CHAPTER 33: CAELUM’S GUEST

A few days after the trial, Selene was calm as she seemed to know what her sentence would be. She was certain that it would be the death penalty, but Caelum said that it was still uncertain.

Even so, she was too calm for someone who might get the death penalty.

"I don’t have any regrets, I don’t have anyone around me. So why would I be afraid of the death penalty?" she asked.

But of course, Caelum didn’t want to hear that and told Selene to keep quiet. It was as if the man did not want to hear the words death sentence paired with his woman.

Until one afternoon, when people were busy in the field after lunch. Selene went to the Chief Warden’s office because she had something to talk about.

The prison guards seemed to let Selene pass by unattended in the hallway. It was common knowledge that she was the woman of their chief.

So no one dared to reprimand her, let alone scold her when they met her. They seemed to understand that if they did so, they would like committing suicide.

"Do you want to go to Chief Rothwell’s office?" asked one of the guards who met her in the hallway.

"Yes, he’s in his office, right?"

The warden nodded his head, but said that Caelum had a visitor from outside who wanted to see him.

"A visitor? Who is it?" asked a curious Selene.

The warden said he didn’t know, but he was sure the guest was someone important. Caelum had ordered that no guards should walk around his office. It was as if he didn’t want to be disturbed.

Selene nodded in understanding and continued on her way to the man’s office.

She had only walked a few steps when suddenly a man shouted at her to stop.

"Stop right there! What are you doing in a hallway like this alone, when the other prisoners are out in the field?!" the man asked firmly and also loudly holding Selene back.

Before she could react, the man immediately caught both of Selene’s hands and pushed the woman’s body against the wall. Her hands were right behind her back while her face was pressed against the wall quite firmly.

’He’s so fast!’ Selene thought.

She had a little trouble moving to get away, as the grip on her body and her hands was quite strong. If only there was some distance between her and the wall in front of her, Selene might still be able to fight back.

The man then approached her ear from behind and whispered. "Are you trying to escape from this place? Too bad it won’t be possible, you can’t even escape from me."

From such a close distance, she could feel his breath on her neck as well as her ear. It felt so warm when the breath hit her skin.

"Hmn... You’re jumping to conclusions by saying that. And again... I’ve never seen you around here before. Are you the new warden?" asked Selene who was still acting calm.

He felt confused and also somewhat surprised at the calmness Selene showed. It was unusual for a prisoner who was caught red-handed to still be that calm, usually they looked very panicked.

The man forcefully pulled Selene with him to Caelum’s office.

Knock knock

He knocked on the door and Caelum let him in. "You won’t believe what I just found in your prison hallway."

At first Caelum was preoccupied with something on his desk, until he lifted his head and saw Selene in the arms of a strange man.

The man even kicked Selene’s leg, causing her to fall to her knees. Caelum stood up from his seat and in one fell swoop, he knocked the man away from Selene.

"Ukh... What?? Did you have to hit me like that? I was just trying to help catch a prisoner who was trying to escape!" he said.

"And you made the mistake of doing that," said Caelum, helping Selene up from her knees.

"Huft... He’s pretty strong too. Is he the new warden here?" asked Selene as she rubbed her wrist.

Caelum didn’t answer, instead he led Selene to sit on his chair. The man who had arrested her earlier was confused as to why Caelum would let a prisoner sit in his chair.

"Caelum, you’re not wrong about that? I mean she..."

"It’s none of your business. Why did you come to see me anyway?" asked Caelum, cutting the man off as he leaned back against his desk, his arms folded across his chest.

"Is it wrong for me to come to see my brother?" the man asked.

’Brother?’ Selene asked in her heart. ’So he’s Caelum’s younger brother? Hmn... No wonder he’s so strong. It’s obvious they’re brothers.

"This is a prison, Cyrus. Not a place to visit or anything like that. You’d better go home," Caelum replied coldly.

She watched their conversation, and realized that Caelum didn’t like his own younger brother, Cyrus, very much.

He was cold to him, even though he was cold to everyone every day. But with Cyrus it was completely different.

It was like there was something he was trying to cover up and hold inside himself because Selene was there. She also remembered Ronald’s words about the incident five years ago when Caelum and Cyrus’ parents died.

During the conversation, Cyrus’ eyes occasionally fell on Selene who was sitting right behind his older brother. He seemed to be still questioning why she was allowed to be there and even sat in the Chief Warden’s chair.

"The point is that you don’t need to come here anymore and you can go back to the Mansion now. If you have anything you want to talk about, you can send me a message or call me," Caelum said firmly.

Cyrus could only surrender to his firm words. It seemed like he wanted to mend their brotherly relationship because each other was all they had at the moment.

"You never change, Caelum. Sometimes I wonder. What made you become like this?" he asked with a sigh. But Caelum didn’t seem to want to answer that question.

Before leaving, Cyrus remembered that he had another reason to come to the prison, to meet someone.

"I heard that the Siren of Justice is being held in this place. I wonder, what is she like? Can I meet her? It doesn’t matter if it’s just for five minutes," he said.

Now it was Caelum who sighed, his eyes closed softly and he opened them again.

"You’re looking at her right now."