Chapter 5

Blooming Hope

Time after Wallace had given Ymir her duty, the girl was allowed to wander through the Church of Ymir as she pleased as long as she didn't do anything without asking. Even so, Ymir had been asked to prepare for the next day; the day when the church gets announced for everyone else after being a secret that many people wondered about, after all, many resources were redirected for the construction of the church, people noticed that after a while.

Ymir wandered through the church, looking at every room and the people currently talking within its hallways. Her dad had gone to talk with her grandma for something, and while Ymir had no idea what that was exactly, she didn't dwell too much on it, her curiosity of the church is stronger than her curiosity of anything else.

Though, before Ymir and Wallace had gone their separate ways, Wallace advised her to not reveal her connection to them until they were together once more. When Ymir had asked about it, about why he was so insistent on her safety, Wallace had replied. "You never know who could do bad things to you. Many Eldians have certain envy for our family. Now, go see your room here."

The freckled girl could understand that, as long as she didn't reveal who she was, no Eldian would have a reason to harm her. Marleyans on the other hand, things would get messy, Ymir shuddered when she thought about it.

Walking down one of the hallways, she found a flight of stairs rounding the corner. She went up, and rounded the left corner, and walked forward. Tilting her head, she saw the metal plates in front of the doors at her left. Each one of them had a name, and she stopped when she reached the last one.

Ymir

This was it.

This was her room. Her room second room, the one inside of the church.

Ymir blinked once before steeling herself. She took a deep breath and whirled the knob to walk inside of the room. The scent of fresh air invading her lungs, making her stop suddenly before she could take a step in.

Whoa. . . nobody has opened this one for a time or what? Ymir thought to herself, but shook her head and walked deeper into the room.

It was a simple room. A small bed, a wardrobe and a desk with two drawers and a mirror.

"This is small, but I think it works for its purpose," Ymir muttered under her breath, voice low as she continued to inspect the place.

As she had noticed, everything was new. There was nothing that looked a day old, and they even looked as though they had just been made and put inside of the room as soon as they came out. Ymir thought back to her dad and knew that he had something to do with this. If it wasn't him, it was her grandma.

She shuddered.

Those poor people. Ymir thought.

She also found a small crack on the wardrobe, it was small, enough for only one of her fingers to be able to pass through without harming herself in the process. Ymir stepped back and looked around, one last look at her room before she goes back with her dad to talk more about tomorrow.

Someone knocked on the door.

Ymir turned around to see Sophia standing on the doorframe, watching her with questioning eyes. There were some clothes on her arms, and they looked new, too. The grey-eyed girl eyed the clothes, and Sophia faked-coughed into her fist with her free hand.

"What are you doing here, Lady Ymir?"

Ymir looked at Sophia in the eyes and gave a smile. "Watching my room, dad said I could come and see it."

Sophia sighed. "Honestly. Master Tybur should've told me that you were coming. I haven't clean this room thoroughly."

Ymir frowned at those words, and spoke with hesitation. "but. . . the room is clean."

Sophia's eyes widened at Ymir's words, and quickly stepped inside and gave a quick look around. Ymir had never watched Sophia doing the cleaning, but she assumed she was very careful on her job, for the black-haired woman was currently looking at every detail, passing her finger through most of the furniture.

Ymir watched as Sophia put the clothes on the bed and the girl stepped closer to look at them. They were simply. Grey-blue pants and a long grey blouse that has a hem that reached the middle of her legs. There was a small cape, square-like with orange triangles on the outline as a pattern.

Eyeing the maid, Ymir noticed the frown on Sophia's face and asked. "What happened? Why are you frowning?"

Sophia didn't say anything for a moment, then frowned deeper. "I never cleaned this room. No one had the authorization to go inside until you did after it had been furnished."

Ymir's widened, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "That's bad. . ."

"I must tell Master Tybur about this," Sophia said, expression softening, but her eyes were ice cold.

