Lillian ate his breakfast while reading the newspaper.
Within the Walls, newspapers were the only source of information for ordinary citizens aside from word of mouth. Under the royal government's rule, all content was filtered beforehand, so there was rarely anything truly important. Still, one headline dominating the front page immediately caught his attention.
"Tomorrow, the Survey Corps Will Launch Its 57th Expedition Beyond the Walls — With a 'Monster' in Their Ranks, Can They Reap Meaningful Results?"
The title was deliberately sensational. Lillian skimmed the article, and just as he expected, it spent most of its space recounting the disastrous failures of past expeditions before finally mentioning Eren.
And even then, Eren was almost exclusively referred to as a "monster," the word conspicuously placed in quotation marks. It was obvious that certain people had deliberately instructed the press to frame it this way—an attempt to smear Eren and, by extension, the entire Survey Corps in the public eye.
In truth, public opinion toward the Survey Corps had improved quite a bit since the battle at Wall Rose.
It had been the Survey Corps' timely return that allowed the Titans to be delayed for an extra half hour at the breached outer gate. That half hour had enabled the vast majority of Trost District's residents to evacuate safely into the inner area of Wall Rose.
After that, through the combined efforts of Eren, the Survey Corps, and the Garrison, the lost wall had been successfully reclaimed—marking the first true victory in the history of humanity within the Walls.
The people of Trost weren't blind. They had seen all of it with their own eyes. But residents of other districts, lacking firsthand knowledge, were easily misled by the newspapers.
Because what the papers emphasized wasn't the Survey Corps' bravery, nor Eren's desperate struggle to seal the wall—it was the destruction caused after Eren transformed into a Titan, along with insinuations that he showed tendencies toward attacking humans. In short, they painted him as a dangerous individual.
That was precisely why so many people had agreed with Military Police Commander Nile's proposal to dissect Eren during the tribunal. If Levi hadn't improvised that brutal demonstration, and if President Zachary hadn't overridden the opposition, Eren would probably have already been cut apart for research.
"Yo, Captain Lillian, having breakfast?"
Hitch appeared out of nowhere and leaned in close. Lillian glanced at her. She was wearing a long dress and carefully applied makeup.
"You look great, Hitch," he said. "Going on a date?"
"Nope. Just trying to make myself feel good~" Hitch replied as she sat down. "I don't have my eye on any man right now. Oh, by the way—tomorrow's district patrol. I'm asking for sick leave for Annie."
Tomorrow…
Lillian paused midair with the bread in his hand, then casually took a bite as if nothing were wrong.
"Sick leave? She looked perfectly fine yesterday."
"Oh come on," Hitch said, winking exaggeratedly. "You know—girl stuff. You men wouldn't understand."
"…Is that so? Then I'll have a doctor come take a look. Sick leave requires a medical certificate."
"Hey! Captain, that's way too—heartless, don't you think?"
"Why should I be considerate toward someone trying to lie to me?" Lillian said calmly, fixing Hitch with a look. "Tell the truth, or there's no leave."
Hitch hesitated, then sighed.
"Alright, alright. Honestly, you're way too rigid. She's going on a date."
"A date?"
"That's right, a date~" Hitch said, staring intently at Lillian's face. To her disappointment, there was no visible reaction at all.
"Ohhh, so you don't have that kind of interest in Annie after all."
"…What?"
"Well, I thought since you're from the same district, maybe there was something… unusual between you two." Hitch sighed. "Guess I was overthinking it. Figures—two strange people don't naturally gravitate toward each other. But maybe that's for the best. If they did, wouldn't that just be strange plus strange—extra strange?"
"…Why didn't she come ask for leave herself?"
"Oh, Captain, you really are dense," Hitch laughed. "Even someone like Annie would feel embarrassed bringing up a date in person."
"I see."
"So?" Hitch leaned forward eagerly. "You'll approve it, right? Help a girl out."
A good thing… huh.
Instead of answering directly, Lillian looked at Hitch and asked, "With your personality, would you really help someone for free? Annie must've promised you something."
"Huh?" Hitch frowned. "Is that really how you see me? That's kind of hurtful…"
"Cut it out."
"Hehe~" Hitch instantly dropped the wounded act, resting her chin on her hands. "You really are sharp, Captain. Yeah, I wouldn't help someone without getting something in return."
"If you tell me what she's helping you with, I might consider approving the leave."
"…Sigh." Hitch gave up. "You really love digging into things. Fine—it's nothing big. A few days ago, a senior dumped a case on me. In exchange, I handed it over to Annie. She said she'd investigate it today."
"What case?"
"A rich girl ran away from home," Hitch shrugged. "If you ask me, she probably eloped with some handsome guy, played around for a few days, and will come crawling back once she runs out of money. Totally not worth the fuss."
