At two bells in a Tamneki suite, Euyn paces and spirals in anticipation of the coming attempt on King Joon. Memories of Idle Prison—its damp darkness, the iku’s moaning, and other prisoners’ cries—make Euyn fear capture, even as Euyn grimly jokes that failure will mean death and public humiliation.

Trying to regain focus, Euyn forces a mindset of success and imagines becoming king by sunset. Euyn weighs what kind of ruler Euyn could be after starting a reign with fratricide, rationalizing that history can be rewritten and reputations remade—especially if records at the Temple of Knowledge are altered.

Euyn tells himself that, despite being labeled the Butcher of Westward Forest, Euyn could rule more benevolently than Joon because Euyn has lived among commoners and fought alongside them. Euyn wonders whether Joon could someday be erased from memory the way Omin has been, then recoils again at the central choice: whether to murder Joon.

Euyn’s uncertainty sharpens into identity dread as Euyn remembers that Joon is not truly Euyn’s brother and that Euyn may not even be noble blood. Under mounting stress, Euyn thinks Euyn sees Euyn’s mother watching from a corner and then again in the mirror; Euyn shuts his eyes and wills the vision away, but the haunting leaves Euyn shaken.

Left alone, Euyn fixates on Mikail’s absence after Mikail returned late, said nothing, and disappeared at dawn. Euyn cannot eat and instead listens for approaching footsteps—either soldiers coming to arrest him or Mikail coming back—while counting the time until four bells, when Euyn and Aeri are due to leave for the arena with Euyn concealed beneath a cloak and imperial red jacket. As monsoon season nears, Euyn tries to steady himself by bathing and praying not to face whatever awaits if Euyn dies.