Original subtitles

(dark atmospheric music)

- To celebrate his sixth wedding anniversary,

our illustrious emperor has decided,

in his immeasurable mercy,

to grant amnesty to all traitors to the empire.

On one condition.

Return to your family.

Demand all the rebel leaders give up this futile rebellion.

(dramatic music)

- [Man] His Imperial Highness and Her Majesty The Empress.

- Honoured friends, on this, the sixth anniversary,

of my blissful union,

I would like you to raise your glasses

to the only source of peace and calm in my life.

The Empress.

(lively music)

(dark atmospheric music)

Make this as short and painless as possible,

will you, Chamberlain?

(rhythmic music)

- Number one is the daughter

of the governor of the Eastern Province.

- I don't care who she is, she's not right.

- [Chamberlain] Number five, Your Highness.

- Show me the next one.

- Candidate number six.

From the Warm Province.

(Emperor sighs)

- Central Province.

Where's the last one?

There must be seven of them, one for each province.

You know the laws, where is she?

- Ah, yes.

The seventh candidate...

I'm afraid she-- - She what?

- She proved as elusive as her rebellious countrymen.

(moody music)

Your Highness.

My duty is to help you with the choice you have to make now.

The law states that the candidate must be selected

one year before.

- Alright, number seven, then.

- Your Highness, that's impossible.

I mean, you can't, you haven't even seen her.

And the law also clearly states

that from the moment you've chosen your new bride,

you may not see her until the wedding.

- There'll be no wedding, so number seven will do.

(moody string music)

(knocks)

Yes?

- Your Highness.

(Emperor sighs)

- It will not do for me to shirk my duties.

But we must spare the Empress.

I love her dearly.

Nevertheless, the laws are the laws.

Now, I want you to fetch the girl yourself.

You're the only one I can trust.

- But, Your Highness, I'm needed here.

The Secret Wing has not been used for many years,

and I still have to select the appropriate staff.

- What's the hurry?

We still have a year, my wife could conceive.

You know the fate in store for the candidate without a hand.

The rules are very clear on that point, very clear.

I won't tolerate any embarrassing situation.

Not even from you.

Thank you, Chamberlain, that'll be all.

- Your Highness.

Your Highness.

(moody music)

- Hello!

I'm so happy with your choice.

I knew the Emperor wouldn't come himself.

- That would be inappropriate, madam.

- We couldn't have that, could we?

I suppose you think a woman drinking alone is inappropriate?

- Not if her intention is to get drunk.

- Well, it is.

It definitely is.

Come inside.

So, are you married?

- To the Emperor, madam.

(woman laughs)

I do not wish to seem impatient, but is your daughter here?

- Oh, she's out there somewhere.

Looks like you'll be staying the night.

You can sleep in her bed.

- I beg your pardon?

- Oh, don't worry, she won't be.

- [Empress] What is wrong?

- Nothing.

- I am your empress.

You can trust me.

- Always remember how much I love you.

- [Empress] Remind me.

- I see you've been doing your homework.

- I must the Emperor against anything

that could embarrass him.

- Then you already know that my daughter has a friend.

Thembe is his name.

He's a Mushta, quite a hothead.

My husband was devastated.

The daughter of the governor in love with a rebel.

- Where is she?

- She went that way.

And do watch out for your shiny shoes.

(giggles)

(dark amtospheric music)

(knocks)

(knocks)

- [Woman] Who are you?

(grunts)

- You must be Sabah.

I knew your father.

You must be deeply hurt.

- And you must be lost.

What are you staring at?

Are you one of the Emperor's men?

Is the rebellion over?

- Not entirely.

Listen.

I am the chamberlain of the Emperor.

I've come to fetch you, to prepare you for your wedding.

- How does the Emperor know Thembe?

Why does he want to do this for us?

- You don't understand entirely.

The Emperor needs your help.

A wedding could tighten the bond with your province.

You could stop the war.

- I can't see how our wedding could stop the war.

