The Warden of The Witches

The Vendetta of Matricide

"Silaine and Carmilla.... I see. Alright, I understand." Aiden calmly nodded in response to Veronica's report about the incident.

Veronica was somewhat surprised by Aiden's nonchalant reaction and ventured, "Chief, do they... frequently fight?"

"Yeah, Silaine was imprisoned just to kill Carmilla," Aiden casually replied. "Usually, I try to keep them separated, but prison regulations make it challenging to entirely prevent their encounters. This time, it seems the surveillance at the worksite was lax, allowing Silaine to slip into the cafeteria. Let's deal with the prisoners first."

He stood up from his seat and headed outside the office, with Veronica following closely.

"Chief, why would Silaine want to kill Carmilla?" Veronica asked curiously in the hallway.

"For revenge," Aiden replied without looking back.

"What kind of vendetta could they have?" Veronica was puzzled.

Silaine, a thirty-seven years old, was a former textile worker in the old district, while Carmilla, twenty years old, used to be a small-time gang member in the past. Veronica found it hard to imagine any connection between the two.

"It's a vendetta for matricide. Silaine had a son before entering prison, a member of a rival gang under Carmilla's control. In a gang brawl, Carmilla killed him, leading to her imprisonment. To avenge her son, Silaine took the condolence money from the gang, used her underworld connections to find a necromancer, turned herself into a revenant deliberately by using dark magic, and got incarcerated to seek an opportunity to kill Carmilla," Aiden explained as they walked.

"To go to such lengths for revenge, even turning into a revenant... it's astonishing," Veronica remarked, clearly shaken.

The concept of a revenant, essentially a vengeful spirit attached to a corpse, arises from the idea that after death, a lingering spirit, often driven by unfulfilled desires—typically revenge—uses necromancy to forcibly return the soul to its original body, creating an undead creature.

In essence, If you want to turn into a necromancer's puppet, the first step is to commit suicide.

"When Silaine's son was killed, she was already seriously ill, with only a few years to live, while Carmilla faced an eight-and-a-half-year prison sentence. Silaine seemingly calculated that she wouldn't survive until Carmilla's release outside, so her only chance to get revenge was inside the prison. She took a desperate gamble, transforming herself into what she is now just to have the opportunity to avenge Carmilla within Rose Prison," Aiden explained, shaking his head. "Of course, for us, it's just added trouble."

From the perspective of prison guards, supporting one inmate killing another is out of the question.

At this point in the conversation, they had reached the infirmary where the inmates were cared for.

Upon entering, they found the on-duty prison doctor at a loss, facing Silaine, who was strapped to the bed.

"You're here, Warden," the doctor sighed in relief at the sight of Aiden. "I can't handle this type of patient; I only know how to treat the living."

Silaine's face was covered in bruises, with several joints showing unnatural signs of possible fractures— all courtesy of Carmilla.

However, being an undead, Silaine couldn't feel any pain. Despite severe injuries, she struggled on the bed, her eyes flickering with eerie blue flames, glaring at Carmilla, who sat nearby with her hands bound.

Silaine's mouth was taped shut by the prison guards, preventing her from cursing her enemy.

"I didn't ask you to treat her; I just need a place to keep her for now," Aiden waved off the doctor and turned to a nearby guard. "Go to the library and fetch Arsena. She knows how to treat the undead."

The guard nodded and handed something over, saying, "Warden, this is the weapon she used."

Aiden examined it—a silver knife, similar in style to the ones in the cafeteria but noticeably shorter and sharper.

It seemed Silaine had secretly hidden it, and turning it into a weapon, doing this in prison required considerable effort.

After a sigh, Aiden looked at Silaine and then told Veronica, "Once Arsena heals her, lock her in solitary confinement for seven days."

He had no interest in lecturing Silaine, knowing it would be futile.

Then, he walked over to Carmilla.

Carmilla was tied to a chair, surrounded by several riot squad member.

Watching this scene, Veronica suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu—she had been on the other side of this treatment when she had beaten up other inmates.

Aiden stared at Carmilla for a while. "Carmilla, downgrade her treatment level, and nine days in solitary."

"Wait a minute, why is my time longer than hers? It was self-defense!" Carmilla protested, glaring at Aiden. "I was just defending myself!"

"You're in solitary not for self-defense but for attacking a prison guard. You laid hands on the on-duty guard; that's undeniable, right?" Aiden remained expressionless.

"So what? I thought she had some skills and wanted to spar. Don't be so uptight!" Carmilla shrugged nonchalantly.

"Attacking another inmate and attacking a prison guard are entirely different. Nine days in solitary is lenient; if you had injured the guard, you'd face additional penalties. What's your motive?" Aiden frowned.

"Just for fun. I've been irritated by you guards for a while. Even though none of you can match me one on one, you always boss me around," Carmilla said, glancing at Veronica. "it's just stupid, If a real strong player like me has to follow all the rules and play nice with the authorities."

"Strong player? a small-time gang member thinking she's a big shot because she joined the underworld? Do you consider yourself a protagonist?" Aiden sneered at Carmilla.

Carmilla rolled her eyes at Aiden, then, after a few seconds of silence, she spat on Aiden's boot and looked at him provocatively.

Aiden lowered his head, inspected his boot, and with an expressionless face, wiped it on Carmilla's pant leg.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Camilla was immediately furious.

"You brought this upon yourself," Aiden calmly replied, "Add one more day of solitary."

After saying this, he gestured for the riot squad to take her away.

Watching his subordinates escort the prisoner out, Aiden sighed with his hands on his hips. "None of them are easy to handle."