"Y-you… why?"
The reappearance of Lillian—someone who had already been declared "dead"—was naturally unbelievable. Especially for Erwin, Levi, and Hange, who had personally witnessed Lillian being crushed beneath the Colossal Titan. And yet now…
"Time is limited," Lillian said calmly. "Let's focus on the more important matters."
Without ceremony, he walked over and sat down in a chair. Standing behind him were Annie, Historia, Ymir, Marlo, and Kenny.
Five people.
Three Titan shifters.
One bearer of royal blood.
And one Ackerman with countless kills to his name.
This was no longer a question of whether they were qualified to attend the meeting—it was a question of whether they were qualified to dominate it.
Of course, aside from Lillian and Kenny, no one else knew that Marlo had already inherited the Colossal Titan. To the others, he was merely Lillian's trusted subordinate. Even so, the mere presence of Annie and Ymir was enough to make everyone tense.
"Kenny… you actually—"
Levi looked at Kenny, whom he hadn't seen in years, emotions stirring within him. After all, it was Kenny's training that had taught him how to use a blade and awaken his strength—allowing him to survive in a place like the Underground.
Seeing Kenny now standing behind Lillian left him deeply confused. By all logic, the two of them should never have crossed paths.
"Yo, Levi. Long time no see," Kenny grinned.
"All these years and you still haven't grown any taller."
"…"
"Hey, Lillian, what the hell is going on?!" Hange blurted out. "How did you survive something like that?!"
Lillian glanced at her. "Didn't we agree there were more important things to discuss?"
"He's right," Erwin said. Despite the storm of questions in his mind, the Survey Corps commander was already piecing things together.
The two people riding the Female Titan back then—aside from Krista—must have been Ymir and Lillian. At the time, Erwin had assumed Lillian was dead and ruled him out. But now…
His gaze shifted to Annie and Ymir behind Lillian. Two Titan powers—both seemingly under his influence.
"Lillian," Pixis said gravely, "you don't have the authority to participate in this meeting." His eyes flicked briefly to Annie and Ymir; he had held many private discussions with Erwin and knew the truth about the Titans.
"You think having two Titans—"
"Hey, old bald guy, watch your wording," Ymir snapped irritably. "What do you mean 'having'? I'm not this guy's property."
"How dare you!"
"You dare disrespect the Commander!"
Several of Pixis's aides glared angrily, hands moving toward the rifles slung over their shoulders.
"Apologize to the Commander!"
Lillian raised an eyebrow slightly. Before he could speak, Kenny let out a low chuckle and spread his hands.
"What're you kids trying to do?" Kenny said lazily. "Believe me, the moment you pull those guns, I'll blow your brains out."
"Kenny," Levi said coldly, "this isn't a place for your nonsense."
"Alright, alright," Zachary interjected, raising both hands to calm them down. "Everyone cool off. What's this—starting an internal fight when the capital's barely secured and the regional nobles aren't dealt with yet? The coup isn't even fully over."
He turned to Pixis. "Old friend, I don't see a problem with Lillian joining the meeting. He is a deputy commander in the Military Police, after all."
Then he looked at Lillian. "And you—Pixis outranks you. Have your people show some respect."
Zachary gave both sides a graceful way out.
Pixis snorted, pulled out a flask, and took a drink. "This old man just can't stand young people who get a bit of power and forget their place."
Lillian didn't bother arguing further. He simply said, "Ymir's right. They're not my subordinates, and they're not my possessions. They're my friends."
"I suggest we return to the main topic," Erwin said. He had no interest in pointless arguments. Suppressing his lingering doubts, he continued, "We were discussing the need for a new king within the Walls. I had proposed a candidate."
As he spoke, his gaze passed over Lillian and landed on the girl standing behind him.
"That person is Historia Reiss."
"…"
Historia blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected Erwin to name her so directly. But since she already knew of her royal lineage, she didn't overreact.
The others, however, were stunned.
A girl who didn't even look twenty—king?
They found it hard to accept and waited for an explanation.
Erwin continued, "According to intelligence obtained from the Central Military Police, the Reiss family is the true royal family within the Walls. And the one responsible for guarding Rod Reiss personally was you, Mr. Kenny."
