Gosick Episode 08

Synopsis
Two corpses now lie outside the elder's estate.

As Sergius stays alone in his personal quarters, Kazuya explains to Victorique and Ambrose that the village elder still points out his innocence to the crime. Victorique asks for Ambrose's opinion, and the young assistant of the village elder did not accuse nor defend him; instead, he believes that proof is needed to confirm Sergius's innocence.

Soon, Ambrose recollects on the little memories he had with the man named Brian Roscoe; according to him, the man taught him a lot of things about the outside world, and thus sparked his interest to it. Victorique then finishes his statement, telling him and Kazuya that it is that time when Ambrose discovered the Chaos swirling around the town. She decides to explain everything to the two later that night.

The three enter the church when everyone else is inside their homes, the time when the people believe that the ancestors of the townsfolk cross over. Also, according to Victorique, it is the perfect time to commit a crime. They hid on one of the pews and there, Victorique explains to them that people tend to seek value to things that have went through the passage of time... and at that moment, the perpetrator arrives.

It is Derek Banks, targeting one of the jars inside the church.

Inspector de Blois appears to apprehend the suspect, and there, Victorique pieces together the clues pointing to Derek's involvement.

According to her, the night when they threw the jar in holy water is not actually caused by intoxication. Instead, they were testing the authenticity of the jar as made out of pure gold and not gold-plated metal. Also, she points out that the man they saw being pelted by hazelnuts on the festival is actually Derek dressed as Alan; at that time, Alan is already wrapped in paper-mache and replaced one of the effigies to be burnt later. Victorique discovers hazelnuts on Derek when Raoul is killed, and also when he was apprehended.

Victorique, for one, commended Derek's ability to plan ahead, using the customs of the town against the people to stage his crimes. She then turns to Sergius, explaining to him that this is the proof that he is innocent to the crime, which the elder simply shrugged off.

Soon, Derek is taken by the villagers, much to Grevil's shock. Grevil points out the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Sauville on the arrest of Derek, but instead of being intimidated by this, Sergius laughs about it. He then declares that the village is no mere village, but a whole country... the Kingdom of Seyrun. And as king, not a mere village elder, his word is absolute.

Fortunately, they are still allowed to stay inside the estate of the elder. There, Grevil answers some of Kazuya's questions, most of which are already answered by Victorique herself. Mildred, who joins them, reveals that she was caught cheating at poker but is requested by Grevil to watch over Victorique for him in exchange for being let off the hook.

Soon, Victorique leaves the room, asking the help of Ambrose and Kazuya, in solving a case that has been left cold for 20 years... the case involving Cordelia Gallo.

Later that night, the final ceremony of the Summer Solstice Festival begins. A band of drums and men with whips emerge from a building, with a man dressed with a mask marches into the town square, where a large bonfire is located.

Among the spectators is Harminia, who is then approached by the masked man, who - posing as the deposed Elder Theodore - accuses the maid of killing him. The mentally unstable maid is shaken by his presence and admits the crime of murdering Elder Theodore. This confession is witnessed by a large group of the villagers, by Grevil, Victorique, Mildred, Ambrose and Sergius, and Kazuya, who is in fact the masked man who forced Harminia into admission of the crime.

Victorique later explains that Mildred's attempt of performing a successful thievery in the midst of people's eyes work in similar ways with the death of Elder Theodore. This time, instead of pigeons, gold coins are used.

20 years ago, Harminia hid inside the grandfather clock in Theodore's study (where Theodore's gold coins are located) and waits for the moment when Theodore enters. When that moment came, she pushed the compartment where the coins are stored; this gave a perfect opportunity for Harminia to strike Theodore on the back while he was collecting the coins, using the force of her body weight to bury the dagger deep into the victim's back. She then hides inside the grandfather clock and waits for someone to take the blame for her.

And the unfortunate one was Cordelia Gallo, Victorique's mother.

In the elder's quarters, Victorique explains to everyone more details about the crime. Victorique first points out that the clock never chimed despite Sergius's testimony of being near the scene of the crime at exactly midnight; this supports Victorique's claim of someone being inside the clock at that moment.

