Introduction
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Serment — Spell-Bound is the nineteenth chapter of Jun Mochizuki's The Case Study of Vanitas.
Summary[]
A scene from the past.
“The stench of burning flesh stings my nostrils.”
Fire and smoke swirling around suffocatingly in the air.
“Black smoke obstructs my vision, and beyond it lie countless corpses.”
A figure stands amidst the flames, which spin around their form.
“I hear the faint voices of precious children, begging for aid…”
The flames cover their eyes, their fangs are bared, blood drips down their chin.
“They are calling my name.”
In the present day, at Hôtel Chouchou. Amelia comes knocking on the door to deliver a card to Vanitas. She’s happy to have been able to catch him as he’s never in his room, and Vanitas replies that he’s been actually sleeping in here as he’s supposed to. Amelia wonders where he’d been sleeping before. Vanitas asks who sent the card but Amelia didn’t manage to catch who it was—a thud interrupts their talk. Inside the room, Noé has fallen off the bed, still totally asleep. Amelia is alarmed but Vanitas says this is usual for Noé, and cautions Amelia against approaching him lest she be turned into a hug-pillow. Amelia blushes, and thinks about how nice that would be. Vanitas puts on his coat and the rest of his things, which makes Noé finally stir and sleepily ask where he’s going. Vanitas grins cheekily and tells Noé it’s a secret. Noé is confused. Vanitas leaves, catching Amelia off guard as she tries to follow him, but Noé is too sleepy to do anything about it. He starts to doze off again right there on the floor, even as the sun shines brightly and birds chirp outside their window. He’s told what a unique way of sleeping he has. Noé’s eyes snap open and he darts upright. Right there standing in the middle of the room looking down at Noé is Ruthven. Noé is utterly shocked at his presence. Ruthven tilts his hat at Noé and, with a smile, asks if he had a nice dream.
Later, Noé and Ruthven are sharing a table in a small café. Ruthven apologizes for his abrupt arrival, with Noé nervously brushes off, and Ruthven goes on to describe the café as old, venerable, and one of his favorite places to eat. Noé fidgeting in place asks why the place is completely empty aside from the two of them. Ruthven had reserved the entire place for the day, to Noé’s shock, for the reason of being able to have an in depth talk with Noé. Noé is surprised that it’s him and not Vanitas, but Ruthven counters that no matter how many things he wants to ask the human doctor, he’d never get any answers from the man himself. Noé says nothing. Ruthven refers back to the last time the two of them met with him, and how Vanitas deliberately acted to extract information from Ruthven while never giving anything away from himself, or even giving the other party an opportunity to ask questions. Noé says he doesn’t know a thing about Vanitas’s past, but Ruthven counters that Noé must at least know what kind of person Vanitas is. Noé quietly eats his dessert and looks away. Internally he’s relieved as he’d assumed this talk was going to be about Vanitas and Noé’s encounter with the Chasseurs the other day, but he presumes Ruthven hadn’t found out yet.
Ruthven goes on that Noé being “the child of The Shapeless One” is reason enough for him to be interested in him. Noé pauses in his eating and asks outright if his Teacher is truly such an amazing Vampire. Ruthven chokes on his tea and starts laughing uproariously at how casually Noé talks and thinks of his Teacher. Noé blushes behind his cup of tea, embarrassed. Ruthven chuckles and whispers to Noé the truth: he doesn’t really know, and neither does anybody. No one knows a thing about him, thus leading to everyone in the world fearing him. Even the fact of how long he’s existed as a Vampire remains completely unknown, even from the likes of someone like the Marquis Machina. What they do know of him is that he was the first Vampire to serve by the side of the Queen, and did so the longest. Noé is in mild awe to hear all of this. Then Ruthven continues: the Teacher didn’t take any kind of important post, placed the responsibilities he’d received from the Queen onto his adopted child, and lives leisurely in the country while uncaring of the rest of the world. He changes the name he goes by so frequently it’s impossible to keep up with and will thrash anyone who calls him by the wrong name. He’s a complete and utter nuisance in every way, in Ruthven’s words. Noé looks frazzled to hear all this.
Noé asks if this is the reason why his Teacher is called “The Shapeless One” and Ruthven confirms. Noé grasps his chest with a guilty expression and apologizes for all the trouble his Teacher’s caused, and Ruthven laughs. Noé has a shy expression on his face and furtively glances at Ruthven, who notices this and inquires. Noé tries to brush it off but Ruthven insists. Sheepishly, Noé admits that speaking with Ruthven reminds him of speaking with his Teacher. Despite the completely different auras they possess, something about the way Ruthven speaks makes Noé feel as though he’s in a lesson. Noé smiles and remarks on how fun it is. Ruthven is completely silent. Noé apologizes for possibly offending him, but Ruthven simply claims how nostalgic he feels. While clasping his clawed hands, Ruthven explains that he used to work as a teacher. Back during the times when humans and Vampires hated and killed each other, Ruthven would gather many students and taught them to think for themselves so that they could all build a brighter future together. Noé’s eyes shine with wonder and he asks about Ruthven’s students. Ruthven says they’re dead. Noé stops, stunned. Ruthven says that all of his students he previously had were all killed. There’s an image of fire and smoke, and Ruthven touches his hand to his covered eye. Noé apologizes for reminding him of painful memories, and Ruthven chuckles and remarks on how kind he is. Nostalgically, Ruthven says how pleasant it would be if he had a student like Noé. Noé is touched.
