December
Petra shivered as she walked the hallway, listening to the wind howl outside. The storm rattled the panes of glass, forcing her to tug her trench coat tighter around her body. Why were the barracks so damn cold in winter?
Because it's winter, dummy.
She pushed open the door to the kitchen, ready to heat some water for tea. Thanks to Captain Levi, they always had a stash on hand. He made sure they had the good stuff. She slipped through the door, and gasped.
"Oi. Brat. What're you doing out of bed?"
The captain's idea had been the same as hers. Here he was with a cup of tea in hand. A single candle flickered on the wooden table before him. Outside, sleet rippled against the window.
"Oh. Excuse me, sir."
She snapped a hasty salute, feeling her cheeks start to flame. Idiot. She'd joined the Survey Corps eight months ago, all giddy and awe-struck, ready to meet Captain Levi. He was the man who'd inspired her to become a soldier (and the man she'd fantasized about in bed at night.) She'd wanted to meet her hero. She'd met her hero, all right.
The nastiest little man on the planet. She'd never known anyone so rude. And the worst part was that Petra's body still tingled with lust whenever she saw him, even as she was repulsed by how crass and unsociable he was.
What an idiot she could be.
"Come to stare, Ral? Or were you looking to take a shit and lost the way to the bathroom?" He sipped, stared out the window. Petra winced. The captain thought shit jokes were the height of comedy.
"I came to have some tea, sir." She paused. He didn't invite her to sit or get an extra cup. "Um. Is that all right?"
"I'm not your father, kid. Do whatever." He sipped. "Only keep your mouth shut. I'm in no mood for any giggling or gossiping."
Oh that arrogant bastard.
"Too bad. I wanted to discuss that hairpin aerial turn you showed us on ODM the other day. But I don't want to make you gossip. Sir," she added when he finally glared at her. Captain Levi's glare could freeze the marrow in your bones.
"You want tea? Get a cup. Or go back to bed. Either way." He drained his cup in a single gulp, got up, and took it to the sink. He washed it and left it on the drying rack. He didn't look at her once. "And if I see you yawning in practice tomorrow, you'll be scrubbing toilets all week. Got it?"
I thought you were some kind of gentleman. I was such a fool.
"Yes, sir."
"Clean this shit up when you're done. We got no maids around here."
Levi left without another word or a backward glance. Honestly, it wasn't surprising to see him awake even at this ungodly hour. The captain patrolled the corridors at night. The rumors were he couldn't sleep. They said he dozed in his chair for a couple hours a night, dressed in his uniform, and never went to bed.
Petra got another cup and poured some of the tea he'd left behind, her cheeks still flaming.
Captain Levi was the most obnoxious, crude man she'd ever known.
She was certain she hated him.
God, she loved him. She was in Levi's arms, morning sunlight peeking in through the crack in their curtains. Petra had just blinked herself awake and stretched. She propped herself on an elbow and gazed down at the sleeping man. His face was so smooth and gentle when he rested. Once, he'd almost never slept in a bed. Now he shared their bed every night.
She kissed his forehead, then the tip of his nose. He grunted, his nose twitched, and then he cracked his eyes open.
"Good morning. Happy birthday," she whispered.
"Hmm? Mmm. Uh. Thanks," he croaked. She rolled on top of him and kissed his lips. He returned the kiss slowly, his hands massaging her lower back. The sensation of their naked bodies pressed together began to wake him up at a faster rate.
"I dreamed about one of the first times we were ever alone together in the barracks. Back when I'd just joined up." She kissed his cheek. "You were so rude to me. If you'd told me then we'd be in bed together today, I'd have laughed."
"Mmm." He sounded pleased as his hands slid down to cup her ass. His tongue slipped into her mouth. Perfect way to wake up. Petra ground her hips against him.
"It's been three years," she whispered. "Since we did this the first time."
"Good three years," he growled. She didn't have to grind against him again to know he was hard. They'd both slept naked last night, which made sex very simple. Petra slid down on his cock with ease, taking every inch of him with tantalizing slowness. He was throbbing and impatient already. Levi gasped when she sheathed him fully, propped herself up on her elbows, and started to ride. His eyelids fluttered shut. "Oh. Petra. Fuck."
"Happy birthday." She moved faster, luxuriating in the sensation of him inside her. She began to huff as her excitement grew. She loved seeing his brow crease as he became lost in pleasure.
"This is a good present." He hissed as she clenched around him and swirled her hips. His hands caressed her ass.
"Do you like how I fuck you?" she whispered.
"Do you have to fucking ask?" He gritted his teeth. "You fuck me good, baby. Oh, shit."
Petra sat up and rode him hard. Difficult to believe the power she had over this grim, cynical man. Difficult to believe that back then, when he'd been rude to her in the barracks, it'd been because he lusted after her and couldn't afford to let his feelings show.
The bed rocked rhythmically. Petra smiled when she saw how wide his eyes got, imagined how hard he was going to climax in her. She murmured about his cock. She praised its size. Levi was delighted whenever she talked about how big it was. He had always felt awkward about his height; being called big made his day.
"Fuck me harder," he whispered. He gripped her thighs as Petra bounced faster than ever. His breath came in short, sharp bursts. "You look beautiful riding my cock."
When they first got together, talking during sex embarrassed him. She loved that he was warming up to it.
"So good. So good. Oh. Oh," she whisper-shrieked as she felt her body stiffen, as the little itch at the center of her thighs spread. Levi groaned.
"Come for me, you little slut."
She loved it, and came hard. She rode his body, felt him spend inside of her, lifted her head to the ceiling with a triumphant grin. "Yes!" she shrieked. They climaxed together, fucked each other at a wild pace as they reached the summit of their ecstasy.
Just in time for the door to open and the servant to enter.
"My lord and—oh no." The door shut fast. Petra's high immediately crashed.
"Oh. Fuck." Levi cursed. Petra clutched the sheets to her body, mortified as her husband slid out of her. She buried herself under the blankets, grabbed a pillow and put it over her head, beyond embarrassed as Levi cursed again. "Just a minute!" he snapped. She heard him spring out of bed, thrust open the curtains, and then fumble for his pants. She heard the click of a buckle. "Uh. Yeah. Come in."
The door opened.
"I'm so sorry, my lord. My lady." The kid sounded mortified. Probably Hans, the newest servant in the Mitras house. It was so strange to have servants. Well, for most of the year the servants were here to keep up the house for visitors; Levi had let it be opened as a museum, the ticket sales going to a charity. But a few weeks out of the year, they lived here as a family.
Levi still felt awkward about that.
"Tch. Told you, kid. Calling me Captain is fine."
"Yes my lo—Captain." The kid gulped. "I came because Mrs. Ral wanted to send a message that Lady Kuc—that Miss Kuchel is awake."
