The Englishman listens with careful detachment as M. de Boville delivers the tale’s grim conclusion. The government, he says, needn’t have feared Edmond Dantès any longer — for the Château d’If has no cemetery. Its dead are given to the sea.

Believing he was to be buried in consecrated ground, Dantès had instead been sewn into his shroud, weighted with a thirty-six-pound cannonball, and hurled from the fortress cliffs into the black water below. De Boville laughs at the irony, picturing the fugitive’s surprise. The Englishman joins in — softly, thinly — a smile that never touches his eyes.

But beneath the polished tone, something colder stirs — satisfaction, or perhaps remembrance.

⸻

Join us daily as we read The Count of Monte Cristo one page at a time — unabridged, immersive, and spoiler-free.

Explore every chapter and insight at countdownofmontecristo.com

Discuss each revelation on Discord: discord.gg/Sg2prdm

Support the project and unlock exclusive readings on Patreon: patreon.com/gruntworkpod

Watch the daily episodes on YouTube: youtube.com/@countdownofmontecristo

The Countdown of Monte Cristo is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel — every day, for four years. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Count of Monte Cristo.