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You're hurt.

Am I? That new Arts teacher is so scary. Maybe I got bruised by him during training earlier.

It hurts.

Does it? It's nothing. The Arts in our bodies will heal our wounds in no time.

Hm... Why are you crying, Hildegard? Haven't you been injured far worse than this before?

No, we can't.... we shouldn't be treated like this.

Hand me the wooden sword. I'll go look for that caster.

I'll go find Leopold and everyone who treats us like creations instead of recognizing us as people with feelings.

And what are you going to do after that?

Resist.

You might not even achieve anything.

That's fine. I just need to prove something to them all, to you, and to myself.

Which is?

That I'm alive. And that my sorrow, my joy, my pain, my love, and my life... that they definitely mean something.

It's beautiful... just like it always has been.

It's getting colder lately. Autumn will be over in a month or two. But Zwillingstürme doesn't tend to see any snow, so the sunset won't wane.

This is surreal. You're definitely not the type to soliloquize while appreciating the view.

What I'm trying to say is that there are no longer any traces of unrest, after just half a month.

The Twin Spires tower over us as usual, the clouds are as splendid as always, and the people pass by both Gnade Avenue and Macht Avenue as if... nothing happened at all.

No, something <i>has</i> changed. We can't ignore that.

How are your injuries?

The old man said it's nothing serious, but you did stay in Kargereich for a bit too long, so it's hard to say if you're completely free of corrosion.

I haven't had any more headaches since then, at least.

You're braver than I imagined, Ebenholz. You've saved so many people.

I just... couldn't allow those 'echoes' haunting me to hurt any more people.

You met the Witch King, and whether you cursed or killed him, you've already completed 'the last thing you could still do.'

So what's next for you?

I hope I'm not intruding on you both.

Herr Ebenholz, I was looking for you... on Grimmacht's behalf.

And here I thought it would be Ewigegnade to send you to punish a 'dead man' for coming back to Leithanien without permission.

What's this?

Grimmacht handed me two secret letters.

One calling for your return to Zwillingstürme, and the other granting you a final choice.

Have you been staying in the spire the whole time since the incident?

Officially, there are still two Kaiserinnen in Leithanien. Grimmacht is just away for the time being, and someone has to handle the mountain of paperwork she left behind.

Only I can do it, as I always have.

You're set on that?

Leithanien might have only one single Spire in the future.

I came to Zwillingstürme to meet with the Kaiserinnen seven years ago. Ewigegnade didn't like my performance, my caution, or maybe my status as Lupukarn's representative... It was Grimmacht who saved me.

And it didn't end there. I am her Voice, even if she didn't, and now never will, appoint me as one for real.

You, me, and even some of the nobility—many Leithanians believe in the path Grimmacht was seeking, right?

It might lead us to an era where we won't need Spires at all. There's still so much more we can do.

The way you're talking...

You've matured since the last time I saw you, Michael.

Erm, that's because... I'm a growing boy, after all.

Herr Ebenholz, I see you're done reading the letters, so I'll take my leave now.

Whatever your answer is, I hope you'll be happy with it.

Your expression is a little hard to read.

Grimmacht gave me two options.

I could get another death certificate. Not just as 'Graf Urtica,' but also as a 'Leithanian'... By dying, I will obtain true freedom.

Or... I could return to the Urtica Grafschaft.

Let me tell you a story.

There was once a young boy...

I'm not very good at telling stories, but just listen to me.

The boy's family served as retainers to a certain aristocracy for generations. From one generation to the next, the retainers fought on the nobles' behalf, shedding blood, vying for glory, and bearing any rebukes for them.

Until a certain noble came along. Birth, tradition, systems... He saw them all as worthless. Everyone looked the same to him: mediocre, frail, and shallow.

So with a piece of paper, he removed the status of every retainer working for his family, and the boy's family obtained their freedom.

Afterwards, the noble became the most controversial ruler in the history of the country. His crimes eventually eclipsed his accomplishments, his Spire was toppled, and the empire ushered in a new age.

Many decisions made during his lifetime were also overruled, including the decree to remove his retainers' shackles.

One day, the young boy was told that the deposed king's descendant was granted leniency by the new Kaiser, and had regained his family's territory. He was told he needed to rush back to the spire, to meet his master...

Fate seemed to only turn a corner before coming right back again.

But in the end, the boy never managed to enter the spire. The newly arrived noble refused to sign the documents that could get him his servant back. This new noble, as they said, was also a boy around his age...

Once again, the boy obtained 'freedom.'

The boy's name was Lessing Maeyer. And that newly arrived noble was you, Ebenholz, the twelve year old Graf Urtica.

You'll never remember it, so don't bother trying.

Back then I was so full of anxiety, afraid that someone was playing a prank on me, so I asked a servant to find out what was going on.

She said: 'The young Graf's migraines seem to be upsetting him again. He chased all the attendants out of his room, with many documents scattered across the floor.'

Don't take this as grumbling about some 'fateful arrangement.' I'm just telling the truth about how one unintentional move from you changed someone else's entire life.

You spurned your identity, as well as the regrets and suffering you bore from it. Of course, I'm sure you know better than anyone else how real your pain was.

But at the same time, I hope you also know their value.

And how we should regard them.

Danke, for telling me all this, even though you were positively awful at it.

Have I ever mentioned what I experienced back at the Genesis Horn?

Nein.

I didn't think it worth bringing up before, but I suppose I can tell you what I didn't get to tell the Witch King, before he vanished in front of my eyes.

You have no heir. I'm merely a descendant who shares the name Urtica.

Before your time, it had yet to carry either honor or so-called disgrace.

This changed because of you alone. So I will change it once more, but never by the same means you used.

This is my way of mocking you.

This is my shame, my cage.

This is my duty, my obligation.

This is my path.

So you had already decided back then?

Then why did you make that face earlier, while you were reading the Kaiserin's letters?

Because there are still other matters, which have suddenly became somewhat tricky to deal with.

Ebenholz!!!

I finally found you!!!

Hibiscus...?

Have you forgotten who you are?

No.

You're a Rhodes Island Operator. I'm sure you've read the operator manual you got after onboarding, right? Carefully, from cover to cover?

'I invite all of you to witness how two centuries of sin will come to a conclusion... How fortunate it is, that this day of farewell has finally arrived! ...For I have seen my life's path ahead of me, crystal clear...'

What's that she reading?

Operators <i>must</i> go through a strict approval process whenever they apply to leave the landship. How could you just run off after leaving that unintelligible letter?

I haven't even had time to hand it in yet.

...Give it back, Hibiscus.

I'll be staying in Leithanien for the foreseeable future. I'll return to the Urtica Grafschaft.

As I'd like to resubmit my application to disembark, could you please help me to—

Erm, you'd better go see the Doctor or Kal'tsit in person for that.

Is the landship nearby?