He had Historia lie down on the bed and the Maid of honor shooed the man out of the room to leave so she could relax her dress.
The SS stood on either side of the door, setting up a security posture. Beside them, Levi leaned against the wall. The blond kid's gaze, 'Why is he still here?' - Levi ignored him.
Occasionally he could hear Hanji and Maid talking to each other, asking each other for something, and he knew it would be quite a hassle to get her to take off her dress while she was unconscious.
Soon after, the doctor came in with his assistant and entered the room. It wasn't long before obvious relief was felt from inside the room. Hanji came out at the same time as the doctor left the room.
"How is she?" He asked.
"Doctor say it's cerebral anemia. A common one in young girls. I knew corsets weren't good" Hanji said.
"What are the chances of a stroke?"
"She's breathing and her pulse is steady. There isn't. I'll go back to the venue, but what about Levi?"
"I'll be there later."
When he walked in unannounced, 'Oh! This guy came in without permission!' by the bed, the Maid gave him an accusing look. She was right. The dress and accessories that Historia wore were still a mess, i.e. it was a lady's bedroom. There was no reason for a thirty-year-old man to enter.
"Captain, you can't." This maid is Adele. She was selected to be Historia's maid who is convenient to the Corps in terms of her background, but she has a reputation for defying the higher-ups in the Corps without hesitation when something detrimental happens to Historia.
Even when the less polite Captain approaches Queen's bed, she walks up to Levi and prevents him from doing so. That's why Levi entered without saying a word. If he asked to enter, there was no way he would get permission.
"I just want to see how she's doing. I have no other intentions."
"If you don't have any other intentions, I'll tidy up and you can turn around and wait for me for a bit."
He obeyed honestly. He heard the sounds of tossing and folding cloths, stuffing and tugging on bags.
"Okay."
Quickly, she shoved everything under the bed to hide it from Levi's eyes.
"You're not family or a husband, so don't get too close to the sleeping Queen."
He was pushed away by Adele when he went to get a look at Historia's face.
"I'm carrying her here."
"Captain is only allowed to do this for Queen until the emergency transport. It is the duty of the people to serve Queen, and fulfilling their duty does not give them the privilege."
"Forgive me," he asked, and Adele put her weight on one leg and stretched her neck, telling the SS who were consulting each other with their eyes on whether or not they should pull Captain back in.
"What are you guys?"
Red-haired soldier understood with that. "We'll continue to stand guard at the door, so if you need anything else, call we."
The door closes with a slam, leaving Maid and Levi in the room. After staring at the door for a few seconds to see if it would open again, Adele gave in. "You can't touch her."
She is not afraid to talk to Levi because she is not a member of the Corps and she has the trust that no matter what she does, Levi does not have the right to punish her and that nothing will be done to her.
Levi is often feared by his subordinates, but when there is a topic of conversation, the conversation continues. For Levi, Adele is a valuable resource for hearing about Queen's life at the Royal Palace without being interrupted by MPs. They make small talk when they have the opportunity.
"I hear she's anemic?"
"The doctor says so. Queen has been in bad condition since yesterday, and her preparations for the evening party have not been easy. There was a part of me that expected that she might collapse."
'Preparing for an un-easy evening party' is probably more than just the tightening of the corset, as Hanji said. It seems that women have to work hard in strange ways.
"Bad yesterday?"
Adele pressed her lips with a finger for her own mistake. "It's okay. It's like a disease."
"There's not a single factor that makes me think it's going to be okay."
"It's okay," She turned her face away and hid her mouth behind a door she had made with her hand. It means, 'I'll say what you shouldn't hear, but I'll leave it up to you to hear it or not.'
Levi was aware of his hearing in order to hear. Really, it was a faint whisper that he would not have heard if he hadn't tried to hear.
"Only the second day." She said.
Second day?
Realizing that Levi had heard it and had not come to an understanding, Adele turned her gaze to the side and stood poised as a maid of honor in a casual manner, placing her hands in front of her stomach.
"... I haven't heard anything."
"I haven't said anything to you, sir."
"If it was so bad, she should have been absent."
"It wasn't so difficult to be there. She didn't want to be absent since this is her 'job'. She was a bit of a bother, though. Well, it's time to go back. I'm certain that a lady who wants to dance is waiting for you."
"I refuse to dance."
Her smile that floated lightly did not waver in the slightest, but the words 'What a persistent old man' were written on cheeks.
"... I want to stay until she wakes up. I won't be a bother." He said.
Adele paused, and then -
- burst out laughing.
"hahahaha!" She clapped her hands and hugged tray or something around her chest, bending over and laughing all over.
"What's the matter!? What happened!?" The SS knocks on the door from outside.
Adele's lips quivered as she said, "Nothing! Captain told me a joke!"
The person on the other side of the door was upset. "Captain made a joke...!?"
"There's nothing for Queen." Adele assured.
"Yeah, okay." SS replied.
"I don't remember making a joke." Levi's sullenness is evident.
Maid continues to laugh, "hahahaha" and then coughs once to finish her laugh. "It's super funny. I can't believe Captain wants to be by her side because of a mere woman's anemia. Amazing. You're worried for her."
