That was precisely why the Marquis of Isden chose not to pry any further.

“My knights are about to become rather loose-lipped.”

He meant that they would openly spread the story of what had happened inside the labyrinth.

“I only hope they know how to exaggerate a little.”

At Eldrian’s suggestion, the Marquis chuckled.

“Of course they will. Before long, every theatre in my territory will stage a play about the Mercenary King, who distinguished herself on the Labyrinth Expedition. I’ll hire the finest playwrights and the most renowned actors. It’ll be entertaining and immensely popular.”

“It would be even better if the Mercenary King held a noble title.”

“Naturally. I’ll speak with His Majesty and see that she’s granted the best title I can secure.”

“It gives me great reassurance to know that Your Lordship shares the same vision as House Sunray.”

‘What a cunning young man.’

Everything the Marquis of Isden was proposing was something House Sunray could have done on its own.

The problem was that if Sunray took the lead after forming an alliance with Lesta, House Blackwood would undoubtedly seize upon it.

They might even whisper into the Emperor’s ear that House Sunray had harbored treasonous ambitions and was plotting with the Mercenary King.

The Emperor was an exceedingly suspicious man.

Though he relied on House Sunray, he remained just as wary of them as he was of House Blackwood.

To him, anything with the potential to rival the Imperial Family was something to be feared.

But if the Marquis of Isden—the Emperor’s own father-in-law—publicly supported the Mercenary King while House Sunray merely assisted from the sidelines, the Emperor’s suspicions would naturally be lessened.

The Marquis himself stood to gain nothing from such an arrangement.

Sunray was a dependable ally…

Yet whether such a powerful house would remain an ally forever was another matter entirely.

Even so, for the sake of Lesta and House Sunray, who had resolved the troublesome Red Labyrinth that had long plagued his territory, the Marquis decided to set aside those doubts—for now.

‘Still… I ought to gain something from this as well.’

“The labyrinth boss’s core obtained during this expedition…”

He deliberately let the sentence trail off.

As though he had expected the request all along, Eldrian answered without hesitation.

“If the Mercenary King receives a noble title worthy enough to outweigh the value of the labyrinth’s ownership rights, do you really think she’d be greedy?”

The meaning was clear.

Once the title had been secured, the Mercenary King would willingly hand over the labyrinth’s ownership.

Though the response was rather bold, the Marquis wasn’t offended.

After all, both Eldrian and Lesta were his benefactors.

“I’ll bring you good news as quickly as I can.”

***

Left alone in the room where she had been staying with Dominic, Luciel showed neither disappointment. Instead, she calmly accepted the hospitality of House Isden.

Despite Dominic’s disappearance, the Marquis’s household did not treat her badly just because she had been his companion.

The maids whispered about her, but she paid them no mind.

While the Marquis of Isden and Eldrian sat down to lunch, Luciel chose to eat in her room.

The maids arranged an assortment of dishes on the table before quietly taking their leave.

The meal looked delicious.

Yet Luciel remained seated, making no move to eat.

A short while later, a woman slipped gracefully through the open window, as though she belonged there, and took the seat opposite Luciel.

Luciel’s face lit up with a warm smile.

“Captain.”

“Lu, have you been well?”

“As always. What about you, Captain?”

“I met Dominic.”

“He’s a pathetic man, isn’t he?”

“I’m sorry. I was the one who assigned you to stay by the side of such a pathetic man.”

“It was my choice. As long as I can kill Richard Blackwood, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

…

Luciel was the illegitimate daughter of Joubert Welter.

Her mother had once been his lover.

However, he was forced to marry a woman chosen for him by the Duke of Blackwood.

Already pregnant with his child, Luciel’s mother disappeared without a word, unwilling to jeopardize his future.

She gave birth alone in a foreign land, with no one by her side.

Her body never recovered from the strain of childbirth.

She endured for as long as she could for the sake of the daughter she would one day have to leave behind.

But when Luciel was only three, she died.

The man who lived next door had often been kind to her, bringing her food and helping her whenever he could.

But the moment she died……he sold her to a slave trader.

Before her death, Luciel’s mother had written to Joubert Welter telling him about their daughter.

By the time he received it and came looking for her, she had already been sold to a mercenary company.

The captain of that company raised her to be an assassin.

By the time she was around ten years old, he placed her with a travelling theatre troupe, where she performed as a child actress.

“Who would ever suspect that a famous actress is really an assassin? That’s why you must rise to the very top, Luciel. If you don’t… the only place left for you is a brothel.”

Luciel knew that the cruel captain meant every word.

Even if she escaped, she knew that he would hunt her down and sell her again.

