New guards

Before Alicia and Paulina even arrived at the dungeon, they could already hear loud voices, cries, and ongoing arguments coming from the direction of the dungeon gate. 

When the dungeon's gate came into view, they realized the number of women and young girls standing out there, hoping to be let in. There were up to fifteen of them in total, and only a few young men of noble families watched from the side like it was an amusing sight. However, some young men stood with the women too. 

Within a few seconds of seeing this, Alicia could already tell that the desperate women were the families of some of the arrested people, while others had simply tagged along. 

Most of them had something in their hands. Either it was a warm cloak, a covered bowl of food, a gourd of water, etc.