Instead of returning to the Marquis of Isden’s estate, Dominic headed straight for the capital.

Sitting inside the carriage with his fists clenched tightly, he stared straight ahead.

He didn’t even blink.

He remained like that for a long time.

‘That thing is still alive.’

The moment he left the labyrinth, a new terror settled over him.

He could no longer indulge in jealousy over Lesta’s fearless exploits or Eldrian’s extraordinary ability to support her.

Lesta’s overwhelming strength was wrapped around his throat.

She wasn’t even there.

And yet he felt as though he couldn’t breathe.

‘That thing is going to kill me.’

Lesta’s objective was unmistakable.

While they had been inside the labyrinth, other pressing concerns had pushed thoughts of her into the background.

But now…

Alone inside the safety of his carriage…

His mind was consumed by nothing but Lesta.

‘No…’

‘Am I really safe?’

He remembered how she moved like the wind.

When she fought, his eyes could not follow her movements.

She could split a carriage like this one cleanly in two without the slightest difficulty.

Keeping every muscle taut with tension, Dominic cautiously looked out of the window.

Dense forest stretched endlessly along the road.

Somewhere behind those countless trees…

It felt as though Lesta was hiding there, watching him.

Shivering uncontrollably, he shrank away from the window.

The moment he could no longer see outside…

His fear only grew stronger.

So he crept back towards it and looked out again.

For the several days it took to reach the capital…

He barely slept.

He simply repeated the same anxious cycle over and over again.

But was it fear or joy? Anything became dull once you grew accustomed to it.

By the time the gates of the capital finally came into view, Dominic had travelled the entire journey without incident.

At last he thought.

‘That’s right. But what on earth can that thing do? All it can do is fight. And it’s not invincible. If it kills me, it’ll make an enemy of the entire world. It wouldn’t dare. There’s no way I’ll die at its hands.’

Then, as he passed through the capital’s gates…

Another thought suddenly struck him.

‘D*mn… I left Luciel behind.’

***

The Marquis of Isden was advanced in years, yet he was still strong and had perfect eyesight.

There was an air of steadfastness about him, befitting a man who had once served as one of the Emperor’s knights.

The first people he welcomed with open arms were Eldrian and his companions.

He had the finest rooms prepared for them and told them to ask for anything they needed.

Only after attending to his guests did he turn his attention to his own men.

He rewarded his elite knights and ordinary soldiers alike, showing no favoritism.

He shook each man’s hand in turn and thanked them for their hard work.

Only then did he receive a detailed report from Genovar, who had commanded the Marquis’s forces during the expedition.

“Lesta Ernel?”

For some reason, Genovar spent a long time speaking not about Dominic Blackwood’s heroic deeds…

But about a mercenary named Lesta Ernel.

Had he been talking about Eldrian instead, the marquis would have found nothing strange about it.

But Lesta Ernel?

That was unexpected.

“The true hero of this expedition was Lesta Ernel.”

Assuming Genovar’s account was accurate, then Lesta’s contribution would indeed have been immense.

The Marquis of Isden recalled the brief glimpse he had caught of her earlier.

She was a woman with striking red hair cut carelessly to the nape of her neck.

Her fair face was small, with perfectly balanced features.

She wasn’t particularly short for a woman.

Yet, standing among so many sturdy men, she had looked remarkably small.

Even so…

She carried an enormous black blade across her back that was almost as tall as she was.

This alone made a strong impression on him.

If she had truly accomplished so much, she could have stepped forward to claim her recognition.

Instead…

Lesta had remained quietly behind Eldrian the entire time.

Her eyes had briefly swept over the Marquis of Isden…

Before she lost interest and casually began looking around the gardens of the estate.

“To be honest, I didn’t believe the Mercenary King when he said no one should take the enhancement potion.”

“I thought he was simply dragging the political conflict between Sunray and Blackwood into the labyrinth.”

“But after experiencing it firsthand… your opinion changed?”

“Yes.”

Genovar reached into his pocket and took out a small medicine vial.

Despite the chaos, he had secretly kept one for himself.

Whether or not Sunray’s claims were true…

They would need evidence either way.

And if circumstances demanded it…

He had even intended to drink it himself.

“I find this medicine highly suspicious.”

The Marquis of Isden accepted the palm-sized vial and examined it in silence for a long while.

“So… If someone drinks this… They become undead?”

“That is what Sunray claims.”

“…Hah.”

The Marquis of Isden let out a dry laugh before his expression suddenly darkened.

“That damned brat!”

The Marquis of Isden and the Duke of Blackwood had never seen eye-to-eye.

Their relationship deteriorated further when the duke’s ambitions became impossible to hide.

Many people were already aware of this.

The only reason no one could act against him was because of Dominic’s reputation.

The Duke of Blackwood wanted the Imperial throne for himself.

Anyone with influence understood as much.

Naturally…

There was no chance that the Marquis of Isden, the father of the current Empress, and the Duke of Blackwood could ever be allies.

So, when the Duke of Blackwood generously offered to provide hundreds of vials of enhancement potion for the expedition, the Marquis thought it was too good to be true.

The Marquis thought this was strange.

If the medicine truly turned its users into the undead…

It wasn’t difficult to imagine what would have happened inside the labyrinth.

“Dominic Blackwood only intended for our soldiers to drink this potion.”

The Mercenary King later explained that anyone who drinks it becomes driven solely by their final wish before they transform.

“And my soldiers’ final wish would have been to defeat the labyrinth’s ruler and return home alive.”

