I slowly opened my eyes in the solitary cell.
A plush sensation and a faint rose scent.
The place where I awoke was the saintess's bed.
Clutching my heavy head, I slowly sat up.
Anje was quietly perched on the edge of the bed.
"You didn't cast any brainwashing on me, huh. Must mean you quite liked what you saw of my life story?"
"Not at all. You were just the worthless scion of a corrupt house."
Was it because she'd peeked into my memories of who I used to be?
Her tone felt even colder than before.
The debauched life from my delinquent days was from before I possessed this body, so there was nothing to be done about it.
Still, she must have properly grasped my good intentions to reform this place.
That's why I could open my eyes with a clear mind like this.
"By the way... do you happen to handle a sword at all?"
"A sword? Why do you ask?"
I tilted my head, and she casually ran her fingers through her silver hair as if it were no big deal.
"In your memories, you hardly ever wielded one, but you look pretty strong right now."
"I've never really been trained in it. In my family, I was the discarded child, after all."
She'd already read Derek's memories, so I answered honestly.
I couldn't reveal that in my previous life, I was the knight commander who killed her.
"Then it must be innate."
The saintess nodded impassively.
Her fingers still idly toyed with the hair at her temple.
"Well, alright. I can figure out what kind of person you are from here on out."
"You saw all my memories already. What else are you curious about?"
Even after peeking into my memories, she didn't fully trust me yet.
This was exactly the time to emphasize my ambitions.
"As for my future actions, I'll prove them from now on. So start cooperating a little."
"Cooperate... you mean releasing your guards?"
The saintess crossed her arms alone, asking back with an indifferent expression.
"Yeah. I'll atone for my subordinates' crimes somehow."
"Why are you so fixated on those worthless guards?"
If I touched a nerve, my hard-won life could slip away in an instant.
Even so, I spoke boldly.
"Tormenting just them like this forever will only shorten your own life."
Anje lightly bit her red lips.
She averted her gaze and muttered softly.
"...Talking about my life again."
"Of course. You're the most important person here."
You need to stay alive and well for this damned world to function properly.
I spoke as if soothing a massively sulking giant cat.
"If something happens to you, I'll be in real trouble too."
Anje fell silent at my earnest voice.
Under the dim lighting, deep shadows draped her face.
The solitary cell had gone completely quiet.
In the soundproof chamber, only the saintess and I remained.
"Really?"
Her red eyes curved into a domineering crescent smile.
That bewitching aura momentarily overwhelmed me.
"Even if I get taken out by an assassin?"
I hesitated at her serious question.
Had she peeked into my previous life's memories too?
No, if so, she'd have killed me in rage.
She was probably referring to the Holy See's minions pressuring and manipulating her.
"Of course. The only one who can punish you is me, the warden."
"I see. You're quite the responsible one."
Anje slowly rose from her seat.
With hands behind her back, she glanced at me and gave a merciful smile.
For that moment, she truly looked the part of a saintess.
"Fine. I like that."
The saintess extended both hands and slowly closed her eyes.
Powerful magic rapidly spread beyond the solitary cell.
"The hallucination spells on them are all lifted now. They've come back to their senses."
She agreed more easily than expected.
Well, with the warden on her side, opposing the Holy See would be easier, so she was seizing the opportunity.
"But don't trust them too much. Not everyone will move the way you want."
"I'll keep that in mind."
I got up from the bed.
Before leaving the solitary cell, I picked up the apple from the floor.
"I'll bring your meals for a while. Don't skip any until our next meeting."
I blew on it and wiped the peel with my sleeve.
Gently placing the ripe apple in her hand.
"Got it?"
"Yeah. Looking forward to it."
As I turned and walked out, I felt a hot gaze on my back.
But whenever I looked back, the saintess coldly ignored me.
How strong was she even back then to exude this kind of presence?
I squeezed my eyes shut and leisurely left the solitary cell.
Thud―――.
"Haa..."