The freckled girl shivered under that gaze and rubbed her arms trying to warm up a little bit.

"Come with me, Lady Ymir," Sophia told Ymir while grabbing the clothes she had brought into the room. Ymir nodded and followed Sophia out of the room. The maid closed the door behind them, and Sophia led Ymir toward Wallace's position.

Once they reached him on the front entrance of the church, he was talking to Larry and Klara, their faces showing pure neutrality and no emotion. There were some people around, talking and even glancing every now and then, and Ymir thought that they were just seeking information, but she knew her family was super secretive. They weren't just about to have an important conversation out of the blue.

"Hello!" Ymir called out, waving her hand at her family.

The Tyburs turned around to face her, and their expression changed. Larry looked bothered but glad to see Ymir. Klara softened her expression and Wallace's face was painted with a big smile showing his white teeth.

"Hi there, little one. How do you see the church?" Wallace kneeled and ruffled with Ymir's hair.

"It's fine! Wait, listen about this. Apparently—"

"Someone has cleaned her room before I had the time to do it, Master Tybur." Interjected Sophia, quickly glancing at Ymir, eyes telling her to calm down. Ymir looked around, people were looking at them. She took a deep breath and voiced out more calmly.

"Yeah, that." She mumbled out.

Wallace frowned. "That's not good."

The fan in Klara's hand snapped shut, its sound echoing within the church. Ymir noticed how a few degrees of temperature had dropped, even more so than when Sophia's eyes became cold.

"It seems," Klara murmured under her breath. "That someone needs to be. . . reprimanded."

Larry and Wallace shuddered visibly at their mother's words, and Ymir feared for the worst.

"Well, my dear," Klara stepped closer to Ymir and kneeled slightly. "What do you think of the church? Does it look good in your opinion?"

"Yeah," Ymir said, then turned to face her dad. "But did you have to make them do a statue of me? What if I fail to make Eldians better in the eyes of everyone else?"

"Don't worry about it," Wallace said, petting Ymir's head gently. He leaned in closer and whispered. "Leave that to me. I just need you to garner support, and I make the changes without worrying the Marleyan higher-ups. That's all."

The girl nodded in acknowledgment.

"Now," Wallace began. "We have to go and see the stage where I will announce the 'Church of Saint Ymir'. He looked at Sophia. "Sophia, if you will, take Ymir there. We will be right behind you."

The maid nodded, and grabbed Ymir's hand, leaving the clothes she had in Klara's arms when the woman motioned to have them. Sophia leads Ymir toward the stage, and the Tybur family walked behind them at a relatively slow pace.

"So... someone has broken my sole rule. . ." Wallace mumbled under his breath, his brows furrowed together as concern was quickly expressed on his face as they walked behind Sophia.

"Sophia's words revealed as much, Wallace." His mother commented, rolling her eyes. "What bothers me is that you were absolutely right, there is someone who isn't on board with the church."

"What a drag," Larry voiced out, looked around, and stretched his limbs. "Now to do my job and figure it out who it is. Why can people understand that everything is for the world?"

"They fear what they don't understand," Wallace replied. "And an orphan named Ymir, taken into the Tybur family, that's going to be the head of something that will have direct influence over Eldians must have gotten a bad reaction from someone that knew about the plans." He said without any surprise, his voice speaking as though it was a matter of fact.

"Marleyans are paranoid," Klara pointed out. "There is a reason why we never allowed much outside exposure to the family in the past. This is simply a one-time thing. Once everything is settled, Sophia will be moved with Ymir and she will take care of her on the church."

"This place is big. Dad is going to talk in front of this many people?" Ymir's voice reached them.

Wallace looked at Ymir, who was looking up at Sophia with awe in her eyes.

Sophia looked at the girl and replied.

"That's correct, Lady Ymir. Master Tybur is going to talk to the many people that will be gathered here tomorrow night."

