Malin smiled and shook his head, "I’m sorry, I will not show mercy to those who harm the innocent, nor will I offer a way out for the children of those who kill the young. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; it is a very simple and clear principle. So, the mercy you want, I cannot give you." After speaking, Malin raised his gun and shot the old man dead, then put away his gun and stepped back. Link Svenson instructed the gendarmes to drag away the family of the old Earl. Some cursed Malin, some spat at reality, but Malin merely listened silently to their last words. Eventually, as the old Earl’s wife was being hanged, the soldiers distributed poison to the Earl’s children, helping those who didn’t want to drink it to do so. "Your Highness Malin, you must be feeling uncomfortable." Link, beside Malin, asked. "Indeed, when I think of the children of your comrades being hanged, while I give poison to these children, in the end, I have been merciful." Malin said this with a sigh—after all, this is a life-and-death struggle, clearly leaving no room for any warmth, yet I gave these children a final mercy. But who, in turn, will show mercy to those revolutionaries and their children? Humanity keeps repeating the same mistakes, as it was ten thousand years ago, so it is ten thousand years hence. "Your Highness... no, please don’t say that. In my eyes, you have already done what none of us could. Before you personally executed old Hagelberry, none of us believed you wouldn’t give that old man a way out, given he is your kin." Link looked at Malin, his eyes full of respect, but more so with anger at his family, "Like my family, when my relative came to face me and my brother, before he came, I never thought the family would abandon us for this." "I killed old Hagelberry because I understood he chose to sacrifice himself. He could not betray his King, nor his oath... so he chose death, because he knew I would certainly fire." In Malin’s eyes, old Hagelberry was even more ruthless than he had imagined; he always said he would pave the way for Lulu’s child to inherit the Hagelberry legacy. Now it seems the path is clear, with Lulu’s child left without enemies, because after today, the Hagelberry family will only have Lulu and her unborn child remaining. "But Your Highness Malin, it is precisely because of your action that the soldiers trust us so much; because they believe we mean what we say, and all so-called sins will be judged." Link looked proudly at the continuously passing soldiers in battle formation under the gallows—among those nobles in the city, there are still those who resist stubbornly, but they will find no way to escape. "Let’s go, let us meet our Majesty." Malin said, then reached out to retrieve the marshal’s baton. As he took a step, Malin saw on a small square nearby, those former staff officers being dragged to the wall by soldiers. They were all wounded, but the resistance was ultimately not over, and the commissar in charge of the execution ran over upon seeing Malin, "Your Highness, we have crushed those nobles trying to resist, we have slain the leading Crown Prince." "There is no Crown Prince anymore, just a criminal!" Link’s rebuke left the commissar somewhat at a loss, but Malin reached out to tidy the commissar’s collar, "It’s fine, he is a criminal, but still a Crown Prince who faced despair with courage. You weren’t wrong, where is his body?" Under the commissar’s guidance, Malin saw the Crown Prince in the mortuary by the roadside. Although his marksmanship was excellent, and his swordsmanship quite remarkable, in close quarters combat, bullets still pierced his chest. Times have changed; Malin used his spiritual energy to close the young man’s eyes, while resilient shouts and gunfire intertwined in the distance. "Next time you shoot, gag these guys." Link said to the commissar. After the commissar left, Malin looked at Link, "Actually, we should let them shout." "Why, Your Highness, do you think their belief in their justice is not wrong?" Link looked at Malin with astonishment, if not for Malin being a prince, this young man might have already sworn aloud. "No, I just think you should watch their final appearances and then deeply reflect. If we make mistakes in the future and betray the trust of those who believe in us, will there also be someone standing up to drag you in front of a wall? After all, history is an endless repetition of errors." Saying this, Malin gave Link a pat on the shoulder, then strode towards the Royal Palace. As he walked, Malin suddenly recalled the smile on old Hagelberry’s face, thought about the relationship between this old man and his Majesty the King, and then the child, and then the King’s previously deceased children, and then the Crown Prince. Your Majesty, what madness are you engaged in? If you truly hate the nobles so much, why have me act? You, an idle creature without hands, always want to use others, don’t you know that in doing so, your child, my apprentice, cannot avoid involvement; can’t you feel pity for your child? A pensive Link caught up, looking at Malin, "Your Highness, do you think, maybe we too will become like those nobles?" "... Yes, maybe your generation won’t, but people’s hearts change. Your descendants, their descendants, history has too many heroes turning into dragons. Every time I see this in history books, I marvel at humans repeatedly making the same mistakes." Malin said, looking at nearby fallen men and women, young and old, and the replaced old and new guests on the streetlamps, seeing some newcomers still struggling pathetically. Malin, oh Malin, who are you pitying? When you pity them, have they ever pitied those even more pitiable? No, thus it is the cycle of karma, the inevitable retribution. "If one day, we repeat the mistakes of our predecessors, then let those who come after us change it all." Link ran up beside Malin, turning to look at Malin with a smile. "Aren’t you afraid? Aren’t you afraid that your descendants might one day be dragged from their homes by angry soldiers, just like these nobles?" Malin looked at the nobles being dragged from the mansion and responded. "I am afraid, so my brother and I will strive to prevent this from happening while we’re alive, but as you said, Your Highness, human history is a never-ending dance, war, revolution, and peace permeate human history. Heroes corrupt, dragons revive, yet I believe by then there will still be young people with the same ideals as us, bringing those who want to mend the fractures of the world to repeat everything we do today anew." Finishing those words, determination filled Link’s face, "By then, there will certainly be someone like you, Your Highness, standing in front of them." After speaking, Link appeared full of pride and confidence. Because he heard the true words of a Northernist and witnessed the courage of a young man without fear. May he retain the beliefs he holds at this moment...forever.