Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you another chapter of Age of Titans! A royal wedding! The capital city of Mitras will be fully decorated as the last of the Fritz royal bloodline, Historia, marries the ‘Hero’ and ‘King of the People’ Eren Yeager! With their ascension as King and Queen of the Walls, things will begin to change quite a bit and Paradis will understand their roots and their heritage…all of it, even the negative parts of their history. Eren and Historia will never hide nor steal the memories of their people again. But while that’s going on, the Marleyan prisoners are not only being questioned, they’re being pumped for information about the current state of the outside world. Paradis has a century of catching up to do, after all.
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Chapter 23 – Ascension to the Throne
The capital city of Mitras was filled with excitement and celebration just two weeks after the deposing of the puppet king, the Assembly, and the hidden king in the shadows. The truth had been ugly and freely reported as the military hid nothing about the crimes against humanity that the former regime had committed. The truth of Rod Reiss, the puppet ‘King Fritz’ that people had seen for their entire lives, and all four of the Assembly members…not to mention the actions of the Interior Police silencing anyone that asked too many questions, tried to escape the Walls, or developed technologies that could be ‘problematic’ for the ruling class. EVERYTHING had come to light and it made all of the commonfolk eager for a change in leadership.
After the unpleasantness had processed within the minds of the people, the idea of a new King and Queen had swiftly taken hold of the Walls. A royal wedding of the last member of the true Fritz bloodline, Historia Reiss, to the ‘King of the People’ Eren Yeager was the cause of the excitement and fervor within Mitras. Decorations were being put up, professional artists had drawn up posters of both Eren and Historia and they’d been hung up all over the capital. Banners of white hung above the streets, large bows were tied to various trees and lamp posts along the streets. The entire capital was alive with a hope and vigor that hadn’t been seen in ages.
“Whew…” Nile exhaled as he looked out over the street and all the people moving about to decorate for the upcoming royal wedding. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen the capital this excited before.” The Military Police were now being truly run ragged as various parts of the preparations had to be overseen and the peace still had to be kept within Wall Sina as well.
“It’s not a bad thing, is it, sir?” One of Nile’s closest subordinates asked with a smile. “My kids are looking forward to it.”
Nile smiled as well, a light chuckle escaping him. “My daughter is thrilled to see the new Queen.”
The news had spread throughout Wall Sina and into Wall Rose as well in less than a day. Everyone was thrilled at the ousting of the old regime now that their actions had been brought to light for all to see. Almost everyone was planning to come to the capital to see the royal inauguration and the wedding, so the city was doing everything it could to plan for a sudden massive influx of visitors for a day or two. Already there were talks of the new king and queen doing a bit of a tour around the districts of each wall so that those that couldn’t come to the capital would still get a chance to see the new monarchs.
But for all the excitement and happiness, there was one group that very much DIDN’T enjoy the sudden regime change. The current aristocracy had found themselves suddenly beset by the Garrison soldiers on various criminal charges. Everything from excessive taxation, extortion, theft, intimidation, assault, starvation, murder, and even human trafficking in some cases. While many tried to bluster or make denials, the records found in the raided homes of Rod Reiss and the Assembly members were more than detailed enough to prove that ALL of the Wall Sina aristocrats were corrupt and so were roughly eighty percent of the aristocrats of Wall Rose.
Zackly, Pixis, Nile, and Erwin had a few meetings already about how to handle regional governance. The few non-corrupt aristocrats of Wall Rose would need to know that actual work would be required of them now, not just of the people that lived within their territory. As for the loss of most of the aristocracy, ideas of elections for representatives for each city and town had been discussed, or potentially allowing Eren and Historia to ennoble people of each territory to be the new aristocracy with some elected officials appointed by the people to ensure that the new lords and ladies had a check against corruption with eyes on them and their actions. Thankfully, at least for now, peace was still being maintained by the people themselves as everyone was looking forward to Eren and Historia ascending the throne together.
-Survey Corps Headquarters-
Historia smiled as she lay in bed with Eren, her head on his chest and listening to his heartbeat with his arm around her. “Mmm…” She hummed softly, grateful for a lazy day together before the massive event that their marriage was becoming.
“Mhmm…” Eren hummed back with a gentle smile on his face. This was the first time in days that he’d been able to relax enough that a dozen different thoughts weren’t occupying his mind at any one time. He lightly squeezed Historia closer, just enjoying their quiet moment together.
Ymir watched the two she loved cuddling in bed with a smile. “So cute.” She said softly, getting Historia to open one eye and smile at her.
Annie had a gentle smile on her lips as well, sitting in a chair near the bed with a few papers on the bedside table that she was going over and adding what she could to the history of the outside world that Grisha had lost contact with after entering the Walls. They’d distributed a lot of the news from Grisha’s three books to the people through the papers already, but before they started making that information into books, the history and technology portions needed to be updated. That was a task which, by necessity, had fallen to Annie as the only one that had lived and grown up in the world beyond Paradis Island in the last decade.
Sasha was leaning into Mikasa while nibbling on some potato chips. Thinly sliced potatoes, fried in oil and then salted, was a recipe from the outside world that had been easy to replicate. Now that all of Paradis Island knew of the world beyond the Walls, this kind of information had been spreading like wildfire, much to the delight of the people who were experiencing new flavors and ways of cooking.
“Here.” Sasha grinned as she placed a chip lightly against Mikasa’s lips. Mikasa let out a soft, affectionate sigh and opened her mouth. “Too bad salt is still expensive though.” She popped another chip into her mouth and munched on it happily. “These would be even better if they had a little more salt on them.”
