The Empire of Titans Chapter 88 (Heavy is The Crown) (Patreon)

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Pieck Finger

She waited patiently before the door. Behind her stood a girl leaning against the wall; from her uniform, she figured she was from the Military Police.

For a moment, nothing happened until she heard the door unlock, and Pieck grabbed the door handle. "Remember, you are not allowed to give them any information. Do you understand what I'm saying?" The girl said behind her with a strict voice.

Pieck stopped in her tracks; she tried hard not to roll her eyes. "King Eren permitted me to talk with my old group. He mentioned nothing about needing to watch my words. With his permission, I can say whatever I want, and it is not your damn business," Pieck said coldly, not looking at the girl who glared at her back, leaning away from the wall.

"Listen here, you bitch-" "But I understand the rules. I didn't come here to get myself killed. I just want to ask how they are doing, and I know this door is not soundproof, so you can hear everything that is said inside that room. So you have no reason to worry about anything. If I say anything, your King will hmake sure my Titan is given to someone else." Pieck interrupted her with a friendly smile, looking back at her over the shoulder.

The female soldier sighed before leaning back against the wall. "I still don't understand why you even bother. They are Marleys. They are the enemy." The girl said with a matter-of-fact kind of voice, and Pieck opened the door, not wanting to hear more from her.

But Pieck could not really blame her; in a way, it reminded her of the thousands of Eldians back at home. They all viewed the Eldians back at Paradis as devils and painted them with the same color.

She entered a narrow, small room. Before her was a seat, a desk with letters and pencils, and a wall that reached halfway to the ceiling. The top half was sealed by invisible glass.

Pieck scooted out the chair and sat down, chewing on her lip, thinking of what they would even tell her.

Since the whole incident, she knew things would get even worse; she knew sooner or later something like this would happen; while she hadn't thought exactly would happen, she knew incidents with the Marley Soldiers would happen sooner or later, especially when the prisoners are a group of people that the Eldians of the island hate.

Pieck wondered what King Eren would do. She hadn't talked with him much besides the one time he gave her permission to speak with her friends if she wanted to, but that one meeting had been enough for her. She remembered hearing from Zeke that his brother had commanded that all the bodies be buried somewhere, even the one Annie had thrown into the sea.

From that act alone, Pieck knew Eren was trying to be a fair King to everyone and not just to those on the island if that had been the case. Eren could have used the Rumbling to flatten the rest of the world, and since he hadn't done that yet and was genuinely trying to make alliances with the outside world, Pieck, at the very least, knew Eren wasn't some psycho King who would kill the rest of the world.

Since 'joining' their ranks as Pieck Finger 'The Cart Titan,' she was forced to spend most of her time surrounded by soldiers who watched her every move. They were like hawks, and even going to the toilet sometimes became a problem in their eyes, thankfully. Pieck was sure she was slowly growing on them, especially to one of the girls; her name was Nanabi if she remembered correctly.

Annie had volunteered to watch over her since she was considered 'Trustworthy' in the eyes of the King, but Pieck had refused. The last thing she needed was to spend time with the traitor. She knew Annie would try to defend herself, would try to paint her a picture like she had no other choice but to betray them. Pieck didn't want to hear why Annie had betrayed her, and she would never forgive her for that.

Surprisingly, the King had respected her wishes and ordered Team Mike to watch over her instead.

She wondered what Porco was doing back in their homeland. Knowing him, he was probably worried sick for them, especially knowing that he still hadn't been informed that his brother was dead. Pieck wanted to know how that happened, but the only one who knew what happened was Annie, and Pieck wasn't really in the mood to have that conversation yet. She wondered if Annie would even tell her the truth, to begin with.

She escaped her thoughts when she heard the sound of the door opening; through the thick glass, she saw her team brought up to her, all of them in chains. Their legs and arms were chained, and Pieck was sure Carlo had lost weight. His face looked like a skull with skin. They all sat down before the glass. There was a small opening for them to talk at the place where the wall and the glass made contact.

