[2] Railway engineer Henri Vidal was invited by his younger brother Marc to pay him a visit in the (fictional) city of Ragz, Hungary.

Henri describes his journey, made on land and on the Danube River on the barge Dorothée, also noting monuments and cities he sees on the way.

To make matters worse, the contract was found torn to pieces and the bride's wreath lifted itself and hovered mysteriously in the air, ensuing panic among the people at the party.

After reporting the events to the chief of the Ragz police, Heinrich Stepark, he suspected that the culprit must be Wilhelm Storitz, as he was the only person who profoundly disrespected the Roderichs.

Wilhelm's house was searched but, beside Myra's bridal wreath and a mysterious yellow fluid in a blue vial, no significant evidence was found.

Later, while on a walk, Henri and Stepark overheard a conversation between Wilhelm and his servant Hermann, both in a state of invisibility, as they had been throughout the novel's plot.

Miraculously, Myra became visible after giving birth to her son and they moved to Paris, where Marc continued his job as a painter.