Lord Richard.
Catesby.
Mother says she'll take me to the woods today because the weather is fine.
Come. Let's go deep into the woods.
Catesby, um...
If I get lost in the woods,
come and find me, okay?
Catesby.
I'll go on alone.
Sweet strawberry pies.
Why not bring one home to your family?
I have no reason to call on him.
If Richard won't speak against His Majesty's whims,
you'll have to rely on the queen mother.
But then...
Asking her for a bit of advice wouldn't be a betrayal.
Don't tell me...
York of the white rose.
Lancaster of the red rose.
These royal houses with roses for their crests battled for the throne.
People call their strife the "Wars of the Roses."
The next council will decide whether you take the throne at the coronation.
Who might take our side?
By my reckoning, it's evenly split.
The Earl of Northumberland and Lord Howard are ours.
Hastings and Stanley could be persuaded.
And the Bishop of Ely?
We can buy his support.
I'll speak to him, then.
I'll meet with Howard and the others as well.
But what if they won't join us?
No one could refuse your impassioned whisper in their ear.
And if that fails?
We'll need to kill them.
Otherwise, it will be our heads on the executioner's block.
We've embarked on a game of chance against God.
If Hastings goes that way,
what will become of him?
Of whom?
Catesby is a loyal man.
Will he look at me with hate in his eyes?
If he truly cares for the royal family, he'll understand.
But if he becomes a briar in our path,
I'll clear him from it personally.
Mother! He's here!
I see. You've kept me waiting.
Hastings the dolt!
Thank you for your visit, Lord Hastings.
Q-Queen Elizabeth.
I'm sorry that I can't do more for you,
but I now spend my days praying for a quiet life.
I guarantee your safety so long as you remain here.
But I was hoping you'd advise me.
Goodness. Do you need advice from the likes of me?
To earnestly seek knowledge from your enemy shows nobility of spirit.
Lord Hastings, a man like you should be Protector!
Y-You give me too much credit.
No. I could safely entrust Edward to your care.
Should I report to His Grace?
But if the Duke of Buckingham learned of this...
Where are you bound for, Lord Hastings?
An abbey is hardly a fitting place to rendezvous with a lover,
although it would suit an interview with the queen dowager.
She's had a complete change of heart!
You needn't fear her designs on--
Your Grace!
I wish to make a statement.
Lord Hastings acts with the interests of the royal family at heart.
Punish me if I speak falsely.
I see. In that case, I wish to speak with you in your master's stead.
Come.
Why did you shield Hastings?
Is your wish to remain pure until death?
Whom do you serve?
My master is...
Do you think you understand him best of all?
Kindness isn't what he desires now.
You can't become a demon.
You can't save Richard.
You met with the Bishop of Ely.
Were you able to buy him off?
Wait!
What is this mark?!
It appears the bishop has immoral tastes.
He asked for my body rather than gold.
Did he defile you?
I'll gouge out his guts and tear him apart!
What is there to be upset about?
This won us the bishop's support.
Why are you angry? Tell me.
Our oath.
I haven't broken it.
This body will not open to anyone but you.
Thank you for earlier!
You're the purest and most upstanding man I've ever seen.
Whom do you serve?
You can't save Richard.
Your Grace.
Catesby?
I wish to speak to you.
I can't just now.
I don't mind. Come in.
It's about Lord Hastings.
Pardon me.
If he becomes a briar...
If you turn your sword on me, then...
Lord Hastings often meets the queen dowager secretly at Westminster.
I'm certain that their ties are strengthening.
And what do you intend to do about Hastings?
If he shows signs of treachery,
I'll dispatch him at once.
Your master is loyal to the royal family, while I...
I am about to betray even the blood of York to gain the crown.
I have only ever served a single lord.
Only you, Your Grace.
I'm a demon. Consigning you to hell gives me relief
as you look at me in pain, bound by your loyalty.
Then from now on, consider my orders as Richard's. We're halves of one whole.
Yes, Your Grace.
In that case, would you begin by lopping off
that traitor's head?
His blood will seal our compact.
This warmth burns me.
Nothing is as vivid as this warmth.
Your Grace, allow me.
I'm about to meet with Lord Howard and others at a tournament.
They're strongly behind us, but...
Will they still consent to back you as king?
I'll have them forge a pact as well.
D-Duke of Gloucester!
Bishop of Ely. What is it?
I-I must tell you...
Then you may speak to me.
But it is a private matter.
No matter. Proceed.
You see... a service is planned for the queen mother and her son, Edward V.
A church service?!
I've heard nothing of this.
You were not meant to.
The archbishop proposed it,
but the queen dowager worked through Lord Hastings to request it of him.
Good day, Duke of Gloucester.
Please visit to sample my strawberries whenever it pleases you.
This proves Hastings a traitor.
Still, I hadn't expected Elizabeth to be so bold.
Holding this service
will demonstrate that the queen dowager still wields great power.
But if we prevent it,
we'll suffer a fatal backlash as enemies of the poor widowed queen.
This is a declaration of war from God
against the devil.
The devil has the devil's way.
I thought it a sin even to wish for warmth, but now it is mine.
I'll take what I desire by force.
Lord Hastings, has the date of the service been set?
Actually, the service has been canceled.
And what's more, there's to be a service for the Duke of Gloucester instead.
Impossible!
Who gave the order?!
It was a royal decree.
Richard must have talked the king into it.
That demon!
Frankly, given his current position,
he might issue royal orders without the king's knowledge.
Also, um... I hate to say this,
but the Duke of Gloucester demands the younger prince as well.
Queen Elizabeth...
