The novel opens with a description of the marriage between a knight and a young lady. It is the first half of the novel's plot, and it is set in the kingdom of Burgsmueller, which was conquered by a neighboring kingdom. The young lady, the daughter of a nobleman, is married to a knight, and she has just returned from a honeymoon. She tells the story of how the kingdom was invaded and destroyed by the neighboring kingdom, and how the young man, the son of the former king's younger brother, has signed a pact with the devil. The narrator tells us that the young lady was born of the family that guards the castle, which protects the borders of the kingdom. She has invited the knight to come and see the flowers with her, but the knight has not yet arrived. She asks him to wait until he has finished his scouting of the area, and he agrees to do so. She then tells him that if he finds a knight like him, she would better marry him. She says that she is not a pampered noblewoman's daughter, and that she loves the knight. She begs him to give her some time to think things over, but he says that he will wait until the news arrives from her compan ions. He asks her to sleep it off, but she says she is so sorry that she has to wake up naked. She wonders why she is being treated this way, and wonders if the rumors are weighing on the knight's mind. She reminds him that noble women should not go grabbing men without warning, and asks if she can climb trees and swing on vines. She also asks him if he will have the ricotta cheese pie as well as the potage. He says that it is okay to have a few, because she is in love with him. He tells her that she will soon have to ride her to her destination. She sighs, and sighs again. She thinks that she must go back home, but then she thinks about the rumor that the knight will never marry, and then she realizes that the lady who showed up at the banquet was a noblewoman, not a knight.