"THE OBERWALD MYSTERY" "Can you tell me what you are doing with that piece of wood?" "Well!" "I don't see the reason for all these fires." "There is a storm." "It is stifling." "The Queen likes to have a fire with the windows open." "But when the windows are open, bugs and bats can fly inside" "The Queen likes bugs and bats." " Do you love the Queen, Felix?" " What did you say?" "You can't open your mouth without telling me something unpleasant." "Tell me: what should I do for you to like me?" "Respect the etiquette, the ceremonial." "These are the things that matter in the Court." "The Queen couldn't care less about the etiquette and the ceremonial." "That is why her mother-in-law makes me keep them everywhere." "It was the Archduchess who put you near the Queen." "I am here, near the Queen, because the King wanted it so" "The King is dead, my Felix." "The Archduchess is alive." "I find you so beautiful holding that candlestick, Edith!" "You find me beautiful holding the candlestick." "Yes." "and now?" "Very beautiful." " I don't like the storm." " The Queen instead will be happy." "This morning she told me:" ""I'm lucky, Edith." "In my first night at Oberwald there will be a storm."" "She loves only violence." " Learn, my dear Duke..." " She doesn't love your violence." "She says so." "But if I were weak and submissive she couldn't stand me by her side, not for a minute." "Which means that since you find me weak and submissive she can not stand me by her side." "For Her Majesty you are like a piece of furniture, an object, my dear Felix." " You have to accept it." " I was a friend of the King's." "This is the only reason why she makes allowances for you" "Edith, are you jealous?" "Me, jealous?" "Oh, this is good!" "Do you know what's the date today?" "Ten years ago, on this very day" "King Frederic was murdered the morning of his wedding day." "Tonight the Queen will dine with the shadow of the King." "This is the kind of man you are." "A man who dare loves the Queen and be jealous of the shadow of the King!" " You are crazy!" " I was crazy," " about you." " Edith!" "Quiet!" "It was the Archduchess who opposed our wedding." "The Archduchess completely understood you before I did." "It was she who opened my eyes." ""That young fool does not love you, my child." "He is trying any way possible to get near the Queen."" "I thought the Archduchess was afraid for one of her maids of honor to be influenced by one of the King's friends, one of those she held responsible for her son marrying a woman she had always detested." " But then I understood, too." " What did you understand?" "That you treated me like a rival, like an obstacle between the Queen and yourself." "Tell me it isn't so?" "Why would I have needed to use you to get near the Queen since, if I am not mistaken, I get near her as much as you do?" "I am the Queen's reader, her only confident." "The Queen doesn't love you, Felix, accept it." "The Queen doesn't love you and I don't love you anymore." "I'll be as sincere as you are." "I don't like your role of spy paid by the Archduchess." " How dare you!" " It's better we say everything." "I was in love with you, Edith, and I may still be, but you say" "I'm not in love with you anymore since I'm with the Queen." "It may be so." "I dreamed we both would love her." "This is impossible because you are a woman and the Queen is unattainable." "I'll be happy to serve her with you, and my happiness will be in seeing her smile." "You seem to forget that I am the only one the Queen has shown her face to since the King's death." " I saw her face too, Edith." " Where?" "How?" "In Wolmer, through the gallery I heard the sound of the door slam." "Only she slams doors in that way." "I hid myself, I could see the whole gallery and at the end of it the Queen was coming towards me." "She was coming towards me as if she were alone in the world without her veil, her head erect, so pale, so light almost detached from her body." "She was walking very slowly, looking in the direction of my hiding place." "For a moment - it was unbearable - she stopped, then, with her back towards me, she left the way she came" "Here she is." "Open the windows!" "Will you please go away, yes or no?" "I told you to leave!" "I won't allow you to raise your voice to me in this way..." "Don't be ridiculous!" "There was a time when you would not talk to me this way." "Leave!" " Are you alone?" " Yes, ma'am, the Duke of Willenstein has just left." " Madam!" " How boring you are, my child" ""Look out for lightning." Your speech is predictable." "Do you want me to close the shutters?" "To close the windows, to draw the drapes, to shut ourselves in to hide ourselves, to deny ourselves this marvellous sight" "But why?" "This is my kind of weather, Edith." "and the storm has its whims and I have mine." "But a thunderbolt could strike the trees nearby and come in." "My geneaological tree is not interested." "It is decrepit." "It knows how to self destruct." "Let it come in, Edith..." "It already has." "I was waiting for Your Majesty to get permission to call the workers." "Apparently a part of the roof collapsed." "It will cost quite a lot of money." "Indeed." "The King liked this dilapidated house, built by who knows who." " Are you afraid?" " I am." "Afraid of what?" "Of dying?" "The only thing I have always been afraid of is the quiet." "Do you know why I love storms?" "Because they upset the etiquette." "The Archduchess is the etiquette, I am the storm." "You can go to bed, Edith." "Hide yourself under the blankets pray if you feel like, and try to sleep." "If I need anything, I'll call Tony." "Here's another one who's afraid of the storm." "The Archduchess would punish me if I left the Wueen alone." "Are you at my service or the Archduchess'?" "I am afraid I cannot obey the Queen." "I'll stay up and be ready to be of service to Your Majesty," "Again?" "My etiquette, my etiquette demands that nobody in the world may enter my room tonight," "Not even if lightning strikes the castle." "Good evening Mademoiselle de Borg." "I was joking." "Good night," "Good night, little Edith." "We deserved a little peace." "This is the mountaineer's food." "It is what distracted us from the