This was a decision Lillian spent an entire night weighing. It was the best solution he could think of to reconcile the conflict in his heart.
What conflict?
The clash between reason and emotion.
On the rational side: Lillian could not act against the three Warrior candidates in advance. First, he had no guarantee of success — failure would bring catastrophic consequences. Second, even if he killed them… would it actually change anything?
There are two ways to inherit Titan power.
The first is when a Pure Titan devours an intelligent Titan — more precisely, when it consumes the spinal fluid. In that moment, it seizes the intelligent Titan's power. From the day of acquisition, starting with the first transformation, the inheritor's lifespan becomes thirteen years.
The second way is simple death by natural causes. When thirteen years pass and a Titan shifter dies naturally, that Titan power will randomly transfer to a newborn Eldian baby.
So even if Lillian were able to kill the three Warriors, would it really mean anything? The Titan power would just reappear in some random infant — and that was unacceptable. Because humanity inside the walls needed Titan power in order to resist Marley.
In other words, they couldn't simply kill the Warriors — they had to take their powers. That made everything far more complicated.
Notably, Lillian actually possessed Titan spinal fluid. When he came off the ship, he had carried not only a gun and supplies, but also this forbidden substance.
However, he had buried all of it outside Wall Rose. He had anticipated that once he entered the walls he would be interrogated, so bringing it inside would have meant immediate arrest and torture — something he absolutely wanted to avoid.
And there was one more critical point: Eren's transformation.
If Wall Rose never fell, Eren would never reveal his Titan power. That would be a massive deviation from the original timeline — with unpredictable consequences — so Lillian did not dare risk it.
That was the rational side.
On the emotional side: no matter what, he had lived alongside the 104th Cadets for three years. Bonds had formed.
He wasn't cold-blooded. Naturally, he didn't want to see them die to Titans.
Yet rationally, he also couldn't stop the Colossal Titan from breaking the wall.
So after agonizing over it for an entire night, he chose this approach.
Deceive the Warriors — and secretly pass information to the Survey Corps.
The reason the three Warriors chose this moment to breach Wall Rose was precisely because the main force of the Survey Corps had gone beyond the walls. Otherwise, they would never have dared to act.
Therefore, Lillian's plan was simple: once the wall was breached, if Erwin could rush back immediately, the Survey Corps' combat strength could minimize casualties on all sides as much as possible.
That way, at least, he could face his own conscience.
He stepped out of the alley and walked to the wall, taking the lift up.
At that moment, soldiers were conducting routine maintenance on the fixed cannons atop the wall. In truth, for a hundred years these cannons had been little more than decorations — since no Titan had ever broken through, their existence meant almost nothing. The allocated funds had long since been squandered by corrupt officers.
But after Wall Maria fell five years ago, humanity finally sensed real danger. Defensive construction began to be taken seriously again. Corruption still existed, but it was no longer as brazen as before.
"Lillian, you're here." Sasha waved at him. "Oh, by the way! I stole a lot of meat from a senior officer just now — I'll share some with you later."
"Alright. Thanks."
Lillian nodded, glancing toward Eren, who was helping set up a fixed cannon. Several other members of the 104th were also standing on the wall.
He instinctively scanned his surroundings.
Sasha noticed immediately. "Lillian, are you looking for something?"
"No. Just observing."
In truth, he was searching for someone — Bertholdt, the Colossal Titan.
If Bertholdt were going to transform, his human body would have to be outside the wall first. No shifter could transform inside and then appear outside — among the Nine Titans, only the War Hammer could separate its body from its Titan form. The others could not.
So…
Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, Lillian caught movement. He snapped his head around.
On the far side of the wall — where no one else stood — a cloaked figure in black leapt silently down from the wall.
Only Lillian noticed.
No one else would even imagine someone jumping off the wall. Even suicide cases had never happened here.
