Introduction
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Mal d’Amour — The Incurable Illness (Part One) is the forty-fourth chapter of Jun Mochizuki's The Case Study of Vanitas.
Summary[]
It’s a regular day at the Galerie Valentine. Orlok peacefully does his work while Nox serves him tea and Manet organizes the books on the shelves. A ringing sounds from the door, surprising them all as no guests were scheduled to come that day. Orlok continues his work but stills as he hears shouting from the door as Nox and Manet try to stop their uninvited guest. Despite their efforts, Noé bursts into the room carrying Vanitas under his good arm, claiming that the human is about to die. All three are stunned.
Vanitas has been placed on the couch, where he lies on his side curled up and visibly in pain. Noé claims that he’s been bedridden ever since they returned to Paris, that Vanitas claims his chest hurts, and he can’t eat. Manet is uncaring of this, but Nox allows him to continue while Orlok pets and feeds a happy Murr behind. As Amelia was out and Vanitas refused to be examined by a stranger, all Noé could think of was coming here. Vanitas shakily sits up and says that after reading through all his medical books, he could find no word of these symptoms, so this couldn’t be an illness. The only explanation is that he’d been cursed by Jeanne the Hellfire Witch, a revelation that shocks Orlok, Nox, and Manet.
Vanitas claims his symptoms started after Jeanne drank his blood in Gévaudan. Noé and Manet are puzzled to hear this. Vanitas continues explaining—his face grew hot, his chest constricted, hurt, and wouldn’t stop palpitating, and finally, he can’t seem to stop thinking about Jeanne. Vanitas clutches his head in his hands and yells out in utter agony. Orlok and Nox stare at him. Vanitas adds on that Jeanne drinking his blood at that time felt much better than usual. Noé breaks out into a sweat and Manet blushes red. With all these symptoms and signs, Vanitas can only come to one possible conclusion: Jeanne either poisoned or cursed him, and there’s no other explanation. Orlok and Nox keep staring. While Manet is too flustered to speak, Orlok and Nox address each other briefly, simultaneously take in a deep breath—and kick Noé and Vanitas out. (They make sure to give Murr a treat.)
While Noé pounds on the door, begs to be let back in, and even resorts to threatening to kick the door in, Vanitas stumbles off and out into the streets. He walks around and eventually reaches a bridge overlooking a glittering river underneath. As he walks he recalls Jeanne’s voice in his mind, asking him to kill her as promised, and then smiling that bright and joyous grin. At this memory Vanitas clenches his fist and flushes red. While he’s struggling with his own feelings, a couple of passersby walk behind him, the man professing his love for the swooning woman, happening to list Vanitas’s “symptoms” during his love confession. Hearing this, Vanitas comes to a horrible realization. He remembers when Noé had asked him what “love” was, and grows further distressed as the truth dawns on him. Vanitas starts running through the streets, mind in shambles, torn between desperate denial and remembering Jeanne’s kiss, until he reaches a cafe and stumbles on a customer’s chair. He makes to apologize but is shocked to find out who is sitting there.
Roland. Vanitas reacts accordingly, reeling back in horror and shrieking in absolute fear. Roland is similarly surprised but smiles brightly and greets Vanitas as “Vincent,” the same pseudonym Vanitas had gone under when he’d infiltrated the Chasseurs. Roland then introduces his colleague sitting next to him to Vanitas, Olivier, and Vanitas recognizes the name as well as his position. Olivier accuses Roland of causing trouble, citing how terrified of him Vanitas looks, to which Roland lies about meeting him through a drinking contest. Olivier offers to treat Vanitas to coffee to make up for Roland, who tries to dissuade him to give Vanitas an opening to leave. Olivier wants to speak with Vanitas to find out what Roland does outside of work, whether it’s a relationship with a woman—which catches Vanitas’s attention—or if he’s plotting something in secret, Olivier intends to find out sooner for his own sanity. Vanitas suddenly sits down at the table with the two, worrying Roland, and accepts the proffered coffee.
Some time later, Roland has finished spinning a tale about him and Olivier flying over Paris in an aircraft that allows anyone to pilot it, but Vanitas doesn’t respond. Roland worries over Vanitas, who hasn’t said a word in the fifteen minutes he’s been here, while Olivier lights a cigarette. Vanitas tries to speak, which Roland perks up at. Vanitas tries again, Roland further encouraging him. Vanitas eventually manages to get his question out: if Roland is “used to that sort of thing.” Roland assumes he’s referring to piloting an aircraft, but Vanitas declines, confusing Roland and Olivier with his vagueness. Vanitas, shaking so hard his coffee almost spills, asks if Roland has a “special someone.” Roland realizes Vanitas is asking about a lover, which he declines having “right now.” Olivier remarks how Roland often goes through partners, while Roland points to Olivier and how popular he is, which Olivier admits to shamelessly. Vanitas asks if this means they have experience, which has Roland answering more hesitantly.
