Chapter Text
Erwin leads his horse back to the stable. His back screams at him from strain and his poor stead trots slowly as they reach the entrance. His horse has had a harrowing day as his messenger brought him into Mitras when she went looking for Erwin.
The meeting with Lady Adler proved she had simply yearned for additional attention. She ached for more niceties and compliments. She demanded that someone temporarily fill the gaping hole of insecurity and inadequacy that her husband routinely leaves her with. So Erwin filled it. He indulged in arbitrary conversation and showered her in flatteries. He even traversed her expansive garden with her while she gloated about each flora she had somehow obtained and was growing. The day had felt relentless. So it was almost to Erwin’s relief when he saw Nifa appear at the entrance of the parlor that he and Lady Adler had been residing in.
Unsurprisingly, Lady Adler had been less than happy to see someone impeding on her demanded time and attempted to dismiss the young recruit when she first requested to speak with the squad leader. Erwin had to use the familiar mother tongue of obligation to set their escape. He presented a speech emphasizing how duty is a priority in order to save humanity for her to finally capitulate and allow him to speak with Nifa.
In the hallway, Erwin stared at the clearly rattled girl. “What is it?”
“Squad Leader,” She saluted tensely before leaning forward and lowering her voice. “They need you back at base right now.” She wouldn’t directly look at Erwin.
“Why? Can it wait until tomorrow? I’m unsure if Lady Adler will be too keen on me leaving so soon. We still need her sponsorship.”
Nifa somehow looked even more distressed. “No, sir. Section Commander Hange told me to tell you that you need to come back immediately.”
“Is there a problem?” Something was wrong. He could tell. Pinpricks of anxiety started up his spine.
Nifa looked panicked but didn't fold under the pressure of her superior. “You must speak to Hange, Squad Leader.”
So, after a flood of apologies and an abundance of future promises to a slightly resentful noble, Erwin found his stead parked outside the mansion along with a horse for Nifa.
“You brought my horse? We could have gotten a carriage.” Erwin commented.
“No time, sir. It’s safer the less people we interact with as well.”
Safer?
Erwin continued pondering and attempting to predict what could possibly be happening as they rode back to base. His concern and curiosity still intermingling in his mind, creating a soup of distress as he rode into the stables.
Was everyone okay? Did something happen? Was Levi okay?
Now, he dumps his gear in its designated compartments and feeds his stallion an apple as a treat and apology for the egregious day.
He makes his way to his own office door, opens it, and pauses at the entrance while five sets of eyes stare back at him. Levi, Hange, Moblit, Miche, and Nanaba all watch him with what appears to be something akin to relief. He can feel Levi’s gaze particularly strongly but he doesn’t dare to look.
Hange excitedly practically pummels him as they pull him into a hug while Miche is the first to speak. “Thank god, man. You sure do know how to stress people out, you know that?”
Erwin hugs Hange back but furrows his brows in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“He doesn’t know anything.” Hange informs Miche. “I didn’t tell Nifa anything other than that something dangerous could happen and we need Erwin to cautiously make his way back here as soon as possible.”
“She seemed stressed enough with that little information.” Erwin remarks.
“I can be scary when I need to be.” Hange says with a proud gleam in their eyes.
“What exactly is going on?” Erwin asks, the longer they don’t tell him, the more his mind spirals with uncertainty and unknowingness.
“While you were gone, someone broke into your office looking for you. A failed assassination attempt. Levi took care of it, but who knows how it would have went down if you hadn’t been summoned back to Mitras.” Hange explains.
Erwin dares now—he finally turns to look at Levi. Hange providing him a perfect excuse to finally make eye contact with the man who, the last time he saw, was furious with him. “Took care of it?”
The shorter man rolls his eyes with his arms crossed over his chest. “Tch, I killed him, Erwin.”
There’s an odd slight release of tension in Erwin’s body at the sound of Levi using his first name again. Perhaps, he did not hate Erwin after all.
The blonde shakes away the distracting thoughts and allows his mind’s course to begin running and rolling through various theories and scenarios as he attempts to piece together what exactly an assassination attempt meant. “Did he say anything beforehand?”
“Yeah. It’s Lobov. He’s not too happy that you’re still alive.” Levi explains. His sterling eyes give way to genuine concern and something else. Almost as if he is awaiting Erwin’s next order, as if he is asking “what now?”
Nicholas Lovof. Erwin, again, redirects himself back to the current situation, cursing his wandering mind. Ah, Lovof. What a stubborn foe. Truly. As if getting thrown in prison for his crimes wasn’t enough for the man to acknowledge his own defeat.
“Erwin, I went through your papers—“ Hange starts.
“That’s an invasion of privacy, Hange.” The squad leader’s reprimand is more of a recited obligation at this point than anything else.
“—And I found some information on the trial with Lobov but not much. Is he still imprisoned?”