That demon gives no quarter!
Does he plan to take all my hopes and leave me in despair?
But I've devoted my life to revenge.
The more he takes, the hotter my soul burns.
Just you watch, Richard.
Next time, I'll be the one to dash your hopes.
Mother.
Of course. Why didn't I realize?
Who knows--and hates--Richard most of all?
Your Majesty!
The Duke of Gloucester's actions clearly overstep his authority as Protector!
True. He has been a bit highhanded of late.
Don't you agree, Your Excellency?
A-Absolutely.
Yes! He's far too impudent! Far too tyrannical!
Wait, Lord Hastings!
Lord Howard.
It's cowardly to speak thus in his absence!
His Majesty formally delegated his power to the Duke of Gloucester.
It is you who are impudent!
Mere excuses! It's obvious who is in the right!
A mother's purehearted--
Hastings!
Church services are dull.
--But Your Majesty-- --Leave us.
--They say Hastings is sleeping with the queen mother.
--First the witch and now the wife? --He must want to be the king's father.
I realized too late.
The palace is already full of rotten apples.
The few of us left must talk amongst ourselves.
I know just the place!
May God bless you, guardians of justice.
Lord Stanley. Lord Hastings. Bishop of Ely.
The royal family is doomed
unless we seize England back from that lawless fiend, Richard!
But our situation is even more dire than before.
Richard was a reserved and straightforward soldier.
Now, he has a strange power to attract people.
It's practically magical!
Wealth and power cast a potent spell.
Qu-Quite right!
If only we knew his secret weakness.
Some scandal that would shake people's faith in him.
I take it that's why you called, Elizabeth.
Why you summoned me!
Mother-in-law!
Please forgive my abrupt summons.
God has left this task to us.
Elizabeth, I understand. Your sorrow is my own,
although my sorrow is many times greater.
But the fruit of my womb and his wickedness lies behind it all.
In exchange for my aid, I want you to promise me one thing:
Kill Richard.
I've tried many times myself, but I couldn't do it.
Oh! If only I could have slain him with words!
I should have exposed Richard's secret and let the world punish him sooner!
What secret?
I concealed it because it could have brought ruin on our house.
And in consequence,
my cowardice has allowed that demon to flourish!
But now I have no more left to lose.
Nothing but my dear Edward's children.
Yes, precisely!
For those darling children's sakes,
tell us the truth about Richard now!
Richard Plantagenet is...
A blood-soaked demon who defied the will of God!
Let me prophecy!
One day, a host of the elderly, of widows, of orphans
will lament the untimely deaths that demon caused!
What did he say?
Duke Richard is...?
This will let us strike a fatal blow against Gloucester,
although it is quite hard to believe.
No, thinking back, his actions were always strange.
It all makes sense. We shall indict him at the next council meeting
and expose his true demonic nature to the light of day!
Why was he born?
Why was he ever born?!
Curse the day of his birth!
Curse the demon!
The demon, Richard Plantagenet!
What a racket.
He must want the next council to have you burned at the stake.
Is that your idea of informing?
It's too late to beg for your life.
I knew His Grace's secret, but I didn't tell it.
But do you truly understand yourself?
Have you felt at all unusual?
If you have need of medicines, just say the word.
That potion that sapped the king's will?
An abortifacient.
Take care. It causes inflammation in sunlight.
It won't be a demon on display at the next council meeting.
It will be his head.
Where is the rest of the council?
Oh, we must have arrived too early.
Even the Duke of Gloucester isn't here yet.
Can't you stand in for him?
You know his mind better than anyone.
Me? We may be close friends, but I can't fathom his innermost thoughts.
Just as you and I cannot know each other's minds.
Pardon my tardiness, my lords.
Now, what shall we discuss?
Why, the coronation, of--
By the way, Your Excellency,
was that not an intimate time we spent the other day?
Just us two.
You promised to send me strawberries from your garden.
Would you go and fetch them now?
N-Now?
Yes, now.
E-Excuse me.
Now, what date shall we set?
The others are too late.
Duke of Gloucester,
may I step out for a moment as well?
By all means.
Lord Hastings,
the other councilors have convened in another location.
Damn! So, Gloucester has bought them off.
Catesby! Gather as many of the nobles here as you can!
They can witness the charges!
As for that, they are already here.
Incredible. You're the most capable and loyal man I know.
Gloucester is your former lord, so I'm sure your feelings are conflicted.
I merely wished for His Grace to walk in the warm light.
You should at least be the one to end his misery.
Duke of Gloucester! Let me tell you the true purpose of this council!
Listen well! Richard Plantagenet schemes to overthrow the kingdom!
His mother, Duchess Cecily, has revealed the truth, heedless of her own dishonor!
Richard harbors a demon in his flesh!
Richard! If you claim innocence, then present proofs!
Here and now!
A cursed demon, am I?
And who cursed me?
My body has been twisted into this ghastly, demonic form.
Are not those who cast that curse the true demons?
Hastings and his allies!
You are the demons!
Y-You lie!
Then behold.
I was not born this way.
This is the result of your curse.
Put these rebels to death!
Now I'm certain of everything, even without proof!
You fools seek the empty favor of a demon!
Catesby! Seize Richard!
That day, I could not save him.
Lord Richard! Lord Richard!
What shall I do? If Lord Richard is...
Your Grace,
I can never become the light that illumines your path.
Even so...
...to me, you are life itself.
Lord Hastings, prepare yourself.
Even you?!
Disgusting! I would rather die than see a demon crowned!
Even so, I will never leave you alone.
No matter how deep into darkness your path takes you.