Dominic stared at his reflection in the mirror.

Dark circles had appeared under his eyes.

His unshaven beard was thick and untidy.

He had never seen himself looking so haggard.

He felt strangely unfamiliar with his own reflection.

Slowly, he raised a hand.

Even this small movement sent a dull ache through his joints.

He lowered it again.

‘When… exactly?’

He had always been cautious.

Meticulously so.

He had sworn never to make a mistake until the long-cherished ambition of House Blackwood was fulfilled.

He monitored everything he ate.

Everything he drank.

He was even careful about the people he allowed near him.

No matter how upset Luciel became…

He never carelessly accepted the food she offered him.

‘…Luciel.’

Was it because he was unwell?

An absurd longing welled up inside him.

From the moment he first saw her on stage, he had been drawn to her.

He had been drawn to her.

Initially, he had planned to keep her around for a few days before discarding her.

But then things changed.

‘Just one more day.’

‘Just one more.’

And before he realized it…

His entire heart had turned toward her.

Luciel was clever.

Kind.

Beautiful.

Yet cold.

She would act as though she were giving her whole heart to Dominic.

Yet she would turn away, acting as though she had never intended to give him anything at all.

This contradiction fascinated him.

He knew she was deliberately drawing him closer only to push him away again.

He let her have her way.

Because, in the end…

She was nothing more than an actress.

No matter how famous she became.

That was all she was.

If Dominic ever got tired of her…

He could discard her at any time.

He could even kill her.

‘So while my heart is entirely yours…’

‘Go ahead.’

‘Toy with me in ways you would never have dared otherwise.’

He exuded an easy confidence.

He had indulged her every whim.

And now…

With his head throbbing so violently that he could scarcely think,

Dominic missed Luciel more than he could bear.

***

The moment Luciel saw Dominic arrive at the theatre looking for her…

She finally understood why Lesta had said there was no longer any need to feed him Lumen.

The withdrawal symptoms were far more severe than she had ever imagined.

His forehead was covered in sweat.

His eyes were bloodshot and surrounded by dark circles.

“Nick… are you sick?”

Originally, Luciel had planned to pout a little and pretend she was upset that he had left her behind alone at the Marquis of Isden’s estate.

But seeing Dominic come to her in such terrible condition…

She realized there was no longer any need to play hard to get.

“Luci… I had an urgent matter. That’s why I left you behind.”

“That’s alright. I’m not upset. Are you feeling alright? Look at all this sweat.”

Taking out a handkerchief, Luciel gently wiped the sweat from Dominic’s forehead.

Dominic had expected her to be angry.

Instead…

She was only worried about him.

The loneliness and misery that had weighed on his heart suddenly began to melt away.

“Luci…”

“I…”

“I think I’ve become addicted.”

“Addicted? To poison?”

“No. To Lumen.”

Luciel’s eyes widened in shock.

“Lumen…? Nick… how did something like that happen? No… Why?”

“I don’t know, Luci.”

Under normal circumstances…

Dominic would never have admitted something like this to Luciel.

Exposing one’s weaknesses to others was foolish.

But now…

The relentless pain that refused to fade was beginning to cloud his judgement.

He needed someone to comfort him.

Someone to hold him together.

That person wasn’t his cold, distant father.

Nor was it his mother.

It was Luciel.

She worried about him exactly as much as he wanted her to.

She listened to his complaints.

She wrapped her arms around his sweat-soaked body and gently embraced him.

Then she softly whispered the words Lesta had instructed her to say once Dominic had become weak enough.

“Nick…I think it’s better if you keep this a secret from the Duke. If the Duke finds out you’ve become addicted to Lumen……I’m certain he’ll strip you of your title as Young Lord and give it to your younger brother instead.”

Only then did Dominic finally understand…

Why, despite being driven into such a desperate situation, he had never once considered asking his father for help.

Because…

His father really was the kind of man who would do exactly that.

***

Richard was furious when he found out that Dominic had gone to see nothing more than an actress at a time like this.

Nevertheless…

He concealed his anger and waited quietly in the reception room.

It was quite some time before Dominic finally returned.

He looked exhausted.

Rather than showing any concern for his son’s state of mind, however…

Richard exploded.

“What in the world have you been doing, wandering around at a time like this?!”

Seeing Richard explode in anger…

Dominic was convinced that Luciel had been right.

Richard didn’t care at all about his condition.

He was naturally affectionate towards his children.

But only when they were proving themselves useful.

He wouldn’t cast Dominic aside simply because he had become less useful.

Nevertheless, the welfare of House Blackwood would always come first.

Dominic was determined not to lose his position as Young Lord to his younger brother, William.

He wanted to remain…The Glorious Dominic.

“At a time like this… what do you mean?”

“You really have to ask?”

Richard grabbed the newspaper and threw it in Dominic’s face.

