- 12 minutes ago
Rimson Blade & Withered Rose - Hot
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Short filmTranscript
00:00She gave me her face. I gave her revenge.
00:02After my assassination failed, I ducked into a ruined chapel.
00:06I never expected to find a violated noble girl dying inside.
00:09Our eyes met. We both froze.
00:11We had the exact same face.
00:13She said she was the Earl's daughter.
00:15Her stepmother tricked her out of the manor,
00:17lying her father was gravely ill at the northern border.
00:20Instead, she was taken here, where the stepmother had paid rogues to rape her, then poison her.
00:24She reached out her hand.
00:26Don't look at me that way. I don't know how to save people.
00:30I'm an assassin, knowing only how to kill.
00:33Besides, I'm being hunted myself.
00:35I'm not asking you to save me. I'm about to die.
00:40I'll give you my identity to help you hide from your pursuers.
00:45Just avenge me.
00:47Please.
00:49I needed a new identity. The Count's daughter was safe enough.
00:54Fine. I promise.
00:57I looked down at her limp hand.
00:59She died with resentment and pleading in her eyes.
01:02Considerate payment for your face.
01:05Footsteps outside the childlike.
01:07Two rogues, stinking of wine.
01:10Damn, that noble bitch was really something.
01:13Shame about the poison.
01:14Could have gone another few rounds.
01:17Their filthy words died the moment they found me and saw my face.
01:23Twins?
01:24Twins?
01:25Twins? No.
01:26T-W-I-N-S.
01:28Tonight, riding it never spares.
01:32New one for us.
01:33Lucky, lucky day.
01:35Me first.
01:36I call dibs.
01:38First is fine by me.
01:40First time I've ever felt slow.
01:42Hell!
01:43Hell's been waiting.
01:45Two rogues on the ground.
01:46Eyes bulging.
01:48Bodies flopping like dying fish.
01:50Broken throats.
01:51No air.
01:52They'll feel every second of it before they go.
01:55Filthy villains don't die easy.
01:57I searched their pockets.
01:59Found a letter with wax seal.
02:00It was the Earl's wolf crest.
02:02Sloppy.
02:03Criminals don't leave evidence this obvious.
02:05Either my new stepmother is an idiot, or someone wants her to look like one.
02:09Either way.
02:10She lured Cecilia here.
02:11She doesn't get to walk away.
02:13I buried Cecilia in the yard.
02:14A stone from the altar to mark the grave.
02:17Then I dragged the rogues' bodies in front of it and set them on fire.
02:20I used my kit to become her.
02:22Needles, powder, a fake mole by the eyebrow.
02:25An hour later, I looked into a puddle and saw Cecilia Rosenthal staring back.
02:29If it's just the snake pair, stepmother and stepsister, simple.
02:33I'll wear your face, smash their scheme, then smash them.
02:36If there's a vulture above those snakes, I'll use the snakes as bait.
02:41Then I'll kill them all.
02:43Close feet, close lanterns, a crowd coming to catch a four.
02:46Good.
02:47They're here.
02:48Lock it closely.
02:49Your name is going to become their tombstone.
02:51Cecilia, you have an Assassin's Avenging Word.
02:56A woman in a dark green cloak, scanning the ground like a crow looking for Carrion.
03:03What are you doing here?
03:04I smiled.
03:06Assassin waits for the right moment.
03:08Sis, why don't you answer, Mother?
03:11Is it true you ran off with someone?
03:13Didn't Mother tell me Father was gravely ill?
03:15Ask me to come quickly?
03:16I never...
03:18So someone used Mother's name to lure me here.
03:21And Mother just happened to show up with so many people?
03:23I received a tip.
03:25That Rosenstein's daughter was misbehaving.
03:27Running off with a man.
03:29Misbehaving?
03:30So Mother's saying Cecilia did this to herself?
03:33Sis, why are you speaking so strangely?
03:35Were you hurt?
03:36Tell us, we'll help you.
03:37I wasn't hurt.
03:37But someone's trying to hurt me right now.
03:39I tell you, will you help me?
03:40Sister, I understand.
03:42Your late mother's family fell.
03:44You are desperate to keep your engagement with Edmund.
03:45But you can't lie because of that.
03:47If bad thing happens, shouldn't the ones who hurt you face justice?
03:50You want justice for your sister?
03:52Sister, of course I...
03:57That's the interest.
