whenever I tell someone I have a huge crush on him (saying names is embarrassing + as much as I hate Indian traditions which are supposed to put down women, I think little things like not saying your s/o's name as romantic), they're always like "it can't be that bad".
Girl, legit my entire class knows the 'fat girl with the glasses' has a fake Polaroid of Harry hidden in her ID card.
Maiden Rose canon references Part 1: Annotated Chronology
(Or, “I was trying to update an old doujinshi reading-order list, and somehow this ended up happening first...”) I’ve been meaning to pin down all these references for my own use for ages, and now that it’s done I’m sharing the list in case it’s of use to other writers. If you see anything you think is missing or inaccurate, please let me know!
First, a very quick rundown of the three major time periods involved:
PRESENT DAY: Winter 1928.
Taki is 20 and Klaus is presumably 26.
LUCKENWALDE: June 1927–June 1928.
Taki is 18 at the start and about 19–20 at the end, so Klaus is about 24–25.
FIRST MEETING: Spring 1918.
Taki and Klaus are about 9–10 and 15–16, respectively.
What establishes the character ages?
Chapter 9 shows that Klaus and Taki’s first meeting as children took place in 1918.
Chapter 13 notes Taki is 18 when he arrives at Luckenwalde, and in Chapter 15 it is noted that he is leaving the Eastern Country in June to study in the West. In Chapter 5 Taki is said to be 20 in the present day, and in Chapter 3, Klaus says Taki is six years his junior.
When Klaus tells Claudia of his impending defection in Chapter 2, the scene is directly noted to be June of 1928; he also speaks of meeting Taki a year ago in the same chapter, during the flashback to their conversation after Taki gets the news that he's being deported. In Chapter 1, Klaus tells Cadet Yamamoto that he's been in the East for "half a year" already, and Suguri also describes Klaus as having been nothing more than one of Taki's school friends "until half a year ago", so the present-day scenes are probably taking place in November or December of 1928.
For Taki to be 20 by the end of 1928, his 19th birthday would have to have fallen in the first half of his year at Luckenwalde, so it's probably sometime between late June at the earliest to early December at the latest.
What establishes these dates?
Inariya is quite thorough about reinforcing the handful of directly-stated dates with dialogue and art cues. Here are the major timeline events that can be pinned down to set points in the chronology:
FIRST MEETING ON THE IMPERIAL ISLAND: Spring 1918
Chapter 9 directly sets the year of their first encounter as 1918. Wisteria is in full bloom in the temple garden, as first seen clearly in the flashback in Chapter 2, further indicating the season is spring. Chapter 2, directly dated to June 1928, further establishes this date as Klaus reminisces to Claudia about attending the coronation ten years ago. Chapter 18, which appears to be Hartmann briefing Klaus about Eastern politics shortly before his defection, also refers to this visit as having been ten years ago.
ARRIVAL AT LUCKENWALDE: June 1927
In the first part of Chapter 15, when Klaus visits Claudia to tell her of his upcoming assignment at Luckenwalde, the roses in her garden are in full bloom: Chapter 8, which showed similarly blossom-laden rosebuses, notes they harvest the roses in June. Taki’s audience at court in the second part of Chapter 15 is captioned as taking place at the same time as the earlier scene of Klaus and Claudia; here the Emperor specifically notes that Taki is departing in June to study in the West. This timeframe is further established by the blooming laburnum tree seen when Klaus and Taki first meet at Luckenwalde in chapter 13, and the laburnum grove conversation about meeting "one year ago" in Chapter 2, as laburnums also bloom in spring.
DEPARTURE FROM LUCKENWALDE: June or early July 1928
In Chapter 2, it is directly stated to be June of 1928 when Klaus visits Claudia to make his farewells, and laburnums are discussed and shown in full bloom in the flashback scene when Taki and Klaus talk outside after Taki learns of his coming deportation. Klaus mentions in this same chapter that they first met under the laburnums a year ago, and Chapter 15 later establishes that Taki had departed the East for Luckenwalde in June. It's unclear just how much time elapses between the deportation order and their actual departure, but since the bonus Chapter 11.5 establishes it is still spring in the Eastern Country, there can't have been too lengthy of a delay; this same chapter also has Uemura noting "it's been a year" since Taki was home, so he must be returning at roughly the same time of year as his departure last June.
ARRIVAL IN THE EAST: June or early July 1928
Uemura's comments in the bonus Chapter 11.5 indicates the train journey from Luckenwalde takes at least 2 to 3 days, possibly more: in the same chapter, Klaus speaks of having been separated from Taki for three days, but it's not clear if he's referring to time spent travelling to see Claudia and back before boarding Taki's train, time spent sequestered while on the train, or a combination of both. Wisteria are blooming lavishly when Taki and Klaus meet in the temple garden in Chapter 25, and in Chapter 11.5 Uemura notes that "spring is late" back home.
KNIGHTHOOD CEREMONY: June or early July 1928
Presumably this took place sometime relatively soon after their arrival in the East, since Chapter 11.5 confirms that the Eastern government is refusing to grant Klaus asylum as a defector, so becoming Taki's knight is the only way Klaus will be allowed to remain in the country. The cherry blossoms and floating petals shown in the background of the ceremony in Chapter 4 indicate that it's still spring, and Taki’s conversation with the Emperor in Chapter 25 may suggest Klaus has already made his oath.
PRESENT DAY: Winter 1928, probably late November or December
Chapter 1 directly states the present-day action is set in 1928 at the Reizen winter residence. Suguri mentions it is snowing in Chapter 7, and the constant use of overcoats and gloves outdoors, especially when Klaus and Azusa are kitting out in extra-heavy fur-lined gear for the No Man's Land mission in Chapter 8, all further reinforce the sense of cold winter weather, as do the flakes of falling snow seen in many of the present-day outdoor scenes throughout Volume 2 and visible clouds of frozen breath shown in many present-day outdoor scenes from Volume 2 onward. Chapter 2 established Taki's deportation must have occurred sometime around June, and Suguri and Klaus both spoke of Klaus arriving in the East "half a year ago" in Chapter 1, so by now it must be close to the end of the year.
