Original subtitles

Stop!

See you sir, it's no longer

time to fool around with my men. Whoever you are, the joke

will cost you dearly... Less expensive than you, my friend,

since it will cost your life. Where are the documents that you are taking to the King...

Come, we will know how to look for them ourselves, in the irons of your saddle,

or on your remains...

May I at least know by whose hand I died ? Ah no, sir, no….I was forbidden to

give you this pleasure… It’s because you have been considerably annoyed for a long time. Goodbye sir.

Well, Sir, wouldn't it seem like you're out of a very bad situation at the last minute?

The warmth of your gratitude, the weight of your gratitude, the vehemence of

your thanks, all of this suddenly strikes me as an almost unbearable burden...

The sudden opportunity for help intrigues me just as much as the abruptness of

the attack sir... Strange speech,

from someone who was going to die. Do you have any idea who it could be?

Not the least... And you, who are you and who do you take after you?

Ah, here are two questions which are of little interest in the present... I am no one,

sir, and I don't come from anywhere... I have a mission, however: to take you safely to

Versailles, where the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. de Vergennes, awaits

with great impatience the news that you bring back from Vienna...

Let's bet that it will be good, because here, alas... This commotion

means nothing to me of value.. . Has this been going on for a long time?

For too long, in fact... It turns out that our majesty is loath to see

blood shed and refuses to have the troop surrendered, of which, moreover, he is unsure...

He says to himself that in order to protect their own interests, some great people of the Kingdom are

secretly maintaining the agitation and that some have paid the highest ranks of the army...

Fichtre... My mission ends where

that of the House of the King begins ...And who are you then, Sir?

No one, sir, no one... See you again... Well

, Mr. Marquis,

what are you bringing us back from Austria? Nothing that any other

duly accredited messenger could not have brought back in my place Sir...

I understand well, my friend, but his Majesty in person insisted that it was you...

Give, Mr. Marquis. .. Impossible, Mr. Secretary of State!

Impossible ? It's because, fearing some

ambush, I learned it by heart, making only one of the message as well as the messenger..

Have a secretary authorized to figure it out immediately...

This old worn-out song of the famine pact. .. The King,

by his edicts and for his own interest, persisted in starving the people...

It had greatly poisoned the end of the reign of Louis XV... Now it reappears on the occasion

of the reforming furies by Turgot... As if the kingdom needed

such agitation, when no firm hand seems able to hold the helm...

His Majesty, however... His Majesty, alas, matters much

less more friends than enemies, among whom the least is not his own cousin, the Prince

de Conti - and the worst his own person... Perhaps it would be good for us to take our

seats? The affair may take a long time... Ah,

Nicolas, these two months seemed like a century to me... Finally, you are back, my little one...

I missed the air of the City Catherine... C Its air has become very stinky since

your departure, that of the Kingdom too... Ah, it's not just the air, I know some

who should take a bath Heat the water... heat it

up water Nicolas...

what's going on, my friend? A very strange event happened last night

... What event, sir?

You know that I rent part of my premises to a certain Mourut, a master baker

by profession... The man is considerable in his jurand and in the extent of his business...

Repeat to the Commissioner what you you learned...

The master left the house yesterday evening in full dress. That night we

heard him enter the bakery. And this morning, he didn't appear again. It's Sunday,

then the thing did not seem suspicious... However, you are worried...

Certainly yes, certainly, because the boss herself has not seen him again...

Maitre Mourut!

Master Mourut? Master Mourut?

Come here, tell me if this is indeed your master...

Do not doubt it, Nicolas, this is indeed Maître

Mourut... Go and wait outside, children... So? What is the opinion of the Grand Châtelet?

You hardly seem surprised by his death... Warned by a note announcing you at Versailles,

I preferred to wait for your return, rather than letting go of the dogs... But as soon as the two

little ones came to notify me, I I had dark forebodings... come and see...

The wheat market takes place only twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday,

but Mourut received more... Flour arrived secretly at night by

carts covered... Any traffic?

Could there be any motive for homicide there? I don't want to come forward...

Do you agree to give me your hand while waiting for Bourdeau?

But very willingly, Nicolas, it will remind me of the not too distant time when I acted at the

Criminal... Not too distant, if we refer to the inexorable course of the centuries...

Do you have it? Yes

Put it back “Eulalie, at the G..., rue

des deux Portes Saint-Sauveur...” Does that mean anything to you, Mr. Prosecutor?

If it's just a certain La Gourdan and so-called Duchess who has recently been running a

very discreet house there, that doesn't mean anything to me... This kind of note serves as a key...

Very discreet... Would you go there, sir? The world that we call beautiful frequents it...

But perhaps it is appropriate to forgive men their weaknesses as well as their

strength? Mourut had his own, is there any need to mention them now that he has passed?

Should we see in your commiseration the curious effect of a sort of solidarity between sinners?

As you wish, Nicolas... Come on, turn around, let me soap you...

I have a message for you, Nicolas... But Catherine!

“Who are you kidding, sir? I should have been wary…

Beware I should have been wary,

when you assured me of your loyalty… Soon two months will have passed since

your departure. Who is keeping you in Vienna? Who will keep me at Versailles? "...Aimée d'Arranette!

d'Arranet... She has blood, she does

n't let it fool her... I already hate her, this little girl... I hear your dismay, Nicolas... However,

this missive is only three days old. .. Perhaps tomorrow there will still be time...

