About ten people had been pulled into the labyrinth. Only three of them survived.

When the Icefang Tiger attacked, the three survivors buried themselves in the snow, while the others died. If not for Lesta distracting the beast when she entered, they would have been torn apart or frozen solid.

In truth, it was thanks to Lesta that they were alive at all. Yet when Eldrian and Cassandra emerged from the labyrinth, they found her apologizing to the child’s mother.

“I’m sorry, I was too late.”

The woman struck her.

“If you couldn’t save him, why did you stop me? If I’d gone in myself, I could’ve saved my boy—!”

She beat her fists against Lesta’s chest and sobbed.

Outside the labyrinth, the air was hot. The frost covering Lesta’s body melted and blood flowed freely from her wounds. Clearly unable to stand, the grieving woman continued to hit her nonetheless.

Cassandra started to move forward to intervene, but a sharp voice cut through the air.

“Enough!”

It was Amaranth.

No one had seen her arrive. She pushed past the knights and strode straight towards the woman, pulling her away by the wrists.

“Can’t you see she’s hurt?”

“M-my lady…”

“She went in there for your son, and you don’t even see how injured she is?”

“I… I just… my boy—”

“He didn’t come back. That’s tragic, yes. But it isn’t Lesta’s fault. A labyrinth is a disaster, something no one can stop. And still, she went in. She tried. You may not have to thank her but you have no right to blame her.”

The woman no longer struck Lesta. But she neither apologized nor expressed gratitude.

“Apologize. Apologize for hitting her.”

Before she could say more, Lesta gently caught her wrist.

“Ara, it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine, Lesta! None of this is fine! You’re hurt, can’t you see that? You’re bleeding so much!”

Blood streamed down Lesta’s arm where the tiger’s fangs had torn it open deep enough to expose the bone.

Amaranth’s eyes burned red as she looked at the wound. Her voice trembled.

“How can you say you’re fine…? You’re not. Not at all. So why did you just stand there and let her hit you? What did you do wrong?”

Lesta could not understand.

The mercenaries had always admired her way of fighting. She was unmatched in strength and unshakable in resolve, and when she decided to lead, they followed her without question.

When different bands were brought together, they too were captivated by her raw power and fearless momentum. Those close to her might have winced whenever she returned wounded, but even they understood that this was the fastest and most reliable path to victory.

So why were these people angry?

Eldrian, Amaranth and even the enigmatic Leonel all seemed offended by her fighting style.

If Lesta had not gone in first and faced the Icefang Tiger alone, there would have been far greater casualties. Only she could have withstood the tiger’s deadly roars multiple times and survived. If Eldrian and Cassandra had been the first to enter, they wouldn’t have had time to plug their ears with leke hide before freezing solid and being shattered by the beast’s claws.

“I don’t understand why they’re angry.”

Lesta said quietly. Amaranth’s eyes widened for a moment, then softened with helplessness.

“This isn’t anger, Lesta. It’s just that…”

“I should be going back.”

Lesta interrupted.

“Lesta…”

There was sorrow in Amaranth’s voice, but Lesta didn’t turn around. She simply walked away, not caring about the blood trailing down her torn arm.

After a few steps, she stopped. She tilted her head up towards the sky, her gaze distant and unfocused. Then, lowering her head again, she resumed walking. Each drop of blood fell behind her like a crimson thread, marking the ground with a long, open wound.

✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦ ✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦ ✦❘

The appearance of a labyrinth in a city was not unusual. Like natural disasters, they manifested themselves unpredictably, heedless of place or people.

Although Eldrian was preoccupied with thoughts of Lesta, who had left of her own accord, there were duties he could not ignore. He oversaw the transportation of the injured to healing wards and arranged temporary shelters for survivors, out of the labyrinth’s reach. He ordered soldiers to secure the perimeter and summoned carpenters to construct large steel fences around the site.

By the time the last of the work was finished, night had fallen deep and still.

Returning to the ducal castle, Eldrian conducted an inspection. The knights were alert and the guards were vigilant, but on nights like this, he couldn’t rest unless he saw for himself.

It was then that he found her.