He had bought it on the way there when he noticed it being sold on the street.

Dominic caught it before it could hit him.

He unfolded the paper absentmindedly.

The moment his eyes fell upon the large headline on the second page…

His breathing stopped.

[The Reversed Hero Becomes a Smash Hit!]

Anyone else would have seen the words “Smash Hit” and assumed it was simply an article about a successful new stage production.

But Dominic…

Whose conscience was anything but clear…

Saw only two words.

[The Reversed Hero.]

“…This…”

“The Marquis of Isden has pulled off something quite entertaining.”

“The Marquis of Isden…”

One by one…

The events that had unfolded inside the Red Labyrinth of the Marquis of Isden’s territory came rushing back.

Including the moment…

He had looked directly into its eyes.

Richard watched Dominic’s shaken expression in silence before forcing down his fury and asking,

“What exactly happened in that labyrinth? You didn’t actually run into it there… did you?”

Judging from the contents of The Reversed Hero, it seemed Lesta had been there.

But Richard simply couldn’t believe Dominic would have encountered Lesta…

And failed to report it to him.

“…I did.”

Dominic betrayed the trust Richard had placed in him.

“You did? You encountered it there? So that play… Everything in it actually happened?”

“…”

“Then why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why?”

“If you had informed me from the beginning, I could have found a way to deal with this. So why did you keep your mouth shut until rumors spread all over the streets?”

“…Rumors? They’ve spread?”

“Yes, you fool! The rumor is everywhere! They’re saying the Mercenary King did all the fighting in the labyrinth… And that you, the coward hiding safely in the rear, walked away with all the glory!”

Dominic staggered.

He had been shut away inside the estate for days.

He hadn’t even realized rumors like that had spread throughout the capital.

“How… could something like that…?”

“How? The Marquis of Isden has never approved of your reputation. He must have seen this as the perfect opportunity!” So tell me. What exactly happened inside that labyrinth?”

Dominic collapsed onto the sofa and buried his head in his hands.

It was already taking everything he had just to conceal the agony of Lumen’s withdrawal.

Now, confronted with this completely unexpected turn of events…

His thoughts refused to come together.

‘I need Lumen.’

He hated the thought of sinking deeper into addiction.

But whenever he took Lumen…

He could at least think clearly for a little while.

Trying to endure the agony of withdrawal while dealing with it…

And his father…

Was nearly impossible.

‘First…’

‘I need to get through this.’

Forcing his sluggish mind to work, Dominic finally spoke.

“The operation failed.”

At least that much…

He would tell the truth.

“I don’t know how it found out, but it came to the labyrinth and destroyed every vial of concentrated Lumen we intended to give the knights. Then it joined forces with the Young Duke of Sunray to subjugate the magical beasts.”

That much Richard had already guessed.

After hearing the rumors and reading the newspaper article about the play, he had expected something along those lines.

“Then what were you doing?”

“I…”

“I stayed back. I was afraid that if I stepped forward, it might say something unnecessary.”

“You stayed back.”

“I had no choice. It’s humiliating to admit… But I can’t defeat it. Above all else, I had to make sure I returned alive.”

On that point…

Dominic was right.

There had been nothing he could have done against it.

The real problem…

Was that he had kept it a secret until now.

“Then why didn’t you tell me the moment you returned?”

“…Because I didn’t want to disappoint you, Father. I believed I could resolve it myself.”

Dominic’s honest confession softened Richard’s expression ever so slightly.

“Nick. You should have come to me immediately.”

“…Yes. I made a mistake.”

Richard let out a long, weary sigh.

Then he walked over and sat down beside his son.

“The situation isn’t good, Dominic. I already know what it is going to do next. It will reveal that she was the one behind the silver mask. And it will do so while displaying that crimson sword aura.”

“…”

“The Emperor is already close to taking our side. But if it arrives in the capital and begins making its presence known… The situation will become far more complicated.”

“What should we do?”

“The best course of action… Is for you to subjugate another labyrinth. If you clear one near the capital and return victorious, the rumors will die down—for a while, at least.”

“Father!”

Dominic felt his heart drop.

‘Go into another labyrinth?’

It was the only labyrinth near the capital whose boss had not yet been defeated.

It was the Red Labyrinth.

Even when he was in perfect condition, he hadn’t wanted to enter it.

If he went in now, suffering from Lumen withdrawal, he would almost certainly die.

He’ll almost certainly die.

“But the ideal solution is to kill it before it ever reaches the capital. Now that a temporary rift has formed between the Emperor and House Sunray, this is our opportunity.”

“…Yes.”

“If anything, this situation works in our favor.”

Those words finally allowed Dominic to breathe again.

“Can we really kill it?”

“No matter what it is, it isn’t immortal. We simply have to strike the moment it leaves the labyrinth. As for you… carry yourself as though these rumors don’t concern you in the slightest. I’ll take care of everything else.”