Tomorrow... you don't know her. I know her but not in such an intimate way.

Thank you Have you

finished with the usual observations? Yes, and I noted the plan of the premises... Likewise,

I gave instructions for the body to be transported to the lower jail...

Does the deceased leave behind anyone close to him? A young widow, who, in his shop,

some consider very spicy, but who has not given him any descendants... A

mitron that he takes in for cash... And then the two little ones that we saw downstairs...

You will take care to have them all consigned, under guard in the premises, until tomorrow...

Tomorrow? But wouldn't it be better... Tomorrow... I intend to go and plead once again a

cause that is dear to me: mine... Love, my friend,

love... What do you know love? Not much: I am a married man...

Finally here you are, Mr. Marquis... By hoping for you,

we would soon stop waiting for you...

My time belongs to the King, I am not one master...

I doubt that the young Countess will stop at such nonsense...

Can you have me announced, Starboard? Useless, Starboard... I heard the gallop

of a horse on the gravel of the courtyard... I recognized the impetuosity of the man who was riding it...

I was going to say my prayers and go to bed... This haste... This eagerness... This passion...

Nothing but very flattering... However... Before

achieving your goals, I intend for you to make amends at length. ..

It was time for you to reappear... Your absence

almost forced me into infidelity... A handsome officer of the fleet riflemen...

Tall and very handsome man, with very dark eyes and a way of taking without asking...

Large hands, a manner of inflexible hardness... A look that passes through you without anyone thinking that he sees you. .. A man who we immediately guess

has already experienced a thousand deaths... That he has... Well, my dear friend, have I convinced you?

Convinced of what? From your constancy, as much as from your loyalty... Eulalie

at G. rue des 2 Portes Saint Sauveur Yes...And where did you find that?

Where was it... In the pocket of your coat...

And what excitement do you find in going through my pockets?

Are you hanging out with girls now? Give...

I was very foolish to count on your word... Give, I tell you...

Hold on and try not to reappear in my eyes... I hate you,

Monsieur le Marquis... I hates you and doesn't intend to see you again...

I don't either. You look

very upset, Nicolas... could the young lady have failed you?

I had to take several detours to arrive in Paris without incident...

The discontent increases as the rumor grows... Well...

In order... The executioner Sanson lets you know that he is

standing your disposal to proceed without delay with the opening of Maitre Mourut...

Good... He fears that the corpulence of

the deceased will hasten the decomposition... He wishes that our friend Semacgus, assists in the operation.. .

Furthermore... The widow Mourut and the two mitrons are still under house arrest but

the third mitron, Mr. Denis Caminet, remains nowhere to be found.

Why am I praying to you? He has not reappeared at home

but we continue to look for him. Well

Finally, Mr. Lieutenant General of Police intends to speak to you without delay...

Finally back, Mr. Commissioner... I concede that these external missions,

even if they are the will of the monarch, do not excite me. ..

Me neither, rest assured, Sir... The King's desire, however...

The desire? Perhaps we could talk about a whim... Anyway, what does it matter: you

are back... Sit down, Mr. Commissioner, stand up you are making me dizzy...

This master Dies... Must- are we talking about assassination? In criminal matters, it is hardly

appropriate to prejudge Sir... I understand that the murder took

place in the house next door to the Hôtel de Noblecourt, where your quarters are established...

Yes, but the thing is not is only incidental and has little

to do with the substance... The substance... What can you

tell me about the substance, Mr. Commissioner? Not much, the man was found dead in

his bakery... The said room was double-locked from the inside, the key in the lock...

Presuming that it could be a crime , the body was transported to

the Basse-Geôle so that it could be opened, the findings carried out,

the witnesses confined to residence so that their interrogation could subsequently be carried out...

Subsequently... Here we are come to the point... Presuming that it could be a crime,

is it not somewhat strange that it was not carried out immediately? What compelling considerations

will have postponed its execution? Considerations of pure convenience, Sir...

I understand that nature has reasons that reason does not know

... The affair, however, falls badly... We can consider the disappearance of this

Mourut as an insignificant and insignificant event. of little significance... however

rumor should not get involved. The people have been murmuring since the

publication of the edicts desired by Turgot. I observed it when I came... Indeed,

the people assemble and roar... Certainly, but I also see

something else... "It" is insinuated that the people are threatened with famine, that the government speculates on

wheat in order to pay off the King's debts... Do we have any idea of ​​this "we"?

I fear not... What we see in town and in the countryside

is that people that no one knows work to stir up anxiety, making

comments likely to move the least enlightened minds. , the most flammable...

What do you expect from me, Sir? I intend to give you the upper hand

on this affair... It has obscure aspects which threaten the safety

of the King... Investigate everywhere and in any way in order to foil this plot...

Is the plot proven? There is a plot... You

know the war waged by the parliaments against the king... It is said behind the scenes that it

would be a question of forcing the monarch to bring together the States General... We are approaching difficult shores...

The man is robust and of strong build... The preliminary examination of the body does not

reveal any suspicious lesions or traces... Allow me, however, to moderate my

assent to your proposal... There is everything even this strange

necrotic wound on the inside of the right hand... A poorly treated scratch, a thin laceration,

a swelling with a little effusion... I would say that the body has worked...

