Rose of Versailles 2
Riyoko Ikeda
(Second part of bunko volume 1)
Translation completed Nov. 4 2000
by Emily Horner
ehorne2@po-box.mcgill.ca
http://takumashii.tripod.com
Drunk, in a seat of glory
Hans Axel : Youngster? From the looks of it, I could say the same
about you. And it's polite to tell your own name
before you ask someone else's.
Oscar : Oscar François de Jarjayes, the captain of France's
Royal Guards.
<>
Hans Axel : Indeed! Your face is set just the way a member of the
guards usually is. I am Hans Axel von Fersen. Though
I am a count in Sweden, I'm still an exchange student and
I have no status until I return there.
Oscar : Von Fersen, if you wish to speak to this lady, you may
come to Versailles and request an audience with her!
You see, this is Marie Antoinette, the Crown Princess
of France.
<>
Hans Axel : Ah!
Oscar : Lady, please show the Princess to a seat. It seems that
they've realized she's Lady Antoinette, and have started
making a fuss.
--Yes, Sir Oscar.
<>
Hans Axel : So that was the Crown Princess...I did not know that...
Marie : Hans Axel von Fersen...
<>
Marie : Oscar, Lady Noaille and Count Mercy scolded me quite
severely. But it's all right, since you weren't at
fault at all.
--Princess, there's a young Swedish man named Fersen
who requests to speak with you.
Oscar : So he came...
Marie : I see...then I'll receive him in my room.
<>
What was it that glittered just then in the gaze of these two young
people, both 18 years old? The historical love affair between this beautiful
lady of Versailles, who was promised the position of Queen and fears nothing
but her own boredom, and this handsome, noble Scandinavian knight, began when
neither one of them was yet aware of it.
<>
At the countless balls at Versailles, Fersen was the one most beloved
by high society among the foreigners staying there at that time. For
Fersen-calm and somewhat reserved, but certainly never gloomy, manly
and overflowing with human interest-the hearts of the young ladies of
Versailles beat faster, and even married women sent him passionate love letters.
<>
Oscar : André, have you noticed anything strange about Lady
Antoinette lately?
André : Lady Antoinette? No, she's laughing and dancing and
getting yelled at by Countess Noaille just as usual.
Oscar : Well, if you haven't noticed it, then it might not be
anything to worry about just yet.
André : Is this about that Fersen man?
Oscar : Lady Antoinette is honest to her feelings, something
very unusual among those at Versailles. And that might
place her in danger...
<>
Oscar : If she ignores the customs and etiquette of this palace
and acts humanly and naturally, that may mean isolation
or banishment. I hope it doesn't come to that.
André : Of course! Woman's intuition, I should have known!
Oscar : André, please pay attention and stay at Lady Antoinette's
side more than before. Once bad rumors start spreading
around, it will be too late.
André : Right!
Noaille : On a horse? What? Absolutely not, what if something
were to happen?
<>
Marie : Why am I the only one who can't ride horses?
Noaille : Think of your position! If something were to happen to
the future Queen of France, then...
Louis : Oh, it's all right, isn't it, Countess Noaille? Oscar
and André will both be with her, and if it's just for
a little while...
Noaille : You're too lenient with Lady Antoinette, Prince!
Oscar : All right, André, take the reins!
<>
André : Hold the reins at the bottom, and pull on them if you
want to stop.
Marie : Thank you, André.
André : And absolutely don't kick him in the side.
Ah!
<>
--Ah!
Oscar : Damn! The Princess!
<>
Marie : Someone! Someone, save me! Oscar! Save me!
<>
Oscar : Please, Princess! Hold onto the reins, somehow, until
I catch up with you!
Marie : Oscar!
<>
Oscar : There's a ravine up ahead! There's not enough time to
stop the horses!
<>
Oscar : Close your eyes, Princess!
Marie : Oscar!
<>
Louis XV : André, are you prepared to take responsibility for causing
such a deplorable thing to happen?
You caused the Crown Princess to be hurt.
You cannot escape execution by saying it was only an
accident!
Arrest André!
Oscar : Wait, please!
Oscar : Countess Noaille, Count Mercy, Crown Prince, Count Fersen,
and the rest of you!
You must have seen what happened! André cannot be blamed
for any carelessness!
If you truly must blame André...
<>
Oscar : I request a formal trial, in the name of the house of
Jarjayes! Otherwise...
As his master, André's crimes are my crimes as well.
You should take the life of myself, Oscar François, first.
Hans Axel : Oscar!
I, as well...I beg of you, your highness...
Oscar : Fersen!
Hans Axel : André was not to blame. I, too, can die for the sake of
justice.
Oscar : Fersen...
<>
Marie : Your higness!
Oscar : Princess!
Marie : Please don't blame anyone! It was my fault, because of
my selfishness!
André, Oscar, Fersen, it's all right! His highness is
a very sympathetic person!
Oh, to think that even one of you would die for me-
No one was to blame!
Louis XV : Very well. If you truly insist, Princess, then just
this once I will not punish anyone.
You have a good master, André.
Oscar : Fersen, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will
not forget my debt to you.
Fersen : Oscar!
Marie : Oh, Oscar!
<>
André : Oscar...Oscar...Oscar...
Oscar, you're awake!
<>
--Oh, Sir Oscar!
Oscar : André...
You're probably the only person who's ever escaped having
his head cut off for hurting a member of the royal family.
In the old days, they would've tortured you with hot irons
and boiling water, and then cut you into pieces.
André : Oscar...
Oscar : Hey, don't get all weepy, now. I didn't do it for you,
but for your grandma.
<>
Oscar : If she lost her only grandson, at her age, then the house
of Jarjayes would've had to pay for two funerals.
--Sir Oscar! Sir Oscar!
Oscar : Don't cry, don't cry. You're to old to be weeping like
that.
--What do you mean, too old?
André : Oscar...someday I will give my life for you...
André : As you risked your life for me today, I too will someday
risk mine for you.
Oscar : Where's my mother?
--She's tending to Lady Antoinette.
Oscar : I see.
--You were fairly seriously bruised from when you fell from
the horse holding on to Lady Antoinette, so you should
take it easy for a while. I'll change your bandages.
André, you go outside with Sir Fersen!
André : Right!
<>
Fersen : What are you putting on airs for? We're both men, and
he's not even royalty!
--How dare you say that about my little girl!
Fersen : She was a woman?
Fersen : I should have guessed...the lines of her body were too thin,
too fragile-seeming...but what a woman! Oscar...
Marie : Countess Noaille, I haven't seen that man from Sweden
around Versailles at all lately.
<>
Noaille : He's still in school, and he must be busy with many other
things.
Marie : Yes, probably.
Mercy : The general audience is starting in the mirror room.
Marie : I don't feel well today, Count Mercy. Please tell that
to the King, and give my regards to the Prince as well.
Mercy : Lady Antoinette!?
<>
Noaille : Indeed, Lady Antoinette has been ignoring even her
meetings with noble families who are second in influence
only to the royal family.
She's been neglecting her music as well.
Meanwhile, she's been gathering all around young people
with little status whatsoever-she seems to be especially
good friends with that young Swede, Fersen.
