Coming for your heart

Chapter 40

Levi POV

What the fuck was Erwin thinking? Going down there alone to interrogate that servant...

Telling him not to interfere when the prince had shown his...whatever that shit had been, was one thing. It was something entirely different to act behind his back. He should have captured that creature when he had the chance...

- - -

"Levi. Stop."

Erwin's voice stopped him from running over to the winged creature on the ground, ready to slay the dangerous beast.

"Erwin, are you fucking blind? He will kill us all!", he snarled. "I haven't saved you time and time again, only to let you all get beaten by a fucking bird!"

"He won't hurt us."

"How can you be so certain?"

Erwin grabbed his arm to stop the snarling man from running over and ending that creature's life. His eyes were firm but Levi didn't drop his gaze.

"Look at him, Levi.", Erwin whispered, his expression softening while he tried to keep Marie from running away from the both of them. The young woman pouted in a fashion that prompted Levi's mouth to form a little, nearly unseeable smile.

"He is no danger.", Erwin continued. "He doesn't mean us any harm. Just...look at him for a second, hothead."

Grumbling Levi did as the general asked from him and turned his head far enough to catch the creature's...gaze.

It was...indeed staring at him.

Those wide eyes, calculating and cunning, were resting on his figure, the wings curling around his body. Curiosity glimmered in them, trained on only him. For a second, he recognized the young man he had been dancing with.

Exhaling the breath he hadn't known he had been holding he felt Erwin let go of his arm. His friend knew that he wouldn't try to kill him even if he himself wasn't sure just what he was about to do. 

Should he do anything?

He was about to look away, when the creature...the prince, finally broke their eye contact. It spread it's wings. And within a second...it was gone.

- - -

"Erwin!" He knocked at the door, ignoring the guard who was standing beside him with fear glimmering in his eyes. Of course he knew who Levi was. "Open up the damn door or I'm going to kick it in!"

When the man opened it up Levi heard the defeated sigh coming from the general. Tires eyes inspected him and Levi narrowed his, crossing his arms with a tilted head.

"Why the fuck would you interrogate him alone, Eyebrows?"

"Because the King trusts me to do this alone."

"And we both know how great it is to have the trust of our great king."

"Stop it, Levi.", Erwin hissed, looking over to the guard who was doing his best to appear disinterested. "Come in then if you don't trust me enough to have a simple conversation with someone."

Levi followed him in, not making any effort to correct the man. The other general should know by now how stupid it was to doubt Levi's loyalty.

"What did you get?", he asked while glancing over to the young blond, who didn't even recognize his presence. Small knees were drawn up to his chest, his arms wrapped around them in a protective and defensive matter.

"He is innocent.", Erwin mumbled and Levi shook his head, knowing that the man was talking about the feeling in his stomach, not the results of a proper investigation. "He doesn't have anything to do with what happened today."

"Erwin, as soon as the king or one of his favorite puppies get down here, they will force him to confess."

"Confess what? He doesn't know anything."

"Are you playing stupid with me?", Levi snarled, noticing the flinch of the servant. "They won't care about that and you and me both know that. They will get him to confess to be a chicken if that's what they want him to confess."

Erwin bit his lip. Levi had always admired him for his intelligence, for his capability to decide fast and without the emotional input many of his subordinates shared. But at the moment it was clear as the day that he wasn't thinking with his head.

"How can we prove that he is..."

"We need someone else. Someone else must confess in his stead.", Levi pressed out the words, knowing what he was proposing and wondering when in hell he had gotten so soft with the other general. It was a corrupt move. To blame someone else.

But if they didn't get someone else to confess...then this boy would surely do so under torture and they would kill him for bonding with Eldia's traitor – the Second Prince of Eldia.

Or someone else would die in his stead.

Fuck. 

(Fuck, indeed. 

I'm sorry that this chapter is short again😅I will maybe even update a third chapter today, that's gonna be longer.

So, what would you do in Levi's and Erwin's stead? 

Do you think it's right to blame someone to rescue an innocent person? What if that other person is also innocent?)