Right. It was Levi's birthday, but also the midwinter festival. Time for Kuchel to open her new toys.
"Okay. Thanks," Levi said gruffly. The door closed again. Petra took the pillow from her face. Her husband stood shirtless against the window, arms crossed and a sullen look on his face. She couldn't help it. She laughed. "Tch. Get up and get dressed," he grumped. He then went into the bathroom to scrub himself. The one thing she didn't love about having sex with him was his incessant need to wash himself thoroughly when they were done. Rinsing off was one thing, but…well. That was Levi all over.
Petra sat up. Their bedroom in the Mitras house—mansion, if she were honest—was particularly enormous. The walls were papered a pale blue, the furniture painted in gold leaf with carved wooden ornamentation. The bed was especially lush with a goose feather down mattress. It was so large. There was so much room to play in it.
She went to the wardrobe and opened it. Her few dresses hung side by side in the cavernous space, looking almost awkward. She would never own enough gowns to fill this. Petra splashed water on her face, then pulled on a wool skirt and sweater.
"Weird to think that lots of people come visit the house and stare at the room we fuck in," Levi muttered. He was tying on a cravat.
"They can add that little fact to the tour." Petra grinned. "'And in this room, Lord Ackerman gave Lady Ackerman five consecutive orgasms with his expert tongue."
"Tch. Don't lie. I only ever got you to four." But his irritated expression dissipated. He kissed her. "Maybe they can say 'in this room, the Ackermans got pregnant with their second child after nine solid hours of crazy sex. And a bath.'"
"Maybe." Petra tried to keep her smile from dropping. She wanted another child, but after what Eren had said last month, she found she didn't want to give him the chance to be right. She was almost afraid it'd be a boy in keeping with Eren's 'prophecy.'
Then again, he'd said the child would be called Armin. Not Oruo. That gave her some comfort. It hadn't been a prophecy. Just wishful thinking.
"I thought you only wanted one child." She smiled as Levi kissed her again.
"Now that I know how cute Kuchel is? Fuck. I want at least two more."
"Two more? Do I get a say?" She wrapped her arms around him.
"I'll let you pick out the names. Maybe." He kissed her cheek. "Come on. We'd better get downstairs."
The servants set up an enormous feast for breakfast every single morning, even if it was just the three of them. Eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, fruit, several juices, tea and coffee, pastries, porridge and ham were all set steaming under silver dishes. Petra knew Levi felt very uncomfortable about having that much food, more than even a dozen people could eat.
He felt the difference between this and the children starving underground very keenly. He insisted that the servants prepare less food, and that anything uneaten should be given away at once.
The dining room was a long chamber with silk-papered walls and oil paintings of lovely autumn countryside hanging alongside the coat of Ackerman arms. The table could comfortably seat thirty for dinner, though they rarely entertained more than ten. Honestly, their palace apartment was a little less…well, over the top. But Petra didn't want her mother hanging around the palace all day. She might go after the king.
The thought was a little horrifying.
"Happy midwinter!" Pieter beamed when Levi and Petra entered. The Rals, Edvard, and Mikasa were already assembled. Petra was glad that Mikasa was spending more 'family time' with them.
"Mumma! Puhpah!" Kuchel stood on Ingrid's lap and joyously waved her arms. Ingrid had put the child in a pretty cranberry dress with a ribbon to match. God, it was adorable. Petra scooped up Kuchel.
"Happy midwinter, my little angel," she whispered. Kuchel stuck her fist in her mouth and slobbered. Well. Maybe angel was the wrong word.
"Hey, brat." Levi pinched her cheek, a little hesitant as always to get mushy in front of other people. But Petra saw him melt; it was all in the eyes. Kuchel giggled.
"Puhpah!"
Levi took her and Petra grabbed them some food. Ingrid, Pieter, and Mikasa were all seated at the table, all of them with plates of food at different stages of being eaten. Willem stood by the window sipping some coffee; good that he and Levi had at least started being cordial to each other. (After Levi's ennobling, Ingrid had forced Willem to start being nice. Her former disdain for Levi had rapidly changed.) Edvard and Brigitta sat side by side a little farther down, talking together. Edvard gave Brigitta all the strawberries on his plate, since she loved them. That was what truly kept a marriage together. Really, they looked happy.
Pretty soon, they might be even happier. The servants had laid all the midwinter presents on the table. Petra eyed a small brightly wrapped box.
She smiled as she poured tea for herself and Levi. Willem sauntered over.
"Hey, Will. Happy midwinter."
"You too." He even gave her a quick hug. Such a relief to have mended things. "That Mikasa girl. Levi's cousin. She's eighteen, right?"
Well. Sort of.
"Seventeen," Petra muttered. Willem gave a smarmy grin.
"Hmm. Let me know when that changes. She's cute."
I'm going to put this toasting fork in your ear.
"Just remember you'd have to deal with Levi," she whispered, and left him to fret.
Most people would never feel sorry for a man who'd inherited a fortune and a place in high society, but Petra often pitied her husband when he had to entertain the family in Mitras. For most of the year, they lived as they had before Levi's birthright had been restored. They kept their small house in Trost, though Petra had been able to afford nicer furniture. Also, Levi had been able to keep his horse comfortably stabled. She could stay with him even after her retirement next year. Honestly, he pampered the horse more than he did Kuchel. Petra would find that horse wearing a new blanket or eating a whole bushel of apples whenever she passed through the stables.
When Petra and Levi visited his estates-turned-charity homes, they stayed in the more modest cottages or farmhouses. That was the kind of luxury both he and Petra liked; beautiful fields all around, a forest nearby, a cozy home with plenty of food on the table.
But the few weeks out of the year they were in Mitras, Levi had to play a part for her family and for the aristocracy. He had to dress nicer, endure it when people called him Lord Ackerman, figure out how to decline social invitations without burning bridges. Petra helped with that last one. Sometimes he couldn't avoid it, and they'd have to go to dinners with the king and queen and the rest of the "peers of the realm." Levi did it for Erwin, as he'd do anything for Erwin. But he hated every minute of it.
Still, breakfasts with the family he didn't mind so much, even if the breakfasts took place in a room larger than their house. Levi sat at the table, Kuchel on his knee. He only drank some tea and nibbled a crust of toast—he'd never been a big eater when he wasn't training or on an expedition. Levi ate the same way he slept: only as much as necessary.
"Pieter and I discovered quite an heirloom." Ingrid practically glowed as she took a spoonful of porridge. "A third century armoire. Your family must go back so far, Levi."
"Uh. Yeah, I guess," he mumbled. When Kuchel tried putting her face in his tea, he smiled a little and relaxed.
"Should we open presents?" Brigitta asked.
