To nobody's surprise, both Erwin and Isanna were immediately escorted to the Military Police subdivision in Stohess to an audience with the central council; they were currently inside a convoy carriage together with Nile, with a horse pulling their ride across the asphalt.

"Are these still necessary?" Isanna asked as she lifted her cuffed hands, the cold metal chains rattling at the movement, before she let them fall back on her lap. "My wrists feel sore."

"Quiet, Herrmann," Nile, who was sitting across her, said. "I'll take it off when we arrive."

"Why not now?"

"Because the probability of you escaping lies around ninety-nine percent, and I'm not taking any chances."

Isanna scoffed and rolled her eyes. She was a woman of lot of things, but she was certainly not the type to escape summons from the central council, more so especially after the stunt they had pulled in Stohess. After their succesful-but-kinda-failure of a capture of the female titan, she knew refraining from retaliating against the monarchy was the best way to at least minimize their punishments. It was probably what Erwin was thinking, as well.

"You're still as insufferable as ever," Nile said, frowning. "How do you even work with someone as rigid as Erwin?"

Isanna sneaked a glimpse at the blond sitting beside her. Amid the occasional exchange of words between her and Nile, Erwin on the other hand, was just silently gazing out through the window at his side, wearing a contemplative look, probably thinking of what he's going to say to the council; the sun was setting in dark shades of oranges, casting silhouettes across the buildings and houses that were lined up in an array around the city.

"How we work is none of your business," Isanna said.

Scoffing, Nile reclined deeper against the cushion of his seat and crossed his arms together. He darted his eyes between the two soldiers sitting in front of him, those same two who happened to be a part of his closest circle years ago.

Isanna decided to quiet down and stretch her patience for a few more minutes. As her thoughts drifted back to the results of their recent operation, frustration and the growing dread of facing the council began to form. She chewed the insides of her cheeks.

Damn it, the least fate could have done for them was to allow them to capture Annie Leonhart successfully. You'd think they deserved some kind of reward after all the shit they'd went through.

"I hope you two have some sort of plan out of this," said Nile, breaking the silence. "What you did was no light thing; many people died."

"Welcome to the Survey Corps," Isanna muttered under her breath, although the two men still heard it loud and clear.

Nile scowled. "And you sound so nonchalant about it too."

Something about his words blew a ruse in her.

"You think I wanted people to die? What were we supposed to do? You and your unicorns were going to put Eren down like a dog, and humanity needs him. We had to do something."

"Don't you understand, Herrmann?" Nile retorted, leaning forward from his seat. "All of this mess is because of that titan boy; this is why I didn't want to leave him in your and Erwin's hands, because I knew you'd use his powers the wrong way." He clicked his tongue, scowl deepening. "All you Scouts are always doing the nastiest things."

"That kid," she seethed in reply, "is the hope of humanity. Someone who hides and cowers behind the walls while wearing a stupid damn unicorn on his back, has no right to put down the soldiers who are always fighting for their lives in the front lines. You will never understand that, Dok, because you're just one big, piece of shitty coward."

With each insult she spat, the urge to just choke the living daylights out of her was waxing stronger inside Nile. He clenched the fists on his lap, digging his fingers deeper into his palm, and his knuckles turned white at the tension of his muscles.

Isanna noticed this and goaded him even further. "What? Square up and fight me, dipshit."

Nile was definitely itching to do exactly that, but he spared a glance at the blond sitting beside her and knew he shouldn't. That familiar, icy gaze that always reeked of intimidation and imposing authority; a gaze so commanding that just the mere sight was enough to compel one to kneel down and obey.

Even though they were both commanders, Nile had to admit Erwin's aura of authority was a whole other league of its own.

I'll just let those guys from the council handle them, Nile thought.

It was not long until the carriage finally stopped in front of a tower of pristine buildings. The sunset colors of the sky were now more pronounced when Nile led the two down the carriage, and he ordered a soldier to release their cuffs before he escorted them inside the fancy-looking towers. After a series of turns down the winding corridors, they finally entered through mahogany double doors and filed into a room where several important figures were already waiting for them.

