"I'm not…"
Zeke wanted to tell her—that the true King of Eldia was not him, but someone across the sea, hidden within the walls of Paradis Island. He was nothing more than a wanderer, carrying the cursed blood of the royal line.
But before he could explain, the sailors shouted again:
"Warrior Captain Zeke! Please board quickly—the ship is about to depart!"
The whistle blared, the ladder was being pulled up. Zeke had no time left. With a heavy heart, he gave Anna one last look, whispered a farewell, and boarded.
…
The ship drifted from the port. On deck, Zeke stood silently, watching his loved ones shrink into the distance. Slowly, his heart calmed.
That woman… could give me a home.
A thought he had never dared to allow himself surfaced for the first time.
A warm home—something he had longed for all his life.
But the moment he let it bloom, the image shattered.
On the pier, Princess Anna smiled faintly, drew a dagger, and plunged it into her chest.
Her body collapsed into the waves.
"Princess!" Panic swept across both shore and ship.
Zeke's blood froze.
His mind went blank as he vaulted onto the railing. He brought his hand to his mouth, ready to tear himself open and transform—ready to dive into the sea, tear across the waves, and drag her back from death.
But then—her words echoed in his mind.
"Once you set out, don't look back."
"I won't be your shackle. No one will control you through me."
"Goodbye, my Titan. Goodbye… my King of Eldia. Crush Marley for me."
Zeke's body trembled. His hand fell from his mouth. He knew he could leap back. But he couldn't.
If he returned, Marley would simply hand him another "Princess Anna," another chain.
She chose her end only after the ship had gone far enough that he couldn't justify turning back.
Her death would mean nothing if he returned.
Through his tears, a crooked smile formed. "Eren, you were right. This world is filthy—whether Eldians exist in it or not."
…
"Eren? Who's that?" a cool, detached voice asked. It was Annie Leonhart.
Zeke didn't reply.
Instead, he noticed someone else weeping louder than him—hugging his knees and bawling.
"It's a tragedy! Eldians can't ever be with Marleyans! My parents… they'll never be together, waaaaaa!" Reiner wailed, rocking back and forth.
Bertolt sighed, exhausted, and handed him another handkerchief. "That's enough already…"
Zeke blinked in disbelief. "…My lover just killed herself. Why are you crying harder than me?"
Between sobs, Reiner couldn't respond. Bertolt filled the silence, murmuring: "His father's Marleyan. His mother's Eldian. When he saw you and the princess together, he thought his parents could reconcile too. Now…"
"I see."
Zeke finally understood.
It isn't hopelessness that destroys people most—it's hope, briefly glimpsed, only to be crushed.
Just like him. A warmth had stirred in his chest for the first time in years, and Anna's dagger had extinguished it in an instant.
But even so, he was not defeated.
Because Anna's voice still echoed in him.
"Thank you, Zeke. I never thought I could be loved."
Thank you, Anna. For showing me that I could be loved.
Her name itself became the strength filling his hollow chest.
…
Reiner sobbed harder. "It's impossible! The princess regretted loving you, just like all the Marleyans! She killed herself because Eldians and Marleyans can never be together! Wuuuuuu—"
Zeke stared at him, speechless.
This kid… is unbearable.
He thought briefly of Mr. Ksaver's Marleyan wife, who killed herself with her son when she learned the truth about her husband's blood. Perhaps Reiner's mother lived a similar nightmare.
But seeing him break apart so pitifully, Zeke sighed, sat down, and pulled the boy against him.
"You're wrong."
"…?"
"She loved me."
Reiner blinked up at him, tear-streaked and dumb.
"The reason we can't be together wasn't the one you think."
"Then… what reason?"
"Something else."
"What… what else?"
"When you grow older, and when you love someone, you'll understand." Zeke ruffled his hair and held him close.
"…Warrior Captain, aren't you sad?" Reiner whispered.
"I am sad," Zeke admitted softly.
"Then why aren't you crying?"
"…Because I can still hold it in." He glanced at him sideways. "Besides—there's already an idiot crying for me."
"…Idiot? Who?"
Zeke didn't answer. He let the boy collapse against his chest.
Soon, Reiner's sobs swelled again, wilder than before, convinced his parents would never be together.
And Zeke held him, utterly speechless, thinking—
Holding this kid is like holding myself… back when I still cried like that.