"Yes! Good idea," Ingrid said, grabbing one off the top and handing it to Levi. "Here. This is from Pieter and me."
Levi took the present like he'd accept a ticking bomb. Given his history with Ingrid, it was natural. Petra held her breath as he quickly unwrapped the paper, grumbling about how he didn't need anything, uh, but thanks a lot.
Petra winced as he pulled out the present. If it was from Papa it couldn't be too bad, but you never knew…
"Oh." Levi's face lit up. Kuchel grabbed at the book in his hand; Mikasa took the child and bounced her on her lap. "An Encyclopedia of Tea. Wow. Fu—I mean, thanks. Thanks Ingrid. Pieter."
Petra exhaled deeply.
"It also lists the best temperatures and times to steep them." Pieter grinned. Levi seemed genuinely happy with his gift.
"Now I wish I'd gotten you guys something better."
Petra rolled her eyes. Her mother was getting a diamond pendant (which Petra had picked out so Levi wouldn't have an aneurysm at the expense—even though they could afford twelve of them.) Papa was getting fine new leather boots. Only Levi would think a book about tea rivaled those.
"Here. This is for you," Mikasa said, grinning when she pulled a small package over to Kuchel. The little girl babbled happily, clapped her hands and grabbed at the paper as Mikasa undid the gift. "From me and Eren."
Eren. Every time she heard the boy's name, Petra felt lightning strike inside her mind. She had to fight to keep her composure; she didn't want Levi catching on.
She glanced at her husband. Petra had always loved having sex with him, but these days she initiated sex much more frequently. He certainly never complained, but he didn't know that she did it in part to tire him out. To keep them from having long conversations. To keep him from maybe learning what Eren had told her in the farmhouse that night.
"Isn't she precious?" Ingrid cooed. Kuchel had received a rag doll with bright red yarn hair, and was hugging it like she loved it more than anything in the world. Petra mouthed 'thank you' at Mikasa, who smiled quietly. Hopefully she'd like the fine new silk-lined winter coat Petra had gotten her. (Levi had wanted to give her some new cleaning rags. Petra had been forced to tell him to his face that no one ever liked getting those from him on their birthdays back in the Survey Corps. He'd sulked for the rest of that afternoon.)
The door opened, and a servant in dark blue livery walked in. He bore a letter on a tray, and leaned down next to Levi. "My lord. This came for you."
"Huh. Thanks. Oh, and quit the 'my lord' shit," Levi grumbled. He opened the letter, pulled out a couple pages, and read. Probably from Erwin, some new invitation to a formal event. Levi got too many of those.
"Look at her go." Pieter and Willem laughed as Kuchel ran around the table, hugging her new doll tightly. While everyone was wrapped up in her daughter, Petra decided that now was the perfect time. She caught Brigitta's eye and jerked her head towards the door. The signal was clear: meet me outside, alone. Brigitta did, a bit puzzled.
"Be right back," Petra said, snatching a parcel off the table. Kuchel's audience was too captivated; they barely heard Petra. She slipped into the hall, where Brigitta waited.
"What's going on?"
"I didn't want to give you this with everyone watching." Petra handed over the gift. Brigitta unwrapped it, looking nonplussed, and then lifted the lid off the box.
Inside the box was a case. Inside the latched case, six bottles waited in a gleaming row.
"You're going to need some syringes, but Hange gave me some. I have them upstairs," Petra said quietly.
"What is this?" Brigitta's eyes were already filling with tears.
"It took a few months, but I had Hange isolate what's in this and see how it reacts with your blood. I also got new information from Lady Kiyomi in Hizuru. I told her your symptoms, as well as what medicine I had. Her doctor confirmed that you could be suffering from a particular kind of hormonal imbalance. You have to inject seven milligrams of this every day, and when you start your period you need to take fourteen for three days straight. There are enough bottles here to last you for almost two years. But the doctor said that if it's what she thinks it is, you'll be pregnant before then. If and when you get pregnant, stop taking the shots."
Brigitta closed the case and hung her head. She began to sob delicately. Everything she did was delicate. Petra hugged her tight.
"I th-thought that… It took so long to be sure."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"No. Thank you, Pet." Brigitta clung to her, her whole body shaking with the sobs. Petra fought back her own tears.
"Now I can't be sure this is going to work. It may take a while even if it does. But Kiyomi said that if it doesn't, there may be other things we can try."
"I haven't been hopeful for so long." Brigitta wiped her cheeks and clutched the case as tightly and with as much joy as Kuchel had her doll. "Edvard's going to be so happy. Thank you. Thank you."
For this, she'd go to Fischer's office all over again. She'd kill Fischer and face Zeke Jaeger to see her sister smile like this.
Petra hugged Brigitta again, then opened the door to let them return to breakfast. The women stopped short when they met Levi on his way out.
"Oh. Are you leaving? Kuchel hasn't opened all her presents yet."
"Sorry. Erwin needs me for something."
"On midwinter day?" Petra sighed. Whatever the king needed, the king would get. "Okay. Just please hurry back, would you?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I will." He kissed her quickly. She felt some tension in his kiss, an absence of mind. He was thinking hard on something else.
"Can you tell me what's going on?" she whispered.
"When I get home. I promise." She believed him. He kissed her forehead and nodded to Brigitta. "Keep Willem in line."
"I will." Brigitta laughed as Levi hurried away. The sisters watched him turn down a long, cavernous hall. He never looked smaller than when he was surrounded by this much space and luxury. "What do you think the king wants?"
"The usual. He has a problem." Petra shrugged. "Levi fixes it."
Levi could walk into Siegfried Morgenstern's mansion anytime he wanted as a member of high society, but he still would've preferred to climb up a drainpipe and slip in through a window. As a teenager he'd been a thief, picking pockets and houses before working his way up to stealing from the merchant class. They could say he was from nobility all they wanted; it didn't make his childhood any less grim, his daily fight for survival as a young man any less real. In fact, now he knew the kind of money and power these guys pulled, he hated them more. If all the lords in the walls had come together and pooled even ten percent of their yearly earnings, they could've stopped the poverty and misery underground. Maybe you couldn't stop people from being dicks, but at least you could make sure children didn't go to bed hungry. They had that power and didn't use it.
He hated them for that.
"Lord Ackerman," the servant said, bowing him into Siegfried's presence. Levi suppressed an eye roll. He kept saying 'Captain Ackerman' and people kept calling him Lord Shithead. Exhausting.
"Ah. Levi. What can I do for you?" Siegfried was seated behind a desk in his study. Levi had been here three years earlier during a midwinter ball. The ball where he and Petra had declared their love. Good memories, though Siegfried's machinations had also meant she almost got raped and Levi nearly hung for a crime he didn't commit. Stuff like that tended to create resentment.
