They did not realize that they were aiding her in hiding her crime.
The warden just nodded to her, showing his obedience, and they went their separate ways. She left with the box, while the warden and the lieutenant went to deliver her message.
Inside the room, the door of the closet slid open, revealing a person inside. It was none other than the prisoner who was supposed to have escaped. Moriarty had fooled them all with his smart plan.
"It worked too well than I expected." Moriarty muttered in a low voice, while looking at the floating flame in the middle of the room with a gloomy mood.
Moriarty never intended to escape right away, not now at least. He knew that he would be caught easily if he tried to flee without any preparation or strategy. He wanted to learn more about the fortress, its layout, its security.
Luckily, he had made the rope while he was making his clothes, making it faster to execute his new plan. He had used some of the materials that he had found in the room to make it longer, such as dresses on the left side of the closet, curtain, and bedsheets, to make a rope and a hook.
He wanted them to believe that he was escaping, that they would pursue him, giving him time to explore the fortress, plant some items for his real escape, and then get captured again. He wanted to make them think that he was a fool who did not know how to escape properly.
He did not even take anything valuable from the room, he just put all the jewelry that he found in the box at the bottom while the toys were visible on the top. He knew that she would not touch it or use it for a while. As she was busy with her shame, knowing he had done something terrible to it.
Making his planned escape more believable as a man who fled, took valuables, and did not want to be caught again.
But he did take something from the room, a book. The one about plants, that the lady was reading. He thought, 'This would be useful, as I wanted to try to cultivate my farmland.' He hoped that the book would teach him some useful knowledge about plants and their properties.
He had always been interested in botany, and he wanted to learn more about the different kinds of plants that grew in this land. He had hidden the book inside his clothes.
However, he did not expect that his provocation would take a wrong turn, as he saw the floating flame in the middle of the room. 'She's this angry, huh. Even wanting to obliterate her own room.' He was shocked by the intensity of her rage.
He thought that she would be irritated or embarrassed by his escape, but not to the point of destroying her own belongings. 'I guess I went too far.' He had misjudged how much she cared about her privacy and her reputation.
'If I had known, I would have used the toys for blackmail instead.' He regretted not knowing anything about how women reacted when their secrets were exposed. He had thought that by moving and touching her toys, he would make her feel humiliated and ashamed. He had hoped that this would make her lose her confidence and authority, and that she would feel insecure. But he did not realize that this would only make her more angry and spiteful.
'She even burned her underwear to ashes, probably in case something unexpected happened.' Moriarty thought that she was a very prudent woman. He had noticed that she had incinerated all of her underwear with her magic, leaving nothing behind.
He guessed that she did not want anyone to find any evidence of his actions in the room, or to use them against her. She seemed to be very careful and paranoid. She did not trust anyone, not even her own men.
He even recalled how she laughed crazily and swore that she was a very unstable and dangerous woman. 'I don't want to deal with such a woman, but I provoked her already.' He realized that he had made a blunder by messing with her.
He knew that she would not let him go easily, and that she would do anything to get him back. He knew that he had to escape for real this time, before she found him again.
He wondered if he should stick to his plan or make a new one. Knowing that being captured again could mean certain death, he was not ready to take any risks. He knew that if she caught him again, she would not spare him or show him any mercy. She would probably kill him or worse, make him suffer endlessly. He thought if he should change his strategy and try to escape as soon as possible, before she realized that he was still in the building.
'Now that I think about it, faking my death after capture would be impossible to pull off.' He realized that his original plan was faulty and dangerous. He had hoped that this would make them relax their guard and give him a chance to escape.
He did not expect to gain the advantage he wanted, knowing that he could be caught at any time. That would mean depending on luck, which always failed him. He had learned from his past experiences that luck was not something that he could rely on.
He had to rely on his own skills and intelligence. Even though faking his death would mean ensuring that they would never look for him after he escaped the fortress, it would also mean risking his life.
He decided to rethink his plan after he found a suitable place to think. He wanted to find a safe and quiet place where he could plan his next move. He hoped that he could find a way out of this trouble, and avoid meeting the lady again. He did not want to face her fury or her torture, both of which terrified him equally.