Summary

Lilliet and the other workers spent the next few weeks preparing for the Empress' departure for the hunt. After packing nearly 200 different outfits, Lilliet received a new uniform and left for the event. After arriving. Lilliet was surprised to see that the palace was very plain. She and an unnamed girl waited in the Empress' dressing room when Lilliet realized she did not know her duties. However, when the Empress arrived, she encouraged Lilliet. The other workers, however, punished Lilliet for not knowing her duties, as her status as "the mute" was not known in the new castle. Lilliet resisted the urge to speak as not to give herself away.

Later, while the Empress was out on the hunt, Lilliet found a secret passageway between the Empress' room and the Emperor's library. Lilliet explored it...