monstrous ceremony." "Frederic, you were making such an ugly face." "The crown was not meant for you, my poor love," "and when the Archbishop put it on your head you almost" "Burst into laughter while the Archduchess kept on saying to me "Keep straight" I was standing up straight in the middle of the crowd, showered with all those flowers," "We were spared nothing of that endless celebration the evening we got into the carriage." "And here we are." "We are no longer King and queen, just two people in love having dinner together." "And now Frederic, since the Archduchess isn't here to stop me" "I'll read your fortune." "We used to have gypsies do it for us, do you remember when we went hunting?" "It hurt." "They're shooting, Frederic." "Shooting." "If that were new, you would surprise me." "Cards, you can turn them and turn them and say the same thing." "Look: one, two, three, four, five, the queen." "One, two, three four, five, the King." "One, two, three, four, five, a bad woman." "Do you recognize her, Frederic?" "One, two, three, four, five, an ambitious girl" "Edith de Berg." "One, two, three, four, five, problem with money." "One, two, three, four, five, a bad man." "Count of Foehn, you are always present!" "One, two, three, four, five," "death." "One, two, three, four, five, here is a boy." "Who is he, Frederic, who is he?" "Frederic!" "Get up!" "Can you hear me?" "Get up, quick," "You have stained the blanket with blood." " Is it you, Edith?" " Madam!" "Come in!" "What's the matter?" "Not feeling well?" "A serious matter." "I thought I could allow myself..." "Have you seen a ghost?" " It's a serious matter to disobey me." " Has the Queen heard the shots?" " The police?" " The police?" "It was Your Majesty's police shooting, the men are here below." "I didn't understand anything." "Is Count Foehn down here?" "No, ma'am." "But the commander of the patrol is coming to see Your Majesty on behalf of Count Foehn." " What does he want?" " They were chasing a criminal who got into the park of the castle." "What!" "The commander of the patrol urges Your Majesty to give him permission to search the park and the servant's quarters." "They shouldn't bother me with this nonsense." "This is not nonsense." "If Your Majesty allows me to tell you everything." " That's what I've been waiting for." " They are chasing a murderer." " Did he kill somebody?" " No ma'am, but he wanted to kill." " Who?" " You." "Better and better." "I go from one castle to another without letting anybody know." "I decided yesterday that'd I'd spend the night in Oberwald." "Isn't it strange that both the police and the murderer are aware of my most secret decisions?" "The commander said a dangerous group was conspiring to harm you." "They had chosen a young man to carry out their plan." "Not knowing where you were, he went to his mother's house." "She is a peasant living in Oberwald." "Count Foehn, who expected you to come here, to Oberwald, thought the criminal would come here to make an attempt on your life, but the moment the patrol surrounded the house, the man fled." "He may be hiding in the park." "But why are you so upset?" "I'm not dead." "No, and the men of Count Foehn are watching the castle." "They are going to make an attempt on the Queen and Count Foehn doesn't think it worthwhile to come here in person." "He sends me a patrol." "I'd like to know whether the chief of police has a vague idea of who this criminal is." " Does Your Majesty know?" " Is it Count Foehn?" "Your Majesty is joking." "The criminal is the author of the poem published in secret that Your Majesty had the weakness to approve and learn by heart." "Well, then, my dear Edith, you found me safe and sound." "The storm is calming down, the police are watching." "You can finally sleep." "Don't disturb me anymore." "Does Your Majesty allow me at least to close the windows?" "Go ahead and close them." "It doesn't matter anymore." "You can get up." "You heard." "I suppose there are now no more secrets between us." "What is your name?" "I'll tell you." "Your name is Sebastian." "You've published under the pseudonym of Aznavar, a nice name, "the angel of death"," "a little poem entitled "End of the Royalty", that tried to attack me and was much talked about." "It was neither prose nor verse, it was an original work, anonymous, very different from anything else." "Not to be like anything else, not to be like anybody else." "There is no better praise." "Come closer, come closer." "That's the King's portrait." "It was painted when we were engaged." "The King was 25 years old." "How old are you?" "I suppose you are aware of this extraordinary resemblance." "Your accomplices probably thought that your resemblance to the King would help you carry out the attempt on my life, but things don't always turn out the way one thinks." "Am I wrong?" "This is the third time I've asked..." "How did you know I was in the castle of Oberwald?" "Did they sew your mouth?" "Well, my dear, I have kept quiet for ten years." "For ten years I have forced myself never to utter a word or show my face to anybody expect my reader." "Tonight I talk and show my face." "I was complaining because nothing ever happened in Oberwald." "Finally, something new." "I can show my face and talk." "It's marvelous." "So tell me about your adventure." "Bandage your knee." "I'll bandage it myself." "Stretch your leg out." "You're impossible." "I can stand silence, but not the sight of blood." "Tell me your story." "Actually no, I'll tell you." "They gave you the order to kill me." "They told you to find out in which castle I'd be, since I kept moving from one to another." "They may have mentioned Wolmar or maybe Oberwald." "Now, even if somebody I am suspicious of guessed" "I was going to be in Oberwald, it would be impossible to know in which room I would be." "I have four, and you came directly to mine." "I have to salute you as my destiny." "Tonight I was going to remember the anniversary of the King's death" "The armchair was his." "Honey and goat cheese his favorite meal." "A shot." "Dogs barking." "You make another effort, you climb I don't know what and you arrive here, I don't know how." "For a moment I thought I was seeing the King's