All the guards participated in that work. The evil practices wouldn’t change just because a few people who made up that place changed.

Should she tell Rihanel that fact again? Janet moved her lips.

However, Rihanel already knew that fact.

“I know. That it’s not something that can be solved by just beating up that b*stard. Then we just need to beat up everyone within the range where we can solve the problem.”

Everyone? Janet stopped walking.

And she stared at Rihanel intently.

Until now, she had naturally thought it impossible to report Adif’s affairs.

No matter how much she cried out injustice from outside, she was certain there would be no one to listen to those words seriously.

Rather, if talk leaked outside, it would only increase the suffering of those inside. They would be harmed under the pretext of collective responsibility, and the level of violence would increase.

Those were things she had actually experienced, so it was natural for everyone to keep their mouths shut. She thought raising problems was impossible from the start.

Unless they were going to change all the guards at Adif.

Unless they were going to eliminate that huge prison filled with cold air itself.

All of that entirely……

Some possibility raised its head in her mind. Soaked in helplessness that she couldn’t do anything, it was something she had never imagined until now.

As if telling her to break it apart, Rihanel spoke again.

“I know what you’re worried about. So…… we need to pull it out by the roots entirely. Don’t suffer anymore. Break free from the shackles, Janet.”

“……”

Janet blankly thought about the meaning contained in his words.

There were times when talking about Rihanel and Adif just seemed uncomfortable.

It was during times when she resigned herself that nothing could be changed and resigned again.

But now was different.

Some heat stirred her heart.

Strange optimism tickled her chest.

Her heart beat a little faster.

When Janet didn’t answer, Rihanel lowered his head to meet her eyes.

“If you hate it, I won’t do this either.”

“I……”

She didn’t hate it.

There was no way she could hate it.

She was just buried in terribly painful memories and lacked the courage to break free from those shackles. She didn’t even know that courage was needed.

However, the moment he said Adif’s roots needed to be pulled out, she knew.

That in fact, she wanted that more than anyone.

Eventually Janet opened her mouth. A trembling voice came out from within, but a voice full of conviction.

“I want Adif to disappear, so that the people there no longer suffer.”

She wanted to change everything using the painful memories as driving force.

With this man before her eyes, it seemed like she could do that.

***

“Uh, Warden. A visitor has come, shall I let them in?”

One guard spoke to Agel, who was sitting in the warden’s office chair reading a newspaper with a serious expression. Agel asked with furrowed brows.

“Who is it?”

“Well, it’s Janet Wilton. The former Mrs. Reynes.”

“……!”

He folded the newspaper with a snap.

Janet Wilton came? Whatever her business might be, it was certainly related to the duke who had been imprisoned here.

“Tell her to come in.”

This worked out well. He had been on edge because of those two lately anyway. It was somewhat welcome that there were rumors the duke was dying, but the article he was reading now said he had passed the crisis and returned to the capital.

He felt he needed to warn her again to feel at ease.

Not long after, the sound of knocking on the door was heard. Agel, who had been waiting for her in front of the door, opened it with an annoyed face.

“……!”

But she wasn’t alone. A tall man like a pole was standing behind her. It was Duke Rihanel Reynes.

He was supposed to be dying, but that wasn’t the case at all. Rather, he even felt an instinctive threat from the atmosphere the man gave off.

“……Please come in.”

At Agel’s words, the two people entered inside. Agel tried to guide them to the sofa inside, but Janet quietly shook her head while standing by the door.

“I’ll just state my business and leave.”

“Business?”

“Tell everyone what kinds of things were done at Adif Prison. I came to say this.”

Agel’s expression crumpled sharply.

What the h*ll was this woman babbling about?

“What kind of nonsense……”

Agel, who was snorting in disbelief, glanced at Rihanel and shrugged his shoulders. Then he spoke with an expression of not understanding.

“I don’t understand at all, Madam.”

“Merciless verbal and physical ab*se, fraud, embezzlement, inciting ass*ult……”

“Wait, wait a moment.”

“Should I say more?”

“No, why are you suddenly doing this……”

“It’s not sudden. It’s something I’ve been thinking about all along.”

