Meeting Bertuccio
Andrea is led to the visiting room, and is shocked to see his former steward Bertuccio standing behind the opposite grating, looking at him with sad astonishment.
Confronting Bertuccio
Andrea confronts Bertuccio, demanding to know who sent him to the prison and how he found Andrea’s location. Andrea accuses Bertuccio of arranging his fabricated noble Italian identity, his sudden fortune, his invitation to the Auteuil dinner with Parisian elites, and bailing him out of his earlier legal trouble, and insists he will learn the identity of his real father no matter the cost.
Bertuccio’s Warning
Bertuccio sternly warns Andrea never to speak the name of the Count of Monte Cristo again, telling him the count is too favored by heaven to be the father of a wretch like Andrea. He warns Andrea that he is in far more danger than he realizes, and the powerful people who have helped him will turn on him instantly if he oversteps, insisting he is not dealing with common criminals. Andrea refuses to back down from his demand to learn his father’s identity.
Interview Ends
A jailer interrupts the private conversation to take Andrea to meet the examining magistrate, ending the visit. Bertuccio says he will return the next day, and Andrea begs him to leave a few crowns at the gate so he can buy necessities. Bertuccio jingles a small amount of coins but gives him no more, leaving Andrea uncertain but still determined to uncover his parentage as he is led away in the prison cart.
第一百零八章 The Judge
In the wake of Valentine’s death, Noirtier’s violent grief softens into a calm resignation after his conversation with the Abbé Busoni, while M. de Villefort retreats from his family, replaces the household staff and dedicates himself feverishly to preparing the case against Caderousse’s murderer for the opening of the assizes. On the morning of the trial, Villefort observes his father watching his wife with a hate‑filled gaze, and after a sleepless night spent polishing the accusation, he confronts Madame de Villefort, demanding to know where she hides the poison she has used to kill his father‑in‑law, mother‑in‑law, Barrois and his own daughter, and gives her a terrible ultimatum: either she takes her own life before he returns or he will denounce and arrest her, after which she collapses and he leaves the room.
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