Service inspection line before the luncheon. Galen checks the ledger and dish order with rigid formality.

The formal luncheon hall prepared for envoys and court observers.

Queen Mother Serapha presides over the social mood as nobles observe the king's every movement.

Iseren takes her official position beside Caelan's chair; Caelan tries to speak to her.

The first harmless course establishes the tasting procedure in front of the court.

Harmless courses pass, but the court's attention remains predatory.

The pear course is introduced as gentle and reassuring, with a menu tag carrying a noble house mark.

The pears are staged as kindness, suitable for a nervous king.

Iseren tastes the pear and begins the four-heartbeat count.

The poison announces itself quietly through numbness instead of pain.

Galen demands the formal poison code before the physician confirms anything.

Royal Physician Mael Corvin is called to verify the symptom after Iseren has already named it.

Mael confirms the poison and explains the danger in plain terms.

The intended murder method becomes clear: slow heart failure that could be blamed on weakness.

Caelan asks whether the poison would have hurt Iseren, breaking the expected distance between king and taster.

Iseren gives the lawful formula, and the room understands what it means.

The Orlen trail is noted, but the court stays careful; suspicion cannot become accusation yet.

Iseren realizes the dose was also a test of her skill and certainty.

Galen prepares to remove only the king's dish, but Caelan broadens the command.

Caelan orders every pear plate removed, protecting the hall and publicly insulting the source of the dish.

The removal spreads through the hall, and Serapha attempts to soften the insult while Caelan refuses to retreat.

The chapter closes on the widened consequences of Caelan's command and Iseren's realization that he has seen the cost of her role.