Look. Something like this? What do you think?
Yes. A little bit more this way, here.
It looks lovely.
Miya-sama!
You two have improved a lot.
Thank you very much!
Do you have any plans for this coming weekend?
Well I...
No! No plans!
Nothing!
Really? Thank goodness.
This coming weekend,
...the senior members and I are going to my vacation home.
We will plan and prepare for my birthday party.
I've been looking forward to your birthday!
Thank you, Shinobu-san.
You're welcome.
There are... some things for the party you could help me prepare.
Can you two come with us?
Yes! Gladly!
Here, have some juice, Nanako-san.
I don't want it.
You're still upset?
Of course!
Mariko-san! Wait!
We made a promise to Tomoko.
We said we'd all go somewhere together.
It can't be helped! That was a request from Miya-sama.
Besides, we've already been given two round-trip tickets.
It was YOU who promised Miya-sama!
I don't know anything about it! I'll go somewhere with Tomoko.
That promise to Tomoko-san was only in case nothing else happened.
So that settles that.
You're mean!
Anyway, we're already on the train.
I've already given her such a hard time! Poor Tomoko. Darn.
I see.
I'm sorry! Miya-sama asked us.
I see.
I'm sorry! I'm really sorry!
How can you just say "Sorry!"...?
Founder's Day is coming!
And I have to spend it alone?
But..!
You should see all this!!
...just as I promised - guidebooks, scheduling, pricing.
I'd taken care of all of it!
A souvenir, then!
What?
A souvenir! Whether I ever speak to you again,
...depends upon the souvenir you bring me.
So of course, I'll pay for the souvenir.
That's not the point.
I'm sorry.
Geez.
I'm hungry!
Please...
As you can guess, my dear Brother,
...we are on our way to Miya-sama's vacation home!
22. A Summer's Serenade
Welcome, Milady.
It's a pleasure to have you here.
We'll have two more joining us. Please see to their needs.
Certainly, Ma'am.
Now! Take the luggage out of the car.
OK.
Minako-san!
Oh! That's right!
Yes, right away!
Sorry, can you take this...?
I'm terribly sorry about that.
You're hopeless, forgetting such a thing...
It slipped my mind... I was so...
Here it is.
Please see to our guests.
I'll be spending my time alone.
I will. Certainly.
That summer's day.
That summer's day is still here.
Minako-san!
I... Yes?
You made another mistake!
This time, you got the watch and the pencil case reversed!
I'm sorry.
How many times do I have to tell you?
Every single detail in that room must remain unchanged!
I'm terribly sorry. I'll put them...
Never mind.
I've already corrected them.
Oh... it's wonderful! It's like a Chateau on the Rhine River!
Welcome. This way please.
You're so kind to think of us.
First year members have never been invited here before.
You should feel very honored.
Yes!
Y...yes!
Where is Miya-sama?
Taking a walk. You can see her later.
OK!
So now, perhaps I should show you what we have for you.
OK!
This sun room will be your work room.
My Brother...
Our assignment was to prepare all the invitations
...for Miya-sama birthday party the following week.
There were about 300 names, filling two address books.
I ever wondered if it could be finished in a single weekend!
A trip with Tomoko might have been better, after all.
Wow! How beautiful!
Mariko-san, look! The lake is shimmering!
We can't stop now.
Let's go for a walk!
We should after coming all the way here!
I'll pass...
A violin?
Softly...
Like a melancholy cry for help,
...the music gently penetrated the deep woods.
For whom was she crying out?
Fukiko-sama, proud Fukiko-sama...
...crying for help, but to whom?
As if suffering the unbearable pain of tragic love...
...love?
Her love?
But... who?
Perhaps it was the coffee I had with dinner...
Though Mariko-san was sleeping soundly,
...somehow tonight I was unable to fall asleep.
It must've been past one o'clock.
I heard a splash of water nearby.
That summer's day.
That was definitely Miya-sama.
The trail of droplets led upward,
...past Miya-sama's bedroom.