Mercy : I think you're thinking a bit too hard, Lady Noaille.
Noaille : You can't be too careless, Count Mercy!
<>
On April 27, 1774, while hunting, King Louis XV was suddenly overcome with a
headache and fatigue. He was laid in bed in Torianon palace, inside Versailles
park, and was brought to Versailles palace then next morning.
Marie : His highness is sick!?
Du Barry : His highness?
In Versailles palace, there were fourteen doctors in all, six internal
specialists, five external specialists, and three pharmacists, and they
all went to examine the King. The entire palace was abruptly swept up
in anxiety and unease.
<>
--Princess Adelaide, Princess Victoire, Princess Sophie;
The Crown Prince and Princess;
Count Artois and Count Provence, and Princess Elizabeth,
Have all arrived.
--How is his higness? What is his illness?
Mercy : No one knows yet, although all the doctors have gone to
examine him.
Du Barry : Are you in pain, highness? Please, be strong!
Marie : Lady Du Barry...
Du Barry : The King will get better very soon! Yes, he's merely
tired. How could he die this early, when there are
still so many things I want?
--Put out the candles. Even a little light is
harmful to the eyes of a sick person.
--Right!
<>
--What? Doctor, come quick!
--These red dots are...
<>
--Smallpox!
--Smallpox!?
Smallpox: a serious contagious disease caused by a virus. Victims
suffer from a rash that erupts all over the body and
starts to bleed, a high fever, and death. It spread all
over the world before a vaccine was created, and killed
many people.
--This is awful!
--His highness has smallpox!
--Crown Prince, Princess! Please leave the room at once,
it's a dreadful contagious disease! There's a danger
of it being transmitted to the heirs to the throne!
Marie : Smallpox? Oh, my! Then, his highness...
Has the time come for a change from the old authority to a new one?
Marie Antoinette's heart beat rapidly as she waited in the farthest room
from the King's, to avoid contagion.
Marie : What if Louis XV passes away?
<>
Du Barry : He absolutely must be cured. He must...or what will become
of me?
And then, on the morning of May 7th! The doctors abandon
the swollen, decomposing King and leave the sickroom.
Louis XV : Please call the bishop...I want to repent...
--If you truly want to seek God's forgiveness, then as proof
of that...
<>
--You must banish Lady Du Barry, the lover you had going
against the teachings of Christ, from Versailles!
Lady Du Barry was made to ride in a poor four-wheeled carriage and taken
to Rioulx manor, west of Paris. Later she was put into the Pont Audame
abbey as a royal prisoner. That was the last of Lady Du Barry, who took
advantage of the King's love, who extorted every franc of the citizens'
tax money from the King to use as she wished,
<>
The King's mistress who indulged herself with luxury and waste, to such
an extent that not even the Crown Princess could hold a candle to her.
At 6 am, last rites were performed for the King and he repented of his
sins. Then the Crown Prince and his wife left the King for the last time.
Marie : Prince?
Louix XVI : It feels as if the entire world has fallen onto my
shoulders. I'm still only 19 years old. What a burden
to think that I have to become King and govern my country!
On May 10th, 1774, at 3:15 in the afternoon...his suffering was over.
His face had decomposed so badly that one couldn't even make out who it
had been. The reign of Louis XV, King of France, was over.
<>
--The King is dead!
The King is dead!
Marie : What's that sound?
Louis XVI : Princess...
Marie : Lady Noaille!?
<>
Noaille : The King is dead! You are the new King, Louis XVI!
Noaille : Congratulations, Lady Antoinette. From today forward,
you are the Queen of France.
Marie : Grandfather is dead...
Prince!
<>
Marie : God, somehow, please protect us, who have come into power
at such a young age.
--Long live the King!
--Long live Louis XVI!
--Long live the Queen!
The old era was over. France's citizens were filled with enthusiasm
and hope towards the 19-year-old King and 18-year-old Queeen.
Rosalie : Mother, mother! A new King has ascended to the throne!
Lady Antoinette is the new Queen!
--At last...
Rosalie : It's wonderful! The new King is young, and frugal, and
modest, and scholarly. I know that prices will go down
and we'll be able to live more easily! Get well soon
and live a long life, mother!
<>
--What about Jeanne, Rosalie? Was she well?
Rosalie : She knew that I went to see Jeanne...
Yes, she was well. She was very kind to me, and she
worried about you. And she was as beautiful as a
princess, and seemed happy.
--Forgive me, Rosalie! It should have been you...forgive me!
Rosalie : Mother!
<>
--Louis XV is dead!
--That old pervert who used all our tax money on his
mistress!
--Here's to the new King!
Nicolas : There you are, Jeanne.
Jeanne : Louis XV is dead. A new era is coming...our era.
Nicolas! Do you really want to marry me?
Nicolas : Jeanne!
<>
Nicolas : I'd never heard that from you before, Jeanne...
Beautiful Jeanne who tortures me like a demon!
Jeanne : Then serve that demon. Shall we take the Boulenbirier
fortune together?
Nicolas : Jeanne!?
Jeanne : There are men who are very good at imitating another
person's handwriting. They'll even write anything
you want in a fake will, Nicolas.
Nicolas : Jeanne!?
<>
Portraits of the new royal couple overflowed the shop windows in
the town. In the middle of that atmosphere, drunk with joy about
the new era in Europe, the coffin of Louis XV, the former King,
was transported to San Doni church in the dead of night to be buried.
40 guards and 36 pages came to protect the coffin.
<>
Marie :
Mother, I wonder if God made you give birth to me so that I could be
placed in this position as a Queen. I can't help but marvel at the
fact that myself, your youngest child, was blessed by God to become
the most beautiful Queen in Europe.
Theresa : She's still just a child who cannot even govern herself...
A child who hates deep thinking and loves to play...
Theresa : Oh, if only the day when this position was extended to
her could have waited a little longer, until she had
grown into a woman, until she was able to overcome her
wish for luxury...
Please do not forget, Marie, that a Queen's true happiness
must first come from seeing her subjects happy. Please use
your power for the happiness of the people!
Count Mercy, whom I continue to trust,
Please protect the young Queen. However...I believe that my daughter's
most beautiful era has already come to an end.
<>
On June 11th, 1775, Louis XVI's coronation ceremony was held at Lance Cathedral.
Marie : Oh, how wonderful! You look just like the pictures of the
Kings in my old French history textbook!
On the way back to Versailles after the coronation, the King's procession
received a statement of congratulations from Louis le Grand Academy.
--And what is your name, young scholar who just gave that
speech in Latin?
Robespierre:Maximillian de Robespierre, a student of law, sir.
Robespierre! The one who would later be the most progressive leader of
the French revolution. This was the famous Robespierre, in his youth.
--Sir Fersen, Sir Oscar François has come to see you.
Hans Axel : What? Oscar?
<>
Oscar : Fersen, I've come to give you a warning.
Hans Axel : I see. I can guess what it is you want to talk about; please,
come in.
Oscar : If you know what this is about, then it won't be hard to say.
