Chapter 289: Chapter 289 Love is Blind_1
"If you must say something, just ignoring the prisoners’ threats would be enough to state your position." Flandre sighed deeply, "Now that it’s on the news and the impact has expanded to this extent, when something happens... you’re not completely unaware of the consequences, right?"
As a veteran prison guard, she was very aware of how government agencies responded to public opinion.
Considering the worst-case scenario, if Navi Drake successfully breaks out of prison, Rose Iron Prison would find itself in a very awkward position.
For them, the less impact such an event had, the better.
If the news of the breakout hadn’t spread, the prison management authority and even the Department of Justice would suppress the spread of public opinion as much as possible and try everything to mitigate the impact. With the unresolved cases at the capital’s prison as a precedent, the higher-ups probably wouldn’t be too harsh on those in their positions. At most, they’d have Aiden, as the warden, come over and penalize with three glasses of wine; any punishment wouldn’t exceed what had been done to the officials responsible for the capital’s prison back in the Empire.
But now, due to Aiden’s response, the matter was publicized in the media, and the conflict between the Red Shark Pirate Gang and Rose Iron Prison was directly exposed to the public eye. If the Red Shark Pirate Gang were to break prisoners out of Rose Iron Prison... even the entire judicial department of the autonomous state would lose face, and someone would inevitably have to take full responsibility. The higher-ups’ treatment of the responsible parties would not be so mild then.
Although Aiden, in terms of rank, was undoubtedly her superior, in terms of experience working in this prison, she was still somewhat more seasoned. Aiden had also told her that if she noticed any issues in the work, she should speak up immediately.
"Don’t worry, Flandre, if something happens, I’ll take responsibility myself," Aiden said with a nod and a smile.
"You’re already assuming there will be trouble, how can your words be reassuring?" Flandre glared, "Your dismissal would have a significant impact on us too!"
Now, the management of Rose Iron Prison was already quite different from other prisons. If Aiden were to be unseated at this time, there’s practically no one who could take over seamlessly.
"Don’t worry, Warden. If the chief says so, he must be confident!" Veronica continued to speak for Aiden.
Flandre gave Veronica a helpless glance.
This was no longer about trust; it was outright blindness.
"Warden, before I took my post here, I had visited the capital’s prison of the Empire to learn." Flandre spoke with furrowed brows, "The conditions there, although not as good as Thorn Iron Prison, were much better than ours overall. And the Empire’s system is different from the autonomous state’s; some of the prison guards are transferred from the military, and they have military equipment. I don’t mean to be too rude, but if that pirate gang could easily crack the capital’s prison, there’s no way we could defend against them here."
"I am aware of this, and actually, I already know the method they plan to use for the jailbreak. That’s why I haven’t shared my plan with you; no matter how we prepare, with the measures in this prison, it would be ineffective," Aiden calmly replied, "For now, you just need to work as usual. There’s only one thing—if the breakout happens, do not attack the breakers or the prisoners ready to flee before I give the order."
"Warden, do you realize what you are saying!?" Flandre’s eyes widened.
If such an order were to be discovered during a subsequent investigation, Aiden would undoubtedly face suspicion of dereliction of duty.
"I can’t explain in too much detail, but you just need to know that they have a way to cause direct harm to anyone who tries to attack or stop them. So don’t act rashly until I’ve unraveled their tactic," Aiden explained.
"Does that mean you’ve found a countermeasure?" Flandre realized something.
"Let’s just say I have," Aiden answered, "But this countermeasure can only be used when they act, so I replied to them, hoping they would act soon to resolve this quickly. I will also stay in the prison these days, starting to prepare early."
"All right, since you are confident, I won’t press any further," Flandre breathed a sigh of relief, "But, Warden..."
"Huh?" Aiden realized his subordinate had more to say.
"Is there some deeper meaning to this kind of graffiti?" Flandre asked with an indifferent face, pointing at a picture in the newspaper. "Honestly, other than infuriating the other party, I don’t see any other significance."
The accompanying picture in the newspaper was the wanted poster Aiden had replied to on the ferry terminal bulletin board, which had also been doodled on.
"Well..." Aiden hesitated briefly, then spread his hands, "Although it really has no significance, I find doing such things very enjoyable."
"This..." Aiden’s candidness left Flandre at a loss for words, and eventually, she covered her face in resignation.
Why do even the most reliable men start to play around and become so childish over some utterly meaningless things?
Feeling like she was getting nowhere with him, she held on to a last glimmer of hope and turned to Veronica, expecting her to make a direct and proper comment this time.
Veronica leaned in and stared at the newspaper for a while before finally speaking up, "I think the drawing is quite funny..."
"Is that the point!?" Flandre was dumbfounded.
In the end, she gave up on persuading them and, with a weary expression, patted Veronica on the shoulder.
"What’s up, Warden?" Veronica blinked innocently.
"Never mind, it’s nothing..." Flandre swallowed back what she was going to say and just sighed.
This girl was beyond saving.
"If there’s nothing else to report, you can go back," Aiden said after looking back and forth between the two.
Both saluted Aiden and prepared to leave the office.
Just then, Aiden suddenly remembered something and called out to Veronica, who was the last to leave, "Oh, Veronica, are you going to the cafeteria to eat later?"
"Sir, are you joining us as well?" Veronica’s eyes lit up.
"No, I still have a lot of work... I just meant to ask if you could bring back two portions of zhajiang noodles from the cafeteria for me? I’m planning to eat in the office."
"Oh, of course, that’s no problem," Veronica felt a slight disappointment in her heart, then thought about it and suddenly became a bit uncertain, "Uh, did you just say... two portions?"
The portion size of a main dish in the cafeteria was quite generous. In her memory, Aiden’s appetite was not particularly large, even less so than hers when her hunger increased near the full moon.
"Yes," Aiden said calmly with a smile, "Today, I just happen to be a bit hungrier."