Isanna took note of some familiar faces who were seated around a rectangular table, while a few were standing around the room. As all heads turned to the arrival of the two highest figures in the Survey Corps—as well as the same personnel who led the raid in Stohess just a few hours earlier—the air inside seemed to have become heavier. Even a few of the councilmen frowned at Isanna, memories of previous meetings flooding in.

Let's just say she did not have a friendly reputation with these men.

Another figure sitting at the table caught her attention. She raised a brow when she made eye contact with none other than Baldrick Lovof.

The last time they met each other couldn't have been that long. But with the way his appearance changed so much, Isanna would have been convinced that years had already passed since then.

Baldrick's beard had grown a lot scruffier, his eyes looked more soulless, and his cheeks were more gaunt. He looked like a passing ghost, except he was still very much alive.

Isanna managed to convey a silent message through her eyes: What's up?

Baldrick held eye contact with her for a few more seconds, and Isanna could've sworn he looked like he wanted to say something to her. But they were currently about to start a council meeting, so he broke their contact, looking even more constipated than ever.

While Erwin was led to take a seat, Isanna thought it'd be for her sake to stay inconspicuous (as inconspicuous as a second-in-command who was partially responsible for an unauthorized operation could be) by standing by the side of the room so she stalked to the wall at the far right; automatically, a few soldiers who were also standing there seemed to make way for her like she was the plague.

The meeting began.

"Erwin, we have quite a few concerns about the plan this time around," the man who was sitting at the other end of the table started, his eyes skimming down a quick report that had been handed to him regarding the Stohess incident.

What's new? Isanna thought with a light scoff. They always had concerns about everything. While the lower-ranked soldiers were doing all the work, all these people acted like they were analysis experts and loved to nitpick on everything.

The councilman who was the District Chief, proceeded to ask why Erwin decided to keep their operation a secret from the Military Police Brigade when everything could have gone a lot smoother if both divisions had worked together.

Erwin kept a straight face as he answered that they were not certain of the identity of the female titan's allies, who had high chances of being in the same military division.

"Then what are your thoughts on the damage Stohess district suffered as a result?"

"Our abilities were simply lacking," Erwin admitted, following it with a sincere apology.

"Do you think we want apologies?!" Another man accused before he then turned to Isanna. "Sergeant Major, I recall you were heavily against the mission to recapture Wall Maria four years ago because of your.. remarkable moral standards," he said with his voice dripping in sarcasm. "Surely you had some influence in trying to reason with your commander?"

Erwin frowned at the man. "Sir—"

"I believe that had we not done what we did, there would have been a much larger damage given to us from the enemy," Isanna said before Erwin could come to her defense, mildly surprising him. "Sir, please bear in mind that the female titan's allies are still hiding within the walls. Although the sacrifice was great, apprehending her is a huge step forward for humanity."

This was another reason she was grateful for working beside Erwin for a long time. When she wanted to, she was capable of speaking professionally—meaning all the fancy words without the profanities. After years of being together, she naturally picked up a tip or two from him.

The man was not convinced, however. "Still, you—"

"Wait."

All heads turned to the one who raised his hand.

"Councilman Lovof," the District Chief acknowledged, "is there something you want to say?"

Baldrick turned to Isanna. "I understand your point; this is definitely a huge step forward. But," he paused, "how do you expect to extract any information from Annie Leonhart as she is now?"

That's the funny part. I don't fucking know.

Isanna had to literally bite her tongue from blurting her thoughts. She wanted to tell them she wasn't in charge of being the smart one in the Survey Corps. She sent a discrete look at Erwin, signaling him to save her, and he fortunately understood her expression.

"In other words," said the District Chief when she didn't answer, "all this was for naught?"

"No," Erwin smoothly countered. "Just as what Sergeant Major Isanna said, the very fact that we have captured one of our enemies proves how we've come a long way from the past, back when we could not even fathom humans transforming into titans," he paused, probably for dramatic effect. "I believe we've now grasped a great potential with which to save mankind."

He added how there were still such enemies lurking inside their walls, who were all dooming humanity. However, with the knowledge they had gained from the recent events, they could definitely strike back now.

"Now it's our turn to advance upon our enemies," Erwin finished, allowing the silence to trickle in as his words settled inside everyone.

