Balthazar rides a mechanical lift up the great Pillar in Troy alongside Princess Alexia and the welcoming court. As the platform rises above the square, he takes in the vast city and reflects that Alexia, once a seemingly hopeless charge, has survived every danger and now looks convincingly like an empress-in-waiting. Balthazar also privately admits a measure of pride in both Alexia’s endurance and his own part in getting her safely home.

During the ascent, Lady Severa approaches Balthazar and treats him with unexpected respect rather than condescension. Flustered but eager to impress her, Balthazar speaks about engineering and natural philosophy, especially his recent doubts about how the elements of earth and air should be understood. Severa’s intelligence and learning surprise him, and the exchange quickly becomes a serious conversation rather than polite small talk.

When Balthazar marvels that ancient Carthaginian machinery in Troy still works, Severa explains that Empress Eudoxia restored dormant mechanisms in the Pillar and aqueduct, including the lifts. She then gives a darker account of Eudoxia’s interests: the empress suffered from a wasting illness, pursued ways to preserve her body, and became obsessed with the soul, trying to locate, release, and capture it. Balthazar is both horrified and intellectually fascinated, while Severa makes clear how dangerous and unstable Eudoxia’s rule truly was despite her achievements.

The conversation then turns to religion and politics when Severa asks whether the child Pope might truly be the Second Coming. Balthazar admits that he began as a committed sceptic and had mocked the idea, but recent events have forced him to reconsider. Wanting to be genuinely wise rather than merely seem clever, he now accepts that the world may contain truths beyond his former certainty.

When the lift stops, Severa catches Balthazar as he stumbles and encourages him to tell her more about what changed his mind. Balthazar is left wondering whether her warmth is real or only wishful thinking. Baptiste immediately punctures his hopes by teasing him that Severa is far beyond his reach, but Balthazar chooses to keep dreaming.