# E39 - Thunderclaps
Source: [Crunchyroll](https://www.crunchyroll.com/watch/GMKUX2V28/thunderclaps)
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***SIGN*** Legend of the Galactic Heroes
**[01:43] Kesler**
Forgive me for taking up
your time, Duke Lohengramm.
**[01:46] Reinhard**
What is your business here today?
**[01:48] Kesler**
I recently received word that two former
members of the high nobility have arrived on Odin.
**[01:56] Kesler**
I've come here to report this to you.
**[02:00] Reinhard**
How did you find out about this, Kesler?
**[02:02] Kesler**
The truth is, I received an anonymous tip.
**[02:05] Reinhard**
Anonymous?
**[02:06] Kesler**
I have them under surveillance now.
**[02:10] Reinhard**
I've seen him before.
**[02:12] Kesler**
One of them is Count Alfred von Landsberg.
**[02:15] Kesler**
He took part in the Lippstadt Pact,
**[02:17] Kesler**
and after losing the battle,
he fled to Fezzan.
**[02:21] Reinhard**
He's useless, but he's harmless.
**[02:24] Reinhard**
I remember his awful poetry
readings at parties.
**[02:28] Reinhard**
And this man?
**[02:29] Kesler**
Leopold Schumacher, another
defector to Fezzan.
**[02:33] Kesler**
He was a staff officer under Baron
Flegel in the Lippstadt War.
**[02:39] Kesler**
He wasn't born a noble, but he graduated
second in his class at the military academy,
**[02:43] Kesler**
and he reached the rank of
captain in less than ten years.
**[02:46] Reinhard**
Did I miss their potential?
**[02:49] Reinhard**
They abandoned the safety of Fezzan
**[02:52] Reinhard**
to infiltrate Odin, a planet
ruled by their enemies.
**[02:56] Reinhard**
Why?
**[03:00] Reinhard**
What about their IDs? Were they fake?
**[03:03] Kesler**
No, their immigration checks
found nothing out of place.
**[03:08] Kesler**
Though they used aliases, the IDs
were legally issued by Fezzan.
**[03:13] Reinhard**
Meaning...
**[03:14] Kesler**
Yes. It seems quite clear that Fezzan
has some involvement in this incident.
**[03:21] Kesler**
I came here today to seek
Your Excellency's political judgment.
**[03:27] Reinhard**
Understood. My orders will follow.
**[03:30] Reinhard**
Continue to observe them.
**[03:32] Kesler**
Yes, sir.
***SIGN*** Episode 39
***SIGN*** Thunderclaps
**[03:47] Reinhard**
Fraulein Mariendorf, what do
you think about all this?
**[03:51] Reinhard**
I want to hear your opinion.
**[03:53] Hilde**
You mean regarding why those
two men returned to Odin?
**[03:57] Reinhard**
Yes.
**[04:01] Hilde**
Count Landsberg, to my knowledge,
was quite the romanticist.
**[04:07] Reinhard**
I won't contest your observations,
**[04:10] Reinhard**
but I find it hard to believe
even a talentless poet like him
**[04:13] Reinhard**
would find romanticism in the
mere act of returning home.
**[04:16] Hilde**
You're absolutely right.
**[04:18] Hilde**
The reason Count Landsberg returned
was likely far more serious
**[04:22] Hilde**
and worthy of the personal
risk to his well-being.
**[04:25] Reinhard**
And just what might that be?
**[04:27] Hilde**
As history has indicated,
nothing lifts the spirits
**[04:31] Hilde**
of an active romantic more than
terrorism against the strong.
**[04:35] Hilde**
I suspect that Count Landsberg went
through with this infiltration
**[04:40] Hilde**
simply to fulfill his sense of duty
in an extreme way.
**[04:43] Reinhard**
When you say "terrorism," do you
mean he wants to assassinate me?
**[04:47] Hilde**
No, I don't believe he does.
**[04:50] Reinhard**
Why is that?
**[04:51] Hilde**
If he assassinated you, who would
inherit your position and power?
**[04:57] Hilde**
If Fezzan is involved,
as Admiral Kesler surmised,
**[05:02] Hilde**
they wouldn't want social
and political chaos.
**[05:06] Hilde**
If Fezzan were to attempt terrorism,
**[05:08] Hilde**
it would be via means more
utilitarian than assassination—
**[05:12] Hilde**
such as by kidnapping someone important.
**[05:15] Reinhard**
Who would they kidnap?
**[05:17] Hilde**
I can think of three candidates.
**[05:19] Reinhard**
One would be me, obviously.
**[05:22] Reinhard**
Who else?