“Once we claim the entirety of Paradis Island, we’ll have access to the sea and all the salt we want.” Mikasa said simply as she let Sasha feed her a second chip. These were the warm and affectionate moments that she loved the most with her family; just being able to relax and enjoy each other’s company was the best way to spend a day off, in Mikasa’s opinion.
Ymir shrugged once, still watching Historia and Eren snuggling. “I’m sure the various merchants started planning how to harvest sea salt as soon as they learned about the ocean.” Salt was absolutely essential for life since it was used in processing various foods and even just as a simple seasoning to make food palatable. The Walls used rock salt from the ground and any place with deposits of it were controlled by the government. “But once the ocean becomes available, an inexhaustible supply of salt will open up to us and reduce the price to the point that it’ll become cheap for anyone to buy.”
Historia pouted adorably from her place cuddled up to Eren. “No talking about work today…”
“Agreed.” Eren gently ran his hand up and down Historia’s back. “There’s too much to think about already. We all need a day of only thinking about each other.”
“Eren…” Mikasa almost cooed at his words.
Annie looked at the work that she was finishing up and then at Eren. “I still have to finish this though.” She joked lightly with her lover. “Are you excited for your wedding, Historia?” Annie asked, changing the subject even as she wrote a sentence beneath some of the information about railways and trains.
Historia smiled and hugged Eren with her arm around his waist. “I still can’t believe that I’m marrying Eren first.” She looked ta Mikasa with a little smile. “I always felt like Mikasa should be the first.”
“It’s fine, Historia.” Mikasa said, returning the little smile with one of her own. “We’re all family. Order doesn’t matter.”
“Do you think our marriages will have the entire capital decorated too?” Sasha asked with a laugh as she picked up the last chip.
Ymir waved the idea off with a little grunt. “I don’t need to be paraded around the city to get married to the one I love.” She smiled at Eren when their eyes met. “Let’s just have a small ceremony with our friends and family.”
Eren agreed to Ymir’s words with a nod, the two still looking into each other’s eyes. “Whatever you want, Ymir.”
There was still a lot to do, much of which was to overhaul the unjust laws that the last regime had used to keep the commonfolk under their heel and put in a new legal system that was fair and not owned by the aristocracy. After that was a massive amount of work to progress and try to catch up with the outside world after a century of isolation.
But for now, the family would relax and wait for Hange to return…the officer being the only one amongst them that wasn’t given today off.
-Trost District-
Atop the wall were a few members of the Survey Corps as reinforcements in case of another enemy attack. With the freedom of information, everyone knew that foreign enemies existed and that they would likely attack from the south. Because of that, Survey Corps soldiers were stationed in the districts of Wall Rose to be a first response force.
“Hah… This is dull.” Jean remarked as he looked out over the ruins of the town that had once bustled with life on the other side of the Trost gate. “Trost doesn’t even have a functioning gate anymore.” He said, glancing down at the filled and reinforced wall where the gate had once been.
“It’s important that we guard the people.” Mina said back as she looked towards the horizon, seeing a single Titan—probably around Twelve Meter Class—stumbling along slowly. “We don’t even have it that bad. The Trost barracks are comfortable enough.”
Armin agreed with a nod, getting a smile from Mina. “It’s better that it’s boring, Jean. If we have to fight against an enemy force, things have already gone bad.”
Samuel chuckled at Jean. “This guy just wants to be stationed in one of the villages near the Wall so that he can be a ‘big shot soldier’ and impress the local girls.”
“When did I ever say that, Samuel?!” Jean shot back instantly, glaring at his friend.
“Guys, come on!” Marco raised his hands and stepped between Jean and Samuel. “If you cause a scene the Garrison Captain is going to notice and give us all a dressing down for slacking off.” He reminded his friends of what a hard ass their current commanding officer was.
Mina put her hand above her eyes to shield them from the sun as she looked at the Titan in the distance. “It’s definitely coming this way. We can take it out with ODM Gear if it enters the town.”
Jean shrugged at that. “I’ll let you guys handle that. I’m not bored enough to risk my life…yet.”
“You seem a little out of it today, Jean.” Armin mentioned, noticing the slouching posture and the almost ‘put out’ look on the taller man’s face. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Jean waved his mood off nonchalantly.
Samuel couldn’t help but get one more shot in. “He’s pouting because Eren’s marrying Historia AND Mikasa.”
Jean glared sharply at Samuel. “Shut up, Samuel!” He even raised his fist threateningly.
“Kirstein! Jackson! Fall in, now!” The Garrison Captain barked out at the two ‘slackers’ as soon as he saw them. Samuel and Jean rushed over and stood at attention, their right arms across their chests and their fists over their hearts in a proper salute. “Since you two seem to have SO MUCH time on your hands; you’ll both be doing cannon maintenance until sundown!”
Both soldiers nearly slumped at that, but knew it would only worsen the Captain’s mood, so they remained standing at attention.
“Are you two hard of hearing?” The Captain demanded sharply.
“Sir, no, sir!” Jean and Samuel answered promptly.
The Captain pointed over his shoulder at the rows of cannons on the tracks that allowed them to be moved easily. “Then get to it!”
Samuel and Jean stood as straight as possible. “Yes, sir!”
“Dismissed!” The Captain said with a snap and both Jean and Samuel rushed over to the nearest supply box to fetch the maintenance equipment.
“I warned them…” Marco sighed while looking out over the ruined town below and then at the slowly approaching Titan. They all needed to look busy while the Captain was around.
