The Warden of The Witches

Chapter 29:

You Can Cry a Little Louder

A few days later in the afternoon, Aiden sat in his office, dealing with paperwork.

He came across an application for temporary leave submitted by the elderly woman who had helped him acquire the gold pocket watch that had flowed into the black market. She wanted to temporarily leave the prison for a day next month, accompanied by a guard, to attend her son's wedding.

It was this inmate who had helped Aiden write a letter to her son, who was involved in underground gold trading in the black market. This letter had enabled Aiden to quickly trace the whereabouts of the gold pocket watch, providing crucial evidence for the prosecutor's office to arrest Jialong Rowton.

Temporary leave for family visits wasn't something every inmate could apply for. They not only needed to provide a legitimate reason for their personal presence outside the prison, but also had to have an impeccable record within the prison—preferably with commendable achievements.

No wonder this family had worked so hard for the old woman's treatment level, they willingly handing over valuable goods for free, even providing testimonies to prove the source of the evidence. It was all so that old woman could attend her son's wedding next month...

After some consideration, Aiden stamped the approval on the old woman's application and signed it before setting it aside.

He then leaned back in his chair, preparing to take a brief rest in the midst of his busy schedule.

Speaking of which, Veronica's request for a retrial had been submitted for quite some time now. Aiden wondered when it would be approved.

From persuading Bruce Kane to voluntarily surrender to the prosecutor's office, to facilitating the acquisition of evidence and its source behind the scenes, to the ultimate capture of the real culprit Jialong,

and with Aiden's discreet assistance as the "mysterious informant" in the background, the news of the city councilor's son killing someone and framing another, quickly dominated the headlines of major newspapers.

In short, he had done everything he could, and the development of the situation had unfolded exactly as he had anticipated.

However, the retrial process indeed required time, and Aiden had been waiting for a response these past few days.

Naturally, Veronica was even more anxious than him.

According to Fei, who shared the same room with Veronica, these days Veronica either paced restlessly in the cell, or leaned against the iron bars, staring intensely in the direction of the main gate.

Especially when Aiden personally came for his routine inspection of the core area, Veronica would inevitably press herself tightly against the iron bars, almost wishing she could squeeze her body through them, her eyes fixed on Aiden, eager for any sign of a response regarding the retrial application.

In Fei words, "This gal's practically turning into a 'Waiting-for-Husband' statue in front of the prison gates."

Aiden understood the girl's emotions. After all, it was a matter of life and death for her. But for now, all they could do was wait.

At that moment, someone knocked on the office door. Aiden called out, "Come in." The head of the core area, Franda, hurriedly entered, and handing over a file folder.

"Warden, it's from the prosecutor's office. They request Veronica Wolfie's personal presence!" Franda said while panting.

Aiden immediately jumped up from his chair, strode around the desk, and briskly examined the file folder.

"Let's go, to the core area!" He took the lead, striding out of the office.

"Hurry up!"

Prompted by Aiden, the guards on duty released the various security measures on the main gate of the cell block.

Subsequently, Aiden entered the core area and headed straight for Cell No.13. The female inmates in the front rooms who saw Aiden pass by didn't even react, rushing forward to berate him as they usually would.

"Warden!?" Veronica heard the commotion of the gate opening and appeared in front of the door in an instant, her eyes fixated on him as if trying to see through him. "Has it arrived?"

Aiden didn't say anything, just shook the file folder in his hand, then thrust it through the bars as he reached the door. "Hurry and take a look! You need to open this yourself."

"Oh! It's really came." Fei, who shared the room, also jumped down from her bed and eagerly came over. "Are you getting out from here?"

"Let's see if the application was successful," Aiden calmly replied.

The retrial process in this world was somewhat similar to his previous life's world. From the content of the response to the retrial application, one could generally discern the final outcome.

Re-Trial, to put it bluntly, is aimed at overturning the previous court's verdict, so it's scrutiny is extremely strict and cautious.

If the application for re-trial is approved, it basically means that there were flaws in the previous judgment. Conversely, the application for re-trial will be unequivocally rejected.

Veronica swiftly grabbed the file folder and tore it open. Just as she was about to pull out the papers, her movements suddenly halted, her face showing a hint of hesitation.

"What are you doing?" Aiden was taken aback.

"Quick, take a look!" Fei urged from the side.

Veronica looked up at Aiden, His throat slightly tight with nervousness. In the end, she extended her trembling hand and handed the file folder to Aiden. "Could you... take a look for me?"

"Do you think this is a lottery draw?" Aiden didn't mince his words, taking the file folder and extracting the documents from inside.

Veronica turned away and took a few steps towards the cell, closing her eyes, waiting for Aiden to tell her the result.

The psychological shadow caused by her wrongful imprisonment had not completely faded. Now, with thoughts swirling in her mind about what to do if she saw "rejected" written on the document, everything seemed to spin around her.

Aiden quickly scanned through the repetitive introductory part and went straight to the result. "...The applicant's reasons for re-trial are sufficient. The applicant's re-trial request is accepted."

"Hey, it's approved!" He raised his head and shouted towards Veronica with enthusiasm.

The approval of the re-trial application basically meant that Veronica had a chance to reverse the case.

But Veronica still stood silently with her back to him, not moving.

"Veronica?" Aiden called her with some confusion. "I said it's been approved."

"Yeah, I heard...," Veronica nodded slowly, her voice barely audible.

Aiden frowned. This response seemed a bit too bland. After all, this was the result Veronica had been eagerly anticipating.

He gestured to Fei, who was in the cell, to go and check.

Fei understood and stealthily went over to Veronica.

She took a glance at Veronica's face, then looked a bit startled, and then quietly returned to the cell, smiling at Aiden.

"She's crying! Sobbing so hard!" She whispered to Aiden.

Aiden blinked, then let out a sigh and smiled at Veronica. "If you want to cry, cry out loud. It's not something to be embarrassed about."

"Uh-huh..."

Veronica choked out a response. Then she lifted her face, as if she wanted to let out all the pent-up grievances from these days, and burst into tears.