Erwin Smith sighed to himself as he strode through the long halls of the royal palace. It has been a whole year ever since the queen came into light as the official monarch. A whole year of marginalization, downplaying their matters and even open slander against the survey corps. It certainly didn't help that so many of their soldiers had fallen in battle during that time. Rumour had it, that there was even a secret plan to disband the brigade whatsoever. This was a tough year indeed.

And finally, the queen had at last agreed to officially meet the scouts' commander. Erwin didn't really know what to make of her. She had appeared suddenly, claiming to be the real monarch, spreading the news that she was the one who resolved the crisis after wall Maria fell. Because the military police knew of it in advance, the reaction of the people was mostly positive. Everybody cheered for the new queen, in hopes that someday, she would be the one to somehow save them.

However, for the survey corps, this was quite shocking. No one was notified beforehand, and most of the higher-ranked officers got to know this from the newspapers. Because the brigade was already struggling with gathering support for the expeditions, it wasn't really considered a scandal. But Erwin knew that in this world some have it easier, and some have it harder, so this was just an obstacle the corps would have to overcome.

'Hopefully we'll still be around to do this' he thought as he approached the door to the official meeting room.

The two guarding MPs eyed him as he moved in to take the handle. For a moment, the blonde commander thought that maybe they were there to stop him in the last moment, yet the pair never actually did it.

And so, he pushed the door and entered the chamber.

"Welcome, commander Smith" he heard a voice.

Behind a small table, on a comfortably looking armchair, was seating a young, dark-haired woman.

"Please, have a seat" she spoke, motioning at the empty chair in front of the table.

"Your majesty" Erwin exclaimed, officially saluting the queen "thank you for sparing this time for our talk. I hope to make it worth the while."

"Oh, it's nothing" Frieda responded as the commander finally took his seat.

"I believe it's worth way more than you're suggesting, your majesty" the blonde scout responded, looking her in the eyes "after all, it's been a year ever since your coronation and this is the first time, we get to speak with each other."

He already knew that this wasn't going to be a pleasant conversation. And while he could simply let the queen unfold her true intentions behind this meeting, he felt that maybe if he was the one to start the offensive, maybe she would somehow reveal valuable information, regarding his theory.

His theory, which was the major force driving him forward.

"I am utterly sorry for the inconveniences…" the queen simply responded.

Yet, this time it was different. The way she was speaking was borderline cold, even to the point where Erwin was starting to worry about his well-being.

He thought that this must've seemed ridiculous. After all, he was the man who would face giant, man-eating monsters day by day. Yet somehow, this woman in front of him scared him out of his mind.

It was something related to the fact that he was a scout. When you could potentially meet your demise with every step you're taking, an intuition which lets you recognize the danger is a must-have. And right now, the very feel that the queen was letting off, screamed of danger.

But how could she possibly be more dangerous than the titans?

"I have some important news for you, commander" Frieda continued as she glared at him.

For whatever reason, he just knew he wasn't going to like this.

"I am sure you have already heard the rumour about disbanding your corps" she said, "I want to assure you that it's not actually a rumour."

So, this was it. This was why she had called him here, all of a sudden. To tell him that his goal was never to be accomplished.

"Excuse me…" Erwin exclaimed after a moment of silence "we are all extremely devoted to the sole goal of granting the humanity its much deserved peace and freedom. Can you please, tell me, how is humanity supposed to survive without us?"

The queen reached under the table and pulled out a folder.

"The statistics say that you are extremely devoted to getting rid of humanity" she said, dropping the file on the table "ninety percent dead… This is a lot. I am afraid that no one will want to join your noble cause."

Their numbers were thin indeed. Yet, at the same time it felt as if with all the advancements they've made, all the elite soldiers they had, they were closer than ever to finally defeating the titans.

"I'm giving you a deadline" Frieda spoke once again with her icy attitude "if less than ten percent of the 104th training corps wishes to join you by the time it's disbanded, your brigade will be disbanded as well."

This was her ultimatum. At least there was a sense of fairness to it. The reasoning would sway the public opinion, and even the scouts themselves would eventually buy it.

"What about my men?" The blonde commander asked, "will they be discharged too?"

"Any elite soldiers of yours will find the doors to the military police brigade wide open" the queen replied, "the rest will be free to join the garrison."

As crazy as the idea of dissolution of an entire corps sounded, at least the ordinary men wouldn't suffer.

'Well,' Erwin thought as he gritted his teeth 'I guess none of us are ordinary at all.'

"I understand" he spoke after a moment "however, I have a single request."

The woman raised her brow at that.

"Oh, really?" She asked with a sense of pity "and what would that be?"

"I wish for our corps to be able to meet the trainees. Not too often, but from time to time. After all, it's only fair if we are allowed to rally them into joining us."

For a moment, he thought that he was taking this too far. That the queen would never agree to that. He found himself surprised when she actually gave him a smile. It wasn't one of those good ones, rather a smile of pity.

"Okay" she said in agreement "you will be allowed to do that. Is there anything else?"

"No, your majesty."

"Great…"

As Erwin left the palace, he sighed a breath of relief. Getting out of that room was actually his main priority as the queen herself was beyond scary. But thankfully, he walked out of there fine. A fate that was uncommon for people who crossed her majesty.

"How did it go?" He suddenly heard someone ask.

Upon turning around, he noticed that it was captain Levi.

"We are being disbanded" Erwin responded slowly "if we don't rally ten percent of the recruits from the 104th into joining the scouts, our days are numbered."

"Oh" the short officer replied "so, we might as well just disband ourselves. Good luck with achieving those numbers…"

They were indeed in a tough situation. From one end, not even the merchant guilds supported them anymore, and from the other, the queen was urging for their dissolution. Yet, for some reason a smile crept onto Erwin's face.

"Oy! Oy! Oy! Erwin!" He heard his companion yell at him in anger "what's with this stupid grin of yours? All of this is bad news…"

"I guess you're right" he responded "yet, I can't shake off one feeling…"

"Really" Levi expressed while raising an eyebrow "and that would be…?"

"That I was right, all along."