"Chief? I was just looking for you," Veronica greeted Aiden with a salute as soon as she saw him in the hallway.

"We’re in sync, I was looking for you too," Aiden smiled.

He had planned to find someone to call Veronica to come over, but coincidentally ran into her in the hallway outside.

"Is there anything you need?" Veronica asked.

"Well... it’s not an urgent matter, you go first," Aiden decided to prioritize the work at hand.

"Here is the list of inmates scheduled for early release this half of the month, please review it," Veronica presented the document with both hands.

"Let me take a look..."

Aiden took the list and glanced over it. Inmates who continually behaved well had a good chance of being paroled, and those who had significant meritorious service could be granted commutation. The reasons for early release of these inmates ahead of their scheduled sentences still needed to be reexamined and approved by Aiden.

When he saw the list for the core area, Aiden suddenly raised an eyebrow.

"Is our troublesome mascot up for release again?" Aiden said with a teasing tone.

"Yes, time flies," Veronica smiled.

Fille’s name was on the list. As a repeat offender, she couldn’t qualify for parole or a suspended sentence but was still eligible for a reduction in sentence.

Aiden frowned, "But I don’t remember applying for a commutation for her."

Although Fille had helped with certain matters, they were not significant enough to apply for a commutation for major merit or contribution, and she had caused quite a few problems instead.

"What’s the reason for her commutation..." Aiden flipped through the pages to find Fille’s application form and saw the recorded reason for commutation, "Public welfare donation?"

The autonomous region had a special regulation that allowed non-violent criminals to receive a minor reduction in their sentence if they donated a large sum of money to a government-operated public welfare fund. This rule was quite controversial; supporters believed that if managed properly, the money could be used to develop public welfare projects, while opponents argued that it was tantamount to buying the law with money, which was a matter of principle. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Nonetheless, the regulation was still effective. In other words, Fille had purchased for herself the opportunity to leave prison a month early with money.

"It must be that wretch’s lawyer who taught her this; she really has the cash," Aiden smiled helplessly, shaking his head.

"Things should be much quieter when she’s out on patrol," Veronica remarked.

"I just hope she doesn’t get the itch to come back in," Aiden replied. "I’ll review it more closely later. She is quite a key figure here; we should see her off when she leaves."

Aiden figured he’d do some last-minute counseling with this succubus, trying to reduce the chance of recidivism as much as possible after inmates were released, which was also part of their job.

"Chief, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Veronica inquired.

"There’s a bit of a private matter, may I have a word with you?" Aiden said.

"Eh?" Veronica was taken aback.

"Is this not a good time?" Aiden thought she might still have work to do.

"Not at all, not at all!" Veronica shook her head vigorously.

"Then..." Aiden thought for a moment, "let’s go back to my office."

Two white porcelain teacups were set out on the coffee table, and Aiden brewed a fresh pot of tea.

Veronica sat in the guest seat, rubbing her fingers together nervously.

Aiden sat down and began, "Veronica."

"Yes, yes!" Veronica suddenly tensed up.

"Why so nervous, I’m not going to scold you," Aiden gestured for her to relax, "I’ll just get straight to the point. Veronica, there are some important matters I want to discuss with you in advance."

In Veronica’s astonished gaze, Aiden roughly explained to her the current situation and his plans for the future.

"Although I don’t want to always expect the worst, it’s not very realistic to hope that everything goes perfectly. In case something unexpected happens to me, Veronica, I hope—"

At this point, Veronica suddenly realized what he was implying and interrupted, "Please wait, do you mean... you might encounter some misfortune?"

"No one can be sure of such things," Aiden shook his head, "If I fail in this matter, there are two possibilities. One is that I disappear from this world outright, and the other is that someone who replaces me might appear. He will inherit my memories, but he won’t be the same person as I am, and he might not be interested in managing the prison, so..."

"So, you mean... you’re preparing to go over the prison matters with me?" Veronica asked cautiously.

"That’s right," Aiden nodded.

"But, I still don’t quite understand. Someone might replace you? What does that mean?" Veronica was completely puzzled.

"You should remember Deborah’s situation quite well; it’s much like hers. If I die unexpectedly, someone may use the divine power of ’Existence’ to recreate an Aiden Galahad. This new ’Aiden’ will have my memories but will still be a different person, and most likely my divinity and the Wordless Code will be taken away," Aiden explained.

"Why would this happen..." Hearing about such matters for the first time, Veronica was greatly shocked.

"The reasons are a bit complicated, not something that can be explained in just a sentence or two. Basically, I’ve been drawn into a game played by rulers, and I suppose you could consider me a piece on the chessboard. In short, as long as I kill the leader of the Blood Moon Cult, I can survive. On the other hand, if he kills me, I will have to disappear from this world," Aiden spread his hands.

"What do you think your chances of winning are?" Veronica asked with an uneasy expression.

"The intelligence isn’t sufficient, so I can’t say for sure... Let’s say it’s fifty-fifty," Aiden answered.

Veronica fell silent, then after a while, she asked, "Can’t I help in some way?"

"You retain the ability of ’Substitution,’ so of course, you can do something. But it’s too dangerous to get you involved in this," Aiden said.

"I don’t mind the danger," Veronica said earnestly.

"I do," Aiden replied seriously.

Veronica was taken aback.

"The enemy’s ability can reverse a person’s psyche. I know your loyalty to me, but once it’s reversed, you will regard me as an enemy you cannot coexist with," Aiden explained. "Of course, in theory, my ability could seal or remove such an effect, but if you were reversed without my knowledge, I could be attacked by you without any warning. You are the person I trust the most; even if something like that could happen, do you think it’s okay?"

"..." Veronica fell completely silent.

"These matters, only you in the prison know about them. You’re the only one I can entrust with them," Aiden spoke calmly, "This is something only you can do, Veronica."