ghost." "Get closer to the fire, your clothes are all wet." "The King was murdered in his carriage while we were coming to Oberwald after the ceremony." "The day of our wedding." "A man jumped on the carriage step with a bunch of flowers," "I thought he was squashing the flowers against Frederic's chest." "I was laughing." "The King died before I could understand." "When the knife was pulled out, the blood flowed on my knees." "You must be hungry, eat, drink something." "I am not asking you to talk." "I am asking you to sit here, on the King's chair." "I am offering it to you because I've decided to treat you as my equal." "As far as I'm concerned, I cannot treat you as a man." "You are my death, and I hide my death, and - let's be clear," "I defend my death." "I can see you understand me." "That is clear." "The King was killed because he wanted to build theaters and castles." "They want to kill me because I am like him." "What can you do if our families have such a strong passion for art?" "Since the King's death I have been feeling dead, too." "But this death, which is only imagined, is not enough for me anymore." "I need to die the way my King died." "In the same terrible way." "I have poison that I always carry with me." "It is wonderful." "The capsule dissolves slowly." "I swallow it, I wear my" "I swallow it, I wear my riding costume, I mount my horse," "I ride away, and I get excited." "When the poison begins to take effect I fall from my horse." "The horse drags me, and that's it." "But this is not so easy, since destiny must act by itself and you are my destiny, and I like that." "Come on, say something!" "Yell!" "Insult me!" "Do you realize what is happening?" "If instead of staggering the way you did, you had recognized me and killed me," "what would you have become?" "A murderer." "You fainted, instead." "Is that my fault?" "I helped you." "I hid you and saved you." "Certainly now it will be more difficult for you to kill me." "It is a different matter." "Shooting point blank is nothing:" "Killing in cold blood requires a different hand." "But you cannot go back any longer." "Nobody can avoid the conclusion of this story, no force except one, the worst: weakness." "But I don't want to offend you by believing you are capable of such a ridiculous let down." "Finally!" "Do you know Count Foehn?" "The chief of police." "He is a terrible person." "He plots against me." "He dreams of becoming Regent and the Archduchess" "I think she is in love with him." "It would be funny if you, without knowing it, would be a secret weapon." "This would explain the fact that you so easily escaped him." "In general, Count Foehn does not miss his prey." "Poor Count!" "If only he knew what he's done to me." "But let's leave the gentleman alone and let's settle our business." "You are my prisoner, but you are free." "I see you have a knife." "You dropped it." "You also have a revolver, that you can keep." "I am giving you three days to do me this service I expect." "If you spare me, I won't spare you." "Your only contract will be with me." "I'll say that you are my new reader and that I organized this romantic night to introduce you to Oberwald." "Tomorrow morning, Mademoiselle de Berg, the Archduchess' informer, will have spread the news of the scandal." "As you can see, we don't have a moment to spare." "None." "If you don't kill me, I'll kill you." "The storm is over." "The trees smell so nice." "The stars, the moon taking her ruins around ours." "The snow, the glaciers." "How brief storms are, how brief violence is," "Everything ends, everything falls asleep." "Don't be afraid." "Tony is the only one I trust completely." "Good night." "Take care and try to sleep." "Tomorrow will be a tiring day." "Do you know what happened here?" "I know the castle is in turmoil from last night's alarm." " Did they find the man?" " The man is in the castle." " What are you saying?" " She's hiding him in Oberwald." "He got wounded in the park, at least this is what they think, but on her bed cover are blood stains." "And the guards, you forget the guards." "The commander sides with the Queen." "He gave a false alarm." "There was shouting, gunshots, but the order was not to hit him." "They wounded him." "What do you plan to do?" "Inform the Archduchess so she may intervene?" "What's important is not to lose one's head, to remain calm." "Good morning, Edith." "Felix, I wanted to tell you, I had a new reader come" "I had a new reader come to Oberwald." "I have many reasons to think he is exceptional." "He is a student, native to these parts." "His resemblance to the King is really striking and that persuaded me more than any other recommendation." "He's poor." "He doesn't have any noble titles." "No, I'm wrong, he is a poet." "He published a libel against me that I like." "The young are always anarchists, always fighting the present, they dream of other things." "If I were not a queen I might be an anarchist myself." "This is why the Court fears me and the people love me, and this is why that young man found himself in agreement with me." "You are at my service." "I wouldn't like you to misinterpret my actions." "I would be grateful to you if you could show that young man that in our world there is still some interior elegance." "That's all." "You can go." "Does Your Majesty need me?" "I said you can go." "I was target shooting." "I like hunting less and less but I like to shoot." " Are you a good shot?" " I'm not bad." "Try." "Congratulations." "You almost hit the mark." "I hit it a little to the left." "I hope your knee is better." " Did you sleep?" " I slept very well." "My knee hurts less." "Of course, one sleeps well when one is twenty years old." "Twenty five." "In comparison to you, I am an old lady." " Did you study?" " I studied on my own, almost." "Mademoiselle de Berg can barely read in her own language." "I am not going to lose in the change." "I like to hear you read, since you've been appointed reader." "Sit here." "You won't refuse to read your poem." "I'd like to hear your own voice reading it." "Are you afraid?" "Don't forget that you are in Oberwald to kill me." "We made a pact." "A pact?" "Maybe you think my life begins in Oberwald." "Before, I didn't