Episode 3

Book of Wisdom / Queen of the Night
Episode 3 Episode 4 Episode 02: Liber Sapientiae Episode 03: Queen of The Night
Japanese Name	叡智の書 / 月下美人
Romanized Name	Eichi no Sho / Gekkabijin
Airdate	July 30, 2011
Adapted from	Book of Wisdom: Chapter 3 (light novel 1) Queen of the Night: Chapter 2 (light novel 2)
Manga counterpart	Book of Wisdom: Chapter 9 Queen of the Night: N/A

"Book of Wisdom / Queen of the Night" is the 3rd episode of The Mystic Archives of Dantalian anime, the third and fourth stories shown in the adaptation. It consists of Episode 02: Liber Sapientiae and Episode 03: Queen of The Night.

The first part of the episode marks the debut of Kamilla. She informs Hugh and Dalian about children that obtained absolute knowledge after reading a book. The second part shows criminals at the Disward estate, looking for The Queen of the Night.

Summary

Book of Wisdom

A group of eerie children are discussing about complicated subjects. They seem mature beyond their age. They discuss if it’s right to leave the world in the hands of foolish adults. A girl is seen holding a book.

Hugh and Dalian are looking some books at a bookstore called “The Perennial Wisdom”. Dalian tries to get Hugh’s attention, but he’s distracted with a new novel. They argue after Dalian spoils the story of the books Hugh was checking. Kamilla, Hugh's childhood friend, stops the fight. Dalian gets in a bad mood, hiding behind Hugh. Kamilla invites them for tea. She tempts Dalian by talking about sweets. Dalian accepts to go to Kamilla’s place, trying to hide her desire for the sweets, but not without criticizing Kamilla’s clothes.

The children wonder if the foolish adults should rule the world.

Kamilla interrupts Hugh and Dalian's arguing.

Kamilla invites Hugh and Dalian for tea.

At Kamilla’s house, the girls pick on each other about their appearance. Hugh interrupts them. Kamilla affirms that she had just returned from the New World. She asks if there’s a book that makes you smarter. Meanwhile, Dalian is frustrated by not getting the sweets. Kamilla explains that she opened a private school and is being rivaled by Mildred. The latter said that she obtained a Phantom Book that increases the intelligence of her students. However, Mildred is now holed up, since she cannot deal with the students anymore, as they are too smart. The children even had a change in personality, in a matter of days. Dalian confirms that a Phantom Book can be responsible for this situation. A book of wisdom that grants the reader absolute knowledge, a power that can be used to control or destroy the world. Hugh believes that they should recover the book. Dalian, however, informs that the first printing of the book is already stored in the Dantalian's Bookshelf. Hugh asks Kamilla to guide them to Mildred’s residence. Dalian is depressed because she won't eat the sweets.

Hugh and Dalian meet Mildred's students.

At Mildred’s place, Hugh asks for details about the Phantom Book. Mildred affirms that he should talk with the children, referring to them as monsters, at a level above humanity. She regrets ever obtaining the book. Mildred affirms that they can find the children at the cottage within the garden. Inside it, Hugh and Dalian find the students and the Book of Wisdom. The children know about the Black Biblioprincess, her key-keeper and the Dantalian's Bookshelf. One of them mentions the six degrees of separation concept to explain how they know about all that. They laugh at the memory of Mildred unable to understand the idea. Hugh and Dalian confirm what Kamilla and Mildred have been saying. Hugh questions what the children will do with their abilities. They answer that they will do nothing and keep living their common lives, without committing any crimes. Control humanity would be fruitless and tiresome. The children affirms that he can have the Book of Wisdom, which is useless to them now.

Hugh burns the Book of Wisdom.

Hugh, Dalian and Kamilla leave Mildred’s residence. According to Dalian, they should not have cared about the case from the beginning, because the smarter the person is, the more they understand about the probability of failure. If you don’t want to fail, don’t start anything. Kamilla affirms that famous people throughout history are known for never giving up, not for their intelligence. They head to Kamilla’s place, since Dalian still want to be treated with sweets. She doesn’t want the Phantom Book. Neither does Kamilla, who believes that less talented children are cuter. Hugh uses his lighter to burn the Book of Wisdom. Kamilla suggests that they have dinner. Dalian, looking forward to her promised sweets, starts to argue with Kamilla again.

Queen of the Night

Two men are looking for The Queen of the Night.

At a full moon night, Hugh finds Dalian watering a huge cactus at the greenhouse of the Disward estate. She explains that it’s a rare breed imported from Africa. Hugh thinks it’s cute that a bookworm like Dalian can have a hobby like that. She does not appreciate the remark and kicks him. Dalian explains that the plant was raised by Wesley and that it will flower that night. She had waited 13 years for that. Hugh shows the chocolates Kamilla sent over. Dalian asks Hugh to prepare some tea, trying to hide her cravings. They hear a door bell.

Two men from the Gladstone Company appear looking for the owner of the mansion. They claim to have a delivery for Wesley. Suddenly, the black-haired man attacks Hugh with a club. Hugh throws him to the ground. The brown-haired man points a gun at Dalian. Hugh stops resisting and affirms that the mansion has nothing of value. They affirm to be looking for a Phantom Book called “The Queen of the Night”.

