"Commander, what exactly is this special mission we're supposed to be carrying out?"
"You'll find out soon enough!"
Nile's words did nothing to calm the Military Police. They continued whispering and discussing among themselves.
As for Nile himself, he was growing increasingly restless.
Erwin… are you done over there yet?
If we've arrested the wrong person, the one who'll have to take the blame will be me.
And rightly so. If Lillian wasn't actually the human Erwin claimed who possessed Titan powers, then once he returned, all it would take was a few questions for him to figure out exactly what had happened—and immediately realize that the commanders of both the Survey Corps and the Military Police had jointly set him up.
That would be disastrous.
Nile no longer dared underestimate Lillian. Not because of his strength, but because of the backing and support behind him—things Nile had never anticipated.
He had originally thought Lillian was just a lucky commoner. But during the previous appointment meeting, the noble faction led by Charles had openly supported him—something that completely exceeded Nile's expectations.
Charles's full name was Charles Rue Spencer, head of the Spencer family—one of the top ten noble families in the capital, with status surpassed only by the royal ministers themselves. For such a powerful family to support a commoner made no sense at all, and Nile still couldn't figure it out.
"Could it be some cliché story where a noble lady falls in love with a poor boy?"
Nile knew Charles had a daughter named Diana—beautiful, and only one or two years older than Lillian. But was that really possible? Would someone as proud as her care about Lillian's background?
If not that, then what reason did Charles have to support him?
Could it be that Charles wanted to recruit him—believing Lillian had potential similar to President Zachary's, someone who could rise to the top through sheer effort?
Then there was President Zachary's attitude as well—it was subtle. Nile had a faint sense that Zachary leaned toward Lillian. Perhaps it was because Zachary himself had been born a commoner, and saw his younger self reflected in Lillian—another capable commoner.
Either way, it gave Lillian a solid foundation. At the very least, minor nobles wouldn't dare provoke him anymore. And—
Lost in thought, Nile scanned the assembled Military Police—and suddenly noticed something missing.
"Where are this year's new recruits?" he demanded. "Where are they?"
The officers looked at each other. One finally spoke up.
"Commander… the new recruits usually stay with L—uh—with the deputy commander."
Damn it!
Nile's heart sank. If those recruits were truly Lillian's trusted subordinates, then it was entirely possible they would ignore his orders and go straight to him.
And if the two sides ran into each other—if any friction arose—
Nile's expression darkened. He immediately turned and strode toward the exit.
"Everyone, follow me! Move, now!"
---
No one could have predicted that the situation would turn out like this.
Ten Military Police officers now stood with their guns raised, surrounding Lillian in the center, their muzzles aimed at the Survey Corps soldiers. Meanwhile, the Survey Corps members were at a loss—surely they couldn't just start fighting the Military Police?
After all, the insignia on the Military Police uniforms was the Law-Enforcing Unicorn. What did "law enforcement" mean? It meant carrying out the law—acting as the embodiment of the law itself.
If the Survey Corps were to attack the Military Police, that would be illegal. It could even be labeled an "armed coup," and that kind of charge could very well end with a trip to the gallows.
And so, both sides fell into a tense, silent standoff.
"Nile really is unreliable," Levi muttered, glancing at Erwin. "What now?"
"....Lower your weapons."
As Erwin spoke, he was the first to jump down from the rooftop and walk toward Lillian.
Upon hearing the order, the other Survey Corps soldiers sheathed their blades. At the same time, Lillian gestured for his people to lower their guns as well. His goal had already been achieved—Erwin could no longer seriously consider arresting him.
"Annie, you…"
Armin looked at Annie standing beside Lillian. He had seen it clearly—she had been the first to raise her gun and aim, and she had definitely seen the three of them. That meant she had made her choice with full awareness of the situation: to protect Lillian.
That left Armin deeply confused.
After all, everyone from the 104th knew Annie's personality—someone who avoided involvement, never interfered in others' affairs. And yet, her hesitation-free reaction just now had been unmistakably real.
Annie glanced at Armin, then ignored him completely, continuing to stand there with a blank expression.
"Commander Erwin," Lillian said to the approaching man, "let's talk calmly. There's really no need to draw blades or point guns. I know what you're worried about, so I'll give you an answer first: no, I'm not."
"…"
Erwin couldn't truly believe him—but the situation forced his hand. With other Military Police present, using force was no longer an option.
Still, Lillian's attitude surprised him. Anyone else would probably be furious by now. Since Lillian wanted to talk peacefully, Erwin had no reason to refuse.
"Alright," Erwin said. "Then let's talk."
Lillian glanced around. "Just the two of us?"
"That's fine."
"Hold on, Erwin," Levi stepped forward. "Talking alone is out of the question."
"That's right, Deputy Commander!" Robert objected as well. "What if they try something?"
