This volume continues to present side stories of the peripheral characters of Emma, among them Erich and his squirrel, the Merediths and their maids, and a trio of opera singers, as well as the story of how William met Hakim.
I almost rated this a 4, simply because it's harder to absolutely love a series of side stories instead of the orig. chronicles of Emma. But the fact is, I love this world. Kaoru Mori is so attuned to her characters and the details. She can tell a story with no words for many panels (sometimes pages) and still keep it clear and entertaining. Her attention to detail amazes me, and her ability to inject subtle humor and outright cuteness. She could manga-up the phonebook and make it intricate and fun for me. And of course, her silly afterword manga is perfect as always. Sometimes I think, as much as I love the books, I love her afterword manga more.
I was very disappointed to find out that there is only one more volume and then she's done with Emma. Don't know what I'll do with myself. Think I'm going to have to move on to Shirley Volume 1.