He would hunt her down and sell her again without mercy.

Compared to everything she had endured to become an assassin, life as an actress was almost easy.

While continuing the relentless training needed to survive, she steadily climbed the ranks of the theatre world.

Joubert Welter finally found her when she was fifteen.

By then, she had already begun to make a name for herself as an actress.

At first, she thought he was just another depraved nobleman with a fondness for young girls.

She ordered the guards to throw him out.

Instead, they stood there, frozen, not daring to lay a hand on him.

They informed her that he was the Commander of the Knights of House Blackwood.

Luciel couldn’t believe it.

To her, House Blackwood was a world far beyond her reach.

The Commander of the Knights was equally distant and untouchable.

And yet…

That very man looked at her and said…

“I am your father.”

Her suspicions were laid to rest quickly.

Nor did it take her long to soften her guarded heart and forgive.

Joubert Welter did everything he could to earn his daughter’s trust.

And Luciel…had been painfully lonely for as long as she could remember.

When she finally opened her heart to him, he introduced her to the rest of his family.

Although his wife had been forced into a political marriage by the Duke of Blackwood, she was a genuinely kind woman.

Joubert’s sons also welcomed their half-sister, who had spent her entire life struggling alone, with warmth and sincerity.

Having lost her mother before she was old enough to understand a mother’s love…

Luciel experienced the warmth of a family for the very first time.

Joubert asked her to give up acting and come and live with them.

He even promised to publicly acknowledge her as his daughter.

But Luciel refused.

No matter how loving and accepting they were.

She couldn’t bring herself to become part of their household.

As her acting career took off, she found herself spending more and more time with the nobility.

Yet, whenever she was with them, she felt as though she could hardly breathe.

It was like wearing clothes that were never meant to fit her.

Restrictive.

Suffocating.

She didn’t need to imagine the rumors that would circulate if people discovered that she was the illegitimate daughter of Joubert Welter and had moved into the Welter estate.

‘Joubert Welter fabricated the story just to keep a young mistress.’

‘Lady Welter must be out of her mind to accept someone like that.’

‘What must the Welter sons think, seeing a woman their own age passed off as their father’s lover?’

Luciel’s very existence would tarnish the Welter family’s honor.

So she answered firmly,

“I think it’s better if my existence remains a secret, just as it has until now. It’s enough that we can meet like this from time to time.”

Joubert tried several more times to persuade her.

However, once he realized that she had made up her mind, he never mentioned it again.

So, with no one knowing that she was Joubert Welter’s illegitimate daughter, Luciel continued to secretly meet the Welter family from time to time.

Then, one day…

They suddenly stopped coming.

Unable to ignore her growing unease, Luciel secretly went to the Welter estate herself.

She found it in ruins.

The sight before her made her heart sink.

She knew that something terrible had happened.

All she could do was search for answers and find out what had become of the Welter family.

When she heard that Joubert Welter had turned against the Duke of Blackwood, resulting in the execution of his entire family for treason, her world fell apart.

The loving family she had found for the first time in her life had disappeared before she even realized.

And yet…

There was nothing she could do.

She buried her unbearable grief deep inside, smiled brightly on stage, and shed tears that belonged only to the characters she played.

She somehow forced herself to keep living.

Then, two years ago…

Lesta appeared in her life.

At the time, Luciel was the theatre’s most celebrated actress and had a private dressing room.

After every performance, she would return alone and remove her make-up without help.

Despite being the nation’s most celebrated actress, Luciel remained a member of the mercenary company.

She knew the captain would sell her the moment she stopped being the best.

This was why she did whatever it took to stay at the top in such a merciless world.

Sharing the beds of powerful nobles had become just another means of survival.

That was why…

Moments like these were the only ones she wanted to spend alone.

She couldn’t bear the thought of anyone touching her.

So she sat quietly in front of the mirror, removing her make-up by herself.

Then…

Before she knew it, someone was standing beside her.

‘No… Not a man.’

She had mistaken the figure for a man because of her short hair.

But it was a woman.

Anyone who could sneak into her dressing room unnoticed was bound to be dangerous.

Something similar had happened once before when an obsessed admirer broke in.

Luciel hurriedly reached for the bell to call for help.

But before she could pull the cord, her wrist was seized.

Luciel was a trained mercenary who had honed her martial skills for years.

She prided herself on her quick reflexes.

And yet…

She hadn’t even sensed the woman’s movement.

Meeting her wide-eyed gaze in the mirror, the woman spoke.

“Hello, Luciel. You’re Joubert Welter’s daughter… aren’t you?”