Hadrian privately commits to escaping Delos rather than submitting to the Chantry seminary on Vesperad. With only three months before his departure aboard the Farworker, he identifies two problems: getting offworld and obtaining money that his father’s officials will not notice. Because he is a palatine lord’s son with access to accounts in Imperial marks, Hadrian decides to disguise his preparations as charity.

Hadrian visits Lena Balem, the factionarius of the Delian Miners’ Guild, under guard. He offers a large donation from his personal accounts, claiming guilt over the miners’ losses and resentment that his father has effectively sold him to the Chantry. Balem is suspicious but tempted when Hadrian proposes one hundred and twenty thousand marks for equipment and hazard suits.

Hadrian then turns the donation into a scheme. He offers to sign an official contract for one hundred and fifty thousand marks if Balem signs an unfiled parallel contract for one hundred and thirty thousand, allowing Balem to return the twenty-thousand-mark difference to him on a universal card. When Balem recognizes the arrangement as money laundering, Hadrian pressures her with the threat that his name and status would let him accuse the Guild of altering the contract. Balem sees the trap, but Hadrian insists he still wants to help the miners while also forcing her to help him.

Afterward, Hadrian rides back with Lieutenant Kyra and two guards, carrying the hidden twenty thousand marks and the contract data in his signet ring. Kyra praises the donation as decent, which makes Hadrian ashamed because his motives were not purely charitable. Rather than return to Devil’s Rest, Hadrian orders Kyra to take him to the city penthouse and silences a guard who questions the decision.

At the penthouse, Hadrian reflects on his new secret funds, the practical difficulty of escaping under guard, and the emotional reality of leaving the only home he has known. As night falls over Meidua, thoughts of the Cielcin, the stars, and his father’s sentence make his fear and loneliness sharpen. Kyra reports that the suite is locked down, and Hadrian asks why she objects to his use of her first name; he admits that he wanted to feel close to someone.

When Kyra asks why Hadrian has repeatedly chosen her for his errands, Hadrian responds by taking her hand and kissing her. Kyra freezes, and Hadrian realizes that, as a palatine and the archon’s son, he has placed her in a position where refusal may feel impossible. When Kyra fearfully begins to offer herself to him, Hadrian shouts no, sickened by the imbalance of power, and retreats into the suite without speaking further.