- 18 hours ago
Queen of Masks ENGSUB Hidden Identity Revenge Romance Drama
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Short filmTranscript
00:03My half-sister couldn't get pregnant, so she asked me to sleep with her husband instead.
00:07No! I can't!
00:09I am an unmarried girl, and I am very afraid of him.
00:13The first time, he'd come to stay at our estate.
00:16Half the maids in the house had found excuses to walk past his door.
00:21He's stunning.
00:22And at his age, with that kind of power, if a girl could land him as a kept woman, she'd
00:27have made it.
00:28What? Clara, you're pretty enough. Why not try your luck tonight?
00:32Clara actually did it.
00:37It didn't go the way she planned. He didn't touch her.
00:40Come, someone! Beat her hard!
00:44By morning, the blood had soaked through her clothes.
00:47Her screaming had carried through the entire house.
00:50I thought about that.
00:51No, I... I can't.
00:53She didn't get angry. She just smiled and reached out to stroke my hair.
00:57Vera, I remember your mother's been unwell for a long time.
01:00She needs those medications every day just to stay stable.
01:03What do you think would happen if I asked mother to cut her off?
01:06You've always been such a good girl.
01:08Just help me with this one thing.
01:09Your mother will be taken care of.
01:11I promise.
01:13She brought me to Calloway Manor.
01:15My sister introduced me smoothly.
01:17This is my younger sister, Vera.
01:19She's been missing me, so I had her come stay for a while.
01:24Once you've given me a child, I'll find you a good match.
01:27You remember my cousin David?
01:29He's been married twice, but he's comfortable.
01:31You're not exactly a prize, Vera.
01:33Marrying him would be a step up.
01:35Over the next two days, she had me study her.
01:38Mimicking her mannerisms was manageable.
01:41Her voice was harder.
01:42I practiced for hours and still didn't quite have it.
01:46One evening, she slapped me across the face
01:48and screamed at me to pitch my voice higher, more like hers.
01:52When I still didn't get it right, she had me kneel outside.
01:56Vera, think hard out there.
01:59If you can't get it right by morning,
02:01I'm stopping your mother's medication.
02:06It was the first time I'd been close enough to really see his face.
02:10He was exactly as beautiful as everyone said
02:13in a way that felt almost unfair.
02:21He was wearing almost nothing under his coat.
02:23I pulled out my handkerchief and started blotting at his chest.
02:27Why were you kneeling out here?
02:28Did she punish you for something?
02:31I made a mistake.
02:33She wanted me to think it over.
02:34You don't need to explain what happened.
02:36Just go inside.
02:38If she asks, tell her it was my idea.
02:42Put that on.
02:43Don't get sick.
02:46I'll have it cleaned and returned to you.
02:48Don't bother.
02:50Keep it or throw it out.
02:52Either's fine.
02:55She gave me a book that afternoon.
02:57It's a book that teaches people how to make love.
03:00She sat across from me looking completely unbothered.
03:04Don't be shy.
03:05Study it.
03:06You'll need it.
03:07When he came back, she set a proper dinner.
03:10They ate together, the two of them,
03:11while I was dressed to look like her
03:13and taken quietly upstairs to wait in his room.
03:16She told me she'd put something in his drink.
03:22I put something in his drink.
03:24He wouldn't be able to resist.
03:27What happened after that was up to you.
03:29I gripped the edge of the covers and waited.
03:32After about half an hour, the door finally opened.
03:37I could smell the alcohol before he crossed the threshold.
03:40He wasn't walking straight.
03:41I stood and moved to steady him.
03:44I'd checked the mirror beforehand.
03:46In this situation, even I couldn't tell the difference
03:48between myself and my sisters.
03:51Why are you in my room?
03:54I pitched my voice high and thin, the way she drilled me.
04:00I missed you.
04:01He didn't respond, just kept watching.
04:05I gathered every nerve I had, reached out, and touched his belt.
04:09He inhaled sharply when I pressed my palms to his back.
04:13I pressed closer, buried my face in his chest.
04:16I rose up on my toes and tried to reach his mouth.
04:19I had, it turned out, no idea what I was doing.
04:23The book had been theoretical.
04:25The reality of it was different in every way.
04:43He picked me up like I weighed nothing and put me down on the bed.
04:49Who are you?
04:52My heart stopped.
04:53I ran through everything I'd done.
04:55The room was dark.
04:56There was no way he should know.
04:58Who else would I be?
04:59It's me.
05:00It's Rachel.
05:02He released my jaw.
05:03He let me kiss him.
05:13His voice had gone soft.
05:14Did I hurt you?
05:16I stared back at him, and my mind drifted strangely to the first time I had seen him.
05:21It had been a formal occasion, and all of us girls had been lined up to greet him.
05:26He'd gone past without stopping, beautiful and remote.
