LOVE THROUGH A PRISM
#16/COLORLESS CUBISM OF THE HEART
RETURN SWIFTLY TO DEFEND YOUR FELLOW COUNTRYMEN
It's all just... such a shock.
This morning, I received a telegram from the Ministry of Education.
I didn't know what to make of it because it was so sudden.
I wanted to double-check with the academy what I'm supposed to do.
Are we...
Are we at war?
Have you heard anything?
Shin, I have a favour to ask you.
Huh?
Please promise me that you will take her home.
See that Lili's all right.
But, Kit...
I'm sorry, but that's your duty.
You know how she feels about you, don't you?
- And we all know that you feel the-- - I have to go and work abroad.
I won't be back in England for some time.
Huh?
I must live up to my responsibilities.
I won't run away any more.
Kit...
Where are you?
Welcome home, Lili.
Thank you.
A telegram came for you,
and I put it just outside your door.
A telegram?
Yes, it's from Japan.
LILI ICHIJOIN RETURN HOME IMMEDIATELY
Huh?
What on earth is going on?
Hm? Oh!
Shin!
Huh?
- Shin, are you there? Shin! Shin! - Uh...
So you got a telegram too, then?
What shall we do?
It's come direct from the Ministry of Education.
We're studying here at our government's expense.
We don't have a choice.
But it... it's all so sudden. I don't understand.
I really have no idea what to do.
If all the rumours are true,
and war breaks out into a European conflict,
then England may also turn into a battlefield.
What?
How terrible.
It's all right, Lili. It's probably a precaution.
But still, we should start preparing to go.
We can always come back if things calm down.
We will return to London.
Yes.
As you will all know,
due to the unfortunate events which took place in Sarajevo,
tensions have been rising all across Europe.
Unfortunately, the skills you have been learning here
are regarded as superfluous to the current situation.
And so,
I'm sure you must be spending each day mired in anxiety and agitation.
But there is something that we can do.
Can we not paint
so that we may convey this moment for generations to come?
This is the duty that God has bestowed upon us.
Let us all maintain our composure to its utmost as we face this crisis.
Furthermore, I have one more announcement,
concerning Mr Kit Church.
Yesterday, Mr Church voluntarily withdrew from Saint Thomas's.
Huh?
All right.
Forever promise!
What? Why would he leave?
I can't bear the thought of not seeing him. It's not fair!
This can't be! Christopher!
But he can't have...
So, given the current state of affairs,
the academy will close today.
Miss Ichijoin.
Sir?
Are you able to stay behind one moment?
I have something to discuss with you.
The rest of you are now dismissed.
He was but 18 when he painted this picture.
For his age, his talent astounded me.
Yes.
Hmm.
I understand you have received a telegram.
I have also received one from the Japanese government
to return you back home.
Yes.
The headmaster has arranged your tickets for a ship departing in ten days' time.
Please come and collect them later.
Thank you, Professor Brant.
Lapis lazuli blue.
He liked to use it when he first came to the academy.
It is said that fate is our guide in this life,
and whatever road we're on, we are its mercy.
Truer words were never spoken.
Professor Brant.
Yes, my dear Miss Ichijoin?
You met with Kit yesterday, didn't you, sir?
Did he happen to mention what his plans were now?
I am not at liberty to say.
The painting, the one in the gallery show,
I can't stop thinking about it.
Kit has never painted a portrait before.
The same thought also occurred to me, my dear.
Something in his heart must have changed.
Huh? Changed how?
Well, some might call it maturity,
but others may call it corruption.
But I can't quite be sure which is true in this particular instance.
I think the answer to that question must lie
in the profile of the young woman that he so meticulously painted.
I really wish I had asked him when I had the opportunity,
but there's one thing of which I am absolutely positive.
What is that, professor?
Lili.
The profile of the young woman in that painting, my girl, is yours.
Something in his heart changed when you entered his life.
Have you ever been inside the Foreign Office building
in Whitehall, by any chance?
No.
It's a magnificent building.
White marble and sublime.
Inside, there's a sweeping staircase.
The anthropomorphised figures of all our allies
are painted on the ceiling.
And when one ascends the stairs,
there's a mural depicting the peace between our nation and others.
It features a woman
very much like you, dressed in a kimono.
There's no harm in going along to take a look for yourself.
I don't really feel like it... right now.
I won't say precisely who he is,
but he is still here in London.
He has found work as a diplomat.
There also happens to be a church close to the Foreign Office
that has beautiful stained-glass windows.
It's the place that he likes the most in the world.
Mm! Professor Brant!
You really must follow your heart, Lili.
So you don't regret it later.
When all's said and done,
time does not wait upon words, but only on the courage to act.
Is that Shakespeare, Professor Brant?
No, that was one of my own.
You're not going to find what you're looking for
if you waste your time sitting here, my girl.
Do not turn your back on the path laid before you.
Run.
Your destiny awaits, and it will not wait forever.
He was right. It's impressive.
Kit and you, I know you like him.
I have to tell him.
He'll never know unless you tell him.
I have to! I have to tell him!
Whoa!
Oh.
Kit, I...
I'm very angry with you.
- Aren't you going to explain-- - I can't.
Why didn't you tell me anything about this when we were on the beach?
I thought it was for the best that you didn't know.
How could you?
Oh.
You made a promise to me.
We made a forever promise.
Explain what's going on.
Hey, are you listening?
I've given up painting.
What?
You've... given up?
No, you can't! There's no way you could ever give up, Kit.
It is your whole life!
I told you, there was a motif I wanted to paint.
I've painted it, and that is enough for me.
And now I...
need to concentrate on my duties.
N--
What are you talking about? You can't just say that's it.
I'm sure there's lots you still have to paint.
What about the lilies in the cave?
This really isn't the time to be chasing fairytales and dreams.
I mean, paintings,
they're just a complete waste of time.
You can't mean that.
But everyone's been worried about you, Kit.
Dorothy and Peter.
And Shin and Joffrey.
And... and me.
And yet,
you were going to disappear without even saying goodbye?
Have our friendships meant so little to you
that you can cast them aside?
Why do you decide everything on your own without saying anything?
I heard about your father.
And I'm so sorry,
and I know you think you don't have a choice.
But... you can't just give up.
He wanted you to keep painting!
Stop acting tough and tell me the truth!
You wouldn't understand.
That's right! I don't understand!
How could I ever understand aristocracy?
My family only own a small kimono boutique.
You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth!
I came here to study painting.
I begged my parents.
Even got a scholarship from the government.
It took everything I had to come to England!
I did all that
just because I wanted to get better at painting.
I had no faith in my work, but still I wanted to come here
because I thought that if I could find a way to believe in my work,
I might find a way...
I might find a way to believe in myself again for the rest of my life.
That's why I came to England.
And when I saw your paintings, I...
rediscovered my joy and what I loved about painting!
You changed me. I thought for the better.
But now, though, you're just giving it all up.
"A waste of time," is it?
Lili, I want you to know--
Don't you even dare, Kit!
Don't you dare mess around with my feelings, you hear?
You can go wherever the hell you like for all I care.
I've had it with you!
Kit...
No.
No, that's not...
That's not what I...
That's not what I wanted to say.