'Captain' This had many meanings. A grown man past thirty. Or the Hero of the Survey Corps, who had caused the death of hundreds of soldiers and survived by stepping over the dead. ...The Soldier who is going to turn this beautiful girl into an ugly Titan and let her die after thirteen years.
But Adele doesn't mean to be malicious or insinuating in any way. She has swallowed the circumstances and knows that there is no other way out. She doesn't accept it, but she doesn't criticize those who decide that they have no choice but to do so. So, quite simply, she laughs - 'It's funny that you are bewildered by anemia.'
Laughing like that was also a sign of consideration for Levi. If she wasn't laughing, she would have to be angry.
The sacrifice must live until it is offered.
Because of this outrageous meaning that inevitably exists between Levi and Historia.
"I want to say two things. One, I can do whatever cruelty is necessary. I'll do it if it's best for the island. Two, I'll even worry about anemia for some people." Levi says quietly.
"Does anyone else need to worry over this?" Maid nodded her head.
"Isn't it necessary?"
"Not 'necessarily'. I can assure you that the three men outside, Douglas, Volker and Stan, are the elite of the loyal SS, and their security is excellent. They will protect Her Majesty, even if it means their lives. It is my job to take care of the Queen's personal affairs, and I thought it would be very problematic for Captain to do so."
You don't have to come out. - And there is no objection to what has been said out of the word. That's right, there's nothing only Levi can do for Historia. If Levi didn't lend a hand when she fell, someone from the SS performed the same role without delay.
"I need this."
When he says it off, Adele laughs again.
It would be rude, as expected, he glares. She sighed and turned her amused laughter into a bitter smile.
"I just laughed at Historia. Huh, the truth is, I said, 'You're not in good condition, so let's cut corners'. ...The corset tightens the body tremendously to make the correction."
"Apparently so."
"Historia said. 'I don't want to because Captain is coming today.' I was so impressed that I tightened and dressed her firmly with this hand and foot, Then she fell down. It was a sad end to her hard work."
"..."
"Historia wanted to show Captain that she's working hard at 'The Queen'."
"..."
"Every time the Queen showed her dress at a party, she was inundated with marriage proposals from the upper class who knew nothing, so I think she wanted to see Captain's reaction as well. And the last time Commander Hanji and Armin were there, they were very praising."
She blows up again and shakes. "She challenged the party with such a spirit, and she fell down. Pitiful. But then Captain wouldn't leave her side, saying, 'I want to wait for her to wake up.' ... Captain, haha, ... Prince ...! "
"Doesn't Historia need a Prince?"
She was going to laugh forever if he stayed silent, so when he became desperate, Adele shifted to a serious face. She looked into Historia's face as she remembered and headed for the door.
"I'm going to get a change of clothes for the return home. I will be back in about 15 minutes, In the meantime, if Queen wakes up, give her a drink of water from the pot on the table. She will want water since she has only eaten and drank a little in the morning. Also, please don't touch when you are alone with her. She's an unmarried Queen, you know."
"I don't mean to argue back, but if she's married, is it okay to touch her?"
"It will be possible for either the husband to permit, or Captain yourself to be the husband."
"I won't do anything."
"There isn't a man who doesn't want to touch Historia." She concludes in a tone of voice that is difficult to discern whether she is serious or light-hearted, and then leaves.
She is a woman who regularly threatens those around her, 'Be Prepared for My Martyrdom'. It was an errorless choice for a maid of honor. She is popular with the Survey Corps, but the MPs are calling for her to quit. This is proof of her competence.
In other words, it seems to be okay to close in on him as long as he doesn't touch, so he goes to the bedside to check complexion.
The obvious lack of blood even with makeup still hadn't recovered, and the pallor under her eyes was especially bad. He put his hand to her forehead. Very cold. But it's much better than a dead body. Historia will eventually wake up.
... He stares at his own palm, which has no warmth left, but still has the feel of a young woman's smooth skin and fine powder.
He touched her. Adele told him not to touch and within a minute he touched.' He would definitely touch', Adele thought, and he touched, even though he was fed up with her attitude and he was fed up with it.
He felt similar to a feeling of helplessness and self-loathing he'd experienced in the distant past.
There are excuses. In experience, he can know if the person will die if he touches them. If he can iterate the doctor's findings again on own, he'll feel better. If a subordinate can't fight, it's the responsibility of superiors to get the condition right.
But Historia wasn't a subordinate now, she was an unmarried Queen, and this wasn't the underground city or the battlefield, this was a girl's bedroom at her age. Levi rubbed his hands over jacket. He pulls a chair up out of reach, sits down and stares from the side.
Historia is attractive.
Levi had overheard someone say that when she was falsely named Krista, she was a girl with the personality of a storybook denizen, called a goddess, and was the number one girl that boys in peer group wanted to marry. But Levi doesn't know her one bit for living that way. He doesn't know her other than she is a Historia.
When she first became a subordinate, she was a wounded child at the mercy of fate. As time went by, their fate became more terrible and ugly, but...
This Queen has grown up and is walking the cruel path in the dark on her own feet.
It has nothing to do with the value of the bloodline or the beauty of looks.
Historia is attractive.