Wallace scratched his chin and wondered about tomorrow. Then, he addressed his brother and mother. "Regardless of the reason, we have to make sure no harm befalls Ymir."

"Ok," Larry muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

"That's a given." Klara nodded her head.

"I think is scary talking in front of many people. . ." Ymir continued to speak with Sophia.

Wallace thought to himself with an amused smirk. Wonder how Ymir will react when I tell her that she is going to be with me onto the stage.

His face then turned serious, and he wondered. Now, who could have moved the note. . .?

"What did you find?" someone asked the person in front of him whispering.

"Nothing! Just a simple note with nothing writing on it even though it is addressed to that damn girl!" That person replied.

whispering, too. His concerned face was obvious to be seen as he watched from afar as the Tybur family followed that.

"Did he know that someone would go inside of the room?" The first person inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"No, that's impossible. Even so, we have to put someone within that damned church."

They never noticed the green-eyed man listening to their conversation in silence; the fire of freedom burning within him. He walked away, the black-haired young man away from him looked up to see him. The man signaled with his hand, and the boy nodded.

They both walked away, preparing everything for the safety of the future.

"I have to do what!?"

The shocked voice of Ymir was something no one could've missed in Wallace's house. The man himself was sitting in front of Ymir, covering his ears after the shrieking sound that came out of Ymir's mouth. A smile crossed his face, for he had already anticipated a similar reaction in his mind.

He gave a glance at the window. The sun was setting, and today was the night of the announcement. Wallace wondered if he should have told Ymir about her participation in the announcement.

Wallace thought that, yes, he should have.

"You are going to be standing right next to me on the stage," Wallace said once more, lifting one of his hands, trying to placate Ymir, who looked ready to bite his head off.

"But—!"

"Lady Ymir, please calm down." Sophia walked behind the girl and place her hands on the girl's shoulders, relaxing Ymir a little bit. "You know that Master Tybur doesn't do things just for the sake of doing them."

"But even so," Ymir gritted out, nervous peeling off her body. She swallowed. "I don't want so many people just. . . staring at me for no reason other than being there. I just feel like they are going to be looking at me as some sort of goddess or something. I just feel like that can go wrong."

"Then how do you want them to look at you?" Wallace asked.

"As a human, only that," Ymir replied, looking over at her clothing.

The Tybur chuckled and stood up from his chair. "Very well, then be human. I'll make a point later on so that everyone doesn't treat you as a superior being."

"Thanks. . ." mumbled the girl out.

Wallace clapped his hands together, getting the attention of Ymir and Sophia. "We have to go, it's almost time for the announcement." He began walking toward the front door.

"Ok." Ymir nodded her head and followed him with Sophia on tow.

They walked outside of the house, and Sophia closed the door behind them. The soft wind blowing against them as the sound of the door closing echoed within the appearing night. The moonlight beginning to shine over everyone outside, and the wind was becoming increasingly cold.

Wallace led Ymir and Sophia toward a carriage just outside of the estate. He opened the door and allowed both of them inside of it. Sophia helped Ymir get inside, and Wallace entered right behind Sophia before knocking on the side of the carriage.

The carriage began to move as soon as the driver heard the knocking, and they saw the view of people walking outside, moving toward the stage where Wallace will do the announcement. Ymir felt sweat running down her brows as she saw many people walking toward the location, and wondered how she might be able to go through so many stares that are going to be directed at her.

Ymir felt a hand on her head, and she whirled around to face Wallace rubbing her hair. It calmed her nerves down, and she felt more clear in mind. She looked through the window once more and noticed people looking in their direction.

Probably recognizing the carriage as Wallace's.

They soon reached the auditorium and quickly got out of the carriage. Ymir was the first to step out and hid from the prying eyes of everyone else looking in their direction. Sophia soon came out and gently waved at Ymir while Wallace got out, too. He waved at everyone with a smile and led Ymir and Sophia toward the backstage of the auditorium, the wind still giving a gentle breeze on everyone.

