At a gathering, Edwin recites a poem that a woman, Celine, recognizes as identical to one she just composed, casting doubt on his talent. Her companion expresses relief she called off her engagement with Edwin, who made no effort to defend her from gossip. Celine reflects on a past life where Edwin imprisoned her and framed her family. She deliberately set this trap to make a lord, Lucian, question Edwin's integrity. Returning home, she orders all of Edwin's past writings to be collected and publicly displays a gift from the palace to signal her high status, beginning her plan to expose him. Meanwhile, Edwin pressures a captive scholar to write for him, threatening violence, revealing the source of his 'talent'.