We're not that important.

- You're more important than you know.

- I would want to talk to Thembe first.

- I'm afraid that's impossible.

I don't know where he is.

- Go away and leave me alone, then.

Find Thembe if you want to speak to me again.

(tense atmospheric music)

- You met my daughter, then.

- There are complications.

Complications that could cost us both our heads.

Now tell me exactly how Thembe is supposed to contact Sabah.

- Oh, I don't know.

You're asking me to betray my daughter's confidence.

- You've already done that.

If you do not tell me how to bring her here,

we will both be executed.

Surely you will make the correct choice for her.

- Well, I'm sure my husband would have agreed with you.

- Quite, madam.

Now, the method of contact.

- He said that when he returns,

he would shoot three times into the air.

- Do you have a pistol?

(gun fires)

(gun fires)

(gun fires)

(door opens and closes)

- [Sabah] You?

I thought that--

- You asked me to find out how to contact you, and I did.

That should make you realise you can trust me.

- [Sabah] And what makes you so trustworthy?

- The laws.

They forbid me to lie.

- Laws are for idiots.

Do you think everyone who lives in the mountains

lives by rules?

(tuts)

They treat each other with common decency.

In your palaces, you have no decency,

and so you have to rely on laws.

- Darling?

Dr. Al Razi is not the only doctor in the world.

- But Al Razi is the finest physician in the entire empire.

- Yes, but-- - Please.

Not now.

(sighs)

- Why does the Emperor want Thembe and me to get married?

I still don't understand.

- Now, Sabah, my sweet.

It's these silly laws.

The Emperor has chosen you and Thembe

to symbolise the new peace.

I'm sure your dear father would have understood.

And approved.

- Why would my father suddenly approve

of something which drove him to--

- Your father was supremely loyal to the Emperor.

- Will I see Thembe at the palace before the wedding?

- Yes.

Yes.

Of course.

- Promise me.

Promise that I will see him.

- I promise.

Now, follow me.

(door squeaks)

(door closes)

- Bye bye, my darling.

I'll be expecting a nice parcel from you, dear chamberlain.

(moody atmospheric music)

- We have lights behind us. - What are you doing?

Don't be foolish, get down.

Give it to me.

- It's my father's.

- Please.

- Last night, I prayed to the stars

that Thembe would come for me.

He promised to bring me a red rose when he came back.

- Prayers are what keep us from going insane.

- [Sabah] So when did you stop praying?

- Come.

- [Sabah] When am I going to see Thembe?

- What happens next is not pleasant, but necessary.

Just keep thinking of your wedding.

It's all about your wedding day, Sabah.

Now, please.

Please.

(keypad bleeps)

- [Man] Your Highness.

- [Empress] I'm sorry about this, but my situation, it's...

- [Man] Precarious?

- [Empress] Yes.

- [Sabah] I said I was still a virgin, didn't I?

- [Chamberlain] I'm afraid the law insists

that the fact be established beyond any doubt.

I promise, from now on, things will be different.

- [Sabah] That's two promises I'm going to hold you to.

- Beyond this door, and as of tomorrow, the best tutors will

teach you everything you need to know for your marriage.

Listen to them, they have sacrificed a lot to be here,

and will, in no way...

Bother you.

- What do you mean by that?

- They will not approach you inappropriately.

- Am I so unattractive?

- By no means.

But here I must say farewell.

I cannot accompany you any further, for your own safety.

The laws state that any man passing through this door,

must be specifically selected.

- I want a bath.

Now I really do feel dirty.

- No discomfort, I trust, Your Highness?

- No.

- I will send the samples for examination to Switzerland.

It will take a little time.

- How long? - No more than a week.

- A week?

My dear Professor Leopold, I cannot stress enough

the importance of these results.

We have less than a year left.

(Sabah sighs) (suspenseful music)

- Your Highness.

- Have you been in a fight?

- Can I do anything for you, Your Highness?

- Yes, you can.

