tidal (Levi x Reader)

131. tithonia

"-Now announcing His Majesty the King!"

a little late for that-

"Would anyone care to explain?" My Father, the King, stood imposingly over the crowd, which quickly parted to let him through.

that complicates things

"I hope you haven't been put into an uncomfortable position because of how long I took," Historia murmured to me.

if only that was the case

"Your Majesty," Levi bowed his head slightly, I murmured a similar greeting curtsying in front of him.

"Your Highness-" Hitch looked startled, "what are you doing here?"

it's a bit sad isn't it

you act so tough in front of everyone else but

at the end of the day we're all at the same level in front of the king

you and i aren't so different hitch

if i was first would i be in the position you are now?

"I heard that my daughter and her husband were attending a party," he paused, glancing at the first princess. "Is there an issue with wanting to catch up with them?"

well that makes one person who wants to acknowledge our relationship

"I thought that you would be pleased to see Father, are you not?" Historia spoke up, smiling innocently at her.

she's meticulous

"I wouldn't want her as an enemy," Levi muttered under his breath, pulling me closer to him. "Don't look now but it appears like we have even more company."

"Eren-"

"Don't cause a sce-"

"You came all this way and didn't greet me?" An angry-looking Prince stormed into the room, heading straight for Levi, "- and you brought her?"

ouch

"Eren," at the sound of Erwin's voice the aforementioned boy stopped in his tracks, eyes widening. "Don't cause a scene."

everyone is here

"Oh my," Annie chuckled, "when I told you that the Duke was here I certainly didn't expect you to do something like that."

I AM SO GLAD THEY AREN'T OUR ENEMIES

"Annie how could you-" the first princess seemed genuinely hurt at Annie's apparent betrayal.

she looks shaken

"Now can anyone let me know just what was happening here?" Erwin cleared his throat, frowning down at all of us. "Or will I have to find out from someone else?"

this is it

"I was just-" Hitch began to speak.

"My sister seems to believe that I have somehow forced my husband to marry me," I cut her off, "Levi and I were simply responding to her accusations."

"Is this true?" He looked to the crowd for approval.

i can't totally twist the story because of the crowd but-

being upfront about it and not letting her completely control the narrative is enough for now

everything is a gamble at this point

Murmurs of agreement spread throughout the crowd.

"Why would you accuse our sister of something like that-" Historia gasped, playing up her shock.

"My lady," Ymir shot me a quick smile before rushing to Historia's side, an illusion of concern on display for the crowd.

what does erwin look like?

"This is a serious accusation, what evidence do you have to prove it?" He looked irritated at the entire issue.

that's the question

a crowd may be easy to manipulate

but erwin likes the fact that one of his daughters is married to a powerful member of nobility that he's anxious to keep in check

it will be harder to convince him without solid proof

historia knows what she's doing

"My sister is right- I knew there was something wrong the minute I stepped into their house," Eren spoke up.

you came there to antagonize me what can you expect?

"Eren-" Mikasa and Armin who had been desperately trying to prevent him from causing any harm earlier stood close behind him, frowning.

he didn't listen did he

at least they tried

i appreciate it

"This is a serious accusation, you can't just hear one side of the argument," Historia spoke up. "Accusing the Duchess- who is also a princess of the kingdom, isn't something you can do so easily."

she's trying to push this towards some kind of official trial

"Historia is right," Erwin nodded, "either this gets settled now and you avoid embarrassing the royal family or we will have to make this even more public than it already is."

of course, he isn't a fan of how this is happening

"The Duchess was just about to admit to it!" Hitch cried out, pointing angrily over at me. "You can't trust anything they say- they're all in on it together."

just what was i going to admit to?

"Are you suggesting that the Duchess provoked you into hurting her image?" Annie laughed, "that doesn't make sense at all."

no it really doesn't

"I saw it!" Eren shouted out, "when I was at the Ducal estate I saw it!"

"Saw what?" Levi asked, frowning.

"The contract."

there's no way- i specifically checked to make sure that it hadn't been touched on the day that he snooped around

how confident is he that he's willing to throw out accusations like that-

unless-

"Is this true?" Erwin directed his attention toward me.

of cour-

My gaze snapped to the first princess who was grinning ear to ear- her panicked expression replaced with a look of smug confidence.

she's planted something hasn't she-

"Levi-" I turned to look over at him, squeezing his hand.

"Fine-" he conceded, sighing loudly, "I don't agree with what you said earlier but it looks like we don't have another choice."

there were multiple directions this could have gone from the start

but there was always one plan that neither of us wanted to consider

telling the truth

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SORRY FOR THE CONSTANT CLIFFHANGERS

all of this stuff is important so i rlly want to give each scene it's moment- and i am unfortunately in school so i can't sit still long enough to write a 5000 word chapter lol

LOVE U

- ami