Mina patted Marco on the back. “It’s their fault for not listening.”
“I’m sure they’ll be fine.” Armin tried to reassure Marco. “If that Titan keeps up its course, it’ll enter the town. We should handle it once it does…the Captain wants us to be useful while we’re under his command.” It would also give them at least a bit of a buffer with the old hard ass that reminded all of them of Instructor Shadis from their days as cadets.
-Coronation Day-
Mitras had more people within it than ever before on the day of the coronation of the new King and Queen. Crowds were lined up in front of the royal castle; people had shown up at the crack of dawn to stand directly in front of the large platform that had been erected for the ceremony. The large wooden structure was drape with a tapestry depicting the emblems of the three Walls and two swords crossed behind a shield, representing the new royal family’s dedication and promise to defend the Walls and their people, rather than oppress them with force.
Now, in the late morning sun, the crowds had filled the large plaza in front of the castle and stretched down every street leading to it. Soldiers were stationed around the capital from all three branches of the military for security and to help handle the largest crowd that most of them had ever seen. The decorations for the royal wedding that would follow the coronation, in the afternoon, were giving the entire capital a further festive mood that was making the spirits of the gathered citizens bright and cheerful.
“It’s time.” Mikasa said with a warm smile as she looked at Eren and Historia.
“I’m not used to formal clothing yet.” Eren mentioned as he lightly tugged at the white suit that he was wearing and the red cloak with white fur along the hems that was over his shoulders and flowing around him.
Historia, wearing a matching flowing white dress and a red cloak of her own that left her shoulders bare, smiled at Eren with love an warmth. “You look very handsome, Eren.”
Eren smiled warmly at Historia. “You’re beautiful, Historia.”
Ymir, Annie, Mikasa, Sasha, and Hange were chosen as Historia and Eren’s guards for the ceremony and would be surrounding the platform along with a few other soldiers for another layer of protection. All of them were giving Eren and Historia looks of love and support as the two were about to exit the castle and walk up the stairs to the high platform so that everyone could watch them be coronated.
“Is everything ready?” Annie asked Sasha, wanting to make one final check before they opened the large double doors.
Sasha peeked out the window to the side of the large doors and spotted the other soldiers guarding the platform. “Everyone else seems to be in place.”
“Levi is stationed on the balcony to the right of the platform, behind the glass doors. He’ll be out of sight while watching over the crowd for any suspicious movement.” Hange assured them all with a bright grin. “We have most of the veteran Survey Corps members stationed similarly throughout the area. Nothing should be able to cause any trouble today.”
“Then I think we’re ready.” Ymir said with a nod, then leaned over to place a kiss on Historia’s cheek. “Go become the King and Queen you two.” She said with a warm smile.
The large double doors were opened with Mikasa and Annie leading, Sasha on Historia’s left while Hange was on Eren’s right, Ymir brought up the rear to complete the circle around Eren and Historia. The moment that some of the crowd spotted the two walking towards the stairs of the large platform cheers rang out and rapidly spread throughout the vast crowd.
“YEAH!!!”
“THEY’RE HERE!!!”
“QUEEN HISTORIA!!!”
“KING EREN!!!”
Eren and Historia walked side by side up the stairs of the platform and when they reached the top of the platform they were met by Commander-in-Chief Zackly, Military Police Commander Nile Dok, Garrison Commander Dot Pixis, Survey Corps Commander Erwin Smith, and Commander of the Training Corps Claude Duvalier, along with Nick, one of the highest-ranking members of the Wall Faithful. The presence of all six men, leaders of the military and a high representative of the Wall Faithful, performing this coronation was symbolic in showing that all other leaders within the Walls were willingly handing over royal authority to Eren and Historia as the new King and Queen.
Two crowns, each on their own emerald green pillow, were brought forward by Nick. Zackly picked up the first one, golden in color and with nine points atop it, the one facing forward was larger than the other eight and inlaid with a diamond. Eren and Historia both knelt down, facing the people from atop the platform in a symbolic showing of their grace and humility before their people. Zackly gently placed the first grown atop Eren’s head, the crowd quiet as they watched on. The second crown, also with nine points, the one in the front larger, but it was inlaid with a sapphire instead of a diamond, was picked up next. Zackly walked before Eren and then Historia before gently placing the second crown on her head. He then stepped back and to the side so that all of the people could watch the new King and Queen rise to their feet side by side.
Eren and Historia stood and looked out over their people with small smiles on their faces, a far cry from the blank expression the puppet king Fritz always had on his face. Then, one by one, Zackly kneeled down on one knee and bowed his head, followed by Nile, then Pixis, then Erwin, then Claude, and then Nick. Their show of reverence a clear sign to everyone that all within the Walls knelt before the King and Queen. Eren softly took Historia’s left hand in his right hand, both looking at each other with love, warmth, relief, and support for what was to come after all of this, before they faced their people again and Eren’s eyes almost seemed to crystallize, not that anyone could see it from below the platform. A sensation went through every person in the massive crowd, one that made the hair rise across the body and their heart beat powerfully as a feeling of awe swept over the People of Ymir.
The Prime Founding Titan was practically a Deity on Earth when it came to the descendants of Ymir. The one who possessed its power had the closest thing to a divine right to rule as existed amongst the Eldians. The 145th King Fritz had tyrannized that power against his own people, including his own family with his vow to renounce war. Turning the power that had grown Eldia into a world-spanning empire into nothing more than a tool of oppression against his fellow Eldians, all because he placed his own feelings about their history as more important than his people.
But that was over now.