Tell me, what do the laws say about an empress?

- The laws, Your Highness...

There are thousands of them.

- Yes.

But some are secret.

Are they not?

(footsteps approach)

- Ah, you're back.

Good.

How did it go?

She put up a fight by the looks of things.

- [Empress] Who did you fight with?

- Darling.

Yes, Chamberlain.

Who did you fight with?

- I fought with a wildcat.

Your Highness.

- Well, everybody needs some kind of wildcat.

(peaceful music)

(dark orchestral music)

- Now, listen carefully.

Appreciate it.

Music...

Music is the one thing in life you can love wholly

and it asks nothing of you in return.

- Why should I love it?

What do you have to say about that?

- Well...

You must at least be polite enough to pretend you love it.

After the performance,

you have to make the right conversation.

- But I never go to the opera, and neither does Thembe.

- You shall, I assure you.

- How can you be so sure?

And don't you think the conversation might be

more interesting if I said that...

It's a totally ridiculous noise?

- Let me see her.

Come on.

Let me see her.

- Your Highness, the laws.

You know that you cannot look at her

until the day of the wedding. - Yes, yes, article 21.

- Of course, if you were really intent on seeing her,

you can go straight in.

Of course, you would have to be a eunuch.

I apologise, sir.

But it is the law that separates us from wildcats.

- Is she a wildcat?

I bet she is, she is, isn't she?

- She is indeed a wildcat.

- So, I am to love someone I've never seen.

- She has never seen you, either.

- Don't be absurd, of course she's seen me, I'm the Emperor.

On coins and poster stamps everywhere.

She's even licked me.

(chuckles)

- I hadn't really thought of it like that, sir.

- Anyway.

My wife has a whole year to give me a successor.

- 10 months, sir.

- Yes.

Why won't the woman conceive?

- I shall talk to her doctor again.

- Doctors, doctors.

Doctors have been inside her more times than me.

(sighs)

Chamberlain, if necessary,

I want you to make this wildcat fall deeply in love with me.

You understand?

- Yes, Your Highness.

- Good.

Carry on.

(knocks)

(footsteps approach)

(ethereal choral music)

- Ah, here you are, Chamberlain.

I order you to execute this traitor at once.

For six years, this quack has told me

that the chances of me having a child are almost nil.

And now, I hear from Professor Leopold,

the authority on fertility, after extensive examination,

that everything is perfectly alright.

I can have a child.

- That is very good news,

but you can't just execute the poor man.

- Feed him to my dogs.

Guards!

- Is the Empress capable of safeguarding

the imperial lineage or not?

- With the right husband, yes.

- No!

- Excellence? - You heard her.

(Empress gasps)

(knocks)

- Come in.

(door opens)

- I think the chamberlain is hiding something.

Maybe a lover.

- What makes you think he has a lover?

- He has this guilty look on his face,

and he's never there when I need him.

- Well, he's very busy.

The rebellion puts a great deal of stress

on every one of us.

- I'm telling you.

He has a lover.

- Nonsense, the laws forbid it.

Anyway, he's never been with a woman in his life.

- I shall prove it to you.

I promise, I'll find her.

(dogs whimper)

(gasps) (ominous piano music)

- Now imagine that your honoured guest starts a conversation.

What do you say, then?

- Oh, how fluently you speak our language.

- No, not like that.

You have to be much more restrained.

Otherwise, the guests might think

you're trying to seduce him.

- Okay.

Then what do you think of...

Your accent reminds me of a toilet being flushed.

(chuckles)

Where is Thembe?

He doesn't care how I dance, eat, speak, walk.

And why don't I get to see the Emperor?

At least he could send his chamberlain around again.

I'm not playing your insulting games anymore.

- I shall see you tomorrow.

(moody orchestral music)

(door opens)

- Perhaps a wedding with the seventh province

isn't such a bad idea.

They killed her dogs.

Poisoned them.

- Your Highness, I think I've made a grave error.

The candidate, number seven.

