Late at night, Survey Corps Headquarters.
Compared to before this expedition, the place had become much more deserted.
The dim candlelight shone upon the only two people present.
"They're so slow, Erwin and the others, making me wait this long."
Levi, having taken off his uniform, tasted the cold black tea in his cup and said impatiently, "Being this slow, won't the Military Police Brigade beat us to it?"
"It seems they're having trouble taking a shit and are worrying over it."
Eren, sitting on the other side of the table, felt like laughing at the Captain's joke but couldn't bring himself to do so. Finally, he said cautiously, "Captain, you're talking a lot today."
Levi maintained his habit of holding the cup by its rim with five fingers and corrected him, "Don't talk nonsense, I've always been talkative."
He looked at the empty chair beside him and took another sip of the black tea, which had gone cold and slightly off-flavored.
Putting down the cup, a pang of pain in his thigh made him click his tongue.
Seeing the Captain frown, Eren whispered, "I'm sorry, Captain. If I hadn't made the wrong choice back then, this wouldn't have happened."
Levi said flatly, "I told you, didn't I? No one can predict the outcome."
"Sorry, I'm late."
The door was suddenly pushed open, and Erwin walked in with Armin and the others.
Eren immediately stood up and looked at his companions. "May I ask what this is..."
Erwin explained, "We've found the person suspected of being the Female Titan. This time, we must capture her."
...A map of the Stohess District was placed on the table.
Erwin looked at everyone and said, "The operation execution time is set for Acquired. The location is the Stohess District, which we will pass through on our way back to the Capital."
Erwin's expression was serious. "This is our last chance. Once we pass this point, Eren will be transferred to the Capital, and it will become difficult to pursue those who plotted the destruction of the walls."
"For this plan, we must stake everything."
...After hearing the operation plan, Eren asked nervously, "So, has the target been confirmed to be in the Stohess District?"
Erwin said in a deep voice, "Yes. The target serves in the Military Police Brigade. According to Armin's deduction, she is very likely a fellow trainee from your 104th Training Corps."
"What?" Eren's eyes widened.
"The person suspected of being the Female Titan is Annie Leonhart."
..."That's impossible. Annie is the Female Titan?"
Eren's mind was in a mess. He looked at Armin beside him. "Why do you think that? Armin!"
Armin's heart was not at peace either. He slowly explained to Eren, "The Female Titan knew what Eren looked like from the start. She even knew Eren's nickname, which only our fellow trainees would know."
"More importantly, we have confirmed that the one who killed those two test subject Titans was Annie."
"Confirmed?" Eren pressed. "Why do you say that?"
Armin said, "After the incident, the Military Police Brigade inspected all of our Omni-Directional Mobility Gear."
Eren interrupted, "Wasn't Annie's gear fine at the time?"
Armin's voice was low. "Yes, but at that time, Annie had Marco's gear, which is why she was able to evade the inspection."
Hearing Armin's words for the second time, Jean's expression remained complicated.
"Huh? Why..."
Eren wanted to ask more, but Levi interrupted, "Besides those, is there any other evidence?"
Armin replied, "No more."
Mikasa raised her hand and added, "I think the Female Titan's face looks very much like Annie's."
Eren stood up and looked at Mikasa. "Mikasa, what are you saying? Just based on that..."
Levi ignored Eren and said directly, "In other words, even though there's no evidence, we're still going through with it, right?"
Eren looked completely bewildered. He suddenly remembered something and said hurriedly, "What about Lock? When you suspected Annie, did you think about Lock? Aren't they..."
Levi was a bit surprised to hear Lock's name. "What does this have to do with that noble murderer?"
Armin explained to Levi, "During our time in the Training Corps, he and Annie were... in a relationship."
"Huh?" Now it was Levi's turn to be confused. He looked at Erwin. "So you're saying that kid is a suspect too?"
Erwin looked at another report on the table. "He was the first one to report to the Survey Corps that the test subjects had been killed."
Everyone's expression changed. Only then did Armin realize that the Commander had already investigated Lock.
But he still asked in confusion, "Didn't Lock return from the Capital only that night?"
"No." Erwin shook his head, remembering the young man's words. "He actually returned to Trost even earlier than you and Mikasa."
"The Garrison also has a record of him retrieving his equipment."
Hearing the Commander's words, everyone was shocked.
Levi mocked, "It seems this great hero of the Capital is very likely a spy for the enemies of humanity."
He looked at Erwin and asked, "Is that guy also in the Military Police Brigade in the Stohess District?"
"No," Erwin said calmly. "He's not in the Stohess District. I asked the Military Police Brigade Divisional Commander, and he said Lock Leon's file is classified; even he doesn't know where he was assigned."
"Classified? That's truly suspicious."
Levi said, "So our targets are this Titan couple? If he happens to be the Colossal Titan, then the number of people who die three days from now might be much higher."
Erwin remained silent.
"Report!" A Soldier at the door broke the oppressive atmosphere in the room.
The Soldier walked over and handed Erwin a letter. "Commander, a letter from the Leon Family!"
Hearing the name Leon Family, everyone looked at the letter in Erwin's hand.
A black envelope with gold edges, with a lion motif wax seal.
Erwin ignored those noble etiquettes; he tore open the envelope directly, took out the letter inside, and opened it.
Everyone sat nearby waiting quietly, all curious about what was written in the letter.
Seeing the slight change in Erwin's expression, Levi couldn't help but ask, "Hey, Erwin, what's written in the letter?"
Erwin didn't keep it to himself. After reading it, he let everyone pass the letter around.
"The one who wrote the letter is Lock Leon himself. He wrote that he suspects Annie Leonhart might be a Titan, so he specifically came to inform us."
Levi looked at the letter being passed to him, his brow furrowed.
"He also mentioned in the letter that he didn't see Annie Leonhart out on patrol today, and the records he found in the Military Police Brigade state that she took a day of sick leave today."
Levi handed the letter to Armin and said, "Brat, is this that guy's handwriting?"
Armin took the letter, looked at it carefully, and nodded. "It is indeed Lock's handwriting."
Having received a positive answer, Levi looked at Erwin again. "Erwin, what do you think? Titans betraying their own kind? And at a time like this?"
Erwin's mind once again recalled what that young man had told him: "The Leon Family's legacy within the walls is very ancient, built upon their loyalty to the Royal Family. Ash wouldn't fail to recognize his own son."
"And?"
"The Female Titan approached the Leon Family with an ulterior motive. Lock Leon is not a problem."
Levi relaxed and sneered, "So this noble boy was fooled. It's quite something that he could figure it out himself and even report his own lover to us."
"I bet that kid was probably just playing around anyway."
Erwin gave the final summary: "The original plan remains unchanged. Start preparations immediately. Dismissed."
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