Original subtitles

Friendship is something that is both fascinating and beautiful.

It was thanks to its power that the boy was able to escape the bandits' clutches.

"And yet," my friend said to me, "there is nothing so inconstant as the human heart."

Act 3: 5/22, Stormy

Hey! Albert!

Wake up!

I can't believe you\nwere still in bed.

I have an important visitor coming today. I've been really busy.

You didn't have to come\nif you don't want to.

Who's the visitor?

Someone who did me\na favor on Luna.

Oh, that fake Count\nsomething-or-other.

Eugenie! That's going\ntoo far!

Speaking of visitors, Renaud said\nthat he's bringing someone, too.

What?

You know, Albert, you must be the perfect target for a con artist.

She's losing her temper...

What are you angry about?

Who says I'm angry? I'm just enjoying our drive.

This isn't a race.

Oh, that's right. You love puttering around\nat a crawl with no destination in mind.

Both behind the wheel\nand in life.

My life is none\nof your business!

Get out.

Sure, just watch me. I don't want to ride with you, anyway.

What are you talking about? We're already here.

For the life of me, I can't figure out why you and I are engaged!

Then maybe you should ride\nin Debray's car on the way...

Oh, boy...

Hey, would you\nbe careful?

Are you okay?

Yes.

Hey, Albert! Come take a look!

Hey!

Geez, are women all you're good at handling, Mr. Bigshot private secretary?

Every dull drive needs a little\nstimulation, doesn't it?

Next to me is a hack\nnewspaper reporter,

...and in the back seat is a couple\nwho just got engaged!

That was amazing!

It was nothing. I was in a special\nforces unit in the army.

Muscle reinforcement processing, huh? I'd heard rumors about it...

Thank you for your\nassistance.

I-I'll get it myself.

Um... What is your name,\nif I might ask?

It's Valentine.

I-I'm...

Hey, Maximilien! Sorry I'm late!

There I was, out on recon, and I\nstumbled into an enemy nest.

And when I accidentally dropped my favorite grenade, I went as pale as a ghost!

From inside the hole, I could hear the Erindanians making threatening clicking noises.

Anyway, I don't subscribe to the theory\nthat they're a sentient race.

In temperament, they're\nvicious and cruel.

Would you like a piece?

Thank you.

Well, I don't want to go into detail\nwith these ladies present,

...but just once, they ought to round up\nthose human rights proponents...

It's delicious!

...and send 'em in there\nto have a nice chat with them!

You're a lucky man, Franz!

Once you're married, you'll be able\nto eat like this every day!

Um... Where was I?

Oh, right! Just then, I thought I was done for!

And who do you suppose\nshowed up then?

None other than Space Cavalry Captain Maximilien Morrel,

...the man I owe\nmy life to!

You're quite a man to look after a klutz\nwho stumbled his way onto a battlefield.

Where do you\nhail from?

My family is\nfrom Marseilles.

That's a rough place.

And you?

Paris, of course! Admittedly, from the old part of town.

Marseilles... What sort\nof place is it?

When I was young, it was\na beautiful harbor town.

At any rate, it's not a place that\na young lady should venture into.

We haven't climbed up here\nin a long time.

What a great breeze.

Those clouds look a bit\nmenacing, though.

Something interesting\ncatch your eye?

Why do you suppose there's a need\nto divide the world with city walls?

The ugliness of the outside world\nexists for the express purpose...

...of making the beauty of our kingdom stand out all the more.

Maybe, but there's plenty of great\nthings outside the walls.

Don't you think we should\nopen our eyes a little more?

Oh, have you grown up a little\nfrom going on your trip?

I suppose you're right.

So go ahead and take on all the troubles\nthat exist outside the walls.

That should quiet those pangs of boredom of yours a little.

That is what we should\nbe looking at.

The High Court of Justice. Danglars Bank.

And the place your father works at, Space Forces lmperial Headquarters.

The triangle of power.

That is the true "great thing" that\nwe should inherit, don't you think?

To me, it feels like we're the ones\nwho have been sealed in.

I am now no longer alone\nin my solitude.

For I am now surrounded by the Furies,\nthe goddesses of vengeance.

In the darkness, I awaited the dawn.

And once dawn came, I cursed my flesh\nuntil night fell once more.

I even prayed that I would\nlose my sanity.

But those prayers\nwent unheeded.

I even strove for death, but the Devil's\ncold, pitiless hand held me back.

Soon... It won't be long now...

Boy, what a lousy\ndrive that was...

Maybe it was punishment for skipping the Cabinet meeting...

Have the candidates for the next President been chosen yet?

The word on the street is that His Excellency Morcerf is the front runner.

You've heard a few things from\nyour father, right, Albert?

Maximilien, you should watch\nyour step around Beauchamp.

He's a terrible man who will use even\nhis friends' scandals as fodder for articles,

...and he won't think twice\nabout it.

That's what they call "impartial journalism."

I read your articles\nall the time.

But I do not approve\nof the content.

I get that\nall the time.

Where are the ladies?

They went home, saying something\nabout their dresses being soaked.

Renaud's antique, too.

If they'd said something, I would\nhave given them a lift home.

That'd be like tossing food\nto a monkey.

So, the Count of Monte Cristo, huh?

I can't say that the name\nis familiar.

There's no documents on him\nat the Cabinet Secretariat, either.

It's probably an alias. Or maybe...

A pretender or\na con man, huh?

I'll thank you to stop engaging in idle gossip about an honored guest of the Morcerf home.

Where'd you say that you ran into this "honored guest" of yours, again?

At Luna's Carnival\nthis past spring.

Apparently, the honored son of the\nfamily was abducted by bandits.

That's too funny. Were you seduced\nby one of Luna's wily vixens?

Damn it...

