Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"February 28, 1815, 2:30 p.m.

"Today is July 30, 1819."

"...It's been so long, so long, how could this be, clearly..." The gray-haired youth suddenly showed a sorrowful expression. "Sir, have pity on me. I don't ask for forgiveness, I only ask for a public trial. I only ask to see the judge. They shouldn't refuse to interrogate a suspect. I am innocent."

He then continued, "I know you have no right to release me, but you can petition higher authorities on my behalf. You can put me on trial. That's all I ask for."

“…”

Moriarty was silent for only a moment, then the gray-haired youth spoke loudly:

"Please, please give me a glimmer of hope."

In that instant, from the gray-haired youth's expression and words, Moriarty recalled Faria's earlier story about a young man who stole a loaf of bread for his sister's seven children but was imprisoned for five years. This unfair treatment led him to attempt four failed escapes and finally endure eighteen years of hard labor before being released, all for a loaf of bread that cost him eighteen years of his life.

Moriarty initially thought it was just a story, but when he recalled Faria's expression, he felt that Faria might have actually witnessed something similar, which was why he couldn't act recklessly...

"I'll go take a look."

"Oh, wonderful! I'm finally free! I'm finally saved! Mercedes, wait for me..."

"Who ordered your arrest?"

"It's Mr. Villefort, please make sure you can see him."

“Villefort…I remember he seems to be in Toulouse, not Marseille.”

“No wonder I haven’t been released for so many years,” the gray-haired youth murmured. “It turns out my only protector left. Villefort must be worried about me too, and he must be trying to save me.”

"Does he have any personal grudges against you?"

"Not at all, on the contrary, he was very good to me."

"So, regarding your matter, can I trust the records he left behind or the advice he gave me?"

“Vilford is absolutely trustworthy, please believe him.”

The gray-haired youth answered with such certainty.

"Is that so? Alright then." Moriarty nodded slightly. "Then let's wait patiently... By the way, what's your name?"

Edmund Dantès.

217: Edmond Dantès – Sailor of Marseille (5k5)

Years later, after carrying out his fierce revenge, the sailor from the port of Marseille would recall that distant night after six years at the Château d'If—

The sailor would walk alone into the distance. In this gentle breeze, the priest was no longer there, but in the sailor's heart, the longing for him remained vivid. Even on the day the world disappeared, it would not be lost; it would probably continue to shine forever.

Until forever—

Just like the stars.

Edmund Dantès was only nineteen years old in 1815. He was an exceptionally skilled sailor and a likely candidate for captain.

That year, an old captain he had met during a Mediterranean trade trip summoned Edmond before his death and asked him to deliver a letter to the Ebal Peninsula, where Napoleon was stationed to gather forces to overthrow the restored monarchy. The old captain was a Republican.

When he asked Edmund to deliver a letter to Napoleon, Edmund did not hesitate at all, even though he had no idea what kind of letter it was. He simply could not bear to refuse the request of a dying old man.

However, Danglars, a fellow sailor, accidentally learned of this. When Captain Morel decided to promote Edmund to first mate of the Pharaoh, Danglars, filled with jealousy, seized the opportunity to conspire with Fernand, who had always been in love with Edmund's fiancée. Together, they wrote anonymous letters falsely accusing Edmund of delivering messages for the former emperor Napoleon, and arranged for him to be arrested and imprisoned by the Marseille prosecutor Villefort at Dantès' engagement party.

However, the shipowner Morel valued Edmund highly. Apart from Edmund's fiancée Mercédès, he was the only one who went to great lengths to plead for Edmund. At first, he approached the prosecutor Villefort and begged him repeatedly. Villefort then said he could release Edmund, but after interrogating Edmund, he changed his mind.

Because Villefort's father, a royalist, was a man of Napoleon and a key member of the Republican uprising group, he participated in many activities that overthrew the Bourbon dynasty and was nearly wanted by the authorities several times.

This time, Villefort's father participated in an important secret activity: the Republicans were preparing to secretly welcome Napoleon's landing in France to overthrow Louis XIV. Villefort's father wrote a letter for this matter and asked the Republicans to help deliver it. This Republican was none other than the old captain who was about to die. The old captain then forwarded the letter to Edmund.

Upon learning of this situation, Villefort feared that his father's arrest would implicate him, as he had just gained the favor of Louis XIV. To protect his own position, he had no choice but to sacrifice the unfortunate Edmond. Villefort lied to Edmond, saying that he would definitely release him, while secretly ordering his men to imprison Edmond in the Château d'If.

