Chapter 128

In the corner, a simple wooden bed lay quietly, covered with a few tattered straw mats and a thin blanket. This was the only place for the imprisoned prisoners to rest.

The surroundings were quiet, broken only by the occasional footsteps of prison guards and the creaking of iron gates opening and closing.

This is the Dungeon of the Château d'If. Ordinary prisoners are not imprisoned here; only those convicted of treason or those under strict guard are held here.

At this moment, Favia, who had been led into the Door by Abigail, was being imprisoned in such Dungeon.

To be honest, he wasn't without experience of imprisonment; he had been locked up for several days during the Rome era. However, Favia was more concerned about the name the jailer had told him when he left.

Faria.

Italy Priest, Faria, Château d'If... From these three connecting words, Favia can easily imagine his current predicament.

He had now taken over the position of Edmond Dantès's Teacher, the Count of Monte Cristo, namely the Italy Priest Faria.

Moreover, according to the jailer, Faria has only been here a short time, which means it is now 1811.

According to the plot of "The Count of Monte Cristo", Edmond was wrongfully imprisoned in 1815, and Faria was not able to meet him until 1821. Faria then imparted various kinds of knowledge to Edmond and told him the location of the Monte Cristo Treasure on her deathbed in 1829.

Speaking of which, Favia remembered that Priest Faria from the Nasuverse was a real person and a member of the Church. In order to protect the Christ Mountain, which would "ultimately open up a bright Future mankind," he betrayed the Church and hid the fragments of the treasure. However, due to the defeat in battle, he was first imprisoned in Fortress of Fenestrelle for three years by a certain Executor of the Eighth Sacrament Society, Roa, a certain Cardinal, who wanted to retrieve the treasure. He was then imprisoned in Château d'If.

However, according to the jailer, Priest Faria is already dead...

Favia could easily guess the reason; the most likely cause was the Priest's own illness, a neurological disorder known as 'Catalepsy'.

In modern terms, it is called generalized rigidity syndrome, which can cause tonic-clonic syncope. The symptoms are generally that the whole body is stiff and unable to move, and the person is in a state of unconsciousness. In severe cases, it can be life-threatening. The reason why it was called "Catalepsy" in the past may be because the symptoms when it occurs are like the body is wrapped in wax, making the body stiff and unable to bend or stretch.

But why did he fall ill and die more than twenty years prematurely...? That's strange.

Thinking of this, Favia couldn't help but sigh.

Although it was strange that he had traveled from 1515 to 1811, he wasn't particularly surprised.

After all, time travel isn't too outrageous in the Moon World. For example, the main villain in the Lord El-Melloi II Case Files, Hartless, traveled to thirty years in the past and took his pre-time-travel self as his disciple during that time.

In short, it's not a big problem.

Without further thought, Favia turned her gaze to the blonde girl curled up on a tattered straw mat in the corner.

Abigail Williams in her normal state.

Seemingly noticing Favia's gaze, the girl timidly turned around.

The moment their eyes met, Favia noticed that the other person's eyes were slightly red.

I don't know if it's a lingering effect from my previous state, or if I just cried...

Before Favia could even speak, the blonde girl dashed up to him and bowed deeply.

"I'm so sorry! Abi, I didn't mean to! Please forgive me!"

Earlier, Abigail, who was at the Monte Cristo Island Monastery, felt that she was in a strange state today and had a vague feeling.

The Small Island seemed more bustling and lively than usual for some reason, but it wasn't because they were busy preparing for any event; there seemed to be another reason.

Although it was just an intuition, it always evoked a special feeling in the girl's heart.

The moment I stood at the Monastery window and looked up as if drawn by a magic spell.

On the calm, mirror-like sea surface under a gentle breeze, a point of light flickered in the shadow of the ripples—it wasn't a shadow, it was a boat.

It's the silhouette of a small boat... Wow, people actually came to the island today...

She couldn't help but have this thought.

"... elder brother?"

Suddenly, the word just came out naturally.

Abigail knew this was her habitual reaction, because she had unconsciously called out that name towards the north since she was a child.

But I don't know why.

Every time she thought of or uttered that name, she felt a strange loneliness in her chest.

But who exactly is my brother? Do I really have a brother?

Having grown up in Monastery as an orphan, she had never left the Small Island; the only people who accompanied her were the nuns in the Monastery and the island's inhabitants.

As she lived a life of daily prayer with the nuns in the Monastery, she would often hear faint murmurs in her ear.

Although she couldn't quite hear what was being said, and even the nuns' Magecraft magical abilities couldn't heal her, Abigail didn't seem to care. She wasn't affected at all; in fact, she even had her own secret hideout because of it.

A mysterious Cave located in a mountaintop rock formation.

Listening to the whispered directions pointing to the place they had found, Abigail felt no fear whatsoever, even though being alone in a dark cave where no light could reach would normally be terrifying. On the contrary, she was quite happy.

Because she felt that she was in this space, she could truly feel something.

Simply close your eyes gently and try to picture your brother's face in your mind's eye; this will make you happy.

So Abigail followed the murmured instructions in her ear and inserted the silver, rod-shaped object, which she had worn since birth and resembled the middle part of a key, into the first hole in the cave, though she didn't know why she was doing it.

"Hmm, let's go take a look."

