Purple Hyacinth Theory — The Backstabber
In Moon Maiden, the 69th chapter of Purple Hyacinth, Lauren gets pulled aside while investigating at the Circus Royale by Hecate, the fortune-teller.
As Hecate reads Lauren’s future, Lauren is initially skeptical, but things soon start to resonate. And Hecate isn’t lying. Lauren only becomes more tense.
The reading goes (all writing credits go to Eph): “You are at the crossroads of two diverging paths. Blindfolded, you cannot see the situation clearly. Falsehoods shadow you.
The problem is deeply woven in your past. Disappointment, failures, and loss. You’re self-blame is strong. You’re still unwilling to let go and forgive.
The future, although it appears solid…The tower has been built on unstable mistruths and delusions. The world as you know it will come crashing down before you, stricken by the lightning bolt of truth. There is no escape from this destruction.
And the reason, a betrayal. A painful, unexpected but inevitable ending. Someone around you has or will stab you in the back. While you cannot change their actions, you have power over your response to it.
The potential outcome. Death. Inevitable. But death isn’t just about life ending. It’s about new beginnings too. The old needs to die for the new to come, be it for better or worse. With the swords in your hand, you mark the beginning of a new cycle. But they are double-edged blades. They can protect as well as they can destroy. It all depends on the wielder, on the path you decide to take. You may think your enemies are hidden in the shadows. But he is closer to you, more similar than you might think. You must remove the blindfold. Open your eyes Lauren!”
My particular theory is about who this backstabber, and the potential leader of the Phantom Scythe might be. Now it could be argued that the backstabber is Sandman or her parents because of their involvement with Snapdragon/Phantom Scythe and other people think it could be Tristan or Dakan, since they also might have been/be involved. All possible, but I don’t think likely.
I also think it’s highly unlikely that Will, Kym, or Kieran will betray her. I mean, Will, maybe under the pressure of his father, but still, I don’t think so.
When Lauren thinks of the people closest to her in Solid Stand as she ponders Hecate’s warnings, Kieran, Tristan, Dakan, Will, and Kym are the people she thinks about, but I’m proposing a different person, one that not even Lauren considers, Detective Oliver March.
March has continually stood up for Lauren against Hermann, and aside from the people above is probably the person she trusts the most without even realizing it. But my main reason for being suspicious of him is in chapter 86, Tragedies’ Trail, when he and Lauren take a walk through a graveyard.
We find out that both his wife and daughter are buried there. His daughter had died from being sick, but his wife, “She fell into the bloody hands of the criminals that have been plaguing Ardhalis for far too long.”
He didn’t lie, but remember, Lauren can’t detect things that she might consider a lie. If the person she’s talking to completely believes the lies they’re spouting, Lauren would be none the wiser. She can only detect lies people say when they know it’s not true.
So these “criminals” might not be the Phantom Scythe or other random crooks, but the royalty and nobility of Ardhalis.
Also, take note of the visual detail, how the flowers cover up Annabelle’s date of death on her tombstone. I mean, maybe it’s just a coincidence, or maybe it’s XX16, the same year of the Orion and Son’s Massacre.
In case you need a refresher course, Orion and Son’s is the print shop where the peaceful reform group, the Snapdragon met on the night when the Ardhalis government came and killed every single person there, except the mere few who escaped and became the Phantom Scythe.
What if March and his wife were there?
What if only one of them made it out?
(I promise, I don’t have a red string board like Lauren)
From experience reading this comic, Soph and Eph don’t really do random story for no reason. I swear, everything any character says, even Lady Artingham, impacts the story.
Why would they feel the need to spend so long on March’s backstory, of all the characters, unless it’s important.
(Here’s part two to this, apparently it’s an ongoing thing)