Vanitas turns his head away and cites this anecdote about an “acquaintance” of his. Roland stills but accepts this and urges Vanitas on. Vanitas explains how his “acquaintance” can’t get a certain woman’s face out of his mind, his chest hurts, and he can’t sleep at night. Roland and Olivier lean in together, intrigued. Roland, beaming excitedly, asks what the woman is like. Vanitas hesitantly answers about her appearance, overall “beautiful.” Olivier compliments his tastes then asks if anything happened between them to make him more conscious of her. Vanitas explains that he’d only begun interacting with her due to her amusing reactions, but the more different sides of her were shown to him the more he was thrown off. Vanitas vaguely describes Jeanne drinking his blood in a way that makes Roland and Olivier assume the moment was more sexual in nature than it actually was. Vanitas caps off his explanation with Jeanne’s smile, and how it completely changed how he saw her.
Olivier chokes. Roland reprimands him and Olivier cites how “sweet and sour” their dessert was. Roland asks if she shines in his eyes, stunning Vanitas with his accurate guess. Roland gives a thumbs up and calls that feeling “love.” Vanitas is absolutely devastated. Trembling, Vanitas comes to term that what he’s feeling may be “the real kind” of love. He yells, desperate to rid himself of “these symptoms”, at the same time that Noé approaches the cafe and finds him. Noé is about to call out to Vanitas, but stops when he hears Vanitas speak about the agony he’s in, like his very being is being rewritten. Roland and Olivier note that Vanitas has even forgotten about the pretense of this being about his “acquaintance.” Roland nervously comments that this woman seems to return Vanitas’s feelings from what he’d described. Vanitas grows pale. Roland is confused. Vanitas dismisses this as impossible. Roland asks why. Vanitas claims he’d approached her for the exact purpose that she’d never be fond of him. Roland asks why he’d done that, making Vanitas slam his fist on the table.
Vanitas says the idea of anyone falling for him is outright “revolting.” Noé, crouched down behind a nearby customer’s chair, is stunned to hear this, as are Roland and Olivier. Roland remarks that Vanitas hated himself more than Roland thought, to Vanitas’s anger. Roland stands up and grasps Vanitas’s hands in his, going on to offer to love Vanitas enough for the both of them, preaching about God’s love like a descending archangel. Roland reassures Vanitas that he has nothing to fear about loving someone, but Vanitas just ends up as terrified and revolted of Roland as ever. He yanks his hands from Roland’s grasp, launches out of his chair, and scurries off hastily, all the while calling Roland a moron. Noé is stunned at Vanitas’s aggressive reaction, and Roland calls to him as “Gilbert” and urges him to chase after.
Roland sits back down and Olivier identifies Vanitas as the Kin of the Blue Moon. Roland is unsurprised to hear that Olivier has that figured out. Olivier breathes out smoke and remarks how unusual it is to see Roland get so attached to an individual. Roland is surprised to hear that, to which Olivier confirms that’s how it looks. A distance away, Noé is trying to approach Vanitas like he would a scared animal, and Vanitas is bristling angrily in response. Roland watches and calls Vanitas “terribly shaky,” as if he’d fall apart at any moment. Roland makes a sentimental expression and says he can’t bring himself to leave Vanitas alone. Olivier warns Roland in turn, that while he managed to protect Vanitas over the incident with Moreau, reports from other Chasseurs have already been made regarding the Beast of Gévaudan incident. In due time the Church will make its move to bring Vanitas’s power under their control. Roland pouts, then steals Olivier’s cigarette while making fun of him for smoking. Olivier is irritated and demands the cigarette back. Roland instead changes the subject back to what they’d been discussing before—Gano, and a group called the “Vampire Eradication Faction”.
In Altus Paris, Dominique is going about her business when she hears a commotion behind her of someone rushing past the maids to see her. It’s Luca, with Jeanne in tow wearing an expression of wonder, claiming that Jeanne has “gone all strange.”
Characters[]
- Parks Orlok
- Nox
- Manet
- Noé Archiviste
- Vanitas
- Murr
- Amelia Ruth (Mentioned only)
- Roland Fortis
- Olivier
- Moreau (Mentioned only)
- Gano*
- Dominique de Sade
- Luca Oriflamme
- Jeanne
(*) - Denotes that the character did not appear physically, but as a part of another character's memories.
Terms[]
- Paris
- Galerie Valentine
- Vampires
- Gévaudan (Mentioned only)
- Chasseurs
- Clan of the Blue Moon
- The Catholic Church
- Altus
Trivia[]
- Mal d’Amour is literally translated as "love sickness" from French.
[]
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 |