The day after the longest subjugation, Baron Rubellen, the magistrate of Revron City, paid a visit to Eldrian.

“Oh dear, Young Lord! You should’ve sent word if you were coming. We have plenty of guest rooms at our estate, you know.”

Baron Rubellen, who visited the ducal residence once a year for the annual report, was quite familiar with Eldrian.

“I came in a hurry. Have you been well?”

“Yes, very well, thanks to your concern. By the way, have you met the Mercenary King yet?”

Baron Rubellen was the one who regularly reported on Lesta’s activities in Revlon City.

“Yes. I’ve met her—and saw her take down a demonic beast.”

“Impressive, isn’t she?”

“She is. Even with monsters appearing, the citizens of Revlon seemed entirely unbothered.”

“The Mercenary King has been a great help in maintaining order.”

“No trouble so far?”

“I was worried at first, since she grew her influence so suddenly, but there’s been nothing concerning. In fact, relations between Idnale and Redebro have improved—no more big or small disputes.”

Before Lesta took control of Revron’s trade, the city had been divided between two factions: the Idnale Guild and the Redebro Guild.

Idnale handled information, commerce, and blacksmithing, while Redebro dealt in intelligence, gambling, and moneylending.

Their paths often crossed, and conflict between them had been constant.

Now, both Idnale and Redebro served under Lesta.

“How did she manage to subdue such proud men? They’re not the kind of people who would kneel just because someone is strong.”

To Eldrian’s question, Baron Rubellen gave an unexpected answer.

“She’s kind.”

“…What?”

“The Mercenary King is very kind, Young Lord.”

Eldrian thought of Lesta.

‘Kind?’

It was true she had no trouble showing her emotions, that she smiled often and spoke her mind without restraint.

Whether that counted as kindness, though—he wasn’t so sure.

“To those who had lived a harsh life just to survive, the Mercenary King’s kindness must have felt utterly sweet. Lesta is a good person.”

Baron Rubellen, who seemed like a harmless, good-natured fellow at first glance, was in fact shrewd and quick-witted enough to have run the rough port city of Revlon for decades. It was therefore strange that he judged Lesta so highly.

“Is she really that good?”

“Yes. Sometimes she seems like a child, and other times she looks like an old person who has lived a very long life. She’s mysterious, there are moments when you just feel you can’t know her—but most of the time she is kind.”

‘Most of the time she is kind…’

Eldrian thought, remembering Lesta’s words about destroying Blackwood.

‘She won’t be satisfied with merely tarnishing Dominic’s reputation or preventing Blackwood from producing a crown princess.’

“I will not stop until the name Blackwood is erased from this land.”

Even when she said those things, Lesta’s voice had been gentle and soft.

“Until everyone forgets Blackwood, I won’t stop. Still, will you lend me your strength?”

Eldrian’s goal was simple: to expel Blackwood from the Imperial Court and deliver such a devastating blow that they would never dare challenge the authority of the throne again. He did not want to destroy them completely, though. After all, even a cornered mouse will bite a cat — excessive punishment only breeds war.

However, Lesta had made her position clear. The moment anyone took her side, it would no longer be a matter of curbing Blackwood’s ambition. Whatever happened — war or ruin — she would not stop until their name was erased from the empire. Anyone who stood in her way would become her enemy, including Sunray. She hadn’t spoken these words aloud, but Eldrian could see the resolve blazing behind her calm exterior.

That was why he couldn’t easily take her hand. Sunray sought stability, yet joining Lesta felt like opening the gates to chaos.

Moreover, he simply couldn’t bring himself to trust her.

‘More than a hundred pregnant women. Children. Death. T*rture. *buse.’

The idea that such horrors had occurred somewhere on Blackwood lands felt unreal.

‘What if she’s lying?’

‘What if she’s using my belief that the silver-masked Dominic is different from the current Dominic?’

‘What if her goal isn’t to destroy Blackwood but to absorb the and then reach for the throne?’