"We are here," Commented Wallace as he reached the door for the backstage. Some people were running around, preparing things, and being focused on their tasks to even notice the Tybur.

Something that he didn't seem to mind. Though, a fraction of them gave a quick bow and continued with their work.

Wallace began to prepare with Ymir, and as the time was arriving, more people were already sitting in front of the stage. It was something of no surprise, as the Marleyan higher-ups, or at least the second with the most power, told them to attend the hearing that was going to be made by Wallace Tybur.

It was also thanks to the gossip that was made by the people who saw Wallace the day before. they had talked about his stroll with his mother and his ward, who by the way, garnered a lot of attention in a single day. it was not common for the Tybur family to have someone who wasn't a part of their family.

Ymir was fixing her clothes when her grandma appeared from the door backstage. The grey-eyed girl looked at her with surprise and saw Sophia, who had gone somewhere but promise to get back quickly, walking alongside Larry, who was suspiciously close to her.

She could see a small blush on their cheeks when she stared at them.

Ymir had a new conversation topic with her dad.

"Hello, dear. Nervous?" Klara asked with curiosity as she snapped her fan open. Sophia and Larry stood behind the eldest Tybur, face returned to normal once Ymir faced her grandma.

"More or less," Ymir admitted, looking down. "I don't have to talk, but so many people looking at me will make me nervous."

"Don't worry about it," Klara touched her head. "Think of something else while keeping a straight face. Let Wallace do his magic with words, and let yourself be simply there for people to see. Nothing more, nothing less. You think you can do it?"

Ymir nodded, and the soft claps that appeared draw her attention. Wallace walked up to them, Otto behind him with a blonde short-haired woman right on his right.

"You ready?" Wallace asked.

"Yes." Ymir declared, taking a deep breath. She turned to face Otto and the woman beside him. "Who is this?"

"My daughter," Otto said, and the woman bowed her head. "She is going to be a staff member of the church. I simply wanted her to meet you as soon as possible if you were available. Though, it seems that she will have to wait for after the announcement."

"Hello, Lady Ymir." Otto's daughter said. "Nice to formally meet you."

"Hello, nice to meet you, too." Ymir bowed her head as well and then turned to look at Wallace once he touched her shoulder.

"Five minutes. When I call your name, walk right to my left side. Simply look as harmless as possible, and let me do all the talk. You got all of that?" He asked.

Ymir nodded her head, and soon someone approached them.

"Mr. Tybur, we are finally starting. Get on position." A worker said, and then a female worker walked beside Ymir.

"Girl, come with me. I'm going to lead you to your starting position."

Ymir looked at Wallace once more, and he nodded.

"See you in a bit. And remember, walk toward me as soon as I say your name."

"I got it the first time, dad." Ymir rolled her eyes as she whispered the last part and followed the female worker to her position.

Silence had befallen the seats outside as the lights went out. Everyone was paying close attention toward the stage, and they noticed a couple of lights turning on in the distance. They noticed the building that had been in construction for six years straight even with the war going on.

Within the people sitting in front of the stage, Jonas Jaeger stared intently at where Wallace Tybur will be appearing shortly.

Then, the lights on the stage came once more, and Wallace Tybur was there, standing tall and proud of himself. He looked over the audience and started speaking.

"Thank you everyone for being here at this time," he spoke out. "I'm sure many of you are wondering why you've been called here all of a sudden. Many rumors have gone around for the past few hours, and I'm here to tell you a story."

A story? Thought Jonas inside of his mind, paying close attention.

"I wonder what kind of story would elicit this many people here. . ." Jonas's mother muttered under her breath with curiosity.

That was something the black-haired kid wondered about, too. But as he was about to think of some theories, Wallace began his tale.

