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Introduction
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Chambre d'enfants — A Dream of the Sound of Rain is an intermission from Jun Mochizuki's The Case Study of Vanitas, set between Mémoire 15: Chasseur and Mémoire 16: Galop.
This article contains plot and/or ending details for The Case Study of Vanitas.
Read at your own risk.
Synopsis[]
Lightning flashed. It illuminated the pitch black of the night with a momentary second of blinding light, which shined through the window and casted Louis’s features in harsh, sharply contrasting shadows. Rain fell outside, its steady and constant downpour almost lulling in the way it sounded. Louis sat curled up next to the window reading a book with the storm outside as his companion. He flipped through the pages, musing to himself how peaceful it is. Another flash of lightning from outside, and with it the booming sound of thunder. The rain continued falling. Louis shut his book and bet that she would be coming soon. As if on cue, a soft knocking sounded from his door, and he beckoned the visitor in. The door creaked open and Dominique came in, softly calling for Louis. She stood clutching her pillow to her chest and shivering in place, and she shyly and fearfully asked if she can sleep with him that night. Louis sighed in exasperation and accepted, causing her to beam in relief.
Dominique and Noé both came in. Louis deadpanned, completely unsurprised to find Noé here too.
The three of them headed off to bed together. Louis complained that Noé moved around too much in his sleep, getting delirious right away, to which Noé protested both these claims. They all jumped in and curled up under the blanket. Instantly, Dominique and Noé grabbed hold of Louis’s arms on either side of him and held him tight, not allowing him to move an inch from where he laid in the middle. Dominique and Noé both snuggled in happily while Louis stared up at the ceiling in a daze. He laughed and turned to Noé, about to tease him for being scared of storms. Noé was already asleep. Louis choked in shock as the other boy snored next to him, totally knocked out. Dominique explained that Noé came along because sleeping alone on a rainy day was too lonely for him, making Louis exasperated at how childish he is.
Dominique giggled and recalled the old days when they had been even younger children and they had first met Noé. They had slept in the same bed all the time during those day, compared to now which was almost never. Louis attributed this to them getting too old to do that, that they were all growing up. Dominique looked down, her face going softly crestfallen. She wished she could stay here all the time with them. Louis looked to her. When she went back home to the de Sade family’s main estate, all she ever did was study and attend lessons everyday. And no matter how hard she worked or what she accomplished, she got compared to Veronica and scolded at for being mediocre. Her father scared her as well. It was much more fun to play in the woods together with all her friends. Dominique quietly told Louis that she envies him.
Louis stared at her, his little sister, for one quiet moment. He opened his mouth. The rain outside continued to fall. He closed his mouth.
Louis gently bonked his head against her, touching his forehead to Dominique’s so they’re leaning against one another. He told her she shouldn’t say that, as she was still very young and so she didn’t know yet. Dominique pointed out she was only a year younger than him. But Louis insisted that once she was grown up and learned more, she would come to understand… Louis’s eyes were infinitely dark and filled with a deep-seated emotion. Just how much—
“How much better your life is than mine.”
He did not say. Louis’s eyes softened. He smiled at his little sister and told her, how much she was loved and cherished by all those around her. Dominique curled up closer to her brother and quietly nodded. Louis then wore a cheeky, teasing smirk and said being able to meet only once in a while made love more thrilling. Dominique jolted up, face flushing red and demanded what he means by that. Louis added on a warning that unless she hurried, Mina might steal him away. Dominique further protested that she didn’t know what he was talking about. A moan from behind Louis interrupted them. Noé’s arm slapped Louis in the face. Louis sat up, angrily growling at Noé—the other boy was already chewing on his arm, making Louis howl in pain. Noé, still somehow asleep, muttered groggily about delicious tarte tatin, which Louis yelled at him that his arm is not. Dominique watched the two of them bicker and smiled, giggling happily. Noé continued gnawing on Louis’s arm, until he snapped that he’s had enough and—
Wham.
Noé wakes up. He blinks sleepily, pillow still clutched in his hand, trying to orient himself. He’s upside-down, half-fallen off his bed in Hôtel Chouchou. He sits up on the floor below his bed and nurses his head, trying to recall the dream he just had. The nostalgia that it brought along. His memories play out in his mind. Louis angrily pulling his cheeks apart as Dominique amusedly protested from behind. Noé pauses. Louis. Noé looks down, a deep and old sadness coming over him. Vanitas pops up—or down, as he hangs upside-down from the roof above—in the window and asks Noé if he’s fallen out of bed again. Noé looks to him in surprise as he sighs in exasperation at how rowdily the other sleeps. Vanitas beckons him outside to join him for breakfast, and reminds him that they need to report what happened at the bal masqué in Altus to Orlok. The memories of what happened that night, of their fight against Charlatan, flashes in his mind. Noé’s eyes clear up, filling with light.
As he continues staring blankly, Vanitas asks him what’s the matter. Noé answers, “It’s nothing, Vanitas.” He joins Vanitas and steps outside.
Characters[]
- Louis de Sade*
- Dominique de Sade*
- Noé Archiviste
- Veronica de Sade (Mentioned only)
- Count de Sade (Mentioned only)
- Mina (Mentioned only)
- Vanitas
- Parks Orlok (Mentioned only)
- Naenia*
- Monsieur Spider*
(*) - Denotes that the character did not appear physically, but as a part of another character's memories.
Terms[]
Trivia[]
- Chambre d'enfants is literally translated as "children's room" from French.
- This chapter was meant to be collected in Volume 4, but due to a mistake in printing it was collected in Volume 5 instead.
- In published order, this chapter is numbered 15.5, but chronologically its events take place during Mémoire 13: Glissando.
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| v - e - t | The Case Study of Vanitas Chapters |
|---|---|
| Parisian Excursion Arc | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 |
| Bal Masqué Arc | 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 |
| Hunters of the Dark Arc | 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 |
| The Beast of Gévaudan Arc | 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 34.5 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 38.5 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 |
| Amusement Park Arc | 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50 • 51 • 52 • 53 • 54 • 54.5 • 55 • 55.5 • 56 |
| Miel Incident Arc | 57 • 58 • 59 • 60 • 61 • 61.5 • 62 • 62.5 • 63 |
| Intermissions | 15.5 • 46.5 • 51.5 • 60.5 |
| Volumes | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 |
| Omake | Romance is a✰LOVE MISSION |
| Other | Vanitashu no Karute • Author's Notes |