Charles has sex with a woman for the first time in his life, and suddenly he turns back on what he has believed up until this point - although he claims that he still wants to rid the world of executions. He just wants to focus on maintaining the stability of House Sanson first. And he does so by stating to Marie that Georges de La Tour (the ringleader behind the attempted assassination against her the other night) is slated to be executed, then telling her that he'll be the one to perform the execution.
We're clearly meant to sympathize more with Marie here, although, as Charles Henri points out, her first execution didn't do her any favors, either. Rather than at least telling her to accompany him to the execution, Charles wants Marie to stay put.
A fight breaks out between the two siblings, with Andre stepping in the break it up. He's forced to confine Marie to the torture room lest Charles fires him, and Charles goes to Louis Philippe II to ask for the execution to be done by him, instead.
****
This volume is "meh" for me, with the focus clearly shifting more towards Marie, with the volume making it seem as though Louis Philippe is being set up as the next antagonist. There's also the fact that once again, despite these characters living in a very Catholic nation, are very gung-ho with having sex the moment they lock eyes on someone else. Case in point: LaTour immediately having a fantasy of violating the 11 year old Marie, justifying to himself that it's an "impulse" that he has no control over.
There's also no background on why Andre is willing to risk his livelihood over freeing Marie from the torture chamber, aside from his statement that Marie didn't want Andre to be "left to the whims of Lord Charles". What is it about Marie that has Andre completely loyal aside from being another reference to The Rose of Versailles?
And as much as we're given high stakes of whether Marie can do the "decapitation a la statue", it doesn't bear any weight. If we're shown already that Marie can cut through a narrow gap in a chain on her first try, then why should we worry Marie won't pull through again?
Unsurprisingly, Marie succeeds, and we get another time skip to one year later, with Charles out hunting, then later meeting the future Louis XVI (Louis Auguste), pretending to play dead because he'd rather die than one day take the throne. With how the execution ended, with Louis Philippe (a 15 year old libertine who is shown both with women and with his personal attendant, Larme) deciding to bring Marie to Versailles, it would've made more sense if the story instead cut to her first few days there, completely alone and without any allies now that Andre is no longer with her. Louis Auguste invites Charles Henri to the luncheon, where we first see Louis XV since the assassination attempt - portrayed as a man more interested in sex than being an actual king.
I genuinely wish Louis Philippe had more presence in the story. I would've liked to see how the character dynamics between him and Marie would've played out. There's also this confusion on when exactly events take place. Charles states to Marie that Griffin's execution happened a few days ago, but Georges de LaTour bemoans, while in the Concierge, that Griffin was executed two months ago
Currently watching Max Miller's episode about hot chocolate in the 18th century, and something that popped out was the mention of how sometimes hot chocolate was also made with wine or brandy - though mainly is was made with water or milk.
In Innocent Rouge, chapter 38, Andre is shown carrying a tray of hot chocolate, and mentions that it's with cognac - a type of brandy.
Prior to the hot chocolate episode, I had assumed that it was regular chocolate with spices and milk, and drops of cognac added to it, but now it seems more likely that it's chocolate liquor mixed with equal parts cognac.
So, about executioner servants. In there circles, the lines between assistant, heir and servant were blurry. They worked more like corporations than anything else.
Like, the Sanson family did have servants. But they weren't expected to be demure. Not by a long shot. There's an old french expression to talk about someone being unbearably and shamelessly insolent. "Insolent comme un valet de bourreau". Meaning "To be as rude as a hangman's valet."
Oh, that's interesting! So maybe Andre's behavior in the Innocent Musicale (he's a bit more forward and speaks of his opinions openly) is a bit more closer to history rather than his behavior in the manga!
-Andre is the type of nanny-goat who makes the best comfort food when his mistress is sad.
-best tea and drink maker!
-Used to act as a separation wall when Sanson siblings quarrel (retired for now)
-Andre is very talented and skilled when it comes to domestic pursuits.
Thats all my hcs for him. I would love for you to add on regarding to what he's like as a personal servant!
Since he was a servant since childhood, it'd make sense that he'd eventually learn his way around the kitchen, especially with making small snacks for his masters(s). While this site talks in depth of a valet in the context of valets in England, I doubt the job would've been any different. It'd also be understandable that Andre would have knowledge in mending clothes, being a good hairdresser (see Marie and her multiple hair styles), consulting the tailor, dealing with finances, make travel arrangements and substituting as a footman if none are present. A very busy man!
I like the idea that he sometimes mends clothes with embroidery, mainly floral patterns or winding ivy.
The funny thing about Andre being a "wall" between Marie and Charles is that he actually does this in the Innocent Musicale!
Shortly after Marie reveals that she married Jean in order to secure her position, she sings a reprise of "Innocent Rouge", with Andre observing in the background. Charles is enraged, and he tries to go for Marie. Despite knowing how skilled Marie is, and has a sword in hand, Andre sees what's happening and rushes straight down to block Charles from doing anything.
He's so devoted to his job that Andre doesn't realize that a couple of maids have crushes on him.
Going back to being a servant since childhood, Andre grew up exposed to observing executions, so yeah not even babygirl is immune to childhood trauma! He's also a bit more in-tuned to how his master(s) feel(s).
This ask arrived at the nick of time, as I've always wondered how Andre's voice would sound in English. "We'll Be Fine", sung by Teagan Earley and Miguel Veloso for Epic, is a perfectly example of how Andre and Marie would sound. The final verse especially sounds like how I'd imagine after they escaped to England.
