Royal Capital, Council Hall
The office door was knocked lightly twice. A man entered and said to the person working inside, "Mr. President, there's an unannounced visitor requesting to see you."
Zachary didn't look up from his writing. "Name?"
"He says his name is Lillian Kafka."
The pen paused mid-stroke. Zachary looked up and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Let him in."
"Yes, sir."
The assistant left. Moments later, Lillian entered the room. Seeing him leaning on a cane, Zachary couldn't help but chuckle.
"Well now, Lillian. Coming to see me in this condition—this must be something important."
"Yes, Mr. President."
Lillian gave a respectful salute. Zachary waved him off and gestured for him to sit.
"You're quite the celebrity these days," Zachary said with a faint smile. "Even in this little council hall of mine, I receive plenty of reports about you. Still, I didn't expect you to come here personally."
"My freedom hasn't been restricted yet."
"That's true." Zachary nodded, studying him. "You haven't changed."
"Changed how?"
"You're a boy who wears his cleverness on his face. That makes it easy to suffer losses."
"..."
Zachary stood up, walked out from behind his desk, and paced slowly around the room with his hands clasped behind his back.
"You're a smart man, so I'll speak to you in the way smart men understand."
"..."
"If I'm not mistaken, you've come to ask for my help."
"Allow me to correct that," Lillian said calmly. "I don't want to use the word ask. What I want is cooperation."
"Oh?" Zachary raised an eyebrow slightly. "Cooperation—interesting. Then let's first assess the current situation."
"The incident in Stohess has grown far too large for you to stay uninvolved," Zachary said with a light chuckle. "Even though I don't know the truth, my first instinct when I heard about it was that it had something to do with you. Call it intuition. I could tell the first time we met—you're not someone who stays put."
"There are only two possible endings for you. One is filling the vacancies and rising step by step. The other is being dug into by those bastards in the Central Military Police, then pushed out as the mastermind behind it all."
Zachary stopped and looked at him.
"And the reason you came to see me… is because you want the first ending, isn't it?"
Lillian had to admit it—this old fox saw straight through him. If he had a choice, he wouldn't have come here. But right now, he truly needed the help of someone with power and influence.
"Yes," Lillian replied, speaking in the same measured, incisive manner. He did not dodge the issue. "I want you to speak on my behalf in the appropriate settings."
Zachary chuckled softly. "Then what do I get in return?"
"Our cooperation."
"Oh?"
He studied Lillian for a moment, gave a slight nod, then shook his head. "You're quite bold for a brat, daring to talk about cooperation with me. Still, tell me something that actually interests me first."
A glint flashed through Zachary's eyes.
"Let's talk about the Titans."
"..."
"I'm almost sixty," Zachary said calmly. "That's several times your age. So don't bother making up excuses to fool me—it would only waste both our time. Titans like Eren… there are more of them, aren't there?"
"Yes."
"Then do you know their identities?"
"Before I answer that," Lillian said, "may I ask you a question?"
"Go on."
Lillian spoke evenly. "Someone like you would never be willing to be ordered around by those bloated, incompetent fools, would you? They… should never have been sitting in those seats in the first place."
Zachary frowned slightly but allowed him to continue.
"You must be very lonely," Lillian said quietly. "Those thoughts—you can only bury them in the deepest part of your heart. You can't tell anyone. Not even your family. Because once such thoughts are exposed, it would spell absolute ruin."
Zachary's expression darkened further. Clearly, Lillian had touched on something he neither liked nor wanted to hear spoken aloud.
"Just like you," Lillian continued, "when I first met you, I felt that a person like you only lacks one thing—a chance. And I'm willing to help bring that chance about."
Then his tone shifted slightly.
"You asked about the Titans' identities, didn't you?" A faint smile curved his lips. "That person… is someone within the Survey Corps."
The Survey Corps.
Zachary's expression turned serious. He locked eyes with Lillian for several seconds—then suddenly burst into laughter.
"Ha! Hahaha!"
