Chapter 210. Where Is She Now? (2)

Translator: Lili

Weekly Chapter 1/7

The officer placed the receiver down, and Shushu’s chest tightened.

The idea that she might finally speak to Mini Cat again made her heart ache.

‘What time would Mini Cat prefer?’

Shushu wondered. Knowing her, she might hang up after just ten minutes, annoyed by the hassle, but Shushu held onto the faint hope that Mini Cat wouldn’t outright refuse her request.

She imagined Mini Cat sitting by the phone, her usual indifferent expression masking any emotion. Shushu clung to that image, nervously waiting for the officer to return.

—Uh… I’m sorry, but is this Mini Cat… by chance an international inmate?

“Yes, that’s right.”

— Ah…

The officer’s tone grew hesitant, and Shushu’s heart sank.

‘Was phone visitation prohibited for international inmates? But Bluebird managed just fine…’

Shushu thought, though the possibility that Euspolia’s international inmates had different rules made her palms sweat.

When she tried to console herself by thinking that even if phone contact wasn’t allowed, she could still visit in person, the administrator delivered even more shocking news.

— I’m sorry, but… the foreign criminal known as Mini Cat has already been repatriated.

“What?”

Shushu, who had only braced herself for the news that phone contact wouldn’t be possible, was taken aback by the administrator’s unexpected statement.

“Re-repatriated? What do you mean?”

— It’s already been processed. According to our records, the Euspolia side has completed the extradition. The documents confirming the transfer have also arrived. Hmm, were you unaware of this?

The administrator asked with a puzzled tone, as if Shushu’s reaction didn’t quite add up. It was reasonable to wonder—if she’d gone as far as applying for visitation, she must have been close to the prisoner. Not knowing about such a significant event was certainly odd. Suspicious misunderstandings could arise, but Shushu couldn’t process any of it at the moment.

“Are you saying… she’s no longer at Augwell?”

— Hmm? Ah, yes. That’s correct.

“Then where… where is she now?”

Her voice trembled so much with suppressed sobs that the administrator hesitated for a moment before responding. Eventually, though, he calmly explained the situation.

— That, we don’t know. Once someone is repatriated, it’s no longer under our jurisdiction.

“… Does that mean you don’t even know which prison in Euspolia she was transferred to?”

— That’s correct.

The world seemed to blur before her eyes. Shushu clutched her forehead, her mind racing with panic, and then she thought of Jackie, who used to stand behind Mini Cat and flip people off with her fingers.

‘Yes, Jackie!’

Frantically, Shushu asked,

“Is there an inmate named Jackie?”

— Jackie… One moment, please.

The administrator put the receiver down again. While waiting, Shushu prayed fervently. Jackie had known Mini Cat even before they came to Augwell. Maybe, just maybe, she had information about her.

— I’m sorry. That inmate was recently released.

“Released?”

— Yes.

Shushu’s last hope crumbled. She could no longer keep herself composed. Her voice trembled so much that even the administrator seemed to feel guilty over the phone. Still, Shushu couldn’t bring herself to thank him and simply hung up.

‘Mini Cat is… gone…’

Her vision went black. Overwhelmed by dizziness, she collapsed to the floor.

Mini Cat had left.

Without a single word to her, she had disappeared. Her whimsical, free-spirited prison wife had vanished as suddenly as she had appeared.

It felt as if a gaping hole had been torn in her chest. Shushu didn’t know Mini Cat’s real name, her phone number, or where she lived. The only person who might know anything about her was…

‘Her brother.’

Henriad. He was her only remaining lead.