After all, ordinary civilians were forbidden from ever setting foot on the wall. The lifts were guarded by Garrison soldiers; only military personnel were allowed up.
In fact, the royal government actively suppressed any curiosity about the outside world. You could think whatever you wanted in private — but if you spoke it aloud, you could be labeled a "seditionist."
They wouldn't arrest you openly for that. Instead, you would simply have an "accident."
For example — Erwin's father.
He was a teacher who shared his theories with young Erwin. But little Erwin, lacking caution, repeated them in public, which led to his father's mysterious death.
That was one of the reasons Erwin later joined the Survey Corps: partly from genuine curiosity about the world, and partly to seek justice for his father.
"It's starting," Lillian murmured, hands resting on his sword hilts as he gazed into the distance.
If Erwin had read the note, he would not ignore it. Right now, he was surely watching from afar.
---
Outside the Walls — A Village
"Why are we staying here again?"
"Who knows…"
"What is the commander thinking?"
"Just follow orders."
Survey Corps soldiers were hiding behind houses as Erwin had instructed.
They didn't understand the reason. This small village lay only six or seven minutes by horse from the wall. Erwin had led them here, quickly eliminated a dozen wandering Titans, and then ordered everyone to dismount and wait.
They all stared toward a few figures standing ahead, waiting for new orders.
Levi spoke quietly, "Erwin, are you sure this message isn't just a joke?"
"No," Erwin admitted. "But if it's real, and we ignore it, the cost would be unbearable."
Hange looked anxiously toward the distant wall. "If this wall falls again…"
"Humanity will plunge into civil war," Erwin finished.
Indeed — if Wall Rose were breached, humanity could no longer afford to sacrifice 250,000 people as before. The consequences of that tragedy were still rippling through society.
Many of the new gangs in the underground were made up of relatives of those 250,000 refugees.
Moreover, far more people lived inside Wall Rose than Wall Maria, and this region housed many nobles who had once lived in the "safe interior."
A second breach would shake the entire nation to its core.
Within the political system inside the walls, nobles were allowed to maintain private armies.
That meant that once their personal safety was threatened, they would inevitably unite. If Wall Sina refused to open its gates to them, a massive civil war would erupt. At that point, the blood spilled by humans killing one another might well exceed the number devoured by Titans.
Therefore, Wall Rose absolutely could not fall.
"However," Erwin said, his gaze deep and unwavering, "if this is true, then this 'informant' is of critical importance. We must find them."
"Tch. Easier said than done," Levi muttered. "Judging by that crooked handwriting, the note was clearly written with the left hand. And the fact that they used a child to deliver flowers shows they don't want to reveal themselves."
"No, Levi."
Erwin spoke suddenly. "If the information is real, then this informant is on humanity's side. As long as we demonstrate enough trust, I believe they will reveal themselves eventually. Right now, thier disguise likely means they don't fully trust us yet."
"…Is that so."
"Then—"
ZZZRAAAAAA—!
Before Hange could finish, the world suddenly changed color. A blinding burst of light exploded before the wall like furious lightning and howling northern winds. In the next instant, a sixty-meter Titan appeared out of thin air upon the earth.
"I-it appeared… it really appeared!"
Hange covered her eyes in shock. Erwin froze for a moment, then the corner of his mouth lifted slightly — only to fall again immediately. He mounted his horse and drew his blade.
"Target: Colossal Titan! Advance!"
"Sir!"
The entire Survey Corps roared in unison, mounted their horses, and charged toward the wall behind Erwin.
At the same time, the ground began to tremble.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Erwin spun around sharply — and saw Titans racing across the distant horizon.
At their front was one Titan running noticeably faster, almost as if… leading them.
A terrifying thought flashed through his mind.
Why, five years ago, did a massive swarm of Titans flood in almost immediately after Wall Maria was breached?
If the Colossal Titan was responsible for breaking the gate…
Then was the Titan running ahead of the others meant to—
draw the surrounding Titans toward the wall?