M-Maurice was...
Julie!
I also found one hidden in a wall lamp.
Throw your gun away, too.
It'll only make us suspicious of each other.
Unless you have a reason to carry a weapon?
S-Sorry...
Thank you.
Well then, let's go.
O-Okay...
Episode 3
The Hares Make a Promise Under the Morning Sun
Kujou, you were previously shouting about being the third son of an imperial soldier.
Does that hold some special meaning in your country?
For your information, I may be the third son, but I have the best academic grades.
So, in your country, can an intelligent third son replace the eldest son?
They can't!
That's right. It's just to satisfy my own pride.
My brothers were always treated better than I was,
so I thought that I should rebel against them by studying hard.
Pride, huh?
Kujou.
Not only are you a good person, but you're remarkably honest, as well.
Ned!
Ned...
It's too late.
There's no pulse.
It's the same.
Come here, Kujou.
One moment, I need to find out how Ned died.
Just come, Kujou.
Victorica, it's not the time to be selfish, save it for later.
I'm scared.
Please stay close to me.
Please, Kujou.
So Victorica was scared all this time.
At this rate, we'll all end up being murdered too.
Something wrong?
I'll explain later.
Run!
Let's hide ourselves in the nearest room!
Then we'll look for weapons!
Someone's coming!
Hey, Victori—
Hares are meant to be hunted.
The hunting dog is none other than me!
Victorica!
Let's get out of here!
Wait!
My pendant...
Let's go!
That's the radio room.
Here, take this.
Thank you.
It must be very important to you.
Kujou.
Right, right.
Say, Victorica.
How did you know that Ned wasn't dead?
That's right!
He didn't have a pulse back then, either.
Back then?
It's nothing.
It was the tennis ball.
He was always playing with that tennis ball.
Squeezing one underneath your armpit will cause your pulse to stop temporarily.
I see. So you already knew and that was why you called him back.
"I'm scared. Stay close to me."
I didn't really feel that way!
Had I not said that, this third son of an imperial army soldier wouldn't have moved.
It's really annoying when you refer to me like that.
But you are a third son.
I guess you're right.
Victorica!
Get inside!
Use the radio to call for help!
But Kujou, you...
I'm the one who brought you here!
I'm responsible for returning you home safely!
No!
It was I who wanted to come!
I found the invitation and showed it to you!
As the third son of an imperial soldier, it is my duty to save you!
No, that's not it...
It's just that...
I just want to save you!
Kujou...
Kujou! Please!
Stay with me!
Let's return together!
I don't want to go alone!
Kujou!
It's just like that one time.
Lying on the floor, unable to do anything...
But the difference is that, this time...
...everything will be over if I stay down.
Not just my life, but Victorica's!
Are you okay, boy?
Victorica!
Kujou...
From what I can see, you seem to be out of danger.
What are you looking at?
I don't dislike beautiful things.
Mademoiselle, may I take your hand?
You are?
I am a renowned detective.
How did you know that I was the culprit?
You lied.
You said that you were the daughter of a rich family.
How did you know that was a lie?
She has that habit.
She walks a little then turns around, you see.
So what?
This isn't how someone who grew up in a mansion would walk.
That's the habit of someone who lived in a place where you could reach the wall in five steps.
For example, a prison cell, a hospital room, or a mansion's attic.
That was just a banal hypothesis, without any particular insinuation.
What do you mean?
I'll continue.
There's one other important thing.
The gun used to shoot Maurice was in your possession the whole time.
Kujou, do you remember being hit in the head by that bag while you were in the lounge?
Yeah, because it really hurt.
But when I picked up that bag it was as light as a feather.
We were all orphans.
Ten years ago, we were put into a black carriage with iron bars.
We lost consciousness and woke up on that cursed ship.
Because we were all from different countries, we could barely speak with each other.
But because we were all in the same situation, we were able to understand each other.
And yet...
Hey! Who killed him?
Who...?
We're the only ones on this ship!
The murderer must be among us!
Because of his death, we became suspicious of each other.
And then we began killing each other.
Even so...
You're bleeding!
Wait, let me help.
You're giving it to me?
But it's something important to you!
In the midst of that, I found a bit of friendship.
I won't leave you behind.
Let's get out of here!
We'll escape together!