Isanna was pleased and subtly smirk after his speech. Truly, Erwin was gifted when it came to well-spoken speeches; he had a way of getting his point across in a manner that was fully understood by everyone and at the same time shutting down any other oppositions.

The meeting was adjourned, and the official summons of the Survey Corps' top brass to the Capital were put on hold for the time being, much to Isanna's relief.

Erwin exited the room together with Isanna as the other figures also began filing out, but Nile stopped Erwin and engaged him in another conversation regarding Annie Leonhart's condition. As the two men talked, Isanna felt a light tug on her sleeve.

She glanced behind her to see Baldrick. Judging by the way he was lightly frowning and the fact that he was subtly chewing on his lip, he definitely had something he wanted to tell her.

"Nice to see you too again, Lovof," she casually greeted. "There, I'm done with the compulsory greetings. Now spit it out."

Baldrick momentarily paused. "You.. how did you know I have something I wanna say?"

"You look like a pole's been shoved right up your ass," she said, "or is that just how you normally look?"

An annoyed twitch of his eye showed, but he held himself back from snapping at her. He discretely peered around them. "We can't talk here."

"Why?"

"Too many ears." Without saying anything else, he dragged her by the arm.

Isanna sent a glance at Erwin and Nile, and when she saw that they were still busy with their conversation, she decided to follow Baldrick.

Briskly walking to pick her pace, they both rounded a corner and into a more deserted hallway. The marbled floor was nested with dust, the walls at the side were littered with chipped painting, and it was dim and quiet because of the lack of windows that gave the hallway a claustrophobic feeling.

Isanna took her arm back from Baldrick's grip and folded her arms. She gave him a look that said: "Well? Spit it."

She saw him wash his face with both palms and release a stressed sigh.

"Let me guess," she started, "you're still investigating those missing cases?"

Chewing the insides of his cheek, Baldrick averted his gaze from her inquisitive eyes, still hesitant. He looked left and right in case of any eavesdroppers.

He returned his eyes on her, and Isanna took note of the apprehension in them. With a lowered voice, he said, "Yes, I am. It's been a shit month. But I can't move freely with all these... these... eyes."

"Slow down, Lovof," she consoled him with a raised hand. "You look like you've seen a ghost." She studied his anxious features. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. "And why are you telling me all these?"

A pregnant pause passed, until he said, "Because I can't trust anyone else in the interior."

And that caught Isanna's attention.

She narrowed her eyes at him, carefully examining his face. He didn't seem to be lying. At least, to her.

But this was unheard of. Trust, he said. Baldrick basically said he trusted her. Considering their long friendly history of him pushing her off cliffs and her throwing his father into jail, Isanna's normal reaction would have been to deck him in the face. The concept of trust between them was laughable.

"And you're telling me you trust me?"

"Yes, I—" he caught his own words— "to be more precise, I trust the Survey Corps."

Now that was even weirder. This was Baldrick Lovof, the same guy who was the biggest daddy's boy and who used to badmouth the Survey Corps. The son of Nicholas Lovof, who had been hellbent on disbanding the Scouts some years ago, and that same guy in chapter five whom Isanna almost choked to death because he decided it was the best time to insult Erwin's (beautiful) eyebrows.

Sixty-one chapters later, that same guy was now telling her that he trusted the Survey Corps.

Obviously, Isanna was skeptical. "Why?"

"I don't—I don't trust the government," he stammered, and Isanna wondered what exactly happened to him that he transformed from a cocky jerk to this.. timid person.

"Something fishy is happening in the monarchy, Herrmann," Baldrick continued, wary of keeping his voice down while his eyes darted around the hallway. "I mean.. they've always been a bit fishy. No government is ever transparent—there's always a shit ton of corruption in every systemic authority. But that's beside the point. The thing is.. something shifted in the royal palace ever since that Jaeger titan boy went famous."

Isanna tried her best to keep up with his words as he continued.

"Missing cases surged up, but the newspapers just swiped them under the rug-just as they always do," he spat the last part under his breath with a curse. "And one of those missing people is a close friend of mine."

Isanna knew this was a serious matter. But she couldn't help ask, "You actually have friends?"

