Bertholdt placed the flowers on the ground, deep in thought.

When Frieda Reiss died, she has lifted the curse of Ymir from all the warriors. Following that, he had been released from prison, thanks to the doings of Ymir. She was the one who advocated for his freedom, ever since he had been caught. He really owed her a lot for that…

Afterwards, he decided to join his father in Liberio. The old man was beyond happy, when he saw his son come to his doorstep. After days filled with tears, getting together and simply spending some time in this new, free world, the reunited family started living what could be described as a pretty simple life.

Exactly one year had passed ever since the Great Peace Treaty was signed, ending the everlasting war between Eldians and nations of the world. One, long and tense year, filled with uncertainty. Although Bertholdt did enjoy his new freedom, for some, it was way worse. The Marleyans lost a lot of land and resources, which in turn, made them an easy target for any future invasions.

He didn't feel all that bad for them, though. He was never much of a patriot and the people of Marley never really treated him well.

"What a terrible day for rain" he suddenly heard from behind.

Pieck Finger, the last of his fellow warriors, was standing there. She was looking down at the ground, intensely.

They were in front of a newly inaugurated Warrior Memorial in Liberio. The queen decided to grant amnesty to all of the Eldians, previously serving in the Marleyan military and that included all of the remaining warriors, along with the candidates. The warriors themselves had been declared 'victims of circumstances' and all of them were exonerated, by the queen's personal order.

"What are you talking about?" Bertholdt asked his friend with confusion "it isn't…"

Then, Pieck looked up at him.

Tears were falling down her face. Realizing his mistake, the boy walked up to the girl and embraced her in a hug.

"Why did it have to be like this…?" Pieck sobbed into his chest.

He never really wondered about that. He was really lucky he was even alive. His cell being the last one to be checked, was the only reason for that.

"It's raining alright" Bertholdt heard to his left.

Upon looking, he noticed that it was Porco Galliard. He too, had tears in his eyes. It was really heart-breaking, to watch his colleagues in such a state.

"Marcel didn't die for nothing…" the tall boy spoke, trying to make his friend feel better.

Ymir was the one who cared for him, when no one would. And she was there, only because Marcel had sacrificed himself.

"Yea, I've heard it before…" Porco responded, wiping the tears off his face.

A few more people walked up to them. Most of those, being family and friends to the fallen warriors.

"If only I hadn't pushed him that far…" Doctor Yeager uttered, gritting his teeth.

"Nobody could see the future, all those years ago" Berthold's father spoke, laying down a bouquet of flowers "at least now, we can finally live in peace…"

"My son…" Karina Braun spoke with closed eyes "he was always so brave… Why did I push him to become a warrior…?"

It was a question without answer. And that was because one could not really control fate. One day you could be at the top of the world, the other, you'd find yourself falling down a bottomless pit.

Bertholdt looked at the memorial. It depicted six of the nine, standing together.

Annie's titan, the female, caught his attention. After the war, when mister Leonhart learned of his daughter's death, he was utterly crushed. No wonder that not long after that news, he was found in his house, with a bullet hole in his head and a small handgun in his hand…

"We should rejoice" Bertholdt exclaimed suddenly, surprising the others "no more Eldian children will have to ever go through what we have gone through."

Things were turning out for the better. There were even rumours that the Paradisian government would soon increase the local autonomy.

They finally had their lives in their hands. And some of that, was thanks to those brave warriors, who gave their lives on the battlefield.

Somewhere else, on a small island, inside a cosy office, a young woman was impatiently banging her fingers on her desk. Several months had passed, ever since Frieda's death and it seemed like the military was finally giving her the full power.

"Something's buggin' you?"

Historia looked up, to see a familiar face of Kenny Ackerman.

"Things are turning for the better" the blonde spoke, with wonder "Erwin is retiring, Eren is finally ready to take everything to a next level and my niece is finally smiling again…"

"So, what's it about?"

The female sighed at that. Things were so different from when she was peacefully living on the farm with her friends. Sometimes, she would think that taking care of the sheep was something akin to leading a country, but then, when she was a simple shepherdess, she never had to act imposing, she never had to be charismatic and she definitely didn't feel all of that weight, currently resting on her shoulders.

"I don't want this…" she whispered.

"Huh?"

"I never wanted any of this" Historia said with a sad smile on her face "I don't want to be the queen and I don't want to feel all this burden upon me."

The rogue didn't know how to respond to that. Many of the simpler members of the society, would surely agree, if they were ever given the opportunity to be the people of importance. But here, there was the woman who ruled half the world, saying that her title meant nothing to her.

"Frieda may have been an awful person" she continued "but she was an excellent monarch… She always knew how to go about this and that… And she had the means and the character to actually do it… Once the military leaves me, I won't be able to handle all of that…"

"Stop" Kenny suddenly exclaimed, stopping her in her train of thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You sound like you're missing her" the old Ackerman elaborated, placing his hands in the pockets of his coat.

Was it really the reason? Did she really miss her sister? Her sister, that had used her beloved and ruined everything…

"I do miss her" Historia finally admitted "I do miss the times when she would take care of things and I could enjoy the fruits of her hard work. Call me a hypocrite, but I believe that she had been a way greater queen, than I will ever be…"

"She believed in you, ya know?" Kenny interjected once again.

The blonde looked towards the man with wide eyes.

"She wanted to set it all up for you" the rogue elaborated, looking through the window "she did all that, because she knew that you'd be able to take care of things, once she signed off."

"I never…"

Kenny turned to look her in the eyes.

"You'll be an even greater queen than she ever was" he spoke with a sly smile "you don't really need those goons from the military. They lacked vision, anyway."

His words really put some hope into her heart. Maybe, she could really do this…

"Frieda was cool, but she'd gone totally crazy" Kenny joked, flinging his arms "calling herself a god and doing all that weird stuff…"

"That was her only mistake" Historia responded "even when you're at the top of the world, there are always winds which blow higher than you…"

Maybe the real gods had always wanted this for her. Maybe, she was always destined to learn all the hardships that her sister had gone through, in order to save Eldia.

"Let's pray you won't go crazy, then" the rogue Ackerman added with a light chuckle, before walking out of the office.

Things were really turning for the better. And this time, for good.

Historia knew she wasn't her sister. She was also aware that Frieda's methods of authority and political terror wouldn't really work for her rule. Even if those were effective, she needed to find her own way.

After all, her sister was the first person to actually believe in her…