·That... that was my brother... he, he deliberately... missed at the end... The whispers from the soul made Malin turn and glance at the already lifeless commissar, who was dead. The young life stood beside the guide, smiling as he looked at Malin and his brother. ·My brother was loyal to that flag, while I was loyal to a beautiful ideal. We both held steadfast to our ideals and beliefs. ·My brother’s ideal is truly beautiful; it’s the first time I’ve seen it. Seems humans can indeed sacrifice everything for ideals and beliefs... Your Highness, save my companions, please stop fighting. We are doomed to face defeat... I beg you... I’m in such pain... Malin nodded, then raised his pistol and made a hole in the forehead of the young man enduring internal bleeding. Returning the gun to the soldier, Malin looked towards the distant Royal Palace. The closer they got to this destination, the more resolute the Royalist Party’s resistance became. Malin eventually moved to the front lines of the battle, where machine guns, flatten anti-aircraft cannons, and two modified No. 1s held by the Royalist Party had dealt setbacks to the Revolutionary Army’s soldiers. But they were calling for support. Malin looked at the distant defensive line and finally stepped out from cover. Seeing Malin emerge, exclamations erupted from the opposing defense line. Then there was arguing, followed by gunfire, and then a young officer whom Malin also recognized came out of the trench. "Your Highness, is it really you..." He looked at Malin and eventually fell to his knees, pulling out his pistol and pressing it to his forehead: "Forgive me! Your Highness! I betrayed the ideals of the North. My hands are full of the blood of my comrades, but my soldiers are innocent! Please spare them!" He was a young man of the Svenson family, said to be a cousin of Link. Link walked up to Malin’s side: "Ronk, my cousin, I am very disappointed; you are a traitor beyond redemption." "Yes! But when has grandfather not protected you! He knew all along that Master Malin was truly on your side! He said I was foolish, and now I understand why he said that!" Roaring to this point, the desperate young man pulled the trigger. "Surrender! I guarantee your lives will be preserved!" Malin shouted loudly. With Malin’s assurance, the soldiers in the trench all eventually came out, laying down their guns, while the drivers from the platform and modified No. 1 also emerged. "There’s no more defending troops ahead; His Majesty the King is in his Royal Palace." The deputy who led the soldiers to surrender provided Malin with this information. Malin nodded and then signaled to Link to follow him. Tuojin Spencer led a squad of soldiers to follow Malin. Passing by the field hospital, Malin looked at the injured scattered on the ground and those Benevolent Church doctors, and finally sighed. "Tuojin, stay here with your men, protect these wounded soldiers. The battle is over, tell them when they are healed, if they wish to return home to farm, let them go... Any Royalists, as long as they surrender and no longer oppose us, may leave." Malin said, noticing a steward who was His Majesty’s old steward, Malin had seen him before. This old man bowed to Malin: "His Majesty heard the gunfire and said it must be you, truly it is so, His Majesty is in the garden, he wishes to see you one last time." Since His Majesty Manheim wants to see him, Malin would of course go. However, Link insisted on leading a squad of soldiers to go together, so Malin had to wait a while for the soldiers to arrive before following the steward to the Royal Palace. The guards of the Royal Palace had disappeared; they either joined the defensive lines in other directions or had already fled. Following the old steward into the Royal Palace, they reached the archway of the garden, where the steward stood at the door and made an inviting gesture. "His Majesty is inside, Lord Malin, please go see him." Malin nodded and walked towards the archway, feeling the presence of His Majesty and his wife inside. Their young child was in the Mage Tower, which Malin had known for some time. But Malin also believed that if the people of the North demanded the Mage Tower to hand over the child afterwards, the Mage Tower would surely comply. "Your Highness." The old steward spoke once more. With a hint of desire, a hint of plea. Malin turned to look at him, with a touch of doubt and a touch of confusion. "Grant me a death, please, Your Highness. I am the steward of His Majesty; with the city fallen, the royal family my ancestors and I have served all our lives is about to become extinct, and my children, I believe, have already perished at the outer defenses... Give me a dignified death, Your Highness, I don’t want to die amidst chaos." The old man looked at Malin, spoke with a tone of longing. Malin nodded, reached out a finger, and in an instant, the soul pierced the old man’s brain, turning his memories and life into mere dead matter. Malin then stepped into the garden, seeing His Majesty Manheim and his wife seated at the round table in the garden. His Majesty Manheim appeared radiant, while his wife was preparing tea on the table. "Look, my love, our old steward has brought Malin back. It is curious indeed; when we first met him, he wasn’t yet a lord, but now he is a Highness." Saying this, His Majesty sighed: "My old steward is dead, isn’t he."