Lock lowered his head, not daring to look at Lucy again.
An unspeakable sense of dread enveloped him.
The last time he had felt this way was when he first faced Eren Yeager.
The reason for his fear this time was that Lock surprisingly felt no shock or confusion about the fact that he had lost the memory of killing Lucy.
Just like forgetting a dream after waking up, it felt only natural.
He didn't need to worry about it.
Lock looked down at the mask in his hand.
The material felt like ceramic, and the surface was quite smooth.
The mask as a whole was a squinting, smiling face, with a red tear stain under the left eye.
A smile with bloody tears... Lucy appeared innocent and obsessed with Titan research on the surface, but she still couldn't forget her parents' deaths.
Lock stroked the tear stain on the mask, remaining silent.
Footsteps came from outside; Lock recognized them as Kenny's.
Soon, the door was pushed open roughly, and Kenny walked in.
"Ho, looks like it's already done."
Kenny walked up to Lock and smiled: "Kid, how does it feel?"
Lock stood up and said calmly, "It was mediocre. There's no sense of accomplishment in killing a defenseless woman."
Kenny glanced at Lucy hanging in mid-air: "Such a pretty girl. Is that why you chose her?"
"I'm not Rod Reiss." Lock's tone was cold to the extreme.
Hearing this, Kenny was first surprised, then looked at Lock again as if discovering a new continent.
"Ha, kid, you dare show disrespect to the King? Aren't you afraid I'll throw you in the dungeon?"
Lock looked at Kenny: "The Leon Family respects a true King, not an empty shell."
"Ackerman, I see you're the same. So, who is your King?"
"Is it the one who took you in back then?"
Kenny stopped smiling: "Kid, everyone who dared to speak to me like that is already dead."
Lock's current mood was like shit, making him not want to talk nicely to Kenny at all.
He replied calmly: "Are you going to kill me?"
The room fell silent.
Kenny stared at Lock for a long time, then turned and said, "Let's go. Let the Military Police Corps handle the rest."
Lock was silent for a moment, tucked the mask into his shirt, and followed Kenny out of the dormitory.
From beginning to end, he didn't dare to look at Lucy a second time...
A team in black trench coats and hats swaggered out of Einrich's gate; the gatekeeper didn't even dare to breathe.
Lock, walking at the back of the group, suddenly spoke:
"Captain, can I take some time off?"
The group stopped, and everyone turned to look at Lock.
"Huh?"
"I haven't been home in a long time. I want to stay home for a few days."
Kenny thought the kid probably couldn't handle his first kill.
"Fine. When you come back, remember to bring a few more bottles of wine from your house as a tribute."
"Thank you, Captain."
After thanking him, Lock turned and walked straight away in the opposite direction.
Watching Lock's back, Kenny remembered what the boy had said in the dorm and mocked: "Alright, don't be so envious. What's his status? What's yours? Everyone, get back to training."
"Yes!"
Lock took a carriage to the Stohess District first, returning to his Detective Agency.
He took off his coat, took the best bottle of wine from the cabinet, and sat down in his chair.
He pulled the cork and poured himself half a glass of wine.
Lock raised the glass and downed it in one go.
He poured again, drank again...
His powerful physical constitution made it hard for him to feel drunk.
He looked at the wine in the glass, wondering if he should brew something stronger to try.
Lock leaned back in his chair, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling.
It was as if Lucy was hanging in front of him again.
He thought he was cold-blooded enough that this world was just a game the Creator used to test him.
Everyone was just an NPC.
His current emotions were completely unnecessary.
"Annie, you're right. There really is no need to get too involved with people who aren't from the same world."
"But..."
"How can it be that easy to do?"
Lock watched as Lucy, hanging in mid-air, slowly turned into Annie Leonhart's face.
"Annie, you're the same, aren't you?"
"Annie! Why? Annie!"
Annie Leonhart woke up with a start.
Marco Bott's cries before he died were still echoing in her ears.
Annie didn't know how many times she had dreamed of the same scene; whenever she was about to forget, it would reappear in her dreams over and over again.
It was like another curse from the Founder Ymir, leaving her with no escape.
"Annie, if you don't hurry, you'll be late again, you know?"
Hitch, sitting at the table touching up her makeup, saw Annie wake up through the mirror and spoke up to remind her.
With messy hair, Annie got out of bed in silence.
"Your sleeping face is too terrifying; I didn't even dare wake you."
Hitch's beautiful fox-like eyes were full of amusement: "I'm worried your detective boyfriend will be scared of you in bed."
Annie couldn't be bothered to argue; Hitch just loved teasing her about Lock now.
The more she explained, the more excited Hitch got, so Annie simply ignored her.
Seeing no reaction from Annie, Hitch said mysteriously: "Your boyfriend is back, you know."
Annie was putting on her uniform and looked at Hitch upon hearing this: "How do you know?"
"Well, his agency is just on the next street. I saw him when I went there yesterday."
"I even went up and drank the tea your boyfriend brewed."
Annie seemed not to catch the implication in Hitch's words and said flatly: "And then?"
"Then, I chatted with him about your time in the Training Corps."
"And then?"
Hitch's tone faltered, and she said somewhat speechlessly: "I'm telling you, can you stop saying 'and then, and then'? I really don't know how your boyfriend puts up with such a boring person like you."
"I'll stop when I find another way to ask. And then?"
Hitch lost interest in teasing Annie further: "Then I asked your boyfriend to help me handle a case I'd been sitting on. He agreed immediately and even promised not to charge me."
Immediately, she said with a smile, "Speaking of which, I'm only benefiting because of you, Annie. Let's say I owe you a favor."
Annie remembered the letter Reiner Braun had sent. She looked at Hitch and said, "Then consider the favor returned. Help me request sick leave for the patrol the day after tomorrow."
Hearing this, Hitch's interest was piqued again: "Eh~ Tomorrow is a day off, and you're asking for leave the day after too? Are you planning to spend the night out with your boyfriend? Have you two reached that stage already?"
Annie's tone remained calm: "Think whatever you want. Well, Hitch?"
Hitch threw up her hands helplessly: "Well, I do owe you a favor, after all."
She looked at Annie, who was already ready, and said, "Let's go. Today is the last day of work for this month."
Annie's expression was unreadable: "Yes, the last day."
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A/N: Advance Chapter Has Been Uploaded. Please Check It Out. It will really help me out and will keep me motivated to continue.
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