The slaughter of the wealthy Bavarian family of the von
Beringer, and the relationships between the surviving members of
that family and the Alensmeiers is the core of the mystery behind
the first part of Orpheus no Mado. Understanding clearly what
happened is surely not easy when reading the manga following a
monthly release, so we will collect and put in order the pieces
of information given to us during the various chapters.
1) Heinz Frenzdorf, Headmaster of the Saint Sebastian Musical
Institute, was the father of Eleonore Frenzdorf. Their family was
poor; Mr. Frenzdorf worked as a pianist in a tavern to earn his
living. He was the one who taught Eleonore philosophy and music.
When Eleonore was 16, she met the earl Theodor von Beringer, a
wealthy young man who was one of the favourite of Ludwig II, king
of Bavaria, along with prince Paul Thurn und Taxis. Ludwig II
opposed this marriage because of Eleonore's poorness; so prince
Paul Thurn und Taxis formally adopted her. Eleonore Frenzdorf
became princess Eleonore Thurn und Taxis and married earl von
Beringer. In exchange for the adoption, Mr. Frenzdorf was given
the direction of the Saint Sebastian. Eleonore and Theodor had a
son, Ernest, born in 1869. (We learn all this from Frenzdorf's
speech in chapter 7).
2) Theodor von Beringer knew that Alfred von Alensmeier (Julius'
father) was a spy for Russia and probably knew that Alensmeier
kept in his vault at the Reich Bank of Frankfurt a part of the
secret patrimony of the Tsar Nicolaj II; so he decided to reveal
this information to the Department of War. But Alensmeier
forestalled him and denounced him as a spy; then, with Colonel
Maximilian Schwarzkoppen (unaware of the truth), he proceeded to
kill Theodor von Alensmeier, his wife Eleonore and their
servants. (From Annelotte in chapter 7).
3) Ernest eventfully escaped death and was sheltered by his
grandfather Heinz Frenzdorf with the son of the von Beringer's
butler, Jacob Shüne Badingen. The massacre happened in 1874,
Ernest and Jacob where both 5. Given that Eleonore was aged 25
when she was murdered, this leads us to place Eleonore's birth in
1849. In 1869 she was 20; considering the time for the pregnancy,
she probably married Theodor von Beringer in 1868, aged 19, after
three years of engagement.
4) Colonel Maximilian Schwarzkoppen is a real historical figure,
involved in the Dreyfus affair. In the manga he is a friend of
Alfred von Beringer and had an extra conjugal relationship with
Alfred's first wife. Annelotte is their illegitimate daughter.
Schwarzkoppen had another child with a French (probably; the
police detective suggests it in chapter 7) woman, Joachim, who
was then Annelotte's stepbrother.
5) Agreeing with Alensmeier's false charges, everybody believed
that Theodor von Beringer was a spy and that he was killed by
Bismark's agents because of his opposition towards the annexation
of Bavaria to the Prussian Empire in 1871. The Von Egenolfs,
Arlaune's family, now inhabit the Von Beringer House in Munich.
Their garden is full with mimosas. (Chapter 5).
6) Ernest von Beringer was therefore called Hermann Virkrich and
was taught piano by his grandfather. In his turn, he began to
give piano lessons to Maria Barbara and Annelotte von Alensmeier
when they were respectively 14 and 7. Then he met Renate through
the window of Orpheus and for her sake he decided to stay in
Regensburg, working at the Saint Sebastian, renouncing to a
promising career as a pianist. In July 1904, Maria Barbara
receives a letter from the Military Investigation Department with
more information about Jacob: in 1884 he got arrested for theft
by the Bavarian police, but was discharged after a certain Mr.
Kurtz (Frenzdorf in disguise) pledged himself for him. Jacob then
moved to Regensburg where he worked as a coachman until, in 1897,
the Alensmeiers employed him. (From chapter 4). At that time he
was 28 and Annelotte was 15 (born in 1882). Alensmeier's first
wife was still alive but she must have died shortly after that,
because Annelotte was still 15 when her mother told her the truth
about her birth and then died (from chapter 7).
7) Mr. Frenzdorf grew up Hermann and Jacob in the desire of
vengeance towards the Alensemeier, but his plan failed. Hermann
Virkrich tried twice to kill Julius, but something restrained
him; he succeeded in killing Mrs. Alensmeier but when he noticed
she was his beloved Kriemhild he decided to die with her. Jacob,
adoring Annelotte, did always protect her. Headmaster Frenzdorf
managed to kill Joachim and to injure Maria Barbara, but Jacob
prevented him from hurting Annelotte. As for Annelotte, she
poisoned her father and Maria Barbara, killed Gertrud and set
fire to Renate's library, in order to keep the secret of the
vault in Reich Bank.
8) The fact that a part of the Tsar's secret patrimony is kept in
her father's vault is the main link between Julius and Russia,
besides her love for Klaus. It is a secret for which many people
have died, and Rasputin tries to plot against Yusupov knowing
this information (chapter 13). The supposed Anastasia Romanoff
claims that the Tsar her father hid his patrimony in many banks,
in England and Germany, and the newspapers report that the name
of German keeper of the vault begins with "A". Moreover we learn
that the police detective was raised by the von Beringers, being
closely related to them, and was probably in love with Eleonore
von Beringer. (Chapter 18).
9) In conclusion, the slaughter of the von Beringer in the
distant 1874 is the final reason for Julius' death in 1923. In
the last chapter (18), Jacob kills Julius to avenge Annelotte,
and throws the vault's key in the river, burying the Alensmeiers'
secret deep in the waters.
We have thus seen how much the relation between the von Beringers
and the Alensmeiers influences the overall plot of Orpheus no
Mado, laying behind the deaths of Herr von Alensmeier, Annelotte,
Renate, Virkrich, Gertrud, Frenzdorf, and finally to Julius' one.
Ikeda sensei planned it in order to connect Julius with Russia,
Tsar Nikolai II, the Dreyfus affair and Bavarian annexation to
Germany, thus interweaving Julius' story deeply with European
history of late XIX century. What is amazing, however, is that
this entired entangled plot is strangely lacking of emotional
resounding. The love and the passion that always distinguish
Ikeda sensei's work are missing in the von Beringer affair. Here
we have only brainy reasoning and no heart, and it shows.
♣ Text by Cecilia. Layout by Francesca. Please respect our work, do not steal. If you can't help using part of these texts, please ask for permission first and give credits. Thanks!