Well,
that's certainly a thing.
I half expected this, or at least something like this, but it's still a rather ominous way to have it confirmed to say the least.
So Rose actually died two years ago at the age of 26 (it's currently the
year 482), but despite being dead isn't actually gone. We know that ghosts exist in the twokinds universe, and that characters know that ghosts can be a thing, but I'm still imagining that this isn't exactly your typical ghost scenario. I still think that the speculation I had in that post fits - that Trace couldn't bear to let this last piece of Saria go, and so when she died he trapped her spirit (whether or not her actual physical body is still around), possibly as part of his research into defying death.
On another note, I went back and looked at all of Rose's appearances since her reintroduction to see if anything jumped out at me in light of this new revelation, and a few things came to mind. First,
when Rose's shackles were first lifted and we were reacting to that whole revelation,
I commented that Rose's reaction in
comic 1033 kinda struck me as being odd. Now that we had had some kind of hint that Trace had actually perhaps done something horrible to her, her reaction to Trace's innocently-offered "If I ever hurt you, I'm sorry" apology seemed to me to suggest she might have been reacting to something
she knew about him having done that
he didn't. And now, of course, that's confirmed. In that comic trace innocently offers to apologize for anything he did... not realizing that he was actually apologizing for
literal necromancy (and probably mind control too) inflicted on his late wife's best friend. Talk about harsher in hindsight!
Second, way back in
comic 988, the characters are eating breakfast and Trace invites Rose to join them. She looks rather perturbed at this, and her rather hesitant response is "I... can't." She immediately follows this by saying she's got other work to do, but given today's comic there is of course a much simpler reason - she's a ghost/projection/whatever, she literally
can't eat. I don't know if anyone picked up on this at the time, and without the benefit of hindsight it's a rather subtle clue, but it's still there. And along similar lines to what I was commenting above regarding Rose's reaction to Trace's apology, her reaction here seems almost *too* strong. Again, it's pretty subtle, and perhaps I'm reading more into it in hindsight than I should be, but her expression feels almost *too* shocked for the mundane context. Yes, it's a shockingly informal thing for a master to say to a servant in such a straitlaced social environment, but in hindsight,
whoooof. Knowing what we know now,
look at that from Rose's perspective. She doesn't realize yet that Trace has lost his memories. As far as she knows, he's still fully aware of what he'd done to her. And so, from her point of view, he's just invited her to dine with them... while (she thinks) knowing full well that she is literally incapable of it
because he's the one who enslaved her soul after she died. If it had actually been done on purpose, that would have been an
incredibly cruel and sadistic taunt fully worthy of old!Trace at his nastiest. And she can't even say anything in response because that oh-so-innocent invitation had been given in front of others who weren't in on the secret, so all she can do is give a lame excuse for the benefit of those others, again knowing (or thinking she knows) that Trace is laughing cruelly at her the whole time behind those innocent-looking eyes. In hindsight, that one scene speaks volumes about either Rose's self-control or the strength of whatever control spells Trace had on her!
And finally,
Rose and Euchre.
Does Euchre know?!? If it were any other context I'd say that a mage as skilled as Euchre would almost *have* to be able to tell, but if anything is going to be able to fool him it's the magic of the Estate that was enchanted by both Trace *and* Nora. His dialog in those two strips gives no clue he knows, but on the other hand we know he's a chessmaster of the deepest dye. His words say what he wants them to say. And yet... he says it's good to see her "after so long". He expresses concern for *her*. He strongly implies he doesn't know what secrets the Estate holds. If he's not lying, if we take those on face value, they'd seem to me to fit best with him *not* knowing. If he'd truly hadn't seen her in a long time (whether that simply means a few years or literally since her capture) would Trace have told him? I doubt it. Would he express concern for her as if he thought she *wasn't* already in about the worst situation imaginable if he knew? I don't think we've seen the last of him. I think he might even show up again this chapter - it's not like whatever is going on with the mansion is *subtle* in the slightest, after all - and if he does, what would his reaction be? We know he's always had his own game in some mysterious sense, and that he's at least a little remorseful for some of what he's done. How would he react to knowing what Trace did to his cousin?
Anyway, whoof. This is a hell of a page.