“Redebro opposed Lesta at first. When she came into Revlon City, there was trouble. They picked fights with her over everything, and several times they really tried to kill her.”

Baron Rubellen said it happened when Lesta was still operating alone, before she joined the mercenary band.

“You know there’s a labyrinth that appeared outside the city gate, right?”

Labyrinths showed up without warning, anywhere and at any time.

“The area outside the walls is Redebro’s turf—all the gambling dens and loan houses—and one of the largest gambling halls suddenly had a labyrinth appear inside it. It was evening.”

It was the hour when the gambling houses were busiest.

“Hundreds of people were swallowed up by the labyrinth, and those who weren’t fully pulled in were torn apart.”

When the labyrinth appeared, the fates of those nearby were sealed. Those standing at the centre were swallowed whole and drawn into its depths, while those caught on the edges were torn apart by the violent clash of internal and external forces.

Yet being pulled inside was no blessing, either. Depending on the labyrinth, some survived for a time before meeting their end, while others were slaughtered the moment they encountered a monster. Many simply perished because they could not endure the labyrinth’s hostile environment.

A labyrinth could take any form: a serene meadow, a realm choked with poison, or a world of molten rock engulfed in flames. This was why no one dared rush in after the lost, even if they were a loved one. Entering unprepared was not brave; it was suicidal.

“Once I was informed, I immediately asked the provincial governor for help and gathered what forces I could to head for the labyrinth. The scene at the gate was… horrific.”

Rubellen frowned, as if the memory was still fresh.

“Those who had survived called out the names of companions and acquaintances, but no one could enter, myself included. The entrance was red.”

The labyrinth’s oval entrance changed color according to danger level—red meant high danger.

“At first I tried to calm people, saying the governor would dispatch a hunting party in a few days. But do you think the folk gathered there were ordinary citizens? They were rough men. They swore at me and my soldiers—‘You collect taxes and live fat, and now you won’t even risk yourselves to save us?’ How could I send my men in after that?”

Just as a major brawl seemed about to break out between Redebro’s roughs and the magistrate’s forces, Lesta appeared.

“She carried a huge sword on her back. She arrived so quietly at first that no one noticed her.”

She stood, unafraid, near the labyrinth’s mouth and looked at them. Then she said, “Don’t fight.”

“Don’t fight, wait just a little. I’ll bring back whoever I can.”

“I tried to stop her. I said something like, ‘Hey, it’s dangerous—can’t you see the entrance is red?’ But she just looked at me and smiled. And while smiling, she said—‘Thank you for worrying about me. But it’ll be fine’.”

Eldrian hadn’t been there that day, yet for some reason, he could picture her smile perfectly.

“Before anyone could stop her, Lesta walked straight into the labyrinth. Everyone just froze—a woman going in alone with nothing but a sword? It was unthinkable.”

And it was. No one, no matter how greedy for treasure, would ever enter a labyrinth alone. It was far too dangerous.

“About three hours later, one person came out. Then, thirty minutes after that, five more. Then four. One by one, those who had been swallowed by the labyrinth started returning. And two days later, Lesta came back, carrying a man named Jack on her shoulder, the very one from Redebro who’d hated her most.”

She was covered in wounds. Her thighs and shoulders were shredded to the bone, her neck bore a deep gash, and blood streamed down her face from where her head had been split open.

She looked like someone who shouldn’t even be alive. Yet Lesta dropped Jack gently to the ground and said—“I’ve rescued everyone. The boss might be too much for me to handle alone. Is anyone willing to come with me?”

That day, a miracle happened.

Members of both Redebro and Idnale, men who had only ever lived for money and gain began to raise their hands. Even the soldiers guarding the entrance and the mercenaries observing from a distance lifted their hands, as if under a spell.

And Lesta, battered, bleeding, barely standing—smiled.

“That was the first time in my fifty years that I ever felt my heart truly burn.”