“Iinuma, you know . . . I made a blunder today. If you promise not to tell Father or Mother, I’ll say what it was.” “What was it?” “Today, when I was carrying the Princess’s train, I stumbled a little. But the Princess just smiled and forgave me.” Iinuma was repelled by these frivolous words, by the absence of any sense of responsibility, by the tearful look of rapture in those eyes, by everything.