She's not the right girl for you.

- What do you mean?

- I don't think we should progress with the girl.

- Should we release her,

like your little bird, Chamberlain?

- Yes.

If you like, sir.

- So, my wife is right.

- Sir?

- She thinks you're in love.

- It is not my place to fall in love.

- Well, of course, it would cost your head.

Don't concern yourself with number seven's suitability.

Especially now as my wife's consulted a doctor

who says she can bear a child.

- We can't be sure of that.

Is it not possible he has made a mistake?

- My wife's dogs have been poisoned.

You say the doctor is incompetent.

And to cap it all, you're suggesting we flaunt the laws.

- Sir--

- You suggested releasing the candidate!

Impertinence has an ugly head.

Lower it.

- My loyalty is always to you.

- Morning. - Breakfast!

Today we're going to work on your bowing skills.

And then I want you to discover the secret

charms of Monteverdi. (cutlery clatters)

- (giggles) Tell Monteverdi I'm not in the mood.

I want to see the chamberlain and I'm not moving until I do.

- She's a savage!

I am a teacher, not a stable hand.

Maybe we should tell her that if she doesn't cooperate,

we'll all be executed.

- If we say anything, we will certainly be executed.

- We can't keep the truth from her much longer.

- [Chamberlain] Where is she?

- She is hiding herself in her room, Your Excellence.

It's hopeless, she wants to see that Thembe first, or--

- Or what?

- Or you, Excellence.

- So she wants me to come in? - Yes, but you can't.

I mean, the laws. - I know the laws!

(tense music)

The Emperor is infertile, isn't he?

- [Doctor] Who said that?

- Your predecessor made quite clear allusions to it,

before killing himself.

- Never lie, never embarrassed. (chuckles)

- Then all empresses will meet the same fate.

- Well, they get seven years of luxury first.

Can't have it all, can we? (chuckles)

- Move.

(dark orchestral music) (distant water sprays)

(lock clicks)

- Chamberlain?

In my room.

Now.

I'm so sorry, Chamberlain.

And I'm sorry for your friend the doctor, too.

I'd like to have given him a trial.

- That's very kind of you, Your Highness.

- But he was a traitor, wasn't he?

And that brings me to you.

You vowed your allegiance to the Emperor.

And yet, you have taken a lover.

- You are mistaken, Your Highness.

- Am I?

Or is it my husband who's having the affair?

- Not at all, Your Highness.

I can assure you of that.

- Chamberlain.

Is he having an affair?

Does the Emperor sleep with her?

Answer me.

(lighter clicks)

- I do not sleep with anyone...

Other than you.

- Then who is this?

- It's true.

I must confess.

It is I.

I am seeing her.

- You?

- I have...

- Fallen in love? (chuckles)

- Yes.

- Then prove it.

Introduce her to us.

- She is not here.

- So, when can we see her?

- Soon, Your Highness.

- Tomorrow.

(dark orchestral music)

- I want you to leave him alone.

- Why do you have secrets from me?

- Please, leave him alone.

- [Chamberlain] Sir?

- What is this? - I must speak with you, sir.

- Not now, Chamberlain. - I must insist, sir.

- Do I have to lock you up?

- As a matter of fact, that would suit me very well.

She wants me to introduce my so-called beloved to her.

Today.

- Stay away from her, she's in a foul mood.

She'd have you executed for nothing.

Now, I'm busy.

Disappear.

- Disappear?

- [Emperor] Yes.

- That's exactly what I'll do.

(dark atmospheric tones)

- This is most unusual, Chamberlain.

- I can assure you, it's absolutely necessary.

- May I inquire as to why? (chuckles)

- The laws are clear.

(ethereal choral music)

(bird chirps)

(gun cocks)

(dramatic choral music)

- [Man] I'm sorry, Excellence, we have to be sure.

Thank you, sir.

Nothing will threaten Her Ladyship's purity now.

(dark atmospheric music)

- Sit down, please.