03:59For your sister Cecilia.
04:02Edmund's eyes went cold.
04:03He set Lena down and turned to me.
04:05You've lost your mind.
04:06Get on your knees and apologize.
04:08Or our engagement is off.
04:09Off?
04:10You must have been dreaming of it for years.
04:12But you never dared.
04:13You grasped the engagement for your fiancé's mother.
04:16Now her house has fallen so you want to dump it?
04:18You are insane.
04:19Today, you need be taught a lesson.
04:21I knew the two rogues and their testimony.
04:24What they did to you.
04:25Kneel down if you don't want your slut act spreading across the kingdom.
04:29Then go ahead.
04:30Tell everyone.
04:31Your fiancé violated by rogues.
04:33But people will wonder, how did the fiancé get the evidence so fast?
04:38Were you there?
04:40Or were the rogals yours to begin with?
04:42Cecilia, how dare you?
04:44Sister, please, just apologize.
04:46I have witnesses.
04:48The two rogues are concrete evidence.
04:51It's too late for your apologies.
04:53Witnesses?
04:54Already turned to ashes.
04:56Evidence?
04:57Talk to their ghosts.
04:58Then you do it.
04:59Tell the whole werewolf kingdom instead of yapping like a dog here.
05:09A wolf controls his shift.
05:11What can't control itself is a dog in heat.
05:20Don't worry.
05:22Wolf or dog, Cecilia is marrying you.
05:25Let the game begin.
05:27For scum like this, an assassin never minds killing slow.
05:30Edmund wrote off, humiliated, furious.
05:34Good disgrace!
05:35We're returning home right now before you ruin what's left of our Rosenton family!
05:40Sister, you shouldn't be so stubborn after you humiliated our family.
05:43I looked at them.
05:44Lena's practiced tears.
05:46Magda's clenched jaw.
05:48You want to talk about family name?
05:50With Cecilia?
05:55How dare you!
05:57Disgrace and humiliation.
05:59Ask yourselves who arranged this poem.
06:02Magda stumbled back.
06:03Hand on her cheek.
06:04Then rage replaced it.
06:06You've forgotten how to behave.
06:08Wait until we're home.
06:10Madam Greta will grind you back into shame.
06:12The name fell like a stone.
06:14Servants paled.
06:15The guards looked away.
06:17Sister, just apologize.
06:20You remember Madam Greta's methods, don't you?
06:22I didn't have Cecilia's memory, but I saw Cecilia's hands when she reached for me.
06:27The old scars all over her body, and I could guess by the snake pairs kissing.
06:31Madam Greta?
06:32I look forward to meeting her.
06:35I smiled.
06:36Three days later, I arrived at Rosenthal Manor, Capital City.
06:40Madam Greta waited at the hall.
06:42Old, dried up, hawk nose.
06:44She pulled out a teacup, dropped it.
06:46Shards scattered across the floor.
06:48Kneel.
06:49One hour.
06:50We'll start easy.
06:51What if I refuse?
06:53You've become rebellious.
06:55The Countess warned me, so I invited your late mother to teach you.
06:59You behave.
07:00This stays safe.
07:02You don't?
07:04Your late mother.
07:05Pig feed.
07:07I knelt, not really, crouched, ready.
07:11She didn't notice the difference.
07:12Magda smiled and satisfied.
07:14She pulled Lena toward the door.
07:17Madam Greta, help her revisit her old lessons.
07:21Tonight.
07:22Midnight.
07:23My door opened.
07:24Greta stood in the doorway.
07:25Needle kit in one hand, a pair of pliers in the other.
07:27Get up.
07:29Tonight's lesson, just like before.
07:31She walked closer, laid out her tools on the floor.
07:34Silver needles, bone hooks, a metal rod with a branding end.
07:37Are you afraid?
07:39I am terrified.
07:43You.
07:44You.
07:45Terrified my skills had gone rusty.
07:50Still as good as ever.
07:52The days after Greta disappeared were quiet.
07:56Magda sent replacements.
07:57A stern woman with a cane.
07:59I threw her out through the door.
08:00A fat man who liked to scream over the back.
08:04Then into a car.
08:05After the third, they stopped coming.
08:07News spread.
08:08Miss Cecilia went crazy.
08:09Good.
08:10Let them talk.
08:11Fear is quieter than respect.
08:12Leaving me space alone for Cecilia's diary.