Eren Yeager, a royal blood from a line that had split off from the Fritz long before the 145th King had ever been born, had inherited the Prime Founding Titan and in doing so had eliminated the vow to renounce war. As he stood before his people as the true King, even if no one consciously realized it, a metaphysical shackle had been removed and the subtle way all of the Eldian people stood just a tiny bit taller was the only physical sign of it.
“WOOAAAHHH!!!” The crowd all cheered loudly and applauded the new King and Queen of the Walls.
-Afternoon ~ Royal Wedding-
The crowd within Mitras had shifted during the couple of hours between the late morning coronation ceremony and the afternoon royal wedding. During the break many had gotten lunch from one of Mitras’s many restaurants or from one of the hundreds and hundreds of stall set up for what was definitely going to be one of the largest celebrations in the history of the Walls. But as the time neared for the royal wedding, everyone moved to the largest church within the capital. The large building seated only a couple hundred at most and every seat was filled. While only people on a approved list got one of the seats, the gathered citizens stood outside, waiting for the newly weds to emerge and ride in royal carriage around the capital so that everyone could see their new King and Queen before the couple retired back to the castle to begin their lives together.
Within the church, Eren stood at the altar with a smile, wearing a finely tailored black suit with golden thread along the hems and the royal emblem of the three Walls upon each shoulder. The hundreds of people in the church included almost every higher-up in the military, the nobles of Wall Rose that had been found to be free of corruption, and the family and friends of the bride and groom. Annie, Mikasa, Hange, Sasha, and Ymir were all in the front row together. Armin was next to Mikasa, smiling happily for his best friend who he’d been able to help fix up his tie before the ceremony. More than a few of the members of the Survey Corps were in attendance, Squad Levi were in the second row and Petra occasionally shot looks at Levi when she thought he wasn’t looking.
The organist began to play and everyone stood up and looked towards the doors as they opened.
Historia entered and walked down the aisle alone. She had no father to ‘give her away’ and in the eyes of the people, no one but Eren had authority equal to hers, so who could possibly fill the role of ‘father’ to the Queen? But Historia herself saw it a different way: she was walking away from her former life of loneliness and towards her life of love and family with Eren. Her pure white dress was elegant and made by the finest seamstresses in the capital, shimmering slightly under the light of the sun coming in through the windows.
Eren gently took Historia’s hands as she stood across from him on the altar, smiling lovingly at her. Historia squeezed his hands gently, returning his smile with her own that was filled with just as much love and affection, even as small tears welled up in the corners of her eyes from joy.
The clergyman nodded to the King and Queen before he began the ceremony. Everyone watched as vows were exchanged between Eren and Historia, then Eren slipped a golden ring onto Historia’s left ring finger, followed by Historia slipping a matching golden band onto Eren’s left ring finger. To conclude the ceremony, the clergyman announced the newlyweds.
“Presenting Eren and Historia Yeager, their Highnesses, King and Queen of the Walls!” The clergyman exclaimed with a bright smile as the entire church was filled with applause and cheers.
Eren took Historia’s hand and walked her back down the aisle towards their new life together. With a beaming smile Historia took the small bouquet she’d been holding and looked back to the gathered people. The women in attendance all stood up and made their way towards the aisle, forming a large group, smiles and laughter among them. Turning back around, Historia threw the bouquet over her head. Eren watched it sail through the air and nearly burst into laughter when Petra caught it easily and immediately looked over at Levi, catching the Captain’s eyes and making him cock an eyebrow at his squad member. For once, Petra didn’t back down or turn away, she merely held Levi’s gaze and raised the bouquet prominently as if to show it to Levi clearly.
As Eren and Historia exited the church it was to a procession of soldiers on either side of a long red carpet leading to a royal carriage. The soldiers all saluted the King and Queen crisply and then raised flags with the emblem of the three Walls and leaned them forward, creating a pseudo tunnel for Eren and Historia to walk through while the huge crowd of citizens watched while cheering and applauding. Eren helped Historia step up into the royal carriage like a gentleman and then stepped up into it himself, sitting next to Historia as they held hands, their fingers entwined, and began to wave to the people as the royal carriage rolled forward after a light flick of the reins from the coachman (who happened to be Squad Leader Mike as another layer of protection).
“The route is planned out for all the major streets, right?” Sasha asked as she watched the royal carriage move down the street under a small blizzard of white confetti while the people cheered and congratulated the newlywed King and Queen.
“Yeah, we have soldiers stationed on the ground and on the rooftops.” Hange said as she motioned with her head towards the rooftop on one side of the main street where four soldiers in full ODM Gear could be seen.
Annie smiled at her lovers…soon-to-be sister-wives…and motioned them towards the area where their own ODM Gear was stored. “Speaking of, we should join the guard detail.
Mikasa was already moving forward. “I’ll take point.” She said with a small smile, wanting to protect Eren and Historia should anything happen.
“I’ll take Historia’s side of the carriage.” Ymir said with a grin, though her brown eyes were serious in their dedication to protect her family.
“I’ll take the rooftops!” Sasha giggled as she put on her ODM Gear. “I can’t wait for the celebration feast!” By which she meant all the food being sold at the hundreds and hundreds of stalls and the banquet that would be made in the castle.
In only a minute all five of them took off in short bursts of compressed gas and accurately aimed wires. They’d form a pentagon formation around the royal carriage as Eren and Historia traveled and waved to all of the citizens that had gathered in Mitras to witness their coronation and wedding.
