Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

"Let's put that aside for now, Fran. I have a question for you."

"Okay! Please go ahead!"

The pink-haired girl nodded, looking incredibly excited.

What happened to your injury?

Favia put her hand on her chin and asked.

Actually, as for the grandfather Fran mentioned, well, Favier didn't really care about that title, since she had a 'cheap daughter' working at the coffee shop in Kaubak. As for Fran's father, based on the questions she had asked earlier, it wasn't hard to guess that it was James Moriarty and Charles Babbage.

"...I'm not hurt, Grandpa."

"Then why is a section of your hair cut off in front of your forehead? Tell me about it."

Frankenstein remained silent for a long time.

It felt like a state of mental confusion, and for some reason, it also felt like fear or unease.

"...Ah, I remember that magicians are forbidden from asking about these things. Let's leave everything to the stars, the blade, and fate!"

Fran didn't answer, he just smiled.

She probably felt that the strength of the Cagliostro she encountered was superior to that of Moriarty and Babbage, and that Favia in front of her was just an ordinary person in her eyes, so she thought that speaking would only increase their worries and that she was powerless to solve the problem.

"Really not going to tell me? Don't let my current appearance fool you, I actually think I'm pretty strong."

Far from blaming Fran for such a perfunctory response, Favia spoke with great interest.

"If you were strong, Grandpa, you wouldn't be locked up here, right?"

Frankenstein chuckled.

“That makes sense, but there are different times for different situations. Special cases require special treatment.” Favia replied calmly, “Although I have no relation to Moriarty, I’m just an acquaintance. In other words, he’s not your grandfather, so you don’t need to address me like that.”

He thought for a moment, then sighed softly:

"Consider it repayment for you calling my name a few times, and for my shameless acceptance."

"is it?"

The girl tilted her head.

"So, all we can do is call him 'old guy' then? 'Old guy,' um, 'old thing,' Fran called him that too, so we're even."

At that moment, Favia, with an expression that was neither fawning nor otherwise blank, asked with a stern face:

"What I mean is, if a child gets hurt, the adults always have to step in."

Fran was startled, sensing that the old man opposite him was genuinely angry.

It would be bad to get really angry, but you can't say it out loud, because it will cause trouble.

Having come up with this idea, the android decided to simply remain silent.

She suppressed the timidity that would show on her face when she relaxed, and secretly made up her mind.

"Um! Please forgive Fran! I shouldn't have called you old man, you old geezer! Grandpa!"

The sound that was produced was louder than she had imagined.

She was startled by her own loud voice, which caused her hard-won determination to falter and shrink back. She could only twitch her fingers together somewhat embarrassedly.

"On the way here, Fran encountered a man named Alessandro Cagliostro. Fran almost got killed by him, but he left after saying something about Gevordão having the aura of a Storm King. He also mentioned wanting the Church to dismantle Fran into pieces and throw them into the Mediterranean Sea... I'm really sorry, Fran was just too weak..."

"Is that so, Alessandro Cagliostro, Braga, Tarateron."

These were the kinds of people Edmund was supposed to deal with after he became the Count of Monte Cristo.

Alessandro Cagliostro, commonly known as Count Cagliostro, was a legendary eccentric figure who roamed the European countries of the 18th century. He was a great magician who was secretly active in the French social circles on the eve of the French Revolution, and he was also a remarkable figure who was praised by the people for providing free medical care in the poor.

Even though he was arrested as the mastermind behind the 'Diamond Necklace Affair,' which implicated Marie Antoinette, the Queen of Cakes, he was eventually released and received a grand celebration from the citizens. Although released from the Bastille, he was still exiled and became hostile to the nobility and the church. Finally, he was arrested in Rome...

His influence led to the addition of a new discipline, 'Modern Magic,' to the Clock Tower. 'Modern Magic' was recognized as the new twelfth discipline in the early twentieth century, filling the vacancy that had been left vacant since the independence of the Department of Law and Politics.