“He was sentenced to ten years for his embezzlement from what I recall.” Erwin remembers the angry, stout man, shooting daggers at him at the court hearing while Zackly read out the verdict. His contempt had been so twisted and visible that Erwin was certain, in that moment, no one else had ever wanted him dead so maliciously.
“So he’s not roaming around right now?” Miche clarifies.
“No. It wouldn’t surprise me to know that the man has connections while being confined.” Erwin says as he considers the information being fed to him. Perhaps Lady Adler’s seemingly sudden request for him to go to Mitras was more calculated than he had initially presumed. Randomly pulling funding the day after a gala was not typical in the slightest. “Funding has been tricky lately. Even with the gala. I suspect he may be the reason for that.”
“Look, funding is an issue, but the guy’s also trying to kill you still.” Miche says as he leans on the wall with his arms crossed.
“Right, I’m aware. I also cannot help but find a correlation between the two. I was sent out today to go deal with a noble due to issues regarding funding and while I’m away, someone attempts to kill me in my vacant office.”
“What are you thinking?” Levi asks. His steel orbs are speaking a thousand words but they feel lost in translation from his impassive countenance; Erwin is unable to read a single idiom from the man’s eyes.
“I’m thinking that my request to go to Mitras again was not a coincidence.” Erwin speaks slowly, allowing the words to pour out of his mouth as he simultaneously thinks them in his mind.
“But no one tried to kill you there, right?” Nanaba chimes in.
Erwin shrugs, “not that I know of, but they would not have had much time. I spent a few hours with Lady Adler before Nifa showed up. She had just invited me to stay for dinner.”
“So why send an assassin here then?” Hange ponders.
“Perhaps it was meant to cover all bases. All possibilities. In case Shadis ended up sending someone else to Mitras, there would be someone here.”
“The assassin was so brazen. He was expecting that you would be here. There was no “possibility” or “what ifs” about it when I caught him in here.” Levi says, the crease between his brow showing prominent and heavy as speaks.
“What were you doing in here?” Hange asks suddenly.
“What?” Levi says back, his timbre tightening like a rod under pressure.
“Well, now that I think about it, he could have been waiting for Erwin to return and you coming in stopped him from doing so. What were you gonna do in his office?”
Levi’s lip curls into a sneer. “Tch, I was going to clean. It’s disgusting in here.”
“Mm. Right. Okay.”
“What the fuck are you trying to say? You wouldn’t know about cleaning anyways, four-eyes.”
“Alright.” Erwin halts the pending, bubbling argument before it completely boils over. “So, perhaps he was the only hired assailant waiting for my return. He would know I would be tired and off guard upon coming back from Mitras, especially after staying late enough for dinner.”
“In both scenarios that you’re suggesting, Lady Adler would be setting you up. Either to be killed on her estate or to summon you and whittle your defenses down so you could be killed returning here.” Hange points out.
“I suppose that that is true.” Erwin stares at a corner of his office. An empty, insignificant spot where the two walls intersect. Worthless. All this work to kiss up to nobles just to have them turn so easily.
“What a bitch.” Miche comments and it earns him a firm smack on his arm by Nanaba standing next to him.
“Why would she help him?” Moblit adds.
“I’m not sure if it matters. It could be for more money. It could be something to do with an order or demand of her husband. He is part of the brass. Every time we request funding, we go through him among other members. Lovof was part of the brass as well. It would make sense that he may be harboring personal feelings towards me.” It was Lovof’s and Erwin’s budding of heads, directly in brass meetings that led them to where they are now. Erwin cannot deny that they are both very head strong men; many of their disagreements needed to be placated by Zackly. Eventually, Lovof decided it would be better to just rid the world of Erwin, but Erwin cannot be easily removed from equations.
The men on the brass are very close-knit. It wouldn’t shock Erwin in the slightest if there was still some resentment directed at him ebbing and flowing within the group.
“If they’re doing this for Lovof, we can’t expect them to stop trying to kill you or Levi, right?” Nanaba asks.
“Likely not. If I cannot earn the trust of the Adler’s, then I will have to use other means to ensure their loyalty.” Erwin says. He can feel his own eyes become distant as he begins to sift through his mind’s files to find what he can use to his advantage, what leverage he has.
“Which means?” Miche impatiently prompts.
“Blackmail, Miche.” Erwin states matter-of-factly as he turns to his oldest friend.
It’s the only step that makes viable sense. The walls of cordiality and surface-level politeness have been torn down. In this game, his last piece on the board is one of manipulation.
“Right. I forgot you’re kind of a psychopath. Okay, what’s the blackmail plan?” Miche asks.
“I will blackmail Lord Adler directly. Involving his wife is irrelevant as I suspect she is simply doing as he asks.”
“What juicy stuff do ya got on him?” Hange inquires with sincere interest as they lean towards him.
“Well, when I was collecting information on recruiting a certain promising underground resident,” Erwin can’t help but flash proud eyes at an annoyed-looking Levi, “I discovered that him and a few other lords partake in the brothels below quite often.”