I'll bring you some food.

- Don't go to any trouble. - But you must!

You haven't eaten all day.

- You don't understand.

I just feel a little dizzy.

- It's okay, I'll take care of her.

(ethereal choral music)

Put this on.

The night is cold.

- The night?

Thank you.

Listen.

Artillery.

A long way away.

So, the rebellion isn't over yet.

- No.

- Does Thembe know about this?

- Not yet.

- And what about your promise that I'd see him?

- I don't feel well.

(suspenseful music)

- You wanted to see him so badly, didn't you?

But you didn't think what it would cost him.

- Cost him?

- He's been spayed.

- Gelded. - Caponized.

- [Sabah] Good morning.

- Good morning.

- I've just been told what you did to get in here.

If you were prepared to do that...

I have to believe you mean me no harm.

- Sabah-- - Your Highness.

- Your Highness.

- You treat me like royalty, don't you?

- Last night, I dreamt that Thembe had been shot.

Is Thembe dead?

- I don't know.

- Your Highness, we have searched high and low,

and can find no sign of him. (Empress chuckles)

- I'm sure he's still in the palace.

He's too loyal to flee.

I want him found immediately.

- I'm not sure you can cope with this.

- I shall let you know whether I can cope or not.

Tell me everything.

- Very well.

Your mother married you off to...

- Go on.

- To the man who has everything.

In fact, he possesses this whole empire.

- You mean-- - Yes.

You will be the new empress.

- What do you mean by "new empress?"

And the old one?

- According to the secret laws of our land,

any empress which fails to conceive of an heir within--

- "Secret laws."

That's easy.

The Emperor gets bored with his wife,

and makes up a law to get rid of her.

- It's not like that at all.

I guard laws against such abuse.

(sighs)

Just see it this way.

It's not what the Emperor can do for you,

but what you can do for the empire.

- Another of your laws?

- When the first wife of the grandfather of the Emperor died

the laws insisted that he marry another woman

within one year.

There was no time for him to come to terms with his sorrow,

and fall in love again.

A new empress was chosen, a girl from the Cold Province.

After her selection, he was not allowed to see her,

or meet her, but only permitted to write a letter,

in the hope that, eventually, they would have more

in common than their names on an imperial pronouncement.

- And did it work?

- My promise to you about your Thembe is not yet a lie.

But at least while the provinces are still rebellious,

could you not find it in your heart to cooperate?

If not for the Emperor's sake,

and for your own,

then for mine?

- You want a truce.

Is that it?

- I've appointed you a new teacher.

You may just learn something from him.

You didn't find the long train journey

to our country tiring, Your Highness?

- No, I passed the time reading.

- You did not enjoy the landscape?

- I read as far as the mountains, where your beautiful view

distracted my attention from the book.

- If you love literature,

you may be familiar with a compatriot of mine.

Sauler.

- Alas, not enough to judge it well.

I think he doesn't get the attention he deserves.

- You share his opinions?

- I especially like his choice of style.

- Very diplomatic.

You're beginning to understand.

You will make a beautiful empress.

(sombre orchestral music)

My darling Sabah.

No.

My dear Sabah.

It is no simple matter for me

to declare my love for you through a letter,

comma.

In a language and an alphabet I use every day,

but I have never used to describe what happened to me,

the first time that I saw you.

Full stop.

- But I haven't even seen her.

- [Chamberlain] She doesn't know that.

- [Emperor] Good.

(sighs)

Now...

I must leave for the Cold Province.

It seems the rebellion has come to a head.

(dramatic percussive music)

- "As the day approaches,

"when nothing will stand in the way of our union,

"and you will share all that I have to give."

(sighs)

(sighs)

(giggles)

I should like a glass of giraffe's milk.

- Giraffe's milk? (Sabah giggles)

- Yes.

If I'm going to be the empress,

I can ask for anything, can't I?

I'd like to hate him, but,

he seems much gentler and more human than...

I have such foolish thoughts.