Levi passed a marble bust of some illustrious Morgenstern ancestor. He patted its head like a dog.
"I think you know why I'm here," he said quietly. Siegfried steepled his fingers.
"His Majesty requests that I donate seventy percent of this quarter's profits to fill his coffers. Yes. I received that letter."
"Wondering if your response got lost in the mail." Levi stood before the desk, hands deep in his pockets. Siegfried smirked.
"You can tell the "king" that I have no interest in paying."
"See, that's a problem. Law says that only the crown can up a lord's taxes, true. But Erwin Smith is the crown now."
"Queen Historia is the true royal. She has royal blood." Siegfried's smirk curdled. "Erwin Smith is a trumped up—"
"Careful." He said it soft, but Siegfried heard and understood. He kept his mouth shut. "This is under Historia's approval."
"She'd approve anything that her husband told her to approve."
"Queen's smarter than you think she is." Siegfried had a habit of underestimating people. It was very exploitable. "She wants the statement of your quarterly earnings, and she wants the money paid by the new year. It's a strange time for Paradis. We're only a tiny fish in a bigass pond. It's your patriotic duty to help us get ready for Erwin's final push."
Siegfried thought a moment. Then he smiled a truly awful smile.
"Please remind the king that I have leverage over him. Leverage that could see him hanged."
Yeah. During the ball three years prior, Erwin had helped Siegfried escape justice for a murder he committed to get access to the guy's pocketbook. Not his proudest moment, but what he needed to do to save the Corps' ass.
"Erwin told me you'd pull this." Levi smiled back. Felt weird to smile at someone he hated, so he didn't do it for long. "But see, no one's gonna believe your word against the king's."
"If Erwin believes that, he's a greater fool than I imagined. The peers despise him. They'll never believe him over me."
"Even when you already confessed?" Levi asked. He pulled a letter from his pocket and tossed it onto the desk. "Just so you know, that's a copy. Go on and tear it up if you want. We got more where it came from."
Siegfried read it, his face draining of color as he did. He shook his head, threw the letter away like it had bitten him.
"I didn't write that," he choked.
"But it's your handwriting. Your signature." Levi had learned a lot in the underground; forging a signature and aping someone else's handwriting were only a couple of the tricks. For a guy who wasn't much of a writer, he was surprisingly good at copying. "That's your confession that you planned the murder of your nephew and heir to the Morgenstern fortune. Your plea for the king to show you mercy because you just can't live with yourself anymore. Kinda hammy, but Erwin dictated the letter. I just wrote it down."
"You…" Siegfried finally got up. He went from terrified to furious without blinking. "I can still report this to—"
"The Military Police?" Levi drew a few steps nearer. "The entire military's under Erwin's control. He has all the money. He has all the power. Even if they believed you, they'd hang you. While you lazy fucks were drinking and whoring and pissing on all us nobodies down below, Erwin Smith worked almost to death to bring humanity forward. He took over the military and became king without breaking a sweat. And you think you're gonna take him down. A fucking bug like you?"
Fast as lightning, Levi snatched Siegfried by the throat and hauled him to the ground. He applied pressure to the old man's windpipe, just enough to make him truly afraid as he gasped for air. Siegfried's eyes bulged as he struggled to breathe.
"Erwin wanted me to pay you a visit today because he knew you'd pull some shit. He knew you'd threaten him with what happened three years ago. You. You threatening Erwin Smith is a sick joke." He squeezed a little harder; Siegfried was starting to fade. "I could kill you right now and leave your body on the floor. Nobody would stop me. Nobody could stop me. I've got the crown and the military backing me. You've got nothing." Levi bared his teeth. "So pay the fucking money. If you don't, I'm coming in through a window next time, and in the night. And I'll slash your fucking throat."
With that, Levi released the man. Siegfried grasped his throat, coughing until he was red in the face. Levi stood, smoothed his overcoat.
"You made me miss breakfast with my daughter. Do that again, it'll be personal." He turned on his heel and strode for the door.
"You…" Siegfried wheezed. He pulled himself to his feet, gripping the arm of his chair. He kept coughing, but some bitter laughter crept in there. "You may come…from noble blood…" He collapsed into the seat. "But you're just…a thug…from underground."
"Better a thug than a shit like you," Levi growled. This guy didn't want to mess with him. He really did not. "By the way, the price just went up. We want ninety percent of your earnings. And we'll count every penny."
"You're a thug…with a boss." Siegfried's lips tugged in an ironic smile. "A big…criminal…boss." He hacked, loosened his collar. "Hope he never…turns on you."
Levi said nothing. He simply went to Siegfried and broke his arm at the elbow. The old man screamed as Levi casually strolled out, passing a couple of horrified servants. They didn't try to stop him. He'd been right; he was untouchable. The king's right hand man.
Erwin was a king, not a boss. Fuck that asshole. Fuck him hard.
As Levi walked the main foyer, he happened to turn his head and catch a glimpse of himself in a mirror. That brought him to a screeching halt. He almost cried out in horror. What he saw was… No. Fuck, that'd been weird. No, he hadn't seen what he thought he saw.
Levi was wearing a long black overcoat, good for keeping out the winter cold. And he was wearing a hat to keep his head warm. Sensible.
But when he saw his reflection, him with the black coat and hat, he thought he looked like…
Bullshit. They looked nothing alike. Never had.
But just for a moment, Levi thought he saw Kenny Ackerman staring from the mirror.
May
"One more round?"
"What?" Erwin could barely hear Willy over the nightclub's noise. A band was playing onstage while a sultry woman in blue crooned into the microphone, and there was the ebb and flow of chatter all around as waiters carried trays of cocktails and girls in short dresses sold cigarettes. Many of Marley's most notable higher ups were here tonight at the Tropicale. Erwin had dressed in a white suit jacket and tie, which darkened his complexion further—he was getting more tan the more time he spent in southern Marley, and Hange had said he looked "healthy".
He was at a social mixer/fundraiser as Willy's personal guest. Theo Magath had shown up and slid into the booth with them. Giulia was at home—she had many headaches these days that prevented her from socializing, ever since the selection ritual. Her dislike of her husband had morphed into outright hatred.
The mixer was to support the troops in the Mid East. Some of the younger Warrior cadets were down here tonight to act as servers. Erwin had seen them, all of them no older than eleven or twelve. Child soldiers. The same as he was creating in Paradis. Eldians.
He had a hard time looking at them.
Back to the table. Erwin swallowed the rest of his martini as Magath lit a cigarette, the flame illuminating the crags in his face in the momentary glow. He put out the match and puffed.
"I have to stay until the end. The cadets are in my charge, after all."
"You have a good crop. Which one's supposed to inherit the Armored?" Willy asked.
