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Chapter 6
My dilemma ended up having a surprisingly simple solution.
If I couldn’t go there on my own…
Then I’d just cause enough trouble that they’d have no choice but to send me there.
The problem was that getting thrown into solitary confinement required committing at least a serious crime.
‘I can’t exactly kill someone.’
I had no desire to stain my hands with blood.
‘What should I do?’
As I quietly spooned up my soup, I continued to think.
Simply possessing contraband wasn’t enough to land someone in solitary. I’d have to cause an incident on that level.
But with security this tight, it wasn’t easy to come up with a plan.
“…Ah.”
Come to think of it, there was exactly one way.
‘It’s a little dangerous, though.’
Was this really my best option?
I kept pondering until I finished every last spoonful of soup.
In the end, nothing better came to mind. And nothing else seemed as perfect for getting myself sent to solitary.
‘I don’t have a choice. Meeting him comes first.’
I diligently ate the last potato on my plate.
When Sister saw my empty dish, she smiled, praised me, and gently patted my head.
There was also someone watching us the whole time.
‘That person keeps staring only at Sister.’
Prisoner No. 392, was it?
His sharp, intimidating gaze never left this direction.
‘He’s starting to bother me.’
At first, I thought he was just trying to flirt with Sister.
But now…
He was becoming increasingly irritating.
Late that night
Veronica looked down at the child sleeping snugly beside her and smiled faintly.
In this bleak prison, the little girl was the only flower.
How had such a fragile yet spirited child ended up in prison?
She had already read Karin’s charges, yet she still found them hard to believe.
Sometimes she wondered what thoughts could possibly be hidden inside that tiny head.
And every now and then the child would blurt out something completely unexpected.
It was adorable.
‘If only I’d had a daughter like this.’
Or at least a niece.
The only family Veronica had left were her boorish older brother, who only knew brute force, and an insufferable nephew.
After spending her entire life surrounded by men like that, having such a soft, fluffy little thing by her side made the whole world seem brighter.
At first, she’d only been curious.
Now she genuinely wanted to know what this little girl would do next.
Besides…
‘She resembles her.’
Her only friend.
The one who had already died.
Perhaps that was why Veronica couldn’t look away.
‘I don’t know what circumstances brought you here…’
But if things worked out…
She wanted them to stay together.
‘She said it was dangerous.’
Just what exactly was the child planning?
Veronica was intensely curious.
Still, she knew that even if she asked now, Karin wouldn’t answer.
‘Cute little thing.’
Hopefully…
One day she’d tell her.
Veronica gently poked Karin’s chubby cheek with a finger before standing up.
Just then, a guard quietly opened the cell door.
He was one of the collaborators who had already been bribed.
Leaving her cell with ease, Veronica headed not for anywhere else—
But for Sis’s office.
“You’ve arrived, my lady.”
“Where’s my brother?”
“He’ll be here shortly.”
Veronica nodded and dropped onto the sofa.
A moment later, a large, muscular man strode into the room.
“Why are you so late for someone who’s supposed to be in solitary? I rushed over so I wouldn’t wake the kid.”
“…”
There he goes again, ignoring everything I say.
Veronica herself wasn’t exactly sociable, but her brother was on an entirely different level.
Rodrigo walked right past her and sat on the sofa opposite.
Then he immediately pointed at her.
“You.”
“What?”
“Tell me everything you know about that brat.”
“Have you finally lost your mind?”
The “brat” could only mean Karin.
“Why are you suddenly asking about her?”
“Stop asking pointless questions and answer.”
“No. Why would I hand over information about my little girl?”
“Veronica Vancadium.”
Rodrigo’s voice turned ice cold.
It was a warning.
Stop arguing and talk.
But Veronica wasn’t about to back down.
Crossing her long legs with arrogant ease, she smiled sweetly.
If it had been anyone else, she’d have answered immediately.
But Karin was different.
Who knows what this cold-blooded idiot plans to do to my little girl?
“Ahem.”
Caught between the two dragons, Sis deliberately cleared his throat.
“Please don’t use your powers here.”
Within Izetail Prison, the use of magic was strictly forbidden.
Special ores had been installed throughout the prison to suppress magical power.
There were only two exceptions.
Rodrigo.
And Veronica.
Their mana was powerful enough to break through the prison’s defensive barriers.
Dragon magic truly was overwhelming.
If the two dragons actually fought here, the outcome was obvious.
“Powers? I only spoke.”
Veronica glanced at Sis and shrugged.
Rodrigo stared at her expressionlessly.
“Why won’t you tell me?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
“I specifically ordered you to keep an eye on her.”
“There wasn’t much to monitor. I was stuck beside her all day anyway.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
“No. That’s exactly why I refuse.”
Who knows how you’ll try to use my little girl?
Until now he’d acted like he couldn’t care less.
Why the sudden interest?
At that moment, Sis, who had quietly listened to their exchange, finally spoke.
“We’re currently investigating the child named Karin, my lady.”
“Why are you investigating my little girl?”
“‘My little girl,’ huh?”
Rodrigo openly sneered.
Dragons were creatures by nature inclined toward individualism.
Veronica was no exception.
To hear her call a child she’d known for barely a month “our Karin” sounded utterly ridiculous to him.
“You wouldn’t understand, Brother. Our Karin is unbelievably adorable and completely harmless.”
“I think I’m better off not understanding.”
To dragons, everyone besides themselves was insignificant.
Unlike the unusually sentimental Veronica, Rodrigo saw Karin as nothing more than a suspicious child.
“Why investigate her? What is there to investigate?”
“You can still say that after reading her charges?”
“Well… they are unusual. But I’m sure there’s a reason.”
“Leave your personal feelings out of this, Veronica.”
“I am. You should think about it too. What could a child that young possibly accomplish in a place like this?”
“A child intelligent enough to get herself into Izetail at that age…
Do you really think she’s ordinary?”
Veronica froze for a moment.
Izetail housed the empire’s worst criminals.
There was no way a child like Karin had ended up here without some extraordinary reason.
And the fact that a child who should have been happily playing outside had deliberately chosen prison…
That alone was abnormal.
“She had a reason compelling enough to fabricate crimes just to get herself imprisoned.”
“…”
“And her intense hatred of the imperial family makes her even more suspicious.”
“She hates the imperial family?”
Those obnoxious bastards?
Veronica’s eyes sparkled for an instant.
She disliked the imperial family herself.
After all, they had dared to exploit House Vancadium.
“But I never imagined the little one hated them too.”
She had assumed the charges were fabricated.
After all, if someone wanted to get into Izetail, insulting the imperial family or attempting assassination was the most reliable excuse.
She’d thought it was simply a convenient pretext.
But…
It wasn’t?
What do I do?
She liked the child even more now.
“Then can’t I just bring her over? Someone who hates the imperial family would fit in perfectly with me.”
“Bring her where?”
Rodrigo let out a mocking snort.
“First we’ll determine exactly what her objective is.
And if we conclude that she poses a threat to us…”
His eyes turned cold.
“We’ll eliminate her immediately.”