"You have thirty minutes to talk." The soldiers on their side of the room told her that before leaving the chamber, once the door closed, silence fell over them. Pieck tried to see what they thought of her, but the four were not looking at her.

Realizing that she needed to be the one to talk, she cleared her throat. "How are you all doing? Carlo?" She received silence, and the boy looked down, his eyes broken, and he looked exhausted.

"Jacob? Gerhard? Leo? Guys, please tell me something." She almost begged. They were one of the few people from Marley who truly saw her as a human being instead of just another Cursed Eldian.

"Are they feeding you?" Pieck asked, hoping they would talk with her, but the four remained silent. Pieck wondered what to do when one of them broke the silence.

"Will they be punished?" Pieck blinked; she almost didn't hear what he said.

"Punished?" Carlo slammed his hands on his side of the desk, and now he looked back at her, his expression similar to that of a broken man, looking at her with loathing. "Camila, Sara, and Gabriella. They tried to force themselves into them; they tried to..." He choked into his own words. He tried to speak again, but only whimpers escaped his lips. He quickly looked away, and Pieck wished she could do or say something to help him.

"W—We trusted you...We TRUSTED YOU. WE TREATED YOU LIKE YOU WERE ONE OF US, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY US. YOU BITCH—" "Okay, enough, Carlos. How about you let me handle this conversation." Gerhard interrupted with a strict voice, as always, pushing Carlos aside as he sat on the same that directly faced Pieck while Carlos fell on his knees.

Pieck felt her eyes burn with unshed tears. Out of all of them, Carlos was the one with the softest heart. He always tried to impress her; he didn't even like swearing a lot, saying his mother wouldn't like to see him swear and to see him yell at her like that, and the way he looked at her.

Pieck did not blame him; she had betrayed them, and they had every right to hate her now, but she had done this for her father. As much as she loved all of them as comrades, her father would always be more important than her own life.

"Gerhard?" Pieck called him questioningly, seeing that he appeared calmer than the others.

"Lady Pieck. Three days ago, three of our comrades were assaulted in their cells. The next day we started a riot, in hopes of justice, but all we got in return was a beating, and the soldiers telling us to go back to our cells, or we wouldn't have food for three days. Tell me, will justice be served, or will your King turn a blind eye? That's all we want to know." Gerhard said with a professional voice, catching Pieck a little off guard.

"Why are you not yelling at me? You were the first to start treating me like I wasn't a cursed Eldian, so why are you not angry with me?" Pieck questioned instead. She knew that out of all of them, Gerhard was always the one who kept a calm head even in the most stressful situation. While everyone told her she was smart, she lacked experience in truly stressful situations.

"Oh, I'm angry with you, Lady Pieck, do not mistake my lack of shouting for a lack of anger. But unlike the others. I know I change nothing by screaming my head off, so I'm focusing on the situation right now, and I'm not really surprised that you betrayed us in the first place." This caused Pieck to let out a silent gasp.

"Why?" Pieck couldn't help but ask.

"Listen, Lady Pieck, unlike the morons back at the mainland. I don't try to fool myself into thinking that the Eldians there are truly loyal to Marley when they have no real reason to be loyal. All the warriors are reminded every month of what can happen to their families if they disobey. You simply have no other choice but to do what you are told, and if I was in your place. I would have done the same. You saw an opportunity and took it. It is as simple as that." Gerhard said wisely, with no judgment in his words.

Pieck felt better after hearing his words.

"What about the girls?"

"Huh?" Pieck asked, not really hearing what he had said.

"The Female Soldiers, Camila, Sara, and Gabriella. What will happen to them?" Only now, Gerhard gave her a stern look, and Pieck averted her eyes.

As much as she wished to say that justice would prevail, she really didn't know if that was the case. She didn't know enough about the King to be able to come up with a good answer. "I...I don't know. I'm pretty sure this incident is in the hands of the King. He will be the one to decide what should be done." Pieck answered, looking back at him. She wished she had said more, but she simply lacked the information to give a more convincing, more positive answer.