08:15The leather was worn.
08:16The page is thin from rereading.
08:21Page after page.
08:22Pain after pain.
08:23And yet...
08:28I closed the diary.
08:29She thought marrying Edmund would be her escape.
08:32She didn't know Edmund was the one tightening the snare.
08:35Edmund's messenger arrived at Neal.
08:38Lord Edmund requests the honor of Lady Cecilia's presence at House Reign for the wedding ceremony.
08:41By tradition, Lady Lena shall accompany her.
08:43Accompany?
08:44They're intending Lena to replace her.
08:45The Duke's heir never wanted Cecilia.
08:47By the time the ceremony ends, Lena will fake the bride and be the real duchess.
08:50I listened.
08:51Then I smiled.
08:52Fake?
08:52They didn't know.
08:53Cecilia's fake.
08:54But fake Cecilia's revenge?
08:56That's real.
08:57The wedding day approaching.
08:59The manor buzzed with preparation.
09:01But not for me.
09:02Not for Cecilia.
09:03Silks and jewels for Lena.
09:05Fittings.
09:05Rehearsals.
09:06Servants tripping over themselves to please.
09:09Lena arrived at my door three days before the departure.
09:12Sister.
09:13What's not yours will not be yours.
09:15Oh really?
09:16You know, even if you marry Edmund,
09:19you'll be nothing but a vase on the table.
09:21I smiled.
09:22Maybe.
09:23But someone won't even make it to the table.
09:26Her face twisted.
09:31We'll see.
09:34We'll see.
09:35The departure day,
09:36the House Reign sent carriages for the bride.
09:38Guards, banners with the Rain Wolf.
09:41Edmund sat on his horse at the front.
09:42He didn't look at me.
09:44Didn't even glance.
09:45His eyes found Lena.
09:46Lingered.
09:48I climbed into my carriage.
09:50Alone.
09:50Good.
09:51Easier to watch.
09:52The carriage stopped.
09:53I stepped down.
09:54Edmund was already there.
09:56At the gate.
09:57His hand out.
09:58Not to me.
09:58To Lena.
09:59She took it.
10:00See?
10:00I stood alone.
10:02No hand.
10:02No welcome.
10:03Just stairs from the servant.
10:05I reached into my sleeve.
10:06Cold metal.
10:07Familiar weight.
10:09My dagger.
10:09I walked through the rain's gate.
10:12Alone and forgotten.
10:13Cecilia.
10:14Watch.
10:15Where you didn't make it for your hope, I faked it here for your vengeance.
10:19Edmund took Lena to her room.
10:21Mine stayed empty.
10:22So came the chance to map the running of the estate.
10:24I found the steward's office in the evening.
10:26The two rogues we arranged are missing.
10:29Useless Magda.
10:30After all the help I gave her, she still failed to shake Cecilia off.
10:33The rogues.
10:34The false letter.
10:35The evidence pointing to Magda.
10:37I arranged all of these.
10:38But that Cecilia escaped.
10:40There it was.
10:41The vulture above the snakes.
10:43Cecilia's death wasn't just Magda's trap.
10:45It was his scheme.
10:46I walked back to my room.
10:47The castle slept, but I couldn't.
10:50Midnight, I sneaked back Rosenthal Manor.
10:52I stood over Magda's bed.
10:54Her eyes opened.
10:55She screamed.
10:56My hand covered her mouth.
10:58Her eyes widened.
10:59Recognition.
11:00No, you're not.
11:01I'm not Cecilia.
11:03I am the one Cecilia said.
11:05My fingers found the back of her neck.
11:07One press.
11:08You'll never walk again.
11:10Never speak again.
11:11Just lie here.
11:13And think about what you did.
11:16I pulled back.
11:17For Cecilia.
11:21Countess Magda collapsed.
11:22Paranalysis.
11:23The physicians don't know why.
11:25I sipped my tea.
11:26News arrived at noon the next day.
11:28Good.
11:29Nina burst into my room that afternoon.
11:31Red-eyed.
11:32Wild.
11:33She swept my teacup off the table.
11:36My mother can't move.
11:38Can't speak.
11:38She's a vegetable.
11:40I looked at the shattered cup.
11:42That was my favorite tea set.
11:44You monster.
11:45Mother's dying and you're enjoying tea?
11:47Would you prefer I throw a celebration?
11:49Someone!
