Despite this thought, Edmund listened to the sound for three hours, then he heard the sound of something falling, and then everything returned to calm.
A few hours later, the sound came again, closer and clearer than before.
Edmund was immediately interested in the labor, but suddenly the jailer came in.
Edmund had not spoken to the jailer since he made up his mind to die a week ago and started to put it into practice four days ago. But at this moment, in order to cover up the voice, Edmund deliberately started talking about all sorts of things, such as the food was too bad, the dungeon was too cold, complaining about this and that, and deliberately raised his voice to make the jailer impatient.
But in fact, it was the jailer who came in again that day to get some broth and white bread for Edmund.
But fortunately, the jailer just thought that Edmund was being confused again, so he didn't pay too much attention to it. After putting the food on the crooked table, he said "Enjoy your meal" and left.
Relieved, Edmund began to listen again.
"...There is no doubt," he thought, "that there is a prisoner trying to gain his freedom."
But in an instant, the light of hope was obscured by a dark cloud in Edmund's mind, which was accustomed to accepting misfortune and difficult to accept joy and hope.
He thought that the sound might be made by the warden ordering workers to repair the cell next door.
To confirm this, Edmund stared at the soup and white bread brought by the jailer.
Because hunger could not make his brain concentrate, he staggered over with this thought in mind, drank the broth with an indescribable feeling of comfort, and then he restrained himself from eating too much.
Because Edmund had heard that people who were rescued from misfortune at sea often died because they swallowed too much food in a hurry.
So he put the bread that was about to go into his mouth back on the table, and after returning to bed, Edmund no longer wanted to die.
"If it had been a workman, I would have only to knock on the wall, and he would have stopped working, and would have come over to inquire who was knocking and why; and as he was sent by the warden to do the work, he would have soon resumed his work. If, on the other hand, it had been a prisoner, the noise I made would have frightened him, and he would have stopped working until he thought everyone was asleep."
After thinking about it, Edmund, who was no longer dizzy, stood up and walked to a corner of the dungeon. He dug out a piece of stone that had been loosened by moisture and used it to knock on the place on the wall where the sound could be heard most clearly.
He knocked three times, and then the voice seemed to knock three more times in response, and even continued for a few more times before stopping.
Edmund was immediately panicked again, because he thought they were really workers, not prisoners...
But after a long time no one came to see him, and he couldn't help feeling a little strange.
Even so, Edmund listened carefully. After an unknown amount of time, there was still no sound from the wall. Everything was silent.
"It should be... the criminal."
He was so happy that he didn't close his eyes all night.
In the morning, when the jailer brought Edmund's meal again, he began to eat.
Then, anxiously hoping to hear that sound again, he walked around the dungeon, shook the iron bars on the window, stretched his limbs, and prepared to deal with any event that might occur.
But after a while, Edmund didn't hear the sound again. Although he knew he needed to be careful, he couldn't help but feel annoyed.
At night, when the jailer came to make his last inspection, Edmund once more put his ear to the wall, and he thought he heard an almost imperceptible movement among the stones.
Then he walked around the dungeon to concentrate his thoughts, and finally put his ear to the old place again -
No need to doubt it anymore, I want to help him, and we want to be together!
Inspired by this idea, Edmund decided to dig together.
Edmund first moved his bed, because it seemed to him that the work was being done in that direction behind it, and he searched with his eyes for something with which he could penetrate the wall, dig out the cement, and move the stone—
Suddenly, he found a sharp piece of iron.
Edmund then remembered that one day when he was first imprisoned, this thing suddenly appeared at the door, but at that time he was full of hope and just hid it, and did not use it to commit suicide. Now thinking about it, how could he have forgotten it...
But it didn't matter. Edmund no longer wanted to commit suicide. He just used this to dig out with the unknown prisoner.
In this way, Edmund began his 'work', working tirelessly, and when the jailer came, he pretended nothing had happened. After four or five days, he encountered an obstacle.
