Shingeki no Jiyu

VI

       Adria stood in the back row, wedged between Viktor and Leo. Nobody had noticed their absence as the festivities were a lure to draw attention; the plaza buzzed with eagerness as Erwin mounted the makeshift wooden stage. His knuckles were bruised, notably from beating Prophet on their return. He led the Saint to the cells beneath Trost for further interrogation—Adria tried her best to not let it get to her, but the tears continued to fall.

      "Oi, if you're going to cry make sure the Captains don't see you," Leo whispered in her ear. "They won't take a sign of weakness, not when we've come this far."

      Adria set her jaw tight and scrubbed her eyes against the sleeve of her white blouse. Even though she was nestled behind a crowd of twenty, Erwin was still able to spot her clearly being the only Training Corps member not in the customary jacket. He'd warned the other Captains not to berate her for the lack of respect, but it would become a problem depending on which branch of the military she chose.

      The Survey Corps made the executive decision to continue with the graduation ceremony without the notable leaders attached to convince the cadets. Hannes sat in the shadow of the stables with a bottle of draft beer under Mike's guard, the Military Police Captain hadn't been chosen and Erwin stood in Keith's place; not that any of the cadets besides Viktor and Adria noticed.

      Erwin stood at attention beneath the four carved banners of the military, the flames from the braziers illuminated his opalescent eyes as he addressed them, "Tonight you will choose a branch of the military. However, my goal is for you to take up arms in the Survey Corps. During your time abroad you have learnt how terrifying the prospect Titans can be—but from the looks on your faces, it's quite clear that none of you have encountered one personally."

      The blood promptly drained from Viktor's face, he brought his left hand back up to his mouth and examined the scarification. Burchard made conversation about it after their return during a round of drinks but Viktor defended himself saying that he bites himself during sleep—a habit brought about during his asylum in Hana.

      "To put it bluntly, swords will not save you, nor will wits. Every single one of you must depend on yourselves and you must be prepared to sacrifice yourself to further humanity's progression when asked. If you request assistance in battle, I will not come to your aid," this was received by gasps from the cadets, to which Erwin ignored. "You might have gathered that amongst your group, various individuals have excelled and proven to be an asset to mankind; I expect the rest to reach that level of strength."

      Graham turned his head in front of her and gave a lop-sided smile, "He's talking about you Yeltsie."

      "Amongst the recruits, the Survey Corps have taken a risk to be on par with the Titans. . .Viktor Haus' commitment to our cause proved paramount to our survival. Hailing from one of the original founding families of Sheena the inner most Wall, I believe with his combined knowledge and exponential strength we will finally obtain victory against the Titans," Erwin continued.

      A penny could've dropped in the courtyard and it would've resonated like an earthquake. Viktor's eyes practically rolled back into his head from shock. From the age of nine he had no memory of his past, simply waking up on the outskirts of Hana and brought into the city by the Garrison. Hanji and Erwin never mentioned possible lineage, that's why Adria devote her time to fuelling Viktor's self-worth—to push him to excel despite being labelled an outcast.

      For Erwin to disclose information publicly and paint a target on Viktor's back, there had to be hidden motive. What was he trying to achieve?

       Erwin gestured with his chin for two Survey Corps members to join him on stage. They unfurled a diagram which was a faceless sketch of two men—one held a crown whilst the other had a naval uniform. Scribbled beneath in capitals were MARLEY/ELDIA.