Gerhard hummed thoughtfully before talking again. "Well, that's all you will have from me, Lady Pieck. I wish you good luck in the future." Pieck gave him a grateful smile, and Gerhard simply stood up and walked up to the door in the back, making it clear that he had nothing else to say.

Pieck tried to speak with the others, but just as Gerhard said, they screamed at her, calling her a traitor and whatnot. After twenty minutes more minutes passed, the guard returned and took the Marley soldiers away.

Pieck stood up and left the room, feeling better after talking to them. Despite their shouting and their curses, she still felt better.

The girl waiting for her said nothing to her, thankfully, and she was left to walk out of the prison without much trouble; waiting for her outside was Team Mike with five horses, but she noticed that the outside of the prison was much more crowded than usual. She could see that this little incident had stirred up the entire place. She was sure she saw a journalist asking Erwin Smith about the incident. She wondered who was the one that made this incident public.

Eren

"Good morning, your grace." The others greeted him as he walked into the council room, with Historia by his side and Kenny following them behind. Unlike the other meetings, every important military figure was present in this one, including Zackley.

"Good morning, everyone." Eren greeted them back as he took a seat with Historia by his side; once he sat down, the others did as well, and the meeting could finally start.

"Your grace, we have investigated the incident in the prison. I told Hange to question everyone, and here I have all the information she has gathered." Erwin was the first to start as Hange eagerly brought up the pile of papers in front of Eren, almost dropping them on the table. Eren gave them a small look while Historia decided to talk.

"Commander Pyxis, do you have any useful information to give us?" Historia questioned with courtesy.

The old commander cleared his throat before clapping his hands. Ian walked forward and, handed them more letters and dropped them before them.

"From what we have gathered. Well, there's no easy way to say it, and I'm ashamed that our soldiers have done this." Pyxis said as he drank more wine, trying to forget that the soldiers responsible for watching over their cell had been soldiers of the Garrison; he felt ashamed to admit that.

"From what we have gathered. Hange has built a scenario on how the incident went." Erwin stated, and Hange stepped forward with a notebook in her hand; she flipped through the pages and started telling them how she thought the incident happened from start to finish.

After one hour of listening, Hange showed them three different versions; the changes between them were small; it was only a matter of who told the guards to go and drink instead of doing their job.

Hange told them that a guard named Derrick had allowed the three assaulters to enter the cell. Based on what she had found out, the man hadn't known what the three men would try to do, but he hadn't cared much about what would happen to the Marley female soldiers. Hange then told them everything she had learned from the free female soldiers. They had checked their bodies for wounds, and she informed them that three had many scratch marks on their bodies, but the assault had come to an end when Sara Sand used her teeth to attack the sexual organ of one of the attackers, resulting in him losing said organ, and in fear of the same happening to the other two, they all ran away from the cell. Hange then told them that the next day, a riot started when the Marley soldiers demanded justice for the assault, which resulted in the guards beating them up.

"That is about it." Hange finished the story, and silence fell over the room but was quickly shattered by Kenny, who kicked the marble floor with the tip of his boots before walking forward.

"Hange Zoe, while you are very close. I'm afraid you have missed something, something that I was able to learn when I went there myself." Kenny announced with his famous grin, and Levi stepped forward as he tensed up a bit. The others knew that Kenny only obeyed the King and Queen, so Kenny saying that meant that Eren hadn't trusted them completely to give the full version to him.

"What would that be, Kenny?" Levi questioned suspiciously. Despite their little talk during and after the rebellion against that fat fool, Levi was still quite wary of Kenny. He had even warned Eren and Historia that Kenny could not be trusted, but Eren had reassured him that he had everything under control.

'I appreciate your concern, Captain Levi, but there's no need to worry. I do not trust Kenny, but I know how to make him tick, and I have what he desires in the palm of my hand. If he puts one foot out of line, then it will be over for him, and he knows that.'

