Late at night, the loud bells spread in the night sky.
In the silent church, under the holy emblem, the old man closed his eyes and prayed. Under the soft light, he cast a drifting and dim shadow.
In the tranquility, even the steel arm became softer and less like a murder weapon.
After the prayer, Abraham opened his eyes and stared blankly at the Holy Symbol.
He seemed to hear footsteps behind him, and turned around. When he saw the white-haired girl, he smiled and waved to her.
"Teacher, I've been looking for you for a long time."
Bai Xi sat down obediently, "So you are here."
Abraham smiled awkwardly: "I don't know why, but I have been upset these days. Only when I come here can I feel at ease."
"Here?" Bai Xi was confused.
"There is a god here."
Abraham stared at the holy symbol: "I pray to him that Shire will be safe."
Bai Xi followed him and looked at the simple sign, then looked back and looked at the old man in confusion:
"Does the teacher also believe in God?"
"Maybe it seems funny to others? When people get old, they are completely different from when they were young."
Abraham smiled mockingly: "I didn't believe in God before, because I had nothing to pray to God for. But now I hope that there is a God in this world who can keep you all safe and sound. Let you, Xiaoye, Both Ciel and Ciel have a great future. Sorry, actually I should be doing this, but I can't do it well."
"Teacher, you have done enough."
Abraham shook his head, "For decades, I have been confused about the structure of this world, but now, I am beginning to be afraid. I am incompatible with it, but I hope that it can treat me gently. This is the weakness of my nature..."
He paused and smiled bitterly: "I actually think it's good for me to be so weak."
Bai Xi looked at him with no disappointment or contempt in his eyes, but just curiosity: "What kind of person was the previous teacher?"
"Maybe he's a bad guy?"
Abraham scratched his head: "I have always been ashamed to say it: I have killed many people, some of whom were not worthy of death, and some of whom were innocent, but I didn't care. Sometimes, I even indulge in the feeling of controlling my life. In the feeling. At that time, I was like a monster - I was born and raised to be such a freak. Someone told me that in order to maintain the world, I need to kill some things and eliminate some pests. This is all my life Meaning.”
Bai Xi was silent for a long time and whispered: "Teacher, you don't like that either, right? I like the current teacher. Although he is old, his smile is beautiful."
"Before I met Ciel, I often trembled because of my bloodthirsty nature, woke up from nightmares, and stayed awake all night. But sometimes, I missed the warm touch of blood soaked in my fingers. No one taught me that I should How do I buy coffee, how do I shake hands with people, and no one wants to shake my hand because I hold a sword in my hand. I don’t want to live such a life—this idea only came about after I picked up Ciel. I learned to change a child's diaper, raised a child, and made a lot of jokes... He was still little at that time, but he didn't feel scared at all when he looked at me. From that time on, I felt that I and I It’s different before, and that’s nice.”
Abraham laughed, and there was no shadow in that smile. When he stared at Bai Xi, his eyes became soft and gratified: "Do you know what is the happiest thing for me every day now?"
"—It's time to wash your hands."
"What was washed out from between my fingernails was not blood, but ink and chalk dust."
He stretched out his right hand, with his clean and soft fingers, to gently stroke Bai Xi's long hair: "Now, I am beginning to be afraid of dying, and I feel that it is good to be alive. There are more and more things in this world that are worthy of my concern. I have you, Xiaer, and Little Leaf, and I have three students. My past is not worth mentioning, but you are my entire future."
Bai Xi let him stroke her long hair and just leaned on his shoulder, murmuring softly: "Teacher is the best! When I get married in the future, I will let the teacher sit in the position of my parents. This way I won't be afraid. .”
"OK."
Abraham smiled, but for some reason, he couldn't resist the urge to cry.
He hugged the girl next to him, letting the tears roll into his shirt, and whispered softly: "Okay."
…
In the night outside the church.
The old man stood quietly in the darkness, staring at Abraham's back silently. After a long time, he gave up the idea of going in and turned around to leave.
"Abraham, are you still dreaming of unrealistic dreams..."
…
…
In the same late night, in a dilapidated building in a dark alley of the Holy City.
Under the dim light, the air was filled with the pungent smell of medicine. Packages of wrapped medicinal herbs were piled on the shelves, but they were not labeled at all.
This is obviously not a regular pharmacy.
Even in the glory of the Holy City, there are still forbidden drugs. Those illegal drugs were smuggled into the Holy City through various channels, and appeared in underground outlets through secret distribution.
But now, neither the buyer nor the buyer seems to want to do business.
The oily and smooth fat man looked dull at the moment, and it was obvious that he had been controlled by the telepathic musician for a long time. He looked at the people outside the counter and made a hollow sound.
"You have disappeared for so many days, and everyone is very worried. If you hadn't contacted us today, we would have thought you were dead."
Charles leaned against the wall sluggishly, smoking a low-quality cigarette, his eyes bloodshot. Hearing this, he just nodded and muttered "Oh".