-Evening-
The celebration was still going on in the streets all throughout the capital as food and alcohol were consumed. Children played games and ate, laughing and cheerful. The royal banquet within the castle had passed, though Sasha had to be stopped from following after the maids and butlers that were taking the leftovers away.
“Eren!” Historia gasped as her husband swept her off her feet and carried her into their bedchambers. With a melodious laughter, she wrapped her arms around his neck and let him carry her inside.
It had been agreed amongst the soon-to-be sister-wives that wedding nights were solely for the bride, so Historia and Eren had the entire night to themselves.
“Historia…” Eren looked into her eyes as he laid her on the bed, his hands gently undoing her clothes.
Historia met Eren’s gaze with the same heated passion as she ran her hands over his clothing, before deftly undoing buttons and pushing off the formal wear, letting it hit the floor without a care.
Their lips met in a kiss filled with passion and love as Historia lifted her hips to let Eren pull her dress off her body and down her legs before he tossed it onto the floor carelessly.
“Gorgeous~” Eren said hotly as he drank in the sight of Historia’s naked body.
“Mine…” Historia breathed out as her hands ran over Eren’s bare chest, tracing the lines of his muscles. She gasped softly and wrapped her arms around Eren as he eased himself into her soaked core. ‘None of us have ever gone all night with Eren solo…will I be able to handle it?’ She wondered briefly before all thought fled her mind as Eren began to thrust, quickly finding their own special rhythm from experience as he captured her lips in a deep kiss.
Hours later, into the early hours of the morning, Historia dazedly concluded that no, she couldn’t handle her husband’s stamina solo. Not that she minded in the slightest given how her entire body felt like a puddle of bliss as sparks of pleasure continued to arc throughout her body. Her hand lightly rested on her tummy as she cuddled up to Eren. She’d certainly taken more than enough of his seed, if the thick mess still slowly spilling from her well-fucked pussy was any indication.
‘If it happens, then it’s meant to happen.’ Historia thought to herself as her eyes closed and a tiny yawn escaped her lips. It wouldn’t exactly be an ideal time for her to get pregnant; there was so much to do now that Eren was King of the Walls. But neither of them was against the idea of growing their family either, so Historia and Eren drifted off to sleep cuddled up together in bliss.
-Days Later-
Eren looked through the various reports and documents that had been written and compiled by the Garrison soldiers involving the ledgers and assets of the corrupt nobles that had been arrested and their holdings seized. “There was so much embezzlement…”
“It certainly explains why the military was operating at such a deficit.” Historia agreed as they sat at the head of a large conference table with other government officials, many of whom were newly appointed to take over for the arrested nobles and their bought officials. “Most of them were taking a quarter of the goods and money before even recording the numbers.”
“Yet this doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.” Zackly said from the first seat on the left side of the table, closest to Eren…other than Historia. “With this much…redistributing it should bolster the economy.” He looked over at the newly appointed Finance Minister across the table. “Where should the initial seized funds be spent?”
The Finance Minister blinked once before gathering himself and flipping through a few papers. “Ah, yes, I believe we need to invest in industries that can provide ample employment to the citizens. Steel working and lumber milling for the tracks of the trains that his Majesty wants to build and use to connect our lands seems like a good start.”
“I agree.” The Minister of Domestic Affairs, a slightly older man spoke up from the seat next to the Minister of Finance. “With new employment opportunities the people who have been struggling financially can gain stability. That will lead to an increase in morale as well as more spending, that helps other businesses thrive which leads to more goods being made and new goods being developed. If the world had truly left us behind for a century, then we have many things to catch up on.”
Eren nodded in agreement with the two men. Both were common-born, no noble ties to try and influence them. With the power of the Prime Founding Titan and the Paths, no Eldian could successfully lie to Eren. He’d chosen the highest level positions to be filled by competent, hardworking, honest people regardless of their backgrounds. The Minister of Finance had worked at a small bank before accepting his new position; while the Minister of Domestic Affairs had been the leader of a union of different merchant groups that handled almost every good made within the Walls between all of them. “Let’s start with steel working and lumber milling then, and we’ll also be releasing basic blueprints for various items from the outside world soon. I believe that the various production and trade businesses will take to developing the new products.”
“Yes, your Majesty.” The Minister of Domestic Affairs nodded to Eren. “New products will also stimulate the markets, prompting more spending for a time to bolster the revenue of the people which we’ll be able to collect a portion of as taxes to fund the military and the swell of new cadets that’re enlisting.”
“I should have a revised budget for the military by the end of the week.” Zackly said as he looked through the papers in front of him. “We’re only waiting to compile the expenditure reports and the number of new cadets enlisted from the north regiment.”
Historia tapped one report with her finger, getting everyone’s attention. “If I’m reading this correctly, the seized food stocks of the former aristocracy of Wall Sina and Wall Rose is enough to feed the entire population for roughly six months…potentially longer if we rationed it out a little. I’d like to make use of it and gather up the orphans from across the Walls as well as the people from the Underground that’re suffering in poverty. With the sudden surplus of military enlistment, I believe that many of our farms are becoming short on hands, correct, Minister of Agriculture?”
“Yes, your Highness.” The Minister of Agriculture confirmed. She was a woman…which had gotten Eren some looks, but he didn’t care as what he looked for to fill positions was competence, hard work, and honesty. “If we could guarantee housing and food for workers, I have little doubt that many people from the Underground would prefer to take up employment on the farms instead of living in squalor.”