"Kenny, the Reaper. Why should we trust you? Last time I checked you slit the throats of one hundred Military Police soldiers. Your word cannot be trusted." Commander Niel quickly pointed it out, but Kenny brushed off his words with a wave of his hand.

"That might be true, but remember that all those poor souls were higher-ups of the previous regime," Kenny said with a wide grin, enjoying the way Niel glared back at him.

"That is not important right now. Kenny, tell us what you have found out." Historia ordered with a commanding voice, and Kenny quickly cleared his throat and told them everything he had found out. First, he gave them a brief of what they already knew from Hange, but she hadn't found out that the Warden had wanted all of this to be kept a secret. Unfortunately for him, soldier Hitch Dreyse happened to be in prison that day and was able to inform them before he could really put all of this under the rug. Kenny told them the Warden had ordered for the girls to be executed by staging an accident, but the sudden arrival of Erwin Smith and Dot Pyxis had forced him to delay his plans.

Once they were done, Eren looked at everyone in the small council, his green eyes looking murderous. His look made Ian swallow nervously. Even Hange seemed a little nervous when she noticed how furious Eren was about this incident.

"Commander Niel, the Warden of this prison, was someone you suggested would be the best to run the prison. Is there anything you want to say in your defence?"

Niel turned white, knowing this was his fault. "My Ki—King. Trust me, he was the best one I could think of, he was the first of his year, and despite being a soldier for only three years, he was already an officer in my ranks. I tried to suggest who I thought would be the best option. If I had known, I would have never suggested him." Eren listened to the man's excuses; while he could see the man truly meant his words, all he could think of was what had happened to those Marley Soldiers and the three girls; he couldn't but feel shame. He was the King, and yet he had allowed something like this to happen.

"Your grace, while I believed that Commander Niel should have been more careful with who he chose to be a warden. We need concrete proof of Mister Kenny's claims." Zackley interrupted their discussion as he looked at the King keenly.

Kenny didn't seem to be happy that this old man was questioning him, and he was ready to counter him when Historia raised her hand. "You are right, Mister Zackley. While I believe Kenny's report, we still need proof about this, and I think there's an easy way to do this." Historia claimed, which quickly earned the attention of the others, except Eren, who already knew what she was thinking, something the two had thought of during last night.

"I want all of them questioned sharply. This is not some small incident that we can just ignore. This whole incident should have never happened; what if, in the future, something similar happened again? The world already thinks of us as monsters. I want all questioned, and if they refuse to tell the truth. Eren will use the Founding Titan." Historia said with cold, piercing eyes.

"Wait, did I miss something? Because I don't think the Founding Titan can be used to make people tell the truth." Hange questioned with a furrowed brow.

"That's true, but they don't know that, do they?" Eren questioned, and Kenny chuckled in amusement, much to Levi's annoyance; suddenly, the door opened, revealing Rico, who quickly walked up to them, her face pale with concern.

"Your grace, can I talk?" Everyone turned to face Rico Brzenska.

"Yes."

"Your grace. The information about this incident has leaked to the public. A crowd of people have gathered in front of the castle, they demand the truth. And they demand that—" She stopped midsentence as she looked away from them, finding it a little difficult to continue.

"Demand what? Rico, what is that they demand?"

"Well, not all of them, but some of them are saying that whoever did this should not be punished, saying those that were assulted were nothing but Marley soldiers, and as such should be killed and tortured," Rico explained, and Eren looked furious by what he was hearing.

He was half convinced to go out there and put the fear of death in them, but he quickly came up with a much better solution. "Are they still there?" Eren questioned, and Rico nodded in confirmation.

"Very well. I will talk with them myself."

"Your grace. That's not a smart decision.

"He's right, King Eren. Those people should be ignored." Pyxis agreed with Ian, but Eren would not listen to them, not this time.

"No. They are still my people. I'm their King, and what kind of King would I be if I allow people to live with that mindset. If we really are alright with such crimes, then we are no better than what the world thinks of us...Devils." Eren said determinedly as he stood up and walked out of the chamber, but Historia didn't follow him behind.

