May you be happy♡

We're reintroduced to Marie as she prepares to get dressed and vows to murder Jean-Baptiste's longtime friend, Arthur Griffin, for sexually assaulting and raping her. This session also involves her servant, Andre, blushing at her as she's shirtless - even though she's 11 years old. Anyways, we're treated to flashback where it's shown how she first met Arthur Griffin when she was 9, who immediately undresses her with his eyes at first sight, and in that same day requests for Marie to visit his mansion completely alone so as to "question" her before he writes a recommendation letter for her job as the Prevote de L'Hotel.

In contrast to Anne-Marthe, Griffin is a poorly written antagonist, and we get the first instance of using SA as a cheat code for "this (male) character is Evil". Rather than a long sequence of Griffin grooming Marie for months into believing that there's someone else aside from her older brother who values her interests, only to be completely crushed when she realizes that Griffin did all of that just to abuse her, it cuts straight to Marie being raped (fortunately, she's only shown as a bisque doll), and presumably sexually abused for months on end until Griffin had to leave for war.

And Marie's expressions aren't any better, as the expression she gives when she's goes up the suite is one more of being inconvenienced than actually terrified, or confused, because she's treated in the narrative more like an adult in a child's body than a 9 year old. Griffin acts as if he didn't commit any crime as he ascends the platform, asserting through not having his hair cut and refusing to have his wrists tied. It's cathartic to see Marie trying to make Griffin's death as painful as possible, but it ends up making people view Marie an even worse light: Not only she's a a child and a girl, but her actions have given more credence to the public's belief that women are unfit to be executioners because they're unable to "control" their emotions.

Like with Charles' first execution, Jean-Baptiste steps in, and is able to cut off Griffin's head in one strike despite half of his body being paralyzed. What makes it all the more worse for Marie is how Baptiste displays Griffin in a respectful light, much like numerous cases where a powerful man is given a light sentence despite the huge amount of evidence and eyewitness testimonies of how he used his authority to sexual abuse women.

We meet again with Becu after Marie is able to mow down a group of adult men who lured her out to try and kill her. Despite about having three years of experience with sword practice, Marie is able to chop off heads, calculate what to do in a fight and eviscerate people with ease. (Though in my perspective, this event leans heavy into a power fantasy. Marie fails to kill the ringleader, but not because of lack of skill, but because of Becu suddenly showing up and embarrassing Latour.)

As for Charles, he discovers that Jean-Baptiste was just as tormented with his role, when Charles finally sees what's behind the secret door in his father's study: a room filled with various cross as a place for Jean-Baptiste to atone. Charles has a moment with Father Grisel (it turns out he was actually a conventionally attractive man before his illness, shocker), and then Charles turns around to see Becu, naked before him. This whole sequence has this odd tone of "character is first adverse to sex but instantly loves it the moment they do it the first time" and the concept "sex is a rite of passage to adulthood". There's also moment where Becu recounts how she was constantly violated and thrown out of houses, and she tries to reason that it's because she's been given the "talent" of pleasing men.

This volume feels like Shinichi's first attempt at giving Marie depth by having her be a CSA survivor, but it's done with the assumption that if a female character is present, especially in a work set prior to the 21st century, then sexual abuse must be included in her backstory. Even then, in contrast to how Charles is constantly haunted by Anne-Marthe's abuse, Marie's SA is never brought up ever again, nor is she shown presenting any signs of sexual abuse - unless you count Marie hating men.

JOKE-OGRAPHY:

In this Gospel story (Matthew 10:40-42), Jesus mentions how blessed people will be if they meet His disciples with hospitality instead of persecution. He says that those who receive a godly person into their home because they're godly will receive a godly reward, and even someone who gives just a cup of cold water to one of His disciples will not lose their reward.

In this cartoon, Jesus finishes His "cup of water" quote, which the brothers, James and John, take interest in. Later, the brothers (who Jesus called, "the sons of thunder"), find themselves in a pub to refresh themselves with cool drinks. When they find out the drinks are only lukewarm, they share a knowing smirk. Jesus said someone who gives them a cold drink would be blessed, which (in the cartoon) the thunderboys mistakenly take to mean that someone who gives them NOT-cold water will be DAMNED TO HELL. They request Jesus fulfill this decree when the lady fails to cool their water, and Jesus declines, since that's not actually what He was implying... just to be clear.