“Excellent.” Historia smiled at that. “The orphan children could be taught the simple farmwork as well…I certainly learned how when I was a little girl.” She said with a fond little smile as she recalled the horses, cattle, and sheep she’d helped feed and tend while growing up. “That would give them a place to call home and a community isn’t complete without children.”
The Ministers all smiled at the sensible ideas and the genuine kindness of their Queen. The old monarchy and aristocracy had let a large portion of the commonfolk fall int poverty and desperation without a care. Giving those people a hand up with employment and a place to belong among the farming community would increase workers and productivity, while also significantly lowering the crime rate as a large portion of the Underground would be emptied out.
“Minister of Finance, work with the Minister of Agriculture on supporting this measure.” Eren ordered, his voice warm and a smile given to Historia. “We’ll need a potential budget to begin the process and pay the new farmhands until the harvest comes in and is sold.” Once the first harvest came in, then wages would be paid out by the farms, instead of the government.
Zackly looked at Eren and once the king gave him attention he spoke. “Your Majesty, about the large-scale operation to reclaim the lands of Wall Maria. That’s already been mostly prepared for, of course, but we may run into issues with just the Survey Corps participating. We’ll need the Garrison Soldiers to be able to man and retake posts in the outer districts again before we can allow people to move back in once the lands are deemed cleared.”
Eren knew what Zackly was suggesting and had already been considering it. “I do believe it’s about time to awaken more of our soldiers to their birthright.” He nodded to Zackly, knowing it would take months to fully awaken so many Lesser Shifters and get them trained up in using their Titan forms. “We should incorporate the final stages of their training into the operation to secure the lands of Wall Maria.”
“Yes, I believe that would be the best use of their time and efforts, your Majesty.” Zackly agreed with a small smile on his lips at finally having competent leadership for the Walls. A King that understood what it was like to struggle, to be poor, to lose things to the Titans, and to be a soldier and put your life on the line for the protection and betterment of the people. “I’ll organize it with Commander Pixis first and we’ll work out a schedule for training with Commander Erwin.”
“Very well.” Eren nodded to Zackly. “While you’re at it, Have Commander Dok compile a list of his most competent and trusted Military Police members. If we’re going to start awakening more soldiers, we need to make sure that all of the Military Branches are incorporated.” He thought for a moment and then wrote himself a note on the paper in front of him. “We’ll need to decide on when and how the cadets will be handled when it comes to awakening as well. I’m thinking their final year in the Training Corps could be focused on Shifter training, but that would require that none of them be allowed to quit once they’re awakened.”
Zackly considered Eren’s ideas and nodded after a long moment of consideration. “I’ll add Commander Duvalier to the meeting so that we may work out a proper training schedule.” He wrote himself a note with all the people necessary for this future meeting as well as the subjects they’d need to go over. “While we’re all in the meeting, we’ll also rewrite the military policies regarding dropping out of the Training Corps and have a copy of the proposal before you for your approval once complete.”
Eren nodded to Zackly. “I’ll be waiting.” He then moved on to the next topic. “Secretary of Technology.” He looked at the Minister of Domestic Affairs’ subordinate that was sitting a bit further down the table. “What have our blacksmiths and metalworkers said about the steam engine designs that we’ve shown them for the trains?”
The younger man quickly shifted a few papers in front of himself before finding the right one. “Y-Yes, your Majesty, all of them confirm that the design is sound and able to be built here within the Walls…though they did mention it would take some time to make prototypes to test and refine their process for reliability and safety.”
“We want safe and reliable engines, so tell them to begin creating the first prototypes.” Eren ordered as he glanced between two different papers on his desk. “With any luck, by the time we have the first working train engines, we’ll already have tracks for them to run on.”
“As you command, your Majesty.” The Secretary of Technology agreed, quickly writing himself a note.
-Evening-
“Haaah…” Eren exhaled heavily as he collapsed face first into his large bed. “Being the King is exhausting.”
Mikasa gently began to massage his back as she sat beside him on the bed. “You’re doing well, Eren.” She praised him softly as she worked out the tension in his muscles. Living together in the castle was the domestic bliss that Mikasa had imagined with Eren since she was a little girl…sort of, since she never expected Eren to become King and for them to have so many servants.
Sasha smiled as she entered the bedroom in thin night clothes. “The baths here are nice.” She giggled as she laid next to Eren on the bed. “You should try a relaxing bath, Eren.” She leaned into his ear with a teasing grin. “If you hurry, you can bathe with Ymir, Historia, and Hange~”
Eren perked up slightly at that. “Where’s Annie?”
“Right here.” Annie said as she entered the bedroom in her own night clothes. “I finished shortly after Sasha.” She mentioned with a small smile on her lips. “So, you won’t be able to bathe with me this time.”
“Second baths?” Eren suggested jokingly as he slowly sat up and stretched his loosened muscles. “Thanks, Mikasa.” He kissed Mikasa’s lip, making her mona softly as she gently deepened it, their tongues playing a second later.
“I haven’t had a bath yet.” Mikasa said once they pulled their lips away from each other.
Eren looked at Sasha and Annie. Sasha giggled and motioned him towards the bedroom door. Annie playfully rolled her eyes and shooed him and Mikasa away from the bed. “Let’s go.” Eren grinned as he stood up and then scooped Mikasa into his arms and carried her towards the bedroom doors.
“Eren…” Mikasa’s cheeks were adorably pink as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She absolutely adored it when Eren carried her like this. “Mmm~” Especially when he kissed her like that too, she thought in bliss once Eren pulled away from her lips.