05:29The kind of man our stepmother had made very clear was not for the likes of me or my other
05:34half-sisters.
05:36I didn't sleep that night.
05:37When the birds finally started outside, that was my sister's signal.
05:40I got out as fast as I could.
05:43She looked me over.
05:44That's a strong dose.
05:46Wouldn't have worked on him otherwise.
05:47She told me to stay on my back for an hour, pillow under my hips.
05:50This will help me get pregnant faster.
05:59It was strange, I knew, but my neck was covered in marks he'd left the night before.
06:05You see how he doesn't even look at you now?
06:07He only touched you because he thought you were me.
06:10Don't forget that.
06:12I slipped away to one of the unused sitting rooms to apply some ointment to my shoulder.
06:16I'd taken off half my dress when the door swung open.
06:19He hadn't expected anyone to be there.
06:22I watched him go still for just a moment.
06:24I'm sorry.
06:27That evening, my sister sent me back to his room.
06:32I arrived and he looked at me for a moment, then said very quietly,
06:38You should go get some rest.
06:39I have paperwork.
06:40It'll go late.
06:45I should have left.
06:46But his room was warm.
06:48My room had nothing.
06:49It was cold.
06:50He wasn't here.
06:51I'd just sit at the small table for a few minutes,
06:54get some warmth back into my hands.
07:04Sleeping at a table?
07:06Aren't you cold?
07:13Sleep.
07:14You're exhausted.
07:15But I didn't sleep.
07:17I remembered what I was here for.
07:20If you're not tired, we don't have to sleep yet.
07:23After that, I stayed every night.
07:42It had been about a week and a half.
07:44You can go, Vera.
07:45I'll take it from here.
07:50My sister and I looked at each other.
07:52If he saw us together, every lie would collapse at once.
07:56Don't make a sound.
07:58The door had barely shut when he walked in.
08:00The latch didn't catch all the way.
08:02I could just make out the room.
08:06I closed my eyes.
08:08Then I heard his voice.
08:09I'm tired.
08:09Go to bed.
08:14Rachel, go to your room.
08:21Figure it out yourself.
08:24I waited for him to fall asleep.
08:25He didn't.
08:26He turned over twice and gave up.
08:28Then he stood, crossed to the wardrobe,
08:29and started opening doors.
08:40I waited for him to haul me out by arm.
08:43Instead, he lifted me out of the wardrobe and into his arms.
08:48I told you to go to bed.
08:50Why'd you come back?
08:50He thought I was my sister.
08:55I thought you were tired.
08:56Not anymore.
09:06My sister didn't know what had happened that night.
09:09Every year, around the holidays,
09:10they hosted a gathering in the garden.
09:12This year, my sister managed the whole event.
09:16Invitations had gone out to everyone in the county.
09:23My sister, for her part, was performing
09:25and called me her most obedient little sister
09:28and said she'd do her best to find me
09:30an equally excellent match someday.
09:32I drifted away from the gathering
09:34and found a quiet bench near the water.
09:36A neighbor's son found me there.
09:37We'd studied with the same tutor as children.
09:40He was chatty and warm
09:41and didn't stop for 20 minutes.
09:43The whole time, I had the strange
09:45and persistent sensation of being watched.
09:47Not gently, something hot about it
09:49and a little impatient.
09:54Nick recognized him and greeted him.
09:56Ethan gave a small nod.
09:57Then he reached across
09:58and took the cloth parcel out of Nick's hands.
10:01Good of you to bring these for me.
10:02I'll take them.
10:05I've been meaning to speak to you.
10:07I'll be back early tonight.
10:09I didn't know what he was signaling,
10:11presumably a message from my sister.
10:13That night, I arrived an hour early.
10:27I was crying before I knew it.
10:29I asked him to stop.
10:30He wiped my cheek with his thumb.
10:33Look at you.
10:34So sad.
10:37Do you love me?
10:40Yes.
10:42He touched my mouth carefully.
10:45I've been assigned to a six-week oversight trip.
10:48I leave next week.
10:51Wait for me.
10:53When I come back, we do this the right way.
10:55Out in the open.
10:57I was half asleep.
10:58He was warm.
10:59I nodded without quite registering
11:00what I was agreeing to.
11:05My period arrived the next morning.
11:07My sister yanked open my collar.
11:09She looked at everything visible below it.
11:14What exactly are you doing there, Vera?
11:17Six weeks and nothing?
11:18The doctor who'd examined me
11:20before any of this began
11:21had said I was healthy,
11:23capable of conceiving.
11:25He gave her a tonic regimen
11:27and said two months of consistent treatment
11:29should produce the desired result.
11:32In the meantime,
11:34she started treating me well.
11:35My room was heated properly.
11:37I had a decent coat.
11:38My meals included actual meat.