"Commander, I want whatever happened in this trial to be published publicily. Let people know that just because they are our enemies, that doesn't mean they should be treated even worse than animals." Historia ordered.

.

.

.

Mikasa followed Eren outside as they walked through the long hallway of the castle. Her eyes glanced briefly at him; she could tell he was exhausted. A part of her wished things would return back to how they were. The three of them together, but since Eren became King, the three of them were rarely together. Armin was busy helping Hange with the weapons they had discovered, and Mikasa was his guardian. "Eren, I think you need to rest. You are working hard, and everyone needs to rest," she said kindly, hoping he would listen to her. She wondered if he could take a weekend off of his busy work, the three of them and their friends could go to the park and spend time together like in the old days. It sounded fun in her head, but she knew things were no longer that simple.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Mikasa. I choose to become King, and I will try my best to lead my people to a better future. The Crowd is Heavy, and I must wear it with strength and wisdom." Eren said, holding his head high as two Royal soldiers opened the front door.

The protesters' noise reached their ears as they walked outside, a row of stairs before them made of marble, and they walked downstairs with Eren in the front. The crowd consisted of journalists and people holding up signs.

'Burn the Marley soldiers.'

'Free our soldiers.'

Five other royal guards, including Mikasa, quickly joined Eren as he walked up to them, the crown resting on his head. The doors leading to the castle courtyard remained closed as Eren walked up before them. He made a sign, and the doors slowly opened; the journalists and the protestors were quick to try and rush towards him, but the royal soldiers quickly formed a line before Eren, stopping them from advancing any further.

"Your grace, what happened in the prison?"

"Is it true that you're defending Marley soldiers."

"Are you betraying your own country?"

"What would your parents think of you now?"

Mikasa and Eren could not believe the questions they were hearing, but they all fell silent when Eren's green eyes glittered. They all backed away in fear when golden lightning danced around Eren's fingers for a brief moment.

"I will answer all your questions, but please, one at a time." Eren ordered with courtesy in his voice.

One of them decided to step forward, the mic shaking in his hand. "Your grace, we have heard rumors. We all want to know the truth. Every Eldian inside the walls wants to know what is happening in the prison. Why are the Commanders involved? Did the Marley prisoners attack our soldiers?" one of the journalists asked as he stepped forward.

"There has been an assault on three female soldiers from Marley that we captured as prisoners. While, it's true they are prisoners from Marley, that gives us no right to treat them like animals. We are still investigating on who could have done this, and we will make sure to punish those responsible for this."

"What about us then, your grace? They have been killing us for over a century, why show them mercy, why judge our own soldiers for doing the right thing. Are you siding with Marley?"

It took a lot from Eren not to get furious; how could these people ever think he would abandon his own people? "I'm doing no such thing, but I understand where you come from. The outside world, mainly Marley, has been unfair to us for over a century. We all remembered what happened six years ago when Wall Maria was breached. We all thought it was only a matter of time before Wall Rose and Wall Sina fell. But we survived the Colossal and the Armoured Titan. We fought and we won. The outside world knows us as 'The Devils of Paradis.' But how are we any different if we allow a crime like this to go unpunished? We would be proving the rest of the world right. We would prove to them that we are Devils. I understand the outside world doesn't have a high opinion of us, but you should remember the outside world is slowly turning against Marley. What kind of image would we show if they found out that we left something like this to go unpunished? If we do, then other people might think that it's alright to do it. No punishment. This will lead to them attacking their own people, after all. No punishment—" Mikasa listened as Eren gave his speech to the people. She could see their opinion slowly changing until they all cheered for him in the end.

Mikasa smiled at him with love and pride. Eren was proving more and more that he was a worthy King, not that she ever doubted him.

From a window on the top floor, Erwin, Hange, and Levi saw it unfolding before their eyes.

