Yielding to Hunyadi's urges, Brankovics decides to reject the Ottoman envoys and order the battle.
He knows that his sworn word and defence of Christianity calls him to Hunyadi's side, but he is afraid that their united armies will still fall, and oppression and suffering will take over his country and his people.
Now the mood in the despot's court has changed: those who had previously been in favour of an alliance with the Turks are the most vocal in demanding a turn against them.
The girl asks the Grand Vizier to let her brothers return to her father's castle, in which case she herself will go with him as a guarantor.
Murat would accept the offer, but Cselebi Agha, whose task it would have been to lead the sons back to Brankovics, had committed to a horrible deed: he blinds them.
In the meantime, he receives the news that Brankovics has rejoined Hunyadi's armies and is attacking Ottoman positions.
He is preparing for battle, hungry for revenge, when he receives the news that his father, the Sultan, has died and he is his successor.