Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"I still have something to think about... Oh right, thank you for what happened earlier."

What Favia was referring to was that when the prison guards threw him unconscious to the ground, someone acted as a cushion for him; that person was none other than Abigail, who couldn't be seen by others.

"No, it's okay... Abby is the one who should thank you. You saved me when I fell from the sky."

At this point, the blonde girl glanced cautiously at Favia.

Earlier, in the vast ocean, the girl, awakened by a violent noise, looked at the blood-stained youth before her. Although terrified, she mustered her courage and pulled him to keep from falling into the sea. Finally, she was swept away by the turbulent current and drifted closer to the unknown shore.

Therefore, after persisting for so long, she, being just a child, was indeed exhausted.

"Then let's consider it as canceling each other out."

"Oh......"

As the girl closed her eyes, the dungeon fell into its usual tranquility.

It was a dark and silent place, so dark that even moonlight could hardly penetrate at night. There was no warmth at all, only deathly silence and cold.

When Abigail opened her eyes again, she didn't know what time it was, but she saw Favia 'sleeping' in another corner.

"Can we... go back...? This place... is terrifying..."

"Do you really want to go back?"

"Ugh, Abby, I didn't mean to wake you up..."

Favia's sudden response startled Abigail.

"I'm still awake... Actually, I really want to go back too."

".....Yeah?"

"Yes, no matter what, it's wrong to leave without saying goodbye."

That gentle expression made the blonde girl hold her breath instantly.

Press your hand against your excited heart and take a few deep breaths.

Although we haven't known each other for long, this person does this kind of thing unintentionally.

There's a limit to how much of a surprise attack can happen.

If it was intentional, she even wanted to accuse the person of being a bad kid.

The girl looked away, quietly came to his side, and placed the mat she was wearing on his side as far as possible.

While savoring the indescribable, numbing sensation of the dungeon, she gripped his clothes tightly with her own hands.

“Favier…brother.”

She murmured these words to herself in her drowsy state.

And so, on a certain day in 1811, the Château d'If, a prison known as hell on earth, welcomed the Italian priest 'Faria,' who was young only in Abigail's eyes, and Abigail, who was real and only he could see.

Ten years later, inside the Château d'If, he will encounter a man who has endured five years of darkness yet harbors no hatred for others, igniting in this kind man a dark and vengeful rage...

But before that, there was an unexpected visitor, a young man who had not yet woven his web of intrigue into the European world and had not yet found his purpose in life.

214: The Napoleon of the Criminal World Who Has Not Yet Chosen His Path (3k5)

A prison is a cage that fills people with boredom.

Not to mention in the 19th century, in the Château d'If, surrounded by the sea, it would only fill one with endless torment and endurance every moment.

In the dark cell, the only "decoration" was the moss and mold on the walls, and the ceiling was so low that Favia could almost touch it when she stood up.

At dawn, as the first faint rays of sunlight tried to pierce through the narrow crack in the door, the dungeon remained dark.

When Favia opened his eyes, the first thing he felt was the coldness and dampness emanating from the stone wall. If he tried to sit up even slightly, his body would stiffen from the prolonged stillness, and his joints would make a slight "click" sound.

Therefore, Favia had to move his limbs to dispel the stiffness and coldness in his body.

A moment later, the iron gate creaked open, and a jailer brought in the prisoners' breakfast.

A piece of bread as hard as a rock and a bowl of water with a greenish hue.

This simple, barely edible food wasn't too bad for Favia, who was used to surviving in the wild.

After all, whether it was during the Roman period or the original dishes made by Sajo Ayaka... However, to be fair, although none of them tasted good, the worst food had to be from the Château d'If. After all, it was surrounded by the sea, and the jailers themselves were barely able to make ends meet, so they naturally couldn't treat the prisoners very well.

At these times, Favia would tear off most of the bread and give it to Abigail, since the blonde girl, though invisible to outsiders, needed to eat regularly to survive.

However, it was precisely because of this that she was able to slip away during the day when the jailers delivered meals and Favia talked to her, only to return when the meals were delivered at night... Abigail also tried to steal the key, but unfortunately she seemed unable to access it.

Favia didn't care about that. He felt that it was enough to prevent this young girl from being locked in the dungeon forever, and if possible, it would be best if she could leave the Château d'If.

After all, she wasn't like him; a child her age couldn't endure such mental torment.

After breakfast time had passed and Abigail had gone out, it was afternoon, and the air in the dungeon became even more stifling.

Favia lay on the damp stone slab and ran her fingers along the stone wall. Over time, marks would naturally appear on the stone wall, but these marks would soon be wiped away by the damp environment.

Sometimes all I can do is close my eyes and listen to the faint sound of the waves.

For Favia, this period at the Château d'If was probably the most unbearable. There was no comfortable environment, no healthy food, and he couldn't even use his magic. The only thing keeping him company was the excruciating dungeon—a place that would cause most people immense suffering.

While delivering dinner to the jailer, the blonde girl, who had been looking for an opportunity to go out since morning, carefully walked through the iron gate to avoid bumping into the jailer.

Because she herself knew that although outsiders could not see her, they could still touch her body.

"Speaking of which, there seem to be some rats around lately."

After handing Favia three slices of bread and two bowls of slightly cleaner water, the jailer suddenly spoke.

"Is that right?"

"Yes, the food that should have lasted seven days was eaten up in just three days."

"Maybe someone needs to grow, so they ate it."

"Hahaha, Father Faria, you're really joking. If we're really going to feed the rats, we'd rather you eat more, Father."

"hope so."

Then, the moment the jailer closed the iron gate, the blonde girl who had been sitting next to Favia for most of the day finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he poured the food out of his full sleeves and said to Favia with great delight:

"Brother Favia, I'm back! I wasn't spotted at all today! Isn't that amazing!"

