A Life for a Life

Hold on! I, I'll...

I promised that I'd...

Go, Allerdale.

The Vampire is coming. He cannot find you.

Ailshie is here. I have to—

You have to follow her orders. She will not allow you to deviate.

Y-You can't...

We can. The Duke has ordered us to help you 'complete your mission', but we are not your servants.

Do not forget her instructions.

Do not forget your place.

I...

There is only one thing that you must do. Fulfill your duty.

That is your sole responsibility.

Return to the person of interest. Now.

......

Tell her.

I will obey her will, as always.

I, I don't understand, Your Highness...

I thought you were pleased with our hospitality...

You even graced us with your presence at our banquets, did you not? You liked this place!

I will not deny that you have brought me joy, from time to time.

I find your petty flattery and exaggerated cordiality adorable.

You must be mistaken! I have no links to the dukes or the resistance! I swear...

Any trouble must be the work of the Cumberland woman! I'll expose her!

Sanguinarch... Your Highness... please, I'll give you anything! My collection, my money... take all of it! Just...

What good are those to me, my dear?

You wouldn't kill me, would you? We should hold a wine tasting! You haven't sampled my private reserve yet...

I'll be alright, won't I, Lt. Colonel Lettou? This is Londinium!

They—the Sarkaz are just here to protect Londinium at the invitation of the Duke of Cavendish? They wouldn't kill an innocent, of course?

......

Take him to the front.

I tire of the noise. Begin.

B-Begin what?

Run in when you hear the order.

Confirm everyone is dead and you can come back alive.

In... into the fire? A fire that big? N-No! I'll burn to death!

You're going to do exactly that.

—

Argh—!

He was right, Lettou.

I haven't sampled his private reserve.

We should, shouldn't we?

This is it. Wait here.

Lund, Charlie...

This is where you kill us.

...How do you know?

Simple.

You never told the workers what you were building for the past two years.

But a factory boss gets a few clues.

I guessed you were close to the final stages, the way you people have been pressing us lately. And that means it's time for those who know too much to die.

You lied to me.

Just getting my affairs in order.

What could lowly workers like us do, after groveling for the past three years?

Don't you dare try anything.

You, you and you. Come with me; we'll take a look around.

Keep a close eye on her, Paprika.

Alright.

Can I have a smoke?

Hm... okay.

Thanks.

Did you ever consider running?

Where?

And anyway, it'd only make trouble for the workers left behind.

......

I've been thinking about what you'd do to us. Looks like whoever's giving the orders still has something of a heart.

But... what do you mean?

They said to get rid of us quietly so the workers don't panic, didn't they?

If my life buys a chance for the others to live, then so be it.

You think the rest of the old timers you brought here don't get that?

I don't get it...

Huff...

How old are you, girl?

Doctor, do you know the story of the Steam Knights?

Granny used to build them.

It was a point of pride for us.

With our own hands, we built the armor worn by the defenders of Londinium, the ones who defended our home.

I wanted to see the birth of those great things, just like Granny... to take part in it.

Granny's been through a lot. She saw how Londinium became what it is today. And I can see how disappointed she is.

But I don't want to give up so soon.

Must be this drawer.

Hidden compartment... hidden compartment... ah, here it is.

Granny's incredible. I'd never know this desk had been altered, if she hadn't told me.

This is... my badge?

And a notebook?

......

So you grew up in Columbia.

Yes, my grandma raised me.

Mom and Dad were both mercenaries, but they're dead.

Why did you become a mercenary, then?

To feed myself, and grandma.

Sarkaz aren't welcome most places, so I had to be a merc.

What a good girl.

So you agree with the Regent?

You mean with occupying the city?

Hmm... I don't know.

We do what we're paid to do. I didn't know we were going to occupy such a big city.

In Columbia, we were helping merchants smuggle goods that they didn't want people to know about, or hunting wild beasts.

But I can tell you, that was the first time I saw Grimm so excited. He said the Sarkaz would get to live a decent life, if we were successful.

Grimm? The smoker?

Yes.

Where's he now? I haven't seen him around in a while.

He's dead.

Aren't you sad about that?

He always said that death and parting are a normal part of the mercenary life.

Death and parting. All these years of chaos, and the Victorians haven't learned the slightest thing about the Sarkaz.

Catch, girl.

Huh?

This is... a finger sleeve...

Grimm...

You made it for the old merc, didn't you?

His finger hurt because of an old wound, but he couldn't cut the smoking habit. I saw him hide it in his cigarette box.

Guess he didn't want to get it dirty, even though you made it for him to use.

......

He gave me the box when he left. Payment for smokes, those few months.

He never talked about you, but the moment I saw you, I knew you were the girl he was always thinking about.

I... I don't...

I don't know what he thought about the war.

But I know, without hearing it from him... you don't know what war is.

Doctor, I thought about what I was going to say to Granny, before I brought you back.

I thought I was prepared. We've seen so much in our time.

But I think I owe her an apology.

......

Catherine always looks strict and solemn. People forget that she's just an ordinary woman, who lost her livelihood.

Here, Doctor! Granny circled some places on the map.

Yes, it'll be hard to get close to the depots.

This information will help, though, even if we can't get close.

I wish I could say goodbye to Granny.

Guess it'll have to wait until next time.

Let's go, Doctor.

A lot of us don't actually know what we're fighting for.

It's just, we don't have a place to go. We're not welcome anywhere.

The King of Sarkaz promised us a home, a country, a future.

I've spent time with you people. I can tell that some of you haven't actually fought before.

What about you?

I can fight!

Have you killed anyone, girl? And I'm not talking about a villain you can kill without remorse... I mean real people.

......

You're just a worker. You haven't killed anyone. Don't talk to me like you know what it means.

You've been in Londinium for a while. You've heard of steam armor, haven't you?

I heard it's a powerful weapon that hasn't been seen for a long time.

Yes. It's a killing machine.

I built killing machine after killing machine with these hands right here.

I don't feel ashamed, because those machines were used to defend the land I lived on.

What about you, girl? Do you know what your weapon is for?

I...