In the name of the true god

November 2, 448 (Friday), 1:00 AM.

Jude arrived at the administration building and knocked on Connor's office door.

"Enter."

"throat."

He pushed open the door and entered, only to find his "brother and sister-in-law," Steele, there as well: "Brother, Mr. Steele."

The atmosphere in the office was a bit strange.

Connor and Steele sat facing each other on the sofa in the reception area, both looking somewhat solemn.

"Aren't you on duty?" Connor asked, looking up.

"Warden Melanie asked me to pass on a message..." Jude truthfully reported the latest developments in the prison break.

Steele looked utterly shocked: "The Church was behind this all along?!"

"Go back and tell her you can't help." Connor, as if he already knew, coldly rejected Melanie's request.

Jude didn't obediently retreat; instead, he asked directly, "Warden Melanie also told me that the Fernando family wants Mr. Steele to marry someone else. Is that true?"

"This is none of your business. Go back to your post." Connor gestured for Jude to leave for the second time.

Jude looked at Steele.

Steele sighed and turned his head toward the window.

Clearly, this is true.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Jude genuinely wanted to share the burden with Connor and Steele.

"I told you, this has nothing to do with you." Connor's attitude was cold, his tone harsher. "Get out!"

"Jude, you can go out now," Steele forced a smile. "We'll talk to you after we've dealt with this."

Seeing that neither Connor nor Steele had any intention of sharing their troubles with him, Jude nodded slightly and could only leave.

"How did it go?" Melanie followed them all the way to the top floor corridor of the administration building, eager to know the result.

"He refused," Jude replied briefly, then walked past Melanie and returned to the watchtower of the prison's 'inner ring'.

The poet Anders was engrossed in reading the poetry collection, assuming that Jude had genuinely gone to the restroom.

Jude leaned against the railing and let out a heavy sigh.

Iconnor's attitude was enough to completely rule out the possibility of him being tested.

Even they are both looking worried, so it seems there's no way to resolve this matter in a way that satisfies both sides.

Is there anything I can do to help?

Jude tried to use the law of contact to question—

Who is the person who married Steele Fernando, the deputy warden of the Royal Capital Heavy Prison?

Who is the person who married Steele Fernando, the deputy warden of the Royal Capital Heavy Prison?

Who is the person who married Steele Fernando, the deputy warden of the Royal Capital Heavy Prison?

The answer is: a member of the Merrick family.

The Merrick family...

Jude thought back and confirmed that he had no recollection of this family.

"Anders," he said, looking at Anders, "Do you know the Merrick family?"

"The Merrick family?" Anders put down his poetry collection. "Yes, yes, yes, I think I've heard of them."

Tell me about it.

"There was a company that made phonographs, called Merrick."

"Anything else?"

"N-no, I don't know."

After finishing his shift, Jude specifically sought out Colin, the "vain guy" who knew everything about the capital, big and small, for advice.

Colin really knows a lot—

The Merrick family was active in Tzvod, a city adjacent to the royal capital, and held a place in the phonograph and record industry.

Of course, in terms of wealth and influence, they are far from comparable to the Fernando family.

The fact that Steele was still able to be assigned to the capital's heavy prison as deputy warden despite defying the family's wishes demonstrates the Fernando family's extremely deep foundation.

So why did they suddenly arrange for Steele to marry into a family of such low social standing?

Is the intention to further leverage Steele's value?

I still feel that if Steele stays in the capital, it will bring continuous shame to the family. It would be better to arrange for him to be far away, out of sight and out of mind.

and also.

Haven't the Merrick family heard about Steele?

Are they willing to let their children be with Steele?

These events had only a very weak causal connection with Jude, and even after he questioned them twice using the law of contact, he still could not get an answer.

Ok……

Having reunited with her brother Connor for so long, she had never asked him about his relationship with Steele...

The situation is definitely much more complicated than I imagined...

Just when Jude thought he had no ability or opportunity to intervene, Steele unexpectedly came to the prison gate to wait for him after get off work: "Jude."

"Mr. Steele? You..."

"Shall we go to your place and talk?" Steele asked Jude for his opinion.

Jude looked around but didn't see Connor. "My brother..."

"He has to interrogate those newly arrested heretics in the special ward, so I deliberately avoided him and came here specifically to find you," Steele said.

"Okay." Jude was more than happy to agree. "Then you can ride in my car."

"Um."

Jude drove Steele back to the Hearthstone Street apartment.

"So cute..." Steele looked at the little golden retriever and Siamese cat in her home, squatted down affectionately, and gently stroked their heads. "Connor told me you have two pets, how do you like them?"

"That's good." Jude couldn't help but steer the conversation to the main topic, "Mr. Steele, about the marriage..."

"Sigh..." Steele's smile faded, and she walked to the sofa in the living room and sat down. "I came to see you about this."

Jude poured two glasses of water and sat down to listen attentively.

Steele sighed repeatedly, "You should know that the family absolutely cannot accept what happened between Connor and me. At first, I was adamant, even threatening suicide, before the family relented. But in the last two years, their patience with me has almost reached its limit..."

"So they've arranged a marriage for you?"

"To be precise, the family gave me two choices. Either I obediently followed their arrangements and married someone, or I left the capital, going as far away as possible, and had nothing to do with them anymore," Steele explained. "They brought up the marriage proposal repeatedly over the past few months, but I refused each time. I thought I could just go live somewhere else with Connor. But Connor... he insisted on staying and working at the prison, and even suggested I accept the family's arrangement..."

Why?

"I don't know. I only got this deputy warden position because he wanted to work in the prison, and I asked my family to help me get it done." Steele was deeply troubled.

Was it Connor's idea to come work at the prison?

Jude assumed that Steele had been assigned there first, and that Connor was brought in to work with him.

This is truly perplexing...

Since they love each other, wouldn't it be the best choice for them to take the huge sum of money from their families and elope?

Why insist on working in the capital's heavy prison despite the pressure from your family?

Judging from his childhood memories, Connor didn't seem particularly interested in managing prisoners. In contrast, he appeared to have a strong interest in painting.

So what was his purpose in abandoning his hobbies and advocating for work at the Royal Capital Heavy Prison?