"That kid has a silver tongue. Sometimes I wonder which one of you is more colorful with words," Levi commented, looking straight at Eren from the window as he talked. He had to admit he was glad Eren wasn't taking the short way out and just ignoring what happened, but he was willing to fix the mistake made in the prison.

Erwin chuckled in amusement. "My words are to encourage people to keep fighting and not give up. Eren is better at convinving them to be in the same mindset as him, to convince people that they can put their trust in him. To lead. That's one of Eren's gifts." Erwin commented, seeing that the speech had ended and the crowd that had gathered was slowly scattering away.

"Erwin. I got news from Mike, apparently, they were attacked by Marley Ships. Sasha Blous easily defeated them, and the Marley soldiers still alive were taken as prisoners, but one of the prisoners claims to know Zeke, and her name is Yelena. What should we do?"

Erwin hummed thoughtfully before turning to look at Hange. "Once this mess is settled, bring Yelena here. We wanted Zeke to make contact with the outside world, but that plan was postponed because of this whole mess. Maybe we are lucky, and Zeke's allies have arrived here first, looking for him, and this might make things easier for us."

"I'm not sure." Levi grumbled as he leaned away from the window, turning to face Erwin. "Luck likes kicking us in the balls just when we think things are finally going well. Can we trust this woman? Because I sure as hell don't trust the monkey."

"We don't have to trust them, we simply need them to do their job to help us, and once we don't need them, we can get rid of them."

Two Days Later

When the courtroom door opened, Eren looked down at the suspects being dragged into the center of the room. One after the other, they were brought before him. All five of them were the most responsible for what happened in the prison. The one who accepted the bride and allowed the soldiers access to their cells would be judged separately.

Eren and Historia sat on a seat much higher than the others, with Zackley sitting lower than them, and the three commanders were sitting in different places on the sides of the courtroom. Captains and officers had all gathered for this trial, and the people who had done this were brought before them in chains.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"What is the meaning of this?

"We have done nothing!"

"Commander Erwin, it's me. What have I Done wrong?"

"Silence," Zackley ordered in the courtroom, and everyone fell silent. The Journalists seemed to want to ask the criminals questions, but they were held back by the row of Royal Soldiers.

The five prisoners looked up at them, and Eren's furius eyes looked back at them with a murderous glare. Historia placed her hand on top of his, calming him down a little.

"Your grace, why are we here?" One of them shouted in confusion as he struggled against the chains, trying to free himself, but he fell silent when Zackley ordered for silence again.

"Dakon Dack, Waalo Hernstang, Andran Dan, and Headir Hornl. You are charged with the crimes of sexual assault, assault, bride, and disobeying orders given to you. How do you plead?" Eren shouted for everyone to hear, his voice booming throughout the entire courtroom.

There was complete silence for a moment when one of them broke into laughter. Many gasped, not believing the man was laughing, but he did for a solid minute before looking up at Eren. "Is this what this all this shit is about, about the bitches from Marley!!"

A round of gasps was heard from the audience, including the journalists, who quickly started talking with each other. So were the captains and the officers. The sound in the courtroom increased, reaching the high ceiling, until Zackley demanded silence again.

"I want silence in my courtroom." He ordered before facing the four who had done the deed, looking at them grimly. "I don't think you four understand your situation. If you are found guilty, you four will be executed for your crimes against Humanity. How do you plead?"

"WHAT!! This is not fair. Those bitches are from Marley. Who cares what happened to them? One of them bite my dick off, but instead of killing the bitch, you dare to judge us!!" Those words caused the entire place to boom with sound, and Eren was already getting tired of this; it was clear all of them were guilty; they weren't even trying to hide it.

"Enough," Eren ordered, and everyone fell silent. Once everyone was quiet, Eren turned to look at Hange, who quickly stepped forward.

"Your honor, my name is Hange Zoe. I will show you proof we have gathered that prove that these four soldiers attacked four prisoners in their cells, and tried to take advantage of them." Hange explained as she flipped through the pages with her finger.