exist." "But there was a poem of mine that excited you, roused your interest, that flattered you, maybe." "So you created this extraordinary picture of me, of a ghost coming, who knows from where," "to kill you." "What a nice story!" "Then I arrived." "Where do you think I sprang from?" "From the darkness?" "And who looked for me in the darkness?" "You, because you're not one of those people that things happen to by chance." "You decree everything that has to happen even when you're not doing it." "You are the one who, without realizing it, gave me that spirit of rebellion, made me meet those men with whom I was hoping to find violence and freedom." "You were the one to dictate, even if unaware of that my comrades voted to lay a snare for you." "Things that no Tribunal would admit, but I tell you." "I was fifteen years old, coming down from the mountains." "There, everything was simple." "In your capital, I found intrigue, hatred, the ferocious police" "I met men who felt revulsion for these shameful things." "They attribute them to your government, and I also felt stained by shame." "And you?" "Where were you?" "Living your dream from afar, as if you were on a cloud, throwing away fortunes, hiding from the spectacle of our miseries." "They killed your King." "Is it my fault?" "These are the risks of your job." "By killing the King, they killed me too." "They killed you so little that now you want to be killed again." "You adored the King, but what kind of love is this?" "They raised you for the throne, making you a monster of pride." "One day they took you to meet a man that you didn't even know, but who was sitting on the throne." "You liked him, but even if you didn't, it would have been the same." "You went hunting, riding, together, then you got married." "They killed him." "I, since childhood, was suffocated with love." "It wasn't enough for me to be excited by a face though," "I wanted to be excited by a cause." "Then I entered your room" "I was pushed by a crazy idea, the idea of a crazy man." "I had the weakness of fainting, when I came to, I was a wounded man in the house of a woman." "You, instead, kept on feeding your myth, considering me as a death sentence." "I let you talk long enough." "I thought you decided that any protocol be abolished, that we should treat each other as equals." "It was a mystical pact between the one who would bring me death not an unknown person who got into the castle during the night." "I got into the castle, why didn't you yell?" "Why didn't you ring the bell?" "Make them arrest me!" "Hand me over to your justice, these are still the queen pleasures." "Now you are the one to yell, you'll bring the castle turmoil." "I don't care." "Don't you see I'm going crazy?" "Shoot." "Shoot me!" "Soon it will be too late." "Should I repeat to you what I have already said?" "If you don't kill me, I'll kill you." "Then kill me." "Sit down and pretend you are reading." " Edith?" " Ma'am." "What's the matter, Edith?" "Come in." "Please, excuse me, ma'am, but I heard a shot and I was afraid..." "When will you stop being afraid?" "I was target shooting." "If you dared come closer, you would have heard how readers, who can read, read." "I am sovereignly - this is the appropriate word - displeased that somebody listens at the door." "Edith, I am very unhappy with you." "Your behavior, which is getting more and more indiscreet, forces me to put you under arrest in your room." "Tony will bring you what's necessary." "Now, hide yourself." "I'm having a visit and I don't want you to miss a word." "We'll talk about it later." "My dear Count, good morning!" "Come in, come in." "Your Majesty, I apologize for appearing in this condition." "The road is long and in very bad condition." "Oh, I have been asking for a long time to have it repaired, but I find it logical that the expenses be charged to the State." "Our ministers, instead, think that it is my business." "So the road will stay as it is." "The State is poor, ma'am, and we're in a recession." "You speak like my Finance Minister." "The castle of Wolmar is on a cliff." "Labor is costly." "They say that jewel of yours cost Your Majesty a fortune." "Now you talk like the Archduchess." "Maybe, ma'am, but the Archduchess deplores in affectionate terms, the fact that Your Majesty has debt and she is sorry she is not able to help you." "Everybody knows that these debts concern only your riches." "The people never suffered." "And they all know it!" "You amuse me, Count." "Where do these absurd rumors about me come from?" "I despise the people?" "These are the lies they spread about me to rouse the people." "The Archduchess is the first to deplore the word affairs and if it weren't so, I would not have the honor of being here to pay homage to Your Majesty." "Yes, I was sure of it." "You came to reproach me." "Your Majesty is joking!" "Ah, it's about the ceremony for the anniversary." "My absence made, in the words of the press, a very bad impression." "The Archduchess thinks the Queen should have made an effort for her son's memory." "The reason for my voluntary exile is precisely due to my sorrow for her son's death, but my mourning doesn't consist in parading in a carriage." " The Archduchess is aware of that." " What does she want then?" "She doesn't "want"." "She advises you." "She advises Your Majesty to change those habits a little;" "those habits of seclusion that in the eyes of the fools - and there are so many of them - risk to be considered, contempt." "I cannot change "a little"." "Either one shows himself or hides himself." "I have eliminated the term "a litte" from my vocabulary." "When one does think "a little", it is like not doing them at all." "If my motto were not "I'm forced to do the impossible"," "I'd choose the words of that Indian Chief who was criticized for having eaten "a little too much"" "at a dinner at the Embassy." ""A little too much," he said" ""it was barely enough for me"." "Does Your Majesty allow me to report the words of the Indian Chief to the Archduchess?" "They will serve you as an answer." "Oberwald is splendid!" "Did your Majesty arrive here yesterday?" "Oberwald is a shack, Count." "The ceiling in the room I slept last night is