**[05:23] Hilde**
One is your sister, Countess Grünewald.
**[05:29] Reinhard**
If that talentless poet lays
a finger on my sister,
**[05:33] Reinhard**
I'll make him wish he hadn't
been born with a sense of pain!
**[05:37] Reinhard**
I'll give him the cruelest death
any human could possibly imagine!
**[05:42] Hilde**
Duke Lohengramm, I spoke too carelessly.
**[05:46] Hilde**
Please forgive me.
**[05:50] Hilde**
In this case, it is inconceivable
that your sister could be kidnapped.
**[05:55] Reinhard**
How can you be so sure?
**[05:56] Hilde**
As I said a moment ago, he is a romanticist.
**[06:00] Hilde**
Kidnapping a woman would
violate his principles.
**[06:04] Hilde**
I believe he would choose a method
somewhat more difficult to pull off.
**[06:09] Reinhard**
Of course. That talentless
poet would, perhaps.
**[06:13] Reinhard**
But what about Fezzan?
**[06:15] Reinhard**
These people are realists in
the worst possible sense.
**[06:19] Reinhard**
It's entirely possible that they
would force Landsberg to do
**[06:22] Reinhard**
what would guarantee the most
profit for the least work.
**[06:26] Hilde**
Duke Lohengramm, I thought of
three people they might kidnap.
**[06:32] Hilde**
But in the end, I believe the third of those
**[06:35] Hilde**
is the only one who meets all the
criteria for both the planner, Fezzan,
**[06:40] Hilde**
and the executant, Count Landsberg.
**[06:44] Reinhard**
And who is the third one?
**[06:47] Hilde**
The one currently in possession
of the revered crown.
**[06:52] Reinhard**
So you think the talentless poet
is going to kidnap the emperor?
**[06:56] Hilde**
To Count Landsberg,
it wouldn't be a kidnapping.
**[07:00] Hilde**
It would be an act of loyalty,
rescuing the young monarch from enemy hands.
**[07:05] Hilde**
He would carry it out not with
reservation, but with pleasure.
**[07:10] Reinhard**
That's enough about the talentless poet.
**[07:12] Reinhard**
So what about the other party involved?
**[07:16] Reinhard**
What does Fezzan stand to gain
from kidnapping the emperor?
**[07:21] Hilde**
I don't know the answer to that yet.
**[07:23] Hilde**
At the very least, I can't think of
a way in which it would hurt Fezzan.
**[07:28] Hilde**
What do you think?
**[07:29] Reinhard**
So it's the Black Fox of
Fezzan yet again, is it?
**[07:33] Reinhard**
He never joins the dance himself.
**[07:36] Reinhard**
He only blows his flute
from behind the curtain.
**[07:38] Reinhard**
That talentless poet dancing
to his tune is the brazen one.
**[07:45] Reinhard**
Fraulein Mariendorf, I suspect
that the one who gave us the tip
**[07:49] Reinhard**
about the two infiltrators was a
spy from Fezzan. Do you agree?
**[07:55] Hilde**
Yes, I believe your suspicion is correct.
**[08:19] (Flashback) Hilde**
My friend...
**[08:24] Reinhard**
Imperial historians compared Emperor
Rudolf's angry shouting to thunderclaps.
**[08:30] Reinhard**
Did you know that?
**[08:31] Hilde**
Yes, I did.
**[08:33] Reinhard**
It's a rather masterful analogy.
**[08:39] Reinhard**
Thunder is essentially wasted energy.
**[08:43] Reinhard**
It carries a lot of heat, light, and sound,
**[08:46] Reinhard**
but it's no more than a violent
outburst. It has no use.
**[08:50] Reinhard**
Truly a fitting description of Rudolf.
**[08:54] Reinhard**
I will not be like that.
**[09:03] Reinhard**
Fraulein Mariendorf, I have
a favor to ask of you.
**[09:26] Petty OfficerA**
Ma'am, we can't go any farther by car.
**[09:30] Hilde**
That's fine. I'll walk.
***SIGN*** Annerose von Grünewald
**[09:50] Hilde**
You are Countess Grünewald, yes?
**[09:53] Annerose**
And you are?
**[09:55] Hilde**
My name is Hildegard von Mariendorf.
**[09:58] Hilde**
I serve as Duke Lohengramm's secretary.
**[10:02] Hilde**
May I request a bit of your time?
**[10:08] Annerose**
Konrad.
**[10:11] Konrad**
You called?
**[10:12] Annerose**
Please show our guest in.
**[10:15] Konrad**
Of course, Lady Annerose.
**[10:25] Hilde**
Isn't that boy the son of Viscount Modell?