If Thembe could hear me now...

- But he can't.

- Would you love me, if I were your empress?

- Everyone would love you.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I must feed my bird.

(Sabah sighs)

(suspenseful music)

(bird chirps)

Your Highness.

- I gave you an Imperial Order and you didn't obey.

The Emperor is not here to help you now.

What's the punishment for one who doesn't obey

the Imperial Law?

Pull out the tray.

Pull out the tray!

Are you in love with a man in a cage?

Follow me.

(moody string music)

- I wish you could tell what your intentions are,

Your Highness.

- Well, what do you think they are?

If I do not conceive, quickly, very quickly,

the best I can hope for is banishment.

Why?

Does the Emperor know about his shortcoming?

No.

I thought not.

Chamberlain.

I need your help.

- [Chamberlain] My help, Your Highness?

- [Empress] Look at me.

- You're very beautiful, Your Highness.

- I am the Emperor's wife.

- And I shall be executed.

- Give me an heir and you will not.

- [Chamberlain] Would you object if I asked

to turn off the light?

(dark string music)

(applause)

(Sabah chuckles)

(psychedelic music)

- Giraffe's milk.

Remember?

I had to arrange it myself,

since you seem to forget all the promises you make me.

Most...

(glasses clink)

Unusual.

Goodnight.

- Sabah-- - Why do you hide from me?

What did I do wrong? - You've done nothing wrong.

- But I must have.

You promised to help me.

I do everything I can to be the perfect empress in waiting.

And what do you do for me in return?

Sit up here and rot.

(marching footsteps)

(muffled clunks)

(muffled clunks)

- The shelter's ready for you, Your Highness.

- Nonsense, I am staying.

The Emperor isn't here and I'm in charge!

(dog whines)

(suspenseful music)

(door opens)

- [Mother] Thembe?

You...

We thought you were dead.

- You sold her to somebody else.

(gun fires)

(mother chokes) (dog whimpers)

(whistles)

(strong wind blows)

- [Chamberlain] Congratulations, Your Highness.

- There are complications.

The mother of the future empress is dead.

Murdered.

- That is most unfortunate.

- Hm, very inconvenient.

Culprit was arrested leaving the premises.

A rebel, the youngest of the Mushtas.

That mean anything to you?

(moody music)

- It is not entirely unfamiliar to me, sir.

- He's given a full confession.

Did you know of their engagement?

- Yes, but you had already made your choice.

- He will be executed.

(suspenseful music)

- I have nothing else to say.

(Chamberlain clicks fingers)

- [Chamberlain] Why aren't you wearing your masks?

There's been a gas attack. - Please identify yourself.

- Satisfied? - Sir.

- Remember, I can only give you two hours.

- You're aiming too high. - Chamberlain?

(ethereal choral music) (giggles)

(sombre orchestral music)

- I shall be watching you two.

- [Chamberlain] Hello, Sabah.

- Hello.

(dark atmospheric music)

- Thank you.

You do keep your promises after all.

But I wish you hadn't.

- Why?

- He said that I will never see him again.

- That is so, I'm afraid.

- But...

The horrible thing is...

When he said that...

I felt...

Relief.

(moody piano music)

- You managed to get some sleep?

- You know...

In my whole life, I've never had to decide anything.

I think I'm pregnant.

And I'm going to keep it.

- We shall see.

- I've been willing to do everything you asked of me.

I shall do my very best to be a good empress,

and try to love someone I've never even seen.

But this baby is mine.

- The only thing that is yours is your life.

If you choose to keep this child, we will be executed.

- What you are asking is inhuman.

- It is the law.

- Just for once, forget those damn laws.

- I've already done that.

Once.

(chickens cluck)

- Yes, he was just as listless as the other cadent,

but the injection helped him find his lust for life again.

Virile blood flows through his coman lobes,

and he keeps trying to jump on the others. (chuckles)

He is, (clears throat) fully charged.

- What did you give him?

