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Do you always want to live hiding behind the mask you put for the sake of others? You're you, and there's nothing wrong with that.❞ ㅡYmir

CHAPTER NINE:

SECRET MISSION

A knock on the door pulled her out of her dream; forcefully dragging her mind away from the peaceful state it had been immersed in for hours to drop it back on the real world with a painful, silent thud.

Groaning out of utter irritation, the woman cracked an eye open; only to soon realise no rays of the sun were dancing in the room. It was dark; long shades formed along the furniture as moonlight seeped in through a crack between the curtains. With a huff, she rolled over to face the wall and closed her eyes.

It was way too late—or early, depending on how you look at it—for her to be in the mood to entertain whoever that was outside her room. It was probably someone who wanted to either annoy her, or get in her pants; not that she was going to get up to find out—she could not care less.

The ruffling of sheets reminded her Isabel was still there, so she quickly discarded the second option and blamed her sleepy brain on her dumb conjectures. Pulling the blanket up to her chin, Galene let out a deep breath and attempted to return to that peaceful state of mind.

Knock, knock.

Biting back a growl, the woman opened her eyes and narrowed them into slits. She had hoped they would stop knocking on her door after realising she wasn't going to answer it; but if anything, the taps on the door became louder, almost impatient.

Fleetingly, Galene casted a glance towards her sister; only to notice she had yet to wake up. Unable to understand how she could manage to sleep soundly when someone was threatening to break down the door, she frowned in envy before whining loudly as another knock shook the room.

Determined to tear whoever that was on the other side apart with her bare hands, she threw the covers away from her body and stomped over. Yanking the door open, a trail of curses was on its way out of her mouth, but she was beat to it.

"Did you just whine?"

Snapping her mouth shut, Galene blinked twice before casually leaning against the frame.

"Isabel did," she lied. After receiving a look of disbelief, however, she shuffled her feet and crossed her arms over her chest. "Give me a good reason not to beat you to death, Levi. You freaking woke me up, jerk."

Said man regarded her with slight-amused eyes for some seconds, as if he were daring her to approach. Eventually, as none of them moved, he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"That was the point. I've been standing here for ten minutes, woman. Stop wasting my time," he muttered while averting his gaze from her.

Her lips curled into a playful smirk, and she hummed.

"Coming here so late at night..." she paused, ready for the punchline. "So determined to get me to answer the door…"

Levi sent her a dark look.

"What are you implying, woman?"

Tilting her head, she stepped closer and whispered, "Did you pull me out of bed to get me in yours?"

Silence.

Then, she yelped.

"That was uncalled for," she growled while rubbing the side of her head, right where she had been hit. "Learn to take a joke, damn it."

Levi merely stared at her with emotionless eyes, unimpressed. After a minute, he gave an exasperated sigh and walked over to the wall behind to lean against it.

"Erwin has called for us," he stated.

Galene shrugged her shoulder, and her features had suddenly turned nonchalant.

"Good for him."

Running a hand through his hair, the man let his eyes wander over her before averting them to glance outside.

"Just put some clothes on, brat. I won't have him nagging me because of you."

At his words, she looked down—

Oh.

—only to realise she was standing there in a thin tank top and her favourite panties.

"Whatever. I don't see why anyone would complain."

Levi watched her as she turned around and walked back into her room. On their own accord, his eyes drifted down her figure before blinking in surprise as the door slammed shut.

Clicking his tongue, he mentally cursed.

-#-

When the door opened, Erwin was there to give them a judging stare. Shaking his head and sighing heavily, the man motioned for them to walk in and sit by his desk. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if having them sharing his coach was a smart idea—the least he wanted was for his new sofa to get shred to pieces were the two of them to argue.

As they sat down, evidently already used to being around one another to mind personal space, Erwin glided his eyes towards the woman standing next to him.

Expected, he couldn't help but think upon catching sight of the huge grin on her face.

