The government governs. Someone reforms a tax law to make it more understandable. There's a brief discussion of preparation for the next expansion of the island, which ends with no one volunteering to go ask the Emperor if he has any plans. A judge is investigated for corruption. Somebody mentions idly that the imperial wing has been weirdly quiet these past few weeks, but nobody wants to speculate too hard about why.

She sings and reads and flies.

Soon enough, she can afford her house. It is a very nice house.

She moves into her house! She decorates it with beautiful things.

She sends the Emperor a letter inviting him to dinner.

...sure, he'll come to dinner.

She is not principally a cook at home but she can make some things, and she can adapt them to local ingredients.

The first thing he says when he shows up is, "Your house is adorable."

"Thank you! It had to be pretty. Did you build this one? Do other people ever build things here?"

"Other people do ever build things here! I forget who built this one but it wasn't me."

"There are other pretty houses but this one has a view that will probably stick around."

"Yeah. Houses on the edge are lovely, but eventually they stop being houses on the edge."

"Your staff are wondering about when this will happen to which houses but decided against asking."

"Well, the answer would've been 'who knows', so it's just as well they didn't bother."

"Aha. How do you decide, anyway?" She serves food.

It's good food!

"When I feel like it, or when it's been a long time since the last one, I pick a spot on the edge that hasn't been extended in a while and put something there."

"I suppose that works! How do people divvy up what's there?"

"Oh, usually I sell it."

"You must have staggering amounts of money. Where does it go?"

"...what do you mean?"

"Do you spend it or does it just kind of sit somewhere deflating your currency?"

He giggles.

"I spend it! Unexpected government expenses, a couple of houses to pretend I live in when I'm pretending to be an architect, concert tickets..."

Chuckle.

"And slaves," he adds, less happily.

"Well, if you just stole them presumably this would have some undesirable effect."

"As I've said. The law works better when I follow it."