Chapte 3.3 write-up :
Norimizu now sets about interrogating the remaining inhabitants of the manor, starting with Tago Shinsai; though this time, instead of accusing him of killing Santetsu, he wants to know about the members of the quartet, and more precisely, why they have been sent to live in 黒死館 since their infancy. Unfortunately, Tago, and apparently no one in fact, know the real reason. They were sent here by their parents, who are said to be friends of Santetsu, as very young babies, and have lived all their life secluded here. This forced seclusion has led to an intense misanthropy, and they, apparently, do not wish to interact with the outside world. Shortly before Santetsu’s suicide, they were made to be naturalised; and, with his son Hatarō, are the sole beneficiary of his will. No one knows precisely what’s in this will; it is in a safe and Oshigane Dōkichi, the husband of Tsutako, is the only one with the key. Even though Tago is the estate administrator, he doesn’t know precisely what’s in the will, or even when it might be opened and read. Though strangely enough, Tsutako, the only other blood relative of Santetsu apart from Hatarō, is not among the beneficiaries.
Our detectives then question Hatarō himself. He seems quite bitter about his life so far, and blames his father, possibly for the deaths also. He says most people think Thérèse, even as a doll, is responsible for the murders, but he himself believes his father is, and possibly is still alive in the manor. As for the will, he only knows the part relating to himself, but won’t say anything, because he then stands to lose everything; and he believes Grete Danneberg was killed because she somehow went against the rules (possibily the same one he is under). As he is about to leave, Olga Krivoff arrives, and it is immediately obvious that they hate each other.
In fact, not only Olga, but the other two remaining members of the quartet, Garibalda Serena, and Ottokar Revesz, are here. However, Olga Krivoff seems to be their leader; both in personality and in outlook. Considering the reaction when Hatarō saw Olga, it is not suprising that, as Tago said, there has never been any romantic entanglement between all the members. Olga, as the spoke-person of the group, has a request for Norimizu : she wants him to burn the Thérèse doll, as she/they believe she is the source of the tragedy. Norimizu doesn’t seem to agree, and reminds them of the Faust prophecy, in which the spirits (Undine, Sylphe) have been changed to the masculine, and therefore that this doesn’t work if Thérèse is somehow the culprit; and indirectly reminds them that a suspicious male figure has been seen at several times and several places related to the murders. And Olga concurs : she herself saw a mysterious figure in her bedroom the night before. Some points of her description could fit with Hatarō, but not all of them.
Whoever this man might be, the three remaining members of the quartet are adamant that Thérèse must be destroyed. Norimizu says he will think about it, and Olga replies that he sees the murders are mere cases, when they are set to be sacrificed to some (unspecified) cause.
Thought on the chapter
I didn’t think this was possible, but this is probably worse than the prologue, as far as understanding goes. I have left it out of the write-up, but quite a bit of the chapter is Norimizu and various characters (Tago, Olga, Garibalda, and Ottokar, though not Hatarō) quoting poetry at each other. They alternate between english and german poetry, and I must admit that even with the translation, I am far from sure what they point is. On the one hand, I kind of want to read the poems now (though they are long, epic poems), but on the other hand, figuring out the furigana, especially for german, was awful. At this point, somehow, using the kanji was easier.
I guess 小栗虫太郎 must have realised that he was going a bit too far, as notes have started to appear to try and explain the more obscure points, though by now means all of them.
As for the story itself, I feel this is slowly but surely starting to find a firmer footing, at least as far as mysteries go : a will that no one has read in its entirety, scorned relatives, deep resentments between people who have live together their whole lives : we are no longer in gothic horror territory, or at least much less. Olga Krivoff is really hard to like, and set up as a possible culprit, at least in my opinion; and I am eager to see how this will go !
黒死館殺人事件 