We each supported the other's frail spirit and finally arrived at our destination.
There's the radio room!
Soon we'll be saved!
Welcome, brave hares!
Where are my allies?
State your nationality!
Which hares survived?
France, Italy, America and Saubure.
It's you!
He's from England. This is our hunting dog.
He quite effective, causing havoc to drive the hares into a corner.
A young man will soon die.
That will be the beginning of everything; the world will tumble like a stone.
Madame Roxane.
Now ends the hare chase!
Sink the box immediately and fulfill the prophecy!
Make sure to fatten up the hares!
A hare hunt?
I presume that it was fortune telling, but on a larger scale.
Fortune telling?
Roxane raised hares to use for her fortune telling.
A hunting dog would be released, and the prediction would be based upon which of the hares survived.
And we were those hares?
This is composed of several fragments of chaos.
Eleven orphans of different nationalities.
Roxane's meaningful words.
And the fact that this incident occurred in the spring, ten years ago.
Ten years ago – when the Sarajevo Incident took place and the Great War started...
But that's not related to this, right?
No, that's precisely it.
At the end of June 1914, the Archduke of Austria was assassinated in Sarajevo.
When the doors of conflict were blown wide-open, the government attempted to use fortune tellers to predict the world's future.
They prepared a large-scale stage, the box known as "Queen Berry," and released hares as representatives of the various nations.
That can't be!
Kujou, you half-genius.
Would you care to tell us how the war ended?
That's not very nice.
Well...
The Great War ended with the victory of the Allied Nations.
And those nations were?
Let's see... There was France, Italy, England, America and Saubure.
Then, the results of the fortune telling were accurate.
They made their moves based on what we did.
I couldn't recover from the shock and stayed in a sanitarium for a long time.
My room there was small.
Just like you said, I could only take five steps.
We were all given vast amounts of money in order to "fatten us up" as they had planned.
After leaving the hospital, I used my money to build that box – the Queen Berry.
Excuse me, Little Miss Detective.
When did you realize that I was the culprit?
I first suspected you when we woke up in that lounge.
You made a fuss about the door being locked, but that was a lie.
It was meant to keep the guests in the room,
and to help them understand their situation by showing them the threatening words on the wall.
I see.
Now I understand why you held onto that boy's hand so tightly.
It's because he was talking to me in a friendly way, oblivious that I was the culprit.
Right?
Victorica!
Well, that's enough!
It's time.
That's...?
Yes.
It seems that the maid who murdered Roxane has been captured.
Lee!
Yes.
So it was Lee.
Revenge for what happened ten years ago...
Lee!
Victorica!
Why are you in such a hurry?
Look at this, Victorica!
Yet another success for the Great Inspector Blois!
The case of the Queen Berry was splendidly solved!
It was your tips which led to the culprit's capture!
His conclusions are exactly the same as the ones you gave at the police station!
My brother is quite the snob, isn't he?
That's right!
Besides, that police inspector...
Wait a second.
What did you just say, Victoria?
I said that my brother is a snob.
Oh, I see.
What?!
Well, we are siblings, but we come from different mothers.
He's the Duc de Blois's eldest son.
My mother — his mistress — was considered a dangerous person by the government.
I grew up hidden deep in the de Blois mansion.
Even after entering this academy,
I haven't been able to leave without the Duc de Blois's permission.
I'm a captive princess.
How about that? It doesn't suit me, does it?
Anyway, the princess tires of this.
Journey to the world outside and find me some mysterious phenomena.
I can't just do that all of a sudden!
Argh, I'm so bored!
I might just die of boredom!
Kujou, you're going to lose one of your few friends.
Friends?
Hey, Victorica!
Wait, Victorica!
Are you dead?
Did you die of boredom?
Hey!
She's asleep?
The captive Victorica.
The mysterious, mysterious Victorica.
There's still so much I don't know about her, but there's one thing I do know.
Victorica is...
...my friend.
Hey, Victorica.
Let's go outside together again sometime...
...and watch the light gleam on the surface of the ocean again.
That's a promise.
The transfer student, Avril, is a really nice girl!
She's incredibly mature!
Kujou.
If you're getting aroused, just leave.
Aroused?
Next Episode
The Golden Thread Cuts off a Passing Moment