"That's a nice ship" Dina exclaimed upon seeing the small boat, which was very distinct from the other ones stationed in the port.

The engineer that was working on it turned around to smile at her.

"The very first of our own design" he said proudly "well, I guess the volunteers had some input too…"

Dina looked at the sight with hope in her eyes. Things were finally starting to appear good for the Paradisians. The newly constructed port opened up many opportunities for Eldians from the island and the blonde woman was looking forward to every single one of them.

"Would it be able to sail through the ocean?" She asked.

"Well," the engineer started slowly "not for a long cruise. But it would be possible to reach the continent without the need of servicing."

Her upcoming journey around the world required a far bigger ship, but the small boat docked in the port still filled Dina's heart with hope. After all, it signified their ability to reach out to every other nation.

"What's it called?"

"Queen Historia."

The ship was sailing slowly through the sea. As the sun slowly raised from beyond the horizon, Dina was pondering on everything that happened during their journey.

Nothing seemed to have worked the way they wanted. While Marley was hated throughout the world, Eldians were still seen as the greater evil. No nation wanted to help them in their struggle. It really seemed that she overestimated their abilities.

"Were you standing here the whole night?" A voice could be heard from behind.

As Dina turned around, she faced Erwin standing by.

"Only a few hours" she spoke slowly, slouching over the railing yet again "they really hate us..."

"Not really."

That answer surprised Dina a bit. During this journey, she learned not to be naïve, but Erwin always knew this, so what was his idea?

Upon seeing her raised eyebrow, the commander elaborated.

"They hate the idea of cooperating with Eldians" he explained "but some of them were more open-minded. And they were willing to hear us out. I think it counts for something."

But Dina just looked at the port they were nearing. It's been nearly a year since she was on the island and even though the times were dire, she needed to come there again. She hasn't been thinking about it much, but the island became her new home.

As the ship moored and the crew stepped on to the island, something was definitely different. The welcoming party was standing just in front of their boat and all of them saluted, once they came near. But the weirdest thing was that, all of them were wearing the famous wings of freedom symbol.

"General Erwin!" They cried out, performing the salute.

'General?'

"Excuse me, soldiers" started Erwin "are you perhaps the new scouts?"

"No sir!" Their leader exclaimed "a few changes had been made regarding the army."

It turned out that while they were away, the queen completely overhauled the structure of the military. Gone were the regular three branches and in their place, one, land army has been created. Most of the military police brigade soldiers had been incorporated into a newly formed royal guard. Apparently, these changes were supposed to make the army more efficient in the upcoming war.

Not only that, but Erwin had been promoted to the rank of a general. In reality, it stripped most of his power away, as the survey corps no longer existed. Right now, he belonged to the staff, but he had little real power within the council. Things were indeed starting to look suspicious.

As the delegation reached the palace, they were warmly welcomed by the queen.

"General, Miss Dina" Historia exclaimed upon meeting them in a conference room.

"Your majesty."

"How did your journey go?" She asked them once they were seated "did you convince any of the world's nations?"

Dina gulped at that. It was a tough thing to say, even though not much had been expected from this visit.

"No, your majesty" Erwin simply replied "I've seen that you'd made quite the reform…"

"Oh yes" the queen replied, averting her gaze "the old structure was severely outdated. It was a necessary step, taken in order to protect the island."

These were pretty much empty words. The government had been brewing something for a long time. It was apparent to Dina, now. All the actions the queen had taken before, were leading up to the army reform. Did she really send them away just to finalize it?

"However," Historia suddenly spoke "we have bigger problems at hand."

That threw the Yeager woman off her pondering. What could be so important, as of now?

"What is it, your majesty?" Erwin asked with curiosity.

The queen took a deep breath and steeled herself for what was about to come.

"About a week ago, Eren Yeager had deserted from the island."

Silence filled the air as the information sunk into the minds of the former delegates.

Dina didn't know what to think. Why would Eren leave, in this very moment? He had a child to attend to, for heaven's sake.

Then, it hit her. What if it was an elaborate action?

Before she could think of anything else, Erwin spoke out.

"Your majesty" he started "do you perhaps have some knowledge about where he might have gone?"

This question was a test. Even Dina could tell that. Why else would Erwin be asking that in such a way that only someone who cooperated with the attack titan knew the answer?

"Well," the queen started "he didn't tell me anything. Marlowe Freudenberg was the last person who saw him on the island. Right now, he's being questioned."

Whether her response was genuine or not, it didn't matter as of now. What mattered was that Eren was away and nowhere to be found.

"So, did Freudenberg tell you anything?" Erwin asked the queen suspiciously.

"Like I said before" she said with a shaky voice "as soon as he speaks, we shall know. However, your judgement was always without a single flaw, general Erwin. So please, tell me. Where do you think my beloved had gone?"

The blonde officer had been caught in a trap. She pretty much forced him to tell what she seemingly already knew.

The officer closed his eyes and after a moment of silence, spoke out.

"I have a hunch that he went away to meet up with Zeke…"