The Empire of Titans Chapter 85 (Annie's Truth) (Patreon)

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"Your grace, Zeke Yeager is here." The door opened, and his brother stepped inside, followed by two guards, one of them being Mike Zacharias. 

A month had passed since they confronted the Marley soldiers at the docks. Since then, Eren and Historia had ordered that the Marley soldiers should be treated well enough. 

Eren had seen it; many of their own soldiers didn't agree with that decision; even Survey Corps soldiers had made it obvious their displeasure; many of them wanted to extract revenge, as Erwin had put it, for the many lives lost, and Eren understood that better than anyone if he closed his eyes, he could see her, and the way he had screamed for her to stop, but that was in the past, his personal anger towards Marley needed to be in second place if he wanted to ensure the survival of his people. He knew those soldiers wanted revenge, but beating up prisoners would not achieve anything.

Eren reminded himself every day that his people always came first before everyone else. He could not let what happened that day happen again. He had made a promise to Ymir, and he would keep it, no matter what. 

Eren sat silently as Zeke walked over to their table before stopping at their round table. Eren and Historia sat near one another, their crowns on their hands and wearing royal clothes. Eren still found it annoying to wear such fancy clothes. He didn't understand why his clothes had to have golden threads, but right now, he had bigger problems than the golden threads. 

Kenny stood nearby just in case; the two had talked a few more times, and as Eren guessed, their relationship was in a way similar to that Kenny had with Uri, while Eren doubted Kenny would ever be that loyal to Historia, as long as he was loyal enough not to try to double cross them. Eren knew he wouldn't have to use his abilities on him; the thought of controlling their Titan bodies wasn't something Eren liked to even think about.

' "I will not use them like that. They are my people and not my puppets." Eren denied her offer with a snarl, glaring at her without fear; despite being, in a way, their goddess, he refused to do something he didn't want, but his words seemed to have the opposite effect. Ymir smiled gently at him, her hands resting against the tree trunk they were passing by.

Ymir had long blonde hair, and her face reminded him too much of Historia, to the point that it was a little unsettling; Ymir was as tall as him, had a beautiful face, a full bossom, and was wearing a white princess gown with a crown braid.

"Eren, this is the power given to you by the Blessed Attack Titan. It's within your right to control all those that consume your spinal fluid, and you grow stronger with each new soldier added to your army. As King of Eldians, you should know that soldiers can be treacherous. They will try to use the power you gave them for their own benefit and as the Attack Titan. It's your duty to make sure they will not harm innocent people." Ymir said softly as they walked through a forest. 

The first time he had come here to talk with her, he asked her why this place appeared like a desert. She asked what he wanted it to look like, and he said she could choose whatever she wanted. She had been caught off guard that he had allowed her to choose, and she chose this endless forest that Eren had never seen before.

Eren huffed after hearing her, but he refused to acknowledge what she was saying; she made it seem like his judgment was above everyone else, but he refused to let himself think like that; he was not above others in judgment; he might possess the two most Powerful Titans, and he might be King, but in the end, he was still a human with normal flaws, as long as he reminded himself that, then he knew he could never get corrupt if he did, then he could lose himself in power. 

Eren had heard them talk; even Commander Erwin, Pyxis, and Nile had reported that many of their soldiers had talked about the return of the Eldian Empire. Now that everyone knew the truth, many people resented the outside world, and Eren knew that anger would only increase if the outside world didn't cooperate with them. If they didn't, Eren knew he would have to make tough decisions. With that in mind, Eren decided that his talk with Ymir reached its end for today.

"Ymir. I want to return back." Eren said without looking at her. She keened, looking down before her hand reached up and touched his cheek.'

The King escaped his thoughts when his big brother was ordered to sit down. Despite helping them so far, they still didn't trust him to let him roam freely around the place without guards following and watching his every move. Eren was sure his brother knew of the spies, but so far, he hadn't tried to request for some time without being watched. Once he sat down, Eren cleared his throat before addressing him firmly. 

"Zeke Yeager. You have promised us that as soon as we get our hands on more advanced technology, you will be able to communicate with your allies across the seas. Right?" Eren questioned; right now, he wasn't the little brother; right now, he was a King, and he needed to use the voice of a King, of someone who could command people.

"Yes, Eren--Your grace. Hange gave me the list I wanted last night, and from everything taken from the ships, one of them is a radio communicator and antenna needed to send my signal. All I need is to use the radio and communicate with my group, but to communicate with them, I would need to get closer to them. Right now, we are a sea away from Marley, and the antennas are not big enough and not even good enough for my signal to reach them. Once I have made contact with them. I will be able to talk with them." While his words were carefully chosen, Eren wasn't quick to trust him. 

"Is there any other way you can talk with your 'allies', Zeke Yeager?" Queen Historia questioned with a calculating look.