Lesta was sleeping by the shrubbery where she and Luna had lain the previous night. Her back was against the low hedge, and the faint moonlight traced the pale scars on her arm.

She wasn’t lying flat, but resting awkwardly against the shrubs with her hands neatly folded over her chest. The sight of her, so still and defenseless, stabbed Eldrian sharply in the chest.

He stood frozen to the spot, as if caught in a binding spell, staring down at her for a long moment before quietly stepping closer and sitting beside her.

Without opening her eyes, Lesta murmured.

“You’re here.”

Eldrian uncorked a vial of potion and poured it gently over the wound on her arm.

“Sleep, Lesta. No one’s going to attack you.”

“Yes.”

He stood beside her, looking straight ahead, for a while before slowly turning his head.

Lesta’s breathing was soft and even, and she was still in the same position he had found her in.

Asleep, she no longer resembled the fierce warrior who had fought the Icefang Tiger only hours earlier. Instead, she looked like a wanderer who had walked alone down a lonely road for too long and had finally succumbed to exhaustion. Even at rest, her face bore the faint trace of solitude.

Eldrian watched her for a long time. Then, leaning back against the hedge that had been propping him up, he closed his eyes.

✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦ ✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦ ✦❘

Lesta stood by the sea. The wind carried a familiar scent of salt and memory, brushing against her face as her red hair fluttered in the breeze.

She brushed her hair back and gazed blankly at the sea she knew so well.

“Lesta.”

That low, tender and piercingly familiar voice rose from behind her. It was a voice that always tore at something deep inside her.

She turned quickly.

There was a flash of light, and then her eyes opened.

For a moment, she couldn’t tell where she was. She took in the neatly trimmed shrubs, the soft night air, the earthy scent carried on the wind, and the sound of breathing.

‘Breathing?’

Puzzled, she turned towards the sound.

There, beneath the faint silver glow of the moon, was Eldrian Sunray, his head resting beside hers.

Only then did Lesta remember that she had fallen asleep there while her body was still healing.

But why was he here? And why had she chosen to sleep in such a place?

The room that Amaranth had prepared for her was perfect: a wide, soft bed; a warm, gentle blanket; and magical locks carved with protective runes on the door and windows. It was the safest and most comfortable place she could have asked for.

And yet she had come here instead.

‘Ah, last night…’

This was the spot where she had lain with Eldrian and Luna, gazing at the stars. It was perhaps this memory that had drawn her back, even in her exhaustion.

Maybe that was why she’d had a good dream.

Whenever she slept, nightmares came. In those dreams, she was It: a nameless creature with a leash around its neck, dragged hither and thither by the Blackwood family.

But tonight, for the first time in a long time — perhaps even ever — she had dreamed of Ernel Village and the sea. She could almost hear Marta’s voice.

Just once, even in a dream, she had wanted to hear that voice again.

Lesta clenched her fists and then slowly opened them again. Even after such a gentle dream, her chest ached. She exhaled, trying to let the pain escape, but the sorrow inside her was too deep and thick to spill out.

Careful not to wake Eldrian, she rose quietly and slipped out of the garden.

The moment she opened the main door of the manor, she saw Amaranth standing outside, though this did not surprise her. Lesta had sensed her presence even before opening the door.

Amaranth’s eyes were shadowed with fatigue.

“You didn’t sleep?”

“I couldn’t. I just… couldn’t fall asleep. Did you get some rest?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you sleep in your room? You don’t like it?”

“No, I do. I like it very much. I just… prefer sleeping outdoors. It’s what I’m used to.”

Amaranth’s gaze softened briefly before returning to its usual calmness. She was never good at hiding her emotions, but Lesta could rarely grasp their full meaning.

Amaranth’s eyes dropped to Lesta’s arm. The wound from yesterday had already scabbed over. By the afternoon, it would probably have disappeared without leaving a scar.

“It’s healed. The young lord used an expensive potion on me, poured it all without hesitation.”

Without that Helos potion, it would have taken two or three days to recover.

“Don’t.”

Amaranth said suddenly, her voice low, eyes still fixed on Lesta’s arm.

“Don’t win people’s hearts like that.”