If Favia is correct, the Storm King of Gévaudan he refers to is Theodoric Alter, who possesses magic power at the level of a machine god, and the second beast of Gévaudan. The reason he says the second is simply because the original story of the beast of Gévaudan took place between 1764 and 1767.

Edmund defeated Royal in 1837 and resolved the matter in 1838. Moreover, the influence of the King of Storms, also known as the King of the Wild Hunt, was not eliminated. In 1889, the hound in Sherlock Holmes's "The Hound of the Baskervilles" was not only related to the "black dog" in British legend, but also connected to the "King of Storms," ​​which was very likely due to the involvement of Count Carter.

Furthermore, Alessandro Cagliostro, due to his characteristics, is highly likely to have survived to the modern era, as he had a conversation with Tsarina Anastasia and may have even met Helena, since Helena, in her youth, had seen Vygotsky, who had made a pact with the princess.

As for Angelo Braga of the Eighth Secret Order, he was one of the Three Sages who framed Father Faria, and died from Edmund's firearms while seeking revenge for the priest.

The radio drama "Heroic Spirit Inheritance: Edmund" tells the story of the Count avenging the priest, and Taratalon is the reincarnation of Roa.

Originally, after Edmund killed Braga, Taratalon seemed to have noticed the elusive Count of Monte Cristo, so he took the initiative and first had one of the intelligence agents in his organization bleed to death. Then he killed the child of Captain Morrel, who had been kind to Edmund, in order to force Edmund to meet him and fight a great battle.

Wait a minute. Although Count Carter has never met Moriarty, now that Moriarty is building an organization, will Edmund use Moriarty's intelligence network after he goes out? From another perspective, could that intelligence agent be Frankenstein?

Although logically it shouldn't be Frankenstein, since according to the original storyline, Frankenstein should be in Antarctica now, chasing after Victor who created her... However, since things have been changed and she's now taken in by Moriarty, and considering what Count Caleb said earlier, then it's a possibility.

As Favia remained silent in thought, Frankenstein suddenly asked him a question in the gradually quieting dungeon.

"Um, are you really not angry?"

In the same cold dungeon as always, Favia heard Fran's voice in front of her and asked in confusion, "Angry? Why should I be angry?"

"Aren't you angry at all when people call you an old man or an old thing?" Fran asked in surprise. "If it were me, and someone said those things about Moriarty and Babbage, I'd probably twist their head off their neck..."

“That would be too cruel!” Favia imagined the horrific scene and shook her head. “It’s not that bad, it’s not that bad.”

"Besides, I didn't say anything wrong."

After thinking for a moment, he couldn't help but sigh, "I am indeed very old now, so it's probably normal to be told that."

"That's true..."

Fran nodded in agreement; she had never seen anyone older than the person in front of her in this Château d'If.

"By the way, can I get you out of here?"

"Oh? I'm not Fran's grandfather, so you have no obligation to do so."

“No, no matter what, you are Fran’s grandfather.” The android girl shook her head violently. “It was you who got Moriarty to save Fran in Geneva that year. If it weren’t for you, Fran would be dead.”

"...How did you know that?"

"Moriarty wrote letters, he wrote so many letters, they feel more like a diary."

In fact, this was the biggest reason why Frankenstein wanted to see Faria.

Although it was indeed Moriarty and Babbage who saved him, he wouldn't have been saved by them if it weren't for Faria. That's why the androids called Faria "Grandpa" so sincerely.

"Alright, don't worry, Grandpa. The people outside are no big problem for me. Let's go. This place isn't a good place."

To be honest, if Favia hadn't met Edmund and hadn't known that she would fall ill as soon as she went out, she might have agreed.

But now, not only will he fall ill if he goes out, but Edmund is also involved. No matter what, as his teacher, he hasn't done what he should have done, and as his student, Edmund hasn't 'graduated' yet, so he can't just leave so easily.

Having already stayed for eighteen years, I no longer care about any more hardships.

therefore--

"I'm sorry, Fran, I can't leave right now. I have things I need to do."