11:42Then a letter arrived at our home.
11:45She read it,
11:45looked at me for a long moment.
11:48You lucky thing.
11:52Congratulations.
11:53You're getting married.
11:55His name is Nick.
12:00I was sent home to prepare.
12:02The whole situation was absurd.
12:04Nick's grandmother had fallen seriously ill.
12:07Doctors had done everything they could
12:08and run out of options.
12:10The family had consulted a specialist
12:12in folk remedies and old traditions
12:14and he told them the only thing
12:16that might help was a wedding.
12:18Nick was the only eligible bachelor
12:20left in the family.
12:21He had one condition.
12:22He'd pick the girl himself.
12:24He picked me up.
12:25My father was thrilled to consent.
12:27My mother,
12:28who knew about my sister's arrangement,
12:29had no real power to object.
12:31The date was set for one month out.
12:34The dowry that had been assembled for me,
12:36which had been embarrassing,
12:37was suddenly multiplied.
12:39My mother's health supplies,
12:40which had been precarious,
12:42arrived in abundance.
12:43At night,
12:44lying alone in my old bed,
12:45I close my eyes
12:46and find myself back in a room
12:48with real warmth.
12:59The Calloway air was back.
13:01The overnight trip finished early,
13:03so Ethan was here.
13:05I sat there thinking about
13:06what I'd call him
13:07the next time I saw him.
13:08He was still my half-sister's husband
13:10and Nick's distant uncle.
13:14In the narrow frame of my veil,
13:16I didn't see his face.
13:17The hall noise fell behind me.
13:19The bridal room was quiet.
13:20I sat at the edge of the bed
13:22and waited for Nick to come in
13:24and lift my veil.
13:25One hour passed.
13:26A maid appeared
13:27and said there had been
13:28a mix-up about which room
13:30and would I please follow her
13:31to a different one.
13:32I could tell something was moving
13:33under the bed in the new room.
13:35I couldn't look down to check
13:37I was still wearing the veil.
13:44My mind went blank.
13:45I blinked.
13:46He was still there.
13:47I didn't move
13:48and this was my wedding day.
13:49You promised you'd wait for me.
13:51I came back
13:52and you'd already married someone else.
13:54I hadn't promised him anything.
13:56Every word I'd said in that room
13:58had been said in my sister's voice,
14:00playing my sister's role.
14:01I'd never spoken to him as myself.
14:03You knew?
14:07Since when?
14:09The first night.
14:10I always knew.
14:19Where's Nick?
14:22In the room.
14:35Are you out of your mind?
14:37You tied me up in my own house?
14:39On my wedding night?
14:40And now you're going to sleep
14:41with my wife?
14:45He's not a good match.
14:46He has four women on the side
14:48and a reputation.
14:54That was before.
14:56I ended all of it
14:57when I decided to marry Vera.
15:01I meant it.
15:02It was a strange scene.
15:04Nick was the groom.
15:05He was also zip-tied on the floor.
15:07Ethan was sitting beside me
15:08with one hand settled on my waist
15:10like it belonged there.
15:11I actually like her.
15:13I know I wasn't perfect before,
15:15but I wanted to do this right.
15:19Reformed?
15:20Sure.
15:21At least I can marry her properly.
15:23You're already married
15:25to her sister.
15:27You're her brother-in-law.
15:32I'm filing for divorce.
15:34You can't.
15:36You can't just undo
15:37a favor you asked for.
15:40I was assigned
15:41to that oversight trip.
15:42I volunteered for it specifically
15:44so I could use
15:45the outcome as leverage.
15:46I asked for one thing in return.
15:49Permission to divorce
15:50and remarry.
15:56Why go through any of it?
15:58A few nights together
15:59and you decided
16:00to blow up your entire life?
16:02It wasn't a few nights.
16:04It was the moment before that.
16:06You were kneeling in the snow
16:07holding bowl of ice water
16:08and you looked up at me
16:09and I couldn't stop
16:10thinking about it.
16:13He told me the rest of it.
16:17When my sister
16:18had first approached him
16:19he'd been about to be matched
16:20with a judge's daughter.
16:22Powerful family.
16:23The daughter herself
16:24was difficult,
16:25spoiled,
16:25the kind of person
16:26who treated every room
16:27like it existed
16:27for her benefit.
16:28My sister had offered him
16:29a clean arrangement.
16:31She'd stay out of his life.
16:32He'd give her the title
16:33and the stability she needed.
16:36She was a reasonable option.
16:38So I agreed.
16:39That explained why my sister
16:41had been so desperate
16:42for a child.
16:43Without one,
16:44the arrangement
16:44had no long-term security
16:45for her.
16:48So why me?
16:49That first night
16:50I wanted to stop it
16:51but you kept holding on to me
16:54and I couldn't.