Ruthven says he’s worried though that someone may come to take advantage of Noé’s kindness. Noé assumes he means Vanitas, which he refutes that he’d ever do such a thing—then stops and realizes that’s exactly who Vanitas is, remembering their first encounter with Jeanne and when Vanitas proposed taking Maria hostage. Ruthven drinks his tea and watches Noé as the latter remarks on the way Vanitas tries to use everyone but can’t stand someone being hurt for his sake. He’s inconsistent. Noé remembers the conversation they had underground, explaining how Vanitas thinks of Vampires and humans as the same, “terribly ugly, endlessly selfish creatures.” Hearing that at the time had irritated Noé, but at the same time, struck him with this sense of loneliness.
Ruthven asks what Noé thinks. Noé is surprised. Ruthven asks what Noé thinks about humans and Vampires, to the latter’s confusion. Ruthven has heard about how Noé was taken in by humans when he was a young child. There’s silence between them. Ruthven had looked into Noé’s past and knows generally of his circumstances, and so he asks. Is Noé a friend of the Vampires, or does he side with the humans against them? Noé is silent. Ruthven stares at him. Noé says he’s neither. What Noé considers an enemy is anybody who threatens to hurt someone important to him or something he wants to protect, as being either human or Vampire alone would never be enough. Noé declares: “I like Vampires. And, in the same way, I like humans.”
Ruthven closes his eye. He says he understands and—“You won’t do.” Noé lurches over suddenly. He’s confused, suddenly finding his body unresponsive, and he looks to his half-drunken cup of tea and Ruthven who stands up from the table. Noé weakly calls out to Ruthven.
Ruthven sinks his teeth into Noé’s neck.
Blood spills and Ruthven drinks it all up hungrily. Noé sees himself in the mirror of the café—one arm wrapped around his body to keep him still, the other arm clasped around his mouth to muffle his screams, and Ruthven drinking his blood from his neck. Noé doesn’t understand what’s happening. Ruthven releases Noé, who drops to his knees onto the floor, no strength in his body. The blood on his neck from where Ruthven had drunk from him moves as if on a mind of its own across the skin of his neck, taking the vague shape of fingers clasping tightly around Noé’s throat. Ruthven takes Noé’s chin in his fingers and tilts his head up to meet his eyes. “Swear,” Ruthven says. With blood dripping down his chin and Noé looking up at him soullessly, Ruthven gives a command—one time only, when he wishes it, Noé will obey his order no matter what it is. Ruthven commands him to swear this. Noé opens his mouth. Shaking, panting, sounding as if he’s lost total control of his own voice, Noé swears. One time only, when Ruthven wishes it, Noé will obey his order no matter what it is. Ruthven is satisfied and snaps his fingers. The blood on Noé’s neck once again begins moving and takes the shape of a dark ring encircling Noé’s neck. The blood snaps around his neck decisively like a trap snaring its prey.
Noé falls to the ground at Ruthven’s feet unconscious. Monsieur Spider runs into the room and demands why Ruthven didn’t kill Noé. Ruthven licks his lips clean of blood and says he changed his mind. They still don’t know why “The Shapeless One” was keeping an Archiviste like Noé so close to him, and thus decided to leave him alive to use as a pawn. After all they can rid of him whenever they desire due to him only being a child. Ruthven smiles and says he has high hopes for him, and tells him when the time comes to remember that oath. Noé doesn’t hear this, his mind clouded with nothing but a deep darkness.
Vanitas is walking through the streets of Paris. He finds who he’s looking for and, with a wry smirk and while holding up the card, remarks how he never expected to be called out by her of all people: Jeanne. She’s dressed in an extravagant dress with a matching hat and parasol, and once Vanitas arrives, she looks to him with determination. Jeanne tells this to Vanitas: “Let’s go on a date.”
Characters[]
(*) - Denotes that the character did not appear physically, but as a part of another character's memories.
Terms[]
Trivia[]
- Serment is literally translated as "oath" from French.
- The café that Ruthven and Noé go to is based on a real café in Paris, Le Procope, founded in 1686. It became very popular, frequented by philosophers, writers, and politicians of different periods.
[]
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 |