You probably have reason... Nevertheless, let us note the fact...

Obviously, he did not die of suffocation... Although... The face shows the

signs of violent asphyxiation... To tell the truth, he seems chimerical to us to

determine the precise causes of death and therefore to confirm or deny whether it is

indeed a murder... It is an almost impossible attempt, I regret to note ...

Almost impossible?...What does this almost contain? The heart and the vessels are degraded,

the lungs present the appearance of a sudden event having caused asphyxiation or the cessation of the noble muscle,

or both... The cause, unfortunately, escapes us...

And a poisoning? Nothing in the stomach seems to indicate this.

By what right does this Argousin forbid my mistress

as well as myself from coming and going ? Lead us to her,

marauder: this feigned anger does not suit you. You, I know you are familiar with Monsieur de

Noblecourt... Yes...

Is it true that our master has stopped by? Take me to your mistress, please...

So, Mourut is dead... It cannot be pretended

that pain grips you... There is nothing that I hate as much as

lies, if that is the dissimulation... Will you deny the effect I have on you?

No, Madam, but the question is not that... It is, in fact... You have seen, I think,

the body of Maître Mourut... You have a presentiment of mine...

Our union n it was pure complacency... Mourut found his account there and I mine...

He is dead, too bad... Although it could be that I also found my account...

Would you be already aware of testamentary provisions?

I have tried several times to inquire... Alas, like his notary, Maître Mourut

has always remained silent as the grave, which is understood in matters of wills...

Is that all, Sir the Commissioner? No not...

Did you know that Maître Mourut traded in grain...

I didn't know and had no reason to know. My task was limited to running the store

in the front. A task which he himself admitted that I acquitted myself very well...

Indeed, Madam... Maître Mourut had three mitrons... Two unfortunate people reduced to a mezzanine,

the third, housed in your own home, the sieur Denis Caminet, ... How

do you intend to justify such... I have nothing to justify, Sir...

These were the arrangements made by my husband... Perhaps it would be good for him ask

the question, although I have no doubt that his answer will now be very laconic...

Where is young Mister Caminet, Madam? I don't know, Sir...

Why? Would you miss him? You remain under house arrest,

prohibited from coming and going outside your home... Servant...

This haughty person is a fallen person... who chases good fortune in a closed coat and fur in a carriage...

I formidable sense, Nicolas. You don't seem to like her very much...

the arrogant sissy... The lady throws her odds over the mills, with the apprentice...

The apprentice Caminet Yes

Nothing that concerns the house seems to escape you.

I know more than a brothel dog... Although to disguise myself,

I need a bone with fat around it...

What do you mean to know that is worth so much? What man is your master...

A being harsh to the poor, clever to make debts grow and fierce to

recover the interest... and the two mitrons?

People talk about them, pitied by some,

vilified by others... People gossip about their morals. We chatter about their

camaraderie. We find the eldest too attentive to the youngest...

It would take just a little thing, a remark or a denunciation and they would risk being burned at the stake...

You yourself, have you never been tempted? .. To denounce them? No sir! So go

visit them in the little room that serves as their cell and no doubt you will think like

me - if you have any semblance of humanity left... I beg you, Mr. Commissioner,

Alain and I are not that as they say... Even if you were,

is this where your master is lodging you? What can you tell me about

your master's death ? Saturday evening, he came

home... We heard the lock being opened... And after a moment, the door being closed...

And then, the footsteps of a cab horse which moved away... Like a hearse horse...

How old are you, my boy? Fourteen years soon, Mr. Policeman...

Request an exemption so that they can be transferred to the Châtelet...

Wait, wait! Please take me, but let my

comrade go... Here, all we have Who are you kidding!... You have nothing to

fear from me, as long as you tell the truth. .. The truth...

Leave without me I'll join you... Yes sir

Turn around slowly, Mr. monk, come on!!

Take off your hood... Slowly, I tell you, or else I'll pierce you

You wouldn't do anything about it, Sir: you are not that

kind of reptile to be killed in cold blood... Decidedly, Sir, I summon you to tell me

who you are and who is arming your hand... I believe I have already warned you that

I was bound by secrecy... My master, alone, has the power to relieve me...

Lead -me to him! By what right do you afflict me with a

shadow? Who do you intend to protect me from? When he reached less than five leagues

from Versailles, an odd troop tried to end his life... It was

we who ended theirs... Do we have any idea of ​​the attackers?

No, none... Your head has missed touching the

clouds... Without the help of the Knight... But even his majesty does not

need bodyguards. Nicolas, precisely, the

safety of the monarch worries me the most to the point I am in the Navy, of course, but nothing that

concerns the security of the King is foreign to me... Like our English friends, I want to create a

corps of marine riflemen intended to fight at sea as on earth the enemies of France...

The best part of this phalanx, specially seasoned and equipped,

will ensure the protection of the King and his loved ones... I foresee a very dark future...

No need for that to have gifts of pythonisse... The rumor is enough...

And no order is given to contain the ringleaders...

The King is in great danger... You yourself, Mr. Commissioner,

are in particular danger. .. Against and against you, I decided to have you protected...

By this reitre about whom we know nothing... I met the Chevalier de Lastire

during a dinner offered by the Admiral of the fleet François de Berteuil, Count of Arranet,

father of the young Aimée d'Arranet, this reitre as you say was therefore recommended to the

Minister of the Navy that I am by Mr. your future father-in-law, in a way...