Fersen, I think it's best for you to leave this country and
return to Sweden earlier than planned.
<>
Hans Axel : Because of Lady Marie Antoinette? Has someone been spreading
rumors about us?
Oscar : Not yet. But I've realized it, and so has Countess Noaille.
Hans Axel : I can understand a little. Lady Antoinette has shown a bit
too much interest in me, and a bit too much kindness to me.
Oscar : Before now, when she was still a Princess, she was allowed
to some extent to do what she liked and associate with whom
she liked. Her actions were tolerated as if she were a child.
But things will be different from now on!
<>
Oscar : She's the Queen of France!
Fersen, you should return to your country right away. Thinking
about what's happened until now, your life may be in danger.
Hans Axel : That was my intention...to go back until the court had forgotten
me...but Lady Antoinette is too beautiful!
<>
Hans Axel : Oscar!
Oscar : Yes?
Hans Axel : Aren't you lonely? A woman, living like that...spending her
youth having never known happiness as a woman...
Oscar : I have been raised as a boy to follow in the footsteps of my
father, General Jarjayes, ever since I was born. I've never
thought of it as lonely or unnatural.
<>
Hans Axel : Hmm.
Oscar, we'll meet again some day.
And so, Hans Axel von Fersen left France behind and returned to Sweden.
He had to let four long years go by before he set foot in France again.
<>
Oscar : Lady Antoinette, Count Fersen returned to Sweden last night.
Marie : I see...so suddenly?
What's wrong with me? It's just like a hole opened up in
my heart...is this loneliness? It's so sudden...he left
without ever saying goodbye to me...
Oscar : You've really improved, André. I'm almost afraid to let
you use a real sword.
André : I'm still no match for you, you're too light!
Jarjayes : Oscar! Oscar, are you there?
Oscar : Oh, father! You seem flustered.
<>
Jarjayes : There you are, Oscar. Put on your formal uniform and
go to Lady Antoinette right away.
Oscar : What is it, father?
Jarjayes : Be happy, Oscar! You've been promoted to Captain of
the royal guards! It seems that the very first thing
Lady Antoinette did as Queen was to ask the King to
promote you!
Oscar : Captain of the guards!
Marie : Thank you so much for everything you've done until now.
Oscar, please stay even closer to me in the future as
the Captain of the royal guards. Your salary, of course,
will be raised.
Oscar : Your words of gratitude are a glory far greater than what
one such as I, who has not even reached the age of 20,
deserves. However, France's finances could hardly be called
abundant. Please keep my salary just as it is now! If you
do not, I will not accept this promotion!
Marie : Oscar...
Very well, Oscar. But if you ever wish for anything, you
have only to ask! A higher status, horses, servants, even
a manor. I will grant you anything you wish. Oh, Oscar,
how can I make you happy?
<>
Oscar : I wish only for Your Highness to become a wonderful Queen,
and nothing more.
--That was wonderful, Oscar! It's enough to charm even a
woman like me!
--Sir Oscar, many congratulatory gifts have arrived from
members of the court.
Oscar : While I appreciate the trouble they went to, I cannot
accept them. Please politely refuse them all.
<>
--Oscar! How ungrateful! How can you refuse a gift from
the Queen?
Oscar : It's for her own sake!
Lady Antoinette is too honest with her own feelings, never
trying to hide what she likes. Especially now, when she's
enraptured with her own status and power...
But it would take all the citizens' tax money to make me
her servant. I fear Lady Antoinette's honesty. How will
her subjects look upon her when she takes their tax money?
André : You're worrying needlessly! Everyone adores the Queen!
Oscar : And I pray that it remains that way.
--Your Highness, this man is a baron, and he's seeking a
position as court secretary. And this Mr. Denurie wishes a
post as the minister of the navy. If you could
recommend him to His Highness...
Marie : Very well. The King will listen to any of my wishes.
--Do as you see fit.
Mercy : Lady Antoinette, you mustn't accept people too easily,
without investigating their past achievements.
Marie : You always worry too much, Count Mercy. I'm not a child
any more, I'm the Queen of France. I don't need
guidance from anyone.
<>
Marie : All right, business is done with, let's continue that
play!
Mercy : She's still entirely a child!
Marie : It's so wonderful to have no one telling me what to do!
I'm free to go to masquerade balls at night, to watch
horse races and operas, to buy jewels...
Rosalie : Please, I'll do anything, even be a potato peeler.
--Sorry, we're not taking on anybody now.
<>
Rosalie : Was I too optimistic? I thought that things would get
a little better with this new era, but nothing's changed
a bit. I'm hungry! I'll do anything, just somebody,
let me work!
--Watch where you're going!
Rosalie : I'm sorry, Sir, please forgive me!
<>
--Oh, a wild violet! Or perhaps a lily of the valley!
Won't you come to my mansion for a night? I'll give
you lots of money!
Rosalie : Let me go!
--Ouch! You're way too harsh for your face, girl!
--Sir Mirabeaux!
Please be a little more discreet! Last night, too,
with that singer from the opera house...
--Oh, that wasn't anything! The danser from before
was much better!
Rosalie : 'Won't you come to my mansion for a night? I'll give
you lots of money!'
<>
Rosalie : Lots of money...but I...but I...if I can get some
money...
Oscar : André, wasn't that Count Mirabeaux we just passed?
André : Who, that incorrigible playboy?
Oscar : That man may be addicted to wine, women, and debt, but...
he seems awfully forceful, maybe because of that face.
You get the feeling he's about to make a mess of things.
Rosalie : Um, Sir...
Please, err, buy me, for a night...
Oscar : Heh heh heh...
Oscar : That's a good one!
Hey, look closer so you won't make a mistake. I'm a woman.
I couldn't buy you, even for free.
Oscar : Oh, stop it! What's your name, and why are you doing
something stupid like this?
Rosalie : Ro...Rosalie. My mother's ill, and they won't hire me
anywhere, and I'm hungry every day...
Oscar : André, could you lend me a livre?
André : Hmm?
Oscar : You said your name was Rosalie? This isn't much, but
take it, and don't try something like this again.
Rosalie : Wow, a whole livre? I've never had this much money!
(About $120)
<>
Rosalie : Wait, your name!
André : Oscar?
Oscar : Yeah?
André : Don't you carry a livre with you?
Oscar : I'm trying not to spend money needlessly. Do you know the
financial state your own country's in?
To think, a little girl like that--I had no idea!
What's happening to our country?
Rosalie : It's hard to accept charity, but I'm glad! If I have
this much...then Pierre next door will...
<>
Rosalie : I never heard your name, but I hope we meet again so that
I can thank you.
What's that crying? What's going on?
--Some kid stole some money from the Count's carriage.
Rosalie : If it's Pierre...
It is!
--Please have mercy, Sir! He's only a child who doesn't
yet understand anything! He hasn't had anything to eat
in two days! Sir, I beg of you!
<>
--Very well. Go!
--Oh, Count!
<>
--Pierre!
--Pierre!
--Pierre!
Oscar : Damn!
André : Oscar, stop! He's nobility, you can't do anything.
Not even the King could.