At this point, Lillian's subordinates still didn't know what was really going on—but they were firmly on his side and held no goodwill toward the Survey Corps.
"Then two people each," Lillian said. "Annie, Marlo—you're with me. Everyone else, stay where you are. And protect her."
"Her" clearly referred to Krista.
Krista stood a few meters away, trembling slightly—partly from fear and worry, partly because she couldn't bear the looks the other Survey Corps members were directing at her.
There was no doubt that her actions earlier had, in some sense, betrayed the Corps. Even if no disastrous consequences had resulted—after all, everyone knew Lillian had already sensed the ambush before she ran over—her behavior still left many Survey Corps soldiers dissatisfied. Some were even glaring at her openly.
Yet despite her guilt, Krista didn't regret what she'd done.
Because it was what she wanted to do.
And Lillian understood that fully. The moment he saw her appear and heard her desperate shout, he had already pieced everything together.
That was why he absolutely couldn't allow the Survey Corps to take Krista away—at least, not right now.
Even though they didn't understand the situation, the Military Police immediately formed a protective circle around Krista, preventing the Survey Corps from approaching her. With that, there was nothing the others could do.
To be honest, Levi alone could have dealt with everyone present—including Lillian and his people. But could didn't mean should. As already stated, attacking Military Police within the inner districts without proper procedures or justification was tantamount to assaulting law enforcement—or outright rebellion.
So all anyone could do was stare each other down while Lillian and Erwin stepped aside.
Levi and Hange followed Erwin. Annie and Marlo stood behind Lillian.
"There's no time for a long discussion," Erwin said seriously. "Since you claim you're not one of them, I need concrete proof."
"Commander Erwin," Lillian replied, "you should know that something like this can't be proven."
And he was right. If you said you weren't a Titan, how did you prove it? Bite your hand like Eren? The problem was, if you didn't want to transform, even cutting your hand off wouldn't trigger anything.
This was something that simply couldn't be self-proven. Of course, Erwin didn't yet fully understand the mechanics of Titan power—if he and Lillian shared the same knowledge, he wouldn't even be asking.
Erwin fell silent for a few seconds, then asked, "The person who wrote those notes before—that was you, wasn't it?"
Lillian raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected Erwin to know about that. It was strange—he had disguised himself well back then, and the little girl couldn't possibly have recognized him. How, then, had Erwin deduced it was him?
Still, setting that aside… a lot of things suddenly made sense.
So that's why Erwin acted so decisively, Lillian thought. He was sure of this.
Indeed, Lillian had already suspected that Erwin wouldn't act based solely on something as vague as "unusual strength and physical ability." That was far too flimsy. There had to be other evidence—he just hadn't expected it to be this.
And if it was this, then Erwin's actions were perfectly reasonable.
Once it was confirmed that Lillian had written those notes, then regardless of whether he was a Titan, he definitely possessed Titan-related intelligence. Arresting him would be a net gain either way.
No wonder, Lillian thought.
"Yes," he said. "I wrote them."
At this point, denial was pointless.
Behind him, Annie and Marlo were both completely confused.
Not one of them? Proving it? Notes?
Annie understood the first part but had no idea what the notes referred to. Marlo, on the other hand, understood none of it at all. Still, he wasn't foolish enough to ask questions now—he trusted that Lillian would explain everything afterward.
"I do have some intelligence," Lillian continued. "But at the time, I couldn't fully trust you. Because—"
He suddenly realized Annie was standing right behind him and cut himself off, changing his wording.
"Because the enemy's identity hadn't been confirmed yet. And I also had to consider my own safety."
Erwin nodded slightly. From Lillian's perspective, that concern was understandable.
"Commander Erwin," Lillian said, "I know you urgently need information. And I also hope to cooperate with you—to contribute to humanity's survival. But today really isn't a good time. I think we should talk another day, sitting down properly."
"I agree," Erwin said.
He really had no choice but to agree. The series of unexpected developments had already declared the operation a failure.
Still, Lillian's frankness was something he hadn't anticipated—and because of it, the possibility of Lillian being an enemy had dropped significantly.
"Then how about three days from now?" Erwin took the initiative to set the time.
Lillian nodded. "That works. But I have one condition."
"..."
---
Tap tap tap tap!
Please don't let anything happen, please don't let anything happen…
Nile repeated the words in his head as he hurried toward the scene with the Military Police. As he rounded the corner, he had already prepared himself for the worst—bloodshed, injuries, even bodies on the ground.
Yet what he saw left him completely stunned.
Lillian and Erwin were standing there, hands clasped together, as if they had just reached an agreement.
Nile froze on the spot.
Wasn't he supposed to arrest Lillian? Wasn't this the reason he'd been asked to pull the Military Police away in the first place?
What was with the smiling handshake?!
"Erwin, what the hell are you playing at…?"