At the end of a long hallway, after a couple of turns,
...I heard her voice again from behind the door.
That summer's day.
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
No, Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime hot the eye of heaven shines, oft his gold complexion dims,
Fair from fair sometime declines, by nature's changing course.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor shall Death brag,
..thou wanderest in his Shade.
When in eternal lines to time thou growest.
In eternal lines to time thou growest!
Who's there!?
What's going on?! Where've you been?
Umm...well... the bathroom. The downstairs one.
What a shock! Waking up and finding myself alone in bed here...!
I'm sorry!
Don't leave me alone again!
Alright, I won't.
Would you care for more coffee?
No, I'm fine. Thank you.
Her smile is elegant, quiet, and calm.
As if nothing at all had happened last night.
Miya-sama appears no different today.
But that voice remains with me.
Her voice from that room.
...a voice which seemed torn from her deepest heart.
Oh... they're so pretentious. Playing badminton.
The last train is at 8, tonight.
If we don't finish, we'll have to take it home with us.
Nanako-san, how many do you have left?
Umm... about 50.
Wow... you're lucky! I have at least 120!
I've brought something cool to drink.
Oh! Thank you!
It's hard work, huh?
Thank you, very much.
Excuse me...
Something I can do for you?
Whose room is that, on the 3rd floor, at the very end of the hallway?
Oh, the "sealed chamber".
The "sealed chamber"?
Yes, that's what we call it.
That room was Fukiki-sama's, until she turned 12.
It's been left exactly as it was then.
As it was? Why?
Minako-san.
Speaking about family matters to our guests is forbidden.
I... I sincerely apologize.
Get out of my sight.
Yes ma'am.
Igarasi-san! Igarasi-san, are you there?
Yes, Milady.
Fire her.
Please get rid of Minako-san immediately!
What!
What did she do?
She's not suitable to serve the Ichinomiya family as a maid.
Isn't that reason enough?
But can't you...
Those are my orders.
Very well, I'll do it.
But... but I only asked her about the room!
Miya-sama! Please wait, Miya-sama!
It was me! I asked her about that room. It's not her fault!
Don't be concerned. No need to defend her.
That wasn't entirely over what happened today.
But...
You aren't involved in this. Understood?
Wait!
I'm really sorry. It was all my fault.
It's OK. I'm a born gossip.
But to be fired so suddenly...!
No need for worry.
I just wanted to see what being a maid was like.
It's like my hobby, to change jobs!
Thanks, but I'll be fine.
I'm living with my parents in a neighboring town.
Really?
Yes.
You're as kind as you look.
What?
Kind people draw me out like that -- I can't help it.
About the "sealed chamber"...
Yes?
No one can go inside except Fukiko-sama.
No one?
Not even other family members.
On the day before Fukiko-sama arrived,
I was sent in to clean the room.
What a strange room.
Fukiko-sama would scold me mercilessly,
...if there was even the slightest change in a doll's location!
Everything is exactly as it was 6 years ago?
When Miya-sama was 12 years old?
Bye. Take care!
You, too.
Nanako-san, this lake is very dear to me.
Miya-sama!
Come on in, Nanako-san. It feels so good!
What? But...
I'm sorry, Nanako-san. I'm truly sorry.
I just wanted you to swim with me.
Are you okay, Nanako-san?
I'm fine.
I'm sorry.
Say, Nanako-san, are you really okay?
I heard you fell in a swimming pool, and swallowed some water.
Sure, I'm fine now. Fine.
Then, could you help me out?
What?
Could you tale 50 of mine? What?
Could you tale 50 of mine?
NO WAY!
My Dear Brother...
I may not be able to write you for a while.
I can't share today's experiences with anyone.
Never, as long as I live.
PREVIEW
At her 18th birthday party,
Saint-Juste plays the violin in Fukiko's honor,
...attempting to please her.
But all of Saint-Juste's efforts come to naught,
when Fukiko reacts unexpectedly...
Next episode:
The Forbidden Gift
Brother, Dear Brother...
There is no end to my tears...