His Majesty King expects you at Versailles as soon as possible...Knight,

accompany him! Monsieur de Sartine,

know that I am obliged to you... I had not noticed the smoke from

your pipe at the admiral's house and this constant and repugnant habit that you have of scratching your ankle, you

add to this the presumption of a gloved hand extended to a minister, Mr. Knight,

do you only have the title of knight? I was unaware of your connections with

Admiral d'Arranet... What we don't know,

no one is supposed to blame you for not knowing... I very much fear that I

held the young lady on my knees well before you, Mr. Marquis...

She was five years old... I was a very young officer, attached to the Count's household by

my father... Mademoiselle's late mother had taken me in particular esteem... It was therefore I

who learned to go up to the young person... We are on the way... What will you say that

we push on to the Hôtel d'Arranet? Well,

Mr. Quartermaster, is the wind from above well established?

A mill has been ransacked on the Count's land, the miller brutalized... Gangs are roaming the countryside... Monsieur the Count is absent, visiting the ports of Brittany... Left alone,

Mademoiselle intends to transport herself in her Saumur domains...

Where is she? I intend to see her immediately... Where? In his room Mademoiselle

Ah, the little marquis... Except to make amends,

your presence here is not required... Well, now is not the time for galejade...

I am told that you intend to rally Saumur... Damn, you too, my old friend!! The man

you have become greatly pleases me and you know how to always be welcome here...

That's enough ma'am Two beings... Two

beings to covet you... The passion and the experience... The impetuosity and the strength...

Enough to be fulfilled as well as delighted... I will not let you, in such a thin crew,

fight the campaign alone... And by what right?

By the right that I love you, Mademoiselle... Well you love me: why then

not accompany me... You and the Chevalier de Lastire... Between you two,

what could I fear? It's because I can't... His

Majesty is sending me to Versailles... Ah, if His Majesty is sending you,

then... And you, Lastire, who is sending you?

Escort the knight, you are hardly indispensable to me, it will be enough for

your master to be kept in ignorance... On reflection... There is no contradiction in the matter

...

Very bad news, Mr. Marquis... Bands have cut off the roads and paths that lead

to Versailles... Their weapons are sticks and stones, and even a few

bad muskets... You will not pass, unless you incur the most serious dangers...

You see, when you have nothing left, only bread saves you... otherwise you die, or it's the

begging deposit... You don't have to raise it, two cents a pound and that's still too much...

Above all that for this price, we only get brown bread mixed with bran... The Parisian does not

eat his fill... It is with sweat, difficulty and heartbreak that we earn this bad bread which

does not provide not our livelihood... So, if it's ripped from our throats...

And you, friend, what are you doing there? I'm a printer's boy...

They want to poison us! They want to poison us!!

See how they want to poison us! See that moldy bread!! See it! Come closer! Come closer

! Look! Look at the bread he sells to us for two cents! We are being starved and poisoned.

Look at this bread! See this mustiness! We want to starve you. We want to poison you. Look at

that! Look at it! They want to poison us! Get it!!

Quickly, sir... Take me quickly to the King...

In this outfit! Quickly, I tell you...

Are you really thinking about it? Quickly

let go of him...follow me Well, Monsieur le Marquis,

your celerity honors you... What news do you bring us from the Capital...

We want to make the people believe that they are being poisoned, Majesty...

This bread is not moldy, it is only covered with a greasy,

green paint... Those who spread the news do not belong to the popular order...

Some conspiracy, isn't it? ? The thing is certain, Majesty...

Someone in the kingdom has an interest in resuscitating this damned famine pact...

Yesterday evening, the captain of the Guards, the Prince de Beauvau, made a blunder,

which he tries to correct as quickly as possible... Pressed by the crowd, he announced that

bread was being raised to two sous per pound... The approach is stupid, I agree,

but Beauvau told me that he there was no middle ground between letting them have bread at the price

they asked for or using bayonets... Now, for me it is only a question of restoring

civil peace with an absolute forbidding of letting my soldiers use their weapons...

Does the damsel seem like a Knight to your taste?

Indeed, Mademoiselle,

indeed... and the little marquis? Oh, the young marquis... It doesn't matter

if anyone repulses him, he is an obstinate breed and will soon return with his tail between his legs...

Stop, let go of me, let go of me, let go of me!! Proceed, Knight,

and I will cut your neck... You win a battle, Mademoiselle,

but knowing who will win the war. Ah,

Nicolas...Rabouine and our friend Semacgus are waiting for us at Mother Morel's. Where it

's about beef with marrow and chard with juice, with profiteroles and

prune confit for dessert... What do you think? It's perfect.

Where did you get that from? From Versailles where I have just returned.

Do you know what it is about? Very well... I can even tell you where it

comes from... Rabouine, by an express event, saw a full cart leave, from a place that you

will be pleased to hear from his own mouth.. .come. Go ahead, I'll join you.

At the Temple enclosure, you say? In the stronghold of the Prince of Conti?

The stronghold of Conti, yes... Two full carts... A loaf rolled, which the

prince's men collected by force... Conti is one of those breeds that should be

shortened, for lack of being able to eradicate... How you go there!

It is a fact that the prince, like many of his peers, hardly arouses compassion!!!

It may be that we need these great people to contain the people...