Perhaps out of curiosity about why she felt something was off, the blonde girl immediately decided to leave the Monastery and take a look.

"Sisters, Abi has to go out for a bit, but don't worry, Abi will be back soon."

As she stepped out of the Great Gate, Abigail spoke these words to the empty Monastery.

Most of the nuns who adopted her have passed away, leaving her alone. The last nun, who was about to die, wanted to send her to Monastery in Italy, but Abigail refused.

If you had to pinpoint the reason, it might be because of a deep-seated expectation in her heart, a feeling that one day that brother would come here.

But just as she was about to open the door—

"... Favia, what's that? Is it what you're looking for?"

"It should be."

Suddenly, a scene and conversation appeared in front of the blonde girl's line of sight: a red-haired girl and a silver-haired youth.

When Mingming came to her senses, she saw that there was only Great Gate in front of her, and no one was there.

However, Abigail didn't know what she was looking for; it was as if some unseen force was driving her to move her feet.

To be honest, she didn't know the young man or the young woman.

But for some reason, she felt very unhappy when she saw the two of them together.

Although Abigail herself didn't understand why she had such thoughts.

"... hehe."

The moment he cupped his face in his hands and revealed a distorted smile, time seemed to rewind slightly across Christ.

That happened on the Monte Cristo Island.

That happened at the entrance to the Monastery.

A thick purple fog rapidly emerged, creating a cacophony alongside the trees that had turned purple.

In an instant, the entire Monte Cristo Island became like a strange space, instantly plunging people into a deep sleep.

The girl, whose entire body had turned purple, neither smiled nor mocked, but simply murmured quietly:

"I've finally waited for you, my brother, Favia Williams."

This is what happened simultaneously when Favia and Bavan Shi found the mountain cave.

Let's go back to the present.

Favia looked at Abigail, who was trembling as she begged for his forgiveness; perhaps she knew what Abigail had just done.

Indeed, Abigail was currently confused. She didn't understand how she had suddenly become like that bad child... no, worse than a bad child, practically indistinguishable from a villain in a storybook.

"Abi, I really didn't mean to..."

The blonde girl, head bowed, was already blushing furiously from her earlier actions.

Ugh, what was I saying?! We just met for the first time, how did I start treating him like an older brother I didn't even know existed? And that sudden reaction was so weird!

Abigail's words carried a pleading tone, leaving Favia speechless for a moment.

He simply nodded slightly, as if bowing his head, at the young girl who was apologizing for her actions, which were not of her own volition.

"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 something more to see if she could comfort her.

This was also what puzzled him: he and Abigail were meeting for the first time, so how did she know his name?

"Because, that's what I stuck in there..." Abi carefully raised a finger from beneath her long sleeve, pointing to the broken key on Favia's chest, "And then, I, Abi, I saw your conversation with that red-haired older sister..."

"I see."

Now, Favia probably has a guess as to why Abigail suddenly acted that way. Perhaps this part of the key belonged to Abigail, and he took it without her permission, so she got angry... That's probably what he thinks.

"Okay, in exchange, Abi, I also want to ask you a question, big brother."

Mustering her courage, Abigail looked up at Favia.

"Okay, go ahead."

"Why do you know my name, Abi?"

Favia pondered this for a moment, and then came up with an explanation.

"Just like you, I saw you at that moment, and that's how I learned your name, Abigail Williams."

Upon hearing this, the blonde girl suddenly widened her eyes, then shook her head and timidly lowered her head again.

"Now it's my turn to ask a question. What am I like in Abi's eyes right now?"

"... It seems perfectly normal."

"What I mean is, in your eyes am I a young person or an old person?"

No, not old at all.

Although Abigail found Favia's question somewhat strange, it was actually based on a conversation he had with the jailer, who said he was an old man and looked about the same age as Faria.

Now that she has learned about Abigail's opinion of her, Favia has some guesses about her own situation.

For some unknown reason, at this moment, everyone except Abigail saw him as an 'old man'.

"Okay, now it's my turn to ask a question, Abi?"

The blonde girl held up her long sleeves, her lips slightly parted, and swayed as she spoke, clearly showing that her conversation with Favia had calmed her down somewhat.

"Okay, go ahead and ask."

Why can't those people see me Abi?

When Abigail arrived with Favia, Abigail discovered that no one could see her, no matter how much she shouted or did anything. However, she also realized that she wasn't a 'ghost' or anything like that, because she could touch the walls and buildings normally.

"Um... sorry, I don't know either. It might be because of that Door."

Favia didn't know the specific reason and could only speculate.

Moreover, he now realizes that all of his Magic Circuits seem to have vanished all at once, meaning he can no longer use Magecraft.

"... terribly sorry."

The girl apologized again. Although she didn't know why she had acted that way, she knew it was her fault, and therefore an apology was necessary.

"One apology is enough... I'll continue with my questions."

"Um!"

"Abi, why do you call me brother?"

"... I don't know." Abigail shook her head. "I really don't know, because it just slipped out... I don't know why..."

"Is that so? Okay then."

Since Abigail didn't know the specific reason, Favia didn't intend to ask further.

"... It's getting late. You should go rest there. At least there are wooden planks, straw mats, and blankets; it'll be alright."

"And what about you, big brother?"

To be honest, the girl was indeed quite tired.