I returned to the musty corridor.
Surprisingly, Clea Rockhart had come to greet me personally.
"You made it out safely. Or not? Your eyes still look sinister."
"You seem to hope I didn't."
"As if. I just can't believe you actually pulled it off."
"I told you, I'm pretty capable."
I clasped my hands behind my back leisurely and took the lead.
The vice warden followed, scrutinizing my demeanor.
"You didn't threaten the saintess with something weird, did you? Like using your family's influence."
Clea picked at a strand of white hair clinging to my back as she asked.
We'd barely touched, yet quite a bit had stuck without me noticing.
"I'm the discarded son in my family. How could I threaten her with that?"
"Then how did you convince her?"
"I let her peek into my memories willingly. She saw my sincerity in running the prison honestly and released everyone."
"Hard to believe. You don't look the type at all."
We returned to the office.
The guards, freed from the magic, waited with overwhelmed expressions.
"All rise."
The vice warden commanded in a voice befitting the prison's number two.
The emotional guards stood and gazed at their new warden with teary eyes.
"You're all late on greetings. Feeling better now?"
Just days ago, they'd been dazed, guarding the entrance like zombies.
Now freed from pain, they saluted in unison with clear eyes.
"Yes, the ringing in my ears is completely gone."
"Me too! That hellish screaming finally stopped...!!"
They truly seemed skilled, like veteran knights with battlefield experience.
The guard captain, who appeared to be their representative, asked me joyfully.
"But how on earth did you convince the saintess? It's unbelievable."
"Luckily, her 'beliefs' aligned perfectly with mine. I'll keep handling her, so don't worry."
The black-haired guard captain nodded slowly.
His eyes tense for some reason.
The guards knew my family's infamous reputation well.
So, first priority was to win them over properly.
"For now, I'll handle all prisoner meals and visits personally. Focus on recovering until then."
"A-Are you sure...?"
The guard captain asked on their behalf.
I replied with a serious gaze.
"The dirtiest jobs are always for the boss to take first."
I extended my hand for a shake first.
Relieved at not handling the disaster-level prisoners for a while, the subordinates gladly accepted.
"Looking forward to working with you. New Warden Derek Minster."
"We'll do our best too."
I shook hands with the guards one by one.
Then naturally, it was Clea's turn.
"Should I shake too?"
"Yeah. You'll be the one I rely on most from now on."
I gave a faint smile.
Like in my past life as Imperial Prime Minister, commanding countless talents.
"I know you don't trust me yet. I must seem unreliable in every way."
"..."
"So I'll keep proving myself through actions until trust builds."
"Not surprising from a young master's son. You sure talk well."
Clea adjusted her tie as if soothing bored hands.
Then reluctantly clasped my hand.
"Well, you're still better than any past warden. Give me your next order, and I'll follow."
Next order.
Suddenly, the saintess's meaningful words came to mind.
'Don't trust the guards too much.'
"We need to send the hallucination-plagued prisoners home for now."
A red sunset glowed outside the window.
I glanced there and narrowed my eyes thinly.
"If you want, go home today. Report in tomorrow morning."
"Is that really okay?"
The guard captain who'd pledged loyalty first asked back.
The others looked excited at the rare vacation.
"Yeah. The vice warden and I will take duty tonight."
"I'm clocking out, though."
The guards immediately bowed in thanks to the vice warden.
Before she could refuse, she'd been volunteered. She wore her usual sullen blank expression.
Eventually, she went down to brew coffee, seeing them off.
"..."
She watched the departing figures, then returned to the office.
Tonight, she planned to pester her boss all night for revenge.
"Coffee's here."
I turned with a blank look, and Clea said cynically.
"Didn't spit in it. Though I did pour it into a dusty cup."
"That's not it. Come here for a sec."
The on-duty vice warden undid her ponytail.
She lightly arranged her radiant blue hair and approached the window.
"Those guards who just left. They all live nearby?"