And so, it all came to an end. Edmond Dantès's life had been smooth sailing until, overnight, he was imprisoned, and his life turned to ashes.

Later, when Napoleon returned to France, Morrel went to Villefort to plead for Edmond, saying that Edmond had delivered the letter on Napoleon's behalf, and now that Napoleon had ascended the throne, Dantès's status had completely changed, from a prisoner to a meritorious person. However, Villefort used sweet words to deceive Morrel, and after the end of the Hundred Days, Morrel, who had gone to great lengths for Edmond, never came again; he had done everything he could.

The young man who trusted others met such a heartbreaking end, making one wonder if his sincerity was tinged with naiveté, and his integrity with ignorance...

However, this was not his fault, but the fault of the times. Edmund was not the only one among countless prisoners imprisoned for such reasons. Millions of honest and kind people were falsely accused and imprisoned because of the darkness of society and the rise of villains, and were forever forgotten and cruelly deprived of their precious lives.

Indeed, countless people like them died in the Château d'If, their grief and indignation fading into oblivion, never to be spoken of or remembered again...

If no other opportunities or variables were present, Edmond Dantès would have inevitably died of old age in the isolated prison of the Château d'If, a predictable outcome.

In 1819, when Moriarty was once again serving as a prison inspector and prepared to see Faria, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, he also took the opportunity to see Edmund. However, on his way back, he kept his promise to Edmund and did indeed look through his files and saw the records:

Edmond Dantès, a Napoleonic loyalist, was responsible for assisting the traitor's return from Elba. He should be closely guarded and treated with extreme caution—Gerald de Villefort.

The handwriting on this record differs from the others, proving that it was added after Edmund was imprisoned, by Prosecutor Villefort, whom Edmund trusted to get him out of jail.

Moriarty naturally saw through the situation, but he couldn't interfere too much, given his British status. He could only offer a brief comment—

"It's baseless."

But this inspection rekindled hope in Edmund's heart.

Since his unfortunate imprisonment, he had forgotten how to keep track of the days, but Moriarty gave him a new one, which he neither forgot nor dared to forget.

He used a piece of lime that fell from the roof to write on the wall—'July 30, 1819'.

From that time on, he made a mark every day so as not to forget the day again. Days passed, weeks passed, and then months passed, and Edmund remained in anticipation.

He initially expected to be released within two weeks, but after two weeks, he realized that the inspectors might not take any action until they returned to Paris, and he would not be able to return there until the inspection was completed, so he changed the timeframe to three months.

But three months passed, and then another six months. During this long period, no positive changes occurred.

So the man began to fantasize, believing it was just a dream, a figment of his imagination.

Edmund experienced all the kinds of suffering those prisoners endured in the dungeon.

After all, it was a prison where no one could escape alive—the Château d'If.

It exists in the world, yet it is called the Tower of Eve, 'Hell'.

Death row is used to imprison those who have committed unforgivable crimes.

It is said that all the suffering in the world is gathered here.

People say that voices of anger, lamentation, and sorrow are constantly heard.

It is said that once imprisoned, there is no way to escape.

Edmund was initially confident because he was hopeful and knew he was innocent, but then he began to doubt whether he was really innocent.

Later, Edmund pleaded with the jailer to give him a single cell, to allow him to go for walks, and to give him some books and crafts.

The result was naturally that nothing was satisfied, but even so he still made the same request.

Edmund also tried talking to himself, but he was startled by his own voice.

Before he went to prison, he would naturally feel disgust whenever he thought of such a group of prisoners, including thieves, vagrants and murderers.

But now he wished he could be with them, so that he could see other faces besides the jailer who wouldn't speak to him. He envied the laborers in their prison clothes, chained and marked with insignia.

Because prisoners who were forced into hard labor could breathe fresh air and see each other.

But gradually, darkness filled Edmund's heart.

Almost four years have passed since he went to prison, and he has forgotten to keep track of the time since then, because he feels that the world has abandoned him.

After all, he was a very simple person and had not received much education.

Therefore, in that lonely dungeon, he couldn't fantasize about the past or gain any insights; he simply couldn't do that.

As time passed, the unbearable emptiness drove Edmund to rage. He rammed his body against the prison wall, shouting curses at God.

And so Edmund took his anger out on everything around him, venting it on himself and on the most insignificant things that provoked him... Soon, he contemplated suicide.

Once a man has this thought, he becomes calmer and more gentle.

He tried his best to make his bed, ate very little, slept for very short periods of time, and found that he could live like this, because he felt that he could happily let go of survival, like throwing away a tattered piece of clothing.

