The scene opens with the nobles hurrying to pick up the princess's new dresses for the ball that's to be held the next day. They're all dressed up and ready to go, except for the nobleman, who's not. The nobleman complains that the princess is wearing a dress that isn't appropriate for a ball. He says that he's just going to attend the ball because his majesty has invited the princess to do so, and he doesn't want to offend the royal highness by wearing the dress that was sent to him by the previous emperor. He's going because he wants to show off his new clothes, he says, even though the invitation said the princess should wear the dress sent by the current emperor. This is the first time we see a nobleman complaining about his own clothes, and we learn that he used to be a lowly servant in the royal palace. He complains that his highness is always too strict with him, and that he can't talk freely in front of his superiors. Finally, he gets up to leave, but not before telling us that he once worked in the palace, and