The people, who we hear growling on every street corner and rightly so, Nicolas.

Well that's enough Tell him about your discovery

Glass, Nicolas, thin like Bohemian glass... Some ampoule,

of which I found these fragments in the necrotic wound... In the baker's right palm...

Remarkable , right? A little green, but remarkable...

Well, by the way, please, we will have inoculated

your Mourut with some nasty venom... Inoculated how? How is that...

Like that... The Borgias had thick gloves fitted with poisoned blades...

A simple pressure was enough... So, it would indeed be a murder...

Without a doubt, my friend. Hep hep Sit down, be diligent,

part of my happiness depends on it... Your happiness, Nicolas...

Yes... If the young lady of Arranet accepts it,

you will both be my groomsmen, I intend to make her the Marquise de Ranreuil...

Nicolas! Come on, hurry up.

No! No! For what ? No need to shout, Mademoiselle,

no one can hear you... Why?

Have you lost your mind? It’s enough!!!

You are going to end up there, Mademoiselle... In this den where no one will dream of

coming to look for you... Forgotten by everyone and your remains devoured by rats...

Come on, sir, come on! Go home. I don't understand

your reluctance, I don't share them... Ah, it's you, Mr. Commissioner...

My mistress will be happy... And you too, Mr. Inspector...

Oh no, I am a married man miss my place is outside

I just have to imagine you blind... I just have to wait for you outside sir...

Good La Gourdan? Rue des

Deux-Ponts Saint Sauveur? What if I know her, my darling? This whore, this infamous sow,

this snake that I warmed in my bosom? The carrion! The marauder runs a usury office, buys

at a hundred percent loss for the seller... She debauches women married to old shriveled men for

whom she provides young stallions suitable to quench their furies... She traffics

in virgins and the orphan... You seem to hold her in low esteem...

There is something more serious... I have a daughter that I trained, and who leaves me everything about what

going over there... La Gourdan is also involved in political schemes...

Political schemes? His house is at the meeting center...

Galantes? But not at all,

bullhead: gallantry is practiced here, within these walls... Merchants,

finance clerks, high-end merchants, those, well, we are talking about it today,

who sell grain and the flour... Of these cloaked beggars who monopolize and monopolize...

Go on, you interest me... You too... The last meeting took

place two nights ago... Saturday evening?

Yes... We can think of square parts, but that is not the case... We

discuss their trafficking... The Gourdan house is full of secrets: they

enter without being seen by the door reserved for bawdy priests...

I'm about to marry, my friend... I've had less poor defense... No matter,

I'm not jealous... One more piece of advice... Ask to Inspector

Marais, the one who keeps the list of gallant houses... He knows a lot, my friend... Very long...

Have you gathered any information on this Inspector Marais...

Yes, yes Nicolas... When the name of Gourdan appeared in the affair,

I rekindled old friendships... Through one of the girls Rabouine had defeated...

Avenant? We are in possession of one

of Marais's letters to Gourdan... The chicken is roasted, if you allow me the expression...

I know who Gourdan is, in fact... Calling herself "Duchess" , for I

don't know what reason... His house is neither better nor worse kept than others

and the grievances that you expose to me against him seem to me to be very exaggerated...

However, would you deny them- YOU ? Just trifles, not needing

to embarrass the daily report... And this, in your own hand, warning her

that you have intercepted a brief against her... Telling her the time and place of

meeting so that it would defray your silence by some twenty-five louis...

I am not ignorant of who you are, Mr. Commissioner... I know that you come from

Sartine and that you have regular commerce with the young King like you had it with the old one...

I do not intend to insult your talents, nor to despise your interpersonal skills... However...

He frequents La Gourdan, and not always through the door of ecclesiastics,

people of quality , among whom the Dukes of Chartres and Lauzun, a certain Count

of Saint Florentin... Monseigneur the Prince of Conti... He is in fact discussing matters

of extreme importance concerning resources as well as government and the state of the Kingdom...

You can have me questioned and even placed incommunicado, although

you and I know what to think about secrecy... You can investigate at your leisure about

Gourdan... I very much doubt that you will be left to linger for long, nor that your

one day's deeds will protect you for long against an end as quick as it is ignominious...

So Marais feels protected. It is, no doubt about it.

This couldn't be more annoying...I don't care...Stop it.

NOW? NOW!

So, you say, Inspector Marais is in the cell...

You don't ask me the reason? I have no doubt that there are many...

Doesn't Inspector Marais lead a high life extorting his practices... You yourself,

in this case... Myself, indeed...

You don't run a house like mine without admitting some deviation... Money,

Mr. Commissioner... Money goes to money and the rest is just pure comedy.. .

What can you tell me about a certain Mourut,

Maître Boulanger? Whom he did not frequent

here regularly... Saturday evening, he came dressed like a milord... Properly the outfit of a rich

bourgeois in his Sunday best... He had a ticket

in the name of a certain Eulalie... There is no Eulalia in the house...

Saturday we were Saint Eulalia... We wanted to suggest a date and not a person...

So who did he have an appointment with? But I don't know, and if by chance I

did, I would prefer the dungeon to the torments that the slightest

complacency towards you would bring me... Help! Help!

Do you esteem Inspector Marais so much that you want to join him at the châtelet?