While imprisoned in the Château d'If dungeon, he had two ways to die: one was to hang himself from the window bars with his handkerchief, and the other was to starve himself to death, but the former disgusted him.

Edmund, as a sailor, always despised pirates, and since pirates were usually hanged on their ships after being captured, he was unwilling to accept such an dishonorable death.

He decided to use the second method, and so it was implemented that very day.

"I want to die."

The man muttered to himself and chose his method of death. Fearing he might change his mind, he vowed to die.

“When breakfast and dinner are brought out,” he thought, “I’ll just pour it out the window and pretend I’ve already eaten it.”

So Edmund did as he was told, emptying the twice-daily meals the jailer brought him through the barred window. At first he was pleased, then he hesitated, and finally he regretted it.

When he first came in, he felt nauseous at the sight of the food, but now, due to unbearable hunger, he found it very delicious.

On several occasions, he would hold the plate in his hands for hours, staring at the meager amount of rotten meat, stinky fish, and moldy black bread.

The instinct for survival struggled within him, constantly shaking his resolve. At that time, his dungeon no longer seemed as gloomy as before, and he was no longer as desperate.

For the first ten years, I was very happy. In the second ten years, I gained so much more and things got better and better without me even realizing it.

Thinking of this, he brought the food to his lips; but Edmund remembered his decision and felt afraid that breaking his promise would damage his character.

In my third decade, I fell into the lowest point of my life. I lost everything, everyone abandoned me, and who could save me?

Hahaha, nobody, nobody's coming to save me! Nobody...

So he persisted relentlessly until finally, he didn't even have the strength to pour his dinner out the window.

The next morning, the man lost his sight and hearing, leading the jailer to believe he was seriously ill, but in reality, Edmund only wanted to die sooner.

That day passed just like that, and Edmund felt mentally disoriented because he actually saw moldy black bread and water appear out of thin air from the doorway.

Although he did sometimes see an incredibly illusory, petite figure walking around over the years, he simply regarded it as his own hallucination or illusion.

Perhaps he really had gone mad, Edmund couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Around nine o'clock in the evening, Edmund suddenly heard a hollow sound coming from the wall next to where he was sleeping.

The cell was inhabited by many annoying little animals that often made noises, which the mentally broken man had long since become accustomed to.

But now, whether it was because the fasting had made his senses more acute, or because the sound was indeed louder than usual, or perhaps because everything had taken on a new meaning in his final moments.

Anyway, Edmund looked up and listened for a while. It was a constant sound, like a giant claw, or a powerful tooth, or some kind of iron gnawing at stone.

Although the young man was very weak, the thought that every prisoner would never forget immediately flashed through his mind—

free!

He felt that perhaps God had finally taken pity on his misfortune and sent this voice to warn him to immediately pull back from the brink and not commit suicide.

Or perhaps among those he loved dearly and could never forget, there was one who was also thinking of him and trying to shorten the distance between them.

Is it Mercédès...? Sometimes, Edmund thought so too.

What if I've only ever been having nightmares?

What if everything I've experienced was just a nightmare I haven't woken up from yet?

All those years of suffering were an illusion... The real Mercédès was always by his side.

One day, this dream will end, and Edmund will wake up... with his beloved Mercédès...

How wonderful that would be!

Of course, it's also possible that these are just dreams floating before the gates of death.

Despite this thought, Edmund listened to the sound for three hours, then he heard something fall, and then everything returned to calm.

A few hours later, the sound came again, and it was closer and clearer than before.

Edmund was immediately interested in that kind of work, but suddenly, the jailer came in.

Just a week ago, Edmund had resolved to die, and four days ago, he began to put his plan into action. Edmund hadn't spoken to the jailer since then, but now, to cover up the sound, Edmund deliberately started rambling on and on, complaining about how bad the food was, how cold the dungeon was, and so on, and deliberately raised his voice so that the jailer would get impatient.

However, it was actually the jailer who managed to get Edmund some broth and white bread that day, which allowed him to come back in.

Fortunately, the jailer just thought Edmund was acting strangely again, so he didn't pay much attention. After placing the food on the crooked table, he said, "Enjoy your food," and then left.

Relieved, Edmund resumed listening.

“...There’s no doubt about it,” he thought, “there must be a prisoner trying to get his freedom.”

But suddenly, in Edmund’s mind, which was accustomed to accepting misfortune and found it difficult to accept joy and hope, this light of hope was once again obscured by a dark cloud.