From Euyn’s perspective in Rahway, the group reels after Aeri silently removes Euyn’s hat and ends with it on Tiyung’s head. Euyn realizes he never sensed her approach or the theft, and the demonstration convinces him that Mikail’s plan to steal King Joon’s etherum crown could succeed.

As the others excitedly talk, Euyn’s thoughts jump ahead to the possibility of ruling Yusan again. That hope is tempered by what Euyn knows that most people do not: the Dragon Lord’s relics carry curses and exact brutal costs for their use.

Euyn reviews the lore and history of the crown. Unlike other relics that change reality at a user’s whim, the crown “simply protects,” but it is said to be sealed by mingled blood and can only be worn by the Baejkin bloodline. Euyn recalls a coup from about a hundred years earlier when a palace-guard general forced the crown from the king and disintegrated to ash when he put it on, leaving only his head; the king removed the crown and ended the coup immediately.

The memory is not abstract to Euyn because he has seen the traitors’ skulls displayed in Idle Prison, their bodies left improperly burned to deny their souls rest. Considering the heist, Euyn concludes Aeri might be able to handle the crown if she avoids direct contact or does not attempt to crown herself, making that only a “minor” problem.

Euyn identifies the true obstacle: Euyn is not Baejkin. As the group’s optimism continues around him, Euyn sits with the implication that the crown’s bloodline requirement could undermine the entire plan and Euyn’s claim.