He strode forward and clapped Lillian on the shoulder. "Not bad, kid. You saw through thoughts I've hidden for decades. Excellent—truly excellent. A talent like you can't be handed over to those scum in the Central Military Police. And besides… if you were talking about Eren, I'd be very unhappy."
"Of course not."
"Then that means there are two of them?" Zachary raised an eyebrow. "That really is unexpected."
Two?
Lillian thought to himself: If only it were just two…
"Very well," Zachary said with a grin, extending his hand. "I accept your proposal. Lillian… Division Commander. Now tell me more. I'm very curious—curious about the information itself, and even more curious about where you got it from. Go on. Tell me everything."
"Thank you."
Lillian inclined his head slightly and reached out, clasping Zachary's hand.
---
Meanwhile, in the Survey Corps.
Ymir had gone through considerable trouble to finally find Krista, who was feeding horses in the stables. One handful at a time, Krista placed hay into the troughs, her lake-blue eyes unfocused, her thoughts clearly elsewhere, her expression heavy with worry.
"Krista, why are you here feeding horses?"
Ymir's voice snapped her out of her daze. Krista glanced at her but said nothing.
"What, not in the mood to talk to me?"
"…Ymir," Krista finally said, "why were you willing to do that—why did you lie to Lillian?"
Ymir sighed. "Latest news: the commander changed the operation plan and replaced me."
"Eh…?"
Krista looked at her in surprise. Ymir shrugged. "Probably for the same reason you weren't used. He was worried I wouldn't be reliable either—that I'd slip up during the 'act' because of emotions. Seriously, what kind of feelings could I possibly have for that shorty?"
"…"
Krista bit her lip, then suddenly said, "Did you read the newspaper, Ymir? I'm really worried about Lillian. It said the Military Police headquarters' arsenal exploded—an entire building collapsed, and a lot of MPs died."
"Oh, that?" Ymir nodded. "Yeah, I saw it. Still feels pretty strange, though. Those MPs were that careless?"
"I wanted to write to Lillian the day before yesterday, to ask how he was doing…" Krista said softly. "But the commander wouldn't allow it. He was worried I might leak the operation plan…"
"Would you?" Ymir asked suddenly.
"Of course I—" Krista started to answer, but froze halfway through. She realized her heart was resisting the words she was about to say.
"That hesitation right there," Ymir said, "is exactly why the commander wouldn't let you write."
Then she added lightly, "Don't worry about him. Didn't the commander just return from Wall Sina yesterday? Since the operation hasn't been called off, that means Lillian's fine."
Krista blinked. "Y–yeah. You're right."
"Tch, honestly," Ymir muttered, clearly dissatisfied. "Is he really that great? All this time and he hasn't even written you a letter… Maybe he's gone bad like the rest of those MPs."
"He wouldn't," Krista said at once, shaking her head. "Lillian would never become like that."
"Huh?" Ymir raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know that?"
"Um…"
Krista thought for a long while before finally speaking.
"It's just a feeling… that he wouldn't. Back when we were in the training corps, a lot of the boys were always talking about how, after graduation, they wanted to go into the city and… go to those kinds of places. But Lillian never took part in those conversations, right?"
Ymir's mouth twitched twice.
"That's your reason for thinking he won't go bad?" She couldn't help rubbing her forehead with a sigh. "Oh, my dear Krista… when it comes to men, never judge them by what they say. You have to look at what they do, understand?"
"Is… is that so?"
"Yes. Whether a man talks nonstop, sweet-talking people until their heads spin, or barely says a word and acts like a mute—neither tells you what kind of person he really is. What matters is what he actually does. That's where the truth is."
Seeing Krista's innocent, confused expression, Ymir felt utterly helpless.
"You're way too naïve. If I weren't around, you'd probably get sold off and still help count the money afterward. Seriously, that won't do at all."
For once, despite the gloom hanging over her heart, Krista smiled brightly. She hugged Ymir's arm.
"Then you can just stay by my side forever."
"..."
Ymir froze, stunned. After a few seconds of silence, she looked into the sincerity in the girl's eyes. It was as if she had made some important decision. She nodded and gave a smile that was half bitter, half happy.
"Alright."