to the Core Area?" Aiden asked again.

Murderers in the Rose Prison were by no means considered rare. If it wasn't for dangerous individuals that other prisons had difficulty containing it, there was no need to send them to the Core Area of Rose Prison, nor was there any need to specifically report it to him.

"She's a pureblood werewolf," Franda added.

"I see," Aiden understood.

Werewolves are endowed with the ability to transform into wolves due to a curse, they also suffered from a symptom where they would lose their rationality and be controlled by a bestial urge to kill upon seeing a full moon.

Pureblood werewolves, on the other hand, refers to those whose entire bloodline had been cursed and being born with the werewolf curse.

Their beastly state was even stronger than that of regular werewolves. Of course, their uncontrollable state was also more terrifying.

Normal prisons found it difficult to contain werewolves. These powerful creatures, after transforming, could easily break chains with their bare hands and could easily take guards as hostages. This was the primary reason why this inmate would be transferred to the Core Area of Rose Prison.

"For a werewolf to become an officer in the Mounted Police, it's either due to outstanding abilities or some sort of backdoor deal," Aiden remarked casually.

As a judicial officer, Aiden had a certain understanding of the internal culture of the police force. Werewolves were feared by the public due to their risk of losing control, and department leaders who were afraid of taking responsibility would never be willing to recruit or promote them.

"Judging From her record, her personal abilities are indeed exceptional. She scored full marks on the police selection test at seventeen, apprehended two A-level wanted criminals, and even received a second-class commendation for her outstanding performance during a catastrophic level monster disaster. She was apreciated because her outstanding performance, but this incident made her superior who promoted her facing disciplinary action."

"The rising star of the police force has becoming a death row inmate, it's quite interesting," Aiden nodded. "When will the transfer be?"

"Tonight."

"Then schedule another inspection for tomorrow morning. I'll meet with the new inmate."

"Understood," Franda was about to leave when she noticed that Aiden's cup was empty. "I'll get you a refill of tea."

"No need to trouble yourself..."

"It's okay, it's just a small gesture."

Franda graciously took the tea cup and left the office, heading to the tea room.

"Good morning... Oh, isn't this the warden's cup?" Another colleague who came to pour tea greeted her.

"Yes, just serving tea and water for the boss," Franda replied as she poured tea.

"That's right, this service is necessary. Without the boss here, how could we have the good days of leisure tea breaks?"

The colleague shook her head with a nostalgic tone. nove(l)bi(n.)com

"Thinking back to the days when I was so busy, I couldn't go home for days. My husband almost divorced me."

"Alright, enough with the flattery. How about you take charge of pouring tea for him from now on?" Franda smiled.

They both were considered veteran prison guards at Rose Prison. In terms of seniority, Aiden was far behind them.

When Aiden was first transferred to Rose Prison, he was barely in his early twenties. Many people were worried whether this young lad could handle the job here.

You see, Rose Prison contains almost all the most dangerous witches on this continent. Incidents of demonic mayhem were frequent, and prison breaks and riots were like everyday occurrences.

Compared to the Thorn Prison, a male equivalent prison, Rose Prison has always received less attention. The shortage of funds and manpower has made management very difficult.

Even the previous warden from ten years ago was killed by inmates in a large-scale riot.

After that, anyone who took over either resigned voluntarily or tried every means to transfer out. It wasn't until Aiden, with his outstanding performance, was promoted to this position.

Upon taking the office, Aiden immediately implemented a series of reforms to address the prison's dilemma.

He established a system of inmate treatment levels, used various rewards and punishments to train inmates, utilized privileges to incentivize capable model prisoners, set up an educational rehabilitation department, and introduced a library and sports facilities to alleviate the prisoners' suppressed emotions.

Through these measures, he quickly turned Rose Prison from the worst prison in Silver City into a model prison that received commendations year after year.

After discipline and performance improved, the work of the prison guards became much easier.

Everyone was deeply grateful to this young and promising warden. No one knew how he came up with so many methods. In the eyes of everyone, this boss had both strategy and an iron fist, someone worth attaching oneself to.

"Oh, by the way, you didn't forget to report about that death row inmate, did you?" a colleague reminded while pouring tea.

"How could I forget such a big deal?" Franda shook her head.

"I heard that not only did that guy injure the colleagues who came to arrest her, but she also tried to attack the judge during the trial. It's really terrifying. Just because the other side said a few nasty words, she went over in the middle of the night and killed them," a colleague remarked, holding a tea cup. "Letting a werewolf be a police officer, I don't know what the Mounted Police were thinking."

"These types of death row inmates are the most troublesome. I can't even imagine what kind of trouble she might cause. Honestly, I'm a bit worried,"

Franda furrowed her brows slightly.

"Before the execution date, we have to keep this monster for over a month. The prison's wards can only seal magic, and there's no way to deal with this kind of werewolf."

"In a situation like this... the warden should be able to handle it, right?" another colleague said, expressing some concern.

"Well, let's hope nothing unexpected happens."