After escaping the palace, Princess Dewdrop, Auntie Wide, and the guard captain ride quickly through the countryside. When they look back from a hill and see no pursuit, they conclude that Prince Ice Sand likely believes Needle-Eye’s painting has already erased Dewdrop from life. Dewdrop, who has never known the world outside the palace, is struck by the colors, fields, animals, and sunrise, and begins to understand that her sheltered upbringing left her unprepared to rule.

As they travel, Dewdrop asks about Prince Deep Water. Auntie Wide insists that he is no monster, while the captain explains that Deep Water was trapped on Tomb Island as a child after the glutton fish appeared and made sea travel impossible. Dewdrop also contrasts the living outside world with the palace’s artificial isolation, especially after realizing that the loyal ministers who might have guided her have been painted into pictures.

By avoiding major roads and towns, the group reaches the sea at midnight. Dewdrop sees the abandoned boats stranded on land and learns that the glutton fish devour anything floating on the water. The captain proves the danger by throwing a plank into the sea, where shadowy fish tear it apart with their teeth, making it clear that reaching Tomb Island is nearly impossible.

On the beach, Auntie Wide uses a rare bar of He’ershingenmosiken soap to let Dewdrop wash. The soap reminds Dewdrop of palace luxury, but sleeping directly on warm sand gives her a new comfort. Later, Dewdrop wakes to find the captain spinning the protective umbrella so Auntie Wide can rest. Dewdrop, noticing his fatigue, offers to help and realizes this is the first time she has considered another person’s needs.

The captain finally gives his name: Long-Sail. He tells Dewdrop that his family came from He’ershingenmosiken and explains the kingdom’s lost history. The Storyless Kingdom was once the Storyful Kingdom, connected to He’ershingenmosiken and the wider world by ships, commerce, cities, and change, until imported glutton fish escaped into the ocean, grew enormous, multiplied, and sealed the island off. Isolation made the kingdom dull, agrarian, and forgetful, turning it into a place without stories.

Long-Sail reveals that the world is far larger than Dewdrop was taught, containing many islands and vast continents. Dewdrop feels an intense yearning to sail away, but Long-Sail says escape is impossible. When he points out dewdrops on the grass and says they vanish in sunlight, Dewdrop compares their fate to her own dependence on the umbrella. Long-Sail promises that if they cannot reach Tomb Island or bring back Prince Deep Water, he will hold the umbrella over her forever.