Lesta wiped the poison from her hair with a towel and kept walking. She could sense Eldrian’s presence behind her, but she didn’t bother to look back.

The monsters they had just fought had emerged from a labyrinth deep beneath the ocean. If they could defeat its master, the attacks would finally stop. The problem was its location, though: A labyrinth is a world unto itself. Though this one was submerged beneath the waves, its interior wasn’t flooded. With enough air and the right mana stones, it was possible to enter. The real challenge was maintaining supplies.

Labyrinth raids rarely ended in a day or two. Sometimes they stretched into weeks or even months. The more people you sent in, the more provisions you needed. Carrying and replenishing supplies in a submerged labyrinth was extremely difficult, so this was nearly impossible. This is why preparing for an *ssault took so long. During that time, the monsters kept spilling out, forcing battles once or twice a week.

“Lesta. Have you ever met Dominic Blackwood?”

Lesta hesitated; she had never been good at lying. In fact, she wanted to shout that the Dominic everyone had hailed as a hero three years ago had been her the whole time. But who would believe such a claim from a woman with no proof or witnesses? She still hadn’t properly gauged Eldrian either. Could she trust him? Could she fight alongside him? Until she knew the answers to these questions, the truth had to remain buried.

What she truly wanted to know was how resolute House Sunray was. How far were they willing to go in their confrontation with Blackwood? Lesta’s goal was not as petty as tarnishing Dominic’s name or preventing Isabella from becoming Crown Princess — those were mere scraps, not victory. Bringing down a house like the Blackwoods would send tremors through the entire realm: the Blackwoods were a grand duchy that held half of the Empire’s power. It would demand enormous sacrifice — perhaps even bloodshed or war. Would a house so devoted to imperial stability truly follow her to the end? Or would they exploit her until it suited them, then try to rein her in once her vengeance had served its purpose?

That was why she hadn’t pledged herself to Sunray, not yet. She needed to become indispensable, someone they could not afford to discard, even when they thought they had won.

So she remained silent, walking along the windswept cliff top and allowing Eldrian to draw his own conclusions, all the while gauging the strength of his resolve.

“I saw Dominic only once during a monster subjugation. Back when he still wore that silver mask.”

Eldrian didn’t seem particularly interested in her answer. He continued, his voice low and thoughtful.

“He was magnificent. Brilliant, even. So much so that I couldn’t bring myself to feel jealous.”

He couldn’t possibly know what those words meant to her, yet Lesta felt her skin prickle at the unintended praise.

“Especially his sword aura. That day, Dominic’s aura burned red like flames wrapped around his blade. I’d never seen anything like it.”

“…”

“But now,” he said, his tone cooling, “Dominic wields a blue aura.” They say it changed after he encountered the Great Being. How convenient. No one has ever returned from facing that creature alive, so if anything seems strange, they just blame it on that encounter.”

He wasn’t wrong. Eldrian wasn’t the only one who’d noticed the difference between the Dominic of the past and the Dominic of the present day. Those who had fought alongside him before could see it: his eyes, hair color, build and aura were all different.

And every time someone questioned this, Dominic and the Blackwoods always gave the same answer.

‘His body changed after meeting the Great Being.’

No one doubted it. After all, Dominic was the only person to have returned with one of the Great Beings’ scales. Since no one else had ever survived such an encounter, there was no way to dispute their claim. People simply believed the Blackwoods.

“If only I could just believe it that easily too.”

Eldrian murmured. Then, without warning, he moved in front of her, blocking her path.

Lesta stopped and looked up at him.

“Lesta.”

His eyes trembled with confusion. He had called her name, but no words came. She waited silently, her gaze steady, neither confirming nor denying anything.

They stood like that for a long time, suspended in wordless tension.

At last, Eldrian exhaled sharply. His voice was rough and almost disbelieving.

“…Is it you?”

Instead of answering, Lesta tilted her head slightly.

Eldrian ran both hands through his hair and let out a sound, half a laugh, half a sigh.