"Yes. All within five minutes from the prison."
"Even someone as cool-headed as you would head straight home after a long-overdue day off, right?"
"If they have family, that's normal. Family's what you miss most in tough times."
Clea answered with a deadpan expression.
"Exactly. So heading out of the village instead of home today would look awfully suspicious."
The vice warden paused mid-stir at my pointed words.
"No way..."
"Right. The one rushing back to its master the moment it snaps out of it—that's the Holy See's spy."
At the mention of the Holy See, Clea's eyes sharpened again.
"If anyone heads out of the village tonight, I'll report it."
"Thanks. Appreciate it."
I sipped coffee while quietly gazing at the sunset sky.
A white crow perched on a nearby tree admired the view alongside me.
'If there's definitely a spy among the guards, I'll become their target too.'
With my infamous family suspected of stealing the saintess, it was obvious.
They'd pressure me through connections in the higher-ups.
I pondered how to deal with the spy as I headed back.
The white crow watching silently spread its wings and returned to its territory.
Through a crack in the prison wall connected to the underground solitary cell.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
That night.
The village was filled with sounds of families welcoming fathers home after so long.
The guards enjoyed their wives' warm meals and sweet sleep.
But.
Not everyone went straight home.
"Hoo..."
The guard captain, who'd thanked me first among the subordinates.
Pulling his hood low to hide his face, he set out alone.
Moving with practiced steps familiar to night travel, he crossed the mountain.
'Damn it, of all things, the Minster family joining hands with the saintess...!!'
Breathing white puffs, he headed to the nearest Holy See outpost.
Reporting that the family infamous for contract killings and loan sharking had convinced the saintess.
'He's recruiting prisoners. I have to inform the superiors somehow...!!'
But he had to stop abruptly.
He'd been sensing someone following him for a while.
"Who's there!"
The veteran knight drew his sword.
Having chosen betrayal for wealth, he scanned his surroundings with fierce eyes.
At that moment.
"After I went to the trouble of forgiving you, you're off to commit more evil?"
A familiar voice echoed through the entire forest.
The voice of the woman who'd tormented him until now.
"Looks like you're not worth keeping alive after all."
"S-Saintess...?"
He'd thought he was far from her domain.
His lips trembled at the reach of this great disaster even into this distant forest.
"After His Holiness the Pope cared for you all this time, you're betraying him?! Show yourself!"
"You think you cared for me?"
With Anje's pointed words, an eerie wind rustled through the forest.
The guard frantically rolled his eyes following the sound.
But he soon realized he didn't need to search desperately.
"Wh-What is this..."
Dozens of crows perched on branches.
Wolves and bears lurking behind trees.
All glaring at their prey with the saintess's red eyes.
"What's wrong? These are the beasts you crammed into our cage with me."
The saintess in a red dress sat on her solitary cell bed.
She leisurely watched the guard's reflection in the beasts' eyes.
"Didn't you let them tear and slash my flesh until my brainwashing succeeded?"
With a chilling smile, she lightly traced the air.
Following her gesture, the beasts' shadows engulfed the Holy See spy.
"Aaaagh...!!"
Anje covered her ears at the noisy screams.
Only after a few seconds did she gently lower her hands.
"Now that the Prophet's reincarnation has appeared, you lot have no value left."
The white-haired woman slowly picked up the apple on the bed.
She gently licked the plump flesh the man had breathed on and wiped clean.
"Once that child is mine, creating a new world will be child's play."
The saintess's magic, thought weak before her transformation into a disaster.
Red threads of light spread everywhere.
Not just her following beasts, but continent-level monsters already brainwashed.
All began monitoring the paths to Berryhill Prison.
"Only the saintess can have the Prophet."
The rose-like woman grinned with red lips she'd never shown before.
Uncharacteristically sinister for one bearing the title of saintess.
In her previous life, the Holy See's brainwashing had made her a puppet of the faith.
This time, she was awakening with perfect free will.
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