One proof after another, the situation for the four of them was getting bleaker and bleaker.

After four more hours in the courtroom, Zackley had come to a decision. "Dakon Dack, Waalo Hernstang, Andran Dan, and Headir Hornl. For the charges of sexual assault, disobeying orders, and bride. You will be executed publicity. Now, get them out of here." Zackley ordered, and four royal soldiers grabbed them by their cuffed hands and started dragging them out of the courtroom, their screams echoing throughout the place.

Now, only one of them was left. The Warden of the Prison had turned paler than snow. He looked up at Commander Niel for help, who quickly looked away from him, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Klauus Wut, based on the proof we have gathered, you are guilty of ordering for the prisoners of Marley to be beaten up for no good reason, you tried to cover up this whole thing, and you gave the four that made the assault money to bride the guard. How do you plead?"

"Why are we being judged? They are from Marley? My family was killed by Titans when Wall Maria fell. The Marley send the Colossal and Armoured Titan. They are guilty. The only thing I regret is not sending someone to kill those three bitches. They all deserved to be treated like Eldians are treated every day by the outside world. They are our enemies, the world will always be our enemy. They will never look at us any differently, your grace. Despite what you think, I understand that you are trying to make peace, to prove we are not devils. But Mark my Words. We will always be 'The Devils of Paradis' in their eyes, and nothing will ever change that. So go ahead, punish me. But I know that one day. My words will be proven right, and when that day comes. Only a Full-Scale Rumbling can truly save us."

"Alright. I don't want to hear anymore. Klauus Wut, for the crimes you have commited. You are sentenced to forty years in prison. Take him away." Eren ordered, and most of the audience cheered, happy with the results.

But not Eren. In his head, he thought of the words Klauus said.

'Only a Full-Scale Rumbling can truly save us.'

Eren sighed deeply, hoping the day he would need to do that would never come, but if it did, he would save his people.

Tomorrow

"What are people saying, Kenny?" Eren questioned as he sat on a royal chair by the fireplace, with Kenny standing behind him with the newest newspaper in his hands.

After the trial, he and Historia were interviewed by journalists. The two explained what happened and the punishment the soldiers would receive, but they still needed to find out who leaked the information to the public. Eren was sure someone had done that to force him not to punish the soldiers for fear of the population turning against him.

"Well, your speech is on the front page. I'm reading it right now, and your words have moved even me to tears." Kenny said snarkily but stopped when Eren gave him a side-hard glare.

"...Well anyway. The Majority are supporting your decision, but I have heard words, there are a group of people that don't agree with what you have done, in their words, you will bring the destruction of Paradis, and that you are siding with Marley, and the Outside world, and that your parents would be ashamed—" "Alright, that's enough." Eren interrupted him as he stood up before turning to face Kenny.

"You can leave now." Kenny tilted his hat upwards before turning on his heels and leaving the room.

Once the door was closed, Eren remained alone. Now that he was by himself, Eren couldn't help but think of that day. When the Smiling Titan ate his mother, the thought made his blood boil. He knew the people who were truly responsible for what happened that day were still fine and alive back at Marley.

Berholdt might have been the one to kick the gate, but his General, the Ruling Government of Marley, were the ones who needed to pay. He didn't know yet who ruled over Marley, but Commander Erwin had told him that he was suspicious that the Tybur Family were the ones who were the true rulers of Marley.

'They are Eldians, but unlike the rest of the Eldians who are not in Paradis. They are treated well, they are rich, and everyone respects them. Annie told us that House Tybur holds the War Hammer Titan. I have reasons to believe they are the ones who truly rule Marley.'

If that were the case, Eren would destroy all of them until there's nothing left. Anyone who was responsible for what happened that day will face his wrath. If he closed his eyes, he could still remember the blood and his mother screaming for them to run.

Eren escaped his thoughts when the door cracked open.

"Your grace, Lady Pieck Finger wants to talk with you. Should I allow her?"

