In Rahway, Euyn arrives freshly bathed and dressed for a formal dinner, feeling briefly restored to his old royal life. He sits with Mikail across from a captivating young woman introduced as Sora, and Euyn probes her past name; when Sora reveals she was once called Athora and has a sister named Daysum, Euyn is shaken by the implications and realizes he was lied to years ago.

Count Rune abruptly stages a “demonstration” by taking Sora’s water glass and having a large dog drink from it. The dog convulses and dies within seconds from tabernacle poison, horrifying Sora and Tiyung, but leaving Euyn confused because Sora had been drinking from the same glass without dying.

Rune and the count explain that Sora is a “poison maiden,” trained at Seok’s illegal poison school and made immune by ingesting countless toxins; many girls died to produce one survivor. They present Sora as an assassin who can kill without weapons and pass palace screening, claiming that if she can get close to King Joon, she can kill him—“with a kiss,” if needed.

The conversation turns to alliances: the northern count, Bay Chin, remains unaffiliated and fearful after a failed attempt on Joon, while the eastern count, Dal, supports the plot and will be met in Tamneki. Mikail confirms they have secured someone capable of removing Joon’s crown first, a necessity before poisoning him.

Sora realizes mid-discussion that the crown is central to the plan and that she had been sent believing she must kill an immortal “god.” Disoriented and angry at being kept uninformed, Sora pushes back from the table and leaves for air, insisting Tiyung not follow.