"The other way is to hope that Marley will send more ships to us, and one of our people just happened to be on that ship by accident, but that's not something we can rely on. It might take years for them to send more ships, or maybe even months, but even if more ships come, my men might not be there." Zeke explained.

Nile groaned loudly, rubbing his forehead, while Erwin seemed calmer. Pyxis took a sip from the glass of wine in front of him. Eren noticed the way his brother used the word 'us,' trying to make it seem like he was already one of them.

"How close do our ships need to be to Marley for your signal to reach them?" Erwin asked with his hands knitted in front of his face. He looked at Zeke as if trying to read his mind.

"I think about halfway there. The ships use coal, so we need a lot of it to sail, but we need to remember that Marley is on High Alert, and there might be enemy ships waiting for us." Zeke warned them. Eren already figured as much, but was it worth the risk?

"Why should we do what you say? For all we know, this is just a trap," Nile quickly pointed out angrily. Glaring at the prisoner, Zeke seemed ready to defend himself.

"I just helped you against my own Commander. I killed Marley soldiers and have given valuable information to you all. How am I a traitor? Even if all this was a trap, they would still transfer my Beast Titan to someone else for helping you all. Face it; you have no grounds to stand on; right now, you're sinking in the sand." Zeke said calmly; despite the accusations, he wasn't one to lose his cool that easily. Eren watched as Nile's face turned a bit red, ready to defend himself, but the last thing he needed was to hear bickering.

"Nile, Zeke has already helped us on many occasions. I believe we can give him the benefit of the doubt and trust in him." Erwin quickly defended him, much to the shock of the blonde, but Eren could already tell what his Commander was trying to do.

"Commander Erwin speaks the truth. We need communication with the outside world." Historia interfered since Nile seemed ready to protest; she looked at Eren, who nodded in agreement before addressing his brother.

"Zeke, a week later, you will sail towards Marley and communicate with your group. Captain Levi, and including twenty soldiers from the Survey Corps and the Military Police will accompany you in case you are attacked and need someone to defend you. With Captain Levi's abilities with the War Hammer Titan, I'm sure you will return safely back home without any...problems. I hope you agree with my conditions." Eren said firmly, his voice sounding deeper than it did before he became the King, pinning his brother with a cold look, and everyone knew that Levi wasn't really going there to protect Zeke. 

Zeke didn't complain or try to change his mind. Instead, he nodded his head in acceptance. "I agree with your conditions, your grace." 

"That's not all. During the whole journey, your left arm will be secured with a plate of iron for security reasons. I hope you agree." Eren added coldly, with Levi glaring at Zeke.

"Do you agree to the conditions, monkey?"

Zeke swallowed thickly. He shuddered at the thought. He wasn't really looking forward to that, but at the very least, it wasn't his right arm this time, and he could still throw his ball around and drink coffee without much trouble. While he wished that Eren had more trust in him, he knew, at this moment, it was the King speaking, and as one, Eren could not show any favoritism towards him, even if he himself trusted him, he couldn't show that in front of his entire council. 

"I agree, your grace. But will I be allowed a shot of morphine for the pain." 

"Yes, that will be given to you by Doctor Edward." Eren agreed that much, and Zeke looked relieved to hear that. Eren was sure Levi let out a sigh of disappointment behind him, but he decided to ignore that for now.

"You have only three days to make contact with your people. If you cannot contact them, then you will return to Paradis." Historia announced, and Zeke nodded quickly. He wasn't sure if his brother thought three days was enough, but he didn't care. If this expedition turned out well, it could be a huge boom for the island, and that's all that mattered in the end.

As soon as they came to an agreement, Eren hoped that this meeting was near its end, but being a king for a month now had taught him that the day wasn't over yet. 

Once Zeke was escorted outside, Neil turned to face the King, his face clearly showing that he disagreed with his decision. "Your grace, are you sure that was wise?" He asked carefully when Eren narrowed his gaze towards him.

"Commander Neil, I appreciate your concern, but we all should remember that Zeke needs to be given opportunities. We don't know yet if he's against us, but so far, he has given us no reason to doubt him. The guards that follow him every day have yet to report anything suspicious about him. I will reward his loyalty with opportunities. I know it's a risky gamble, but one thing I know for certain is that Zeke doesn't want to die; he is not one to give his life for Marley. So he's not going to betray us for the simple reason that betraying us means his own demise. That will prevent him from doing anything reckless." Eren said firmly, with Commander Erwin and Pyxis nodding along.

"Are you sure this is not because he is your brother?" The Commander shouldn't have said that as Eren glared at him furiously. His green eyes glittered, and Kenny, who had been leaning against the wall so far, quickly stepped forward. Erwin seemed ready to defend his friend when Eren raised his hand to silence him before giving the Commander of the MP a cold glare.

