Steampunk Era: Mad Abield

The carriage had not yet come to a stop when Malin already jumped down from it, tossing a bottle of World Tree fruit potion to the familiar old coachman and waved goodbye amidst his words of gratitude.

The guard opened the door for Malin, and as he entered the hall, Malin noticed Margaret sitting at the counter, smiling as he approached the lady and gave a noble’s greeting: "Good afternoon, Mrs. Colin."

"My dear Malin, don’t be so cold, I heard that you went to the Church of Justice?" The lady, who now appeared much more mature and was pregnant with her third child, responded as Malin nodded. "Yes, I went to see the children, the Church of Justice is doing quite well."

Malin took off his gloves and stuffed them into his coat pocket, then pulled out a rose formed from elements from the same pocket and handed it to Margaret: "Sorry, I couldn’t prepare a proper gift for you."

"Don’t say that, I’ve heard about what you went through in the North, it was really dangerous, Malin." Smiling, the lady accepted the flower and placed it in a small vase before the counter, she then looked at Malin with a worried face and said, "For my sister and her sisters, Malin, please don’t put yourself in danger, alright?"

"I’ll try my best." Malin did not answer directly, showing an apologetic smile towards Margaret.

How could this be possible, Malin understood Margaret’s concerns; his lovers were indeed waiting for him at home, but on the battlefield, thousands of his peers were waiting for him to lead them from one victory to another, to create yet another victory.

Thus, Malin could only respond this way, and Margaret understood this too, so to Malin’s avoidance of the topic, she could only sigh lightly, "You men, always so reckless, aren’t you?"

"For the children to live in a safe world, we adults must face the dangers, Margaret," Malin replied, looking at her. "Just like when you risked your life for Colin, we have no other choice, right?"