This chapter opens with a conversation between a princess and her attendant . The princess tells the attendant that she was the wife of hideyori and that she is the sister of a third shogun. She was married away at the age of seven to a man who was a victim of the political game of Tokugawa. At nineteen, she was thrown into the flames of the temple and rescued from it. At seven years old, she ensured that the male prohibition law was absolute at the temple. The attendant tells the princess that the woman who stands before them is a ten-year-old girl. She says that she has written a letter to the shogun asking him to release the seven women who have been executed for inciting the men against the lord. The temple refuses to listen to the woman's accusations, but the princess says that the women must be released on the honor of aizu. She tells the attendants to grab the women and hold them back. The attendants are grateful and say that they will not forget what has happened. They are afraid that if the women demand to be released, they will have to face their lord. They fear that releasing the women would undermine the authority of a shogun who is their brother. As they wait for the women to leave, the old master asks the attendant if he can enter the convent. The old master says that he has been called by the princess and that entering the convent is permissible. The priest says that it is not like he is so hesitant. He asks if they are waiting outside the gate.