"Long ago, when Ymir Fritz was hailed as a goddess by the Eldian Empire, she was killed by a Marleyan soldier in retaliation for her actions. Due to this event, Ymir's body was devoured by her daughters, and her Titan powers were passed down from to those who were Eldian." Wallace's voice held no emotion, as though he was speaking a matter of fact.

Jonas furrowed his gaze, he knew about this, every history book in Marley hailed that one Marleyan soldier as a hero of some sorts, the one who started the change and allowed Marley in the long run to possess the power of the Titans.

"Time passed and the Eldian Empire ruled over Marleyan land, killing and conquering others, until the era of Karl Fritz. The Tyburs sympathize with the Marleyans and helped them overcome Karl Fritz and drove him away toward Paradise Island from the mainland, that's the story we all know."

There was no sound as Wallace took a deep breath, everyone confused as to why he was retelling the story every single one of them knew about. There were some whispers, talking about how this was a waste of time and simply making them remember how they bear the blood of the devil Ymir Fritz, but there were some that talked about how Wallace Tybur wasn't one to do meaningless things.

"But!" He voiced out, his voice echoing within the night. "There are some details that have been left unsaid about the story."

Murmurs arose, confusion was evident within the audience. Jonas looked at his mother, who was also showing the confused expression on her face. She began tapping her index finger on her thigh.

"The king before Karl Fritz, Klaus Fritz, already knew what his son was about to do," Wallace told them. "Through the memories of the Warhammer Titan, I've been told that Klaus Fritz already had the foresight of the defeat of his son at the hands of Marley."

Murmurs grew louder.

"What does that mean?"

"He knew about everything? How?"

"He did something with the Founder, I just know it. Now, why didn't he do anything?"

The concern of the people grew louder and louder. Jonas's mother grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Jonas looked at her once more before looking back at Wallace.

The Tybur clapped, silencing the audience as he continued.

"I know many of you have questions, but let me tell you something. Klaus Fritz wanted peace for everyone," Wallace declared.

The silence of disbelief was evident, but he didn't seem to mind. "He knew how much people that weren't Eldian suffered under their rule, and he wanted a better world for everyone else. That's why he reigned the Titan Shifters to not go crazy with power, didn't allow them to do as they pleased from the shadows.

And also, he left us a gift so that both sides of history can finally make amends and move on. So that Eldians could finally cleanse themselves from the sins of their past, and for Marleyans to not become like them."

"He gave us Ymir."

As soon as he said that, the light went out once more and after a few moments, they came back. There was a girl standing beside Wallace, eyes looking at everyone with wonder and slight nervousness.

Ymir. . .? Wait, she looks familiar. . . isn't that—!? Jonas recognized the girl.

"This is 'Saint' Ymir, the one who holds the soul of the original Titan within her," Wallace said. "She has come back to allow an era of prosperity to come for everyone, not only Eldians. Those Eldians who follow her will have a chance of redemption from the sins of their bloodline."

Everyone in the audience was staring at the girl, Ymir, and she stared back. A smile crossed her face, as Wallace finished his speech.

"The Church of Saint Ymir is her home, and those who pray for redemption will eventually have it. For the Marleyans, Ymir will help Eldians become better. She will help them be humans. For she herself understands why the hatred toward Eldians exists.

She will help to create peace in our time.

As in her own words, 'All of us were born into this world'."

The lights went out, and the announcement ended. Silence had befallen the audience as their mouths failed them. No one knew what to say or do, and Jonas, too, had no idea what he had to do at that moment. Wallace Tybur had just announced that Ymir, the girl he met the day before, had the soul of Ymir Fritz, the devil, but was here to help Eldians become better than their ancestor.

The Eldians within the audience were awestruck and shocked. But there was a sentiment blooming within each and one of them. A sensation of relief, of happiness.

For hope for their people could finally be seen in the darkness.

A/N: Long chapter for today. Things are going to be slightly better for Eldians from now on, but don't get hopes too high just yet.

Give me your thought.