- Oh, and extract of your testicles.

Finally someone is using them. (laughs)

I shall soon have run out of raw materials.

They say the rebellion is over.

- All the leaders have been killed.

- I can still remember. (chuckles)

I'd just graduated.

In the depths of the night,

they brought in the corpse of a young woman.

Beautiful creature, she was still warm.

I listened to her heart and lungs.

Didn't hear a single sound, couldn't find a pulse.

I shone a candle in her eye,

saw no reaction from the pupils.

Took my hammer to her joints, couldn't find a reflex.

Blackened the sole of her foot with a candle.

Nothing.

(chuckles)

I grabbed a nipple, turned it 90 degrees to the left, bang!

(laughs)

She hit me.

On the head with a metal basin.

They don't like that, do they? (chuckles)

Oh, anyway, I always say,

never turn your back on a warm corpse. (laughs)

- What are you saying? - I spoke to some soldiers.

At the time of the assault on the palace,

the rebels were nowhere near.

One of them was wearing purple.

I didn't know any of the rebels are from the Warm Province.

- There aren't.

- Oh, the empress is from the Warm Province, is she not?

- Anyway, that's not why I came down here.

I want you to perform an abortion.

- An abortion?

You are a constant source of surprises, Excellence.

- Shut up.

And follow me.

(dark string music)

Damn.

- Excellence.

I'm beginning to become concerned about the legality--

- Shut up, or I'll do to you what you did to me.

(door opens)

(bird chirps)

- Don't come near me.

- Please, Sabah.

You will be executed.

And so will I.

- If you hold her down, I'll send her off to dreamland.

- No!

So, this is where your law brings you.

- [Chamberlain] That will be all, doctor.

(door opens)

- Do you still want a trial before I have you executed?

- That is what the law requires, Your Highness.

May I ask how you found the entrance?

- A little bird told me.

Shh.

Your insults to me are unforgivable.

- I only obeyed the law.

- Hypocrite.

You have not obeyed the laws.

You bend them to suit yourself, just like my husband.

- When a guest enters a room of the empress,

those present will greet her with a simple reverence.

- I am the empress.

(Sabah chuckles)

- She is the empress?

I had imagined her very different.

More civilised.

Prettier.

- She is still a child.

I must admit, it took a little longer than I had planned.

But did you really think you could hide her from me

for the whole year?

- I think you knew what was happening all along.

And I think you planned the attack on the palace.

That's high treason, Your Highness.

- It's eat, or be eaten, my dear chamberlain.

(moody choral music)

(glass smashes)

- You go on.

I can't.

Listen to me.

I have never said this to anyone, but--

- But what?

- My life has always been dependent on the law.

Without it, I'm nothing.

I must serve her till the end.

- The law has made you mad.

- No.

It is the law that keeps me sane.

(dark orchestral music)

Go.

- I will never forget you, my dear chamberlain.

- [Chamberlain] Your Highness.

(strong wind blows)

(suspenseful music)

- After you.

(steel scrapes)

(moody orchestral music)

- Amnesty for all!

To honour the happy couple.

- I can't grant you amnesty.

You betrayed me in a most embarrassing way,

and brought great sorrow to the Empress and I.

- But where would we be without you?

Look, an Imperial adoption.

It's a boy.

- Just a temporary measure until the Empress provides me

with a real heir.

(dark orchestral music)

- [Chamberlain] Where is she?

- After giving up the baby,

she returned to the Cold Province.

I'm sorry, old friend.

This is most unfortunate.

(Chamberlain sighs)

- Dismissed for life, (chuckles) brilliant.

You saved the Emperor by betraying him, I thought, mm!

You could use this.

I extracted the seed from your unwanted testes.

Look it up, it's perfectly healthy.

I thought maybe you might want to start a family,

now that you're a, (chuckles) free man. (laughs)

(moody orchestral music)

- Come and visit me.

Thank you.

(gun fires)

(gun fires)

(gun fires)

(melancholic piano music)