leaking." "The library here caught fire, but I feel well here." "I arrived here yesterday morning." "I was dead tired and I slept soundly." "That's good, I was afraid that my manhunt might have disturbed Your Majesty's sleep." "But where's my head?" "Mademoiselle de Berg asked if her policemen could search the park" "But you, weren't you there?" "I didn't want to give the matter unnecessary importance by arriving at the castle in the middle of the night." "I stayed in the village, at the village inn." "And did you find your man?" "Somebody who wanted to kill me, if I am not mistaken." "I can tell my men talk too much." "I don't know whether your men talk too much;" "Mademoiselle de Berg does, and she always gets interested in things that don't concern her." "I wonder how that man knew that you were going to sleep here, in Oberwald." "I, for one, didn't." "Anyway, we organized a very good round up." "And you failed." "Your man is probably still running." "My patrols don't deserve Your Majesty's criticism." "They caught him." "Interesting." "At dawn he was trying to escape towards the mountains." "He must have been exhausted." "He surrendered." "Which kind of person is he?" "A labourer?" "A poet." "What?" "Your Majesty, if you allow me to say so, is wrong in being interested in poets." "They are people who end up bringing disorder to our society." "You are saying that a poet wanted to kill me?" "He did, but then he didn't show so much courage." "In five minutes he sat at a table, so my men said, and confessed, confessed everything." "He blabbed the names of his accomplices, the place they met." "A good catch." "Count Master di Foehn, my congratulations!" "Yesterday I was surprised by your absence, and this afternoon" "I wondered whether you were coming to certify my death." "You are terrible, Your Majesty." "At times." "As I am too, sometimes, dear Count." "I apologize for this untimely visit that you must have considered very annoying in this atmosphere of meditation and work." "May I ask you about Mademoiselle de Berg?" "She is not feeling well, nothing serious, she's in her room." "I'll tell her that you asked about her." "Tony will see you out." "Goodbye, Count." " It's monstrous." " That's the way the Count is." "I cause trouble for the Archduchess." "The Count favors a murderer, the murderer fails," "Foehn abandons him." "Do you understand?" "If you weren't hidden in this castle, his men wouldn't have hesitated to eliminate you." "Actually, it's because the Count is sure to eliminate you that he did not hesitate to talk to me about you." "I should give myself up." "Nonsense!" "Foehn is looking for you." "The reason for his visit was to find out what I knew and search the castle." "I took precautions to avoid him meeting Mademoiselle de Berg, he suspects something." "I am sure of Willenstein's silence, but the situation we find ourselves in escapes any police." "I dragged you here by force, now it is my turn to try to get a clear idea about this situation." "I am a difficult object, a dangerous one, am I not?" "You are a solitude in front of another solitude." "This is they way you are." "It's the beauty of tragedy, it's human, better, superhuman interest." "To put on the stage only those who live above the law." "Who were we last night?" "I cite your words:" ""We were an idea in front of an idea."" "And what are we now?" "A woman and a man, both hunted." "Two people who are equal." "Why don't we go outside to talk?" "What I find most difficult to bear with my comrades, is their silence." "You don't talk?" "I thought every action of yours was preceded by a lot of talking." "It was." "But we never talked of our personal problems." "Our personal problems did not matter." "Our relationship with nature, for instance." "Nature and men are the same, they're are all that matters." "Does your mother live in the village?" "I have no mother." "The peasant of Oberwald is my stepmom." "I had hidden some papers there." "I had to burn them." "Can you see Count Foehn from your hiding place?" "His face?" "Yes, I could see it." "I'm grateful you kept your calm." "I resisted with all my strength not to come out." "I would have strangled him." "He would not have been surprised." "That man considers me crazy and you insane." "Yesterday, while he was at Oberwald, he was probably smiling, saying:" ""The Queen believes she is a poem, the murderer believes he is a poet"." "All this is very amusing." "Don't forget that your comrades probably share his view." "Why did you have to burn some papers last night?" "I was afraid they would do a search." " Were they poems?" " Not all of them." "And after burning those poems or documents, what were you planning to do?" "To kill the Queen." "The newspapers would have said:" ""The Queen falls victim to a savage atempt on her life"." "The Archduchess and the Count would watch your execution and wear mourning clothes." "There would be funeral services, bells ringing." "Then a Regend would be appointed, as the constitution requires." "The Archduchess would govern, but in fact it would be Count Foehn that governs." " This is how politics work." " Who knows?" "Perhaps things would have been different." "So, you were supposed to kill the Queen?" "Well, you have carried out your orders." "That's done." "You killed me." "You killed the Queen, Sebastian." "More than you wanted to do." "When I was a child they'd torment me in order to prepare me to reign." "They wanted me to become a queen and they wouldn't teach me how to spell." "King Frederic was a great surprise for me." "I thought only of love." "I was going to become a woman, but I couldn't." "I hadn't lived." "They killed Frederic the eve of that extraordinary day." "I buried myself in my castles." "Then you arrived and upset this balance." "What quiet after the storm." "At first I didn't like that quiet." "Now I do." "I want the castle to stay the way it is now, as if it were under a spell." "There are balances formed by so many unknown details that one has to wonder if they can exist or be destroyed by the slightest blow." "I love you, Sebastian." "I love you too." "Come here, near me." "I loved you as soon as you came into my room." "But then I was ashamed of