Right. Reiner's 'term' would be up in a couple of years. Erwin knew for certain Reiner and Zeke were far away near Fort Slava, or he wouldn't have dared come tonight.
"Not supposed to discuss military secrets." Magath laughed.
"Come on," Erwin said. "I'm getting rich off the Liberio contract. Surely that earns me a little confidence."
The men laughed. Erwin had received an official order from the Marleyan government for two hundred thousand of Hange's 'hand guns.' He'd taken the order and the money, and he and Kiyomi had smiled silently and knowingly at one another when he did.
So good to have another piece of the plan fall seamlessly into place.
"Go on," Willy said. He took a sip of scotch. "Tell us. A hint."
Magath chuckled. He'd had a few Old Fashioneds and was comfortably loose. He pointed out a little girl moving through the crowd, obediently offering a tray of wine glasses and smiling broadly.
"That one. Gabi. If she doesn't get it, I'll…I'll shave my hair. What's left of it." He laughed hard. "She's Reiner's cousin, too. Nice to keep it in the family." He sobered for a moment. "Though if you think about it, having to eat a family member is…"
"An honor," Erwin said smoothly. Magath blinked, as if remembering he was saying the wrong lines in a rehearsed scene.
"Of course. Huge honor. Oh, here she comes. And Falco's with her. Doubt he's got what it takes to inherit a titan, but maybe it's for the best. He's a good boy. You know, for an Eldian." Magath hastened to add that bit.
He hates Eldians, yet has no qualms being friends with Willy or doting on his trainees. It's the most fascinating blind spot. Prejudice is so complex.
The little girl came over to them, a little boy with blond hair trailing her. The girl stopped and gave a sharp, smart grin.
"Hello, Colonel!"
"Gabi." Erwin noticed that an especially paternal gleam came into Magath's eye when he saw the little girl. He loves her. The daughter he never had. "Falco. Everything going all right?"
"Oh. Yes," the boy said. He seemed very wide-eyed and nervous in this place, with all the noise and, frankly, all the adults giving him filthy looks when they noticed his armband. In contrast, Gabi practically vibrated with energy.
"Falco almost spilled a drink on somebody. I had to help him out." She sounded delighted with herself. Erwin studied her; Magath had said she was Reiner's cousin, but something in the dark hair and the clear-eyed, spirited gaze spoke to him of Eren Jaeger. Erwin wasn't sure how he felt about that.
"Only because you pushed me, Gabi," Falco murmured. He balanced the drink tray and studied his shoes.
"Gabi and Falco are shipping out tomorrow to Fort Slava. We hope to make real headway against the Mid Eastern forces this time."
"With me there, everything will be perfect." Gabi was confident, he'd give her that.
"You can't be more than eleven," Erwin said. "You're a very brave girl."
She beamed, absorbing the praise like a flower absorbs sunlight. Falco receded further, and Erwin saw him gaze nervously at the girl. But he didn't seem afraid of her. Rather, afraid for her.
Erwin had trained children about this age. He'd sent many into battle who were not much older than Gabi and Falco. He'd broken thousands of mothers' hearts when their children were torn to pieces.
Erwin looked back at his empty drink.
"Well, back to your work. Don't laze around," Magath said. He tried to sound gruff, but his fondness was evident.
"Yes, sir. We'll do our best!" Gabi paraded away with her tray, and Falco tailed her.
"You do a good job up in Liberio," Willy said. He sounded sincere. "Marley wouldn't be what it is without men like you."
"And without kids like them," Magath said. He shook his head, again remembering that he should not praise Eldians too much. "I, uh, like to think of them as what Eldians should be. You too, Willy. Noble, humble, hard working."
"You don't think their blood prohibits all of those qualities?" Erwin asked smoothly.
"Oh come on, Karl," Willy said. He laid a hand over his heart in mock anguish. "How can you say such a thing to me?"
"I think the world only allows for one or two good Eldians at a time." Erwin signaled a waiter, and exchanged his empty martini for a fresh one.
"Very cold." Magath chuckled, then lifted his glass. "Well. To the one good Eldian, then."
Willy bowed his head in receipt of the praise, and lifted his drink. Erwin clinked glasses with them.
Yes. You are with one very good Eldian at this table, you piece of shit. And it's not Willy Tybur.
Erwin drank to forget the momentary sting. His hide had toughened over the months as he ingratiated himself into Marleyan society; he could almost forget he was Eldian when they made jokes or insulted those they saw in the streets, on the rare occasions the poor souls could leave their ghettos. But then Erwin would go home and shave and nick himself, and see a drop of red blood plunk into the soapy water.
Eldian blood. His blood.
"Hey! Karl!"
Hange bounded up to the table, a particularly gaudy looking cocktail in hand. It was some kind of neon blue, with a wedge of pineapple and a few plastic flamingos sticking out. She sipped through a straw as she greeted the men.
"Zoe," Erwin said. "Want to sit back down?"
He had brought Hange—now Zoe Berner—as his research assistant, the woman responsible for much of the technological innovations that made his weapons possible. That allowed Hange to be her brilliant and eclectic self without censorship. Levi and Petra were both home this time—Erwin had told Willy that Petra was expecting their first child. The lie had given him a pang, that momentary wish it were true, and then the feeling subsided. Willy had been pleased to hear it. As for Levi, Erwin said that 'Kenny' was protecting his wife and developing child. He wondered if Willy imagined they were engaged in an affair. The thought tickled Erwin.
Back to Hange. She placed her drink on the table and shrugged the strap of her dress back up her shoulder. She looked honestly quite pretty in the Marleyan fashions, and the royal blue of the dress suited her complexion nicely. She just had a hard time fitting all of herself into it. Hange had a problem with fitting all of herself into anything, really.
"In a minute. I just saw Kanada Azumabito. He wanted me to give you a message. Privately." She grinned toothily at the table; she was a brilliant woman, but not the actress Petra was. Ah well. The men chuckled as Erwin started to get up.
A photographer approached, a camera in hand.
"Gentlemen! Would you mind if I took a couple of photos for the society pages?" The photographer grinned. In actual fact, Erwin had slipped him a cool fifty to take the picture, and an additional fifty to see it got printed. He sat back down and smiled alongside Willy Tybur and Theo Magath.
Click. Flash. Perfect.
"Excuse me, gentlemen." Erwin slid out of the booth and followed Hange through the crowd of vivaciously drunk people. They walked out the nightclub's swinging doors and stood beneath the neon-lit awning. A bright green palm tree glowed against the night, Tropicale beneath it in swirling pink. Erwin and Hange stood out of the way as a group of women in furs glided in, laughing about something. "What is it?" he asked.
Hange's eyes glowed feverishly. She pushed her glasses up her nose.