11:50Anyone!
11:51Servants rushed in.
11:52One gold coin for each slap at her face.
11:54One gold coin for each slap.
11:58Let them come.
11:59The servants exchanged glances.
12:01A big man stepped forward first.
12:03Thick arms.
12:04Thick skull.
12:05That's it.
12:06Slap her.
12:08He raised his hand.
12:09I moved faster.
12:10Gold hairpin.
12:11Through his palm.
12:12Crack.
12:13The screen echoed through Rain Keep.
12:15I positioned the bloodstained hairpin against Lena's face.
12:19Lena screamed.
12:20No one else stepped forward.
12:22Edmund arrived within minutes.
12:23What happened?
12:24She attacked for no reason.
12:27Cecilia.
12:28House arrest.
12:29I walked to my room.
12:30Servants rumored.
12:31She's jealous.
12:33Tried to ruin Lena's face.
12:34Mad with envy.
12:36Amid the rumors came one more interesting.
12:38News from the north.
12:39Earl Eric Rosenthal.
12:40Dead.
12:41Stroke.
12:42At the scene, a kept maid was at his bed.
12:44I read the message.
12:46I had no grief in Cecilia's boots for a father who turned away when the stepmother did whatever
12:50she wanted.
12:51The father alive didn't do any help for Cecilia, but at least his death did.
12:55The shameful news killed Magda.
12:58Rage did the rest.
12:59Even an assassin takes second place to killing news like that.
13:02Now I am to take the first place.
13:04Assassination target.
13:06Edmund, you wait.
13:07Lena came to my room the next morning.
13:09Black morning gown, white lace, red eyes.
13:11She looked almost pitiful.
13:14You think you've won?
13:16Father is dead.
13:19And my mother is dead.
13:22And you just sit there!
13:24I poured another cup of tea.
13:27Wait until I'm pregnant.
13:29Edmund will make me his mate.
13:31I'll replace you.
13:33Completely.
13:34I looked at her.
13:36Good luck with that.
13:38But you'd better watch your Edmund closely.
13:40She didn't understand.
13:42But she would understand soon.
13:44That evening, I sneaked into Edmund's study.
13:46I pulled the small vial from my sleeve.
13:48A few drops.
13:50Colorless.
13:51Tasteless.
13:52Not poison.
13:54Slow.
13:55Invisible.
13:56Irreversible.
13:57That night, Lena went to the Lily Tavern looking for Edmund.
14:00She found him.
14:01In a private room with three men entangled.
14:05Her scream shattered the night.
14:09The Lily Tavern.
14:11Lina's scream still echoed in my memory.
14:13I didn't need to stay there.
14:14The rumors told the rest.
14:15She burst into the private chamber.
14:17The Duke's heir.
14:18On his knees, three men, maybe four.
14:21By noon, all of Capital Town knew.
14:24The Duke's heir reduced to a tavern joke.
14:27Edmund returned to Rainkeep at dawn.
14:29Red-eyed, humiliated, furious.
14:31Lena followed, crying, begging.
14:34He turned on her.
14:35Crack.
14:35His hand crossed her face.
14:37This is your fault.
14:39You shouldn't have come.
14:40She fell.
14:40Didn't get up.
14:41He dragged her to the woodshed himself.
14:43Locked the door.
14:44Don't let her out.
14:46Edmund locked himself in his study.
14:47Drank.
14:48Broke things.
14:49Lena stayed in the woodshed.
14:50No food.
14:51No water.
14:52Just the dark.
14:53And her thoughts.
14:54I paid her the last visit.
14:56You are here to mock me?
14:57No way.
14:57I am not like Cecilia.
14:58I am not weak.
15:00Her thoughts were disorganized.
15:02Unable to recognize Cecilia's face.
15:04Your father died during messing with a maid.
15:06Your mother died of her father's shameful death.
15:09And dreaming man.
15:10Messing not even a maid.
15:11Who is more pitiful, you or Cecilia?
15:13Next day, a servant knocked on my door.
15:16My lady.
15:17Lady Lena.
15:18She hung herself with a rope.
15:21I looked out the window.
15:22The sun was rising.
15:23Red.
15:24Like blood.
15:25The snakes died.
15:27Not enough.
15:28Edmund was still alive.
15:29The vulture above the snakes.
15:31The one who set the trap.
15:32An assassin never forgets who really deserves to die.
