Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

Abigail called out, her expression filled with tension.

This has been happening frequently ever since it was discovered that Favia's right arm and right leg could no longer move easily.

"write a letter."

Why write a letter?

"Even if we are separated by great distances, as long as we call each other's names, the connection between people will never disappear. Every letter conveys longing. If there is someone you want to see, someone you love, go see them, send them a letter. Pour all your emotions into the letter and send it out... I heard this from a postman."

Favia smiled, perhaps because he was a little tired from writing for a long time, and he put down his left hand to rest.

"Oh, by the way, who is it for? Moriarty?"

The silver-haired youth shook his head and said softly:

"It was written for Bavan Shi, the red-haired girl who was with me on the island. Actually, she's a fairy."

Bhavan Shi... Goblin...

Something seemed to be beating in the blonde girl's heart.

She gradually came to her senses in her daze.

Is it that guy who was so close to my brother...? A fairy? Could he still be alive, searching for my brother...? And what about me...?

Don't be so downcast.

When Favia saw Abigail's expression, how could she not know what she was thinking after having known her for nineteen years?

So he bent down and patted the girl's face. Although the dungeon was extremely dark and cold, the faint light shining through the small window still made the girl's golden hair shine brightly, and a little light reflected on Favia's face.

"I'm your brother, aren't I?"

His attitude and words were enough to express his inner thoughts, so the blonde girl could only nod slightly. After a long silence, she timidly asked:

"What kind of person is that Bavan Shi?"

"She's a very lovely girl." Favia smiled, speaking her mind without any pretense. "It's been a long time since I've seen her. She must have become stronger, right?"

"strong?"

Abigail tilted her head, seemingly puzzled. Although her memory of the incident was somewhat hazy, she felt that the red-haired fairy seemed quite brave.

“Because she was easily bullied by other fairies from birth, she developed a submissive personality.” Memories flooded Favia’s mind as she murmured, “That’s her, but not the real her.”

Abigail mimicked Favia's thoughtful expression and said in a pensive manner, "Abigail understands. It's because she's been bullied for so long that she's become timid. That's why you took her with you, brother, to try and improve that."

"Pretty much," Favia said with emotion. "When we first met, I thought she was a monster that plagued humanity, but then I learned about her pitiful state and that it was an accident. After so much time, she must have grown up by now. She should be able to live well without relying on other people's charity."

As Favia spoke, Abigail examined the letter he had written to Bavan Shi—

I feel a little sorry, but I'm about to embark on a trip to a very far place.

I will buy you a nice gift, but before that, I want to make a promise with you, Bawan Xi.

The letter was very long and contained many serial numbers...

"Speaking of which, that Bavan Shi is indeed quite beautiful, and she's dressed very well..."

Abigail said nonchalantly.

“Of course, after all, I had someone design it for her.” Favia nodded. “If there’s a chance in the future, I’d like to design one for you, Abby.”

"...It's a deal!"

“Haha, no problem… Speaking of which, she always seems to feel like she’s not doing something right, and she’s always afraid of herself, but actually no one hates her because of that,” Favia said. “She’s just like many other people, but she needs a little encouragement and support.”

"Um, I'm so sorry..." the blonde girl said apologetically, "It's all Abby's fault..."

“I told you it’s fine,” Favia shook her head again. “Actually, this is enough.”

Then, he looked up and smiled at the girl.

“Abby, you’re my sister, right? I’ve always remembered that.”

Favia said that for Abigail, who had been imprisoned in this dungeon for nineteen years, his gaze had always been gentle and tolerant, without a trace of negative emotion.

All his words were positive affirmations of her, and he would seriously consider her needs. The girl knew that he was saying these things for her sake.

Thinking about this, Abigail felt a little shy, and then embarrassed.

"...I already know, stop talking and focus on writing the letter."

The blonde girl turned to the other side and murmured, while the silver-haired youth smiled as if amused and said, "No problem," before turning his gaze back to the letter.

"It's almost February 28th..."

He murmured to himself, and the girl beside him either heard him or not, but watched silently, lost in thought.

February 28, 1829, was the day 'Faria' truly died.