"What are you saying, Commander Nile? Are you saying I have been compromised, that I can no longer be trusted to make decisions for my people?" Eren demanded with a narrowed gaze, pinning the man with his glare.

His face went white, only now realizing his own mistake. "Please forgive me, your grace. I didn't mean anything by that." He pleaded, with beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Eren knew Kenny's hands were itching to grab his gun, but Eren made a small twitch with his hand, and Kenny lowered his hands. 

"You are forgiven, Commander Nile. But you will not make the same mistake again." Eren said with a hint of threatening in his voice before turning his head to look at Erwin.

"How are the preparations going with the Semi-Shifters Program? Has there been any progress?" Eren asked, and Nile sighed heavily in relief, breathing quickly as if trying to regain his composure before leaning back against the chair.

"I have called for Moblit to explain this, your grace," Erwin said, clapping his hands. The door opened, and Eren expected to see Moblit and Hange, but instead, it was Moblit and Nifa. It was a little strange to see a girl who looked so similar to Armin; they almost seemed like brothers and sisters. 

Eren sat there and listened for one more hour as they discussed the Semi-Shifter Program, and he had no choice but to listen. They also talked about the price, how much it would cost for this and everything else needed. 

Thankfully, this was nowhere near as expensive as making the Thunder Spears. Eren knew his decision to prioritize the restoration of farms and to grow more food over the production of the Thunder Spears was still something many people didn't see as the right decision. 

Some of the richer people were quite displeased when they learned the lands that used to belong to the five lords of the inner circle of the previous King would be mainly used for farms and to grow more food. They had come to Eren, trying to convince him in some way that the land should be given to them. Thankfully, Zachary had been there to shut them all up, making it clear that all those lands belonged to the crown and, therefore, the King could do whatever he wanted with them.

Eren still remembered when one of them tried to bribe him by giving him a book with ten thousand Gold Sina Coins, but Eren had ordered Kenny to arrest the man and place him in the black cells. After doing that, the words spread like wildfire, and Levi looked at him, impressed. He wondered if Levi actually thought he would accept the money. 

Eren and Historia listened on and on about the program, how the Training Corps had been extended to last four years now instead of three like before due to all the new ways of training they would do, including training to see if any of them could be considered as worthy candidate to become a Semi Titan Shifter in the future. They also explained that from the Top Ten. Only the Top Five would be considered worthy to become Shifters in the future.

Once they had explained the new program, Historia decided to take the lead. "What has Instructor Shadis said about this? We need to know if he is capable of training the recruits in the new ways." Historia questioned, looking at Erwin and waiting for him to answer.

"Instructor Shadis is not as young as he used to be, but he is still capable of training the newer recruits for the added year of training. We think we need to hire a Helper for the Instructor, someone who knows how the new training is done, and someone who can help and even take over when the Instructor is not up to the task, including the new tools needed. I think it will cost around five hundred Silver Rose coins." Historia and Erwin talked more about the price and how it would work. Eventually, they all decided the price was very good, and the island would benefit greatly from the new generation of semi-shifters.

Due to all the Pure Titans left in Wall Maria Territory. Eren had used them to fix the roads and all the houses, but the job wasn't done yet. At the very least, these Titans did not need to be fed and never got tired. Of course, once Eren was exhausted from using the Founder, he would order all the Titans to return to the massive Titan Hole they had created for them. The hole reached thirty meters below ground, so there was no risk of them escaping. Once they were no longer useful, they would return to humans and be allowed to live here.

Once they agreed on the program, Nile wasted no time bringing up the syringes and how he had three excellent soldiers who would be great as Titan Shifters. Despite having one hundred semi-shifter injections ready to use, Eren knew they couldn't use all of them immediately.

' "Your grace. We have over fifty candidates ready for the injection. Why wait? We need an army of them ready at any moment." The Minister of Laws, Adler Addas, asked with a look of slight disbelief. The process of getting new semi-shifters wasn't happening as fast as Eren hoped, but he didn't want to make the grave mistake of giving the injection to someone who could be trouble in the future.

"There's more to becoming a Shifter than just being a good soldiers, Mister Adler. When I was a cadet. Instructor Shadis made sure we followed orders, and were disciplined. Of course not all of us listened, but despite being taught for three years on how to kill Titans, over fifty percent of all cadets that trained with us died when Wall Maria was breached. Despite training for three years, they weren't really prepared for the real thing. What I'm trying to say is that good physical, and being a good soldiers is not everything to become a Shifter." Historia explained with her Queen voice that Eren always loved to hear from her. She paused for a moment, letting the information sink in. Instructor Shadis, who had been invited to discuss the new program, nodded in agreement with the Queen.

"The Queen is right. The psyche of a soldier is as important as their physique. I have seen many soldiers jump from the top of the wall, even soldiers who lost it after seeing many of their friends die." The Instructor agreed with the Queen.

