In this chapter, Lyudmila tells the story of the wedding dowry, which she describes as a "whistle." She explains that since the castle burned down fourteen years ago, the family has been "quite isolated." Many nobles have used the death of the queen to gain more status. One prince, dragomir, was seven at the time of the fire, and he was the one who made everyone in the family "shake even more." When the third prince, frederick, was fifteen years old, he entered the "race to become king."