The sky is dark, and the Mount of Holy Mother Rose is shrouded in the misty twilight.

The sound of footsteps stomping down the grass leaves came from under a broken wall to the north of the monastery.

"How did you find this place?" a boy's voice asked.

"It's not just to hide from the nanny. Once she insisted on me joining the choir, and if she doesn't agree, she won't give it." The girl said, "Don't stand there, please give me a hand."

The boy sounded a little worried: "Just sneak out like this...is it okay?"

"God, do you have to ask it every year?"

The girl complained, landing lightly on the other side of the broken wall. When she stood up, her face was thinner than before, her figure became taller, and her eyebrows were deeper.

She shook her braid and greeted her partner behind her, "Come on."

"You are heavy again." The boy also landed on the ground, looking like a teenager. He stood shoulder to shoulder with the girl, obviously taller.

In the past few years, they seemed to have grown older, one after another. As a result, when they were fourteen years old, Geronimo suddenly accelerated his growth without knowing what he had eaten, leaving Isabel far behind.

It is another Holy Eternity Festival, and carnival floats flow continuously on the city streets at the foot of the mountain. The sea breeze brings singing and laughter, making the forest more quiet.

"I spent a lot of money, and dozens of people worked overtime for three months just to use this night." Isabel glanced at the prosperous scene not far away, and turned around and went down the mountain from another direction without any nostalgia. "These Portuguese are so strange." She walked with her robe, "My drunk uncle is obviously very poor, and he always thinks he is a nobleman and refuses to let go of his figure to work. During the day, he hires a bunch of temporary servants to watch cockfights or go to drink. At night, he quietly ran to rich distant relatives to ask for money from door to door. His group of friends are all this kind of virtue."

"Those rich people are even more dirty. The gentlemen who look gentlemen may have killed people, set fires and robbed merchant ships yesterday; the generous and kind widowed ladies secretly robbed inheritance by poisoning their husbands." She became more and more annoyed as she spoke, and walked in front of her with a rush. "They opened a casino and gave us loans. They all used any means to make money. Then they confessed every year and vowed to serve God, as if they had never done anything wrong. I saw this kind of thing every day."

Every time the girl complained about these things, Geronemo would keep silent and listen. He actually felt that Isabel was a little pitiful.

She didn't like the people here, and the people here didn't seem to like her either. But he only dared to keep this idea in his heart and would never say it out. After all, he would be beaten up if he said it out--he didn't have the courage to sympathize with Isabel.

They had already descended to the woods near the river beach, and the Mandovi River was filled with sparkling lights and moonlight.

Countless merchant ships drove out the dock through this river, headed towards the Arabian Sea, then crossed the entire Indian Ocean, and then headed north along the coastline of the African continent, crossed the Cape Verde Islands, and continuously transported the wealth from the East to Lisbon.

"Are you sure you can sneak in today? Last time I was caught halfway, the sentries must have recognized us." The boy had no confidence in the plan this time. "If you are caught again, Father Augustine will definitely not agree to let me come out in the future."

Isabel was confident: "So I specially selected the Holy Eternal Festival! The sentry must watch the fun."

"Why do you have to find that pirate? He is a serious prisoner." When Geronemo thought of it, he was a little scared, but he was unwilling to be regarded as a coward by the girl. "The sentry is going to watch the fun, we can't control him."

"They said he knew the whereabouts of my devil father." She patted her partner's shoulder comfortably, "The prisoner's whole body was locked." The girl gestured, "Besides, Raj is here. What are you afraid of?"

A long time ago, Jeronimo wondered why the strong man Raj obeyed a little girl, and later he learned that Isabel saved his life.

Raj was a brown-skinned Darovidian. According to the ancient caste system in India, he was classified as the lowest untouchables. But he was born with a pair of skilled hands, able to make iron and make many delicate gold and silver decorations.

This greatly offended the Vaishya caste who lived on the ancestral handicraft industry. They broke Raj's shop, they refused to allow him to be a goldsmith, and even sent someone to cut off his tongue because he had a few words.

The elders of the village unanimously sentenced Raj to guilt because a pariah dared to defile the sacred traditional craft.

Just as the villagers were about to burn him to death, Isabel got into the goddess statue's belly and pretended to be a ghost. He scolded them in many different languages, which made several elders think that the gods were angry and quickly let Raj go.

Since then, the honest goldsmith has become Isabel's loyal follower. Not to mention Raj, even Geronimo admired her after hearing this story.

They jumped from a slope into the Royal Hospital. Isabel would sometimes come here to help take care of the patients and be familiar with them.

She led Geronemo to touch the hidden door and sneaked out the small dirt road leading to the dock. The two children tiptoed to the water and walked around the guards of the dock and finally stepped into the fence of the arsenal.

The so-called arsenal is actually a military zone with a large area, transformed on the basis of the dock established by the Indian Land King.

Here are docks, mints, gun factories and armories, not only with huge docks dedicated to making warships, but also a small chapel and a prison - their destination.

The prison is right behind the church, built half underground, and a brick and stone corridor connects it with the outside world.

Jeronimo glanced at the clear entrance and guards of the torch, and retreated back to the wall with a frown: "We have worked so hard to get here, but they didn't go to watch the fun."

"What are you muttering? Come and help me." Isabel's voice came from the shadow.

He followed the words and saw the girl pushing several large wooden boxes built against the wall with great effort. He quickly helped and gritted his teeth to move them apart.

"Come on." Isabel rolled his braid around his neck and bent and crawled in.

Inside was a black shaft. They followed the ladder and came to a small room. With the faint light coming from above, Geronemo realized that they were at the entrance of the waterway below the chapel.

But the way to connect to the main waterway was blocked by the thick wooden door. He twisted the iron lock on the door hard, and even if he hurt his mouth, he couldn't do anything.

"I'll do it."

Isabel kicked the door and lifted the robe to reveal the crowbar tied to her legs. In Geronemo's shocked gaze, she skillfully picked up the tools and pried off the door nose and the iron lock on it.

Behind the door is the waterway connecting the prison, and Raj has been waiting there according to Isabel's instructions.

Only Geronimo made a fuss: "How did you come here?"

Raj picked up the keychain on his waist and shook it. After leaving the village and settled in Goa, the city hall happened to be recruiting sewage cleaners - the Portuguese and the local high caste in India were unwilling to do such dirty work, so Isabel helped him find this livelihood.

No wonder she was familiar with the sewers as well as hers. Geronemo remembered the girl's dirty look when she first met her. Maybe she had just crawled out of a ditch at that time.
Chapter completed!