WRBEFM 06

Chapter 6

The problem was resolved rather easily.

If I couldn’t go there myself,

then all I had to do was cause enough trouble that I’d have no choice but to be sent there!

But to be locked in solitary confinement, I needed to commit at least a serious crime…

‘I can’t kill someone, though.’

I didn’t want to get blood on my hands.

‘What should I do?’

I pondered the problem while happily slurping up my soup. Simply possessing a prohibited item wasn’t enough to get me sent to solitary confinement, either.

I needed to cause an incident serious enough to warrant it.

But with security so tight, it wasn’t easy to come up with a way.

“…Ah.”

Come to think of it, there was exactly one way…

‘It’s a little dangerous, though.’

Was this really the best option? I agonized over it until I had slowly finished every last spoonful of soup.

But I couldn’t think of anything else, and there was nothing better suited to getting myself into solitary.

‘It can’t be helped. Meeting him comes first.’

I diligently ate the last potato on my plate.

When my sister saw the empty bowl, she patted my head and praised me.

And there was someone watching the two of us.

‘That person keeps staring at my sister.’

He said he was Number 392, right?

His piercing gaze continued to watch us.

‘He’s bothering me.’

At first, I thought he was simply hitting on my sister.

But now he was starting to annoy me.

Late that night.

Veronica looked down at the child sleeping soundly beside her and smiled faintly.

In this bleak prison, the child was the only flower.

How had such a delicate yet spirited little girl ended up in prison? Veronica had already looked over her charges, but she still couldn’t believe them.

Sometimes, she wondered what that tiny head of hers was thinking.

And whenever the child blurted out something completely unexpected, Veronica found it incredibly adorable.

‘How wonderful would it have been if I had a daughter like this?’

Or perhaps a niece.

The only blood relatives she had left were her brother, who was ridiculously strong but stupid, and her obnoxious nephew.

After spending her entire life surrounded by people like them, having something this soft and adorable by her side naturally made the whole world seem beautiful.

At first, it had been simple curiosity.

But now, Veronica was genuinely curious about what this little one would do next.

Besides…

‘She looks like her.’

Like her one and only friend, who was now dead.

That was another reason Veronica couldn’t take her eyes off the child.

‘I don’t know what circumstances brought her here.’

But if things continued to go well, she wanted to stay with the child.

‘She said it was dangerous.’

What on earth was the little girl planning that made her say something like that?

Veronica was terribly curious, but she also knew that asking wouldn’t get her an answer right away.

‘Such a cute little thing.’

Hopefully, someday she would hear the answer.

Veronica gently poked the child’s chubby cheek before getting to her feet.

Just then, a guard approached and carefully opened the door.

He was another accomplice Veronica had recruited beforehand.

Thanks to him, Veronica was able to leave her cell with ease.

The place she headed for was none other than Sis’s office.

“You’ve arrived, my lady.”

“Where’s my brother?”

“He should be here shortly.”

Veronica nodded and plopped down on the sofa.

A moment later, a heavily built man strode into the room.

“Why is someone who’s supposed to be in solitary so late? I hurried because I was worried I’d wake the kid.”

“…”

There he went again, ignoring what people said.

Veronica was quite individualistic herself, but he was on another level.

Rodrigo casually walked past his sister and took a seat on the sofa opposite her.

Then—

“You.”

He pointed at her without warning.

“What?”

“Tell me about that little kid. Everything you know.”

“Have you finally lost your mind?”

The little kid obviously meant Karin.

“Why are you suddenly interested in her?”

“Stop asking pointless questions and answer me.”

“No. Do you think I’m crazy enough to give you information about our kid?”

“Veronica Vankadium.”

Rodrigo’s voice dropped coldly.

It was a warning to stop arguing and start talking.

But Veronica wasn’t intimidated either.

She crossed her long legs arrogantly and smiled brightly.

If it had been anyone else, she would have told them everything immediately.

But Karin was different.

What was this heartless bastard planning to do with their kid?

“…Ahem.”

At that moment, Sis, caught between the two dragons, cleared his throat.

“You must not use your powers in here.”

The use of magic was strictly prohibited inside Izteil.

Special ores had even been placed throughout the prison to suppress their abilities and prevent them from using their powers.

But there were two exceptions.

Rodrigo and Veronica.

Their magical power was strong enough to break through the prison’s defensive barriers.

The power of a dragon was truly formidable.

It was obvious what would happen if the two dragons clashed.

“Powers? I only said a few words.”

Veronica glanced at Sis and shrugged.

Rodrigo responded stiffly.

“Why can’t you tell me?”

“Because I don’t want to?”

“I told you to keep an eye on her.”

“There wasn’t even anything to keep an eye on. I have no choice but to stay beside her all day.”

“Do I look like I’m joking?”

“No? That’s why I’m even less willing to tell you. You sound completely serious.”

Who knew how he might use their kid?

Rodrigo had acted as though he had absolutely no interest in her before, so Veronica was curious about why he was suddenly asking about her.

At that moment, Sis, who had been quietly listening to them, added a word.

“I’m currently investigating the child named Karin, my lady.”

“Why are you investigating our baby?”

“‘Our baby’?”

Rodrigo openly scoffed.

Dragons were naturally individualistic creatures.

That girl probably wasn’t any different.

So calling a child she had known for barely a month ‘ours’ struck him as rather ridiculous.

“You wouldn’t understand, Brother. You don’t know how cute and harmless our Karin is.”

“I think I can live without knowing.”

After all, in a dragon’s eyes, everything other than themselves was insignificant.

Unlike Veronica, who was considerably more emotional, Rodrigo saw Karin as nothing more or less than a suspicious little brat.

“Why are you investigating Karin? What could she possibly know?”

“You can say that after looking at her list of charges?”

“Well, they’re a little unusual, but she must have her reasons, right?”

“Put aside your personal feelings, Veronica.”

“I am putting aside my personal feelings, Brother. You should think about it too. What could a child that young possibly do here?”

“A child smart enough to get herself in here at that age. Do you really think she’s an ordinary child?”

At those words, Veronica paused.

Izteil was a prison filled with the Empire’s worst criminals.

There was no way a child could simply end up here without any background whatsoever.

And the fact that a child who should have been running around and playing had deliberately chosen a prison was suspicious in itself.

“She must have had some reason serious enough to fabricate crimes just to get in.”

“…”

“And the fact that she hates the Imperial Family to a suspicious degree makes me even more concerned.”

“She hates the Imperial Family?”

Those obnoxious bastards?

A flicker of light appeared in Veronica’s eyes.

She didn’t like the Imperial Family either.

They had dared to use Vankadium.

But—

“I didn’t know the little one genuinely hated them too.”

Veronica had assumed the charges were simply fabricated.

If Karin wanted to get into Izteil, insulting the Imperial Family or attempting to assassinate the Emperor would have been the most reliable way.

So Veronica had thought it was merely an excuse.

But it wasn’t?

‘What should I do?’

She liked the child even more now.

“Then couldn’t I take her with me? If she hates the Imperial Family, I think we’d get along perfectly.”

“Take who with you?”

Rodrigo snorted as though the suggestion were absurd.

“First, I’ll determine exactly what her purpose is. If I decide she poses a threat to us, I’ll deal with her immediately.”