The room was dark and filled with silence at all times. Only a few weak rays of sunlight barely seeped in through the narrow window, bringing a touch of warmth to this cold space.
The walls were made of rough stones, which felt cold to the touch and had a damp, musty smell.
The ground was made of uneven stone slabs, which made a dull sound when stepped on.
In the corner, a simple wooden bed lay quietly, covered with a few worn straw mats and a thin blanket. This was the only place for the prisoners to rest.
It was quiet all around, with only the occasional footsteps of prison guards and the creaking of iron doors opening and closing breaking the deathly silence.
This is the dungeon of the Chateau d'If. Ordinary prisoners will not be imprisoned here. Only those who have committed treason or are under strict surveillance will be imprisoned here.
At this moment, Favia, who was brought in by Abigail, was imprisoned in such a dungeon.
To be honest, he was not without experience of being imprisoned. He had been imprisoned for several days during the Roman period. However, compared to this, Favia was more concerned about the name that the jailer told him before he left.
Faria.
Italian priest, Faria, Chateau d'If... From these three connected words, it is not difficult for Favia to imagine his current situation -
He has now taken over the position of the teacher of Edmond Dantes, Count of Monte Cristo, the Italian priest Faria.
And according to what the jailer said, Faria had just been here not long ago, which meant that it was 1811 now.
According to the plot of "The Count of Monte Cristo", Edmond was wrongfully imprisoned in 1815, and Faria met him in 1821, and taught him all kinds of knowledge. He also told Edmond the address of the treasure of Monte Cristo when he was dying in 1829.
By the way, Favia remembered that Father Faria in the Type-Moon world was real and a member of the church. In order to get the Monte Cristo that would "open up a bright future for mankind", he betrayed the church and hid the fragments of the treasure. However, due to the defeat in the battle, he was imprisoned in the Fort Fenisde Tank for three years and then in the Chateau d'If by a certain cardinal, Roya, who was an agent of the Eighth Mystery Society and wanted to retrieve the treasure.
But according to the jailer, Father Faria is dead...
It was not difficult for Favia to guess the reason. The most likely reason was the priest's own illness, a neurological disease called 'wax flexion'.
According to modern terms, it is a systemic cataplexy that can cause catalepsy. The symptoms are generally stiffness of the whole body, inability to move, and a state of coma. In severe cases, it can be life-threatening. The reason why it was called "wax flexion" in the past may be that the symptoms during an attack are like wrapping the body with wax, making the body stiff and unable to flex or stretch.
But why did he fall ill and die more than 20 years earlier...strange.
Thinking of this, Favia couldn't help but sigh.
Although it was strange that he traveled from 1515 to 1811, he was not very surprised.
After all, time travel is not a too outrageous thing in the Moon World. For example, the villain Hatteras in the Second World Case Files traveled back to thirty years ago and took his former self as his disciple during this period.
In short, it's not a big problem.
Without giving it any more thought, Favia turned his gaze to the blonde girl curled up on the worn straw mat in the corner.
Abigail Williams in her normal state.
As if she had noticed Favia's gaze, the girl turned around timidly.
The moment their eyes met, Favia noticed that the other person's eyes were slightly red.
I don’t know if it’s a remnant of my previous state, or if I just cried…
In short, before Favia could say anything, the blonde girl ran up to him and bowed seriously.
"I'm so sorry! Abby I didn't mean it! Please forgive me!"
Earlier, Abigail at the Monte Cristo Monastery felt that she was in a strange state today and had an inexplicable feeling.
For some reason the whole island seemed more bustling and lively than usual, but it wasn't because they were busy preparing for some event; it felt like there was some other reason.
Although it's just intuition, there is always a different feeling in the girl's heart.
When I stood at the window of the monastery, I looked up and looked outside as if I was attracted.
On the mirror-like calm sea surface under the gentle breeze, a certain point of light flashed in the shadow of the ripples - that was not a shadow, but a ship.
It is the silhouette of a small boat....Someone actually came to the island today...
She couldn't help but have such a feeling.
".......elder brother?"
Suddenly, the word came out naturally.
Abigail knew that this was her habitual reaction, because she had subconsciously called out this name in the direction of the north since she was a child.
But I don't know why.
Every time she thought of or said this name, she always felt an inexplicable loneliness in her chest.
But who is my brother? Do I really have a brother?
As an orphan who grew up in a monastery, she had never left the island, and the only people who accompanied her were the nuns in the monastery and the residents of the island.
While she was following the nuns in the monastery and living a life of daily prayer, she would always hear faint murmurs in her ears from time to time.
Although she couldn't hear clearly what was being said, and even the nuns' mysterious ability called magic couldn't cure it, Abigail didn't care much because she wasn't affected at all. Rather, she had her own secret base because of it.
A mysterious cave located in a mountaintop grotto.
Listening to the whispering in her ear about the place she had found, although it would normally be terrifying to be alone in a dark cave where no light could reach, Abigail did not feel that way at all. On the contrary, she was very happy.
Because she felt like she was in this space, she could really feel something.
Just close your eyes gently and try to picture your brother's appearance in your eyes, and you will feel happy.
So Abigail followed the instructions whispered in her ear and inserted the silver rod-shaped object similar to the middle part of a key that she had worn on her chest since birth into the first hole in the cave, although she didn't know why she had to do this.