"I do!" Baldrick flinched when he realize he yelled that out, and he frantically looked around. After seeing that nobody was within hearing distance, he glared at her, clearly offended, and whisper-yelled, "That's not the point!"

"Right. Sorry." She shook her head to wave the unnecessary thoughts away. "So.. you need my help?"

Baldrick had mentioned that the suspicious movements from the government was related to Eren, so Isanna couldn't entirely ignore this matter, especially since he was in the Survey Corps' hands.

He grimly nodded. "It's.. I know that within these walls, the Survey Corps is the only group that actually has the balls to go against the monarchy. Everyone in the council knows that, that's why you guys always kinda piss us off. You guys are a group of fucking oddballs, doing things only brazen idiots would do."

"Thanks a lot."

"Don't mention it," he said without missing a beat. "And around.. a few weeks ago, I found something in the council's library. It was a book in the restricted section. An unfinished one-a manuscript, and I almost got myself killed because of it." He quietly hissed as he remembered that night. Fortunately enough for him, the person who had been making the nightly patrol rounds that time just ran into another fellow guard. Baldrick ended up waiting a few hours in a cramped hiding spot until he was sure the coast was clear so that he could escape.

Before Isanna could even ask what it was about, Baldrick stepped forward and tightly grasped her by the shoulders.

"Herrmann," he started, "it's a small discovery. But I have a feeling it's connected to the government.. and some other twisted shit going on in the royal family. Something related to that titan boy."

"And," Baldrick pressed on, "if anything ever happens.. please, I want support from the Survey Corps."

Isanna stared at him in the eye, his request ringing in the silence in the air above them. In that instance, other questions began forming in her mind. They already had enough on their plate with the titans beyond the walls, and now Baldrick was telling her that their enemies may very well be lurking inside their walls as well.

She frowned. "What do you mean.. 'if anything ever happens'?"

A determined sheen showed through his eyes. "Change. Change is coming to our little world, Herrmann. And it all started with that Jaeger boy."

That, Isanna couldn't deny. She knew that ever since Eren's powers came to the surface, something had been stirring beyond and behind their walls. But she never would have expected for it to be the government itself.

However, now that she thought about it, the monarchy had always been quite questionable.

Change. She wondered: did change include the century-long govern of the monarchy?

"Tell me more about the manuscript you saw."

She saw him wipe his palms on the side of his shirt. It was probably sweat out of nervousness.

"Classified sects," Baldrick began, "secret groups within the walls. And I'm not sure, but I have a feeling the Military Police will send its elite squads after you Scouts sooner or later for Eren Jaeger. And along with that, there's something else.. I saw a code. No—not a code—it's—shit—uh.."

"Quit stammering, idiot."

"Shut up—" he glared— "based on my recent findings, it's one of the more recent groups. It was created.. in the year 844. Just a year prior to the fall. 91V47."

Isanna blinked at him. "A codename?"

"It has to be." Baldrick looked jittery, as if someone was going to pop out of the shadows of the hallway and slit his throat after revealing the information to her. "I don't—know what it means yet. Could you ask your boyfriend for me? He's a nerd, isn't he? He's gotta have some info tucked away in his brain or something."

Isanna blinked. "Boyfriend?"

Baldrick looked at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Who else? That smart ass Erwin."

Baldrick was no blind idiot. Everyone from back in the 95th Training Corps saw the intimacy between the two childhood friends; heck, he even remembered some guys making bets to see who between them would confess first, and how long it would take until then.

Years had already passed.

But as Baldrick saw the way Isanna erupted into a slight blush and how she looked away with a small frown, he realized that not one of 95th batch of training cadets had won the bet.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me," he muttered with disbelief. "You guys have been together for, what, thirty years? And you still aren't a thing?"

At this point, Baldrick was convinced it's either Erwin had remarkable self-control, or he was just a slow idiot. But it was hard to imagine a man like him would take so long to make a move.

Well, it was none of Baldrick's business anyway.

Isanna sighed and ran a hand through her hair locks. "He's not my boyf—anyway, that's not important. You dragged me here to talk about some conspiracies, not to gush over my nonexistent love life."

Baldrick rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He lightly slapped her on the shoulder. "Just go ask Erwin for me in case he has any ideas."