He looked at Kenny. "But now you're standing behind Lillian, and Rod Reiss is nowhere to be found. That suggests he's already been taken into custody—by you, Lillian. Correct?"
"Yes," Lillian replied plainly.
"…"
No one had expected him to act so quickly. The looks they gave him grew increasingly complicated.
"That leaves one remaining member of the family—Krista, now known as Historia," Erwin said. "The reason the Central Military Police attacked the Survey Corps was to capture her and Eren. I don't yet know their full objective, but it is certainly connected to the Titan power Eren possesses."
"But this isn't the time to pursue that," Erwin concluded. "What we need now is a king to stand before the people as soon as possible. And I believe Historia, who carries royal blood, is the best candidate."
"…"
Silence filled the room.
A sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl as king? Wasn't this a little… absurd?
Even if she were merely a symbolic ruler with no real authority, it still felt inappropriate. Of course, her gentle appearance and status as a young woman might make her more approachable to the people, earning their support.
But still…
"Will the people accept it?" one officer asked. "Accepting a barely-grown girl as king? That could cause serious unrest."
"Yeah, this won't work."
"Even if she really is from the true royal family, the people don't know that," someone said. "Shouldn't we first tell the public the truth?"
"And would the regional nobles really be willing to accept leadership from a girl?"
Question after question was raised. Clearly, in the eyes of many officers, Historia was simply not suited to be a king. As she listened, her face grew slightly pale, her thoughts impossible to read.
"The problems you're raising aren't actually that hard to solve," Zachary said lazily.
"As for her identity—just have the newspapers run a special edition and distribute it for free to every household. Let those who can read read it aloud to those who can't. Once everyone knows, the issue is settled."
"As for whether they'll support her," he continued, grinning, "that's even easier. Those ministers we arrested—haven't had their estates confiscated yet, have they? Once that's done, part of their wealth and grain goes to the treasury, and part gets handed out directly to the people. Just say it's a gift from Her Majesty the Queen. I guarantee the streets will be filled with people shouting 'Long live the Queen.'"
He chuckled. "The people are very practical. Whoever lets them live better is who they'll support."
"..."
"That's actually a solid approach," Pixis said, nodding. "Then what about the regional nobles?"
"I believe that as long as the information reaches them, they won't make trouble," Erwin replied. "We're only purging this group of palace ministers. We're not touching the nobles' interests, nor issuing any new orders in the capital's name. In that case, they can remain nobles as usual—and they likely won't care who sits on the throne."
Indeed, as long as their interests weren't threatened, it didn't really matter who became king. For appearances' sake, though, someone presentable was preferable. The royal family needed to show its face to reassure the people—if the ruler looked ridiculous, confidence would collapse.
After hearing Zachary's solution and looking at Historia again, much of the resistance in the room faded.
After all… having a cute, pretty girl as queen didn't seem so bad. She wouldn't have real power anyway. Compared to the previous king who did nothing but sleep, there wasn't much difference. It was simply replacing one puppet with another.
"What about the major nobles in the capital who were close to the ministers?" someone asked. "They won't accept this outcome so easily."
"No need to worry about them," Pixis said calmly. "The troops I brought are already stationed outside their homes. Big noble families are far more afraid of death than small ones—and with just a little pressure, internal divisions will form on their own."
"Exactly," Zachary added with a sinister smile. "Those old bastards usually have seven or eight kids—sometimes more than ten. And trust me, not all of them are united."
Just as Dream of the Red Chamber once put it:
"A great clan cannot be destroyed by outside force alone—this is what the ancients meant by 'a centipede dies but does not fall.' To truly destroy it, it must first collapse from within."
"Plenty of family members are already offering to support us," Zachary continued cheerfully, "as long as we help them gain a higher position within their own families. Of course we agreed. Let them fight among themselves—the bloodier, the better."
His words sent a chill through the room.
"In that case, the matter is settled," Pixis said. "We'll appoint Historia as the new king."
"I agree."
"I support it."
As the approvals came in, Zachary sensed something off. He turned toward Lillian with a smile.
"Lillian, you've been awfully quiet this whole time. What's going on?"
"Oh, nothing," Lillian said.
He slowly scanned the room and spoke calmly. "I was just waiting for everyone to finish speaking—so I could tell you three words."
"What words?"
"I don't agree."