"Eh?"
Sasha hadn't quite reacted yet; she wondered if she had misheard.
Levi reached out to interrupt: "Alright, isn't your prospective daughter-in-law still in the underground dungeon of the Royal Capital?"
"Can we talk about serious business first?"
Ash snorted: "You simply don't understand the urgency a dying old man feels regarding his child's marriage."
Sasha, finally understanding, was frozen like a statue on the spot.
Ash cleared his throat and spoke: "Before coming here, I already spoke with Pixis and Erwin."
Knowing that serious business was beginning, Levi gestured for everyone to find a seat.
"I will reveal information about the Reiss Family to you and provide assistance for your rebellion against the Royal Government's rule."
Rebel against the Royal Government?
Even though everyone had prepared themselves mentally, their hearts were still full of apprehension at this moment.
Armin asked nervously: "How can we alone stand against a government that has ruled inside the walls for a hundred years?"
Ash glanced at Armin: "Your Commander's idea is to expose the current Fake King and support the ascension of a new king."
"And that new king is the Historia Reiss you know so well."
Armin's eyes widened: "You mean..."
Ash said calmly, "Yes, the Reiss Family is the true royalty within the walls. The King Fritz, you know,w is merely a Puppet supported by the Council and the Reiss Family."
"This way, you can go from being fugitives to being heroes who support the King."
Mikasa asked: "If that's the case, then why did Lock take Eren and Historia away?"
"And what was that about Eren being in danger?"
After a moment of silence, Ash said slowly: "What I'm about to tell you comes partly from Commander Erwin's deductions and partly from my son's investigation within the Central Military Police Corps."
"The Reiss Family has passed down a Power of the Titans for generations. It possesses a terrifying power that can alter the memories of everyone within the walls."
"But five years ago, the Reiss Family's farm suffered an attack. Only Rod Reiss survived from the entire Family."
"The power belonging to the Reiss Family was also stolen during that attack."
"And the culprit was Eren's father, Grisha Jaeger."
Mikasa's eyes were full of disbelief: "Impossible, Uncle could never do such a thing!"
Levi also questioned: "How did Eren's father do it alone?"
Ash continued: "Grisha Jaeger also possessed the Power of the Titans. He won that battle of the Titans and took the Reiss Family's Titan."
"And he gave this power to his son."
Everyone recalled the scene on the battlefield not long ago where Eren controlled the Pure Titans.
Armin asked the key question: "How is this power... transmitted?"
Ash thought of his son that day and said, "By eating them."
"You should have often seen what it looks like when Titans eat people; it's just like that."
Levi said coldly, "So, Rod Reiss plans to eat Eren to take that power back?"
Mikasa stood up abruptly but was held back firmly by Armin.
"Yes. Once he succeeds, we will have no way to deal with him anymore."
Levi narrowed his eyes: "In that case, why did your son take Eren away on the King's orders while also having you come tell us all this?"
After a long silence, Ash shook his head: "I don't know."
"Huh?" Levi stared at Ash as if he didn't understand what he was saying.
Ash sighed, speaking with both emotion and pride: "My son has grown up. He has his own ideas, and all I can do as a father now is support him."
"Alright, I know where Eren and Historia are now. You need to get there tonight and rescue them from Kenny Ackerman's hands."
"When the time comes, my son will cooperate with you in secret."
Next, Ash told everyone the location of the Reiss Family's Underground Palace, the personnel deployment of Kenny's squad, as well as the headquarters and troop strength of the Central Military Police Corps.
"If you don't believe me, you can wait until the boat reaches the Royal Capital. Your Captain Hange will come to confirm it with you."
...
In the afternoon, the boat arrived at the Erumiha District.
Hange's squad secretly boarded the boat to rendezvous with everyone.
She brought news from the Royal Capital: "The Royal Government has imprisoned Erwin on charges of Crimes against humanity, and he is about to be sentenced at the Presidential Palace. Other comrades from the Survey Corps have also been arrested."
"However, Erwin said he has his own plan and only wants us to rescue Eren and Historia as quickly as possible."
"Those two are the key pieces in our game against this Royal Government."
After confirming no one outside the room was eavesdropping, Levi asked Hange: "Did Erwin mention anything about the Leon Family?"
Hange nodded: "Erwin seems to have reached some sort of agreement with Pixis and Ash. I don't know the specifics, but generally speaking, we can trust them."
"The Leon Family secretly controls most of the newspapers in the Royal Capital. Ash will cooperate with The Corps to fully publicize the various crimes committed by the Royal Government to maintain its rule."
"And he will use his connections and status to persuade those stubborn nobles and Royalists."
Hearing this, Levi sneered: "It seems this Ash has been waiting for this day for a long time."
Hange thought the same. She nodded and said, "It's said that Commander Pixis was somewhat hesitant about breaking ties with the Royal Government. He only agreed after being persuaded by both Erwin and Ash at the same time."
Levi felt relieved: "It seems we don't need to worry about the matters in the Royal Capital anymore. Let those conspirators put on their performance."
He looked around at everyone: "To be safe, before heading to the Reiss Family's territory tonight, we need to first eliminate all the Central Military Police Corps' outposts."
"To avoid being caught in a pincer movement between Kenny's squad and the Central Military Police Officers."
"This is also something we must do for the success of this revolution."
"Especially you Recruits, don't have any psychological burden when you take action. This is all for the future of humanity."
The Recruits all gritted their teeth and saluted: "Yes!"
...
"Have they left?"
Ash was sitting at the table writing something. Because the muscle strength in his hand was declining, he wrote very slowly.
Buffon lit a candle nearby: "They have already set out."
"Where is that old fellow Zackary?" Ash looked out at the color of the sky.
Buffon replied: "He has already reached the Royal Capital."
"That old pervert is too impatient. A commoner really remains a commoner for a lifetime."
Ash mocked, then added: "Is that matter settled?"
Buffon didn't speak, only nodding subtly in indication.
"Do you still disagree with me doing this?" Ash looked at this servant, teacher, and friend who had accompanied him for many years.
Buffon smiled: "You must have your own plans for doing this."
"Perhaps."
Then he suddenly laughed: "But it's also possible that I just look down on these military brats."
"Before I die, besides leaving a way out for my son, I also want to make them suffer a bit."
"I suddenly realized I'm quite similar to Zackary."
"Haha..."
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