“……Hah.”

A deflating sound came from Agel’s mouth.

There had been women at Adif who spouted nonsense about reporting or revealing the truth. Then he would always scold them for making insolent provocations.

He wasn’t scared at all. No matter how hard a bug bit with all its might, it was just a bug.

However, now somehow…… the feeling was different. He had a bad premonition.

The woman before his eyes continued speaking resolutely.

“You reveal everything. If you confess, your sins will be reduced even a little. But if not, I’m prepared to reveal the truth with my own mouth.”

It was an even more confident attitude than when she came here last time and ruined his affairs.

The anxiety rapidly rising now seemed to be because of that. Because he knew she wasn’t simply giving a verbal warning now.

Just like when she made Rihanel Reynes innocent, this time too she would definitely bite onto Adif tenaciously.

Agel wanted to kill Janet right away. That woman who couldn’t even resist his single word and did as told was now daring to threaten him—it was maddening. Rather than let her reveal the truth, it would be better to kill her……

“Relax your expression. You look like you’re going to kill someone.”

Then Rihanel, who had been behind Janet, chuckled and spoke. However, only his eyes were coldly sunken.

“You didn’t really think that, did you?”

“……No.”

The man behind was watching this entire situation clearly. If he killed her, it would be too obvious that it was his doing.

But he didn’t have the confidence to handle k*lling the duke too. He didn’t have that much audacity.

Agel ground his teeth inwardly. However, outwardly he tried to smile as calmly and kindly as possible. He spoke to her as if worried instead.

“You know, Madam. If you do this, what will the people inside think?”

This was a method classically used at Adif and one that worked without fail. It was a method perfectly suited for those fools who were intoxicated by the disgusting thought of protecting each other and couldn’t even open their mouths.

However, Janet opened her mouth while looking straight at Agel.

“What should I do? My desire for revenge against you has grown so much that such things no longer concern me.”

“……!”

A sharp light flashed in her two eyes. Janet continued speaking just like that.

“I’ll go to the end. It doesn’t matter whether you confess or not. I can just say everything myself.”

Her voice, which had a little more strength than usual, made Agel even more afraid. Faced with the fear that everything he had built might collapse, he was placed at a crossroads of choice.

Agel bit the inside of his lips, not knowing what to answer. He needed to judge carefully, but it was difficult to organize his thoughts.

However, Janet spoke indifferently as if she had no intention of hearing an answer now.

“I’ll be going.”

It was ominous that she showed no attitude of trying to negotiate. It was truly a matter of figuring it out himself. Agel’s anxiety amplified, and regardless, Janet and Rihanel disappeared outside the door.

Bang, the door closed.

Along with the closed door, Agel’s worries began.

***

Outside the detention center, Janet, who had seemed fine just moments ago, staggered as strength left her legs.

Rihanel caught her as she was about to sit down on the spot. Relying on his solid arm, Janet straightened her posture.

“You worked hard.”

At his words, Janet slowly nodded her head.

She had come out after stating her desires straightforwardly to the extent that it could be called one-sided in front of Agel.

Without lowering her head.

Without trembling in fear and letting out suppressed screams.

Last time, even if she was half-crazy with the single-minded determination to get Rihanel back, this time wasn’t like that.

Even when Agel looked at her as if he would kill her, she was strangely unafraid. She thought, was he such a small-looking person?

“You were tremendously scared when you said you were burning with desire for revenge. Didn’t he draw a map in his pants or something?”

Rihanel gestured toward the detention center and spoke. At his playful tone, a smile naturally appeared on Janet’s face.

“I didn’t say I was burning with it.”

“I thought you’d point out the part about drawing a map.”

“That’s a possibility, after all.”

Rihanel laughed out loud, “Haha.” He embraced Janet’s shoulders and whispered affectionately.

“You were cool.”

“……Thank you.”

“You worked hard saying things you didn’t even mean.”

“Thank you for understanding that too.”

Saying she didn’t care about the people remaining in Adif was a lie. It was rather the opposite.

To minimize the impact on the women in Adif, Janet wanted to use Agel’s mouth rather than expose it herself.