“I know how absurd this sounds,” Eldrian said, running a hand down his face. “But I can’t stop these ridiculous, impossible thoughts from coming to me.”

“What kind of thoughts?”

Lesta’s tone was calm, but her expression was unreadable. Although she was honest by nature and usually wore her heart on her sleeve, she could also conceal her feelings with precision when she chose to. Right now, Eldrian couldn’t detect any emotion in her eyes.

“The kind that would make me sound jealous out of my mind. But I’m convinced—the Dominic who wore the silver mask three years ago isn’t the same man serving in the Imperial Palace today.”

Lesta said nothing. Eldrian didn’t expect her to. He continued, his voice low and steady.

“I think someone else wore that mask. Someone who walked the path of a hero in his stead. And once that person had served their purpose, they were disposed of. But then—here you are, standing before me.”

Lesta’s eyes curved faintly, her lips lifting in a soft smile.

“Do I look like a hero to you?”

Startled by the change in their surroundings, they looked around. At some point, they had left the quiet shoreline behind and arrived in the harbor. The early-rising sailors were already shouting, hauling cargo and preparing ships as though the monsters had never appeared near their city.

The noise was lively and ordinary; full of life. He realized that they could live so unshakenly only because of her.

“Yes. At least here in Revron, you look very much like one.”

Lesta brushed her hair back and laughed softly, as though his words had amused her. That was all she said. She offered no denial or confirmation. There was nothing to ease or heighten his suspicion.

The silence made Eldrian feel uneasy.

After returning from his encounter with the Great Being, Dominic took a year to rest. Then he removed his mask and joined the Imperial Palace. Soon after, I started hearing stories in this city about a red-haired mercenary who fearlessly fought monsters with a huge black sword. A woman named Lesta.”

“…”

“Then came word that you had become leader of the Ides. Rumors then spread about you forming alliances and uniting mercenary bands across the continent. Before two years had passed, you were known as the Mercenary King. Quite a rise, isn’t it?”

He gave a short, hollow laugh.

Even though he had been certain that the man behind the silver mask wasn’t Dominic, it had never occurred to him that the truth might lead him to her.

Watching her fight earlier hadn’t convinced him either.

The way she moved and wielded her blade was utterly unlike Dominic’s.

And yet, some part of him refused to let go of that impossible thought.

“But then another thought occurs to me. With that silver mask, couldn’t they have altered the fighting style as well?”

“And yet, I still wonder why Blackwood would choose a woman to stand in for Dominic. If they claimed that his body had changed after he met the Great Being, that would be one thing, but he’s built so differently. It would be obvious.”

“It’s because I was the only one who survived.”

For the first time, Lesta spoke in a way that sounded like admission.

“We prepared dozens—no, over a hundred children. If I said I was the only one who lived… would you believe me?”

Eldrian couldn’t make sense of her words. The thought she had expressed was too monstrous and grotesque to comprehend. What did she mean by ‘more than a hundred children prepared’?

Lesta continued, her tone steady and unflinching, as though she were merely stating facts and not accusing anyone of unspeakable crimes.

“They gathered over a hundred pregnant women and forced them to give birth. Then they chose only the infants whose eyes most resembled Dominic’s and killed the rest. The ones who lived were raised through relentless t*rture and pain. In the end, only one survived. Because that survivor was a girl, they put a silver mask on her and sent her into battle, limb by limb, as their puppet hero.”

The horror of it struck Eldrian like a blow. His mind rebelled against the image and his throat locked. He should have spoken up, but he told himself it was impossible. Surely, even with all their power and wealth, the Blackwood couldn’t have done something so vile? They couldn’t have.

But no words came.

Lesta didn’t push. She simply looked at him, her expression calm and almost tender. Then she smiled – the same faint, solitary smile that she had given him earlier when she had looked out towards the sea. It was a lonely, quiet and immeasurable smile, and it hurt to see it.

Cradling that loneliness in her voice, she said softly.

“I will kill every last one of the Blackwoods.”