myself." "I've loved you..." " This is from Tony." " Thank you." "Mademoiselle de Berg threw out a letter to the Count." "So the Count knows everything." "You don't have anything to fear for tonight." "Mme. de Berg will stay in her room until I decide what to do." "She is the only one who can enter my quarters." "Tomorrow morning, Tony will take you to my former hunting pavilion." "Not far from it there is a farm with some trustworthy keepers." " And then..." " There is no then." "Sebastian..." "Listen, I believe you and you must also believe me." "You lived outside real life and it is my duty to help you." "You saved me, now I have to save you." "The Queen has to govern, she has to accept the burden of power." "They conspire against you and you don't do a thing." "Go back to the capital, speak to the Archduchess." "Go there as a Queen and not a daughter-in-law." "Appoint the Duke of Willenstein as general in chief instead of the Count." "Give Count of Foehn's soldiers to him." "You don't have to dissolve the Houses or appoint new ministers." "No one will touch you, I assure you." "I will hide in the mountains." "I've known them forever." "No police will be able to find me." "When you need me, you'll have them fire a cannon shot." "I'll know then that you are announcing your victory." "Hurry up, hurry up!" "Well, Felix?" "What Face!" "Why are you surprised?" "Oh, I forgot, I am showing my face to two men." "I left my veil, Felix, I'm going back to the Court." "We will all leave tomorrow morning." "Have the carriage and gig ready." "Mademoiselle de Berg is leaving my service." "The Archduchess will hire her as one of her maids of honor." "As soon as we get into the forts, you'll occupy them." "You will precede me to the city with 150 men." "Tomorrow at noon you'll gather all my cavalry in the castle yard and as soon as I arrive you will have the royal anthem played." "It will mark the beginning of my reign." "I rely on your devotion to me and your loyalty to my cause." "You can go." "Are you pleased with your pupil?" "Quite." "Good morning." "Am I disturbing you?" "The Queen wants to take some books, and I was reading them." " Is she riding?" " Yes, I think in the forest." "She said she'd be back about noon." "You haven't seen her yet?" "I was prisoner, my dear Sir." "Tony finally came to open my door at 10:00." "I was informed about the extraordinary trip to be taken." "Yes, I think the Queen wants to go back to the capital." "For a young man like you, it'll be marvelous to follow her there." "You must be very happy." "Her Majesty doesn't do me the honor of taking me with her." "I will stay in Oberwald." "I know Her Majesty." "She'll be back after three days." "She'll go to Wolmar, or she'll go to the lakes." "Do you know Count Foehn?" " No." " He is an exceptional man." "It may surprise you, but I have an assignment on behalf of the Count." " For me?" " For you." "I thought he had already left Oberwald." "He was supposed to leave at dawn, but he may have been disconcerted by what is happening here." "They accuse me of being nosy, but the Count's curiosity is boundless." "He is still in Oberwald." "I just saw him, he's looking for you." "I can't see how somebody like me may interest Count Foehn." "He didn't tell me, but he wants to see you." "It is a great honor for me, but is the Queen informed about this?" "You see, Count Foehn would rather the Queen not be troubled by a simple investigation." "He told me to tell you that he was asking you for your help, and that the Queen's tranquility was at stake." "I don't know the Count that well." "Is this the way the Chief of Police would formulate an order?" "More or less." "I suppose that Count Foehn does not wish our conversation, as you put it, be heard by the Queen." "He doesn't." "What if the Queen comes back to look for me?" "The Queen is riding, and when she does, she goes very far." "There's no danger." "I'll see to it that nothing goes wrong." "You are very loyal to Count Foehn." "I am devoted to the Queen, my dear Sir." "It's the same thing." "I a slave to the Chief of Police's orders." "But why do you always say "Chief of Police"?" "It is Count Foehn, the minister Who wants to see you." "I'm sorry for disturbing you, but in my capacity" "I never know in advance what I have to do." "My job, even if this may sound strange to you, entails some poetry, better still is based on the imponderable." "But you are a poet, isn't it true, and you can understand me better than anybody else." "You are a poet, right?" "At times I happen to write verses." "One of your poems was published by a leftist newspaper." "The Queen, who doesn't dislike rebellion, was interested." "She made many copies and had them distributed to the entire Court." "That poem doesn't have any value for me and I was surprised when I heard that Her Majesty had read it." "I'm not interested in knowing how Her Majesty who, I repeat, is completely free in her actions, got in touch with you." "I'll know it when I return." "What I want to know now is what your role was in Oberwald and how you managed to make her change in such a radical way, that nobody would have expected." "Which role are you referring to, Mr. Foehn?" "Her Majesty was kind enough to try me as her reader." "I could not aspire to anything else." "Fine." "Now, since your presence in Oberwald has nothing to do with the Queen's change would you explain me yours?" "I don't understand you." "I am asking you to explain to me how a young writer of the opposition suddenly decided to" "serve power." "Sometimes, by chance, people get published in unsuitable circles." "The Queen was accused of many turpitudes." "I accepted her offer in order to be able to act accordingly." "You bear a striking resemblance to the King." "What does the Queen think of it?" "I believe my resemblance helped me more than my personality." "Damn..." "In the hands of some people, this resemblance could stimulate the imagination of the people and create legends." "We die of legends, they suffocate us." "The Queen's legend causes big problems." "This is why I wanted to thank you for the decision taken by" "Her Majesty." "a very wise decision." "I want to give you an example of my sincerity." "Don't think