“I coulda told you that.” Levi comments, presumably unimpressed by this information.
“It’s no secret that the nobles like to indulge in sex everywhere, but Adler’s case is a little different. He visits the same woman at the main brothel. She has a very young child. I’m no specialist with genes, but based on his frequent visits and the way he distances himself from his wife, that child is likely his.”
“Damn, Erwin.” Miche says under his breath. “So, what? You’re gonna threaten to tell his wife?”
“Not exactly. I collect what I need and then I threaten to tell everyone. He’d be shunned instantly from his fellow nobles. Indulging in brothels is one thing but being openly exposed through an illegitimate child is public assassination. He would likely lose his place in the brass, his wife, and perhaps even his title.
If he is working for Lovof and the blackmail may help us. We will have insight and a potential mole in brass meetings and knowledge ahead of time on funding decisions. I had been considering the information I had about him for a while but I never knew what would become of the child and woman in the underground if news were to get out. I also worried he may dispose of his incriminating evidence upon me informing him of my knowledge about them prematurely.”
Erwin is unsure of Adler’s genuine feelings towards the woman and child, since he does visit them frequently and has not yet killed them himself. However, the Squad Leader’s mind often involuntarily flashes an image of Sigmund Adler killing the woman and toddler. His ginger hair neglectfully dripping sweat onto them as he strains from using his pale chubby hands to wrap around their necks, strangling them—damning them to death because of his own mistakes. Removing all the physical evidence of his infidelity. The scenario is always something he has strived to avoid. He does not need an additional two innocent lives on his growing aggregation of guilt.
“Maybe we can formulate some sort of plan. Pull them out of there before you meet with him.” Hange brainstorms out loud.
“Where can we take them? The nobles own damn near every place here.” Miche grumbles.
“I’m unsure. We could possibly try and get them a place in one of the smaller districts like Shiganshina. They would have to live a quiet life as to not draw attention.”
“That’s a good idea!” Hange agrees. “That way no one gets hurt from your chess game choices or the fact that you have a huge bounty on your head.”
“This is pretty urgent though. People are actively trying to kill you now. You’ll have to meet with him as soon as possible.” Moblit voices with concern and haste.
“Yes. I’ll be making two stops then. I’ll need to go to the underground and secure the woman and child’s safety here on the surface. Hange I’ll need you and Moblit to come up with some forged citizen papers so they can get past the gates. Then I’ll meet with Adler.”
“You can’t do all that on your own, man. People are trying to kill you. I’ll come with.” Miche protests.
“I need you to stay here and placate Shadis while I am gone. If he gets word of what’s happening, who knows what he’ll do. If both of us are gone, he will surely suspect something.” As much as Erwin would enjoy his friend’s company, both him and Miche are Shadis’s go-to men. The older superior will easily pick up on something with both of them absent. That or he’d be angry that there is no one around to do his work for him.
“You can’t go alone, Erwin.” Miche protests.
Levi scoffs loudly, “I’ll go with him. Why is this even a debate? You think you’re going to the underground without me anyways?”
All eyes turn to the inky-haired man. “You dumbass. You already have a target on your back and then you wanna go underground by yourself. You got a death wish?” He continues.
Erwin chooses to ignore the insults that sandwiches the important part of what Levi says: he’s going with him.
“Thank you, Levi.” He says and he can’t help the smile that creeps onto his face despite the current situation.
“Tch,” Levi rolls his eyes and looks away. “Shitty-glasses, how long are those papers gonna take?”
Hange looks back at Levi with a conspiratorial smile. “With how last minute this is, I still need time to talk to a few people. I can have them ready probably by tomorrow afternoon.” They turn to Erwin. “Think you can hold out on living for that long?”
Erwin huffs in slight mirth. “I’ll do my best.”
Erwin battles Miche to let him place his luggage in the carriage. A distinct Deja-Vu moment from not too long ago as the blonde finds himself leaving base again and on route back to Mitras. First will be the trip to the underground. It took an extra day than initially estimated, but Hange was able to obtain extremely passable papers via some old colleagues from a university they used to attend.
Erwin finally capitulates and allows his friend to feel like a strong man and shove his luggage into the trunk. Whatever he must do to ease his frayed nerves, he supposes. Levi appears behind Miche, scoffing at the man’s brutish behavior before lifting his own bag easily and sliding it next to Erwin’s. They are not entirely sure how long the trip will be. Idealistically, Erwin hopes to make it back to his own office tonight but if the process of gathering the mother and child in the underground goes on for longer than a couple of hours, they will have to reschedule with Lord Sigmund Adler.
“Alright. Be careful.” Miche says to Erwin with a hand on his shoulder. “You too.” He turns and adds to Levi. Erwin can practically see the man suppressing another eye-roll at the belated concern but he manages an acknowledging nod.
“Don’t die, Erwin and Levi! I won’t forgive you if you do!” Hange calls, waving their hands intensely.
Erwin swears he can hear Levi huff next to him, and with more amusement than the dark-haired man would admit.
