Reference:   Shueisha bunko 4, 165-175 (tankoubon 7);   anime ep.35/37
Japanese text  (will open new window!)

 

 Manga

[ After stopping the Palace Guards at the assembly hall, Oscar returns home in the night.   Angry at her betrayal, General de Jarjayes tells Oscar that he plans to kill her with his own hands.   André intervenes.   Finally, General de Jarjayes decides to let the two go and tells Oscar about Antoinette's pardon.   Relieved, André is about to leave the room when Oscar stops him. ]

Oscar:	André ... I'm powerless ... I couldn't even protect my own men. I was exempt from punishment because of Lady Antoinette's compassion. I escaped Father's sword because of your help. I love you ... I'm powerless! You must have seen it! I can't do anything just by myself. My existence is nil before the giant cogwheel of history. I'm only a human being who wants someone to depend on, to support me, and to indulge my heart's desires always. Yet ... do you love me? Will you love me, only me for the rest of your life? Do you promise to love only me for your entire life? Do you promise?
[ Oscar and André hug ]
Oscar:	André ...
André:	Must I say it a thousand times? Or even a million times?   (lit. tens of thousand) My words will still be the same. I had held your faint breaths in my palms countless times ... Ah, those breaths ... sometimes burning, sometimes shutting my eyes ... oh, oh ... only making my heart stop in its path. Must I tell you again that I will give up my life only for you? I love you ...
Oscar:	{{ I'm blessed to be born ... In my endless dreams, you are forever frozen, like a sepia-colored fossil. The lips that I know are ... warm and supple, wrapping my lips fully, tightly pressing and sliding into my lips ... The lips that I know ... I'm blessed to be born! }}

 

 Anime

In the anime, the confrontation between Oscar and General de Jarjayes occurs in ep.35.   But Oscar's love confession does not happen until ep.37, the night of the lovers' union, partly because the confrontation scene ends differently (see General de Jarjayes (in-depth) for details).   To avoid confusion, I followed the same order as the anime and kept the love confession and union scenes in the same scene.   Please see Key Scene #19 for the full description.

 

Remember that I told you earlier there is something special about André's kiss after the bar fight?   Well, this is why.   In this scene, Oscar finally reconciles her memory with the reality.   And what a moving scene!

This is one of my favorite scenes in the manga.   Obviously, like many readers, I'm relieved and delighted that Oscar finally tells André about her love.   But what really moved me is Oscar's admission of her vulnerabilities and human desires, especially the part when she describes her trivial existence before history.   And then her happiness at being born.   (~faint in joy~)

Now, as for why André is a "sepia-colored fossil" ... I don't know.   It sure is an odd thing for one to say about her loved one.   All I can think of is that perhaps Oscar is comparing André's unwavering devotion to the eternal presence of the fossil.   In that sense, she is reassured that his love will remain as passionate today as tomorrow and decades later.

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