The fat man asked dully: "Did the plan go well?"
"Just like that." Charles muttered, "Not bad, not bad."
As if aware of his resistance, the fat man asked: "What's going on?"
Ciel was silent.
After a long time, he whispered: "I don't want to do it anymore."
"Huh?" Fatty didn't hear clearly.
Ciel repeated, raising his voice: "I won't do it."
There was a long silence, as if the other end did not react. For a long time, under the control of the telepathic musician, the fat man spoke again:
"Char, have you thought clearly?"
The voice was cold and seemed to be questioning.
Ciel, have you really thought it through? Do you really want to understand the consequences
"How many times do you want me to say this!"
Charles was furious, raised his head, and glared at him with red eyes: "I won't do it! I won't do it! Damn the revolutionary army! Damn the silence mechanism! Lock me up! Let me Be cleaner! Take me back to jail!"
He stared at the fat man angrily, but the fat man turned into a real fat man in a trance.
It rotted in an instant, and there was a rough hemp rope hanging on the neck, as if it was suspended from something, and dark blood flowed from the seven orifices.
His lips opened and closed, and maggots and flies crawled in and out of his facial features as he spoke...
here we go again.
That damn feeling is coming again...
Charles was stunned, staggered back, slid from the wall as if he had lost his strength, and sat on the ground.
"damn it… "
He covered his painful head and whispered softly.
The fat man looked at him coldly and made a sound after a long time.
"OK."
He said, "If you don't do it, there are people who do it, so you can leave."
Ciel was stunned, not expecting it to be so easy and simple.
"Anyway, your value is only this little." Fatty said calmly, "Do you know why Constantine values you so much? Because you are a genius? Don't be ridiculous, Charles! Because your teacher..."
"What did you say?"
Charles looked at him blankly, got up from the ground, and his eyes became fierce: "This has nothing to do with my teacher! What do you want to do?!"
"It has nothing to do with it?"
The fat man laughed hollowly:
"-This is the crime your teacher, Abraham, committed while following Gaius when he was still a dragoon! Now it's time for him to take responsibility. Charles, have you really thought about it clearly? You don't want to do it, Okay, anyway, the higher-ups can use Abraham as a lure..."
"How dare you!" Charles pulled up the fat man's collar and roared hoarsely.
"This is your choice, Ciel."
The fat man said calmly: "Even if that man named Ye goes crazy, nothing will change. The Silent Mechanism is not a place to judge the title. The Mithril Vault has secretly imprisoned many nobles... You don't want your friends to do it because of you. Being imprisoned there, right?”
Ciel's fingers relaxed weakly.
He held his head in severe pain, staggered back, huddled in the corner, and made vague sounds. It seemed like a curse, but I couldn't hear it clearly.
In the long silence, he raised his head, the bloodshot eyes in his pupils were like burning flames.
There was no sadness or joy in those eyes, just numbness.
"I came out to buy medicine as an excuse."
He stretched out his hand: "Give me the medicine on the list."
So the fat man smiled and patted him on the shoulder:
"That's good."
Charles was silent, took the wrapped medicine and potion, turned around, and pushed the door open.
…
It was extremely cold in the Holy City late at night, and the water vapor formed frost on the iron walls.
Charles walked out of the secret stronghold of the Silent Organization, carrying the package of unknown medicine, lowered his head, and walked silently towards the warehouse where he lived.
But in the trance, he heard the sighing voice behind him.
"It took you a long time to buy medicine."
The unshaven revolutionary soldier smoking a cigarette was his roommate.
He leaned on the streetlight and looked at him in the faint light, with a strange smile: "Are you cold?"
That kind of gaze seemed to know something, which made people feel chilled all over.
"How did you..."
Ciel was stunned and speechless.
Brother Beard kicked his hands into his arms and walked forward with a smile. Ciel froze in place, staring blankly at the palm of his hand in his pocket, not knowing what was hidden inside.
"What a coincidence."
Brother Beard took out his hand. There was no knife or rope in that hand. He just patted him on the shoulder, meaningfully: "I came out to buy cigarettes. I heard that you were nearby, so I was waiting for you to come with me."
He paused and looked back at the direction Charles came from: "You've been in there for so long, don't you want to escape?"
Charles smiled stiffly: "How could that be?"
"Then let's go."
Brother Beard held his shoulders, and his hands were extremely strong, like iron hoops: "Let's go back first, and we'll talk about other things slowly."
Ciel's face turned pale, he gritted his teeth and forced a smile:
"OK."
…
At the same time, in the dilapidated warehouse.
Under the dim light, Constantine sat on a chair with a solemn face, saying nothing, but tapping the table with his fingers in silence.
The remaining seven or eight people were standing or sitting, with gloomy expressions, but their eyes were fixed on the table without exception, looking at the document being beaten on the table.
Behind Constantine, the censor lowered his head and sharpened his dagger carelessly, and the harsh sound rang in everyone's ears.
When the knock on the door sounded, he smiled happily.