**[10:28] Annerose**
Yes. I am his guarantor now.
**[10:31] Hilde**
* The Modells were part of the*
* Nobles' Coalition, too.*
**[10:34] Hilde**
* To Duke Lohengramm,*
* he'd be the child of an enemy.*
**[10:37] Hilde**
* There must be some reason*
* he ended up in her care.*
**[10:41] Annerose**
Please, come this way.
**[10:43] Hilde**
Right.
**[10:56] Annerose**
You want to assign guards to me?
**[10:58] Hilde**
Yes. Duke Lohengramm is concerned that you
might become the target of terrorists.
**[11:05] Hilde**
He would prefer to have you
come back and live with him,
**[11:09] Hilde**
but he believes you might not
understand his reasoning.
**[11:12] Hilde**
So he would at least like to assign
guard soldiers around this villa.
**[11:18] Hilde**
These are his wishes.
**[11:23] Annerose**
I am neither necessary nor
worthy of guarding, Fraulein.
**[11:29] Hilde**
You are both necessary and worthy, Countess.
**[11:33] Hilde**
Duke Lohengramm believes
so, if nothing else.
**[11:37] Hilde**
We will endeavor to avoid disrupting
your peace and quiet in any way.
**[11:40] Hilde**
Would you please agree to let
us guard the villa, at least?
**[11:46] Annerose**
Allow me to tell you an old story.
**[11:49] Annerose**
It was twelve years ago when our father
used up the meager fortune he had
**[11:54] Annerose**
to move into a small home
in a poor part of the city.
**[11:59] Annerose**
It seemed as if we had lost everything,
**[12:02] Annerose**
but we gained some new things, as well.
**[12:05] Annerose**
The first friend Reinhard
ever had in his life
**[12:09] Annerose**
was a tall boy with fire-red
hair and a sweet smile.
**[12:16] Annerose**
I once said to that boy:
**[12:19] Annerose**
"Sieg, I hope you'll be good
friends with my brother."
**[12:24] Annerose**
The red-haired boy kept that promise.
**[12:29] Annerose**
No, he did more than that.
**[12:31] Annerose**
He went far beyond what I asked of him
**[12:34] Annerose**
and did something no one else could ever do.
**[12:37] Annerose**
And I took away Siegfried Kircheis's
life, his soul... his everything.
**[12:49] Annerose**
He died, and I still live.
**[12:54] Annerose**
I am a terribly sinful woman.
**[13:02] Hilde**
Countess Grünewald, please forgive
me for what I am about to say,
**[13:07] Hilde**
but I feel I must say it.
**[13:09] Hilde**
If you were to be harmed by terrorists
from the former high nobility,
**[13:13] Hilde**
do you think Admiral Kircheis
would celebrate that in Valhalla?
**[13:17] Hilde**
Also, please think not only
of those who are dead,
**[13:20] Hilde**
but about those who are still alive.
**[13:23] Hilde**
Countess, if you were to
forsake Duke Lohengramm,
**[13:27] Hilde**
he would be beyond salvation.
**[13:29] Hilde**
Admiral Kircheis died far too young.
**[13:34] Hilde**
Duke Lohengramm is also far too
young to suffer a spiritual death.
**[13:39] Hilde**
Do you not agree?
**[13:41] Annerose**
Are you saying I have forsaken my brother?
**[13:45] Hilde**
Duke Lohengramm feels the need to
fulfill his responsibility for you.
**[13:51] Hilde**
If you would accept his wishes,
**[13:53] Hilde**
he would surely feel as
if you still needed him.
**[13:58] Hilde**
And this is important not only to Duke
Lohengramm, but to a great many people.
**[14:11] Annerose**
When you say "a great many people,"
**[14:14] Annerose**
do you mean yourself as well, Fraulein?
**[14:17] Hilde**
Yes, I will not deny that.
**[14:20] Hilde**
But the people it is most important
to cover a much broader scope.
**[14:24] Hilde**
The tens of billions of people
in the Galactic Empire
**[14:27] Hilde**
would not want to be led by a ruler
who has given himself to emptiness.
**[14:32] Hilde**
I promise you again that this will
not disrupt your day-to-day life.
**[14:38] Hilde**
Please grant Duke Lohengramm's...
no, Reinhard's wish.
**[14:44] Hilde**
He has made this offer for your own sake.
**[14:52] Hilde**
*It's true.*
**[14:53] Hilde**
* This woman is the one who made*
* the world what it is today.*
**[15:00] Annerose**
I must offer you my gratitude.
**[15:03] Annerose**
Thank you for being so
considerate of my brother.