-Secret Military Location-
Three Marleyan soldiers sat in their individual cells…just as they had been doing for over a month now. Everyday, they were taken at random times to an interrogation room and questioned about all manner of topics. But even as they often refused to speak about anything relating to Marley, especially their military, they had never once been tortured, much to their surprise. These were the ‘Wall Devils’ after all, yet no harm had been afflicted upon them and they’d even had their initial injuries from their encounter with the Wolf Titan treated.
Clank
The cell door opened and the Marleyan soldier inside looked up to see soldiers, as always.
“I’m not telling you Wall Devils anything.” The Marleyan soldier declared, just as he did every time. He was nearly picked up and forced to walk in his shackles to the interrogation room. Once he was sat down in the metal chair and his shackles secured to the floor, the largest soldier, a baldheaded man with a stern expression that had never given his name, sat down across from him.
“Let’s start simply today.” The bald soldier spoke with a gravelly voice. “How many enemies does Marley have? How many nations are they in conflict with right now?”
The Marleyan soldier remained silent, but the stern expression bore into him intensely, even though the bald soldier never once glared or raised his voice. It was a long form of psychological interrogation as there was nothing in between the two men and nowhere else to look in the small stone room.
So far, this non-violent method had gotten Eldia more confirmed information (thanks to Annie Leonhart’s knowledge) than any form of physical torture would have. The men weren’t harmed and knew they wouldn’t be…but to have someone larger than you stare at you, unblinking, looking you straight in the eyes for minutes on end was unnerving enough that most would answer just to make the intense scrutiny stop.
-A Month Later-
The people of Mitras were absolutely stunned as they watched Titans work to make raised portions of land on the outskirts of the city where the main street ended. The giants could mold dirt into shape with just their bare hands and then leave any detail work to the regular workers while they moved on to continue altering the ground.
“Isn’t that…King Eren?” One man pointed out Eren’s Titan form putting together a frame of perfectly milled lumber like a hunter might tie sticks together to make a small animal trap.
“It is.” The man next to him nodded as everyone in the Walls now recognized the King’s Titan. “What is he doing?”
One of the laborers that was heading away from the work site stopped. “His Majesty is helping with the construction of the first train station. He wants to help improve the Walls and get the railway system up and running.”
Both men blinked at the King doing laborer work,
“King Eren isn’t like the previous king. He’s a common man like us. He knows what a hard day’s work is like and he’s planning to help as much as he can.” The laborer smiled at having such a down to earth monarch ruling the Walls now.
All three of the men watched as Eren carefully stood up in his Titan form and moved away from the perfect wooden frame of the building that would become the train station. Work that would’ve taken a few days normally had been completed in less than two hours. Carpenters and stone masons bowed to Eren in respect and reverence as they moved over to the frame and started to fill in the walls with masonry and finish the roof with large boards, tar, and ceramic tiles. With the basic frame of the building done in such a short time, the overall construction of the building went from a few weeks down to only a couple of days.
-Ragako Village-
Rico Brzenska stretched a bit as she prepared to start her shift on the farmland expansion and road construction operation.
“Yo, Rico!” One of the Garrison men waved to her before nearly guzzling his entire canteen of water. “Man, I’m still not used to holding the Titan form for this long.”
“Anything happen?” Rico asked him since she was taking over for him.
The man shook his head. “Nah, no signs of any enemies or anything and the villagers have gotten used to the sight of our Titan forms now.”
Rico nodded, glad for that since the people of Ragako Village had witnessed their fellow villagers turned into Pure Titans before. “Alright, then I’ll take over. Get some rest.”
“Will do!” He saluted before walking towards the temporary barracks to get a nap.
“Hate cutting myself for this.” Rico murmured to herself as she flicked out the little blade in the ring on her middle finger and cut her index finger. A flash of lightning fell from the mostly cloudless sky and struck Rico. Large bones formed rapidly, raising her fourteen meters into the air. Muscles swiftly covered the bones followed by skin that matched Rico’s skin tone. A few seconds later and silver hair in a bob cut grew from the Female Titan’s head. ‘I still feel like I’m naked when I shift.’ Rico thought to herself as she stood in her Titan form, her body a close match for her human form in terms of curves. Putting that aside, she walked towards the fields to check her assignment for today.
The villagers marveled at the Titans helping them expand their fields and improve their dirt roads into something better.
“To think the Queen herself would come to our little village.” Mr. Springer said as he saw Historia playing with some of the orphan children that she’d brought to their village, while also teaching them the basics of planting and animal husbandry.
Ymir was in her Titan form, using the Prime Jaw Titan’s metallic-like claws to till the earth, splitting the ground easier than any horse, mule, or oxen pulled plow could hope to. ‘The praise is new.’ She thought as several farmers from Ragako were cheering her on as they literally watched their fields expand.
Multiple Titan types were all working together to expand the fields and improve the road leading to Ragako Village. Female and Attack Types were crushing rocks into gravel. Cart Titans were swiftly bringing in supplies from Krolva District for repairing the parts of the village that had been damaged or destroyed in the battle between the Interior Police and the Survey Corps. Beast Titans were stationed around the perimeter of the village as security. The few Armor Types they had working were compressing the new gravel into the ground with weight and force, making an almost paved surface instantly.
While Titans were unnaturally light for their size, they could exert force far greater than their actual weight would allow any other living creature. When compared to rollers and hammers that would normally be used for roadwork like this, an Armored Titan was the equivalent of a massive piece of work machinery with how fast the newly paved road was replacing the old dirt road.
“Our village is really improving fast, huh?” Connie smiled at his parents as they watched the Titans work.
