Sinegard Academy releases students for the Summer Festival, and Kitay invites Rin to stay at his family estate. Rin, still recovering from the trauma of unleashing fire at the Trials, remembers Jiang advising rest. Kitay tactfully avoids questioning her, and Rin experiences Sinegard through Kitay’s wealth: a carriage ride into the immaculate Jade District, a vast estate, servants, dogs, fine rooms, and food far beyond anything Rin has known.

At the Chen estate, Lan prepares extravagant meals while Rin struggles with the distance between Kitay’s upbringing and her own poverty. Kitay explains that his father, the defense minister, is occupied with palace security because officials fear another Red Junk Opera attack on the Empress. He also shares court gossip and political stories, making Rin reflect on how sharply birth determines access to power.

The next day, Kitay and Rin explore the festival market, where Kitay buys Rin a novelty statue after realizing she cannot afford it. They attend a shadow-puppet performance about the Trifecta: the Warrior, the Vipress, and the Gatekeeper, legendary war orphans who supposedly entered the Pantheon, gained divine powers, coerced the Warlords into unity, and drove out the Federation. Afterward, Kitay criticizes the story as propaganda about poison and coercion, while Rin argues that the repeated specificity of the shamanic legends suggests a real source of power.

Rin and Kitay debate whether shamans, the Trifecta, or even the Cike might have access to hidden power. Kitay insists the legends are political exaggerations and warns that the Warlords remain divided while Mugen may be preparing to attack again. Over the next two days, the friends relax, play chess, gossip, eat, drink, and speak more personally: Kitay admits he wanted to study at Yuelu but is bound by his father’s position, while Rin admits she has avoided thinking about Tikany, Kesegi, and her former life because she wants to remake herself.

At the Summer Festival parade, Rin joins the Chen family briefly, notices Nezha among the House of Yin, and learns from Kitay that Nezha’s father, the Dragon Warlord, is conspicuously absent. Rin watches from a fruit stand as mythic creatures pass, including the Phoenix associated with Speer and a kirin that traditionally appears in times of peril. When the Empress arrives, Rin is overwhelmed by the ruler’s beauty and presence, feeling a sudden, absolute devotion that makes her believe the Empress is the person she is meant to serve.