Dina was tired.

She's been investigating the interior for a few months, and she still had no clue about the king whatsoever.

At first Dina tried looking around the underground city, but after one unpleasant meeting with a person called Kenny the reaper she had to pull out. Turns out asking unusual questions in suspicious dirty pubs, wasn't a smart idea. People down there were naturally mistrustful to begin with and she wasn't really the kind of woman you would often meet in those places. Her little investigation ended after she barely made it out, running away from this Kenny person. Fortunately, Dina bothered to conceal her face so no one would remember what she looked like.

Still, the military police knew for sure that someone was trying to get information about the king, so the underground was off limits. That is, until she became an MP herself.

Currently she was snooping around some church. Large empty halls didn't really have anything to say, but she was hoping to at least find some document, some letter that would give her any useful information.

'This is pointless' Dina thought.

Suddenly she heard a door open.

She quickly dashed behind some benches.

A conversation disrupted the silent halls of the church.

After a few moments, Dina cautiously leaned out and looked towards the direction of the voices, trying to listen.

Two priests were walking towards the altar.

"…and she was the only one in line to inherit the lands."

"What exactly happened?"

"She was a bastard child. Someone tried to kill her and that was it. They're sending her to the training corps under a fake name."

"The nobles and their disputes…"

"Yeah. I somehow pity the girl though."

"She'd probably be better off if she had never been born."

"So, what happened to the land was…" The door closed behind the priests as they went to the small office behind the altar.

Dina was glad they didn't see her. She quickly got up and exited the church.

As she walked through the district, she wondered what was that all about. The only heir in line and they tried to kill her? It almost sounded like a normal feudal dispute. Dina however felt that this information had a somewhat deeper meaning.

'Better off if she had never been born'

These words resonated within her. Not particularly because they were referring to some unknown girl, but because she heard them a lot in the past. All the outside world wished death upon her people. When she was living in Liberio she was used to hearing them often. However ever since she woke up within the walls, she wasn't reminded of this wish.

She reached a carriage station. After paying a fee to the wagoner she sat down in the cart. It was a long way from here to the exterior, so she decided that it was time to recollect everything that she came to know so far.

The king was somewhere in hiding. She was sure of it now. The higher ups in the military police definitely knew something, so all she had to do now was to join their ranks. From there, gathering information would be way easier and she wouldn't risk blowing her cover.

The warriors of Marley on the loose were a huge liability. So far, she didn't get any memories of the previous female titan holder, and these would come in handy with finding the identities of the invaders. Her predecessor must've been one of them and she needed those memories quickly.

She once again thought about the girl the priests were talking about. Dina would join the same cadet corps so she might as well try to find her there. Something about the story gave Dina a hunch, something in that story spoke to her.

After a day long journey, the cart finally reached the interior. Dina got off and strode towards the housing space she was occupying along with Eren, Mikasa and Armin. To call it a housing space was an overstatement since it looked more like a tent with a chimney.

"I'm home" Dina said once she pushed away the curtain which served as a door and walked inside.

"Dina!" Eren yelled and ran up to her.

"Welcome back" said Mikasa with a smile on her face and a flower crown on the top of her head.

"Hello children" Dina said towards not so childish looking Mikasa and Eren. It's been almost two years and they grew up to be young adults. Soon they would even join the cadet corps.

"Hi Armin!" Dina said to the boy slouching behind the furnace.

"Oh, hello miss Dina." Armin said with a weak smile. Dina felt sorry for the boy. He lost his parents even before the attack, and recently his grandfather died during the great campaign to retake wall Maria.

"Look what I got here!" Dina said while taking a small piece of meat out of her bag. The kids were in awe. Even Armin looked up in disbelief.

"We have to eat it right away!" Eren cried out while trying to snatch it from her hands.

"Not so fast young man!" Dina said swatting his hand off. He smiled in return. It was weird how much Eren Yeager reminded her of Zeke. Not only because of his surname, but because of his character as well. She actually had to steal the meat, which she wasn't very proud of, but today was a special day, since tomorrow they would enlist. She grew closer to the kids throughout the years, and she wanted to make them happy.

After a short while they were all eating the beef and chatting around. Dina didn't really bother to listen too closely. She was looking at the children and pondered how much they've changed during these two years. Dina looked at Mikasa's flower crown. By now all the flowers managed to wither down, but the girl seemed happy, nonetheless. She said that she didn't want to let go of it. Considering she always wore the scarf that Eren gave her all those years ago, Dina thought Mikasa must be very sentimental. She would have to let go of the crown though, since the cadet corps was starting soon.

"… what do you think Dina?" She suddenly heard Eren say.

"Huh?" Dina asked, "sorry I wasn't listening."

"Did you decide which branch are you going to join yet?" Armin asked her.

"Oh, I'm not really sure…" Dina knew which branch she intended to join already but she knew the kids, and she didn't want to make them unhappy with her choice.

"Oh, come on Dina!" Eren said "you have to join the survey corps!"

"Well, I'm still considering the possibilities." Dina replied. She had an important duty, and she would never be able to get close to the king if she joined the survey corps.

"We've decided that we're all joining the survey corps." Armin exclaimed.

"That's really brave of you!" Dina was proud of the kids. They really wanted to change something and if she didn't have a greater responsibility, she would definitely join the survey corps as well.

A part of her didn't want them to join since they were very precious to her, especially Eren and Mikasa. However, she wouldn't deny them their dreams.

"What do you think the training will be?" Armin asked the group.

"I don't know but I hope it's going to be hard" Eren said passionately "this is the only way we could get strong enough to fight the titans!"

Dina listened in peace. She wanted nothing more than for this moment to last forever. Harsh but happy life with her closest ones was something she always wanted. But fate had other plans for her. She still had work to do.