Two months later, Hamel Inquisition Prison, Women’s Detention Ward of Hamel Town.

The female Inquisitor serving as guard sat at the desk, propping her head up as she dozed off. Suddenly, her view was blocked by a figure.

The guard froze for a moment before reacting. She looked up and discovered a man standing before her, dressed in uniform and wearing a badge.

“Ah! S-Sir!” She sprang to her feet and hurriedly saluted. “I was just ”

Standing before her was none other than Inquisitor Leon Set, who had recently been promoted to Deputy Director!

She wanted to explain that she had been completely unaware of anyone approaching because she had dozed off, but no suitable excuse came to mind.

Within the Inquisition, the ranked Director rarely directly dispatched or commanded the lowest-level personnel.

For most Lower-Ranking Inquisitors, the Deputy Director was in fact more like their immediate superior.

The female guard assigned to the prison department had never had much interaction with Inquisitor Leon Set in the past.

She only knew that he had entered the Inquisition later than she had, yet within just three short years he had rapidly been promoted to Captain and then to Deputy Director. Either he had powerful backing, or he truly possessed exceptional ability.

“I’m done for. Caught dozing off on duty these past few days were for nothing,” the guard lamented inwardly.

From her experience, being caught in a situation like this would definitely result in a fine and a harsh scolding on the spot.

“When did you start your shift?” Leon suddenly asked.

“Ah?” The guard did not react immediately and replied cautiously, “I took over at six this morning.”

“I saw you here at seven yesterday evening as well. You haven’t had time to sleep properly, have you?” Leon said.

“Well… that’s just how the schedule is. Everyone’s about the same,” she replied softly.

“There’s still too little manpower. Thirteen hours on duty in a single day who could endure that?” Leon nodded. “How about this I happen to be going inside. Give me the key to Cell Nine, and go rest in the duty room for a while.”

“Oh ”

The guard was somewhat stunned, uncertain whether Leon was genuinely showing concern or delivering a sarcastic reprimand.

“When I used to work overtime, I often thought if you exhaust people to the point of collapse, they won’t even perform their duties well. What’s the point?” Leon extended his hand for the key. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on the corridor for you while I’m inside. I’ll come out and call you afterward.”

When he took full charge here in the future, he would certainly find a way to recruit more personnel first.

“Oh, thank you, sir.” The guard finally let out a sigh of relief and handed him the key.

Leon took it and walked straight into the corridor of the detention area.

Seeing that he was carrying a basket again, the guard did not pay it any particular attention.

Ever since Leon had been promoted to Captain, he frequently entered the prison carrying baskets or bags.

The shift supervisor had already instructed all rotating guards in advance: when he arrived, they were simply to let him pass and not ask questions.

Leon made his way to the innermost single cell. He peered through the small window and saw Sally sitting beside the iron-barred window, holding a theatrical novel under the light streaming in from outside.

With one hand, she occasionally brushed aside the strands of hair that fell over the page, tucking them behind her ear.

“Mrs. Hesh,” Leon called softly.

Absorbed in her book, Sally finally came back to her senses. When she looked up and saw Leon’s face at the small window in the door, a bright smile immediately bloomed across her face. “Mr. Leon!”

Leon unlocked the cell door and entered, placing the lunch basket on the small table beside the bed. “I brought pan-fried pork chop and creamy mushroom stew today. Eat it while it’s hot.”

“All right. Please sit here.” Sally carefully rose while steadying herself on the chair, offering the seat to Leon and sitting down on the edge of the bed instead.

Leon did not sit. He first looked around, confirming the cleanliness of the cell, then opened the basket.

Inside were oil-paper-wrapped portions of food and stew placed in a small lidded bowl.

“What are these?” Sally noticed that beside the sliced pork chop were some pieces that looked like thin, fried crisps.

She picked one up and took a light bite. The crisp texture and the roasted aroma of potato blended with saltiness as the flavor spread in her mouth.

“This is quite delicious,” she commented.

“They’re potatoes sliced as thin as paper and then fried. I call them chips. I recently took over a tavern and had the kitchen try making them as bar snacks to go with drinks. They can be sprinkled with salt and spices, dipped in sauce, or topped with diced fruit salad. The customers love them, so business has been fairly good lately,” Leon said with a smile.

“A tavern?” Sally looked at him in surprise.

“I bought it to deal with some funds on the books. Business has stabilized recently,” Leon explained.

After delivering the first shipment to the Earl and earning a substantial sum, he had followed Father Auden’s advice and used part of the money to purchase the tavern near the East District Church the very place where he had met with the priest several times before.

That tavern was essentially one of the money-laundering operations.

After Potter’s death, it had, through proper procedures, been transferred as normal debt collateral to another merchant who had business dealings with Potter.

Father Auden had handled the paperwork flawlessly, leaving no issues for the Church to uncover.

