Original subtitles

- What did Sartine say? - I actually never saw him.

An officer came for me,

and asked that I deliver this to you.

Hold on to it.

Look.

A Baphomet.

A devilish figure,

which Templar Knights secretly worshipped.

- Would you support occultism? - That and more, sir.

THE TEAR OF WARSAW

This way, sir. It's on the floor above.

Note the layer of dust.

No one's come here recently.

Count the 6th floor board,

to the right...

of the chimney.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5...

I despise guessing games

as well as having the work done for me.

Introduce a flat device

to activate the mechanism.

Go ahead.

Pay attention, Bourdeau.

My physique is incompatible with these narrow spaces.

Handkerchief, Bourdeau.

She's coming back to her senses.

Back from an unknown place, dear friend.

Unknown!

Cease doubting, young Sybille.

It was the astral realm,

where unknown masters halt time

and give the adept the certitude

of what will be,

and of what would have been.

Enough.

Do you not see her state?

She's cold and is trembling.

Bid my people to come.

I am sending her home right now.

- Nicolas! - I did as fast as I could.

Bourdeau is closing the case and drafting the report.

Serving His Majesty does require to work all hours.

But the crucial mission you were entrusted with

will surely justify your lateness.

Indeed, the King imposed it on me.

By Jove!

Without betraying the secret you are bound to,

what was it about?

Resolving a 60-year old enigma...

that evidently couldn't wait any longer!

The disappearance of Counselor Dumas.

A former colleague of yours actually.

Indeed!

There was a lot of talk about Counselor Dumas' disappearance.

Long before it became the object of a legend.

An extremely mysterious legend

that His Majesty takes pleasure narrating on some nights

to his entourage, gathered by the fire.

But tell us, sir. You know better than any of us.

Here it goes...

Neighbors claimed that Counselor Dumas

was visited every Friday at 3 PM,

until the day he disappeared,

by a man with a black cape

mounted on a black mule

apparently just as frightening as its knight.

And...?

And...

it's been exactly 60 years,

after a last encounter with what seemed like the Devil,

Counselor Dumas disappeared

without anyone ever being able to find him,

as if he had evaporated, or had been sucked

into the depths of hell.

So how did you manage, young genius,

to unravel this enigma?

Without the least bit of merit.

His Majesty gave me a plan,

quite detailed I must add,

which made it extremely easy to find your companion,

reduced to a mummy,

in his own chair,

hidden in a secret chamber underneath his home.

Thank you, Lady Catherine!

And where did the King find the plan?

The case is closed,

and I do not care to know.

However, there is one thing...

Does this look familiar?

I found it...

knocked over in front of him.

It's the insignia of the Rosy Cross.

Which is no mystery.

Dumas was an alchemist,

and the greatest authority in his field.

The "Rosy Cross"?

Dear friends, since it is a full moon tonight,

let us drink our fill!

Saint-Germain!

One of our secrets is out.

The tomb of one of our masters was dishonored.

You are aware of the punishment we reserve for traitors.

Up we go, Nicolas!

Gather your wits.

What's the matter, Catherine?

A man in a carriage has come for you.

And he seems quite upset.

"Upset"?

Or better said, furious!

Come on, Nicolas!

You took your time!

And I despise waiting!

I hear wrath in your voice,

which makes me anticipate admonishment.

So could you keep your agitation to a minimum?

I'm afraid I cannot contain it.

And that you might just have to deal with it!

My functions

and the authority I have over you oblige me to do so.

It's my duty!

You're misbehaving, Nicolas.

You're misbehaving.

Your misbehavior is embarrassing me!

Yes, yes, yes...

Here!

Read it!

It'll keep you busy till Versailles.

I added documents I judged necessary

to keep you from passing for a buffoon

in the eyes of the King!

And now,

I'll catch up on the sleep you made me miss out on.

Sorry.

Nicolas!

His Majesty wishes to meet alone

with Marquis de Ranreuil.

You will need to wait with Duke de Choiseul,

who also wanted to partake in the meeting.

"Duke de Choiseul"? By Jove!

Would it be that important?

It is. But the King decides.

And we agree with whatever he decides.

Duke.

The King cannot possibly be left alone with that man,

especially when he never leaves alone,

as if there were assassins everywhere.

Marquis, His Majesty calls for you,

right this instant.

Gentlemen.

Mr. de Ranreuil.

I thank you in advance for the promptness,

meticulousness, and precision of your operations.

I was following directions, not investigating.

Whatever the case, Marquis.

Whatever the case.

So can we finally confirm

that the mystery of Counselor Dumas' disappearance

has been elucidated?

Without a doubt.

Congratulations, my friend.