In the carriage, it’s awkward. More awkward than it was riding to Mitras with Shadis and everyone packed in for the gala. They haven’t officially spoken or even properly acknowledged each other since their fight before Erwin left. Erwin is feeling unfamiliarly unsettled.
They need to address this otherwise the next day and possibly more will be Hell. He also must admit, he really doesn’t like it when Levi is mad at him. The world almost feels misaligned, everything off-center when Levi is not on his side. So, the blonde swallows his pride and clears his throat before building the nerve to say, “thank you for coming with me. I know you are still not too pleased with me right now.”
Levi briefly looks at the blonde, eyes unfathomable sheaths of steel, before flickering his eyes back outside one of the carriage windows. “I’m not mad at you.”
“Are you sure? It felt like you may have been last time we spoke.”
“I wouldn’t have offered to come with you if I was mad at you, Erwin. I would have let you get your ass kicked in the underground.” Levi dismisses. “I still could do that, by the way.”
“Alright, well, you’re not mad at me. Let’s say you hypothetically were and I was not entirely sure what exactly I did to anger you. Hypothetically speaking, would you be able to tell me why you were angry?”
There’s a long pause as Levi apparently processes whether he will even give Erwin the dignity of a response to his question. “Tch, just leave it alone.” He finally answers.
“I wish I could, but as I’ve mentioned before, I really don’t like it when you’re angry with me. Especially when I am unsure as to exactly what I did. We have a whole carriage ride to discuss it.”
Levi narrows his eyes. The blonde is unsure whether his irritation is geared at Erwin’s ignorance or his relentlessness.
“You’re fucking unbearable.” Levi grouses with narrowed eyes that have returned to pin Erwin to his seat in scrutiny.
“The question is hypothetical.” Erwin reminds him as he continues to pry, indulgently, selfishly.
“I heard you say that.” Levi snaps. He looks at the ground of the carriage now, frustration invading his face while his thoughts remain hidden. Finally, he speaks again, although he does it as if it’s against his better judgement “If I had been angry, I would say it was because you’re a hypocrite among other things.”
“Among other things?” Erwin recites with the tone of a question in his voice.
Levi sighs, heavy and loud in an abundance of exasperation. “I just felt out of the loop. The whole thing was a mess and I knew something was off. I couldn’t figure out if there was some danger or if I…” he halts his words and his eyebrows crease in more anger. “It was just a shitty night. Don’t get me started on the women you allow yourself to be glued to. They’re unbearable so asking for support from you while you were occupied with them was impossible.”
“Gisela, I could understand.” Erwin agrees initially. “But I think you’d like Marie.” If Erwin thinks about it, the two of them have some things in common. They’re incredibly stubborn, empathetic, and tough.
“You certainly do.”
“Alright, if we’re going back to that, what exactly did you hear and from whom?”
Levi exhales with reluctance, “I heard that you were with her when she was with Nile, and that’s classified.”
“Was it Miche?”
“No.”
“It was, wasn’t it?”
“I’m not giving you an answer.”
It definitely was. Erwin confirms in his mind, he’ll fight with him later about it. “It was not my best moment, I’ll admit, but I’m not perfect. I make mistakes often.”
“I never thought you were perfect. I just thought you were better than that.”
Erwin feels a sharp sting in his chest. Hurt. Hearing Levi say that actually hurts. A fine line between the odd abashment due to disappointing him and the burning desire to defend himself warbling in his chest.
“I was young and not well disciplined. I didn’t have many adult figures in my adolescence to guide me adequately. If I could go back and do things differently, I would.” It is true, Erwin thinks. He often thinks of how different his life would be with his father alive. His whole course of life changed by his own absurd choice. Sometimes he doesn’t know where his father’s influence begins and the influence of his father’s death begins. Erwin is simply a shell of a man, left to haunt the world in place of his much more admirable father.
“It didn’t seem that way at the gala.”
“Hm?”
“That you wish you could go back. It didn’t seem that you felt that way when you were dancing with her. Not to mention, the look on Nile’s face.”
Ah, so Levi is concerned about whether Nile holds a grudge.
“I’ll always care for Marie, just as I do for Nile. Yes, Nile can certainly ruminate over things, but I would never betray his trust again. Especially when I no longer have the excuse of being a young man.” A callback to all the times Levi has called him old; it’s a poor excuse for a joke, but he’s hoping it will soothe the aching tension in the rattling carriage and the rift he’s created between them.
Levi turns away again, eyes focused back out the window, following the passing buildings. “Just be careful then. That rat-faced bastard looks like he could snap any second.”
“I will be. I’m different than I was then.”
Levi’s gaze returns to him in the form of irritation. He opens his mouth to say something, something sizzling and challenging; Erwin can tell. Instead, however, in the last second, he changes his mind and closes his eyes, takes a breath and lets it go.
Levi seems to stir his mind for an alternative response, one of indifference.
“Alright.”