The moment Lillian heard the words rich girl ran away, his brows knit together.
"Does her last name happen to be Stratmann?"
Hitch stared at him in surprise.
"Captain—how did you know?"
"…."
What a coincidence.
Just yesterday, Elliot had asked Lillian to investigate his missing daughter. And now that very case had landed in Annie's hands.
Perfect.
"I'm investigating this case too," Lillian said. "Where is Annie right now?"
"Uh… I think she went to investigate the Stratmann family."
"I see."
Lillian finished the bread in his hand in a few quick bites, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and stood up. "Alright, the leave is approved. Go enjoy yourself—have fun."
"Got it~"
---
Some things must be done, no matter what.
As Annie walked down the street, she listened to the conversations of passersby and reflected silently.
"How do you think tomorrow's expedition beyond the Walls will go?"
"What do you think? A whole bunch of people will die again."
"The Survey Corps are idiots."
"If you ask me, maybe they'll get killed by that 'monster' instead."
"Wouldn't surprise me…"
The voices gradually faded into the distance. Annie subconsciously glanced back, though she didn't know what she was looking for. Realizing her thoughts had drifted, she shook her head slightly and refocused on walking.
Before long, she arrived outside a large complex of connected villas. She rang the bell, and a man dressed like a butler came out.
"Hello. May I help you?"
"I'm Annie Leonhart from the Military Police. I'm here to see Elliot Stratmann."
"You're here to see the master? Please come in."
The butler seemed to have received prior instructions and let her in without announcing her presence.
He led her to a room, knocked lightly, and said, "Master, Miss Annie Leonhart of the Military Police has arrived."
A calm, steady voice came from inside. "Please come in."
Annie entered the room. Elliot was standing by the window, gazing outside. He turned around when he heard her and said, "Please, have a seat."
"Thank you."
After she sat down, he asked, "Did Lillian send you?"
"No." Annie frowned slightly. "Why would you ask that?"
"Oh?"
Elliot thought for a moment, then nodded faintly. "I see. Let me ask first—are you here to investigate my daughter's disappearance?"
When Annie nodded, he continued, "Then you must have come through the official reporting channels. However, to be honest, I already entrusted the investigation of my daughter's case to your Military Police officer, Lillian Kafka, yesterday. You should know him as well, correct?"
"…Yes. He's our captain."
Annie clearly hadn't expected this and was momentarily at a loss for words.
"I've already told him everything I know," Elliot said. "So perhaps you should—"
"Please tell me again," Annie interrupted, taking a small notebook from her uniform pocket. "We'll be investigating separately. That will be more efficient."
"..."
Elliot looked at her for a moment, then didn't refuse. "Very well. There isn't much information anyway."
He sat down, took out a cigarette, lit it, and inhaled deeply. "No matter how busy we are, my daughter and I always have dinner together. So, two nights before I filed the search request, she didn't show up for dinner. That had never happened before."
"When was the last time you saw her?"
"The night before she went missing, at dinner."
"At that time, did your daughter behave any differently than usual?"
"Not that I noticed."
"Please tell me about your daughter's social circle, the places she frequently visits, and what she's been doing recently."
"I don't know."
Annie stopped writing and looked up at him.
"You don't know anything about your own daughter?"
"That's correct. After she graduated from Einrich University three years ago, she didn't do anything in particular."
"Her major?"
"Chemistry. As I said, I don't understand her. We don't interfere in each other's lives. I don't concern myself with how she spends her time outside."
"Does your daughter often go out for leisure?"
"That was just an example. In reality, I don't know what she does."
"Could this be a kidnapping?"
"No. No one has contacted me to demand a ransom."
"How is your relationship with your daughter?"
"Average. I can't understand what she's thinking at all."
"..."
Annie was silent for a moment. "I don't think a father who truly understands what his daughter is thinking actually exists."
Just then, the butler entered the room again, walked up to Elliot, whispered something in his ear, and handed him a slip of paper. Elliot read it and quietly put it away.
"Then… any other questions?"
"No, that's enough. If I find anything, I'll come back and bother you again."
"I'm counting on you."
Annie gave him a long, meaningful look and then turned to leave the room.
Elliot burned the slip of paper to ashes and said to the butler, "Prepare the carriage. I need to leave immediately."
---
As Annie exited the villa, she spotted a familiar figure leaning against a tree not far across the street. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting lazy patterns across him.
He was leaning against the trunk with his arms folded, eyes closed, seemingly resting. Annie intended to leave quietly, but just as she turned away, she was called.
"Hey, Annie. You feel embarrassed asking for leave just to go on a date too?"