Tell me, how did you manage...

to find the exact location and plan?

It's simple, Sire.

Either the magistrates and the Police who searched for him

were bribed by people interested in keeping his location secret,

or they simply proved to be mediocre

at their job.

So they were either

incapacitated or corrupted.

Indeed, indeed...

And...

About the knight...

Was it really

the Devil itself?

Sire, only if Your Majesty joined the Rosicrucian Order

would I be able to divulge the mystery.

I am therefore unable to answer you,

as my life would be endangered.

I understand, my friend.

Do not take such a risk.

Following our verifications...

your revelations have proved to be accurate,

and I have another mission for you.

It is said that your scope of capabilities

encompasses the ability to grow pearls

- and give them the best water. - Yes.

Would you also be able

to give back brilliance to a dying pearl?

Without a doubt.

Come.

Come too, Marquis.

I hear you are equally knowledgeable in such matters.

Madam, I present you Count de Saint-Germain.

I know who he is.

Madam du Haussé told me

there's been word about him.

He is said to be quite interested in divinatory science

and occultism.

He is said to be immortal,

and word is that he's dined

at the table of Francis I.

We also know

that he holds interesting firsthand anecdotes

concerning some rather famous figures from remote times,

starting with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Madam, one should know better

and let people talk.

Mr. de Gontreau.

The Tear of Warsaw.

My wedding present from father, King of Poland.

This jewel has been in his family

throughout the generations.

Its brilliance is fading away.

Couldn't it be...

slowly dying?

It does seem to have lost quite a bit of its brilliance.

Would you be able to remedy?

Of course.

I will need it for some time.

Do as you think best, my friend.

Do as you think best.

I also know who you are.

Mr. de...

- Mr. ...? - Mr. de Ranreuil.

"Ranreuil."

I know that the King appreciates the tales of your successes,

and...

I would rest assured to know

that you are ensuring the safety of this operation,

which seems to fall within the realm of enchantment.

"Enchantment"...

"Enchantment"!

What could she possibly know about enchantments?

We know they vanish in the morning.

Just like the vapors of drunkenness...

Upon my request, His Majesty has provided me

with a laboratory

for my alchemical experiments,

which he wants to remain secret.

Your authority therefore ends

where my expertise begins. At your service, Marquis.

Stay here... here.

Stand guard.

And wait there until you are relieved.

Finally!

You took your time!

At your service, Marquis.

I have a mission for you.

It requires you to become invisible...

and follow a man called Count de Saint-Germain.

Saint-Germain.

Mr. de Ranreuil...

Mr. de Ranreuil!

Do not deny it...

You were abandoning me!

You were abandoning me, Nicolas.

And do not hide anything from me!

I know everything about the Tear of Warsaw.

Duke de Choiseul tried to inform the King.

The Queen herself

didn't shy away from manifesting her reticence.

As for me,

- I tried in vain... - Gentlemen.

...to make reason

by triumphing over illusion's genius.

But nothing worked.

His Majesty has become

entirely infatuated with this Saint-Germain character.

And you...

What do you think of him?

Being raised by the Jesuits...

I thus consider opinions to be other types of illusions.

What I presume...

is that Saint-Germain's opportune discovery

of Counselor Dumas' mummy

is enough for him...

to gain popularity in the eyes of the King and gain his trust.

What you don't know

is that this is a serious matter.

The Tear of Warsaw carries

a cruel and horrendous malediction.

"A cruel and horrendous malediction"?

Enough, Nicolas!

It is the King we are dealing with!

Saint-Germain is a mysterious character.

As are the origins of his colossal fortune

that mainly consists of precious jewels.

We know he's in the King's good books,

thanks to Madame de Pompadour.

And we also know

His Majesty wouldn't refuse anything to his dear friend.

Which makes it difficult to get to the poor devil.

Yes.

Very difficult.

And this strange Dumas business.

- A mystery so easily elucidated. - Elucidated or invented?

That plan was probably written by Saint-Germain himself.

The underground room that lead to Counselor Dumas...

It awfully smells like trickery.

I also think so.

Do you believe in maledictions?

Not more than in the living dead.

Or werewolf stories.

Or that paper money

the good Mr. Law instated to stabilize the kingdom's finances

and insure its prosperity.

- Hold on. - By all means.

I'll be back.

The man you asked about is here.

Just after noon, a carriage came for him.

It picked him up in Versailles

and brought him to Paris.

Did he carry any baggage?

Just a cedar wood box.

Though he seemed to value its content.

Do we know where he is now?

Visiting a lady. Quite pretty if I may add.

In an old home on Rue des Saints Pères.

She is called Clothilde de Clairvois,

and seems to be living there.

