Vis deliberately reopens his hand wound by staging a chaotic fall in the mess, smashing crockery and driving his knife into the already injured palm. Praeceptor Ferrea directs him to the infirmary, where Ulnius cleans and stitches the gash. Ulnius remarks that the Principalis asked earlier about unusual injuries, hinting at quiet scrutiny after the previous night’s disturbance. Ulnius warns the hand will be weak for weeks and instructs regular bandage changes, while Vis takes comfort that his cover story seems to hold.

Back at lunch, Callidus ribs Vis, then notices the arriving Thirds. Emissa breaks from her group—with Belli reluctantly in tow—to ask if Vis truly cleared the Labyrinth with Eidhin before being disqualified. Vis confirms and blames Dultatis’s ruling against using Cymrian. Emissa is amused and supportive, while Belli remains dismissive, noting they only competed against Sixths, and stalks off; Vis notices Belli is missing a finger.

Emissa, intrigued, says people are talking about Vis—both his victories and his mishaps—and checks on his hand before leaving. The exchange signals that Vis’s reputation, for better and worse, is spreading beyond his class.

Afterward, Callidus confides why he is in Class Seven. He outlines Caten’s deteriorating politics: Military’s historic primacy is waning with no new conquests, budgets are contested, and an unpaid army could provoke a march on Caten. Expecting potential civil war and mandatory Military secondments for higher classes, Callidus chose to drop to Seven to reduce both his hostage value—given his powerful father—and the likelihood of frontline service, aiming instead for lower-level Governance placement.

Vis recognizes the broader danger this implies and the relevance to Religion’s search for power, but he keeps those thoughts to himself. The meal ends; Callidus returns to playing down his abilities, and Vis heads back to watch the Sixths attempt the Labyrinth, hampered by his newly stitched hand but reassured that his position remains intact for now.