Goddamn this anime is pretty~ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
It’s the beginning of a new day, and Shirayuki and Obi are getting ready to meet with Prince Raj for tea. However it’s rather awkward once they actually sit down together, because the prince has the social skills of an insect. The whole scene looked very much like a toddler playdate gone wrong, what with Obi and Prince Raj’s attendant standing behind them like chaperones. After a brief breather outside, Prince Raj offers to show Shirayuki around the castle and she happily agrees.
Back home, there has been no progress in tracking down the young boy Kazuki. Mihaya has been sent out with some soldiers to investigate around town, and Zen resolves to continue to try his best while Shirayuki is doing her duty in Tanbarun.
Prince Raj continues to demonstrate his best Tamaki Suoh impersonation as he leads Shirayuki and Obi around the castle, and then down into some underground emergency tunnels. (And I know I’ve used that comparison before, but I’m sorry, that’s exactly what it looks like to me. ^^;; What has been seen cannot be unseen.) Despite Prince Raj insisting that he knows the way, he ends up getting the three of them lost. When they reach a dead end blocked by a metal gate, they end up accidently tripping a booby trap, and Obi ends up saving Prince Raj’s life. As they try to recover, Prince Raj accidently sets off another trap and blocks the route they came from. So, onward ho it is.
As our trio meander through the vacant passages, we see that they are being watched by Rona and Eugena. After walking for so long Prince Raj’s spirits start to falter, but Shirayuki is able to encourage him to keep moving. Obi can tell their group is being monitored, but decides not to make his move yet. Rona is impressed with Prince Raj’s reaction to Shirayuki’s motivating words, so the two siblings continue to watch Shirayuki from afar.
In Clarines, the bird handler team has shown up to update Zen on their progress. Zen congratulates Kihal on her success, and they discuss future plans for bird handler training. Up above, Prince Izana is silently watching and listening. When Mitsuhide approaches, he asks Prince Izana if he’s testing Zen and Shirayuki, and the older prince confirms it. He wants to see how the couple will “move” in the future. Then out of the blue, one of Kihal’s birds lands on Mitsuhide’s shoulder and Mitsuhide is bus-ted! Oops?
After wading through shallow water and still unsure of where they should walk next, Obi gets fed up at last and runs off to confront the persons who have been watching them. While they wait, Shirayuki and Prince Raj get into an argument. I was impressed that the prince actually made a good point, one which went right over Shirayuki’s head, although I can’t tell if she genuinely didn’t understand Prince Raj’s question or if she just didn’t want to fully realize the ramifications of what he said. Obi returns with Prince Raj’s siblings, and Eugena leads them all to the greenhouse Prince Raj had offered to show Shirayuki earlier. 
Once Prince Raj is recuperating on a bench, Rona takes the opportunity to ambush her older brother with questions about his feelings for Shirayuki. Apparently the prince’s attendant, Sakaki, said something to his younger siblings about Prince Raj’s attempts to make himself into a better person. Rona is further impressed when she overhears her older brother asking Obi to apologize to Shirayuki for him, because it means he’s attempting to acknowledge and perhaps even make amends for his mistakes. Hey, baby steps are still progress right?
At the castle in Clarines, Zen queries Mitsuhide as to why he was talking to Prince Izana earlier in the day. Zen admits he still doesn’t know what his brother is up to, but he firmly insists that both he and Shirayuki will not give up. At that moment, Kiki reports that there has been a sighting of Kazuki.
On a docked boat under a starry sky, Kazuki and Mihaya run into each other. Mihaya attempts to take down Kazuki, but the blond boy easily dodges the attack. Kazuki attempts to recruit Mihaya to help him abduct Shirayuki, but Mihaya turns him down.
My thoughts: I know it’s not going to be the main pairing in this show, but I just have to say that Obi is so cute the way he has eyes for Shirayuki. (Ok, romantic shoujo fangirling moment over.)
There wasn’t a lot of action this episode, but given that it’s a slow show, I wasn’t really expecting much. I’m curious to see if Kazuki will be able to talk Mihaya into joining his big bad evil plans or not. As for next week’s episode, it looks like there’s going to be some possible discussion or confrontation between Prince Raj and Shirayuki about the nature of their “relationship”, so I am wondering how that will play out.
See you next week!