Chapter 9 – You’re a little bit too much today! (2)
The next day it rained heavily. While some may consider this as a blessing, others may not. Lucky for me, it seems like the weather is in my favor, as this was a great opportunity to secretly visit Ricdorian. As a matter of fact, I went to the Prison’s Head Office and met Lenag Tuge Valtege.
I wanted to have a talk with him in regards to the current situation of Ricdorian, pretending to be a person of good soul, and persuade him to give Ricdorian the same freedom that other prisoners have… even asking him to let Ricdorian take some walk sometimes. And to my surprise, Lenag agreed immediately.
Furthermore, I didn’t expect him to know who Iana really was. And, it’s not only her that he knows but also her father and her older brother who even asked him to grant any of my requests.
I know two villains when I read this novel, and Lenag is definitely one of them. He is a 19 year old, cold-hearted person, who tortures and punishes prisoners whom he doesn’t like. What more to those people who get on his bad side? The combination of Chaser Rube Domulit and Lenag Tuge Valtege would definitely make the world around them suffer from cruelty and coldness. I shivered at that thought.
I thought I would never see him in this novel, but I didn’t know we’d run into each other that way.
By the way, what kind of people are Iana’s older brother and father? After making him accept my requests, does that make them kind? Do they care?
I wondered about it for a while, but then, after this imprisonment, I will probably get to know them soon.
“Once I will be released, I’ll find out.”
In fact, the Chief guard said that my crime was light, which means that I would leave this place soon. That’s why for my remaining time here, I will have to see the male protagonist from time to time.
I know Lenag had a temper, but he was so calm when I approached him.
Is this what you call the golden parachute?
The monetary power of Iana’s family is so compelling. I should say ‘thank you’ to them after I got out of here.
But… no, I came here on behalf of the crimes they committed.
Ugh, I don’t know what to think anymore!
It’s so hard to grasp such things. Anyway, thanks to them, I was able to live freely inside this prison. So I have no ill feeling, at all.
“How are you?”
“Haven’t seen you for two days. How’s life?”
I came to the room, bringing with me a small box for Hans as a trade for my visitation, smiling at him then talked casually.
“Are you going inside the cell today?” He asked, while opening the small box I handed over him.
“What’s new?” I have always come here ever since I saw Ricdorian. It almost became my habit seeing him. Everything was thanks to Hans, though. I even got somewhat closer to the wild Ricdorian.
Of course, since he always did me great favors, a physical reward is a must. He even said, he has never met someone like me before, so I think the most satisfying thing that Hans could ever receive are cigarettes.
“Ah, Iana. Today is a little dangerous, so be careful.”
“Dangerous? Why?”
“Oh, it’s no big deal, but today the floor is slippery, so be careful on your steps. On rainy days, the floor is a bit damp because of the leaks.”
“Didn’t you build this building to be sturdy and strong?”
“Yes, but the basement is built underground so leaks are possible.” Hans scratched the back of his head, showing an uncertain expression.
“Oh, and sometimes the prisoner screams, maybe because the basement is colder. Also, be aware… the underground cell is very cold.”
Standing outside, I heard him scream and saw bugs crawling anywhere. Such a number of bugs I had never seen before. It is really true that no matter how well you construct a building, a prison will always be just a place for the confinement of prisoners. Nothing else, nothing more.
If I was given the freedom, I would definitely give him a good room to stay here in the prison. It could have been better. I’ve seen some humps in every cell, but the place where this felon stays is worse, with rats and bugs crawling everywhere.
I shrugged my shoulders. I think it’s a little chilly today, so I put on a shawl, wrapping myself like a Burrito to stay warm.
“Thanks for your concern.” I said, in reply to his warning earlier. It is always best to stay healthy and strong in times like this.
Soon, I left Hans and opened the bars. One’s advantage!
The bars were originally rusty, so it made a louder noise today and as I walked inside, a mossy smell pierced my nose. This tingling smell is much worse than usual.
Is it because of the rain? As soon as I took a step forward, my feet were wet.
“There are puddles in here!?”
There’s too much water on the floor as if it is flooding in here. At that moment, a small water droplet touched my cheek and when I looked up, I found that water was dripping from the ceiling.
“If anyone sees this, they’ll probably think that it’s raining inside this cell.”
Somehow, it became very humid. It was as if the waters gathered and accumulated on the floor. This is bad, the floor is very dirty and bugs are crawling. Could this be any worse?
Tap, tap, tap.
Even though it was underground, I could hear the sound of the rain clearly from the ceiling. I raised the lamp from the floor, with a frown, saw Ricdorian’s face, and started walking towards him.
My leather shoes were heavy and my trousers were wet, but it didn’t stop me. Seeing the boy in front of me, soaking wet, I just couldn’t stop.
“Grrrrrr!” He’s grunting at me, glaring with anger.
It seemed that his rational side, which I wanted to see the most, was asleep as of the moment.
“Aren’t you cold?” I asked, trying to sit down the usual way, but later chose to squat. Soon, his blue eyes wailed.
“Grrr! Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!”
“You can’t tell if you’re okay or not.” The chains made a noise as he moved. He was unusually rough today. I moved my ass a little as it seemed uncomfortable squatting.
“I would like to ask you what’s bothering you, but I think it’s too much to ask you to speak in human language…”
“Ruff! Ruff! Grrr… All the time!”
“Shhh. Good boy. It’s raining, so it’s ringing more.”
“Ruff!”
…he made a lot of dog noises today. Everytime I ask him a question, he answers me with ‘Ruff’ and ‘Grrr’. Seems like there will be no proper conversation this time, so I just decided to leave.
I opened the shawl wrapped it around my shoulder, tried to reach him but hesitated a bit…. What if he’s gonna bite me?
His barking is louder than usual and I could see, at a glance, how vigilant he is when I tried to reach him, as if it what I was doing was big deal. I wanted him to get used to it, but seeing his furious face each time I attempted to, I guess it was so inconceivable.
But something’s really making him uncomfortable today. What’s the reason for this? Is it because he hates water and he feels like it’s stinging him?
Before I came into this novel, I read that Ricdorian has an aquaphobia. He was especially afraid of water. So I think that must be it.
<A person like you is a disgrace to the entire family.>
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