"Yeah, Abby is amazing."

"That's natural!"

"But it seems to have already been called a rat."

"Abby, I'm not a mouse! Even if I were a mouse, you'd be the big mouse, and I'd just be a little mouse!"

The two chewed their bread slowly while having a conversation.

Speaking of which, Favia remembered when she first came in, the girl who secretly took food was afraid of being discovered if she held it in her hand, so she stuffed it all into her mouth and brought it back, almost suffocating herself...

There's no need to force yourself like that.

To this day, he still remembers her answer.

Abigail kept her head down at that time, muttering to herself as if she were very uneasy:

"...If you don't eat like this, you'll starve...Sorry, Abby, I messed up, I'm so sorry..."

The girl at that time seemed to be afraid of losing something, which is why her eyes looked so lonely and sad.

In fact, Abigail also remembers what happened after that.

Under her gaze, filled with immense self-reproach, Favia calmly tore apart the bread, now unsightly and soaked with her saliva, gently placed it in her mouth, chewed it, swallowed it with a "gulp," and then revealed a gentle smile before speaking in her warm voice:

"...It is indeed a very delicious bread."

In an instant, the blonde girl's face turned red.

Ugh, what is this? Indirect kissing? Ugh, couldn't they just peel off the crust of the bread...? If all else fails, I could just sneak a bite tonight...

However, Abigail clearly remembers the expression on her face at the very end of that day, just like the expression she had when she was a child waiting for her 'brother'—a clear and flawless smile.

Nighttime was the most unbearable time in the dungeon. All around was silent, except for Favia, and only he could hear the girl's breathing and heartbeat echoing in the air.

Thus a day passes, and we continue to wait in the darkness for dawn, and then wait in the dawn for darkness, and so on.

And this will continue day after day.

In fact, Favia hadn't been idle all these years. While in prison, he used various methods to make his own pens, paper, ink, razor blades, lamps, ropes, and other tools...

However, Favia doesn't think things are good as they are. He is now 'Faria', so this is justifiable, and he can continue to persist.

But Abigail was just a child who deserved to live a good life; the world she lived in shouldn't have been so small.

Therefore, he must send it out of Ifburg if he finds an opportunity.

........

In April of 1814, the Sixth Coalition defeated France and briefly occupied Paris. Napoleon was forced to surrender unconditionally and sign his abdication at the Palace of Fontainebleau in Paris, thus ending the First French Empire.

Louis XVIII then returned to France and became King of France again, thus restoring the Bourbon dynasty.

However, this was not a big deal for the Château d'If in Marseille, because to the warden and the guards it was just a change from emperor to king, and it wouldn't have much of an impact on them.

They care more about the present than about the change of national power, just like the prison inspector who arrived at this moment.

Nineteenth-century prison inspectors were primarily instructed by their superiors to record prisoners’ behavior and conduct, including their daily activities, interactions with others, and violations, and to report on prison conditions, including prisoner activity, facility status, and security.

However, despite this, the inspectors of this era did not care about the living conditions of prisoners, and often ignored their appeals and requests, simply enforcing the prison rules and regulations.

However, the prison inspector who came to the Château d'If today was somewhat unexpected for the Château d'If warden, because he wasn't just going through the motions; instead, he was making notes in a small notebook.

The silver-haired inspector visited the single cells and dungeon in the main prison in turn. He asked several prisoners about their meals and any requests they might have.

They unanimously replied that the food was terrible and demanded their freedom be restored.

The inspector then asked them if they had any other requests.

The prisoners shook their heads; after all, what else could they hope for besides freedom?

That's right.

The inspector, expressionless, turned to the warden and said:

"It seems that all the prisoners only say the same thing: the food is bad or they are innocent. Does that mean that seeing one prisoner is the same as seeing all the prisoners? It's a pity that I gave up the time for calculation to find this part-time job to see if I could gain anything from evil people."

The warden dared not speak. Although the inspector was younger than him, his eyes were extremely fierce, and he was an inspector sent from above. Of course, he could only obey.

"Excuse me, are there any other prisoners in this jail?"

"Yes, there is one more in the dungeon."

“Take me to take a look,” the inspector said calmly. “Although they are most likely the same, let’s go down and take a look for the sake of necessary rigor.”

“Please wait a moment, what did that person say…” the warden said. “That person is a good man. If possible, could you please speak to your superiors and ask for a reduced sentence?”

"I sense that your attitude towards him is somewhat subtly friendly. Is he a special criminal? What crime did he commit?"

"I'm sorry, we don't know the details. We were just ordered to keep a close watch on Father Faria... But he's a poor man, definitely persecuted by that damned Napoleon to get here... Of course, we're partly to blame too, maybe I'm the only one at fault..."

As they talked, the inspector and the warden walked down a filthy, damp, and dark staircase, the mere passage of which made their eyes, noses, and breathing very uncomfortable.

"Warden, are you having some kind of mental problem? But the environment here is really terrible... Is this the place?"

".......Um."

"Alright, give me the key, and please allow me to interrogate him alone."

The warden handed him the keys and then left.

The inspector opened the cell door and surveyed the cell with a blank expression.

Then, in this place, the silver-haired youth looked at the 'old man' in front of him, and for some reason, he subconsciously frowned.

Of course, this wasn't because of the environment or the smell of his clothes, but rather because the inspector suddenly had a strange feeling that this person shouldn't be locked up here, or rather, that he shouldn't have been here in the first place.

If there really is a God, I think He would definitely hate humanity because of this.

In that instant, the silver-haired inspector had this thought, so much so that he spoke it aloud.