A pact is a pact.

And we both know what that means.

I want some! I want some!

I still need, however, your entire devotion, Madam.

You very well know, sir,

that your adept is yours, body and soul.

Ask away.

Ask and you shall receive.

Before doing so,

it is necessary you answer with utmost frankness and honesty.

As if you were, at this instant,

standing before the creator.

Can you swear, Madam,

that you are still a virgin?

Dear friend, what keeps you from eating?

And drinking?

It is neither Catherine's fault...

nor your cave's fault.

Nor last night's great libations!

Which caused me this morning, a serious case of gout.

And tonight, I pay the price with a garden sage infusion.

But I can tell, Nicolas,

that you are seriously preoccupied.

You seem constrained.

What do you know about the Tear of Warsaw?

Nothing more than what the legend says.

If the pearl dies,

it will cast death

upon the lineage that owns it.

Is there a problem with the pearl?

According to the Queen there is.

And Count de Saint-Germain

seems to think so too.

"Count de Saint-Germain"? By Jove!

May God preserve Royalty.

What else can you tell me?

It's a sect that operates in the darkness.

Wouldn't it be more profitable to question

- our superior, Mr. de Sartine? - "Mr. de Sartine"?

I don't see myself doing so.

Nicolas? Someone has come for you.

Take her down.

Make sure to cut the rope and leave it around her neck.

Transfer the body to the morgue.

Louis will proceed with the statutory operations.

The poor thing couldn't have possibly killed herself.

If Miss de Clairvois didn't kill herself,

- then someone else did? - Do not doubt me, sir.

And why shouldn't I?

Someone wanted to quiet her up.

What did she know that was so grave?

It's not what she knew, but what she saw.

You seem like an honorable man.

I beg you to believe me when I say I cannot say more.

But someone else can.

She can help you cast light on this tragedy.

Here.

Take good care of it.

The logo that adorns it could very well be

Ariadne's thread to a mystery I can't elucidate.

Do not get offended, sir,

but the woman I'm taking you to

holds beneath her eccentricity, ever flowing kindness,

which combined to naivety,

makes her a prey in the eyes of charlatans.

What's the matter, madam?

Nothing.

I thought I had...

Something horrendous just happened.

Our beloved Clothilde died.

I enjoin you to share what you know.

But...

I don't know anything, my friend.

I don't.

I can compel you to, madam.

No you can't, young impertinent.

Only my late husband Marquis de La Rochefoucauld

could have, though even alive he never dared to.

And...

he hasn't dared since.

"Since"?

Be advised that our friend

still maintains physical contact with the deceased.

Though it never extends to procreation...

Bad woman.

You mock me when you know my tongue is tied.

You know that what happens in our ceremonies

is bound by secrecy.

And that your promise binds you as much as it binds me.

The promise made to whom, madam?

- To the count. - Which one?

Count de Saint-Germain.

But I doubt...

that you can rival with such a spirit, sir.

Enough, my friend. Come back to your senses.

That man controls you, haunts you.

Just like he haunted our poor Clothilde.

Leave.

And never come back.

After squandering your fortune,

he'll cause your death.

My death is in my own hands. And so is my fortune.

Leave, madam.

Come, it's getting late.

And I wouldn't mind being accompanied home.

How foul!

Your generosity, lord, for the pleasures of the flesh.

Leave us be, woman!

Don't you see I'm here?

It's all the same. I do hags as I do lads.

And you smell like them too.

Thank the heavens I didn't kill you.

Get lost, trollop.

Here you are, sir.

My lodging coordinates.

I'd be most pleased to have you for a visit tomorrow.

As we were leaving

Miss de Clairvois,

a vision seemed to trouble you.

Who could it have been, madam?

Allow me not to answer, sir.

I could have been wrong.

Who's there?

Your relief guard, sir! Your relief guard.

It's about time!

Indeed, your time had come.

We fooled that boor.

- It had never been easier. - Or...

more lucrative.

- Ladies first. - After you.

Baron...

You have my wholehearted admiration...

We can conclude it's a crime, sir.

A strange fact compelled us to pursue our investigation with

Mr. Antoine Louis, permanent secretary

of the Royal Academy of Surgery,

whose knowledge and experience with hanged people

are unequaled.

Look at this mark.

Observe the angle that testifies the hanging.

It is oblique and goes upwards.

Which proves the upward motion.

Also note

that the bruise is bloodless,

which means it occurred following death.

Now, observe the profound bloody furrows.

The strap dug into the skin,

though it was done perpendicularly

...to the axis of the neck.

The poor soul

was strangled with a shoelace before being hung lifeless.

Why's that?