<>
Oscar : Take the carriage back! Not to Versailles, to the
Jarjayes mansion!
André : Oscar!
Oscar : Not Versailles!
That night there was a fire in a neighborhood of Paris.
Oscar : It seems there's a fire at the house of my mother's friend,
Lady Boulenbirier.
--Jeanne! Jeanne, where are you? Run, quickly!
Jeanne...Nicolas!
--Nicolas...Jeanne...What? Nicolas, stop! Jeanne,
what's wrong? Jeanne!
Jeanne : Oh, my dear aunt!
--Lady Jeanne...
Jeanne : We were trying to bring her out from her room, but
when she saw the fire...I tried to stop her, but
she fell from the railing...
--I am Rouen. I heard that Lady Boulenbirier had passed
away...
--Oh, Rouen!
Nicolas : Jeanne! Isn't that Archbishop Rouen?
Jeanne : Yes, I informed him of this.
Nicolas : Don't you know what a womanizer he is? He's a priest,
yet whenever he sees a pretty girl...
Jeanne : No matter what kind of a man he is, he is still a
priest, and France's highest-ranking one at that.
I can't miss an opportunity to take advantage of a
sitting duck like him! I think it very fortunate
that he was a friend of Lady Boulenbirier.
Jeanne : Hello, Archbishop Rouen. I am Jeanne, a distant
relative of the Lady's.
--Oh, what a misfortune! She was such a good person!
Jeanne : You see, Rouen...
--Yes?
<>
--This is the will of Lady Boulenbirier!
Jeanne : Yes, she left it in my care some time ago. Please
open it, would you?
--There's no mistake, this is certainly her handwriting!
It says that she left everything to you, Jeanne Valois!
Oscar : Who is that woman?
André : A distant relative of the Lady. A woman named Jeanne,
who supposedly carries the blood of the house of Valois.
Don't you know her?
Oscar : No, Lady Boulenbirier had never been granted an audience
with the Queen, so we never met in the court.
Look at that man talking to her. It's Archbishop Rouen.
André : Archbishop Rouen!?
Oscar : He was formerly the resident ambassador to Austria, but...
<>
Oscar : Lady Antoinette's mother, Maria Theresa, hated him because
he was such a playboy. He was fired, and just recently
returned to France.
If she truly carries the blood of the house of Valois, then
she ought to be a countess living at Versailles. This is
strange. When I see that woman looking at France's highest-
ranking priest, Rouen, with those burning eyes, I get the
feeling something bad is going to happen.
--Sir Oscar!
--You haven't shown yourself around the court in a while!
--I heard you just became captain of the guards!
Marie : Oscar!
Oscar : Lady Antoinette!
Marie : What happened? I haven't seen you in a long time. I've
been waiting for you every day. Is there something troubling
you?
André : Ahem...
Oscar : Shh!
André : Hmm...there are times when Oscar's like a child, taking
everything too seriously.
--Your Highness, Rose Bertin is here!
Marie : Madame Bertin? Let her into my room, quick!
Oscar : What's that?
André : She's a designer who opened up a fashion boutique in Paris.
She's been coming to the palace a lot lately.
<>
--Lady Antoinette liked the dresses that Madame Bertin designed
very much.
--Your Highness, we have some new designs again today. This
one is called 'unrestrained pleasure,' and this is 'secret
sigh.'
Marie : Wow, you keep on making new ones, one after another!
But I've already bought 54 formal dresses this year, and
125 evening gowns...
--But, Queen, a Queen like yourself always needs to keep up
with the latest fashions! She must be a model for society!
Marie : Well, I adore this brown silk dress...the money can come
from the treasury...Oh, King!
Louis XVI : What's this color? It looks flea-colored.
--Flea-colored? But that's just what's in fashion!
--I want one made out of that material!
--I want one just like the Queen's!
<>
André : And this is how it turns out. Lady Antoinette is absolutely
crazy about Madame Bertin's dresses.
--How do you like the ornamental ostrich feathers?
Marie : I adore them! You're wonderful, Madame Bertin!
--These feathers are very expensive. If other noble ladies want
to imitate you, they won't even be able to come close. I
could do it for you, of course, because you are the Queen.
<>
Marie : Happy Marie Antoinette, you grow more and more beautiful!
I hear the court whispering about the 'fairy rose of
Versailles,' and it makes me weak. But what is this feeling
of not quite being satisfied?
Theresa : What did you say this was? A portrait of that child, sent from
France? Are you sure it isn't some mistake? This is not
a portrait of a Queen, but merely of an actress!
Theresa : How could my own daughter wear such gaudy decorations?
Return this to France, at once!
Don't you understand, my beloved Marie Antoinette? These
silly decorations aren't necessary for a Queen blessed with
youth, and beauty, and charm! It is modest, though
high-quality, clothes that show off a Queen's true quality
the best! Does that child know how much tax money went
for those feathers and jewels?
<>
--How wonderful, your ornamental feathers look just like the
Queen's!
--I made my husband sell his land in the country to pay
for them!
--I bought some diamonds just like the Queen's, although I had
to borrow some money!
--Oh! You should be careful about that, Countess OO says that
borrowed money causes domestic fights!
--Well, Count XX would say that if you can't repay the money,
you can just run away during the night.
--I want to be like the Queen...as beautiful as her...
Like Lady Antoinette...
Oscar : It seems like the entire court's gone crazy.
André : Lady Antoinette's going to drive all the noblemen of
France to bankruptcy.
Oscar : That's not something to laugh about, André!
--The dinner party at which the King and Queen will be in
attendance, at the opera house, is about to begin.
Those who plan to attend, please make your preparations.
André : Are you going, Oscar?
Oscar : Since I was invited, I have no choice. All the high-ranking
officers will be there, so my father will as well.
André : Then, I'll go with the other nobles like always?
<>
André : Hey, Oscar, that's...
Marie : The truth is, I'm thinking of ending the general audiences.
What do you think of that, Count De Guennemet?
Guennemet : Quite right, Your Highness. There is absolutely no need for
the Queen of France to permit anyone of low status to speak
to her.
<>
Marie : Oh, do you really think so?
Oscar : However...
Marie : What is it, Oscar? Go ahead and say it.
Oscar : It is the duty of the King and Queen. Permitting those who
come to the palace from afar to speak their minds deepens
their love and understanding towards the royalty, and that
way the royalty can also know of the lives of their subjects
outside of the palace.
<>
André : Well said, Oscar!
Guennemet : You're too young to think you can enter into an adult
discussion like that! It may be because your father
is a general, but it's entirely ridiculous for a
woman to be a military captain!
Oscar : What are you saying?
Oscar : For a man who would shoot a boy too young to know right from
wrong in the back to be a Count--that's entirely ridiculous
as well!
André : Oscar, have you lost your mind!?
<>
Guennemet : Oscar François, I challenge you to a duel!
André : Please stop them, sir!
Jarjayes : I haven't raised Oscar to die. He's well trained in both
swordsmanship and marksmanship.
Marie : Please stop this foolishness! Calm yourself, Count Guennemet!
Oscar is still young, so please be tolerant today!