"Those soldiers have a life outside of just being soldiers. We need to ensure they know their responsibility once they become Shifters and know they cannot just use that ability for their own selfish desires. What if one of them gets too angry with his friend, or for any reason, one could get angry for something, or maybe they are suffering from stress, and in a fit of rage, they accidentally turn into a Titan? That will spread fear across our people; people can die from this. We need to make sure our Shifters are the best in everything and not just handing the injection to anyone we come across." '

Eren escaped his thoughts when Neil cleared his throat; he only realized now that Moblit and Nifa had already left. 

Am I really that tired? Eren wondered. His eyes felt a little heavy, and right now, he wished he could go to his room and sleep the whole night, but he knew his job for the day wasn't done. Thankfully, Historia would deal with the new farmers of Wall Sina, and Eren was grateful for that. Even if he was there, it's not like he could do much to help. Historia was better with farms and lands than he was; the military was where Eren shined.

Suddenly, the door opened, and in came Hitch, whose face was a little white. She seemed out of breath, and sweat was rolling down her face. "I'm really sorry for interrupting, Commander Nile and Your Grace, but there has been an incident with the Marley prisoners."

So much for resting and sleeping the whole night, Eren thought, surpassing a groan as he quickly demanded. "Has anyone been injured?" 

"One of our soldiers and a soldier of The Survey Corps have a few small bruises, but nothing life-threatening." Eren almost sighed in relief when he noticed something.

"What about the Marley soldiers?" Hitch seemed hesitant to answer, but when Nile cleared his throat loudly and looked at her, she knew she had to answer.

"One of them is in critical condition, your grace," Hitch reported with a hint of disdain in her tone that Eren decided to ignore.

"How did this happen? Did the Marley soldier attack?" Eren questioned further. The last thing he needed was trouble with his own soldiers.

"I'm not sure yet, Your Grace. We have asked the soldiers involved, and they said the Marley soldier tried to stab him with a knife. We even tried to question the other Marley soldiers if they saw anything, but they weren't...cooperative with us." Eren cursed under his breath as he stood up.

"Commander Erwin, Commander Nile. I want reports about what happened. I want to know who is guilty of this. I made myself clear when I said that I didn't want the captured Marley soldiers harmed. I believe you two can do this."

"Yes, your grace. I will ask everyone, anyone who could have seen something." The two said right away. The meeting ended, and once the three of them were alone, Eren motioned for Kenny to come.

"Kenny, I want you to learn what happened there and tell me everything," Eren ordered firmly. Historia already knew how her husband was feeling right now. 

Sure, they were Marley soldiers; therefore, they were the enemy, but a King's order was nonetheless an order. Eren had made it clear he didn't want to beat and torture the Marley soldiers for fun. Those who had surrendered would be kept alive, and they would work for them; in return, they would be fed and treated well enough for prisoners of war. 

Kenny grinned upon hearing the order. "Look at that. It seems you are not as hopeless as I thought. You know they might try to alter what really happened a little, or at least you suspect it. Don't worry, within two days. You will have all the information you need." Kenny said with a wide grin as he left.

Once they were alone, Historia turned to face Eren. She could see he was angry and tired. "Eren, let's take a walk," she said, grabbing his hand and leading him away. They both needed one hour of rest.

Annie

"Armin, are you here?" She asked with a slight edge in her voice as she walked into the small clearing of the park. 

Since they encountered the Marley soldiers, Annie was no longer watched by soldiers, so she was finally free. 

But she still needed to work, so she decided to help Ymir with the new shifters. It was a little tiresome, but it paid quite well, and since Eren was King. Her house was near the castle, and she could have a good night with him every time she wanted. Mikasa would join them quite often, as did Ymir. 

Sasha had joined them only a few times since she decided to take the job of Guardian of the Ocean, as Armin called it. She was one of the new Semi Titan Shifters, so it made sense to have at least one guarding the docks.

Annie didn't like the questions Armin had been asking her about the day she arrived in Paradis. She stuck to the version she had told everyone that happened, but she knew somehow that Armin suspected that she was lying.

Annie had tried to avoid the smart blonde, and it worked for a whole month—until tonight when he suddenly told her he wanted to speak with her privately.

She heard the sound of leaves ruffling and someone approaching. She saw him walking towards her, the light beams of the moon illuminating the park through the branches of the trees surrounding them.

Annie felt her heart beating faster than usual as she studied Armin. He seemed a little nervous and had yet to say anything as he was busy avoiding her eyes. She was ready to ask what he wanted from her when she noticed his little finger had a small, fresh cut, dripping blood.

Annie froze in place, and her heart almost stopped when Armin finally looked at her in the eyes.

"I know you're the one who called the Titans before Berholdt broke the wall that day."

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