16:55The second time
16:55I sent you away
16:56I went to the study,
16:57came back and found you
16:58asleep at my table
16:59and something in me
17:00just stopped working correctly.
17:05I didn't expose you
17:06because I didn't want you to leave
17:07and eventually I could see
17:08that you felt something.
17:09The way you looked at me
17:10when you thought
17:10I wasn't watching.
17:11The way you'd look away
17:12the second I took you.
17:12You'd kiss me
17:13when I was asleep.
17:14You cut a piece of my hair
17:15and kept it in your pocket.
17:21You mended my shoe
17:22in the middle of the night.
17:23Vera,
17:25you're not subtle.
17:26He had pulled me
17:27into his lap
17:27at some point
17:28without me noticing.
17:29His chin was resting
17:30on my shoulder.
17:31I went south
17:32so I could come back
17:32and do this correctly.
17:33I didn't expect you
17:34to be someone else's wife
17:35by the time I landed.
17:38You were supposed to wait.
17:44I'm not as simple
17:45as I look.
17:47My sister had tried
17:49to break me
17:49a long time ago.
17:51One winter,
17:52she'd heard from a servant
17:53that soaking a girl
17:54in ice water
17:55during her cycle
17:55could make her
17:56permanently infertible.
17:57This girl is very beautiful.
17:58She decided to test it on me
18:00because a guest
18:01had said I was pretty.
18:03I'd been in that water
18:04for close to an hour
18:05before our grandmother
18:06found me.
18:08I spent a year
18:09adding something
18:10to my sister's tea.
18:13By the time she asked me
18:14to take her place
18:15in her husband's bed,
18:16she'd already lost
18:17the ability
18:18to carry a child.
18:20I hadn't planned
18:21for her to use me
18:21as a solution
18:22to a problem
18:23I'd already created.
18:24My mother's illness
18:25was manageable.
18:26She'd been performing
18:27fragility for years
18:28the same way
18:28I performed compliance.
18:29It was protective coloring.
18:31But my marriage
18:31was something
18:32my sister's mother
18:33actually controlled.
18:35The night I kneel
18:36in the snow,
18:36I made sure
18:37I fell in the right direction.
18:40Testing whether
18:41he'd catch me.
18:42Whether his hands
18:44would linger.
18:47I never intended
18:49to actually pass
18:50like my sister
18:50in the dark.
18:51I intended for him
18:52to figure it out.
18:58I made sure
18:59he saw the birthmark
19:00at my waist.
19:01My sister doesn't
19:02have one.
19:07I went to the
19:08side room
19:08I knew he passed
19:09through every afternoon
19:10and I made sure
19:11he saw the marks
19:11on my shoulders.
19:14I calculated
19:15everything.
19:18I hadn't calculated
19:19Nick.
19:20Nick.
19:25Nick couldn't
19:26give me what I needed.
19:27It wasn't
19:28about his history.
19:29It was about
19:30trajectory.
19:36He had two
19:37older brothers.
19:39No real foothold
19:40in his own family.
19:41I had spent
19:41my entire life
19:42studying,
19:43planning,
19:43building a mind
19:44sharp enough
19:44to do something with.
19:45In a world
19:45that gave women
19:46one door.
19:47The door of marriage.
19:50I wasn't going
19:51to walk through
19:51it carelessly.
19:52I needed someone
19:53who could give me
19:53room,
19:54position,
19:55actual leverage
19:56in the world.
20:07Nick could give me
20:08affection.
20:09Ethan could give me
20:10everything else.
20:11So when Ethan
20:12stood in my bridal room
20:13with his hand on my waist
20:14and told me to divorce
20:15Nick and marry him
20:16instead,
20:17I cried.
20:18The divorces went
20:19through.
20:22I still don't know
20:23exactly what Ethan
20:24offered Nick's family.
20:26Whatever it was,
20:27it worked.
20:28Nick's grandmother
20:28recovered,
20:29which apparently
20:30validated the whole
20:31exercise.
20:32His family tried to
20:33find him a new
20:34partner immediately,
20:34but he refused.
20:36He went back to
20:36his old life.
20:37The parties,
20:38the company,
20:39the lack of
20:39commitment.
20:40He told anyone
20:41who asked that he
20:42tried love once,
20:43it had guttered him
20:44and he saw no reason
20:45to repeat the experiment.
20:46That wasn't my fault.
20:50The blame
20:50landed where it
20:51landed,
20:52and it landed
20:53on him.
20:54As for me,
20:55I was the victim
20:55in every version
20:56of the story
20:56that circulated.
20:57A young woman
20:58caught in the middle
20:58of something
20:59powerful men
21:00had decided.
21:00no agency,
21:02no choice,
21:03very sad,
21:09which suited me
21:10perfectly.
21:11terribly.
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