Surely to add to the horror of death the treatment reserved

for victims of suicide,

which are shown naked in public as punishment.

Which weapon was used?

Follow me.

It's a leather shoelace similar to this one.

They're the same in terms of length, solidity and width.

Though this isn't it.

- And why's that? - Because...

this is the one I found girding Counselor Dumas' loins.

It's a type of strap,

a ritual object that Sufi followers wear around the waist.

It serves to separate

the mind from the body.

- "A ritual object"? - Yes.

Maybe an expert could give us a hand.

To what do I owe this sudden incursion, commissioner?

I am dealing with a blatant crime, sir.

Much good may it do you!

A crime...

in which this type of lace

is the instrument,

and in which a certain Saint-Germain would be involved.

Very well.

I assume that you wish to pursue with the same impetuosity, and

the same liberty you're used to,

which I cannot hold against you since I also benefit from it.

So what do you expect from me?

For you to order a patent allowing me to proceed

to any search, seizure,

and necessary questionings to finding the truth,

independently of the position and quality of the implication.

That's going a bit far!

And who's questioning are you referring to, dear friend?

Jeanne de La Rochefoucauld, the Marchioness of Urfé.

Are you out of your mind?

That's out of the question, young boor!

Secondly, and since I don't like venturing blindly,

I'd like you to cast light

on the Rosy Cross.

Enough, Nicolas! You have no business knowing!

You are nothing but my subject.

And nothing stops me from terminating your duties!

Yes!

I'm afraid...

that dismissing me...

will have to wait a little longer.

Your lack of concern for this theft strikes me as odd.

Aware of your prodigious ability to confound criminals,

and of your Police's expertise,

I trust you will solve this matter soon,

and find the jewel.

I am honored by your trust.

However, I wouldn't be indifferent

to more details about the incident.

Yesterday,

shortly after noon,

a carriage came for me at the postern

to drive me to Paris,

where I spent the afternoon and part of the night.

Upon my return, in the morning,

I came in

with the key I was given by Count de la Borde

when my laboratory was first set up.

A man's corpse was blocking my way,

and I had to stride over it.

I ran over to my safe, where I had left the pearl

in its case.

I opened it.

The case was there.

But it's content was gone.

No trace of breaking in?

None, indeed.

Which is why I suspect a subterfuge.

A ploy destined to put me in a predicament

and hinder my Royal mission.

A ploy that a guard paid with his life?

- You've got a nerve, sir. - And you know well...

that I have numerous

powerful and underhanded enemies,

all very willing to cause me harm,

and to whom crime isn't an obstacle to do so.

Would that include homicides?

Like the one committed in cold blood

on Miss Clothilde de Clairvois.

Miss de Clairvois?

- Where and how? - Last night.

In her residence on Rue des Saints Pères,

shortly after your lengthy visit.

You will be forced to follow me, sir.

I am taking you to the Châtelet

before the King's magistrate,

the Police lieutenant general,

Antoine de Sartine.

Mr. de Sartine.

Very well.

They were together for a long time.

I heard many loud outbursts.

And then the accused left, free as the wind.

Not to mention Mr. de Sartine had a carriage come for him.

You don't seem surprised, Nicolas.

I'm not.

But I was hoping this remarkable feat

would hound him into a corner!

Go on, commissioner.

Go on...

with your reason as sole tool...

and your usual abilities.

Do not expect a letter rogatory from me,

or any other means of access.

Would Count de Saint-Germain

have made revelations that exonerate him?

Exonerate him from what?

From what he's never been charged with?

Go on.

Go on.

I never thought him capable of such an incursion.

If we must go on...

then let's go!

We cannot deny she displays great contentment.

Which is often due to a great gain at the Pharaon game table.

Do you play Pharaon, Bourdeau?

I did, in the past.

You've kept a low profile, commissioner.

Remember me?

Lady Scarlett, the talented assistant of Lady Paulé.

My mistress had to flee to Auxerre

to mourn a loved one.

Such a shame.

Yet this absence

could be an opportunity for us to become friends.

Because we could, couldn't we?

Just like any man and woman who have no reason to fight.

Though your voluptuous charms

inspire more pleasure than hatred.

By Jove!

What grave business do you have to ask

that propels you to such gallantry?

A theft.

That occurred last night, in Versailles,

to the detriment of the Queen.

A pearl.

A rarity.

A business that demanded

information, means and accomplices.

So since you know everything from the crime world...

Would you have happened to hear anything?

If you ever do...

I won't fail to advise you.

I must attend to business I shouldn't shy away from.

Don't wait up for me.

I'll be on my way.

To be continued...

No...

Translation: Maria Angelica Noel TV5 Québec Canada