The stairs to the underground are always a juxtaposition: hollow and open but full of dread that makes you want to avoid them, the stench wafts and lingers towards the entrance, but there’s still a desire to venture them; see what lays hidden in open mystery.
As they approach the entrance in question, two drunk MP’s guard the staircase, playing a gambling game of some sorts between each other. Loose change clatters and their drinks spill as they chat to themselves until they hear the footsteps of the survey corps men approaching.
The lankier, taller MP drops his relaxed composure when he turns to them. A frown of irritation growing on his face. “Papers!” He demands.
Levi is already glaring at the man, likely for his vicious attitude. Erwin steps forward offering his citizenship papers as well as the ones made for Levi once he joined the corps.
The tall man snatches the papers before briskly examining them and handing them back. “Don’t lose your dog down there, Squad Leader. Sometimes strays like to find their way back home.”
Erwin can feel Levi’s body wound tightly next to him, like a threatened cat ready to pounce. He doesn’t even have to look at him to know he’s shooting poisonous daggers at the man standing tall across from him.
The black-haired man opens his mouth and so Erwin intervenes; he grabs Levi’s arm and moves him past the men whose chuckles reverberate off the stone walls and follow them down the staircase.
Levi yanks his arm back furiously. “What the fuck?” He hisses. He’s angry and perhaps even hurt in some type of way. It makes Erwin feel bad.
“I know,” Erwin simply acknowledges. “I know, but we need to keep them appeased for when we take the mother and child to the surface.”
Levi’s resentment seems to soften, if only a small amount. He doesn’t say anything else but Erwin has a feeling that he knows the blonde is right.
Levi crosses his arms, his face a slew of scrambling expressions as he seems to steady himself. Finally he turns to directly look at Erwin. Those steely grey eyes clashing against blue ones. “Let’s go.”
The winds of the alleys in the underground are damp and smell worse than they look. The air itself is cold, and Erwin suppresses the shivers that attempt to run through his body at the piling discomfort. Levi, on the other hand, is used to this. That is, until Erwin gives him the name of the brothel for their objective. The short haired man’s eyes widen nearly imperceptibly and Erwin can barely hear the intake of abrupt air he takes. He meanders through then snaking aisles with an inscrutable expression without another word to Erwin. Levi seems to grow more aloof as he guides them precisely to the right building.
The ex-underground resident stops at a leaky, wooden building. The building itself resembled more of a house and the wood has seemed to be so damp for so long that the structure of the building seems to sway; caving in on its right side. Levi walks towards the doors, plastered an enticing red color.
“What’s the plan here?” He asks. There’s still anger etched in his tone, but Erwin wouldn’t expect anything less: not from a man who earns and deserves respect.
“Well, I don’t actually know her name.” Erwin finally admits.
Levi pauses and turns to the blonde. His expression is fairly easy to decipher in this moment, one where he is calling Erwin a fucking idiot in 20 different ways. “You don’t know her name?” He reiterates.
“No.”
“Goddammit, Erwin.” Levi chides. “You were going to go down here with no plan? How have you lived this long?”
“I would say recruiting you required the same amount of planning.” Erwin responds.
Levi rolls his eyes before walking away from the building. He stands to the side and waits for Erwin to get the hint and follow.
“We need a plan. You can’t just enter a brothel and ask for someone without knowing anything about her. How were you going to go about this?”
“I was going to ask based off a description…”
“Don’t tell me you were gonna try and charm your way to her. This isn’t a gala.”
Still a touchy subject, clearly, Erwin notes. “I wasn’t exactly going to go about it in the exact same manner.”
“Right.” Levi dismisses. “So here’s what we’ll do. You stay here and I’ll go in. What does she look like?”
Erwin observes Levi, taken aback. “Are you sure that’s a good idea—“
“Yes. What does she look like?” The short man’s patience is decreasing rapidly.
“Levi, I don’t think—“
“Look,” Levi snaps. “I…know the people here. I can find her and make this less of a big deal. What does she look like?”
“You know people here?” A strange, unwarranted feeling, swelling in Erwin’s chest, speaks for him.
“Erwin. I won’t ask again, what the fuck does she look like?” Levi says it through gritted teeth.
“Dark red hair. Medium height. Her child is a ginger as well.” Erwin concedes, battling defeat and the onslaught of unfamiliar feelings.
“Alright. Stay here. Don’t talk to anyone for a few minutes and then I’ll come back and get you.” Levi turns to move towards the doors. He makes it up the stairs and looks at Erwin.“Don’t you dare die in the few minutes I’ll be in there.”
Like a child, Erwin wants to ask “why can’t I go with you?” But at this point, he knows when to challenge Levi and right now is not one of those moments. He’ll allow him to have whatever privacy he demands right now. Even if it leaves his skin crawling and his mind unsettled with various hypotheticals about the short man’s relation to knowing people at a goddamn brothel…Erwin takes a breath; calming the nerves that he didn’t even realize were fraying. “Alright.”