you are in front of the Chief of Police." "We are just chatting." "Come and sit here." "I am going to be sincere." "when I was with the Queen I thought you were witnessing unseen, our conversation." "Be calm," "I didn't say you listened to our conversation," "I merely said that I had that impression." "The Chief of Police must always be suspicious." "And the next day, in the library," "I used with you a trick that almost never fails." "I told Her Majesty that my men had caught you and you had confessed a plan to kill her." "Be calm." "What do you want from me?" "I'll tell you." "I don't believe what you want me to believe, not a single word of it," "but I like the idea of you trying." "The Queen has decided to break off her funerary habits and retake her place at the Court." "We know she also made this choice because of your enthusiasm." "But what would be the purpose of a spectacular trip if it were only like a fireworks show?" "It wouldn't serve much purpose." "Instead, the Queen has to go back to the public life convinced the Archduchess is her friend and doesn't plot behind her back." "On the contrary, she's pushed by desire to relive her of governing." "The Archduchess is used to it, since she took upon herself the nasty part of it, and endures it with heroism." "A man would be needed, a man who doesn't belong to the court, who agrees to convince the Queen that the" "Archduchess loves her as a daughter and only tries to take upon herself the boring task of that obscure job that is governing." "Who could that man be?" " Do you understand me?" " It could be me." "The role of a courtesan is a role I don't want to play," "If you think in those terms, it's clear you don't want to cooperate." "Count," "I was hidden in the library, I heard everything." "I never doubted it." "The Queen wanted to know the opinion of an ordinary man," "I am one, and for me, protocol does not exist:" "the Queen was asking questions, I'd tell her what I thought." "And could I know what you think?" "I think the Archduchess is bothered by a Queen no one sees." "She plots to attract her to the capital, to exasperate her, humiliate her, to push her to extremes to make everybody believe that she's mad." "This way she could get the two Houses to indict her." "What an imagination!" "Time is passing by, and the Queen can arriave at any moment." "Let's put all the cards in the open." "In one day, you managed to get from the Queen what we couldn't in ten years." "No os pido que lo admitáis, ni que reveléis cómo lo hicisteis." "I'm not asking you to admit it, nor tell me how you did it." "Instead I am asking you again to do your best to follow her to the capital and prevent the chaos that would certainly derive from the Queen's hostility towards the" "Archduchess, the Ministers, and the Crown Council." "Have I been clear?" "I understand you less and less." "The Court is like a slaughter- house, and would take a very short time to consider scanalous the fact that the last to arrive has such an influence." "Yes, but one cannot get rid of the Court with just one lash." "But the Queen may choose the reader she likes, provided the Archduchess approves." "Without our approval, you are an object of scandal." "But if you are supported by the Archduchess and her ministers you are no longer an object of scandal, and because of your" "resemblance to the King, the Court will be fascinated by you." "The power of the Chief of Police?" "None." "And if I stay in Oberwald?" "You are charged for leading an attempt on Her Majesty's life." "I have a warrant for your arrest in my pocket." "If I accept, what are you going to give me in return?" "The greatest gift on earth:" "Freedom." "Let's be clear:" "if my mysterious influence exists and I use it to hand the Queen over to you with her hands and feet tied, do you pledge to erase my name from the police's black list?" "Who said anything about handing the Queen over?" "And to whom?" "And why?" "What we are asking you is only to serve as a liaison agent between two fields that are believed to be hostile, even if they still defend the same cause." "Be reasonable!" "Do you realize for the last hour I've been trying to save your life?" "I'm staying." "It's a shame we haven't been able to come to an agreement but I like you, as I told you before." "And since I love poetry - even if this may surprise you " "I am going to give you an hour to say goodbye to the Queen." "Remember that the castle is surrounded." "I'll wait for you at the entrance door on the servant's side." "My goodness!" "Yesterday it was so dark I couldn't see you well." "You undoubtedly look like the King." "I congratulate you, Sir." "Her Majesty just informed me that I'm no longer part of her retinue." "I'll be back at the Archduchess' service." "I suppose the fact I was fired means that you're taking my place." " Edith!" " Leave me in peace." "Is it so?" "I've already told you that I'm not following the Queen." " Are you staying in Oberwald?" " Neither." "I'm leaving." "If nobody replaces me, could you tell me why I fell in disfavor?" "Edith, please!" "Let's not mix a stranger with our private affairs." "As if he did not meddle in them!" "I was the Queen's reader and I'm not more because you arrived." "What did you tell her?" "What did you put in her head?" "Her Majesty!" "Is it you, Mademoiselle de Berg, that's shouting that way?" "Do you plan to spend your life arguing with the Duke?" "Good morning, Felix." "Morning." "Please leave us of things to do and say before our departure." "So, Félix, is Edith continuing to torture you?" "I summoned you to organize the preparation for the escort." "First I'll take care of the books." "I'll call you in a little bit." "Willenstein was looking at me with wide eyes." "I've been rather hard on Edith de Berg, they probably think I am nervous about my departure." "The truth is, I couldn't take it anymore." "I wanted to be alone with you." "My love!" " Say it again." " My love!" "Today my horse was like a thunder- bolt, galloping, flying." "It seemed as if he wanted to jump, to swim in the air, to leave me on the other side of the lake." "Then he stopped on the edge and the only reason is that he's not in love, poor thing!" "I want to