Emily Wilde packs a long-mummified faerie foot into a knapsack because it will not fit in her briefcase and might “slip away” if left unattended. Although it is not foul, Emily intermittently smells wildflowers and crushed grass as if the foot carries its own breeze. Rushing to breakfast with Wendell, Emily reflects on her neglected appearance and the comfortable new office she inherited with tenure, now decorated in part by Wendell’s sentimental additions.

Crossing campus with Shadow, Emily collides with a strangely dressed, ribbon-covered man who demands more ribbons and then speaks in cryptic directions about an “eternal” path and the danger of losing it. When Emily turns to look again, the man has vanished. Emily files the encounter away and continues to Wendell’s preferred café by the River Cam.

At breakfast, Wendell is visibly suffering from a hangover after his birthday celebrations. Emily tells him about the ribboned stranger; Wendell dismisses it with joking speculation about assassins or poisoners. Emily teases Wendell while keeping the faerie foot in her knapsack, then promises to explain a research breakthrough tomorrow, planning a presentation and acknowledging she should invite her brilliant niece Ariadne.

Emily finally gives Wendell a partial hint about her theory on his missing door, referencing the discredited but admired scholar Danielle de Grey and De Grey’s investigation into a distinctive horned species called “tree fauns.” As they talk, Wendell accidentally enchants Emily’s tea into a blue-black faerie brew with lily pads and blossoms; he stops Emily from drinking and admits it is ordinary in his court, suggesting his hangover may have affected his control.

A student approaches Emily to praise her work but reacts to Wendell with an unsettled recognition, prompting Emily to conclude that rumours about Wendell’s true identity have reached Cambridge. Emily warns that the rumour could threaten their reputation and funding, but Wendell is blasé, trusting faculty pride to reject the idea. After Wendell leaves to rest before lectures, Emily writes to Lilja and Margret, avoids addressing their curiosity about Wendell’s marriage proposal, and later realizes the ribboned man’s glare felt like a disappointed academic’s—though she cannot yet interpret what it means.