Levi gives him a nod before going to the doors and entering.
Erwin is likely alone for the minutes that Levi says he will be, but it feels as if he’s waiting for an eternity. At some point, his urges take over and he begins walking towards the door to enter when it swings open. He’s greeted by Levi, staring at him with scolding eyes.
“Thought I told you to wait here.”
You were taking too long sounded quite petulant in his mind, so Erwin opts for “I was concerned something happened.” Instead.
Levi scoffs and gracefully moves down the stairs, brushing past the blonde and nimbly hopping off the last step.
“I found her. She’ll meet us out here in a few minutes. She wasn’t too happy about meeting with a squad leader from the survey corps so you better use those pretty words of yours.”
“You must have some of your own, if you convinced her to come out here.” Erwin comments. Levi turns to him with a raised eyebrow. “‘Pretty words,’ I mean.”
“Oh,” Levi scoffs again. “Nah, it was something else.”
Something else? Before Erwin can tame the simmering curiosity and the novel feeling brimming by probing further, the door opens again.
A woman in her late 30s or early 40s to Erwin’s estimates steps out. Her wild, curly, red hair is tamed by a simple bun on her head. Wild fire ringlets escape it in the front, framing her face like a veil. She wears a tattered dress and the exposed skin of her rolled up sleeves reveal a series of scars and mottled bruises. Her tired eyes narrow when they land on Erwin.
“What is it you need?” Her tone is accusatory and even her stance exudes defensiveness. Her arms are crossed around her patchwork dress.
“I have a proposal for you.” Erwin begins while he stands tall and with reverence. As he takes steps closer, he leaves every feeling behind to present as his best self. One of a leader, someone to be trusted, someone to be followed. His most pertinent and comfortable role to play.
He eases in charm and presents his proposal as one of being the optimal choice. To some extent, it is. He’s aware that the mother’s choices are extremely limited. Erwin’s only concern is that she is in love with Adler and therefore will stay underground in order to stay in his life. Although doubt floods Erwin’s mind of whether love can really be that mesmerizing and inspiring.
“Would you consider it?” Erwin asks.
The woman, who goes by Iris, studies the squad leader. She stares at him like if she stares hard enough, he’ll fall apart and reveal every aching secret of his.
“What’s in it for you?” She finally says.
Erwin weighs the pros and cons of being upfront with her. It seems to be a better option to be somewhat truthful.
“I have some proposals to make to Lord Adler. It’s safer for you to be somewhere more secluded.”
“I know.” She responds, her eyes impossibly narrowing in more intensely as she takes a step forward. “I didn’t ask about protecting me. I asked what’s in it for you?”
The blonde can see Levi casually leaning on the staircase rail, almost as if he was curious for Erwin’s answer himself.
“Preventing another death, I suppose.” Erwin says impassively.
“Aw, the survey corps leader’s tired of throwing people into titans?”
He clenches his jaw. He’s being challenged and he knows it. Perhaps she sees through his facade. Perhaps she disdains his presentation. There’s a myriad of possibilities as to why she is testing him and so Erwin tries another approach.
“Although death itself is never meaningless, I try to take directions that avoid death when it’s feasible. This is one of those scenarios. However, you are not obligated to come with. If you would like to stay here and wait to find out where Lord Adler’s loyalty towards you lies, be my guest.” A more direct approach, but in reality, one that closer resembles how the natural cogs of Erwin’s brain move.
Iris briefly glares at him before her eyes move to Levi. They exchange eye contact; a wordless conversation between each other that results in her finally saying “I’ll come with.”
It takes Iris very little time to collect her modest belongings, she carries one bag on her back and, more importantly, her daughter on her hip. The child must be around 3 years old and she clings to her mother for dear life. Based off her wide eyes, Erwin thinks it may be safe to assume that she has never been outside of her small room in the brothel. He catches Levi glancing at the girl with a look of sadness that he’s never seen the man wear before.
As they reach the stairs, Erwin prepares the forged papers. The drunken MPs glare at the paperwork and for a second, Erwin thinks they’ll refuse the paperwork. He is, after all, visibly taking a prostitute and her illegitimate child to the surface. However, the MPs’ eyes bounce between the woman and both Erwin and Levi.
“Got a lot of men that owe ya if they’re getting you a ticket straight to the surface, huh?” One of them sneers at Iris.
Before Erwin can speak, the red-head rolls her eyes. “What’s it to you? If they get caught, you get to laugh and joke all you want about how much they wanted to bring a whore up here and failed.”
The man chuckles in response, really laughs. “Oh, I guess you’re right about that. Would be fun to see these righteous survey corps pricks get in trouble for indulging for once.” He tosses the papers in Erwin’s direction and they lightly scatter before falling onto the wet bricks at the staircase entrance. Always so reverent, the MPs are.
The blonde squats to collect the papers and when he stands back up, he can see the fire of contempt burning through Levi’s retinas as he stares at the MPs.
