Chapter 65: Chapter 65 Giving You a Chance_1
An hour before meeting with Avansa, in the negotiation room, Aiden also sat at the iron table, Veronica standing behind him with her hands behind her back just as before. But this time, it wasn’t Avansa sitting at the other end, but Meiruki the shackled slave.
"The guards and prisoners you’ve treated are all fine now. Your medical skills are indeed remarkable," Aiden said, looking into Meiruki’s eyes, his tone somewhat indistinguishable between mockery and admiration.
"It seems the warden has quite an appreciation for talent. I wonder if my abilities can catch the eye of the warden?" Meiruki smiled.
"A ’talent’ who wanted me dead yesterday is hard for me to cherish," Aiden raised his eyebrows, "Moreover, as soon as news that an S-class criminal like you has fallen into my hands gets out, the Heretic Inquisition will probably come running to demand you from me."
"That would mean they want me dead," Meiruki sighed, maintaining her composed tone, "I wonder if the warden might be willing to give me a chance to live?"
After being taken by Aiden to participate in the medical rescue efforts, Meiruki realized something.
This warden had the nerve to use high-risk prisoners like her.
Yesterday, she had already experienced firsthand the warden’s tactics in exploiting prisoners.
The witch Daili, the necromancer Asenna, were originally S-class wanted criminals, and in the prison, they were identified as a high risk, marked in red. Yet, this warden utilized his connections and reached a deal with the Heretic Inquisition, allowing them to study forbidden magic within the prison walls in exchange for their loyalty.
In other words, this man was willing to make deals with valuable prisoners.
And Meiruki believed that she, too, had a value not inferior to that of Daili and Asenna.
She also sensed that Aiden’s current conversation with her was indeed aimed at striking a deal.
And that was the only chance for her, now in Aiden’s grasp, to keep her life.
In her past, she had used the assassins she trained to kill many people—those in power, the wealthy, and those who ruled territories on their own.
Those who wanted to see her on the guillotine, those who desired her quick demise, and those wishing to silence her... Now there were far too many people who wanted her dead.
Avansa served both as her instrument for murder and as her protector. She had made countless enemies; without Avansa, it was as if she had lost the very foundation she had established in the underworld.
However, even with her expertise, it would be difficult to cultivate another assassin king as exceptional as Avansa. That was why she had decided to take the risk of breaking into the prison to try and extricate Avansa.
But in the end, she fell into the hands of this warden.
Now her life was completely in this man’s hands.
If Aiden allowed Avansa to testify against her true identity, her being sentenced to death was practically a foregone conclusion unless this warden was willing to act as a go-between for her and the Heretic Inquisition as he had for Daili and Asenna, in order to negotiate a sentence reduction.
"Not mentioning those you killed, just the children whose lives you’ve ruined, your crimes are enough to have you shot many times over. To be frank, personally, I very much wish you would meet your end," Aiden spoke, then sharply turned the conversation, "However, if you can make even a slight amends for your crimes, I am not without mercy in giving you a chance."
"How do you want me to atone for my crimes?" Meiruki asked smoothly.
Aiden stared at Meiruki for a moment before speaking. "Avansa."
Upon hearing this name, Meiruki’s expression slightly changed.
Aiden continued, "Your expertise in Magic Potion studies and demon contracts has already surpassed the black magic techniques managed by the Heretic Inquisition. Avansa’s power was cultivated by you. If you can find a way to erase that power from her and restore her to a normal person... even if only close to a normal one, I can help you work towards a sentence reduction."
Veronica, standing behind Aiden, had a slight shift in her expression.
"Do you want the child to become indistinguishable from the masses?" Meiruki frowned.
She was somewhat resistant to the proposal.
She only saw Avansa as a tool, but after all, Avansa was her finest work to date.
Just as a blacksmith cherishes the sword they have forged, she had an extraordinary obsession with Avansa.
Aiden’s proposal, to a certain extent, was tantamount to destroying her greatest masterpiece.
"Previously she didn’t have the chance to leave prison; I could only teach her how to survive inside," Aiden said calmly, "But now, you are in my hands. If you have a way to rehabilitate her, after she has served her eight years, she might be allowed to be released."
"She has killed hundreds, and you would actually give her this opportunity?" Meiruki did not quite understand Aiden’s thinking.
"Those hundreds of lives should be on your conscience, she was forced by you," Aiden responded composedly, "Moreover, given that she resisted your orders yesterday, I judge that she has the intention to reform, hence I am willing to give her this chance."
"She has never had her own thoughts," Meiruki asserted.
"Now she does," Aiden retorted seamlessly, "People can change, don’t think she is still a tool for you to manipulate as you wish."
At that moment, Meiruki realized clearly, the Avansa she had cultivated with her own hands, had been completely taken away by the man before her.
This was the second time she felt defeated since she had fallen into Aiden’s hands.
"What if I refuse, or what if I say I don’t know, what would you do?" she asked tentatively.
"I would hand you over to the Heresy Tribunal, have the court sentence you to death. Then, before I hand you over and before you face the gallows, I will find every way to torture you."
"You’re going to personally punish me?"
"Correct, I am not one to play by the rules," Aiden said, reaching out his hand toward Veronica behind him: "Hand me the baton."
Veronica handed him the iron baton with utmost respect.
Then, Aiden, holding the baton, walked around the iron table unhurriedly to Meiruki’s side.
While Meiruki was pondering if he was planning to beat her with the baton, Aiden suddenly grabbed her cheeks, forcing her mouth open, and abruptly shoved the baton inside.
Meiruki shivered instinctively, realizing that with a mere twist of the iron baton, Aiden could break a whole row of her teeth, inducing a pain that would make her stomach convulse.
And she could feel that this man was capable of doing so.
"I am surely going to deliver you alive to the Heresy Tribunal, but that doesn’t mean I have to hand you over intact, as long as I report that you sustained a disability during the riot..." Aiden spoke coldly, "Now let me hear your answer."
After a while, Meiruki finally relented, nodding minutely, her teeth clinking softly against the iron baton.
Only then did Aiden remove the baton from her mouth and returned it to Veronica.
Veronica hesitated for a moment, taking the baton carefully, planning to wash it later.
"Why..." Meiruki held her mouth, still in pain from Aiden’s rough action, "would you go to such lengths for that child? Out of pity?"
"I don’t pity her, but ensuring that prisoners can leave jail and live properly is also our duty," Aiden said, adjusting his hat, "Since she now has hope for release, I will of course do my utmost to fight for it."