Guennemet : No, Your Highness! She has insulted my old and dignified
family! This is not something I can permit simply because
of youth. It would make a laughingstock out of my entire
family.
Marie : I will not allow you to duel!
Oscar François de Jarjayes!
Oscar : Yes.
Marie : I place you under house arrest and order you not to come to
the palace for one month.
I'm sorry, Oscar, please bear it. It's only to pacify
the Count.
Oscar : Miss Antoinette...
Guennemet : I would have preferred a stricter punishment, but I suppose
it's all right.
André : Oscar...
Oscar : Don't pity me, André. Just think that I got a vacation
without even trying.
--What!? House arrest?
André : I told you you shouldn't tell grandma.
--What did you say? You let this happen to my little girl,
you good-for-nothing!
Oscar : Don't get so upset. It will be a good chance for me to
visit the Jarjayes estate.
<>
--But your father is stationed at a border outpost right now,
and if the palace ever found out that you were not at
home while you were under house arrest...
Oscar : Then you can say that my head was strange because of the
shock and I went to the hospital! Give my father my
regards if he comes back.
I'm leaving soon, André! The hospital is far away!
<>
--That aria you just sang was wonderful, Your Higness!
--It must have been the accompanist's fault if she was a bit
off key in the middle.
--The next lady's song is about to start!
<>
Marie : What a gentle voice she has! A figure overflowing with
kindness, just like in one of Raphael's pictures...
Countess Noaille, who is that lady?
Noaille : That angelic one, you mean? She's the wife of Count
Jules de Polignac.
Marie : Countess Polignac...she seems a bit older than me...
but she makes me think of a quiet tree...
<>
Marie : How do you do, Countess Polignac?
Polignac : Oh, your Hignness!
Marie : I've been wanting to talk to you for some time.
Why do you hardly ever come out to the palace?
Polignac : Queen...
<>
Polignac : I can only come to the palace to keep up appearances...
You see, I do not have enough money.
Marie : Oh! To think that she wouldn't even try to hide the
most embarrassing thing in the world, not having money!
She must have such a pure soul! To have a lady like
this, with such an unpretentious heart, in the court--
<>
Marie : Countess Polignac, would you and your household move to
Versailles so that I'll always be able to talk to you?
Polignac : Your Highness!
At that time, in the high ranks of society, it was common for noble
ladies to form very close friendships with each other, without any
implication of homosexuality. There were even some noble ladies who
dressed as men and displayed a suspicious kind of charisma.
In this way, Countess De Polignac, the lady with angelic downcast eyes...
<>
Reigned over Versailles for ten years as the Queen's close friend.
--You're welcome to spend the night!
Oscar : Yes, but I'll have supper first, please.
--Well, if it isn't Sir Oscar!
Oscar : I didn't think you'd remember me! I was much smaller when
I stayed here with my father.
<>
--Of course I remember! You would always stay here when the
general came down to his estate. My, how you've grown!
I could almost mistake you for someone else!
That's the badge for an officer of the royal guard, isn't
it? So, you work at the palace, then? It must be fun!
Oscar : You sure talk a lot.
<>
Oscar : Hey, you must be...the representative from Louis Le Grand
Academy, who read that speech on the day of Louis XVI's
coronation ceremony.
Robespierre: You remembered that? I'm Maximillian de Robespierre.
You were a member of the royal guards there--I remember
your face because it was the most beautiful one there.
Oscar : I'm Oscar François de Jarjayes.
Robespierre: I'm studying law right now so that I can get into university
and become qualified to be a lawyer. Alasse is my
hometown, so I come back here sometimes.
To tell you the truth, I somewhat regret reading that speech
that day. I had hoped that a new King would lead to a
new era, but...
<>
Robespierre: Our lives haven't changed at all. Prices continue to rise...
From what I hear, Lady Antoinette is frivolous, and has
the King wrapped around her finger...
Sir Jarjayes, please forgive me if I've upset you.
I had entirely forgotten that you were an officer in the
royal guard.
--He seems to be too honest...
Oscar : He does have the word "de" in his name--is he a
nobleman?
<>
--No, he's a regular citizen, but many lawyers' families
put 'de' in their names. He's very popular in town, and
gives legal advice to the poor and illiterate for free.
Sir Oscar, what Robespierre said was the truth!
Everyone has started to feel a little hopeless about
the new King and Queen!
--Your Higness, Archbishop Rouen is requesting an audience
with you.
<>
Marie : Archbishop Rouen? Please tell him that I will never grant him
an audience nor speak a single word to him!
How many times will I have to refuse that shameless man before
he gives up? That man has an awful character. Even though
he's a priest, he thinks about nothing but women and hunting.
When he was fired from his position as ambassador to Austria
and returned to France, my mother told me to never associate
with him.
<>
--Lady Antoinette, Countess Polignac is here!
Marie : Countess Polignac? Send her in right away! We'll play cards!
Polignac : Lady Antoinette, the truth is that I have been thinking
that I would like to leave the palace.
Marie : Countess Polignac? Why? You only just arrived here!
Polignac : Though I have truly appreciated your warm friendship,
one such as I without status or property cannot help but
feel embarrassed here.
<>
Polignac : I have no elegant dresses for my daughter to wear, and my
husband is ashamed by the number of servants, the size
of the stables, the carriages...it's better if I leave...
Marie : No! No, you mustn't leave the palace! Why didn't you
speak to me of this earlier? My dear friend, Countess
Polignac! What do you think of me? Am I not here
to help my friends? I'll have the treasury make up a
new budget for you.
Marie : I'll have a stable built just for the Polignac family, and
you'll have five carriages with horses. Your servants
will be paid with money from the treasury. And I'll have
your husband, Count Polignac, promoted to Minister of
the Post.
Polignac : Oh, Your Highness!
--How did that happen?
--Behind that gentle smile, she's very manipulative.
--The Queen's so gullible!
--Count Polignac's the Minister of the Post? What has he
ever done to deserve that?
--And with a salary of 54,000 livres a year!
(650,000,000 yen)
[This would be about $6,500,000, but considering inflation
and changing currency values, and when RoV was published,
that figure could be totally off].
Polignac : Let's go, Charlotte. I'll make you the finest little princess
in the palace.
Marie : How it gives me happiness to be able to make my dear friend
happy like this!
Marie Antoinette's first mistake was thinking that her subjects would be happy if she herself was happy.
Oscar : Father, I have returned.
Jarjayes : You fool!
Oscar : Father?
<>
--Sir, that is too much! Oscar is a woman! No matter what
the cause, that was too cruel!
Oh, Sir Oscar! I was opposed to this from the very moment
you were born! I wanted you, the most beautiful of all
your sisters, to be raised as a beautiful, normal girl
and have a happy marriage!
<>
Jarjayes : Stand up, Oscar!
Did you not think at all of the trouble it would cause
Lady Antoinette if it were discovered that you went on
a trip while you were supposed to be confined to your
house?
Even if you had won the duel, that Count is extremely
powerful. You might have been banished from the palace
forever. Did you not think of the feelings of Lady
Antoinette, after she was kind enough to stop the duel for
you?
