Lupin III (synopsis - Page 2)
Continuing their drive, Lupin remains silent when Jigen asks him about the ring, and when they pull up at a ruined castle, recently destroyed by fire, they see the same crest that was on the ring. An old man warns them off the property, saying that strangers aren't welcome in the palace of the Grand Duke. He tells them that the duke and duchess perished in the fire 7 years ago, and the regent has let the palace go to ruins ever since.
Lupin wanders off into the grounds, and as he wistfully slumps by a lake, the clock tower eerily strikes seven, seemingly tolling the years for the lost duke and duchess. Lupin brings out the glove and ring, musing that its owner has grown up. As Jigen grumpily catches up, Lupin quickly hides the glove and ring. But Jigen has had enough, and decides that a little no-so-gentle persuasion is needed to get his friend to tell him his story. They peer out from the ruined battlements over to the castle of the current regent, the Count of Cagliostro. They spy the boat that captured the girl from before, and Lupin recognises the floodgate where the boat is docked. He tells Jigen of the time a decade ago when, as an inexperienced thief, he tried to break into the castle and was sent packing with his tail between his legs. They spot the Count returning to his castle by autogyro, and they wander off to find a room for the night.
The Count is informed by his servant Jodo that two foreigners attempted to help the fleeing girl. He leaves instructions that they are to be dealt with, and he pays the now-sedated girl a visit in an isolated tower. Waving away a lady in waiting, he enters a locked room and takes hold of her limp hand. We see that he wears a ring with the insignia of a goat, and he realises angrily that her ring is missing.
That evening in a bustling tavern in the town, Lupin closely inspects the ring and discovers a cryptic centuries-old inscription in a dead language. When the waitress brings their meal, she notices their distraction and tells them that the ring bears the crest of the Lady Clarisse, the daughter of the dead Duke and Duchess. Clarisse has only just returned from a convent in order to marry the Count. She points out a young Clarisse in a picture hanging over the bar, a younger version of the girl in the wedding dress. A shifty-eyed man who has been watching them from the next table departs, and they realise that the Count covets the ring just as much as he covets Clarisse. Jigen is miffed that once again his friend didn't tell him about his prior knowledge of Clarisse's past.
While shadowy figures move around outside their room later that evening, Lupin prepares some special ammunition while Jigen muses on the mysterious inscription in the ring. Realising that they are about to have company, Jigen and Lupin douse the lights and grab some weaponry displayed on the wall. A phalanx of masked assassins in, and even Jigen's bullets merely ricochet off their metal armour. The assassins are momentarily distracted by Lupin's exploding flare, but they pursue the thieves to their getaway car, only dropping off when battered against the walls lining the narrow streets.
We now follow Clarisse's lady-in-waiting who is sneaking around the secret passages of the castle, and we see her spying on the Count. He is inspecting the latest batch of counterfeit money, but is displeased with the low quality brought about by the recent increase in production rate. His mood is surprisingly lightened by the re-appearance of Jodo who reports the failure of the assassination mission. A taunting message has been stuck to Jodo's armour. It is revealed to be from Lupin, whose name stirs some recognition from the hidden lady-in-waiting and the Count, who thinks it might be worthwhile to let Lupin come to him.
Lupin and Jigen have shifted their quarters to the abandoned ruins, and they are joined by Goemon, a weary-faced man wearing traditional Japanese garb and carrying a samurai sword. From their vantage point, they notice the arrival at the castle of the Japanese policeman Inspector Zenigata and a lorry full of personnel. He bursts into the Count's breakfast and asks that Interpol be allowed to guard the castle against Lupin for the wedding in five days' time. The Count puts Zenigata in the care of Gustav, the burly chief of the Royal Guardsman, lightly dismissing his inquiry about why a thief would be after the Count's bride. Jodo is suspicious of this snooping outsider, although the Count reassures him that his contacts within Interpol will handle him. While Lupin admires Zenigata's work ethic from afar, the Inspector finds the castle grounds guarded by a suspiciously high level of security, including perimeter lasers and anti-personnel radar.