The iron had no effect at all when it came into contact with it, it just slid on a flat surface.
Edmond felt for it, and perceived that it was a beam, which blocked, or rather completely obstructed, the hole which Dantes had made, so that he had to start over from the beginning, either above or below it.
"How could it be..." Edmund did not expect to encounter such an obstacle. He said softly, "Could it really be just my illusion..."
"You bad guy, why did you start digging now? My brother has been digging for so many years..."
A voice that seemed to come from underground sounded. To Edmund, this eerie voice seemed to come from a grave and was full of resentment.
But there was clearly no one around him. For a moment, Edmund felt his hair stand on end. He shrank back and fainted.
218: 'Evil' Brother Favia (4k)
".....Abby, it seems you scared him."
After Edmund was frightened and fainted, Favia climbed out from under the hole he dug in just a few seconds, and then Favia carried the unconscious gray-haired young man back to his prison.
Although he was confused as to why Edmund was like this, when Favia saw the blonde girl glaring at the gray-haired young man on the bed with dissatisfaction, he guessed why.
"But except for you, my brother, no one can see me, and no one can hear my voice."
"Maybe Edmund was an accident..."
"........ Hey, this is so strange. You didn't even know him before, how come you could call out his name? This is really weird."
"I said Moriarty told me, do you believe it?"
"Of course I believed it, but he remembered it for so long, even though we had never talked, and he asked me to help him..." Abigail raised her eyebrows, twitched her temple, turned her head and stared at Favia who was staring at Edmund with sharp eyes, and further said, "Could it be that this guy named Edmund is very important to you, brother? Very, very important?"
Then, the girl suddenly whispered.
"............Abby I shouldn't ask such a thing, I'm sorry."
In fact, when the girl, who had been with Favia for ten years, saw Favia carrying Edmund on his back, she suddenly had an idea:
If this inexplicable guy inserted himself into my brother's and my world, could I kill him?
This idea kept popping up in my mind.
Ever since the girl became conscious, she had never thought about one thing so continuously.
The reason why I asked this suddenly was that I suddenly wanted to make things difficult for Favia.
And she felt that whatever Favia said would be in line with her thoughts no matter what. After all, it was Favia who had been with her through worries, pain, and hurt over the years... But then she realized that what she said was not what a good child should say, so she apologized immediately.
"........Abi, I'm a little confused about your question."
Favia's expression didn't change much in response to the girl's worries.
"But maybe you are my angel, Abi. You will always be my angel protecting me until my last moment."
"Guardian angel? But I don't have wings."
Abigail tilted her head slightly, seemingly confused.
"Maybe my eyes are blurry."
Favia laughed.
"I'm not old."
Perhaps because he was laughing, Abigail also laughed subconsciously.
"Well, you see, in the past ten years, when I couldn't straighten my legs and waist, Abi, didn't you support me like my crutches? And then, when I couldn't stand up and only my hands could move, at that time, I could only hold your hand."
Just rely on me... Although she thought so in her heart, the girl still held back and didn't say it out loud, and reorganized her words:
"Then it's actually the same as it is now, Abby. I will always stay by your side and listen carefully to what you say, brother. Don't talk about the last moment. Brother, you will definitely live for a very long time. Abby, I will always be with you, as long as you are your brother, no matter how long it takes."
"Hopefully."
"Please don't say such depressing things. I'm your brother's guardian angel, so as long as I'm here, he'll live a long time."
Somehow, ten years later, Abigail still looks the same as before.
As for Favia, there wasn't much change. He was still fine except that he couldn't use magic like at the beginning. However, this was only on the surface. In fact, his body had become much weaker because of the prison. Favia also discovered that he couldn't go to the place above the dungeon, otherwise he would get sick immediately.
It is suspected to be a neurological disease called 'wax bend syndrome'.
