Silk Page #2

you will have what you want.

When I reach the limits

of your lands, alive...

you'll get all the gold

that's owed to you.

I give you my word.

Whoa.

Shh.

You're back.

I'm back.

On my return,

I was surprised to find

our life was still there,

just as I had left it...

but it was about to change.

Keep them closed.

They are closed.

We're almost there.

Careful.

I'm going to fall.

Don't open them.

No, I'm not. I'm not.

Now.

Oh, my.

Well, what is it?

It's your garden.

It's my garden?

Well, not quite.

Not... Yet.

For now, it's a plot of land,

our land.

And the house is also ours,

if you want it.

This is where

we'll grow old, Helene.

But, I don't understand.

The eggs have hatched.

They're perfect.

This year's production

will be huge,

and Baldabiou has

already paid us our share.

We are rich, Helene.

I mean, we're very, very rich.

All this for such tiny eggs.

And the eggs became worms.

And the worms grew stronger.

And we all grew richer.

Nice try.

Isn't it difficult enough

with two hands?

The day the one-handed player wins,

is the day I leave town

and never come back.

Like Ludovic's father.

I never understood

what happened to him.

Did he just disappear?

Well, first,

he stopped talking.

Then one day, he woke up,

packed a suitcase, and left.

Beatrice was about to have Ludovic.

That was quite a blow.

But why did he stop talking

in the first place?

That's one of the many things

he never talked about.

Hm.

No, no, Papa.

Mmm!

Do you think about it?

Sometimes.

What do you see?

Strange trees...

chickens pecking in the dirt,

laughing children.

What about this man?

You hardly mention him.

He was closed...

secretive.

It's hard to remember

all of it. It...

it's fading away.

Papa!

Papa!

I've ask Madame Berbek

to help with the chores.

The house is too much for me.

That's a good idea.

Ludovic is growing.

They must need the money.

I knew you'd understand.

May I see?

No, it's not finished.

I want to look at it.

No.

It was a happy time that summer.

Life was simple again.

Opened his beak...

and he felt sick.

The cheese fell

out of his beak,

and the fox caught the cheese,

and ran off with it.

So this is the path,

and the fountain is there.

Mm-hmm.

And the lilies?

You're standing on them.

Oh. Sorry.

You're standing on them again.

So the lilies are everywhere.

The lilies

are everywhere.

But I knew...

I knew that it couldn't

last forever.

Ludovic?

I suppose

we won't be eating

your aubergines this summer.

It's a flower garden,

not a potager.

Hello, Ludovic.

I've received some news

from Japan.

It may not be so easy to get in

and out the next time.

When was it easy?

I have

Hara Jubei's protection.

I will be fine.

What if you don't

make it to him?

Herv...

Listen...

you have a decision to make.

You make it.

I'll always love you.

I'll always love you.

Au revoir!

Oh.

And once again,

I made it to the village.

Only this time,

it was different.

This time, I was

not treated as a stranger.

This time, I belonged.

Arigato.

I had to find her.

So while I waited for the eggs

to be prepared,

I searched the village.

I wanted you to see this place.

Join me.

Perhaps another time.

You see these birds?

Only here

can you see them.

My father used to come here

every day to watch them...

and his father...

and the father

of his father.

And now...

you've seen them, too.

Come.

And what does it say?

Door was open.

Herv Joncour.

Schuyler. I am Dutch.

You are, uh, French,

I suppose.

What is your trade?

There is no point

in being secretive.

You're either here to buy

or sell something.

Which is it?

I'm here to buy silk eggs.

And you?

Selling.

What?

Guns.

Guns?

Mm-hmm.

Mmm!

You must be paying

pretty well.

Hara Jubei has never offered me

anything like this before.

Do not be fooled by his kindness.

There is a price for everything.

And what about Mutzu?

He's still safe.

They've been

chased to the east.

You never know.

Things are changing fast.

Even Hara Jubei's

losing grip.

I'd be on my guard,

if I were you.

Is that a warning?

Mmm, mmm...

His protectors in Edo

will fall soon.

You take my advice.

Trade fast, leave as soon as you can.

She's quite something,

isn't she?

What do you know about her?

Not much.

But I'll tell you this-

She's not what you think.

What do you mean?

She's not Japanese.

That is what they say.

Who knows?

To you.

May we continue to trade

in peace.

To our lasting friendship.

Good night.

Good night.

The next day, Hara Jubei

took her and left the village.

They gave me the eggs,

but I waited two days,

hoping she might return.

She did not.

And, once again, I left Japan.

This time, I had brought

back 10 boxes of eggs,

much more than the previous trip.

I wanted to tell Helene.

I wanted to tell her everything.

Helene.

What?

I love you.

And it tore me apart.

What is it?

What is it?

So she's not Japanese?

No. She was Chinese.

She was the Emperor's third wife.

Legend has it that

she was preparing tea

in the palace garden.

She accidentally dropped

a cocoon into the hot water...

and then she discovered

that a cocoon's fibers

could be unwound,

and a thread could

be obtained from it-

one that was strong enough

for weaving.

Who told you that story?

A trader.

What is it?

You've been sitting

there for over an hour.

What is it?

I need your help with something.

I need to find someone

who can speak Japanese.

Ask Herv Joncour.

Don't make it difficult.

You know someone.

Who wrote the letter I took

on my first trip?

What is it you need

to translate?

Please.

Madame Blanche.

She runs a brothel in Lyon-

Number 12, Rue Moscat.

Men pay a lot of money

to be with her.

And she speaks Japanese?

She is Japanese.

Well, how did she wind up in Lyon?

She married a French merchant

in Yokohama,

He died on their return to France,

She had to fend for herself.

I have to go

to Lyon tomorrow.

I'll be back before nightfall.

What's wrong?

Helene?

We have to be patient.

We've been trying to have

a child for two years.

We have to try harder.

Come to bed.

Come.

I won't be long.

Voil.

Madame Blanche will see you now.

Please...

sit.

And what makes you think

you're rich enough

to sleep with me?

That is not

what I came for.

What do you want then?

I need your help.

Never mind the price.

I need to know

what is written on it.

Will you help me?

Where did you get this?

"Come back or I shall die. "

Come back?

That's what it says.

"Come back or I shall die. "

Thank you.

Forget about it.

Not the money, the woman.

Forget about her.

She won't die, and you know it.

I:

went to see that fellow, Pasteur.

Yes?

He's pretty darn clever.

he's discovered how to isolate

the infected eggs from the healthy ones.

He can't cure them,

but he can tell which ones are good.

And the results are guaranteed.

Mmm. Really?

There's trouble again in Japan.

This time, it's serious.

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