For some strange reason, Hange had become quite fond of the pair and their banter. And as of right now, she was watching them interact—or not interact at all, for they were merely staring at him with expectant expressions—with glinting eyes; as if they had become her favourite show.

Inwardly sighing in exasperation, Erwin walked over to his big chair and sat down. He seemed to ponder something, as his features furrowed briefly, before his gaze fell upon them.

"I have an important mission only you can do," he revealed. None of them showed sign of having heard him, but that's just how they acted towards everyone—Levi would stare at him with impassive eyes, whereas Galene would simply sat there looking bored out of her mind. Erwin focused his attention on the latter before speaking again, "I suppose you have heard the name Everhart."

Something crossed her brown eyes, an expression too complex for him to decrypt; one that he had never witnessed before. Much to his surprise, Galene remained silent and it was her friend the one who spoke up.

"What of them?"

Them, Erwin noted.

"What do you know about them?" he pressed.

Levi placed an arm on the back of the sofa, and if Galene noticed how his skin brushed against her, she did not show it.

"Not much. They rule over most of the Underground City, count with a big arsenal of weapons and manage every big business around. Never interacted with them personally, however."

Erwin hummed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Their power keeps increasing. We never paid much mind to them, since the military forces are the ones supposed to deal with that kind of problems," he stated. "But things have changed. Orders from above are pushing me to call upon you for this task."

His eyes drifted to Galene again, but she had yet to show interest in the conversation. He knew better than that, nevertheless, and could see the wheels clicking and clunking in her head.

"What exactly do you want from us, Erwin?" Levi's voice gave away his suspicions—he could tell where Erwin was getting at.

Sighing, said man leaned back on his chair.

"We need someone to infiltrate their headquarters."

Levi arched a brow.

"We are worried they might be plotting something," Hange explained, serious. "Something is happening down there. And they're in the midst of it all."

"What leads you to believe so?"

"Bodies are turning up everywhere, bloodied and battered. Panic is rising on the streets; things are becoming quite hectic," Erwin said, eliciting a look of scepticism from Levi.

"Everhart never tortured."

A sarcastic snort caught their attention. For the first time since they had walked in, Galene seemed interested in what they were talking about. Her lips pulled to form a snarl, and an expression of pure hatred darkened her features.

"They did." Her voice was cold as ice, sharp like a knife; it surprised Levi, who observed her with inquisitive eyes. "They just made sure no one found out."

She felt their gazes on her as she leaned back with closed eyelids, yet she did nothing to acknowledge them. Her expression lost any trace of revulsion, but as he stared at her closely, Levi could see the muscles of her face tensing and relaxing; as if she were battling against her inner self. Something was off—it was evident to him.

Instead of questioning her, however, he averted his eyes from her and absently grazed the back of her neck with his fingers—if only to let her know that while he respected her decision to remain silent, he would look for answers later.

"A broken wing was carved on every found body," Erwin stated then.

"That's their signature," Galene commented casually. "You can find it basically everywhere in the Underground City."

Hange nodded.

"It's not like them," Levi cut in. "Sounds like they want people to go after them."

"There's definitely something fishy, but we need to investigate it," Erwin said with crossed arms. "Not only that."

Hange shared a look with him, before the latter nodded.

"This is a secret mission. No one but the highest ranks and us know about it due to what it implies," she asserted. "You are required to find the head of Everhart and execute him."

Silence crashed over them as the last two words floated in the air, echoing between the four walls. Levi opened his mouth to express his bewilderement, when the Magnolia woman beat him to it. In her voice, however, no disbelief could be found—no disagreement as he would expect.

"Will you keep your word? No one else is to find out."

He looked at her, only to see determination shining in her eyes. And when Erwin nodded, he could have sworn he caught a glimpse of eagerness on her features.

"I'll do it."

They left the room shortly after, with the promise to return in the morning.

And before Levi could start his questioning, Galene was walking away, heading a different direction. Yet he saw it…

An unfamiliar, bloodthirsty glint in her gaze.