Moreover, Favia also felt that his condition was getting worse and worse.

It was already 1829, and for some reason, the spring that year was much colder than usual. Although Edmund was already used to it, he was still a little worried, not about himself, but about Father Faria's health.

Since learning of Faria's condition, he has been doing everything he can to take care of him and prevent any problems from arising.

As long as they take good care of the priest, these ordinary days will continue, just as they have for nine years now, the sailors in Marseille think—

"Edmund, I'm going to die."

Another night fell. When Edmund moved the bed and went into the burrow, he found that the priest, who usually arrived early, was not there. Somewhat puzzled, he had to go through the burrow to Favia's dungeon. However, just as he made eye contact with Favia, Favia said to him indifferently.

"Haha, Father, you're really joking. You're perfectly fine now..."

“Edmund, I won’t lie to you,” Favia said calmly. “You know my character, don’t you? I don’t need to explain anything to you anymore.”

"I do not believe!"

Edmund screamed in agony, losing his mind, and rushed to Favia, shouting, "Father, you won't die—"

Favia used her last bit of strength to stop him.

“Don’t say that,” he said. “You and I are different. I’m already unable to leave this place, so it’s normal for me to die here. You can get out. After I die, another unfortunate sufferer will soon come to take my place. He will see you as a savior. Perhaps he will also be young, strong, and hardworking, just like you. He can help you escape…”

The sailor could only grip the priest's hand tightly and shout:

“Father, don’t say that, really, you’ll be alright…”

Edmund then rallied a little and said, “Yes, Warden, I’ll go find him right now and ask him to let you see the doctor—”

“There’s no hope. I know my physical condition very well.” Faria shook her head. “Edmund, I’m very old.”

“No, no!” Edmund continued, “Father, you seem perfectly normal. You’ve probably misunderstood. There’s nothing wrong…”

"Because I only need to embarrass myself once in front of my students. After all, I'm a very competitive person."

Upon hearing this, Edmund fell silent, feeling a sharp pain in his heart.

He had already seen the cold sweat dripping from the old man's forehead and his body trembling slightly. Despite the discomfort, the priest bravely refused to utter a sound.

“Edmund, as your teacher, even in death I will always be by your side,” Faria said with a smile. “Then, from this moment on I must part from you forever. I wish you all the happiness you deserve, and I wish you all the best. My student, I bless you! Go and obtain the treasure of the Mountain of Saviors, and let everything stained by despair burn brightly with the era in which darkness reigns supreme.”

The young man couldn't help but kneel down and bury his head beside the priest's bed.

"Edmund, I have a letter with me. If you have the chance in the future, please go to Britain and deliver it to a fairy girl named Bavan Shee. She has red hair..."

"Since you have this wish, Father, why don't you go yourself...?"

The sailor, fighting back tears, spoke in a trembling voice.

"You're all grown up now, don't cry... Didn't I tell you... you have to be smiling until the very end, understand? Until the very end..."

A violent tremor interrupted Favia's words.

Edmund looked up and saw that Favia's eyes were filled with blood, as if a large amount of blood had uncontrollably flowed from his brain cavity to his face.

“I’m sorry…” he convulsively gripped Edmund and Abigail’s hands tightly, whispering, “This is my last chance. You must get out, Edmund, at all costs…”

The sailor stood there, holding that seemingly unresponsive hand, for half an hour, an hour, and an hour and a half.

Overwhelmed with grief, Edmund leaned against the priest, first taking out the letter as instructed, then placing his hand on the priest's heart. He felt the body gradually growing cold, the heartbeat growing weaker and weaker, until it finally stopped completely.

At this moment, he realized that Abigail was still there, but he had no time to care about his inner confusion, because Edmund was now in a state of utter bewilderment, seemingly still unable to recover from his grief.

And so, like a walking corpse, he crawled into the tunnel and covered the large rock that led him into the secret tunnel as well as he could.

Back in his dungeon, Edmund remained silent and motionless, even holding his breath.

Just then, the jailer came to deliver breakfast.

He first went to Edmund's dungeon, and then went to Faria's cell.

