Luzia lies awake on the larder’s dirt floor, terrified by what she revealed at supper and trying to convince herself it can be forgotten. At dawn she goes for water and passes Lorenzo Botas, remembering Águeda’s story of his torture by the inquisitors, which sharpens her fear of what attention can cost. Back in the kitchen, repeated knocks at the front door unsettle the house; distracted, Luzia cuts her hand, and Águeda scolds her as the knocking continues.

Valentina summons Luzia upstairs and shows her a scatter of invitations that have arrived, proof that word of the “miracle” has spread. Luzia bluntly asks how Valentina will afford to host so many people, and Valentina, newly exhilarated by the attention, sends her away while privately realizing Luzia’s shabby appearance and the household’s poverty threaten this fragile social opportunity.

Don Marius appears and promises they will “borrow” what they need so they can serve guests properly. He frames Luzia’s gift as a fortunate event, and he and Valentina agree that beauty and brightness do not matter if the miracle can be displayed. Valentina’s sense of agency and pride grows as she imagines their fortunes changing through this spectacle.

Over the following days and weeks, Casa Ordoño begins hosting frequent visitors. Valentina and Marius purchase candles, meat, wine, and spices, and the hidalgos come less for hospitality than for entertainment and gossip about Valentina’s servant who can perform milagritos. Each night, after the meal, a guest ceremonially smashes a slender rainbow goblet, and Luzia hides her whispered song by clapping or stomping as the shards whirl back into a whole cup, earning gasps and applause.

The guests press for an explanation and even ask if Luzia is mute. Prompted by Marius, Luzia answers that she simply has nothing to say, recognizing that even magic can become another form of drudgery. Later, while brushing Valentina’s hair, Luzia declares the nightly performances cannot continue; when Valentina threatens to cast her out, Luzia demands money, and Valentina, desperate to keep control, gives Luzia a small pearl earring—meager payment, but a private “treasure” Luzia clings to.