"Well, go and take a look."
Perhaps because she was curious about why she felt a little strange, the blonde girl immediately decided to go out of the monastery and take a look.
"Sisters, Abby, I have to go out for a while, but don't worry, Abby will be back soon."
As she walked out of the gate, Abigail said this to the empty monastery.
The nuns who adopted her have basically passed away, leaving her alone here. The last nun who was about to die wanted to send her to a monastery in Italy, but Abigail refused.
If there is a reason, it may be because she has an expectation in her heart, feeling that her brother will come here one day.
But just as she was about to open the door—
"........Favia, what is that? Is it what you are looking for?"
"should be."
Such a scene and conversation suddenly appeared in front of the blonde girl's sight, a red-haired girl and a silver-haired young man.
When I came to my senses, I saw only a gate in front of me, and no one was there.
However, Abigail didn't know what she was looking for. It seemed as if there was some mysterious force driving her to move her feet.
To be honest, she didn't know the young man and the girl.
But for some reason, she felt very unhappy when she saw the two of them together.
Although, Abigail didn't understand why she had such thoughts.
"……hehe."
The moment he held his face and showed a twisted smile, the time on the entire Christian Island was slightly reversed.
That happened on the island of Monte Cristo.
That happened at the gate of the monastery.
The thick purple fog quickly sprouted, making a noise along with the trees that had turned purple.
In an instant, the entire Monte Cristo Island became like a strange space, making people fall into a coma instantly.
The girl, whose skin had turned purple, neither smiled nor mocked. She just murmured quietly:
"I've finally met you, my brother, Favia Williams."
This is what happened when Favia and Bawan Xi found the cave on the top of the mountain.
Time returns to the present.
Favia looked at Abigail who was trying to beg for his forgiveness. The girl was trembling, perhaps knowing what she had just done.
Indeed, Abigail is now in confusion. She doesn't understand how she suddenly became a bad girl... No, she is even worse than a bad girl. She is almost no different from the bad guys in the storybooks.
"Ah, Abi, I really didn't mean it..."
The blonde girl lowered her head, her face already blushing with embarrassment because of her previous behavior.
Ahhhh, what was I saying before! How could I treat him as my brother who I didn’t even know existed when we just met for the first time? And this sudden state of affairs is so weird!
There was a pleading tone in Abigail's words, a tone that left Favia speechless for a moment.
He just nodded slightly, lowering his head, to the young girl who was not very old and apologized for her behavior that was not her original intention.
"it is good."
"Thanks……"
"By the way, do you know me?"
Seeing that the blonde girl was still trembling, Favia thought for a moment and decided to say a few more words to see if he could comfort her.
And this was also what confused him. This was the first time he and Abigail met, so why did she know his name?
"Because, that was the one I inserted in there..." Abby carefully raised the hand under her long sleeves and pointed at the broken key on Favia's chest, "Then, I, Abby, I saw the conversation between you and that red-haired big sister..."
"I see."
Now Favia probably had some guesses as to why Abigail suddenly acted like that. Maybe this part of the key belonged to Abigail, and he took it without her consent, so she was angry... Maybe, that's what he thought anyway.
"Just do it. In exchange, Abby, I also want to ask you a question, big brother."
Abigail mustered up her courage and looked up at Favia.
"Well, tell me."
"Why, do you know my name, Abi?"
Favia thought about this for a moment, then came up with an explanation.
"Just like you, I saw you at that moment, so I also knew your name, Abigail Williams."
Hearing this, the blonde girl suddenly opened her eyes wide, then shook her head, and then lowered her head timidly.
"Now it's my turn to ask, what do I look like now in Abby's eyes?"
"...Looks pretty normal."
"I mean, am I a young man or an old man in your eyes?"
"No, not old, not at all."
Although Abigail thought Faria's question was a little strange, he actually asked it based on the previous conversation with the jailer, because the jailer said that he was an old man and looked about the same age as Faria.
And now after hearing Abigail's opinion about her, Favia had some guesses about her own condition.
That is, for some unknown reason, at this moment, everyone except Abigail saw him as an 'old man'.
"Well, now it's my turn to ask questions, Abi?"
The blonde girl raised her long sleeves high, her lips slightly parted, and spoke as her whole body swayed. It was obvious that she had calmed down a little after the conversation with Favia.
"Well, you ask."
“Why can’t those people see me, Abhi?”
When Abigail came here with Favia, she found that no one could see her, no matter how loudly she shouted or what she did, but despite this, she found that she was not a so-called "ghost" or something, because she could touch walls and buildings normally.
"Hmm... Sorry, I don't know. It may be because of the door."
Favia really didn't know the specific reason and could only speculate.
Moreover, he just realized that all the magic circuits in his body seemed to have disappeared at once. In other words, he could no longer use magic.
"......terribly sorry."
The girl apologized again. Although she didn't know why she behaved like that at that time, she knew that she did it, so an apology was necessary.
"Just apologize once... I'll continue asking questions."
"Ok!"
“Abhi why do you call me brother?”
"...I don't know." Abigail shook her head. "I really don't know, because it just came out of my mouth all of a sudden...I don't know why..."
"Is that so, fine then."
Since Abigail didn't know the specific reason, Favia didn't intend to ask further.