“Exactly.”

“If we had taken it, we would have fought without reason, oblivious to the fact that our arms and legs had been severed. Even after dying, we would have risen again and continued charging forward. And Dominic Blackwood would simply have followed safely behind them.”

Genovar let out a faint, bitter laugh.

“We never drank the potion, yet Dominic Blackwood’s strategy never changed. He spent the entire expedition trailing behind us. His sword was wreathed in sword aura, but I don’t believe he ever intended to use it against the monsters. It was only there to protect himself.”

That…

Was precisely what troubled the marquis.

He despised House Blackwood.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t simply dismiss Dominic’s achievements.

After first entering the battlefield at a young age, Dominic had performed one heroic feat after another.

Dominic had performed one heroic feat after another.

Those accomplishments weren’t fabricated.

There had been countless witnesses.

Whether during labyrinth expeditions or monster subjugation…

Dominic had always fought fearlessly at the forefront.

So why…

Why would a man like that resort to relying on a potion like this?

Even if his skills had declined over the years…

How much could they have deteriorated?

“…Could it be that the Great Being changed more than just his appearance?”

“…Don’t tell me it took away his abilities as well.”

Dominic fell gravely ill as a child, leaving his face horribly scarred.

From that day on, he never appeared in public without wearing a silver mask.

No one had ever seen his face.

But since the Duke of Blackwood said that was the reason…

Everyone accepted it without question.

Then, several years ago…

On the day that would later be remembered as a turning point in history…

Dominic returned, carrying the scales of a Great Being.

It was said that his encounter with the Great Being had altered his appearance.

Even the colour of his sword aura had changed.

From that moment onward…

Dominic’s heroic exploits didn’t just decline.

They vanished completely.

Previously, he had thrown himself into one subjugation after another, fighting with the fervour of a man obsessed with battle.

But after returning from his encounter with the Great Being…

He remained quietly at the Blackwood ducal estate.

Once he was appointed Vice Commander of the Imperial Knights, he rarely left the Imperial Palace.

He rarely left the Imperial Palace.

“My lord…”

“If I say this, you may think I’m an idiot who’s letting his imagination run wild.”

“But… may I tell you what’s been on my mind?”

“Go on.”

“It’s so absurd that even I can hardly believe I’m thinking it.”

“But I haven’t been able to shake this idea since earlier.”

“No…”

“Forget I said anything.”

“I must just be exhausted and imagining nonsense.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You’ve already made me curious.”

“If it’s nonsense, then it’s nonsense.”

“I’ll overlook it this once.”

“So go ahead.”

“…Well…”

Genovar hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking.

“Back then…”

“When Dominic Blackwood still wore the silver mask…”

“No one had ever actually seen his face, had they?”

“Well… I’m sure his family had.”

“But no one else?”

“There were plenty of rumors.”

“But whether anyone truly saw his face…”

“I couldn’t say.”

“I never saw it myself.”

“But I’ve heard that Dominic Blackwood was rather small and slender in those days.”

“Some people even called him the Little Hero.”

“That’s true.”

“My lord…”

“I…”

“Well…”

“It’s just…”

Genovar stumbled over his words, clearly struggling to say them aloud.

Finally, as though steeling himself, he squeezed his eyes shut and blurted it out.

“What if…”

“It was the Mercenary King who was wearing the silver mask?”

“…What?”

“I mean…”

Now that the words had left his mouth, continuing was much easier.

Genovar poured out the thought that had been occupying his mind ever since the expedition.

“What if…”

“The one fighting under the silver mask back then…”

“Wasn’t Dominic Blackwood at all…”

“But Lesta Ernel?”

“Hahahahaha!”

The Marquis of Isden burst into laughter at the outrageous theory his knight had proposed.

As if he had expected exactly that reaction, Genovar rubbed both hands over his face with a weary sigh.

Even so…

He did not stop talking.

“My lord… you may think I’m an idiot for even saying this, or that my imagination has completely run away with me. But… may I tell you what’s been on my mind?”

“Go on.”

“It’s so absurd that even I can hardly believe I’m thinking it. But I haven’t been able to get this idea out of my head since earlier. No… forget I said anything. I must just be exhausted and imagining nonsense.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ve already made me curious. Even if it’s complete nonsense, I won’t hold it against you. So go on.”

“…Well…”

Genovar hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

“When Dominic Blackwood still wore the silver mask… no one had ever actually seen his face, had they?”

“Well, I’m sure his family had.”

“But no one else?”

“There were plenty of rumors, but I couldn’t tell you whether anyone had truly seen his face.”

“I’ve never seen it myself. But I heard Dominic Blackwood was rather small and slender back then. Some people even called him the Little Hero.”

“That’s true.”

“My lord… I… well… it’s just…”

Genovar stumbled over his words, unable to bring himself to say them.

At last, as though forcing himself to cross a line he could no longer retreat from, he squeezed his eyes shut and blurted it out.

“What if the one wearing the silver mask back then… was actually the Mercenary King?”

“…What?”

“I mean…”

Now that the words were finally out, the rest came much more easily.

Genovar voiced the theory that had consumed his thoughts ever since the expedition.

“What if the person fighting under the silver mask all those years ago wasn’t Dominic Blackwood at all… but Lesta Ernel?”

“Hahahahaha!”

The Marquis of Isden burst into laughter at the outrageous theory his knight had just proposed.

As though he had expected exactly that reaction, Genovar rubbed both hands over his face with a weary sigh.

Even so…

He continued.