“Come on,” he says to the short man, in hopes of placating him until they can leave the area.
The rest of his plan is set in motion quickly: now that they’re back on the surface, a couple recruits, picked out from Hange, will escort Iris and her daughter to Shiganshina.
“So long, Levi.” She says and pulls him in for a hug that Levi surprisingly returns. She turns towards the awaiting horse and small wagon but before leaving, she takes a few steps forward again before pausing to look over at Erwin. “I don’t know what your end goal is, Smith, but I can appreciate the help. My real name’s Freya, by the way. Oh, and be good to Levi.” She gives a small smile.
“Tch, I can take care of myself, Freya.” Levi grouses and nearly resembles her as he rolls his own eyes. Erwin thinks he can see slight fondness subtly coloring Levi’s features.
A faint, unimpressed “mmhmm” can be heard over her worn, clacking heels as she strides away. The late afternoon has turned the sun to a warm, flattering gold and it highlights Freya’s fire-like hair until she is hidden from the shadows of the awaiting wagon.
How does Levi know her? Perhaps it wasn’t an appropriate time to ask, although Erwin is aching to know for some strange reason.
Despite the rarity, he finds himself needing to ground himself back to the present matters for the umpteenth time recently. With Freya and her daughter safe, Erwin and Levi can go right to Adler.
“Does he know we’re coming?” Levi asks, an impatient tapping sounding from his feet. They stand a few paces from the large doors.
“No, I figured it could give him an opportunity to call in another assailant if he knew ahead of time.”
“Mm, always the thinker.”
They turn away from each other to stare at the mansion in front of them.
“Alright. Are you ready?” Erwin asks because it is polite to.
“Yeah.”
It’s Erwin who leads the way to the entrance this time. In this territory, he is the expert. He knows who will likely answer and who exactly he’s searching for. He knocks and waits patiently.
It’s one of the Adler’s maids who opens the door. Her eyes expose her surprise and she takes a step back.
“Hello, I’m Squad Leader Erwin Smith. I was hoping to speak with Lord Adler.” His charming smile is back on. It may be that the people here can digest it better than the underground residents who understand what an act looks like.
“Please give me a moment.” She quickly shuts the door.
“What the hell is she doing?” Levi asks impatiently.
“Probably seeing if he’s willing to speak with us.”
Levi shakes his head and huffs. “If he doesn’t, he’s a coward.”
“I would argue he’s a coward amongst many other things either way.”
Levi’s lip curls ever so slightly, “yeah, that sounds about right.”
The door abruptly swings open again, the maid looking far more flustered than before. “Squad Leader Smith, you are permitted to enter,” she holds up a hand, “your companion is not, however.”
Levi turns to Erwin with eyes saying a thousand things. Of the variation, Erwin can recognize a few things he is trying to exhibit “this could be a trap,” “told you the pig is a coward,” “I’m not waiting here.”
“Ah,” Erwin clears his throat. “That’s fine. It is getting quite dark out. May my fellow subordinate wait in the parlor while Lord Adler and I catch up? He makes good company and you can stay with him if you are concerned about him roaming.”
The maid hesitates but concedes quite easily.
“Alright.” She says it nearly under her breath, almost more to herself.
“Excellent, thank you.” As they enter, the blonde leans closer to the shorter man and lowers his voice. “Give me 15 minutes with him tops, only move if I haven’t come back after that time has passed.”
Levi doesn’t look at Erwin, but narrows his eyes and nods. Plan set in place.
Adler isn’t a scary man per se. He was far too out of shape to be physically threatening and alone, his finances only captured him so much control. It was more of his connections that were threatening to Erwin. Especially when considering how the squad leader is unsure of who exactly he knows. He could have sent a messenger to Lovof the second Erwin’s presence was announced. The hypotheticals, the unknowns, those are what makes Erwin cautious about him.
Erwin and Levi go separate ways as the hallway splits into two sections; Levi going to the parlor and Erwin going to Adler’s office. The absence of the dark-haired man leaves Erwin feeling vacant or even hollow.
He reaches Adler’s office and knocks impatiently before entering without permission. Perhaps it isn’t the most professional approach, but he has the upper hand here and Adler’s meddling has already cost him a day and a half of his time.
Adler is already staring expectantly at the door and Erwin enters.
“Squad Leader Smith. To what do I owe the surprise visit?” There’s no levity in his voice. He keeps his tone impassive but sharp around the edges.
Erwin remains silent until he reaches the chair perched across from the snide man. He opts to skip the preamble, Adler doesn’t deserve it anyways. “Before you call an assailant, I only briefly want to make an appearance. I recently discovered some new information that has led me to believe we must re-establish where we stand.” The blonde leans back in his chair, forcing direct eye contact with Adler.
Adler squirms briefly and slightly before attempting to retain his composure. “Interesting. What exactly shall we re-establish, Smith?”
“I think you know exactly what I know, Adler. It’s unfortunate, considering how cordial we have all been up until now.”
