Withdrawal and Leasing Land

For the Second Prince, it was the most glorious moment of his life when Grand Duke Comberlet, the Commercial Alliance's supreme governor, signed his name to the armistice agreement and memorandum of understanding, then bowed three times to him in apology. For more than a hundred years, his ancestors had been helpless against the Commercial Alliance and had even suffered repeated crushing defeats at the hands of its armed forces. But today, as a descendant of the Krissen Royal Family, he had finally forced the Commercial Alliance to bow its head in surrender and apologize to him respectfully.

At that moment, the Second Prince forgot that it was the Norton Family Armed Forces, not the Noble Alliance Army of the Kingdom of Antinak under his command, that had truly beaten the Commercial Alliance into submission. Perhaps in the Second Prince's mind, Lorist was his vassal, which meant the Norton Family Armed Forces were also part of the Kingdom of Antinak's forces. Besides, he had sent the White Lion Legion to fight alongside the Norton Family Armed Forces. Half the credit for the victory should therefore belong to him, so as the victor, his presence here was perfectly justified.

At the banquet held by the governing council of the Free Alliance to celebrate the arrival of peace, the Second Prince was in high spirits and, as expected, had drunk a little too much. Still, he had not made a fool of himself or gotten drunk and violent. He even looked fairly sober as he carried a glass of fine wine over to Lorist.

"Locke, I really have to thank you this time. Without you and the Norton Family Armed Forces, this war against the Commercial Alliance's forces could never have ended so quickly. I, the king of the Kingdom of Antinak,