When Gonzague and his men arrive at Caylus, they murder the entire wedding party. Lagardère arrives, and after a lengthy sword fight, Nevers is fatally stabbed by a masked Gonzague, who is "branded" by a sword thrust on the hand by Lagardère. Lagardère threatens the unseen killer: "If you do not come to Lagardère," he states, "Lagardère will come to you!" With his dying breath, Nevers implores Lagardère to avenge him and his wife (who he believes was killed) and to look after their infant child. Lagardère flees Caylus with the infant and finds refuge in the mountains in an abandoned farmhouse, where he discovers that the "son" is in fact a girl, who carries a locket naming her as Aurore.