“Cordial? You mean that cheap grin you wear around me or my wife? Or are you referring to when you got one of my affiliates on the brass incarcerated?” Now Lord Adler spits out the words, his mask of indifference shattering as his nose wrinkled in pure malice.
Erwin gives a huff of hair and relaxes more in his own chair. “Lord Adler, speaking of your wife, does she know about where you take your leave after a long day’s work?”
He can see the fear flood Adler’s eyes. “What are you insinuating?”
“Well,” Erwin sits up straighter so he can lean closer towards the angry noble. “It’s just that she often requests we come to visit her. She’s very lonely and it makes me wonder if she’s aware of why you leave her alone so frequently.”
“How dare you mention my wife. Keep her name out of your—“
“I continued wondering about it until I decided to check in and see exactly where you were going, for Lady Adler’s sake, of course. Perhaps, you’ll be surprised to know how easy you were to track; how much evidence you leave behind.”
Adler’s mouth twists in what seems to be a distorted, impossible way. He doesn’t speak though, instead he stares at Erwin like he’s an immortal, evil being that cannot be defeated.
“I spoke to her. She’s truly a nice woman. Her daughter is very cute as well.”
Adler loses it. “What did you do, Smith?! I’ll fucking have your head on a platter. What did you fucking do to them?!”
“I offered them solace in a peaceful place. Something you never seemed to care to give them. In exchange, she is willing to work with me if necessary. She is willing to let everyone in Mitras know of what you do in your personal time underground.”
It’s then that Adler crumbles. His fear and anger simmering out into what appears to be sorrow. Sadness invades his pompous, round features and he hunches and braces himself like Erwin will swing at him. It may be the realization that Freya was so ready to leave him; to choose something else instead of him. Or perhaps, it’s his cornered situation that leaves him looking so devastated.
“Where are they?” He asks below a whisper.
“She doesn’t want you to know.”
“Where are they?! They’re mine. You can’t keep them from me!”
“They’re safe. That’s what you need to know. You also must know that if you ever try and kill me again, I have many people who know of your uncouth misdeeds and they will expose you in an instant, leaving you with nothing.”
To Erwin’s slight surprise, or maybe none at all, Sigmund Adler begins to weep. A wretched, broken string of wails. Perhaps, he really does love Freya. But could he truly love her if he left her in the slums of the underground to wait for his presence like it is a gift bestowed upon her every other night? Could he truly love her properly if he believes he owned her?
Erwin stands tall lingering over the defeated pile of what is left of Adler. “I would like to make sure we are on the same page before I go?”
The redheaded man does not respond. He continues quietly sobbing into his desk. “I am pleased to continue working together as we have been. I appreciate you also assisting in additional funding for the scouts next expedition and advocating for the survey corps during the next brass meeting. If Lovof attempts another assassination on me or any of my subordinates, it will be greatly appreciated that you tell me in advance. If you fail to do any of these things, unfortunately, word may consequently get around about your affair.”
The man looks up, his face sloppy with tears and snot. He doesn’t say anything but he gives a defeated nod. It’s enough for Erwin. He turns and leaves the office. He closes the door out of brief kindness to suppress the pathetic whimpers sounding from it.
He returns to the front room and sees Levi. He’s sitting on one of the grand couches with a cup of tea in his hand. He raises his head at the sound of Erwin’s footprints on the marble floor. They make eye contact as they often do now; a conversation that lacks words and merely uses their eyes. Levi stands and sets his cup on the tray nearby. He seems relieved but still looks incredibly tense.
The ride back home is one of pure relief. The carriage is roofed and warm from the glass lanterns keeping it lit up inside. It’s a cozy atmosphere that feeds the blonde’s contentment. Erwin can’t help the satisfaction buzzing in his mind. It was so easy to break Adler. Not to mention, that they were able to get his clutches off Freya. She is free of abiding to his commands against any will of her own. Adler may think he knows love, but he doesn’t. He knows power; he knows possession. Now, however, she is safe from it all. Her child is safe. He’s safe. Levi is safe. Levi also chose to come with him on this excursion. He can’t possibly hate him then. His eyes drift to the man in question sitting across from him in the carriage.
Levi looks back at him, giving him a brief glare for presumably invading his space by staring at him. The glare only lasts a second before it softens; he seems to soften. He stares at Erwin with a flash of eyes that feel so open before breaking the trance he’s bestowed on the blonde in exchange for staring out the window. Erwin smirks to himself before looking in his own separate direction. Warmth floods his system as he settles in more comfortably for the remainder of the ride. He briefly thinks of all the things he’d do to see Levi’s soft, unguarded and unreserved expression always.
No.
He internally smothers the thought for better warmth.
Instead he thinks of the objective events today. Opting to relish in thoughts that are more real. Thoughts that are so warm and tangible. With the rush of coming out on top of such a risky game, with Levi by his side again, he feels calm. He relishes in the feeling—he could stay like this forever.