"Kiyomi says her scientists ran their own tests to see if I was right. I was. Thank god for their labs, I could theorize but never manage to test it out on…back home." They didn't say Paradis under any circumstances. "Anyway. I was right. Even a few ounces of treated, er, crystal contains enough energy to…that is, listen, if it's harnessed properly and, and there are a bunch of, ugh, what'd Kiyomi call it…her scientists said that fission creates a fusion reaction…or was it the other way around? I didn't have time to write it down, Kanada went too fast. Anyway! It's what Zeke hinted at. There's enough power in a single ounce of crystal to light an entire city if processed right. Or…" She glanced around, to see if anyone was listening. "Or even do something more," she whispered.
"How much more?" Erwin's heart beat faster. If this were it…
Hange took a deep breath. "Imagine two hundred thousand tons of dynamite exploding at the same time."
He could scarcely manage it. "Han—Zoe. It's that powerful?"
"No." She seemed pretty proud of herself. "Multiply that by fifty."
He almost had to sit down right on the sidewalk. If she was right, an explosion like that could level Liberio in half a second. It could leave a crater where the entire city had been in the blink of an eye. And that was just the beginning. Just one ounce of crystal.
What could a pound of it do?
"Karl?" Hange sounded unusual. She sounded shy. Nervous. She played with her glasses. "Um, coming up with the theory behind this was the most fun I've had in a while. You know I like a challenge."
"No one else on earth could have done it." He meant it. She was smarter than him, or anyone he had ever known. Would ever know. "You've saved us…Zoe."
She smiled, but it was a tight smile. "I liked challenging myself, but when I think about the power this has, and what it could do, well. I need to know you aren't going to…"
"Use it?" He shook his head. "It's not an offensive weapon. It's defensive. No; it eliminates the need for offense or defense entirely. And all because of you." He gripped her shoulders. "I knew the day you entered the…the military…that you would be our greatest asset. Greater even than the strongest humanity had to offer."
Hange didn't look any easier, though. "I wanted to know if I could, Karl. Now I'm worried that maybe I shouldn't have done it. I mean, Hizuru has a stake in this. You can't keep this all to…you know, us anymore."
"Leave that part to me. We're close now, Zoe. So close."
"One other thing. When the crystal gets processed like this, it releases a kind of radiation when it detonates. One ounce could level thirty miles in an instant, scorch another hundred or so in every direction, but it'd also release megatons of radiation into the air. It could poison water, animals, humans. It could cause all kinds of side effects. Cancers, sterility, you name it. We need to know more before we do anything." She rarely sounded this serious.
"We will. There will be all the time you need and more." He leaned closer and whispered. "We'll only use this once, and not on any living thing. I give you my word."
Hange inhaled deeply. Her brown eyes scrutinized him. For all her cheeriness, her disorder, her erratic mind, Hange Zoe was one of the deepest thinkers he had ever known. She could analyze and comprehend advanced equations in the instant it took to blink. She was also, Erwin knew, a deeply good person. She was not afraid to kill if it meant victory, but she would never kill if it meant victory for the wrong thing.
"Trust me?" he asked.
To that, she smiled and relaxed. She had been Erwin's protégé when she joined the Corps more than Shadis's. If she trusted anyone in this world, it was him.
"Yes," she replied.
Erwin looked out at the neon lights of Valle. If he wanted it, in one half second it would cease to exist.
It scared him a little, that thought. It made him very relieved that, bad man though he was, he was not that bad.
Though the fact that he'd instantly imagined the town exploding…
Stop it. This was maudlin nonsense.
"Karl? What next?"
"Hizuru," he said. "We'll leave tomorrow. Then after that, the Lotani islands."
"What's there?"
"Nothing." He smiled. "That's why we're going."
"It would be wise to put these on," Kiyomi said gracefully, handing Erwin and Hange two pairs of tinted goggles. Erwin did as requested, and looked at the world in violet hues. This would have been a vacation spot ordinarily. They were on the Finger Peninsula, which wasn't really a peninsula or shaped like a finger, the largest of the Lotani islands. It at least had some infrastructure, such as the concrete bunker in which they all now huddled. Erwin looked out through the window onto the white, sandy beach, a few sparse palm trees flaring up here and there. Out there, far out on the cerulean sea, he could glimpse one of Hizuru's ships. A battle cruiser, it was stationed fifty miles or so out. The day was bright blue, not a cloud anywhere. Excellent conditions.
Behind Hange and Erwin, a unit of the Azumabito engineers worked hard, speaking rapidly into microphones, coordinating with the plane that was currently circling two hundred miles away. One of them was studying a 'radar screen', watching a bright dot ping and ping again.
'How will we see if it's so far?' Erwin had asked.
'If it's what we think it is, you'll be grateful for the distance,' Kiyomi had replied.
The Lotani islands were an island chain in the direct center of the Western Ocean. They'd had to take Kiyomi's plane from Hizuru all the way, halfway around the globe. The Lotani islands were two hundred miles away from the Pearl Choker, a particular reef that was known as the most isolated spot on earth. Apart from the islands, there was no mainland for almost a thousand miles in every direction.
There was still some trepidation. What would fallout be like? Would it be able to spread to the mainland? Finally, it was decided that at least it would only fall on Nambia or the Mid East. Not Marley or Hizuru. Not Paradis.
Hange's leg was jittering like mad. Erwin put a hand on her shoulder to calm her. Normally the scientist would be elated to see a project of hers in action, but Hange's attitude over the past couple days had been increasingly grim.
We'll only use this once. I promise.
"Is the camera running?" Kiyomi asked. A small film crew was shooting footage of the beaches, making certain it was working. There was another crew in the bunker next door, and one under shield protection on the roof. Someone would capture good footage.
"Yes, Lady Kiyomi."
"Then we're ready." Kiyomi stood beside Erwin with folded hands. They both gazed out at the untroubled blue.
"We're entrusting you with a very great secret," he said. Kiyomi smiled.
"Our interests are one and the same."
"Of course. I'll tell Mikasa that back in Mitras."
Just a friendly reminder that he had the Azumabito's precious heir. Kiyomi kept smiling.
"Of course."
Erwin heard an engineer speak rapidly into the microphone, coordinating with the plane. He felt his pulse in his neck. He was terrified, and also excited, a child on midwinter morning.
If this succeeded…
He heard the engineer give the countdown, and then get to one. Everyone stood up then and walked politely to the window to watch.
For a second, nothing happened. And then—
The cloud was enormous. It rose into the air, higher than the walls, twice as high. Maybe more. It was a column of pure light, and then a cap began to swell on top of it. It looked like a mushroom. Around the swelling dome of the explosion, layers of white mist began to form. Condensation clouds.
The cloud only kept ballooning. Even with the goggles, Erwin winced at the light.
