The Warden of The Witches

Chapter 67:

Variations in People's Constitutions Shouldn't Be Generalized

In the evening, Veronica changed into her uniform in the dressing room and, as usual, began her duty.

She first assembled the riot squad member on duty, patrolled the core area and factory, then proceeded to the prisoners' canteen to monitor the inmates finishing their work and having dinner.

After nearly a month as a prison guard, Veronica had become quite adept at her job.

"Veronica, have you had dinner yet?" Isabella, her colleague on duty, approached and greeted her in a soft tone. "Let's grab a meal together later."

"Sure," Veronica agreed.

"It feels uncomfortable supervising inmates on an empty stomach. I was planning to have dinner before taking the night shift."

"Managing prisoners on an empty stomach is indeed uncomfortable. I was going to eat after dinner, then I heard from a colleague in the second block that they were serving 'spicy hot pot' today, so I came straight here," Isabella chatted with her.

Under Aiden's modifications as the warden, the Rose Prison's canteen introduced many dishes that shouldn't exist in this world, raising the standards to compete with outside specialty restaurants. Over time, Veronica, like other prison guards, often opted to stay and eat the work meals inside the prison.

"Yeah, I quite like that one too," Veronica replied while scanning the inmates who were having their meals.

"The food in the canteen is good, but recently, I've noticed that I seem to be gaining some weight around my belly. It's easy to overeat here without realizing it," Isabella sighed. "Do you experience that, Veronica?"

"Not at all," Veronica denied. "I've actually lost two pounds this month."

"How is that possible? I see you eat almost twice as much as I do on a regular basis!" Isabella looked incredulous.

"Don't exaggerate. It's not that extreme," Veronica laughed, giving her colleague a playful shoulder bump.

"But seriously how did you do it?"

"I do some light exercise at night when I'm not on the night shift."

"What kind of exercise do you do? I want to give it a try," Isabella attempted to learn.

"Five minutes of stretching, fifteen minutes of boxing on a sandbag, and if it's not a full moon or raining, I run five kilometers on the streets outside," Veronica thought for a moment. "Sometimes, on the night roads, I encounter thugs who want to mess with me. That's when I get to practice some self-defense moves."

"Is this for real? You're a bit too hardcore! This is supposed to be 'light' exercise!" Isabella was astonished.

"It's not that extreme. I used to be more intense when I was in the mounted police. Once, during a raid on a gang stronghold, we had a brawl for an hour and a half. Afterward, I chased fugitives for over ten kilometers through the alleys of the old city," Veronica replied casually.

"Werewolves and humans have different constitutions; you can't generalize them."

"You really are a werewolf," Isabella nodded admiringly, then exaggeratedly raised a finger. "Come on, when I make this gesture, it means you're..."

"Alright, enough of that. Stop fooling around. Let's get back to work!"

Veronica ushered her colleague back to her position, continuing to focus on monitoring the inmates in the vicinity.

At that moment, she noticed a petite figure carrying a tray and sitting at a position quite close to her.

It was Evangeline.

Veronica couldn't help but give her a couple more glances.

When she first took the job, she had paid extra attention to this young girl, because she reminded her of her past self.

She sympathized with Evangeline's situation, but there was little she could do.

Fortunately, after the events of last month were resolved, Evangeline's situation took a turn.

Under Warden Aiden's request, Evangeline began receiving regular medication and transferred the powers obtained through the devil contract away.

According to what Aiden had mentioned, the preliminary negotiations with the judiciary and the Inquisition Bureau went quite smoothly. Given enough time and if Evangeline continued to demonstrate good behavior, there was a chance for her to be released once her sentence was complete.

Despite not having much interaction with Evangeline while steadfastly holding her work position, Veronica couldn't help but feel genuinely happy for her upon learning about the positive turn in her situation.

Observing Evangeline arranging glass jars containing condiments she had fetched from the food counter being a top-tier enforcer under the warden's wing granted Evangeline a relatively high treatment level in the prison, allowing her more choices for meal accompaniments and even free access to condiments.

Evangeline started by spreading jam on sliced bread, followed by ketchup, then yellow mustard... creating a visually exaggerated and voluminous mixture.

Veronica watched with a bit of anxiety, realizing that consuming such a combination could potentially be lethal for a regular person.

However, when she saw Evangeline take a bite of the toast, her unchanging poker face revealed a subtle gleam of anticipation in her eyes. Despite the unconventional eating habits, Veronica chose not to intervene.

Knowing Evangeline's taste buds were damaged, forcing her to enhance flavors dramatically to be able to eat, Veronica recognized the futility of advising her to maintain a more balanced diet.

Evangeline's lifespan was destined to be short, and it was better to let her be.

Just as Evangeline was about to bite into the toast, she suddenly noticed Veronica's gaze, closed her mouth, turned her face towards her, and locked eyes with Veronica.

Veronica was momentarily stunned, unsure of how to react.

"..."

"..."

A prolonged, awkward silence ensued as they stared at each other, until finally, Evangeline broke the silence, looking at Veronica and then at the oddly colored slices of bread in her hand.

"...Want some?" she deadpanned, offering a small piece.

"No, thank you. Enjoy your meal," Veronica waved her hands, diverting her gaze.

The inmates sat in the cafeteria, eating in a routine manner, seemingly just like any other day.

It looks like today will be a peacefull day.

Just as Veronica thought this, she suddenly noticed a prisoner who seemed out of place ignoring the nearby empty seats, the inmate headed directly to the innermost rows of tables, all of which were occupied.

Furthermore, she didn't carry a tray with food.

Just as she was about to blow the whistle to stop the inmate, the person lunged from behind at another inmate who was having a meal, tightly gripping their neck with one arm. Simultaneously, the assailant produced a gleaming silver dinner knife seemingly out of nowhere and thrust it toward the victim's eyes, shouting, "Die, Camilla!"

A roar and surrounding screams erupted almost simultaneously. The targeted inmate reacted promptly, seizing the attacker's wrist, then swiftly stood up, forcefully bending forward, and with unbelievable strength, flipped the assailant over their shoulder, slamming them onto a nearby table.