At that moment, Edmund felt an indescribable anxiety, so he crawled back into the tunnel. When he reached the other end, he happened to hear the jailer shouting in alarm, calling for help.

A short while later, several prison guards arrived, followed by a steady chorus of footsteps. It was clear that soldiers were approaching; they walked this way even when they weren't on duty. The warden followed behind them.

Edmund heard creaking sounds coming from the bed, knowing they were moving Faria's body. Then he heard the warden's voice, saying that the priest had passed away and that since the prison priest was on leave, Faria could not listen to a requiem, nor did anyone need to watch over the body.

"...Even so, he was still sent back to the sea."

The warden looked reluctant to speak.

As he spoke, a memory suddenly flashed through his mind—something that happened many years ago, after Moriarty.

“Go away. You are not Faria. You don’t need to suffer for this.”

The warden opened the gate and said this to Favia.

"Is this really good?"

Favia smiled and said to the warden, who clearly had been thinking for a long time before finally making up his mind.

"I'll find a reason, I'll say he died of illness... Actually, it's really strange, making an innocent person take the blame, I've seen it so many times before, but now... Sigh, it's strange, I'm actually a little scared... You should go quickly, I've already arranged the boat."

“I don’t think being timid is a bad thing.” Favia didn’t move, just sat quietly. “Those who know fear will stay away from death.”

So I think that's a good thing. When you're certain you're going to die, you should use your last bit of strength to fill in the void yourself, so you can die without regrets.

However, if one has regrets in life, one should make up for them personally.

It's okay to be timid, it doesn't matter if I don't receive the praise of 'bravery.' Even so, I want to live for a few more decades, to protect as many people as possible... That's all I hope to do... Whoever it is, as long as they show... the strength of humanity in the very end."

"I don't understand..." The warden felt his head was about to explode. "Anyway, are you coming or not?"

"I can't leave."

Favia answered with a smile, having already realized that he would fall ill whenever he went up to the dungeon.

"However, my friend, you need not be afraid of me because of this, because I have already forgiven you. But I still hope that you can be kinder to the innocent prisoners."

Back to the present, the warden nodded slightly and sighed.

“He came from the sea, so he should return to the other side of the sea that belongs to him, right? He probably thinks so too.”

The footsteps faded into the distance, the sound gradually diminished, the door chain clattered for a while, then the sound of it being locked, and then there was no sound. What followed was a silence more desolate than any other lonely environment, a deathly silence that permeated everything, even the sailor's cold soul.

He carefully lifted the large rock with his head, cautiously looking around the room, which was empty.

Edmund leaped out of the tunnel and returned to Favia's dungeon—

By the faint, pale light streaming in from the window, one could see a coarse cloth bag lying flat on the bed, and inside the large bag, a long, stiff object lay stiffly.

And just like that, it all came to an end.

Edmund could no longer see his teacher. The young man sat down on the bed, lost in a state of melancholy and confusion.

In that instant, the thought of suicide resurfaced. Edmund would not have thought of this when the priest was alive, but now, the thought appeared before him like a ghost.

“If I die,” he said, “I can go to where he went and find him. But how should I die? That’s not difficult.”

The sailor smiled painfully and continued:

"As long as I stay here, whoever opens the door first, I'll rush at him and strangle him, then they'll hang me..."

"...Bastard, did my brother say all that just to kill you? If you wanted to die, why didn't you die sooner? Why did you have to drag it out until now!"

"How did you ..."

Edmund, snapped back to his senses by the angry rebuke, looked around and was surprised to find Abigail still there, as he had assumed the priest's malice had vanished with his departure.

"In short, you must survive, survive at all costs, and get out of here alive to get that Monte Cristo treasure, understand!" Abigail said expressionlessly. "You must survive, you know that! You are my brother's student, after all. Don't you know what he wants you to do? Now go and play dead! You must escape Château d'If at all costs!"

When Abigail got to this point, Edmund froze, sitting there motionless, his eyes unblinking, as if he had suddenly come up with an extremely astonishing idea.

"Playing dead...I..."

Suddenly, he stood up abruptly, holding his forehead as if he were dizzy.