"It's massive." Kiyomi sounded small.
Erwin could see a wall of mist or vapor come rushing along the ocean. Toward them.
"I thought it was two hundred miles away," he muttered.
"It is," Kiyomi said.
He watched in horror and wonder as the vapor enveloped the battle cruiser. The cloud kept erupting, eruption upon eruption, swelling into the sky. Erwin dared.
He removed the goggles. By now, the brightest light had burned out. He saw a column of hot purple light; the sky was turning orange around it.
The world has never seen this power. Not even the power of the titans can match it.
"It's perfect," he breathed. They all watched until, little by little, the cloud began to slow its growth. The vapor receded; it had come within a few miles of their bunker. Erwin saw that the ship was still there, so probably it had only been a rush of seawater. Still.
"The ship is reporting intense radiation levels," one of the men said. He was wearing a headset, speaking into a microphone. "They believe the blast may have killed all sea life on the reef in an instant. Projection says with this level of radiation, the reef may be barren for the rest of time."
"Hmmf." Hange clutched the concrete windowsill. She looked about to be sick. He put an arm around her.
"It's over now. Never again," he said. "You've saved our world, Hange."
His friend accepted the hug.
"Do we have it?" Kiyomi asked softly. The camera stopped whirring.
"Yes. I think we do," the director said.
"Hizuru and Paradis are now the holders of the greatest power this world will ever see." Kiyomi bowed small and graceful to him. "We Azumabito will be forever in your debt, Majesty."
"As we will be in yours, Lady Kiyomi." He returned the bow, then watched the violet fallout against the orange sky.
Just a few more months. That was all he needed.
"I just love her pretty black hair. Isn't it so soft?" Petra cooed, running her fingers gently through Kuchel's hair. Levi sat alongside his wife, their baby wedged between them. He had his arm across the back of the couch, loosely around Petra. Kuchel held a stuffed rabbit in her lap and was in a deep sleep. The birthday party had tired her out. She gave soft, snuffling baby snores. Cutest little thing on the damn earth.
"Think we're gonna be those people that can only talk about their kid?" He smirked at her and sipped his tea. Petra made a face.
"Admit it. She's perfect. The prettiest hair, and nose, the sweetest little mouth." Petra sighed as she looked around at the remnants of the party. Paper streamers were hanging from the rafters; the wrapping paper lay crumpled in a series of balls near the door (couldn't wait to neaten that shit up); Levi had done his best to make certain the cake didn't get mushed this year. Kuchel's second birthday had been a success. Petra looked down at their child. "I just don't want her to be two. She's getting to be a big girl."
"She's growing up great 'cause of you," Levi said softly. He stroked his wife's hair. "She's got all the best parts of you. Sweet. Fearless. Happy."
"And she's strong like her papa." Petra leaned over Kuchel and kissed him. He cupped her jaw. Fuck, every moment with her was paradise. Years later, and the heat hadn't left their relationship.
"Let's have another baby," he whispered. He felt Petra tense just a little.
"Okay. Next year, we'll start trying."
"I was thinking now. Quit taking your tea, and let's go upstairs for the next five days and give it several of our best shots." He kissed her deeply. "I want Kuchel to have someone to play with. I want to see you with a baby in your arms again. Also, your tits get nice and plump when you're nursing."
"You're so romantic," she drawled. Petra smiled, but moved out of his embrace. "I don't see why we can't wait until next year to try. I'm certainly not running out of time."
"I just want it now. Can't help it."
Petra looked at him askance. "How about we start trying after September?"
Shit. He tried to keep from looking irritated.
"Why September?"
"Because that's when Erwin thinks we'll make our big push."
"Yeah. And?"
"And I almost feel like you want me to be pregnant now so I have to sit at home and wait for you again. Like Shiganshina."
"I mean, would that be so shit? Remember what happened in fucking Shiganshina?" he snapped. Kuchel began to stir and fuss. Shit. He tried talking softer. "I want Kuchel to have at least one parent. I don't plan on dying out there; I won't if I don't have to worry about you."
"Levi." She had that determined look he knew so well, the fiery one that said there was only one way: Petra's way. "Don't put your fears on me. This is our time to take back everything the world stole from us. I'm going to be there. Understand? You want to be there, don't you?"
"Not want. I have to be there. If I weren't so skilled, I'd stay with Kuchel."
"I don't have your skills, but I'm one of the best soldiers in the Guard and you damn well know it."
"Tch. This a pride thing with you? Thought you lost all that glory-hungry, dreamy-eyed brat shit when you were nineteen."
"I want to make my mark on this world."
"You've made it," he growled, looking at their baby. "She's right here."
"Don't try to play cute like that. Levi Ackerman." Fuck, his last name. The big guns were out. "I would never do anything that might hurt Kuchel without a damn good reason. I want to be there when the world changes because I really believe I can help it change. I want to see victory in the front row. I didn't get to do that last time, and it still eats me alive. I know you want me to be content just to stay home with Kuchel, but I can't. Maybe it makes me a bad mother, but I'll be resentful if I stay home this time. That'll be bad for you and Kuchel. So." She stood. "That's the end of discussion. I'll take my tea until after the big push. Then we can think about another baby."
Fuck, she was a stubborn little bitch. Levi glowered as she stormed off to start cleaning up the table and the remnants of the cake. Kuchel awoke, grunting as she felt her mother leave. She started to wail, the terrible twos in full force. Levi picked her up and stood, bounced her until Kuchel calmed down. He watched his wife move in and out of the kitchen with those quick, aggressive steps of hers.
He could fight her on this, but he knew her well enough to know he'd lose this one.
"Oi." He approached her. Petra stopped, bent over the table. She was wary of him. "Can you at least promise me you're not going to try being a damn hero?"
Petra looked over her shoulder. Anger simmered in her eye. Slowly, he watched her cool down.
"Only if you promise the same."
"I've never been a hero, Petra." He gave her Kuchel. She bounced the child, kissed her cheek. "I just do whatever I have to do to survive."
Petra thought, nodded. She knew he was right.
"I have one more thing, then." She kissed him, all tension evaporating. "If the next one's a boy, he's got to be named Oruo."
He smirked, and kissed her. She sounded so damn forceful about it. Sometimes he didn't understand her at all.
He didn't hate it.
August
"If we wanted to watch a movie, we could have gone to the Crest," Willy drawled. Erwin and Levi readied the projector, Levi handling the film carefully. Magath was in the other armchair in Willy's study. The men were drinking whiskey; Erwin's glass was on the polished coffee table.
"This is something extra special." Erwin grinned as Levi threaded the film. 'Kenny' had come with him to Marley this time. They were spending the weekend at Willy's home in Valle. "Something new that Zoe designed." He picked up his glass and raised it in a toast. "To innovation. To the next chapter."