**[15:09] Annerose**
I leave this matter in your hands.
**[15:12] Annerose**
I have no intention of leaving this villa,
**[15:14] Annerose**
but otherwise, you are welcome
to do as you see fit.
**[15:19] Hilde**
Thank you, Countess Grünewald.
**[15:23] Annerose**
Please, call me "Annerose" from now on.
**[15:26] Hilde**
All right. You're welcome to
call me "Hilde," as well.
**[15:35] Konrad**
This is where you will sleep tonight.
**[15:42] Konrad**
Um...
**[15:44] Konrad**
May I ask you something?
**[15:46] Hilde**
Sure. Go ahead.
**[15:49] Konrad**
Why won't you leave Lady Annerose alone?
**[15:53] Konrad**
She only wants to live a quiet life.
**[15:57] Konrad**
She has me and many others
to take care of her.
**[15:59] Konrad**
We are more than capable
of keeping her safe.
**[16:03] Hilde**
I'll make the same promise to you.
**[16:05] Hilde**
This won't cause any disturbance
in Annerose's life.
**[16:08] Hilde**
I'll make sure the guards
never enter this villa,
**[16:12] Hilde**
nor will they try to do your job.
**[16:15] Hilde**
So please understand that you aren't the
only one who wants to keep Annerose safe.
**[16:36] Hilde**
*Everything is so nice and well-ordered...*
**[16:40] Hilde**
*Did Annerose do all this?*
**[16:56] Hilde**
*The daytime sky belongs to the earth,*
**[16:59] Hilde**
*and the nighttime sky is of the universe.*
**[17:01] Hilde**
*Who was is that said that?*
**[17:05] Hilde**
* Beyond those stars, Annerose's*
* brother continues his battle*
**[17:11] Hilde**
* and is trying to expand*
* the fight even further.*
**[17:23] Na**
Reinhard ordered Nicholas Boltik,
Fezzan's commissioner in the Empire,
***SIGN*** Commissioner Nicholas Boltik
**[17:28] Na**
to appear before him personally.
**[17:36] Reinhard**
There's one thing I want to confirm first.
**[17:39] Boltik**
Of course. What would that be?
**[17:42] Reinhard**
Are you Landesherr Rubinsky's
deputy plenipotentiary
**[17:46] Reinhard**
or merely his errand boy?
**[17:50] Reinhard**
Well?
**[17:51] Boltik**
In form, I am naturally the
latter, Your Excellency.
**[17:56] Reinhard**
In form, eh?
**[17:57] Reinhard**
I have never known a Fezzani
to value form over substance.
**[18:02] Boltik**
May I take that as a compliment?
**[18:06] Reinhard**
I have no intention of meddling
in your interpretations.
**[18:10] Boltik**
Uh-huh...
**[18:11] Reinhard**
What is it that Fezzan wants?
**[18:15] Boltik**
With all due respect, Your Excellency,
I'm not sure what you mean.
**[18:20] Reinhard**
Oh, you're not, are you?
**[18:22] Boltik**
Correct. You must forgive
my lack of understanding.
**[18:26] Reinhard**
Well, this is a problem.
**[18:28] Reinhard**
The first-rate performance of a
first-rate play is entirely dependent
**[18:32] Reinhard**
on the presence of first-rate actors,
**[18:34] Reinhard**
yet your acting is so
transparent as to be boring.
**[18:38] Boltik**
That's quite a harsh thing to say.
**[18:41] Reinhard**
I suppose I should put it another way.
**[18:44] Reinhard**
I'm asking you what Fezzan stands to
gain from kidnapping the emperor.
**[18:53] Reinhard**
I also think that job is too much
for Count Landsberg to handle.
**[18:57] Reinhard**
Am I wrong?
**[18:59] Boltik**
I'm surprised. You've figured that much out?
**[19:03] Boltik**
Then I'm sure you also know
**[19:05] Boltik**
that the tip came from a member of
Fezzan's autonomous government,
**[19:09] Boltik**
and that it was intended as a signal to you.
**[19:14] Boltik**
Then, Your Excellency, allow me to
explain my full intentions to you.
**[19:21] Boltik**
Fezzan wishes to cooperate with you
**[19:26] Boltik**
in your great effort to take
control of the universe.
**[19:30] Reinhard**
You're saying this on Rubinsky's behalf, then?
**[19:32] Boltik**
Yes.
**[19:33] Reinhard**
Yet the first step in that cooperation
**[19:36] Reinhard**
is having a remnant of the high
nobility kidnap the emperor.
**[19:41] Reinhard**
I'd say that requires some explanation.
