Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

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 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 surveillance are held here.

At this moment, Favia, who had been led into the door by Abigail, was being imprisoned in such a dungeon.

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

Faria.

Italian priest, Faria, Iftburgh… From these three connecting words, it's not hard for Favia to imagine his current predicament.

He has now taken over the position of Edmond Dantès's teacher, the Count of Monte Cristo, namely the Italian priest Faria.

Moreover, according to the jailer, Faria has only been here for 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 Father Faria from the Type-Moon universe was a real person and a member of the church. In order to hide the fragments of the treasure, he betrayed the church in order to find the 'Christ of Christ, who will eventually open up the future glory of mankind'. However, due to the defeat in battle, he was first imprisoned in the Fortress of Phineas for three years by a certain agent of the Eighth Secret Society, Roya, a certain cardinal, who wanted to retrieve the treasure. Then he was imprisoned in the Fortress of If.

However, according to the jailer, Father 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 'wax dysphoria'.

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 "wax-curved syndrome" 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 20 years early...? 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, Hartles, the main villain in the Second Case Files, 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 the 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 of 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! Abby, I didn't mean it! Please forgive me!"

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

The 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 gave the girl a special feeling.

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 been unconsciously calling out that name towards the north since she was a child.

But I don't know why.

Every time she thinks of or says that name, she feels a strange loneliness in her chest.

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

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

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

Although she couldn't quite hear what was being said, and even the nuns' mysterious magic couldn't cure 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 indicating the location, 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; you can feel happy that way.

So Abigail followed the murmured instructions in her ear and inserted the silver rod-like 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 go out of the convent to take a look.

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

As she stepped out of the gate, Abigail spoke these words to the deserted 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 a convent 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—

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

"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 a 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 and revealed a distorted smile, time on the entire island of Christchurch seemed to turn back a little bit.

That happened on the island of Monte Cristo.

That happened at the entrance to the monastery.

A thick purple fog was rapidly spreading, creating a cacophony of noise alongside the trees that had turned purple.

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

The girl, whose entire body had turned purple, neither smiled nor mocked this; she 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.

Time returns to the present.

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

Indeed, Abigail was in a state of confusion. She didn't understand how she had suddenly become like a bad child... no, worse than a bad child, practically no different from the villains in storybooks.

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

The blonde girl, with her head down, was already blushing furiously because of her previous actions.

Ugh, what was I saying?! How could I have acted like an older brother I didn't even know existed when we just met for the first time? And that sudden reaction was so weird!

Abigail's words had a pleading tone that left 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.

"it is good."

"Thanks……"

"Speaking of which, 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 is 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…” Abby carefully raised her finger from under her long sleeve, pointing to the broken key on Favia’s chest, “And then, Abby, 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. Maybe this part of the key belongs to Abigail, and he took it without her permission, so she got angry... That's probably what he thinks.

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

Mustering her courage, Abigail looked up at Favia.

"Well, tell me."

"Why do you know my name, Abby?"

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 Abby'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, 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, Abby?"

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 a bit.

"Well, you ask."

Why can't those people see me, Abby?

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

"Um... I'm 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 disappeared all at once, in other words, he can no longer use magic.

"......terribly sorry."

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

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

"Ok!"

"Abby, 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, fine 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 a little tired.