In the immediate aftermath of Aequa and Vis's upset victory, Vis remembers Ellanher's lesson that how a victor behaves matters as much as winning itself. Although he is exhausted, shocked, and worried about the injured racers, he deliberately presents the result as inevitable rather than miraculous because senators from both Governance and Religion are watching. As he approaches the physicians tending Iro, Vis realizes he is still holding Iro's Will and deliberately stops self-imbuing long enough to shed it before facing Tertius Decimus.

Tertius Decimus blocks Vis's path, furious but publicly controlled. Vis forces him to acknowledge the race result and to address him properly, then responds with studied courtesy, praising Iro and Indol and publicly expressing hope of working with them again. By doing this, Vis tries to prevent the race from deepening political hostility between Governance and Religion. After Decimus leaves to follow his injured son, Vis lies beside the track and briefly relaxes with Aequa, who confirms that Marcellus and Felix are awake, though Iro's condition remains uncertain.

Indol then approaches and reconciles with Vis. Aequa teases him for his part in Decimus's plan, but the exchange remains friendly, and Indol praises Vis's diplomacy. In a lowered, coded conversation, Indol confirms that his blood was tested too, reveals he is no longer speaking of Dimidius Quiscil as his father, and says he wants to continue the conversation they began at the Iudicium. Before leaving for his own political reckoning, Indol secretly gives Vis a stylus and promises to contact him, reinforcing that both of them suspect hidden forces are at work.

About half an hour later, Tertius Ericius arrives with several senators, including Aequa's father, Advenius. Instead of offering the expected Quintus position to Vis, Ericius formally offers it to Aequa, explaining that after Iro's injury it would look antagonistic to reward Vis. Aequa is shocked and embarrassed, clearly understanding that the offer should have gone to Vis, but Vis immediately backs her and publicly endorses her selection. Once they are alone for a moment, Aequa apologizes, assuming her father pushed her case, and Vis tells her the title matters less than uncovering what truly happened at the Iudicium. Aequa promises to ensure they work together.

After Aequa departs with the senators, Tertius Ericius privately apologizes to Vis and asks whether Aequa can be trusted. When Vis says yes, Ericius promises to support her as he would have supported Vis and warns that, despite Vis's lack of political ambition, others may still try to place him on a path toward office because his public standing is growing. Left alone again, Vis reclaims the remaining Will from Aequa's stone horse and turns back to the mystery driving him: his strange experience during the Iudicium. He decides he can no longer avoid the question and resolves to speak with Veridius.