He and Levi exchanged a brief glance.
Magath and Willy toasted as well, and drank. Erwin drained his whiskey and walked around the projector. He clutched the glass tight, anticipation mounting.
"Almost there, boss," Levi said.
"Good. When you see this, gentlemen, you'll—ah!"
Erwin swore as the glass broke in his hand; his grip was too intense. He winced as shards of glass cut his palm. Willy got up, looking alarmed, but Erwin shook his head as he wrapped his handkerchief around the wound.
"Sorry. I'll pay for the glass," he said.
"Not at all. Plenty more." Willy laughed, then asked for a servant to clean up the mess. The servant came and went, and by then Levi had the projector ready. "Sure you don't want someone to see to your hand?"
"I prefer to take care of myself. The habits of an orphan." Willy accepted that. "Gentlemen," Erwin said. "This footage was taken a few months ago, two hundred miles west of the Lotani islands."
He dimmed the lights, and Levi ran the film. The picture was grainy black and white—they would not appreciate the scintillating violet, or the heat. But the point was still amply made. Magath got to his feet when the cloud went up. The battle cruiser in the foreground helped give evidence of scale. When the vapor washed over the ship, Willy cried out in horror.
"It's all right. They survived. Just water vapor," Erwin said. "The vapor crossed a hundred and fifty miles of ocean to envelop them.
"What is this?" Magath stood before the screen, inches away from the expanding mushroom cloud.
"The future. Zoe's greatest discovery yet." Erwin flipped on the lights and unwound the handkerchief from his hand.
"What is it?" Willy whispered.
"They're calling it a hyperfusion bomb."
"They?"
"Hizuru. Kiyomi partnered with me to bring Zoe's calculations to life. This is the result." Erwin smiled at the two dumbstruck men while Levi moved behind him, quiet as a cat. "This is hundreds of thousands of megatons of energy. It could wipe out a city in a fraction of a second. Nine million dead instantly. Twenty million to follow in short order."
"This…" Magath sounded hoarse.
"This is a game changing weapon." Willy spoke as if in a dream. He caressed the screen, touched the cloud. "The country that controlled this—"
"Could control the world. Yes," Erwin said. He glanced at Levi, nodded. "I'm glad you said that, Willy. I want you to remember those words."
"What kind of energy produces this explosion?" Magath asked.
"A mere ounce of the Titania Crystal, as we're calling it," Erwin said.
"Titania?" Willy frowned. "Why that name?"
"Because it's quite literally titan crystal," he said pleasantly. "Mined from Paradis Island." He smiled. "Marley has wanted to get at their reserves for years, isn't that right? Now I see why."
"No." Willy and Magath stared at him, mouths open. "You managed to extract this from Paradis? The devils' island? How?"
"I mined it myself. Or rather, workers mined it under my supervision. It was from a rich seam in Wall Sina." Erwin shrugged. "We've accumulated quite a stockpile."
Slowly, Levi stood in front of the door. Willy looked confused.
"I'm sorry, wait. How did they let you onto the island? The last time Marley sent a battalion…"
"None of the five or so survey ships have come back. I know," Erwin said. "The Attack Titan stopped them all cold. There are Marleyan POWs still living at the southern base of the island, helping Paradis develop better infrastructure."
Now both men appeared quite pale.
"How do you know this, Karl?" Magath sounded tense.
"My name is not Karl." He held up his bleeding hand; steam was already issuing from the wound. "My name is Erwin Smith. Thirteenth Commander of the Survey Corps; a hero of Shiganshina against the Beast Titan; the man who ate Bertholdt Hoover and became the next Colossal Titan—"
"Wait." Willy sounded sick. "No. Wait—"
"—Supreme Commander of the Paradisian Guard and King Behind the Walls."
Magath pulled the gun very quickly, but Levi was faster still. He tackled the man, held him down without breaking a sweat. He squeezed Magath's arm, held it at a bad angle. Willy choked, dropping his drink. Whiskey flooded the carpet.
"That," Erwin said, "is Levi Ackerman."
"Hi," Levi said flatly.
"An Ackerman," Willy said lifelessly. He looked at Erwin now with the flattest gaze Erwin had yet seen. Beneath it simmered a kind of betrayal; it would have bit Erwin to the bone if he cared in the slightest. "What do you think you're doing, Commander?"
"King. One king speaks to another now, Willy." Erwin stepped forward, crushing broken glass beneath his boot. "We are the heads of the two great Eldian powers of the world. You know the power I carry in my blood—the power of the titans. You have seen the immense power my associate has created from the smallest ounce of our titan crystal. Paradis is rich with such material. We have enough power to destroy the world a million times over. Forget the wall titans, the rumbling. That pithy, silly notion dreamed up by King Fritz long ago. I have the Ackermans. I have the crystal. I have legions of soldiers ready to die for me. I have the Attack Titan, and the Founder as well."
"You won't get away with this," Magath snarled. Levi applied more pressure.
"Oi. Let the king talk."
"Neither will you. Understand, Willy. We've been photographed together for a year now. Seen about town. I've been taken into your confidence. You ordered hundreds of thousands of weapons from me."
"The military did!"
"You are Marley, and the military. They did it on your advice." He tsked. "Bringing all those weapons in to arm the Eldians and stage a coup against Marley? Willy Tybur, the savior's son, the great traitor of humanity."
"What?" Willy paled. "You bastard. No. No!"
"Partnering with Theo Magath, who planned to turn his Warriors against Marleyan citizens in the uprising. A real crime. All those Warriors and prospective Warriors would go down together. That little girl, Gabi?" He shook his head. "Such a waste."
"No!" Magath bellowed. Levi seized him by the throat and applied just enough pressure to stop his voice.
"Tonight, you choose how the world will view you. Pick the story you wish to tell, Willy. Either you are a conspirator with the Paradisian King, responsible for the greatest betrayal in modern history. Or." He stepped nearer, letting Willy study his bleeding hand. "You are about to save Marley and usher in the greatest rehabilitation of Eldians the world has ever known. You can be a hero, greater even than your ancestor who 'stopped' King Fritz. Choose wisely. And if you try to call anyone, I'll transform and take out this house and an entire city block."
"Your Ackerman would perish, too." Willy looked ill.
"I'm expendable," Levi said. He looked at Erwin. "He isn't."
"Victory or defeat, Willy. Hero or traitor. Most people do not get to choose their own labels, but I'm giving you that choice. So." He held out his bleeding hand. "Do we shake? Or do I unleash hell?"
"You are a devil," Willy Tybur breathed.
"I am," Erwin said. "But not because of my Eldian blood. Because becoming one was my choice. Well?"
Willy stared at the proffered hand once more, and Erwin Smith smiled.