Shadow of the Torture in 60 Seconds

Severian is the autark of the city of Nessus, but he's not when we start the story. As a young man, he becomes the cell keeper for a woman named Thecla. He falls in love with Thecla and shortly after he's elevated to journeymen, she is tortured. Rather than let her die, he gives her a knife so that she can end her life prematurely. For this, he's expelled from the guild. In the meantime, he also becomes an actor in a theater troupe.