In this chapter, we learn that Rinotaro has escaped from the castle, and that King Varuna has been informed of his whereabouts. Varuna returns to the castle to find that there is no sign of Rinotar and that the search party has failed to find him. He orders that soldiers be sent to the country to prepare for the invasion. The king asks the man who took the prince to tell him the identity of the person who threw a flower-vessel at him. The prince admits that he was the one who threw the vase at the king. He says that he tried to stop the man, but that he wound up with an injury to his head.