It is well known that, during the unfortunate affair of the Famine Pact, the man would have had trouble

with one of his companions, a certain Hénéfiance, Maître Boulanger rue du Poirier.

Hello Hello

Your street is quiet... It's because there is nothing

to gain in our poor rue du Poirier.... Have you lived here long?

Since my return from the siege of Prague with Mr. Chevert...

A great man and a great soldier, my father knew him well in his youth...

The other... I owe him a small amount of money thanks to which I was able to open this shop...

I live there, I sleep there, I work there... Rue Montmartre, the third house

after the impasse, ask for Catherine on behalf of Nicolas... There will always be a bowl of soup,

bread and porridge for you... That's not always how you

talk to old soldiers... Would you know you a certain Hénéfiance,

around here? a grain merchant? An ugly story that goes back a

long way... Hénéfiance père was a very rich man, who was presented as one of

those leeches who suck the blood of the people and traffic in grain with people without confession...

Would you doubt it? Do you think he was such a leech? I don't know, Sir... One day, the exempts

came in numbers with the magistrates... They seized everything, Hénéfiance father died in

his dungeon, it is said: from having been very mistreated. And the son was condemned to the galleys and taken

in irons to Brest... The son? Which son?

Oh! A very handsome and very courteous young man whom his father cherished dearly and

to whom he reciprocated... Rumor has it that he escaped from the penal colony

of Brest... But you don't escape from the prison of Brest, Sir...

Since then, the bakery has been abandoned and there has been no movement...

Where is it? A little higher up, behind the retreat

of the old wall... You can't miss it... It is still inscribed on the pediment "Aux Armes de Cérès

"...

After bread, cabbages,

you say? But in this season it is a very expensive vegetable...

Chicks and cabbages... And a paneled room with a fireplace

but with a brazier having been used shortly before ... Otherwise, the house is empty and

seems abandoned and overlooks two streets... Chicks and cabbages... While you

were frolicking between the vegetable garden and the barnyard, Nicolas, I for my part consulted the

Police archives... Two pieces of news should greatly surprise you!

Firstly... Everything relating to the Hénéfiance case was removed from the files... I

only found a very tenuous trace of it through the father's death certificate and the

son's conviction slip... The effects without the causes...

The thing, unfortunately, is hardly unusual, when we touch on the affairs of the State...

Documents both countersigned by the hand of Lieutenant General of Police

Antoine de Sartine ... Ah...

Secondly, Mr. Denis Caminet, so-called mitron apprentice of Maison Mourut, is in fact

the sole and main heir, due to the fact that he is the master's illegitimate child...

The son of Die! What are you telling me there? A notarial deed proves it... Did you not know that?

I didn't know it, it's up to you not to believe me... The gangster, as you say,

undoubtedly doesn't know it either... And had he known it, it would have stopped

his hand? What do you know about the death of your husband, which you failed to

tell me about? Nothing.

Parricide pays dearly, as does his complicity...

Caminet had on numerous occasions wished for the death of his master... He has not

reappeared since... I owe you a part of the truth, Mr. Commissioner...

Only? Maître Mourut did not

frequent Gourdan's house. I was the one who went there. Caminet often took me there for

fine games with rich merchants. On the evening in question, we were there...

Am I to hear that you sold your charms there...

No, not, Sir... My husband did not leave me without money... only out of appetite,

by inclination of meaning, which, in your eyes, is surely not much better...

What do you know? What happened? We were all very tired... Caminet went

down to get some refreshment... He immediately came back up, trembling,

as white as a sheet... He had just passed a man in his Sunday best in whom he

thought he recognized his master and feared that in return, the latter would not have recognized him...

And then... We both fled through the

priests' door... I returned immediately to the house, while Caminet, he fled returned...

Returned where? Do I know... At La Gourdan,

no doubt... He wanted to make sure he hadn't made a mistake... What do I know? In any case,

he hasn't reappeared... At least what I willingly confided to you is likely

to exonerate me, Mr. Commissioner? I don't know, Madam, I don't know...

The little Commissioner is very agitated... It could be that he ends up becoming annoying...

He is reputed to have the flair of a spaniel, the agility of the greyhound and the obstinacy of a

mastiff... The guy is dangerous. Well, Chevalier, what do you say?

That removing it presents no difficulty... However, there is no hurry...

There is no hurry? Is it up to you to judge? You seem a poor strategist: your latest

fantasy has cost us several men... And when do you care about men,

Mr. Prince? You were said to be very wasteful on the battlefield...

I needed this ambush to gain Sartine's full support...

What does Sartine matter to me! I need Le Floch dead! And then stop writhing like that, you

'll think you're suffering from some nauseous irritation,

very likely to arouse repugnance... Which

sailor's brothel would you have taken it from, Chevalier? You need me more than I need

you Conti... And as for the little marquis, he is for the moment more useful to me alive

than dead... I am coming to doubt

your loyalty to me... But doubt, Mr.

Prince, doubt... Don't they say that it is from doubt that the understanding of things often comes?

For me, all that matters is the fall of Turgot, whose activism threatens parliaments... But you?

Monsieur de Lastire. What designs are you pursuing?... What a strange feeling...

Sir, Mr. Prince... Failure to the

Strange King, this lady Mourut... Do you believe her guilty of anything?

