Chapter 32: Chapter 32 New Recruit Check-in_1
In April, a familiar face appeared in Aiden’s office.
"New recruit, Veronica Wolfe reporting for duty!"
Inside the warden’s office, Aiden regarded the "new recruit" who stood before him saluting with interest.
Unlike in the past when she was disheveled and her eyes were murky from staying in the prison, this time Veronica was radiant, her uniform crisp, and her medium-length brown curly hair neatly tied back, giving her a spirited and impressive appearance.
"Wow, I almost didn’t recognize you," Aiden said with a nod and a smile.
Veronica smiled back.
"I really can’t figure you out. If you had stayed with the mounted police, you would have been promoted soon," Aiden said as he looked over the personnel document that had been handed to him.
"Although the chief wanted to keep me, I no longer wanted to stay with the mounted police."
It was normal for Veronica to feel disillusioned with the mounted police after being falsely accused by her colleagues and taken on an involuntary tour through prison.
"If you wanted to transfer, you could have gone to the city administration for a quiet life or to the Heresy Tribunal if you wanted to be among the elite. You didn’t fill out the wrong unit by any chance, did you?" Aiden asked teasingly, feigning ignorance.
"I’ve said before, I would definitely come back to thank you in person," Veronica honestly stated, "And I genuinely think that working under you would be a good choice."
"So is this like a way of repaying the favor? The kind where you work yourself to the bone for me?" Aiden raised an eyebrow.
"I never said it would go that far," Veronica said with a laugh.
"With your current police rank and work experience, you could be directly leading the riot squad," Aiden said as he looked back and forth between the personnel files he held and Veronica’s profile, "But we’re a bit short-staffed at the core area surveillance post... How about this, from now on, you take over the core area shift and also serve as captain of the fourth riot squad, how does that sound?"
For Aiden, the Rose Iron Prison was now his livelihood in this world, and he was determined to run it well. With Veronica’s ability and track record, Aiden had no reason to refuse such talent under his command, especially since the Rose Iron Prison was indeed understaffed.
"Two positions?" Veronica was taken aback.
"Sorry, but we’re really a bit short on personnel here, so it’s pretty normal for one person to cover multiple responsibilities," Aiden said with a smile, "Since you’re coming over to work your fingers to the bone, I definitely won’t be shy about it!"
"Come on, Warden, are you serious?" Veronica’s face showed a hint of reluctance, "If you squeeze too hard, I might transfer out again..."
Aiden waved his hand, signaling her to relax: "Don’t be so nervous, our workload here isn’t actually that heavy, and the working hours haven’t changed much. Plus, the job on an individual post is actually somewhat lighter than in other prisons. But you’re probably not very familiar with the prison operations yet, are you?"
"That’s right."
"Then for the next couple of days, you can follow me, and I’ll show you around to get acquainted with the operations here, as part of the new recruit training," Aiden snapped his fingers.
"Okay," Veronica agreed and then paused, realizing something was amiss, "Wait, Warden, you’re personally going to do my new recruit training?"
As the highest-ranking official of the prison, the warden normally wouldn’t need to hand-hold the training of new recruits; any experienced prison guard could handle it, and it wasn’t necessary for the highest leader of the institution to teach them personally, just like a police chief wouldn’t personally go out on patrol to train one or two intern officers.
"Do you find it strange?" Aiden could see Veronica’s doubts, "Actually, after I took office, I initiated many reforms in this prison, and some of them are still not fully implemented. Everyone is still adapting to some new procedures and regulations, even the seasoned jailers sometimes have to come over to consult with me about business matters. So, I simply took on the role of training newcomers temporarily. And if we must talk about it... I guess I’m the most idle person around here, so taking some time to guide the newcomers isn’t much at all."
"I see," Veronica nodded.
"First, I’ll take you around the core area to familiarize yourself with the routine management of inmates, and then I’ll explain the responsibilities of your various positions. It’s just about time for the work shift to begin."
Aiden stood up from his chair and led Veronica toward the core area.
When they arrived in the core area, the Chief Jailer Flandre was directing the inmates to line up for work.
"Warden!"
Upon seeing Aiden personally inspecting, Flandre and the other jailers saluted him in unison, and Aiden nodded to them in acknowledgment.
Then, Flandre glanced at Veronica, who was behind Aiden: "Is the newcomer going to be transferred to our section? Welcome, welcome."
"I’ll be looking forward to your guidance," Veronica saluted politely.
"Imagine that, an inmate under my watch would one day become a colleague; in over a decade as a jailer, this is my first experience of this kind," Flandre remarked with a touch of irony.
"Let’s not bring up those days anymore."
Veronica laughed self-deprecatingly, feeling like she wanted to crawl into a hole every time she remembered how she had once lashed out at Aiden and Flandre from behind bars.
The incident was now in the past, and everyone had tacitly moved on. After Aiden had cleared up the truth, Flandre had become somewhat more caring toward her.
"All right, let’s get the roll call started," Aiden gestured with his hand.
Flandre led his team down the corridors, beginning to count the numbers.
"Apart from holidays, inmates must go out to work in different labor sectors at this time every morning," Aiden began explaining to Veronica, "at that time, as a death row prisoner, you were not required to work."
"The inmates get holidays?" Veronica was somewhat surprised.
"Yes, they still have basic rights. The inmates work long hours every day, and life in prison is already quite oppressive. If you put too much pressure on them for a long time, it’s easy for inmates to develop a rebellious attitude."
"So, is it necessary to have so many people watching them work every day?" Veronica looked back at the riot squad behind them.
"Other sections don’t need it, but the core area is a must. The reason..." Aiden paused, "you can see for yourself if you look ahead."
Veronica looked ahead and silently nodded.
The core area was teeming with witches whose combat power was no less than her own as a Pureblood Werewolf. Even with their Magic Power sealed by enchantments, standing so boldly in front of such a dangerous group of individuals without a large backup force was quite unnerving.
At that moment, Flandre’s roar came from up ahead: "Inmate 3307, I’m warning you, stop causing trouble, and get out of your cell this instant!"
