The officer said, “Since you’ve already been reported for murder, there’s no need for any verification or interrogation. We can sentence you to deany i away. Even if you feel wronged, it doesn’t matter.”
He added, “People like you don’t even deserve to be in Forreb, let alone enjoy the basic rights of Forrebian citizens. You brought this on yourself by sneaking in out of greed. This is the path to your destruction.”
The patrol officer looked down from above with disdain, treating Raven like she was no more than a worthless insect.
In their eyes, Forrebians were inherently superior, and anyone who wasn’t a Forreb citizen was “lowborn” and had no human rights at all.
To them, it was pointless to waste resources investigating the truth of any incident. They didn’t care whether a lowborn lived or died. Even their superiors wouldn’t bother to look into it. Raven could die, and no one would raise a question.
After mocking her, the officers turned and locked the solitary cell door, then walked away.
Raven watched their backs disappear with an emotionless expression, a flash of menace flickering in her eyes.
She hadn’t expected that even a country like Forreb, known for its strict judicial system, would harbor this kind of rot. Or maybe it was because her previous status and position had always shielded her from this kind of systemic prejudice and injustice.
Now it seemed that certain high–ranking officials needed to be thoroughly cleaned out.
2
After the officers left, silence returned to the confinement cell. Only then did Raven turn to observe the young man sitting quietly in the corner.
His head was bowed slightly, face was grimy and hard to make out. But the pale skin visible on his exposed arms suggested he had once lived in decent conditions.
The youth had been resting with his eyes closed, but he seemed to sense Raven’s gaze and reluctantly opened them.
He said, “You tried reasoning with them too? Once you’re locked in here, there’s no escape.”
He let out a dry laugh and lifted the corners of his lips into a mocking smile toward Raven.
The youth sighed. “The life of a lowborn is the cheapest currency there is.”
He added, “The walls of this solitary cell are made of special materials. There’s no way to contact the outside, and you can forget about escaping. Even if by some miracle you made it out of here, you’d be captured again by patrol officers, and your fate would be even worse.”
Raven narrowed her eyes slightly as she studied the man in the corner. For some reason, despite his filthy and ragged appearance, there was something off about him. He had a certain mismatch in temperament.
She had never seen him before, and yet he gave off a strangely familiar aura.
She asked, “So… no one ever leaves this place once they’re thrown in?”
“There are exceptions.” The young man rubbed his chin thoughtfully and grinned.
He said, “Unless you’re someone important in Forreb, like a member of one of the four great families, or a prized student of the ruling Brown family.”
He added, “But you? You just look like an ordinary lowborn with no background or connections. I’d say your chances of getting out alive are slim to Lady, since it’s fate that we met in here, let me give you a piece of advice.”
Though he seemed about the same age as Raven, he spoke with an oddly world–weary tone. “Don’t bother resisting. Just accept it. Who knows? Maybe you’ll be born into a wealthy family in your hext life.”