And that's when the Count rescued me\nfrom their clutches.

I guess you owe him\nyour life, then.

It's clear that he's incredibly wealthy, as well as very kind.

And would you say that this millionaire's\nmoney pouch was stuffed full of forged bills?

Look at this!

If he wasn't of noble birth, would he\nhave a watch as beautiful as this?

Con artists use trinkets like that\nall the time to win people's trust.

He's no con artist!

He commands a\nhuge spaceship,

...he travels with aliens and a woman of\nunmatched beauty from Eastern Space,

...he's free from the rule\nof any government,

...and he mingles freely\nwith people of all classes.

In everything he does,\nhe breaks with tradition.

And then,\nonce night falls,

...he wanders the darkness in search\nof the lifeblood of beautiful maidens.

I wouldn't be surprised\nif he did.

The Count has a ruthless side that doesn't care about human life at all.

Franz!

Calm down, Albert!

You know, there was a case of a sailor who\ncontracted a local disease on some planet,

...and went around sucking all the\nblood he could find, wasn't there?

You should be careful,\ntoo, Albert.

I hear they prefer the blood\nof virgin girls and boys.

You think he's a vampire or something? That's ridiculous.

It's a lot more plausible\nthan Lunar bandits.

Or kindhearted\nrich people.

His Excellency, the Count\nof Monte Cristo.

Show him in\nat once.

I beg your pardon. The door was open.

It's an honor to\nsee you again.

The honor is all mine, Viscount Morcerf.

Please, call me Albert.

Surely you and I are on familiar\nterms by now, Count.

And now, as promised, allow me\nto introduce you to my friends.

You already know Franz.

This is Lucien Debray.

He is a shrewd civil servant, who already holds\na key position in the Interior Ministry...

...in spite of his\nyoung age.

This is Beauchamp. He's a newspaper reporter.

He can tell you anything you\nmight want to know about Paris.

Admittedly, it's more of a third-rate\ngossip sheet than a newspaper.

Most fascinating.

Cavalry Captain Maximilien Morrel,\nhero of the Eridanus campaign.

Nice to meet you.

Ah, the very paragon of a faithful, brave soldier, I see.

You know the Captain?

Not at all.

We've heard that you've come to us\nfrom somewhere far away.

You're trying to interview him already? Don't be rude to our guest.

I'm just doing\nmy job.

On many worlds, photographs are\nseen as an abominable custom.

I must ask you\nto abstain.

Sorry, sorry...

In the course of visiting many foreign lands as a sailor,

...l've become thoroughly tainted\nby the customs of other worlds.

I must seem quite the savage\nto the people of Paris.

What sorts of places\nhave you been to?

I have traveled\nto many places.

To Eastern Space. To Northern Space. Even to the core of the galaxy.

Even the lmperium?

Of course. To a sailor, there are no such things as borders.

Could that not be considered\ntreason against the state?

I see no reason to swear loyalty to people\nwho do nothing to protect me.

Do you not agree?

I see you possess\nrather bold opinions.

True enough.

I suggest that you experience being cast out\ninto the vast universe all alone.

I expect that you will soon understand that the\nonly person one can count upon is oneself.

Set the table for tea\nat once.

And where do you\nhail from?

I came into this world in a land that is beyond your imagination.

A place that you'd rather\nnot mention?

Franz! Don't be rude!

If we're going to be associating as friends,\nshouldn't we at least know that much?

That is quite understandable.

The reason that distinguished gentlemen\nsuch as yourselves are interested in me...

...is because of the air of mystery\nsurrounding me, is it not?

Were that not the case, surely a rustic\naristocrat from the frontiers of space...

...would not have been given\na seat at your table.

Well, you have us there.

But that's exactly why we want\nto know more about you, Count!

You're as naive as ever, I see.

Peppo!

Is something\nthe matter?

Huh? Um, no.

All right, what are you\nup to?

You caught me.

I quit the bandit gang.

So I came here to Paris\nto look for work.

But what are you\ndoing here?

I followed you here, Albert.

I'm lying, I'm lying! It's just a coincidence.

There happened to be an\nopening here, that's all.

Tell me, Peppo...

So, you remembered\nmy name.

Are you planning to\nstay here for good?

Can't I?

Well, it's,\nhow can I put it?

Don't worry. Let's just agree to\nkeep each other's secrets, okay?

Are you interested in learning\nthat man's real identity?

Don't worry about it too much. He's nobody special.

What do you want to do tonight? Hit up Le Queen?

That's okay, I'll pass.

As will I.

What the heck\nis this?

The Count of Monte Cristo's voice...

What about it?

It isn't on the recording.

What sorts of places\nhave you been to?

Even the lmperium?

Some might see...

It's probably a\nmechanical malfunction.

So, is this a\nmalfunction, too?

What a beautiful woman.

T-That's my mother.

She is rather young.

This vista is that of Marseilles,\nis it not?

She likes paintings like this. I don't know\nwhy she chose that place as the setting.

It is magnificent.

Actually, my father hates\nthis painting.

He was going to take it down and burn it, but\nwe placated him by hanging it in my room.

Edmond...

Is there something\nabout this painting?

No. I'm afraid that it is time\nthat I took my leave of you.

Don't say that! Please,\nhave dinner with us!

My mother and father are looking forward\nto meeting you, too.

If you're interested in paintings, my mother and\nfather have many others in their collection.

My, what a stirring\npainting this is.

This is what\nmy father likes.

The ones that my mother has collected\nare over here.

This must be\nyour visitor.

My mother's past,\nwhich I never knew.

The men\nin her past.

Adults who live\nin the past.

Act 4: A Mother's Secrets

Next time on Gankutsuou, The Count of Monte Cristo, act 4,

..."A Mother's Secrets".

Bide your time,\nand hold out hope!