Guilty ? I don't know, but an accomplice, perhaps... However, I had her guard lifted,

hoping that she would lead me to her godelureau... Well, Nicolas, our friend Bourdeau tells me

that you are involved in poultry... Chicks, cabbages...

Oh, tiny little chicks, and then I found this, look... on the ground.

Where did you find this? In a former grain store, rue du Poirier,

at the home of a certain Hénéfiance... Hénéfiance you say?

Yes, Hénéfiance, does that mean anything to you? It's a part of my life that I don't like

to come back to... This Hénéfiance was hardly better than his companions, although he was far from being the

worst... We were talking like now about famine pact and the people were grumbling... It was,

it was believed, a matter of saving the former King... Someone had to pay for

everyone... Upon denunciation, Hénéfiance was designated as a plotter. ..

Denounced by whom, please? By Maître Mourut, whom I already held

on lease... I then had no reason to doubt him or his righteousness...

Some revenge then? I thought that the little guy was

still asleep, seeing as he hadn't touched his pittance... And then, I saw the blood...

Your witness is except Nicolas, although very weakened ...

Did he try to kill himself? No not... However, learn some

astonishing news: your mitron... What is it called, again?

Friope... Alain Friope... Well Alain your mitron... is not a boy,

but a girl, and very well formed... She had a miscarriage which I hope will

come back, despite the blood lost... Bring linen and clean water!

So what else are you hiding from us? It was this Caminet... He had discovered what

Friope really was... He threatened us... Either he denounced her and the master chased her away, or...

Or? Either...

she had to give in to him... Last Saturday, he gave a term to be respected... So I followed him

, after he had accompanied the boss... And what did you see ?

The master was leaving a house when Caminet arrived... A violent argument

followed, the master wanted to drag him away, but in the quarrel,

Caminet fell and his head hit a bollard. . I didn't see him get up...

And then? Then the master held his head...

And another man appeared from the house... And could you recognize this man?

It was dark... If you're lying, my little one...

Any news from the watch? Yes, the lookout actually found

a man as dead as he was naked, near the Pont Sainte Marie... A man in his twenties,

more certainly bourgeois than earner... Come on, little one!

Is it really him? Denis Caminet? Certainly!

It's him. Nicolas, your mitron will survive... In the absence of

those of Venus, I am going to the Arms of Ceres... The young lady is not there...

Where is she not? The young Countess did not

return to her lands in Saumur... I returned to Versailles... A man

who seemed to be guarding the place told me that she had not reappeared there either,

since... she had gone on your order with a certain Knight...

Lastire... De Lastire yes

Find him for me... Return me heaven and earth, but find him for me!

Sir, Have you

lost your mind, Commissioner? I will hold you personally

responsible...If anything happened to the young Countess of Arranet...

How does her fate concern me? The riot threatening, I had entrusted

his person to the custody of your Lastire... In the name of what? That was not his role

. What does it matter, the guy has disappeared! And the young countess did not reach her

destination! What do you know about him? He distinguished himself greatly at the siege

of Pondicherry and the father of your countess recommended him to me in person

. Nothing more!! Nothing else that interests me.

Would you allow me to consult the archives of your new Ministry...

Would forbidding you

prevent you from doing so? Certainly not, Sir...

I am looking for a certain Chevalier de Lastire, rifleman of the fleet and who

distinguished himself at the siege of Pondicherry! The surprising thing is that a gentleman recently inquired

about the same thing... And this gentleman's name was?

Arnaud Pierre de Cérès. Arnaud Pierre de Cérès... What did he want?

He was looking for his cousin Lastire... I don't know what he found and I

just know that there is a page missing from this register... However... However, we have

something else left: the roles of the crew, archived in another book, where every movement is noted...

Pondicherry, you say? Yes Pondicherry... Lastire

Chevalier Lastire, Chevalier Lastire... Commander André Blanchard, in charge

of the schooner Ulysse, relates having entrusted to the sea the lifeless body of Chevalier Antoine Lucien

de Lastire, Officer of the King's Navy.. . Died from being suddenly struck by a

violent apoplexy, which nothing could predict... And a certain Arnaud Pierre de Cérès

also appears in the crew's role... Can you describe to me the man who

is come to inquire? Tall and handsome man,

with a very tanned complexion and very dark eyes... The stiff demeanor and the brittle tone of the

officer corps... A thousand

apologies, sir, I cannot

find it for you Lastire is not

Lastire.. Hénéfiance and Lastire are one. Well that’s why Lastire remains untraceable.

This doesn't explain anything at all and especially not that... continue your research! Go there!

Tell Nicolas... Hénéfiance escapes from the penal colony of Brest

then he joins the navy under the pseudonym of Arnaud Pierre de Cèrés... He steals

the identity of a certain knight of Lastire... Lastire having served in his youth with,

with Admiral d'Arranet... The fake had no trouble approaching him... and his daughter...

For what purpose? I don't know,

Mr. Commissioner, Mr. Black has been hoping for you for a long time...

Disgraced, my friend... Last night, a major Police operation took place without

my knowledge... A vast Police operation attacked the people, and not the monopolists...

Men died. Thus the Monarchy is heading towards its own destruction... This morning,

I received a message from the King letting me know that His Majesty agrees to receive my resignation...

We must see here, the avenging hand of Turgot. .. He triumphs,

I'm leaving... No matter: one disgrace chases the other... My successor has not yet been named,

the interim will be provided by Sartine... I tried to 'exercise my duties with

all the fairness, firmness, and I dare say humanity that the

glimmers of reason and the dispositions of a free spirit and good morals allow...

