— Isn't it time you and Eckhart married? — Rena asked her daughter.

Hildegard sighed. She absentmindedly looked at a marble-white statue depicting one of her predecessors on the castle garden. She had been avoiding this issue for a time, even though it was of utmost importance to the Fritz clan.

— Mother... I don't feel ready yet.

— Are you afraid of pregnancy? You're already twenty years old. I bore you at eighteen and your grandmother bore me at seventeen. — She explained. — It's a natural process, my dear.

— Who's next in line? Is it uncle Jurgen?

— Precisely. Thirteen years might seem like a long time, but time goes by like a flowing river. Be sure to do what you want to do while you're alive, because your uncle is not as good-natured as you.

— I know. I've seen father's memories. — She said in a sad tone.

Rena smiled softly.

— Anders wasn't as bad as you thought when he was alive, was he?

— Each person has their depths. — She replied. — I never knew he was such a good artist.

— Then come inside. I want to show you his collection of sketches on parchment. — She took Hildegard's hand and walked hurriedly towards the castle.

Meanwhile, on the southwestern borders of Eldia, chaos reigned. Hodritz proposed an unorthodox strategy in order to infiltrate the Marleyan rump state of Tauremania. A pure white giant towered over fleeing crowds. Its eyes gazed upon the humans through a visor-like horizontal opening on its white skin, revealing another reddish layer beneath. Taking advantage of the confusion, Hodritz and Gunnar mixed with the throng of people, planning to follow them to the nearest settlement.

— You are completely insane! — Gunnar exclaimed between huffs.

— But effective. I'm glad Sigrid agreed to help us.

Sigrid's role was to simply destroy some buildings and scare the Marleyans off. She was happy to help Hodritz as long as she was able to get some action again. An enormous white spear pierced the earth, shaking the ground and forming a cloud of dust.

— She's getting a little bit too excited! — Gunnar shouted. — She threw a damn spear at us!

— Just trust the plan and stop talking for a while! — Hodritz replied, barely being heard due to the screams around them.

Hours later, around two thousand people stood outside a city's walls. Their faces and clothing were dirty from all the dust and many still trembled in fear. As expected, very few were injured, though no one had stopped to think about that.

— Is this where we'll find our interpreter? — Gunnar asked. He felt in the dark about a great part of the plan. — Seems like Ingvild's spy network wasn't a total waste of resources.

Hodritz nodded and signalled for him to be in silence. A man dressed as what they assumed to be a general, with a lorica with red details and a laurel on his head, rode on horseback and faced the refugees.

— I have received word that you were attacked by the Eldians. — He looked around and his eyes met Hodritz's. — But fear not, Marleyans must help each other.

He made a sign to the gatekeepers, who raised the gates. In an almost orderly manner, the people entered one by one. Hodritz smiled deviously.

— Ingvild sure is incredible. From now on it's smooth sailing, my friend.

Gunnar was not very surprised. Eldia was infiltrated, but it also had its own networks. There are plenty of people who lust for power and would join the Eldians as soon as they could, as was the case of Alexamenos of Thebas. Within the city, many buildings and watchtowers along the walls towered over them. The climate was hot, almost unbearably so, and there was an oasis on the middle of the city. Many strange-looking people with exotic clothing were around, selling their wares on wooden stands and speaking broken Marleyan and other unknown languages.

— Just south of here is the great desert. Do you think these Marleyans have anywhere else to run away to? — Gunnar asked.

— That's one of the pieces of information we'll have to acquire. — He stroked his goatee. — Let's wait around for some hours, Augustus agreed to meet us after dusk.

They did some reconnaissance, memorising landmarks and buildings that seemed important. They came back to where the "survivors" of the Eldian attack were and found them being served some kind of soup. Marleyans helped and comforted each other, making Hodritz remember his childhood with Heinrich, who regularly took care of him when he got hurt.

— Ugh, I hope he comes soon. I can't bear to look at... this. — Hodritz said while averting his eyes from the Marleyans.

Gunnar sat on the ground and leisurely looked around. In a dark alleyway not too far away from them, he heard screams. Murder? Rape? Robbery? He couldn't know and it didn't concern him. He lost count of how many of these people he squashed with his own hands on past battles. It would not make sense for him to pretend to be a hero now. He then noticed an extremely thin man, almost like a walking skeleton, moving towards their direction.

— Augustus requires your presence. — He said to Hodritz, his deeply sunken black eyes analysing them both.

— Will you take us to him?

The man said nothing, handed him a piece of folded parchment and walked away. Hodritz remained without reaction for a moment.

— Let me see that. — Gunnar said while getting up from the ground.

Hodritz opened the parchment, revealing some sort of map. Luckily, they recognised many locations due to their reconnaissance earlier. Confidently, they went to the place marked on the map. It was an unassuming building with a wooden door, perhaps not to raise any suspicions. Gunnar opened the door, revealing an obese bald man with oily skin sitting on a rather pompous chair. His purple toga signalled he was wealthy. By his side was the man who allowed the refugees to enter, his stern face illuminated by the torches on the walls. He then began translating what the obese man was saying.

— Augustus is pleased to see you. He asks if there is anything you need before moving to the capital.

— Perhaps some Tauremanian goods would be in order. — Gunnar elbowed Hodritz in reprovation due to this reply. — We just need some currency to move around, clothes, and an interpreter.

They talked to each other for some time. Augustus was calm, but the other man seemed to disagree with something.

— Augustus says everything has already been agreed upon previously, and that your interpreter will be none other than myself. — His voice wavered a bit when saying the last words. — We part at dawn.

Augustus handed them a bag of coins and praised them in Marleyan. He hoped that by cooperating, he would be granted a high position under Eldian rule. He was merely a wealthy merchant with no noble blood to help him further rise the ranks of Marleyan society. This was his chance. Hodritz in turn wanted to destroy the Tauremanian capital and go home, but he knew he would be reprimanded for it. They said their farewells to the Marleyans and went out in search of somewhere decent to sleep.

— How was it, Jovian? — Augustus asked mischievously.

— I have no comments, sir.

— Those two supposedly can turn into giant monsters at any time. You can do the same as well, can't you?

— I don't know the details, sir. — He explained. — Not every Eldian transforms into a titan.

— I see. You Eldians really are mysterious. For now, you're dismissed. Go pick up a lass on the brothel. You seem down somehow.

Augustus giggled to himself while waddling away, leaving Jovian alone. This was his greatest secret. His mother was actually an Eldian captured during a skirmish, but he and his father hid this heritage well during all those years. Augustus managed to find out about this somehow and Jovian has been working for him ever since. He couldn't risk his military career, but even that would probably change in the following years. He could only hope his mother's side of the family would be merciful.