Kazuya soon wonders what the motive is. Harminia reveals her motive; it was to reverse the prophecy she received at the Summer Solstice Festival: "You will die 20 years hence." Ironically, twenty years have passed, and Sergius declares that she has failed in reversing the prophecy and will die at that moment. He then gives the sword to Ambrose and there, he is instantly put into a dilemma, whether to kill the one whom he has loved and who has been kind to her or not. In spite of direct orders from Sergius, Ambrose decides to free Harminia.

Sergius glares at Ambrose for his treacherous act, but his actions are interrupted when Harminia, armed with a spear and a torch, starts a fire from the top of the mansion... a fiery rage that she spreads across the small village until she reaches the outside walls. After telling Victorique how she brought misfortune on Seyrun, Harminia lights the wooden bridge linking Seyrun to the outside. Ambrose demands water to douse the flames, but Sergius decides that they no longer need the bridge, confident in their self-sustenance. The young man interested with the outside world can only feel helpless as Kazuya, Victorique and the others confront Harminia.

Harminia displays her utmost intent of killing Victorique, whom she still sees as a girl who brought her misfortune despite the truth. Meanwhile, Kazuya prepares himself to shield Victorique from Harminia's wrath. Strike upon strike, Harminia counts up the years she wished to live, injuring Kazuya on every hit. Victorique demands Kazuya to stop putting himself at risk, but Kazuya remains strong and tells her that he will not allow the two of them to be separated no matter what happens.

Soon, Ambrose decides to disarm the woman she loves, but this causes Harminia to lose her balance and fall off the bridge.

Ambrose no longer have the time to mourn for Harminia's death as the bridge is slowly losing its stability. He and Victorique manage to make it, but Kazuya feels his body weakened by Harminia's attacks and the smoke clogging his lungs. Unable to run across in time, he slowly falls as Victorique holds on to his hand as he loses consciousness, losing her necklace in the process.

Kazuya soon regains his consciousness while hanging on to Victorique's hand, which is now red and strained from supporting his weight. Victorique soon is overwhelmed by emotions and tearfully reminds Kazuya about his promise to never be apart, and this urges Kazuya to climb up, determined to keep that promise alive.

Meanwhile, as the smoldering flames of Seyrun die out, a man with long red hair and a girl who looks exactly like Victorique look ahead, with the man talking about his companion's innocence.

As a carriage returns them to civilization, Ambrose tells them that he is determined to live his life outside Seyrun. Grevil can't help but express his irritation at how he was treated at Seyrun, which he called a "weird village", and Victorique tells him that there are some accounts in historical books about a tribe who regard themselves as godlike creatures, who possess superior intellect that enabled them to conquer many lands. However, they disappeared from any written record by the 15th Century. And that tribe's name is the Seyrun.

Soon, the topic returns to Ambrose, whom Victorique's last remark is "Well, that is in the past, and we live for the moment." Ambrose agrees to that statement, and looks outside as the sun peeks out from the Alpine Mountains.

At the train station, Grevil points out a possibility of Victorique no longer being able to leave Saint Marguerite's school library because of the ruckus she created. However, Victorique no longer cares about that; she is fulfilled to have cleared the name of her mother.

Ambrose asks Kazuya why did he and Victorique had in fact asked the same question in the Oracle at the night of the Summer Solstice Festival; leading Kazuya to realize that Victorique is crying at that time not because she was disappointed in the future about her height, but because of what she really heard from the Oracle.

As the first train for the day arrives, Grevil, Ambrose and Mildred await; meanwhile, Kazuya offers a hand to Victorique, who shyly rejects the offer (hiding the bruised hands she acquired from last night's ordeal). However, she instead says, "Let's go back to our usual place."

Characters
(In order of appearance)
 * Raoul
 * Derek Banks
 * Ambrose
 * Elder Sergius
 * Kazuya Kujō
 * Victorique de Blois
 * Grévil de Blois
 * Mildred Arbogast
 * Harminia

New Characters
There are no new characters introduced in this episode.

Trivia

 * Victorique loses her necklace when she tries to hold on Kazuya's hand

Quotes

 * (by Victorique) "We're going to turn the clock back 20 years and prove that Cordelia Gallo was innocent."
 * (by Harminia) "I'm going to live past 26! 28! 29! 30! 31! 32! 33! 34! 35! 36! 37! 38! 39! 40! 41... 42... 43... 44... 50... 51... 52... 53! 54..."
 * (by Victorique) "What are you doing, Kujo?! Climb up, you idiot!!"
 * (by Victorique) "A daughter must protect her mother's honor.."