"Yes," Eren answered, a little caught off guard as he turned to face the door. He wondered what Annie's friend wanted with him. The door opened fully, and Pieck walked inside, followed by Mikasa, who was keeping a close eye on her. Once they passed the threshold, the royal guards closed the door outside of the room.

"Lady Pieck Finger, might I know what brought you here?" Eren questioned, a little intrigued.

Pieck looked right at his eyes as if trying to read his mind before speaking. "Can we talk alone?" She asked after a moment of pause.

Her words made Mikasa tense up, and her hands went for the pommel of her sword, but Eren wasn't afraid of her. "Yes, Mikasa, can you give us a moment?"

Mikasa looked conflicted and gave him a look, asking if he was sure, and he nodded his head in confirmation. Despite that, she seemed on the verge of refusing but quite reluctantly turned around and walked up to the door. "I'm right outside, Eren." She said before leaving the large room.

"Well, we are alone now. What can I do for you, Lady Pieck?" Eren questioned with courtesy.

"Just call me Pieck, King Eren. What I want to know is why did you did it?"

"Did what?" Eren questioned with a tilt of his head, wondering what she was talking about.

"The Marley soldiers, why did you protect them? I read today's newspaper, what you said about the outside world. You must know that your decision to punish your own soldier is not something everyone will agree with, so why did you choose the hard road?"

"You want to know why I didn't do it the easy way, why I didn't do what Marley would have done if the roles were reversed."

"...Yes," Pieck answered a little reluctantly, knowing that Marley would have never cared to bring justice to Eldian soldiers if the roles were truly reserved, so she was intrigued by this person. Eren Yeager was a question mark to her. She was sure he was just being kind to her when he gave her permission to talk with her old crew because she held the Cart Titan, but she never thought he would try to bring justice to Marley soldiers who had nothing to give him back.

"When I became King, I once read 'The Crown is heavy and full of harsh decisions. If it wasn't, then anyone would be able to place one on their heads and pretend they are in charge.' I accepted this duty to help my people. I believe I can do that, but I don't want to just take the easy way out. If that were the case. I would have used the Rumbling the moment I had the chance, but I did not. The same for your 'friends'. If I decided to take the easy way out, then I'm not the King Paradis needs. I would become just a fool with a crown on my head. What was the point of electing me King if I chose the easy way out like King Rod Reiss? I'm not sure where this road will lead me, but I will make sure to lead my people as best as I can." Eren said with passion in his words; his words made Pieck's eyes widen a little before turning back to normal.

Once again, there was nothing but silence until Pieck broke it. "...You are not what I thought you would be, your Grace. Perhpas, you can truly bring a better future for us all." Pieck said, and for the first time, she spoke to Eren with a hint of friendliness in her voice.

"I appreciate your words, Pieck. But before you leave. I heard from Annie, that from all the warriors, you were the closest with my brother, Zeke, well, before he decided to betray you."

Pieck's smile wavered, and instead, she frowned deeply at the mention of Zeke and Annie. "It was never like that, to me, Zeke was simply someone I considered trustworthy for a time. But we never were, you know...truly close."

"That's not what I was asking. I don't care how close you were with my brother, what I want to know is if you know someone with the name Yelena."

This made Pieck's eyes widen, and her body tensed up, something Eren noticed right away. "I take it you know her. Can you tell me anything about her?"

"I don't know much about her, but I know she's loyal to Zeke. No...She's not just loyal to your brother. She worships him. And, if she is coming here. I would give you one advice, never leave her and Zeke in the same room without supervision. That is my advice."

Eren pondered deeply. It seemed Erwin and Levi were right. This woman, Yelena, could not be trusted, but she could be used. "I appreciate your advice, Pieck. You can leave now, and if you want, we can talk again someday." Eren offered, and Pieck smiled at him.

"That sounds lovely."

Eren and Pieck have started to get to know each other. Yelena will meet with Eren and Zeke in the next chapter, and we will get Armin and Hange being smartasses. But most importantly, we will get more quality time with Eren's Queens.

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