Oscar : I'm very sorry, father. However--no, I did this for her sake!
I wanted to know what Lady Antoinette thought of the lives
of the poor citizens who make up most of France's population!
Jarjayes : You are an officer of the royal guard, close to the Queen!
You do not need to think of such things! If you have that
much free time, it would be better spend improving your
swordsmanship!
<>
Oscar : Yes, father.
André : Oscar...
Oscar : Damn! What does 'nobility' mean anyway? Does it make that
man so great? Are noblemen permitted to do anything they
want? Say something, André!
<>
André : At first glance, you look as cold as ice. But there is
a fire burning deep inside your heart. You have a hot-blooded
intensity...I like that in you.
Oscar : André, bring your sword. I'm going to train some more.
<>
Jeanne : Nicolas! Nicolas, are you there? I have some wonderful
news! Listen, Nicolas! Archbishop Rouen has agreed to
make you a lieutenant in the royal guard!
Nicolas : A lieutenant? You must be joking, I couldn't possibly--
Jeanne : And he's also made you a Count.
Nicolas : A Count?
Jeanne : Yes! You will be Count Nicolas de la Motte, and I will
be Countess Jeanne Valois de la Motte!
<>
Nicolas : But--to be made a Count without collecting any taxes--
if the police found that out...
Jeanne : Yes, it will be dangerous to stay here. I've borrowed some
money and rented a mansion in the town of Nouvelle Sangiers,
so we'll move right away.
Letaut, the fake will you wrote was wonderful! No one
suspects a thing!
--It was all for you, beautiful Jeanne.
Jeanne : I will have you come live with me as the first private
secretary of the De La Motte household.
<>
Nicolas : And to think that I always just did things myself!
Jeanne : Just wait and see...
Mercy : Are you listening? Lady Antoinette, you have spent a
shocking amount of money on Countess Polignac and her
family!
Marie : Then tell that to Monsieur Neckelle, the head of the
treasury. I'm only trying to help out a friend in need.
Mercy : Lady Antoinette!
<>
Mercy : Are you not aware that Countess Polignac is only using your
frienship as a way to get money and status?
Marie : Count Mercy! I will not permit even my mother's minister
to say such a thing about such a pure soul!
Mercy : Forgive me.
<>
Mercy : How troublesome.
Oscar : Count Mercy?
Mercy : Lady Antoinette is already blindly following Countess
Polignac. It's hard to tell which one of them is the Queen
anymore. However, I can no longer scold her as I could
when she was just the Princess.
Marie : Oscar...
<>
Marie : No one understands my dear friend...Countess Polignac isn't
like everybody says she is. When I talk to her, she gives
me peace of mind, and makes me forget the constraints of
the court. With her, I'm not the Queen anymore, but another
human being. I don't think that I could live without her.
Oscar : How strange...is Lady Antoinette lonely?
<>
Oscar : Even though she's waited on by many people, as the Queen
of France...even though she drowns in flowers and jewels,
and goes to the opera, horse races, and balls every day...
--Your Highness, Countess Polignac is here.
Marie : Send her in, please.
Polignac : Queen, the truth is, my brother wishes for a position of
leadership in the army...
Marie : What an easy thing! Lady Polignac, come closer!
<>
Oscar : She truly is a charismatic lady. She looks a bit like my
mother, perhaps...and smells of lavender...and they
always speak gently to each other...
Nevertheless, to beg for status like that--!
--We do have something, not in dressmaking but in kitchen
work...
Rosalie : That's all right! I'd work very hard at anything!
--Then you can start tomorrow.
<>
--What are you doing? Come quick, Madame Bertin's back from
Versailles!
--I'm coming!
Rosalie : Wow! All these dresses are wonderful! I knew that this
woman must be splendid, to make dresses for the Queen!
It's like a dream! And all the noble ladies of Versailles
wear dresses like this...
Rosalie : I'm so glad I was hired here! Mother, I can finally make
you feel better! I'll buy medicine, and take you to a
doctor! I found work! I'm starting work tomorrow at
Rose Bertin's shop!
--Rosalie!
Rosalie : Yes, ma'am?
--Come quick! Your mother--!
<>
--Quickly! She was struck by a passing carriage just as she
left the house!
Rosalie : By a carriage? I don't believe it!
<>
Rosalie : Aaah!
Mother! Mother, why weren't you in bed?
Polignac : What are you doing? Get the carriage out of here quickly!
--Wait, are you just running away?
--Yeah, get out of the carriage!
Polignac : Don't accuse me like that! It was her fault for suddenly
jumping out in front of the carriage!
<>
Rosalie : You killed my mother, you demon!
Polignac : If you have any complaints, you can always come to Versailles.
--Rosalie...
--Miss, she's calling for you! Hurry!
<>
Mother : Rosalie!
Rosalie : Mother! Hold on, don't die, don't die!
Mother : Rosalie, I'm sorry. You aren't my real daughter. And yet
I've caused you so much trouble...please forgive me...
Rosalie : Are you in pain, mother? Mother!
Mother : Give me your hand, my Rosalie. Forgive me. Your real
mother...
<>
Rosalie : What? I can't hear you! What did you say?
Mother : A noblewoman...Martine Gabrielle De...
Rosalie : A noblewoman? Martine Gabrielle?
<>
Rosalie : Mother, mother! Don't leave me alone!
Don't leave me alone!
<>
Rosalie : "Your real mother...was a noblewoman, Martine Gabrielle."
I wasn't my mother's real daughter...
I don't want to live any more! Why does God torture me so?
Why does he steal from me all the people whom I love?
Rosalie : Those eyes..."If you have any complaints, you can always come
to Versailles." A blue flower-print dress...blond, curled
hair...
Bernard : Do you plan on sitting there like that forever? You'll
freeze. She's been buried now. I know it's difficult, but
you can't bring back the dead. You can always talk to me
if you're troubled...I'm Bernard Chatelet, a reporter for
a Parisian newspaper.
<>
Rosalie : I'll kill them! I'll kill them, I'll kill all the nobles!
<>
A new cabinet was chosen and the government seemed to calm down for the
moment. The attention of the court and the subjects focused on one
single thing, namely...the birth of an heir to the throne!
But, sadly...because of a physical shortcoming of Louis XVI, the royal
couple had still not been joined as a man and woman, and Marie
Antoinette, who was still a virgin, could not hope for a child.
--This is quite troublesome! Your skin is so beautiful and
clear that no matter what tools I use, I can't quite get
the color right!
Marie : Don't worry so much, Lady Bijet-Leblanc. It isn't good
for the baby inside you.
<>
--I'm sorry!
Marie : Stay seated, Lady Leblanc! I'll pick up your painting
tools!
--Not at all! For a Queen like you to get down on the floor
like that--
Marie : Stay there, you're getting so big, you mustn't stoop down.
--Your Highness...
Marie : Lady Leblanc, it must be such a happy thing to become a
mother!
--I'm sure you'll be able to give birth to a child of your
own one day, Queen!
<>
--What, back from another late night ball? Coming home after
midnight every day isn't good for your health.
Is Paris really that interesting?
--Don't waste your breath!