According to modern terms, it is a systemic cataplexy that can cause catalepsy. The symptoms are generally stiffness of the whole body, inability to move, and a state of coma. In severe cases, it can be life-threatening. The reason why it was called "wax flexion" in the past may be that the symptoms during an attack are like wrapping the body with wax, making the body stiff and unable to flex or stretch.
The reason why Favia discovered this was because he discovered it once when the warden allowed him to go out for a walk.
To be honest, Favia dared to guarantee that he had never had this disease before, but he didn't know why.
But he didn't care about this. What he cared about was whether he and Abigail could go back to the sixteenth century again. After all, he still cared about what happened to familiar people like Bawan Xi and Paracelsus after that.
Of course, I am also mentally prepared for not being able to go back.
"Yes, you are right. I will definitely live a long time."
"Yes, that's the way to say it."
Although ten years have passed in a flash, what has actually remained in these two people, who seem to have not changed at all, is some invisible changes.
Suddenly, the blonde girl tried to ask again.
"—Isn't he called No. 34 by the warden? Why not give him this more convenient name?"
"I'm number 27 in prison, but Abi, you didn't just call me number 27, did you?"
"Because you have a name, brother."
"Yes, that's right."
Favia fixed his gaze on Edmund who was still unconscious, and spoke slowly.
"One day, he and I will be free from 'Number 27' and 'Number 34'. The Chateau d'If is a death prison that can hold those who have committed unforgivable crimes. People say that all the suffering in the world is gathered here, and there are voices of anger, lamentation, and sorrow everywhere... In a place like this, if you don't call out its real name, wouldn't it be very lonely?"
Favia said this with such seriousness that Abigail couldn't help but blink, hold her excited heart with her hand, and take a deep breath.
She felt a little overwhelmed. Even though they had been together for ten years, her brother always did this kind of thing unconsciously.
Couldn't they have told me in advance about the surprise attack?
But having said that, when seeing her brother like this, even a girl surrounded by fear and trembling will try her best to straighten her chest.
Because as long as she was by his side, the blonde girl felt that she could become a little better.
The man spoke carefully, as if he was teaching a student.
"When a simple and kind person learns that his suffering is only caused by the selfish desires of others, how can he not be filled with despair and hatred for the world? This is why I noticed him."
Because of jealousy, the weak good was trampled by the cunning evil. All happiness came to an end and the beautiful life turned into a gray shadow.
"But, no matter what, the previous nineteen years were an important time for Edmund. He shouldn't have been here all the time. At least that's what I think. Isn't that enough?"
Favia looked at Edmund with a gentle expression.
After hearing this, Abigail fell into silent contemplation for a short while, then said:
"This is really too much! He was given something to dig six years ago, but he never used it. Brother Favia, you have worked so hard for so long. It's so abominable that he won't eat the food I gave him. I'm so angry..."
Having said that, the girl's voice was bright and the darkness in her pupils was no longer there.
"There will be a chance sooner or later, don't worry."
"It would be nice to be able to go out earlier..."
"Ugh, what was that sound just now..."
While the two were talking, a voice that gave people a simple and rustic impression suddenly sounded.
That was the sound made by Edmund who was lying on the bed. He had just woken up and the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Favia who was standing beside the bed.
"Are you the one who dug the hole?"
The gray-haired young man's voice was filled with joy, and he saw Faria clearly in the faint light coming through the iron bars.
The old man was a little thin, but his eyes were very bright and he looked to be between sixty and sixty-five years old.
"Well, are you able to get up now?"
Favia nodded.
"It's not a big deal, I was probably too tired, so I fainted for no apparent reason. I was wondering why there was a sudden noise..."
Edmund straightened his upper body and said with a smile.
"Indeed, it gave me a scare."
"Anyway, I'm very sorry. Maybe I was hallucinating at the time, so I heard strange noises."
Favia smiled at the young man who bowed his head sincerely and said,
"Knew it."