15:36Lena's body was buried before Nina.
15:38No ceremony.
15:39No tears.
15:40Just a hole in the yard and a stone marker.
15:42Edmund didn't attend.
15:44He was in his study.
15:45She ruined me.
15:47That stupid bitch.
15:49Ruin my fame!
15:51I took over the estate.
15:53The steward reported to me now.
15:54The servants answered to me.
15:56Lady Cecilia had never been so useful.
15:58I signed the papers.
15:59Paid the bills.
16:00Managed the guards.
16:01No one questioned me.
16:02They were too busy whispering about Edmund.
16:04He never leaves his room.
16:06Those men come every night.
16:09Have you heard the noises?
16:10I sipped my tea.
16:12Good.
16:13Let them talk.
16:14Every whisper was another nail in his coffin.
16:16A month passed.
16:18Edmund was a ghost now.
16:19Pale.
16:20Thin.
16:20Hollow-eyed.
16:21He didn't attend meetings.
16:22Didn't see visitors.
16:24Didn't even look out the window.
16:26Just drank.
16:27And messing with the men.
16:29Always the men.
16:32I visited him once.
16:34The room stank of wine and worse.
16:36He lay on the floor.
16:37Shirtless.
16:38Surrounded by empty bottles.
16:40His eyes found me.
16:41More wine.
16:43Of course, my lord.
16:46I closed the door behind me.
16:48Let him rot.
16:48Then the gates opened.
16:50Horses.
16:51Guards.
16:51Banners with the rain wolf.
16:53Duke Marcus Rain.
16:54He had returned from Greyfist.
16:55I watched from my window as he dismounted.
16:58His face was stone.
16:59His eyes cold.
17:00He had heard the rumors of his son.
17:02He had come to see for himself.
17:05Marcus went straight to Edmund's chambers.
17:07I followed at a distance.
17:09The door opened.
17:10Silence.
17:11Then he turned to me.
17:13Cecilia Rosensburg.
17:14What have you done to my son?
17:16His voice echoed through the hall.
17:18I stepped forward.
17:19I've done nothing, my lord.
17:21Edmund did this himself.
17:23Marcus turned.
17:24His eyes burned into mine.
17:25Looking for lies.
17:26He wouldn't find any.
17:28Because I hadn't lied.
17:29I just helped him along.
17:30Wine.
17:31Men.
17:32Isolation.
17:32All his choice.
17:34I just made sure the bottles were full and the company willing.
17:37An assassin doesn't always need a blade.
17:39Sometimes, a bottle is enough.
17:43I will find out who did this.
17:46I watched him go.
17:47Good luck.
17:49An assassin's work is invisible.
17:51Especially when the victim kills himself.
17:53Marcus Rain spent three days in the keep.
17:56Three days of questioning.
17:57Threats.
17:57Demands.
17:58Who supplied the wine?
18:00Who brought those men?
18:02Who knew?
18:03The servants trembled.
18:04The steward stammered.
18:05No one pointed at me.
18:06Why would they?
18:08I did it.
18:09But all at Edmund's demands.
18:11Marcus searched for a conspiracy.
18:13He found nothing.
18:14On the fourth day, Edmund died.
18:16In his bed.
18:17Surrounded by empty bottles.
18:18As well as shirtless men.
18:20The physician said his heart gave out from excessive indulgence.
18:24Marcus stood over the body.
18:25His face was stone.
18:26But his hands trembled.
18:27To kill them.
18:29All of them.
18:30Every man who touched my son.
18:31Then Marcus announced it.
18:32My son.
18:33Sudden malality.
18:34A fever took him.
18:37No one believed it.
18:38No one said otherwise.
18:40Marcus came to my room that evening.
18:41You are his widow.
18:42This house needs an heir.
18:44His eyes were red.
18:45His voice was hoarse.
18:46I have chosen a boy.
18:47Colin.
18:47Five years old.
18:48Distant kin.
18:49He will be your son.
18:50As you wish, my lord.
18:51Colin arrived the next day.
18:53A small boy.
18:54Brown hair.
18:55Big eyes.
18:55He clung to his nurse's hand.
18:57Scared of the castle.
18:59Scared of me.
18:59I crouched down.
19:00Hello, Colin.
19:01He stared.
19:03I won't bite.
19:04He didn't smile.
19:04But he stopped shaking.
