Reference:   Shueisha bunko 1, 215-223 (tankoubon 2);   anime ep.8

[ Eager to try new amusements, Antoinette asks Louis XVI for permission to learn horseriding.   She is soon giggling on horsetop, listening to André's instructions while Oscar and others watch nearby.   André leans towards the horse and trips over a stone, accidently knocking his arm against the horse.   The horse then takes off with a frightened Antoinette.   Oscar quickly mounts her horse and chases after the runaway horse.   As the two horses approach the cliff, Oscar jumps over and grabs Antoinette, landing hard on the grass. ]

[ The scene turns to the court chamber.   King Louis XV is about to sentence André to death for causing harm to royalty.   Suddenly Oscar bursts in. ]

Oscar:	Please wait! Please wait ... Countess Noaille, Count Mercy, Your Highness, Count Fersen, and the rest of you! All of you must have seen it. It is an accident, so André is not at fault. If ... if you must punish André for this matter, I'd like to request a formal trial in the name of Jarjayes. As his master, André's responsibilities are mine as well. You will have to take my life first!
André:	Oscar!
Fersen:	And mine too. I beg you, your Majesty.
Oscar:	Fersen!
Fersen:	It's not André's fault. I too can die for justice, Oscar!
Oscar:	Fersen!
Antoinette:	Your Majesty!
Oscar and Fersen:	Your Highness!
Antoinette:	Your Majesty! Oh, I beg you ... please, do not punish anyone for this matter. I am the one at fault. It's all because of my selfishness. André!   Oscar!   Fersen! Don't worry, the King is a very compassionate man. Oh, how could any one of you die because of me? No one is at fault. You're dismissed.   Go!
Louis XV:	Fine.   As the Crown Princess wishes, I'll withdraw the punishment just in this case.
André:	[ sob sob ]
Louis XV:	André, you have a very good master.
André:	Your Majesty ...
Oscar:	I thank you with all my heart. I shall never forget my debt to you. [ plop! ]
Fersen:	Oscar?   Ahhh! Oscar!

[ At Oscar's bedroom.   André, Fersen, and Granny wait by Oscar's bedside. ]

Voices:	Oscar!   Oscar!   Oscar!
[ Oscar wakes up ]
Fersen:	Oscar!
André:	Oh, you've come to!
Granny:	[ sniff sniff ... ] Oh, Lady Oscar!
Oscar:	André ... Aren't you lucky. You are the only one who didn't get his head chopped off for causing harm to the Royalty. In the old days, they used to torture people with hot irons and boiling water, then threw them under the horses. [ lit. have their bodies dismembered by horse carriages.   horse carriage punishment = tying a person's hands and feet to two carriages, then having the horses run in opposite directions. ]
André:	{{ Oscar! }}
Oscar:	Now look, don't flatter yourself. Listen, I didn't do this for you. It's for Granny. At her age, if she sees her only grandson die before her, there will be two funerals at the Jarjayes house.
Granny:	[ wail ... ] Lady Oscar!   Oh Lady Oscar!
Oscar:	Ah, don't cry, Granny, don't cry. You'll become shriveled if you cry so easily at your old age.
Granny:	Who are you calling old? I, I'm crying in frustration!   Honestly!
Oscar:	[ Ha ha ... ]
André:	{{ Oscar, I will gladly give up my life for you someday, just as you risked your life for me today. Someday I will risk my life for you! }}

 

This is the first time André realizes his devotion to Oscar.   Grateful for her daring attempt to save him, André promises to return her favor someday.   From this point onward, André starts to view Oscar under a different light -- no longer a childhood friend, but rather someone he must protect and dedicate his heart in doing so.   This scene, then, is important because it represents the first step in André's development of love for Oscar.

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