“That’s certainly true.” Mr. Springer had to agree with what he was seeing. “I didn’t expect the Queen herself to come and help out.”
Historia had brought new villagers, both adults and children, and the numbers lost in the enemy attack had been both replenished and then exceeded. It wasn’t a replacement for the friends and family lost, but it began the healing process for the village as a whole with the return of more life and the laughter of the children as they played once they were done with their chores.
“I’m so proud of you, sweetie.” Mrs. Springer pulled Connie into a hug.
The ground shook slightly as Rico’s Titan form walked over with careful steps.
“Springer…you’re…late.” Rico said through her Titan in the slow speech that was common for new Shifters.
Connie let go of his mother and craned his neck to look up at the face of Rico’s Fourteen Meter Titan. “I’m not late! I’m just talking with my parents before I start!”
Rico’s expression was flat as she looked down at Connie. “Not…working…makes…you…late.”
“Guh! We never should’ve trained you!” Connie declared as he pointed at Rico’s Titan form.
“You…didn’t…train…me.” Rico replied without changing her expression. “Queen…Historia…was…the…one…that…trained…me.” She raised her arm and pointed towards the fields were Ymir and two other Jaw Titans were working. “Get…to…work…Private…Springer.”
Connie grumbled at the order. “I’m going, I’m going!” He walked towards the fields. “Bossy woman!”
Rico rolled her eyes as she walked towards the road development to help with the work.
Mrs. Springer looked between Connie and Rico’s Titan form. “Are they…?” She looked at her husband with a hopeful smile.
“I don’t think that was what you hope it was, dear.” Mr. Springer said with a lopsided smile, knowing how much his wife was hopeful that Connie would get married soon and potentially give them their first grandchild. “That looked more like a superior dealing with a lazy subordinate.”
“I can have hope!” Mrs. Springer said with a little ‘humph’ towards her husband.
“Mommy, Daddy!” Sunny, the youngest child of the Springer Family, smiled up at her parents as she held up a new book. “Can you read this to me again?”
Mr. Springer smiled as he patted his daughter’s head. “Of course, honey.” He took the book from her. “You really love this book about animals and nature, don’t you?”
“Uh huh!” Sunny nodded with a bright smile. “There’s so many animals!”
The new book was one of many released by the new monarchy to educate the citizens of Eldia about the creatures that shared their island and even existed in the world beyond. Many children loved looking at the pictures of the various creatures, while adults found the writing of the book easy to read and explain to their children as story time lessons.
“Let’s go inside and I’ll make a snack.” Mrs. Springer smiled as she took one of Sunny’s hands.
“Yay!” Sunny cheered happily as she walked back to their house between her mother and father.
Mr. Springer briefly glanced back at the Titans and people working on the fields and road. ‘To think they only started the other day and yet they’ve already completed weeks if not months of work.’ It was truly astonishing to the man that the terrifying monsters that the people of the Walls had been fighting for so long could be such an amazing boon to development.
Within Wall Sina and Wall Rose projects like this were happening everywhere. Dirt roads were being paved, farmland was being expanded, construction projects were being sped up with the power and size of Titans, and materials were being transported swiftly with Cart Titans allowing for more production from both the various lumber mills and steel working factories as parts for the train tracks were being made and stockpiled.
The military was slowly and carefully awakening more Lesser Shifters from the soldiers and the final year of the cadet training was now focused on awakening and Shifter training. It had been agreed that once the Garison soldiers had been trained up enough the largest military operation to ever happen within the Walls would begin as Eldia took back the lost lands between wall Rose and Wall Maria.
The higher-ups were also being awakened to their birthright and awakening as Lesser Shifters with Erwin, Levi, and Hange taking care of teaching Zackly, Pixis, Nile, and Claude how to use their Titan forms with help from other Titans of the specific Types. Zackly and Pixis had both awakened as Founding Types which seemed rather fitting given their natural leadership abilities. Nile had been a bit of a surprise as an Attack Type. Claude had awakened as an Armor Type, the Commander of the Training Corps finding it appropriate in protecting the next generation of soldiers.
No one was going to be allowed to sit out of the operation to reclaim Wall Maria completely. And the higher-ups knew it would still be a small-scale practice run in comparison to reclaiming all of Paradis Island.
There was still so much work to do, and they weren’t sure just how much time they had before the enemies from the outside world tried to attack again. So they had to make the most out of every single day.
-End Chapter-
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Eren and Historia ascend as King and Queen of the Walls!
All the plans that had to be held back while the new faction played ‘cloak and dagger’ with the old regime have finally begun! Spreading of books for new information, blueprints for new machines and technologies, reclaiming the hoarded fortunes and supplies of the corrupt nobles and redistributing them to bolster the economy and help the people that’ve been forced to live in the Underground return to the surface (or at least the non-criminal elements that were only there because the old system left them to rot in poverty and squalor).
The Garrison soldiers are being awakened as Lesser Shifters to bolster the number of Shifters in preparation for the operation to fully reclaim Wall Maria! For their training, they assist with the multitudes of betterment projects around Wall Sina and Wall Rose. Construction, roadwork, farmland development, and railway preparation!
The people sure are shocked to see King Eren and Queen Historia actually working among their people with genuine eagerness. It’s the exact opposite of the old aristocracy and the people notice and appreciate it.
With Marley preoccupied with their war against the Mid-East Alliance, will Eldia have enough time to develop and spread out to the entirety of their island, awaken their entire military force, fortify their homeland, and potentially reach out to other nations with offers of trade?
Keep reading to find out!
Until I get your reviews, later!