The Warden of The Witches

Chapter 22:

The Goddess of Conspiracy

Inmate 4001, Mephilia Hughes, Inquisition file codename "Saint".

The maximum capacity of Rose Prison is four thousand inmates, and the file numbers only go up to 4000.

Inmate 4001 is considered an "extra inmate" here. Her file is not kept in this prison, but rather sealed in the headquarters of the Inquisition bureau, not far from Rose Prison.

She was transferred here from the Inquisition bureau, the unit where Aiden used to work before.

This cell was built six years ago, a secret modification of a part of the dungeon that had been abandoned and buried in Rose Prison.

The funding for the renovation was provided by the Inquisition bureau.

It is almost entirely made of mithril, and was embedded deep underground. the cost of both the Cell and the complex engineering was astronomical. The financially strapped Rose Prison would never have been able to afford it.

Strictly speaking, this cell belongs to the Inquisition bureau. Mephilia herself has little to do with Rose Prison. The Rose Prison simply provides the location for housing this inmate.

Before Aiden was transferred here, there's no guard in the rose prison who knew about this Cell, let alone the authority to open it.

The Warden's office directly above the cell Was also moved after Aiden took office.

Before that, the room had been used by the Inquisition bureau as an archive, claiming to borrow it from the heavily guarded Rose Prison to store some surplus records.

The higher-ups from the Inquisition were willing to let go of Aiden, the ace investigator, and agreed to transfer him to work in the Rose Prison. Mainly because of Mephilia they needed someone who knew about Inmate 4001 existence to regularly monitor her confinement.

Aiden and Mephilia share some kind of connection.

"When was the last time we met?" Meliphilia spoke slowly, still not fully recovered from her deep sleep.

"About half a month ago." Aiden sat down at the interrogation table in front of the execution platform and took off his hat, placing it beside him.

"It's rare for you to come here, come let's play chess with me" Meliphilia made a request.

"Alright, what kind?"

Aiden brought a box from beside the table and opened it. there were various homemade chess pieces and a chessboard Inside.

"Ludo" Mephilia answered without hesitation.

"You really do enjoy games that rely mostly on luck."

As Aiden spoke, he sorted out the flying chess pieces from the messy boxes and drew the parchment paper for the chess board, which he made by himself.

As a Transmigrator, he hadn't forgotten the excellent tradition of promoting and popularizing his world's culture in the new world.

　After entering the Rose Prison, Aiden once tried to promote some cultural and sports activities from his past world here, including some chess, cards and simple ball games. These games were very popular with the prisoners and became a way to stabilize the mood of the inmates.

The downside was that some games became so popular that even the prison guards started getting hooked, forcing Aiden to repeatedly instruct his subordinates not to neglect their duties by indulging in games during work hours.

Mephilia also enjoyed card and board games. As she's not allowed to leave her cell, apart from her deep sleep, there are very few ways for her to pass the time.

Of course, the only person who plays chess with her is Aiden.

"you're bound to lose If we Playing a games that require brain. Games with no suspense are just too boring. Games with variable probabilities like this are much more interesting." Mephilia looked at Aiden calmly as he set up the board.

Aiden didn't argue, what Mephilia said was true.

Mephilia possessed computational abilities surpassing humans. If Aiden were to evaluate it, she might be on par with the artificial intelligence of his previous world. In games like chess, which relied entirely on strategy, an ordinary person would never stand a chance against her.

"Shall I go first or you?" Aiden picked up the dice after setting up the board.

"I'll go first." Mephilia replied.

As soon as she finished speaking, the dice floated up from Aiden's hand and rolled onto the board. Even though most of her power was sealed by ten holy nails, she still retained enough psychic ability to move the dice and pieces.

"Hey, hey, you rolled a six on the first try. You're not cheating, are you?" Aiden watched as she confidently moved the first piece to the take-off area.

"Each to their own abilities." Mephilia looked pleased with the opening result.

Aiden also made his first move, but only rolled a one.

"Seems luck isn't on my side." Aiden sighed.

"So, what did you want to ask me this time?" Mephilia asked while rolling the dice.

"The way you say it, it's like every time I approach you, it's with an ulterior motive."

"I've long learned how indifferent you are, Since you placed me here. Besides regular checks, I can count on one hand the times you've willingly accompanied me.

Each time, it's because you need something from me." Mephilia stared at the board and spoke slowly,

"Let's make a deal. Play chess with me until dawn today, and I'll grant you inspiration."

"Looks like it's going to be a long game." Aiden took out his pocket watch and glanced at it.

"This deal seems quite worthwhile, doesn't it?" Mephilia smiled, "You won't be getting any sleep tonight." (⁠ ͡⁠°⁠ ͜⁠ʖ⁠ ͡⁠°⁠)

"Alright, then let me be straightforward."

Aiden picked up the dice, playing chess with Mephilia while recounting Veronica's case.

"...So, basically, all we need to do is instigate the witness and make him admit his perjury?" Mephilia summarized after listening to Aiden account.

"That's right."

"Isn't that quite simple? Just make those two accomplices fall out with each other."

"How do we go about this?" Aiden realized she had a plan in mind.

"Let's say, if the murderer fears the witness might suddenly have a change of heart and confess, and sends an assassin to silence him, but the assassin accidentally slips up..." Mephilia wore a dark smile on her face,

"the escaped witness of the murderer will realize that the murderer trying to silence him and their relationship will fall apart."

"But, the murderer might not necessarily do that," Aiden raised a question, "for the murderer, the witness is a very manipulable figure. He doesn't have any need to kill him at this point."

"It doesn't have to be the murderer who sent the assassin out. As long as we make the witness believe that, isn't that enough?" Mephilia's smile grew wider, "Besides, you have quite a few useful pawns in your hands, don't you?"

Aiden's hand hesitated for a moment as it reached for a chess piece. He looked up at Meliphilia, "To do something like that..."

"Is it against the rules?" Mephilia raised an eyebrow, mocking Aiden, "For a Dominator, the rules of mere mortals hold no meaning. You should know very well what kind of outcome you'll get if you pray to me for wisdom, right?"

Aiden fell silent for a moment, then continued to move a piece, "You truly live up to the title of the Goddess of Conspiracy. Your schemes are just as devious."

"The so-called conspiracies and schemes are ultimately just definitions of mortals," Mephilia said after rolling the dice, then moved the final piece to the finish line, "Well, I've won. Let's start the next game."