live!" "Before I thought only unhappiness was worth living for." "But if happiness is as terrible as unhappiness, then it is marvelous." "I feel as if I'm discovering the world!" "I couldn't see anything either." "How many things I learned in two days..." "This morning, too, I had taken with me the medallion and poison." "Death, as it was, kept whispering in my ears:" ""You want to live, my girl." "This is what is new"." "I removed myself from the room." "I left it there." "I'll get it again when I'm as old as the Archduchess and you don't love me anymore." "I'll throw it in the lake." "Will you throw your poem in, too?" "Did you write it for me?" " Yes, for you." " Were always thinking of me?" " I was obsessed." " Poor love!" "Now my rebellion will be aimed at those who want to harm you, who conspire against you, since the only thing they want is power." "Always stick to your rebellion," "I love it in you." "Will you be sorry if I leave Oberwald?" "I was the one to beg you to leave." "If you were to stay, I'd leave." "And if I stayed with you?" "To live near you." "If I gave up my reign for you?" "Would you leave Oberwald?" "Would you leave me?" "It didn't take me long to understand all the intrigues of the Court, tricks of the protocol, and bureaucracy." "This air at your back is detroying your life." "Let's flee quickly, my Queen, you one way, me the other." "Let's meet secretly, like two thieves." "Tomorrow I'll be in the capital and I'll try the act of force." "I'll do this thanks to you, and for you." "You know my hunting pavilion, wait for news from me there." "In two weeks I'll be back in Oberwald." "Yes, love." "Don't trust anybody for any reason." " I'll send you some books." " Yes." "Before yesterday I didn't think we could do it but today gives me confidence, all because of you." "I still have to give Felix some orders." "Go into my apartment, I'll join you there before departure." "I must learn to part from you." "It isn't easy." "What we are about to do isn't easy." "Hurry up giving your orders." " At Your Majesty's orders." " Ready?" "At one o'clock, you'll only have to climb into your carriage and leave." "I've changed my mind, Felix." "I'll ride." "The carriage reminds me of the King's tragic end." "Do you see any problem if I ride?" "Since I'm now showing my face I better do it as much as possible." "What do you think?" "Don't be afraid." "Does Your Majesty know that Count Foehn is traveling with us?" "I thought he had left Oberwald this morning." "He probably learned of Your Majesty's decision." "He's in Oberwald, for sure." "I saw him." "He told me he'd take care of organizing law and order." "Let him organize it," "I'll do it by myself." " How many men do you have?" " 100 cavalry and 100 guards." "And how many men are there in the Count's patrol?" "Fifty." "Very well." "At the last halt, before entering the city, arrest the Count of Foehn." "Arrest the Count and his men." "That's an order." "Take the prisoner to the fortress." "You'll have full power." "Have all the political prisoners released." "This will be the first act of my reign." " Why that face?" " If you allow me, under such serious circumstances, I'd prefer not to leave you." "You're right, it's appropriate I make a solemn entrance." " Do you trust the commander?" " As if he were me." "Then you will trust him with the Count of Foehn ans his men." "You'll give him the Count as if he were the apple of my eye." "I'll follow Your Majesty's orders." "Edith de Berg will travel in the same carriage as Count of Foehn." "An ideal couple." "After the last half she'll have all the carriage to herself and will be more at ease to reflect." "Willenstein," "I ask you never to forget what I said and serve witness in front of all men that whatever may happen," "I willed it so." "What did you do?" "I willed it." "Where's the medallion?" "It's in your room." "Empty?" "Sebastian!" "You explained to me what happens when one swallows the capsule." "I have very little time to live, I wanted to see you before you left." "During your absence this morning Count Foehn warned me he was going to arrest me." "The police controls all exits." "The Queen was protecting you, you had nothing to fear." "I realized it was better to leave you free and disappear." "You're a coward." "Maybe." "You advised me, pushed me, tore me from my peace." "Don't come near me!" "You betrayed me, you were supposed to kill me and you didn't do it." "I love you." "You love me." "You're losing your head!" "I order you to address me in a different tone." " You're in front of the Queen." " I couldn't do it." "You've robbed me!" "Robbed!" "I'll tell you the truth, you deserve to know." "Here everything is false, it's an intrigue." "I thought you realized that." "To take you with me embarassed me, and I felt the same way seeing you mingle in State affairs." "If the castle is surrounded by police, it's just obeying my orders." " My orders!" " Liar." "Don't you know that queens lie?" "Remember your poem?" "You describe in it queens as they actually are." "I'll tell you their secrets and mine, too." "I decided, yes, I decided - because I can, to charm you and so everything would work beautifully." "You believed everything." "You're performing on me some kind of horrible experiment." "I steal a poison you carried, I kill myself with it, and I give you a trial that your enemies would have used to their advantage to get you involved in scandal." "Just a minute..." "You were the one to explain and praise to me this delayed suicide." "You were the one to tell me you removed your medallion." "Answer me!" "I am not used to being questioned nor to answer any questions." "I used you." "I took you where I wanted to." "I had to hand you over to the Count of Foehn." "You chose a different way." "As you like." "You shouldn't have betrayed your comrades who trusted you." "You were their weapon." "You not only betrayed them, but you had them arrested." "How could I trust a traitor?" "How could I trust someone who denied his ideas before my eyes?" "I despise you." "They are calling me." "I won't have the pleasure of seeing you die." "Forgive me, my love." "I had to go to make you crazy." "You would have never killed me." "My love."