**[19:44] Boltik**
Here is what I personally think.
**[19:48] Boltik**
Count Landsberg rescues the emperor
from the hands of traitors—
**[19:53] Boltik**
Ah, I speak from his perspective, of course.
**[19:57] Boltik**
Then he flees to the
Free Planets Alliance via Fezzan,
**[20:00] Boltik**
where he establishes a government in exile.
**[20:04] Boltik**
Of course, there is no substance
to this supposition,
**[20:07] Boltik**
but you would never allow such
a thing to happen, correct?
**[20:12] Reinhard**
Obviously.
**[20:13] Boltik**
Which would give you just cause
**[20:15] Boltik**
to take punitive action against
the Free Planets Alliance.
**[20:22] Boltik**
Do you not agree?
**[20:24] Reinhard**
And what would you have me do, then?
**[20:27] Reinhard**
Bow my head in gratitude
for Fezzan's kindness?
**[20:31] Boltik**
Now, there's no need for
such a sarcastic tone.
**[20:34] Reinhard**
Then tell me exactly what you want me to do.
**[20:37] Reinhard**
Probing one another's intentions
occasionally is fine,
**[20:40] Reinhard**
but to do so every time will
only cause a stomachache.
**[20:42] Boltik**
Then I will get straight to the point.
**[20:46] Boltik**
I want you to seize political
and military supremacy,
**[20:50] Boltik**
in addition to every form of worldly power.
**[20:55] Boltik**
And for as long as Your Excellency rules,
**[20:59] Boltik**
Fezzan will monopolize all financial
interests in the universe,
**[21:02] Boltik**
particularly trade and
transportation between planets.
**[21:07] Boltik**
What do you say?
**[21:09] Reinhard**
It's not a bad deal, but you've
missed just one detail.
**[21:13] Reinhard**
What would be Fezzan's political
position going forward?
**[21:16] Boltik**
You will recognize Fezzan's
autonomy under your suzerainty.
**[21:20] Boltik**
In other words, the rulership
changes, but life remains the same.
**[21:25] Reinhard**
But if the Alliance refuses to
accept the emperor's defection,
**[21:29] Reinhard**
there will be no way to move forward,
no matter how brilliant the play.
**[21:34] Reinhard**
What do you say to that?
**[21:36] Boltik**
As far as that goes, I ask you to
trust in the workings of Fezzan.
**[21:40] Boltik**
We have taken the necessary steps.
**[21:43] Reinhard**
Commissioner, if Fezzan
wishes to ally with me,
**[21:47] Reinhard**
there is one additional thing
they will need to offer.
**[21:51] Boltik**
And... what is that?
**[21:53] Reinhard**
It should go without saying.
**[21:55] Reinhard**
The right to free travel
through the Fezzan Corridor.
**[21:58] Reinhard**
I'm telling you to give that
right to the Imperial Navy.
**[22:05] Reinhard**
What's the matter?
Why are you so shocked?
**[22:08] Reinhard**
Why don't you respond?
**[22:10] Boltik**
I-I cannot give an immediate
answer, Your Excellency.
**[22:13] Reinhard**
You said you would help me gain
full supremacy, did you not?
**[22:19] Reinhard**
Then you should be more than
happy to agree to my demands.
**[22:23] Reinhard**
No matter how justified my
invasion of the Alliance may be,
**[22:26] Reinhard**
it's futile if the route by which
I can invade is closed to me.
**[22:31] Boltik**
Yes, but...
**[22:32] Reinhard**
Wipe your sweat!
**[22:34] Reinhard**
Or is what you people *really* want
**[22:36] Reinhard**
the dumping of countless bodies along the
Iserlohn Corridor by the Imperial Navy?
**[22:40] Reinhard**
It could very well happen.
**[22:42] Reinhard**
After both of the major powers fall,
**[22:45] Reinhard**
Fezzan is the only one left
standing to profit. Is that it?
**[22:48] Boltik**
You are overthinking this, Your Excellency.
**[22:51] Reinhard**
Very well.
**[22:53] Reinhard**
Fezzan has its own interests and opinions.
**[22:56] Reinhard**
But the same goes for both
the Empire and the Alliance.
**[23:00] Reinhard**
Say two of the three powers were to merge together.
**[23:04] Reinhard**
There's no reason to believe one of the two
would have to be Fezzan, is there?
**[23:16] Na**
Reinhard's laughter was more piercing
to Boltik's eardrums than any needle.
**[23:24] Na**
It happened in June of the year IC 489...
***SIGN*** Episode 40
***SIGN*** Maze
**[25:01] Na**
Next time, "Maze."