19:06Marcus left for Greyfist at dawn.
19:08His horse galloped through the gates.
19:09He didn't look back.
19:11The keep was mine now.
19:12No Edmund.
19:13No Lena.
19:13No Magda.
19:14Just me.
19:15And a five-year-old boy who needed a mother.
19:17I walked to my room.
19:18Sat on the bed.
19:19For the first time in months, I breathed.
19:22Then I heard it.
19:23Footsteps outside my door.
19:25Not servants.
19:26Not guards.
19:27Professionals.
19:28My hand reached for my dagger.
19:29They are coming for me.
19:31For Elena.
19:32Five crown agents.
19:33They came through my door at midnight.
19:35They didn't come out.
19:36First one.
19:37Dagger under the ribs.
19:38He dropped without a sound.
19:40Second one.
19:41Silver needle through the eye.
19:43He choked on his own blood.
19:45Third one.
19:46I used his own sword.
19:47Across his throat.
19:48Fourth one.
19:49Crack.
19:50Neck twisted.
19:51The fifth one tried to run.
19:53I intentionally let him slip by at his last moments with the evidence letter I faked.
19:58When his body was found, the letter I planted would say Edmund Raine was a traitor.
20:02And the agents died finding out the truth.
20:06Three days later, the Capitol buzzed with rumors.
20:09The duke's heir.
20:11A traitor.
20:12Crown agents killed in his own keep.
20:14The king himself has seen the evidence.
20:16I sipped my tea.
20:17Good.
20:18Dead men tell no tales, but their bodies tell whatever stories I want.
20:23I thought it was over.
20:25I was wrong.
20:26Three days later, I heard a servant's whisper in the kitchen.
20:30Someone's been asking about Lady Cecilia.
20:32Lady Cecilia.
20:33In the city, asking questions.
20:35I put down my cup.
20:39Three days of traces.
20:41The trail led to an old manor on the edge of the Capitol.
20:45Lady Alara's house.
20:46Cecilia's late mother's best friend.
20:49Midnight.
20:49I slipped through her window.
20:51My hand covered her mouth.
20:53Her eyes snapped open.
20:55Shh.
20:56She recognized my face.
20:58Terror in her eyes.
20:59She knew who I was, or thought she did.
21:02Cecilia.
21:03The girl who came back from the trap they once set.
21:06Tell me who else was involved in Magda's plan at the chapel.
21:09Her eyes darted, looking for escape.
21:11There was none.
21:12She talked.
21:13Seven names.
21:14Seven people who knew, who helped, who watched Cecilia die.
21:17Seven more names.
21:18The list grows.
21:24She thought I'd leave.
21:25I did.
21:26Only after my kill.
21:27One crack.
21:28Neck twisted.
21:29Lady Alara joined her friends in the dark.
21:34Three months.
21:35Seven deaths.
21:36No connections.
21:37The first, a noble woman at her own banquet.
21:40She raised her glass.
21:42I was behind her.
21:43One push.
21:44The railing gave way.
21:45She fell.
21:45A knight on patrol.
21:47A silver needle from the trees.
21:48A stray in the dark.
21:50His horse came back alone.
21:52The third, a merchant who liked to drink on cliffs.
21:54A little something in his wine.
21:56He stumbled.
21:58The waves took him.
22:00The fourth, a carriage accident.
22:02The fifth, a fireplace explosion.
22:04The sixth, a horse that reared.
22:05The seventh, a bath that was too hot.
22:08I returned to Rain Keep three months later.
22:10Mother!
22:10Someone came from the palace!
22:12I looked at the black carriage at my gates.
22:17Her Majesty wishes to speak with you.
22:19Lady Sibyl, the Queen's handmaiden.
22:22Forty years.
22:23Blank face.
22:24A voice that read names from a grave.
22:26Her Majesty wishes to speak with you.
22:27She appreciates a widow who can manage the family estate well.
22:30I didn't believe her.
22:32The Queen was related to the Lord Treasurer.
22:34The Lord Treasurer I had assassinated.
22:36But I am now Cecilia.
22:38I had to answer her summons.
22:40The palace was gloriously bright.
22:42I preferred the dark.
22:43The Queen sat on her throne.
22:45A smile that didn't reach her eyes.
22:48Leave us.
22:49The servants filed out.
22:51The doors closed.
22:53She looked at me.
22:56You are not Cecilia Rosenthal.
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