Favia laughed it off, as if to say that the matter was not worth mentioning.

"But, but, but—"

As the android girl was confused, Favia reached out and touched her head, like a loving elder stroking a young child.

"Are you really not going out...?"

"Yes, it's decided."

"All right......"

"By the way, Fran, if Moriarty suddenly wants to go out and do something by himself in the future, please make sure to secretly follow him, otherwise something unexpected might happen."

"Moriarty wouldn't do that. His personality is like that of a sneaky spider; he wouldn't wander off without warning."

"Maybe, maybe I'll suddenly get the urge. I'll have to wait a few days after holding it in for so long. Anyway, I'm counting on you."

Favia gazed silently at the fading sunlight outside the dungeon.

"Okay, Fran, I'll remember... Please take good care of yourself, Grandpa."

Fran nodded and continued to stare at Favia until Favia shook her head with a smile. Only then did she sigh somewhat unhappily and step onto the stairs leading out of the dungeon.

Favia knew that Edmund next door probably had a lot of questions, but he would answer them all tonight.

And that extremely important entrustment—the Monte Cristo treasure.

223: Burn brightly in an age when darkness reigns supreme (5k)

A short while later, Edmund, who was deep in thought with his eyes closed, heard the iron gate creak open, signaling the time for the jailers to bring dinner that day.

The gray-haired man did not open his eyes immediately, but instead continued to lie on the bed, lost in thought.

Just as Favia thought, Edmund was indeed puzzled by what he had said.

Why would the priest give up this opportunity? What did he mean by "something we had to do"? Was it because of me? Or was there another reason? If we couldn't get out, why did we have to dig a tunnel together?

To Edmund, the priest he revered suddenly seemed somewhat unfamiliar, as if he had some ulterior motive.

But even with such suspicion, Edmund was inexplicably not afraid.

Father Faria is a good man; he must have some unspeakable trouble.

The young man completely agreed with this idea in his mind.

"Return with the priest on time."

As the door opened and dinner was brought in, Edmund, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly heard a strange voice.

When he opened his eyes, he found that it was actually the warden who had come in person, but before he could say anything, the warden left on his own.

"What on earth is this..."

Just as Edmund was muttering to himself in confusion, he saw Favia standing at the entrance to his dungeon.

"Come out for a walk. I know you have a lot of questions, and I'll answer them for you."

The dungeon door was simply left open.

"I should be fine..."

"Really? If that's the case, then that's good."

Favia smiled.

Incredibly, the moment Edmund saw his face, the chaotic thoughts that had been swirling in his mind and heart vanished like a thick fog dissipating.

After a brief silence, Edmund lowered his head, stepped inside, and followed behind Favia.

In that seemingly eternally dark staircase, he was momentarily disoriented—

He was just released from the dungeon that had imprisoned him for decades so easily? The warden actually agreed so readily? What on earth is going on, Father...?

"that......"

Edmund's mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't bring himself to say what he wanted to say.

As a result, he said something completely unrelated.

"Are you and the priest going to dig a hole together today?"

Regardless of how many doubts Edmund had in his heart at this moment, at least for the moment, he was glad that he had finally come out.

I'm finally out of this hellish place. That's great.

However, just as the two were about to emerge from the dungeon stairs and catch a glimpse of the moonlight hanging high in the night sky, Edmund saw Father Faria turn around and sigh at him:

“It’s really shameful to expose your own helplessness to your students.”

"Father, what do you mean by this...?"

At that moment, Edmund noticed that the dark shadow beside Faria moved slightly.

At that moment, he seemed to see those jewel-like blue eyes in the shadow, looking at him with displeasure and anger.

Then, the moment Faria walked straight out of the dungeon, Edmund, still in the dark dungeon, saw his revered old man, under the bright moonlight of the night, instantly turn pale, his forehead beaded with cold sweat, dark circles appear around his eyes, his lips turn white, and his hair stand on end.