As recognition, I give you a coin of importance,

which is missing in your current investigation... I give you the Provost of Beaumont...

He spread so much venom on the King and on some of his good servants that

he was imprisoned. .. This letter will open the doors to you: go and question him...

Seven years, Sir... Seven years that I have been confined in secrecy, subjected to the worst

torments... My kingdom, Sir... Consider the monstrous abuse of an

arrest without reason... However,

the reason had to appear compelling Sir... The famine pact: it involved giving

management of the grain supply to four millionaires... It is up to them to methodically establish

the shortages, the continual high prices, and, in years of poor harvest, the general famines

of all the provinces of the kingdom... For what purpose, I pray you?

In order to raise prices, through the exercise of monopolization in an exclusive monopoly of wheat

and flour... So that the King finds his account as well as that of the Pompadour...

And what a place, in all this, for a certain Hénéfiance?

Although he was part of the coterie, he said to himself that he would have had some

scruples, or that he did not consider his part good enough... He went to open up

to the Lieutenant General of Police of the time, who immediately had him imprisoned...

Which Lieutenant General of Police? The infamous, the abominable Antoine de

Sartine, who pursued him and his descendants with hatred, the monster who precipitated

their fall as well as mine... But why?

Because he was... Sartine was part of the pact... Sartine was

part of the pact... Sartine! Sartine! Sartine! Thanks to very fine plaster and damp cheesecloth

to support it, I noted this imprint of sinuous traces in the chick's yard...

Which is precisely here on the map of the old Hénéfiance bakery

Let's add to that this molt , taken from the ground....

Finally, let us give thanks to the science of Mr. Linnaeus... Your assassin is a

cold-blooded animal, of which, however, I have not found any traces of the animal itself.

Quickly go to Sartine. I beg your pardon?

Hénéfiance is going to attack Sartine! Quickly ! And protect him whatever he tells you!

I have our assassin Nicolas... A mamba, a good-sized mamba... With deadly venom every

time... Your baker must have died in excruciating suffering.

Grrrrrrr Nicolas! A simple bite and it's death

Cum! Madam !

Do

n't shoot Bourdeau, I forbid you... You hear me, don't shoot...

Listen to Bourdeau. And let us go. Ah Monsieur le Floch. I fear that the

situation is blocked...I am under the fire of your weapon I hold your leader under

mine... Unless it drags on, I suggest you let me go... I am

holding against you a secret weapon... You held... And you are going to pay

for it... Henefiance! The young Countess of Arranet is saved...

But why Hénéfiance? I don't understand it! Hénéfiance son, Monsieur de Sartine.

Vengeance, is there a more implacable spring...

The baker Mourut, who said he was a great friend of my father, was the first to pay...

It's your turn now... I'm going to send you to hell, far from here... far from these

gentlemen... Throw down your weapons... Would it be possible for you

to press less hard... Throw down your weapons!...Come on!

Less loud please Not on the table... there! Further,

further...throw further! Kill him... KILL HIM!

Nicolas.. It's over Nicolas it's over Nicolas

You wanted to make me kill Nicolas... You were going to die anyway.

I would like to point out that without the ill will of the Minister, I was able

to protect him without your help Nicolas. I certainly wouldn't have overcome

Lastire without your help Bourdeau... search it! These marks due to the iron... So here is the cause

of this incessant scratching... One last thing, Sir,

and that you owe me: what about this unworthy fable of the Famine Pact.

In his attentive generosity and out of concern for good, our late King intended to regulate the

grain trade, prevent stock trading, build up reserves to protect against

shortages and famines... In short, act as a good father of his people. I see

nothing unworthy in this... The indignity did not come from him,

but from those to whom he delegated the responsibility of organizing this arrangement... Without being careful

, he gave to the greats of the kingdom put their hand on its execution, it was, so to speak,

entrusting the fox with the key to the henhouse... The thing became known, some seized

the opportunity to set up a cabal against his Majesty, accused of speculating on grain

to pay the exorbitant debts of the Pompadour... Although this was not the case,

the insatiable ingenuity of the gossipers invented the very devastating title of famine pact... Tempers

immediately became feverish. .. And what about your role in

this Hénéfiance affair? The truth please....

The truth? Which ? Should I believe

you or the Provost of Beaumont, sir... Beaumont is a just man whose only fault is

to have been wrong... The country had to be defended..., the State had to be defended... He had to defend the

king...I did it and regret nothing... The rest, the truth... Don't you know, Mr.

Commissioner, that it is a mobile and variable thing... Ah,

my friend... Your prose, although a little starched, gladdens my heart...

We sense in this the influence of your Jesuit education, as well as some hints of the

style that the people of Basoche are fond of... As you go. ..

It is also not that there are not, here and there, a few good moments... So,

this very touching moment, when you intend to make me your wife...

I love you, Mademoiselle, you love me... What could be more natural?

Exactly, Nicolas, precisely... The natural... Remember what we

often heard the former queen sigh: marriage... “Always have sex...

Always big... Always give birth.. . » I owe you my young life, do you already intend

to take it back? Lover, as long as you want, Nicolas, and much more if necessary...

Married, it will be enough to wait until we are very old...