Marie : Oh, how fun that was! The King must still be sleeping in
bed right now.
<>
Marie : Is something wrong, Countess Polignac? You don't seem well.
Polignac : No, it's nothing. Please don't worry.
--Welcome home, Your Highness.
Marie : Lady Jarjayes...
<>
Marie : You do not look well either. You did not have to stay up
so late waiting for my return.
--Thank you.
Marie : Go rest in your room. Shall I call Oscar?
--No...I'll just rest for a little while.
Marie : The balls come and go, one after another...but there's nothing
more I want to do. They're all just repeats of each other.
Marie : But I'm scared of doing nothing, I'm scared of boredom...
I need something to distract me.
Polignac : You seem bored, Your Highness.
Marie : It's more unusual for me not to be bored.
Polignac : Let me teach you an amusement that you'll absolutely adore.
Marie : What? Gambling? But that's forbidden by the law!
Polignac : But it's so interesting, and it makes you forget the passage
of time.
<>
Louis XVI : Absolutely not! Gambling is forbidden by law!
Marie : But King...
Louis XVI : Think about it. It's all right for other people to gamble
when they only bet their own money. But we would be betting
tax money, money that belongs to other people!
Marie : Oh, please? Just once would be enough! Please, King?
Louis XVI : Well, if it's only once...
Marie : Oh, I'm so glad! I'll definitely keep my promise!
Oscar : You're out of step over there! Go back and try it again!
That group there! Make sure to proceed with your horses'
muzzles lined up!
This group isn't very well coordinated...despite the fact
that the royal guards play the most important role...
André : It must be because the commander is new.
André : Captain Nicolas de la Motte...he was appointed by Archbishop
Rouen.
Nicolas : Damn! I went to all the trouble of getting into the royal
guards, and it's not a bit interesting! Because there's
a woman in charge...
Oscar : About face!
Nicolas : Who'd listen to the orders of a spoiled child?
--Commander Oscar François de Jarjayes! Your mother, Lady
Jarjayes, has fainted in the palace!
Oscar : My mother?
Oscar : Are you all right, mother?
--Thank you, Oscar. I'm all right, I was just a little tired.
You don't need to get so upset. But I will ask the Queen
to let me have some time off. It would not be bad for me
to relax at my own house for the first time in a while.
Oscar : Mother's returning home...then I, too, will go.
<>
Rosalie : There she is!
Oscar : Watch your step, mother.
--Thank you, Oscar.
Rosalie : Blue flower-print dress...blonde curled hair...
Rosalie : This is for my mother! Prepare yourself!
<>
Oscar : What are you doing, you rogue?
You're...
Rosalie : You're...
<>
Rosalie : No! It's not that woman! But...the blue flower-print
dress...
Oscar : What grudge do you have against my mother? I can't let
you go so easily.
<>
Oscar : Say it!
--Don't look so frightening, Oscar. The girl's shaking so much
she can't even speak.
Oscar : Frightening?
What? You mistook this mansion for Versailles?
<>
Rosalie : But...I had heard that Versailles was in this direction...and
it's such a big castle...
Oscar : Come with me. Look at this!
<>
Oscar : Do you see? Versailles itself is like one large city. The
royal palace is that large building right in the center.
You could try as much as you liked, but you'd never be able
to get in there.
<>
Oscar : You say that the woman who killed your mother was wearing a
blue flower-print dress, but all the noble ladies have a
dress made from that blue flowered damask.
Rosalie : I...I don't know anything...
How awful! My own mother was killed in front of my eyes,
and I can't do anything about it?
Oscar : I'm sorry to say that you couldn't even have killed a puppy
with the way you handled that dagger. If you really want
to venge your mother, you should practice your swordsmanship.
<>
Rosalie : What?
Oscar : I will teach you, if you like. Seeking out one person among
a thousand nobles for revenge is a difficult thing, but not
impossible. If you can get into the palace, you'll surely
see her face eventually. But first we'll need to polish you
up so that you can get into the palace at all.
<>
--Turn this way...you poor thing, walking all the way here by
yourself...
There! I had no idea that the dresses I made for Oscar could
come in useful for something like this!
--Wear it and see how you like it. Your chest will probably
hurt because you're not used to it, but all the noble ladies
wear corsets like this to shape their bodies.
Rosalie : "Your real mother was a noble...Martine Gabrielle..."
--Is something wrong?
Rosalie : No, ma'am, it's nothing.
That couldn't have been the truth...just something my mother
said in her pain and delirium...and no one would even know
who she was just by the name 'Martine Gabrielle'...
The rumor began to spread throughout the country that every night, the
Queen would gather together those close to her for gambling.
<>
--Look! Lady Polignac and the others are gathered in the
Queen's salon again to gamble!
--She got permission from the King, promising that she would
only try it once, and became addicted.
--Of course, the Queen always loses...
--So every night a large amount of money goes to Countess
Polignac...
--You win, Queen!
--What a good night! Everyone's talking about the opera...
<>
--May I have a word with you, Count Mercy?
Mercy : Ah, the Minister of Finance! Certainly.
--Now, this is about the money the Queen has borrowed for
gambling recently...
Mercy : How much does it come to?
--Almost 500,000 livres (6 billion yen).
Mercy : 500,000 livres!?
<>
--And it is not only that, Count Mercy. There is also the
borrowed money for her diamond accessories (1,000,000 livres),
and 250,000 livres for her clothing. And then there is
the money she spent on Countess Polignac...Hmm? Count
Mercy?
Marie : 500,000 livres!?
--I can no longer be silent! You must have realized by now
that Countess Polignac is manipulating you!
Polignac : Your Highness?
Marie : Lady Polignac?
Polignac : Yes, I understand! I know how the court looks upon our
friendship! I know that everyone's just been waiting for
an opportunity to attack me! But I did not think that it
would affect you, Your Highness!
<>
Polignac : I know it might be hard for us to remain together, but I
don't want to be apart from you so soon! I will leave
the palace--but please believe in what I truly feel in
my heart!
Marie : Countess Polignac!
Forgive me! I never doubted your sincerity for one second!
I'm sorry!
Polignac : Your highness!
--You always throw such wonderful balls, Lady Jeanne!
--Even in Paris there are few houses that could hold a ball
like this!
Jeanne : Look well upon my shining house of gold and silver,
servants...no one would have any idea that all of it is
borrowed.
Is something upsetting you, Archbishop Rouen? You don't
seem well.
Rouen : It's only that today I went to Versailles again to request
an audience with the Queen...as usual, she won't even smile
at me, or listen to a word I say. What have I done to make
her hate me so much? I've never shown anything but loyalty
to her!
Jeanne : Rouen, I am a dear friend of the Queen.
Rouen : You are? Then, could you tell her how I feel?
Jeanne : The Queen trusts me, for I carry the blood of the house of
Valois.
Rouen : Lady Jeanne!
Jeanne : Very well, Rouen. Leave everything to me.
<>
Jeanne : A dear friend of the Queen? And I've never even been to
Versailles! How frightful it is to keep on telling such
lies! Get a hold of yourself, Jeanne...this might be
a good opportunity to get some property from Archbishop
Rouen.