Hugh and Dalian are tied up by the Gladstone Company crooks.

Hugh and Dalian are tied up. Hugh explains that he does not carry his gun inside the mansion. The two men appear, frustrated because they cannot find The Queen of the Night. Dalian offends the brown-haired man when he throws the book she was reading to the floor. He steps on it to offend her, while the black-haired man continues to search for the Phantom Book. The brown-haired criminal points the gun at Hugh, asking for its location. Dalian is angered again when the black-haired man starts to eat the chocolates. Hugh remembers the Gladstone Company, the name of a store in London that provides information to thieves and purchases stolen goods to sell at high prices. The robbers had received information about The Queen of the Night, bought by Wesley for a large sum of money. The brown-haired man hits Hugh with the butt of his gun. Hugh bleeds and soon after smiles at Dalian, trying to hide the pain.

The Queen of the Night lures the Gladstone Company men.

Dalian affirms that she knows nothing about a non-existent book. The black-haired man is told to look behind the mansion. Dalian affirms that he cannot go there. Soon, the black-haired man screams. The brown-haired robber goes looking for his partner. He finds what appears to be The Queen of the Night at the greenhouse. Meanwhile, Hugh unties himself and Dalian using a letter opener. They run to the greenhouse. They hear a second scream and gunshots. Hugh and Dalian reach the greenhouse and find a gun on the ground. Hugh also notices a book inside the lower, smaller flower of the cactus. Its pages are falling. Dalian explains that the plant is The Queen of the Night, which flowers every 13 years and wilts after one night. Hugh learns that the cactus is a carnivorous plant and that the robbers were eaten, while distracted by its book-shaped petals that serve as bait. It's said that the petals show memories of the victims. Dalian wants to read it, but she needs to wait another 13 years.

The next day, Hugh and Dalian have tea with Kamilla. The couple tells Kamilla about what occurred last night. At first, Dalian doesn't want Kamilla's visit, but she changes her mind after seeing the biscuits she brought. Hugh tells Kamilla that the robbers disappeared after finding nothing of value. Kamilla pities them for leaving empty-handed. Dalian affirms that the robbers deserved their fate after hurting something she likes. Hugh believes that Dalian is referring to the book which was trampled. Kamilla notices the bandage at Hugh’s head and realizes what Dalian meant.

Kamilla notices Dalian's feelings for Hugh

Light novel-anime main differences

Light novel	Anime
Book of Wisdom starts with Dalian shaking Hugh awake since she wants to visit the old bookstore.	The episode starts with Hugh and Dalian at The Perennial Wisdom.
Dalian gives spoilers to Hugh because he doesn't want to buy entire bookshelves for her.	Dalian gives spoilers to Hugh because he's ignoring her.
The old man is not part of Book of Wisdom.	The old man appears in the episode.
Kamilla is dressed like a cowboy.	Kamilla is dressed too modern for Dalian's taste.
Kamilla asks if Hugh found the Dantalian's Bookshelf.	-
Hugh and Dalian visit Mildred.	Kamilla also visits Mildred with Hugh and Dalian.
Kamilla gives chocolates to Hugh and Dalian.	Kamilla gives chocolates to Hugh and Dalian. She also appears at the end of the episode.
Hugh uses his lighter to burn the ropes.	Hugh uses a letter opener to cut the ropes.

Trivia

• The second drama CD is set after Episode 3.
• At the bookstore, Hugh checks newly-released detective novels: The Cask, by Anglo-Irish author Freeman Wills Crofts, and The Mysterious Affair at Styles, by English novelist Agatha Christie. Both were first published in 1920. Dalian has fun giving away the actual end of these books to Hugh. Other titles are seen in the same scene.
  • The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, published in 1926, one of Agatha Christie's best known and most controversial novels. As seen in real-life, its cover has an old-fashioned telephone with a rotary dial.
  • The compilations of short detective stories made by English writer Gilbert Keith Chesterton, involving Father Brown, a fictional Roman Catholic priest: The Innocence of Father Brown, from 1911, and The Wisdom of Father Brown, from 1914.
• The butter biscuits Kamilla offers Dalian in the last scene are manufactured by real Belgian food company Jules Destrooper, founded in 1886.
  • The chocolate box Kamilla sent has a crest with the motto Quis separabit, Latin for "who will separate [us]?".
• Episode 8 is another episode which adapts two chapters from the original.
• The preview for the next episode has Dalian talking about the joy she felt with the advent of mass-produced books through the letterpress printing, a process by which many copies are produced by impression of an inked surface against paper. It shows how old the character is, since the technique was invented by German Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century.
• In Mildred's house, there's a pendant oil portrait by Dutch painter Rembrandt. Made about 1661, it shows Margaretha de Geer, wife of Jacob Trip, one of the wealthiest and most successful merchants in Northern Europe, involved with great iron-makers and arms manufacturers of the time.
  • Hanged on the same wall, a portrait of Countess S. L. Stroganova is displayed, made in 1864 by influential Russian painter Konstantin Makovsky.