The Underground Man tells the Underground Man that he told the King to protect the Duke, but the King refused to do so. He also says that the Duke went to the Cabinet to discuss business, but hasn't returned yet. He asks if there's anything he can do to help, and says that he's already a prisoner, but that the King still refuses to let him go. He says he'll go grind some ink, and then he can kneel down and apologize. He's sorry, he says, because he just blamed himself for accidentally poisoning the Duke. He tells the King that he grew up with him, and that it's his pleasure to have him, even though he thought he was making a horrible mistake. He doesn't know that the leaves he mistook for sweets were actually poisonous, and he asks the King not to refer to the matter again.