Oscar : This way, this way! Don't tell me you can't see, with
eyes as big as that!
Who told you to aim for the tree? Do you think you can
get revenge like that?
<>
Oscar : You'd get skewered quickly!
Come on! I said I'd teach you swordsmanship, but I never
said I'd teach you how to swim!
<>
Rosalie : You're awful! Every day, you're just making fun of me!
And I'm absolutely serious!
Oscar : You misunderstand me. I wasn't making fun of you.
Rosalie : Sir Oscar...
Rosalie : Let's see now, I wonder if I should put these shirts in
this box...
Sir Oscar's military uniform...
The sleeves are all dirty...but I suppose that doesn't
matter since it's not a formal uniform.
It smells like Sir Oscar...
<>
Rosalie : Why are there people like her in this world?
I'm strange, aren't I?
<>
Rosalie : Why, Oscar? Why did you have to be born as a woman?
Oscar : What are you doing in my room?
<>
Rosalie : I'm sorry, I...was asked to put some shirts away...
Oscar : Wait!
At the beginning of next week, there will be a ball at
Lady Elizabeth's mansion. There will probably be a lot
of noblewomen there. I'd like to take you as well.
Rosalie : A ball?
<>
Rosalie : But I don't know how to dance at all! And I don't know
how to act!
Oscar : [Pff, no good way to translate this so I'll just put in
a footnote...Oscar tells Rosalie to say 'watashi,' the
more formal-sounding 'I' pronoun, instead of 'atashi,'
the one she uses, which sounds less cultured.]
Rosalie : Right!
Oscar : I'll say that you're a distant relative of my sister's
fiancé. I'll teach you dance and conversation, and have
André come along as your partner.
Rosalie : If many of the noblewomen are there, then maybe...that
woman, with the face I can't forget, will be there too.
<>
--Sir Oscar François de Jarjayes has arrived!
--Sir Oscar!
--She's come to a ball?
--With a girl from somewhere?
--No, this must be a bad dream!
--Who is that girl?
André : I can't believe everyone is getting so worked up just
over you leading a girl by the hand. If you dance with
her, they'll throw a collective fit.
Oscar : I'll leave the dancing to you.
--Good evening, Oscar! I did not think that you would come!
Oscar : Lady Elizabeth...
--And who is that angelic girl? I've never seen her before.
Oscar : Rosalie La Molière. She's a distant relative of my
sister's fiancé.
I'll introduce you, Rosalie.
<>
--She took her hand again!
--My Oscar!
--No! I'll die!
Rosalie : Am I going to be able to get home from here safely?
Oh, how gorgeous! What a beautiful dress!
<>
Rosalie : She's looking at Oscar too...I wonder who she is...she's
more beautiful than anyone else here.
Oscar : Oh, so Lady Charlotte has come here too...
Rosalie : Charlotte?
Oscar : Charlotte de Polignac, Count Polignac's daughter.
She's alone tonight because her mother, Countess Polignac,
is pregnant, and has to stay at home.
Rosalie : Charlotte de Polignac...how lovely!
<>
--Ma'am, there's a lady in the anteroom...
--If you'll excuse me for a moment, someone has fainted
in the anteroom...
Rosalie : Anteroom?
Oscar : Lady Elizabeth had quite a lot of influence at the court,
so many people come to her to seek favors, and they
gather in the anteroom.
--Do you live with Sir Oscar?
Rosalie : Um, yes...
--It's nice to meet you, Miss Rosalie La Molière. Everyone
is talking about you.
<>
--I'm so jealous! Is Sir Oscar with you all the time?
For meals, too?
--What does her hand feel like?
--Let's be friends, Miss Rosalie!
--She's never associated with any noble ladies before,
except for the Queen.
Rosalie : The Queen?
--That's the lady who fainted? Is she all right?
Nicolas : She's my wife! I'm Captain Nicolas de la Motte.
Nicolas : The truth is, she had been malnourished for many years,
and her body is very weak! It's just that my salary
is so small...please forgive me, my dear!
Jeanne : Very impressive, Nicolas...
--I'm very sorry. I'll have you brought home in a carriage.
There's not much else I can do, but I'll give you a little
money as well.
Nicolas : That's so kind of you!
--And I'll ask at the court to have your salary raised.
Let's all campaign for him!
André : Rosalie seems to be very popular, Oscar!
Oscar : She's a strange girl, with a strong will and a suprisingly
noble expression.
Charlotte : How long are you going to stay there talking? The next
song is a minuet, won't you dance?
Rosalie : A minuet?
Charlotte : Oh, don't you know what a minuet is?
Miss Rosalie, don't get complacent just because everyone
is making such a fuss over you! It's only because they're
interested in Oscar!
--You're one to talk! You like Oscar just as much as any
of us!
--You can't do whatever you like just because the Queen
likes your mother!
--Who is your mother, Miss Rosalie?
Rosalie : Oh, my mom?
<>
Charlotte : "Mom"? You really aren't a noble after all! What a
vulgar way to call someone! Only the poor people use it!
I'm going to tell my mother that Oscar brought someone
who wasn't even nobility to the ball!
What's your real connection to Oscar?
<>
Rosalie : I am the daughter of a noble woman! I am!
Martine Gabrielle, Martine Gabrielle..."your real
mother..."
Who is this Martine Gabrielle? Tell me, mom! Whose
child am I? Where can I find her?
<>
Oscar : Rosalie?
Jeanne : That wasn't so hard, was it, Nicolas? Now we can return
all the money we've borrowed. We're known by everyone
in Paris, but there's no one who knows us at Versailles...
We'll have to change that. Ah, I almost have it within
my reach...
<>
<>
Jeanne : You're...
Rosalie : Jeanne, my sister!
Nicolas : What is it?
Jeanne : It's nothing, Nicolas. Let's go.
Rosalie : Jeanne!
Jeanne : You must be mistaken. I've never seen you before.
Rosalie : Listen to me, Jeanne! Our mother is dead! She was
hit by a carriage...
How can you look at me with such cold eyes? Is the
real you from long ago completely gone?
<>
Jeanne : Let's go, Nicolas!
Nicolas : Jeanne, I feel like I've seen that girl somewhere
before...
Jeanne : Don't be silly, I don't have any acquaintances here.
Rosalie : Jeanne, oh, Jeanne! I feel as if my heart is going to
burst apart with nostalgia! No matter how you may look
at me, you're my only sister...
Jeanne : Mother is dead? Dead? But what is Rosalie doing in a
place like this? And she's become so beautiful, more
beautiful than me, with prettier clothes as well...
Rosalie : Please don't look like that, Oscar...it will break the
mirror into little pieces, and the shards will stab
me...
Oscar : Are you cold, Rosalie? Your hands are trembling.
<>
Rosalie : I'm sorry, I...
Oscar : It's all right, I'll do it myself.
André : Who could be here this early in the morning?
Oscar! Oscar!
Oscar : André!
<>
Oscar : What are you yelling about, this early?
<>
Oscar : Impossible...Fersen...
Hans Axel : I came back as I promised, Oscar.