Father Auden first falsified records showing the tavern was poorly managed, then had the merchant sign a low-price sales agreement with Leon on that basis. On paper, the purchase funds came from Leon’s fleet revenue and another loan.

In reality, the amount Leon paid for the tavern matched its estimated actual value and was far higher than the price written in the contract.

The portion not reflected on record effectively shifted the dirty money to the seller for disposal.

After acquiring the tavern, Leon renamed it the Gray Wolf Tavern. He hired a chef, bartender, and servers, and used his own knowledge of certain dishes and cocktails to design specialty menus.

He selected a reliable subordinate to manage it and also used the location as a contact point and distribution site within Hamel Town.

Father Auden had told him that it was enough to hire a few people to make it appear operational even if it ran at a loss, it did not matter.

He would fabricate the accounts to show profits, recording tens of thousands of Fenni each month.

Those funds would then legitimately become Leon’s assets.

Yet after reopening, the tavern’s business unexpectedly turned out to be quite good, becoming a genuinely profitable enterprise.

“I see.” After hearing Leon’s explanation, Sally did not know whether she should feel happy for him and could only respond that way.

“How have you been feeling these past few days?” Leon asked.

“Quite well. I haven’t had a fever for a long time,” Sally said with a smile.

Leon could tell that her complexion was much better than before.

Through the purification of Mana, Rena’s medicine was now capable of suppressing the progression of late-stage Saltification Disease, stabilizing her condition.

With his protection in prison, Sally’s living conditions were actually tolerable. After all, she had once lived immobile in an attic, accompanied only by bedsores and crystallization spreading across her skin.

Even so, since the internal damage caused by the disease had not been reversed, she still faced the risk of dying from other complications.

“The weather has been damp lately. I’ll bring you a set of sun-dried bedding tomorrow,” Leon said.

“That won’t be necessary,” Sally shook her head repeatedly.

“Have you been sleeping well?” Leon asked casually.

“It’s all been quite fine. ” Sally paused, lifting her eyes toward Leon before subtly looking away.

“What is it?” Leon noticed she seemed to want to say something.

“It’s nothing. I just had a dream yesterday. For some reason, I dreamed about my childhood home. Melissa was living there with me, the same age as I was then. It was rather strange,” Sally said with a faint smile.

In truth, she had also seen Leon in that dream. Somehow, in the dream, he had become a traveling peddler visiting the village.

The village where Sally once lived had been very remote. Every few months, a peddler would pass through, bringing goods rarely seen in the village.

To the children there, the curious toys and candies wrapped in beautiful paper that the peddlers displayed were like treasures.

Some peddlers even performed small magic tricks while setting up their stalls. For the children, the day they arrived was like a festival.

Sally remembered that in the dream she and Melissa had stood among a crowd around Leon’s stall, excitedly watching him perform tricks while promoting his goods. His business had been excellent that day his wares nearly sold out. In high spirits, he had scattered the remaining candies to the children.

At the end, she and Melissa had happily thanked him, and Leon had conjured two flowers in his hands with a trick and given them to them.

Dreams were always bizarre and fantastical. She did not voice this part to Leon, feeling slightly embarrassed.

“There will be a chance,” Leon said, misunderstanding her words as simple nostalgia for the days she had lived with Melissa.

“Life is unpredictable. Sometimes, it’s better not to hope for too much,” Sally replied with a lonely smile.

Leon could not refute her. After a moment of silence, he lowered his voice.

“I’ve recently earned some merit. Once it’s reported, the Church will allow me to undergo evaluation for Intermediate Inquisitor. Five days from now, I have to travel out of town to take an examination. I may be gone for three days. I’ll leave you extra medicine beforehand. If I pass, I should be able to become Director here. When that happens, I’ll have the means to get you out.” 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

“Even if you truly have that ability, I still think it’s too risky.” Sally said.

Sally’s final sentence had been five years of detention, permitted to serve locally.

Afterward, as a Witch, she would remain under lifelong supervision, allowed to live in designated institutions under Church oversight. Compared to prison, it was only slightly more lenient.

Overall, the Tribunal’s sentence had already been relatively lenient. On one hand, Aaron had made a special appeal in his report.

On the other, Sally was terminally ill and not expected to live many more years. Whether she was sentenced to five years or one hundred made little practical difference.

But Leon had other plans.

Once he became Director, he would have the conditions to arrange a plan for Sally to leave prison though it would be best executed after Melissa left the Reformatory.

Melissa’s term at the Reformatory was set for one year, and more than half a year still remained.

“I’ll find a way. Trust me,” Leon said earnestly. “It’s the only way for you to live together with Melissa again.”

Sally looked back into his eyes and, after a moment, smiled helplessly. “All right.”

Leon returned the smile. After a brief hesitation, Sally tentatively asked, “Mr. Leon, during this time… have you gone to the Reformatory to see Melissa?”