Isanna still had a lot of questions, particularly about him and what exactly happened during his time in the council. But she figured she could ask him next time. If there even was a next time.

"Fine, I'll ask him," she said, turning away with a casual wave of her hand. "But don't depend on it. Erwin's just as clueless as I am when it comes to matters in the interior. We're the Survey Corps—we handle shit from the outside."

"I know. Just.." He sighed, the end of his statement trailing off.

Isanna didn't hear him, so she continued stalking down the corridor, getting farther and farther away from Baldrick with every step of her boot that echoed loudly against the contrastingly silent hall. And as her figure melted into the shadows and rounded the corner, Baldrick turned on his heel and headed the other direction.

Swirls of questions clouded their minds, but one thing was for certain: a storm was brewing.

And change within their little world was coming.

•

When Isanna returned to the area outside the room where the council meeting had been held earlier, she arrived just in time to see that Nile and Erwin had finally finished their conversation.

Nile walked away just as Isanna reached Erwin. "What did the jackass had to tell you?" she asked Erwin after stopping beside him.

He side glanced her for split second before he began walking, with Isanna following his steps. "We had an agreement to have a number of Nile's men watch over Annie Leonhart in the Underground."

Isanna didn't like the sound of that. "You think we can trust them?"

"It's Nile's condition in exchange for letting Eren stay in the Survey Corps," he said. "We'll have to abide by their rules in the meantime."

"... Fine. I trust you know what you're doing."

Then it was silent for a bit as they walked down the corridor, heading to the exit. It wasn't until they rounded the next corner did Erwin speak up.

"What did Baldrick need with you?"

For some reason, Isanna's mind decided that it was the appropriate time to replay her conversation with Baldrick.

"You guys have been together for, what, thirty years? And you still aren't a thing?"

"May I?"

Face heating up, Isanna bit back a groan and washed her face with a palm. Baldrick just had to say that, as if she needed any more distraction.

Erwin suddenly stopped walking, and Isanna would have bumped straight into his back if she had been a second slower. He turned around and faced her.

"You didn't answer me," he said.

Isanna blinked a few times until she remembered his question. Thanks to that flashback, she found it difficult to look at him in the eye. "Ah, right." So she began recounting her conversation with Baldrick from the top (excluding the part where they were talking about Erwin, of course).

When she finished, she watched and waited while Erwin considered the new information. He was only quiet for a short while.

"We'll stash this information behind us," he finally said. "In the meantime, I want you to do something for me."

Standing straighter, she ensured to give him her full attention. "What is it?"

"Perform a background check on Annie Leonhart," he began, "and look for any oddities among the profiles of the new recruits. The sooner you arrange it in a file, the better."

Isanna figuratively deflated. Just the idea of plowing through stacks of profiles was enough to tire her out. Nevertheless, she affirmed his order. Her knack of picking out even the minutest of details was a helpful skill at times like these.

And, perhaps they could finally weed out the identities of the colossal and armored titan with it.

"What about the death toll in Stohess?" she inquired.

Isanna swore she saw the smallest hints of exhaustion pass through Erwin's gaze—although it was so brief she would have missed it had she blinked for even a millisecond.

"Nile assured the Military Police will take care of it."

"Oh."

Isanna waited for Erwin to turn around and continue walking, but he didn't, so she shifted uncomfortably on her feet as the silence stretched.

This wasn't the kind of silence that was because of their overly lengthy feud for the past four years. It was the awkward kind of silence, and Isanna had a feeling it was because of what happened in his office the other evening. Come to think of it, with all the chaos happening around them, they never had the chance to confront each other about it.

Just when the silence became unbearable and Isanna thought Erwin was going to say something, a distant ringing of the district bells came in a loud echo.

Erwin and Isanna simultaneously froze, minds registering the succession of the chiming bell. Every outer district inside the walls had their respective bells in case of emergencies, and they were able to recognize the message of the bell based on the number of times it rang.

Blood in her veins growing cold, Isanna's face instantly paled. "Erwin, that's—"

"I know," he said, face grim.

Their worst fears came to reality when they exited the building in a hurry and a messenger Scout came to meet them in haste.

Wall Rose had been breached.