The Devil ⥋ Eren Jaeger

VI - The Empress

Slight manga spoilers with warning.

Yi instantly felt relieved when she couldn't feel a pulse on Mr. Hansen. She had saved him from an even more painful death and ensured that she would never get caught. Even though she truly killed him this time, she didn't feel guilty. It was nice feeling his pulse fade away. She enjoyed it and he deserved it. All previous remorse she felt was gone. She only felt that way because she thought that she had brutally killed a faceless and nameless man.

Now that she thought about it, Mr. Hansen always told her that she was so exotic and special. It shouldn't have surprised Yi that he was her attacker. He always tried to put his hand on her thigh or up her skirt but she always pulled away, hoping that it was just an accident.

The next day, Yi happily made her way to her patients, treating them and helping them in any way she could. She was a little on edge to treat Eren after the questions he asked her the day before. He was so mysterious and brooding, she felt that she should probably give up on becoming his friend. He became one of her longest treated patients and would continue to be so.

But she wanted to be his friend. His mysteriousness made her drawn to him. It couldn't be in a romantic way, he was just a patient and she, his nurse. Anything more would be unprofessional and could cost her her job.

Eren sat on his bed as usual when she came in and she changed his bandages. His leg was getting better but his eye was still bleeding. It was unusual, usually it would be healing but Eren's case was the exact opposite.

"That's strange, you're not healing."

"Oh." Eren said. He was silent for a moment before he spoke again, "I saw you that night."

Yi froze, how could he see her when there was barely any light? What if he already reported her? Would she have to kill him too?

"Wh-what?"

"With Mr. Hansen. He tried to touch you and you crushed his skull."

She tried Plan A, "I don't know what you're talking about. Are you okay? Did you hurt your head?"

She reached up to touch his head but Eren grabbed her wrist tightly. "Don't try to play dumb I saw you. What did you feel?"

Yi felt defeated, Plan A failed which meant she had to go with Plan B. She didn't want to kill him. He truly seemed like a good man but unfortunately, he knew too much. "Eren. Please, stop. Before you regret it."

"You enjoyed it didn't you? When you smashed his head onto the pavement. As his blood stained the ground. As chunks of his head stuck to your clothing. You felt a bloodlust." Yi shook her head, what was he trying to do? "And when you injected him with the poison. You felt relief and no remorse."

"What are you playing at?!" she yelled.

Eren chuckled, "I had a theory. Years ago, two Eastern countries rivaled each other. Hizuru and Qin. Both were extremely powerful and were each others' equals. The Emperor of Hizuru sought to curse the Qin Emperor so he went to King Fritz. The King used the Founding Titan's powers and cursed the Qin Emperor, he could no longer bear any children. Emperor Azumabito hoped that if the Qin royal line died out, the country would have no more worthy rulers and that it would become so weak that they could easily take the land."

"Eren. What does this have to do with me?" Yi asked.

"King Fritz was a trickster. He gave the Qin royal line an insatiable bloodlust that was activated when they first killed a person. But in addition to that, the Qin royals were cursed to die within thirteen years of their bloodlust activation. The Hizurus were so worried, they killed every single Qin royal and most of their people. The Qin royal family, their name is Liu.

"Seeing how much you enjoyed hurting Mr. Hansen and how much you enjoyed killing him, I'd say you are the last living member of the Qin royal family. With your father's blood, you are the Empress of Qin."

She didn't know what to say. How could he just reveal all of this to her. And where did he get information about her that she was unaware of. "How? When did you find this?"

"I first just thought that it was a coincidence. There must be more people with the surname Liu in the world so I thought nothing of your name. Until Mr. Hansen had the misfortune of targeting you. Only then did I realize that you are the last Empress of Qin."

Her father never told her anything about his parents or his family. Did he know? If he was aware then he surely must have attempted to take back the throne. And what of her mother? A pure Eastern woman. Was she also from Qin? Or was she of Hizuru?

Slight manga spoilers

"You remind me of someone I knew. She was also Eastern. Her parents died because a few men tried to sell her. She was branded with the Azumabito mark on her wrist. No one ever saw it until she showed it to me."

End of spoilers

Yi was still processing all of the information. "Who are you?" No ordinary soldier would know this much information about the countries outside of Marley.

"Eren Kruger. Just a soldier who has heard some stories."

===

Yi stood with several other people, mainly Eldians as they waved goodbye to the warrior candidates and soldiers. They would be going to the Middle East where they would fight. Gabi confidently strode onto the ship and Falco looked frightened. Zofia looked bored while Udo did his best to get her attention.

"Gabi take care of yourself!" Mrs. Braun shouted as she clutched her chest.

"Kill them all Pieck!" someone shouted from the crowd.

Reiner stepped next to Yi as she watched the kids board the ship, "Take care of them." she said to him. She had grown quite attached to the kids and couldn't bear to see if one or more didn't make it back.

"I will." he promised. "Take care of your family."

Yi looked up at him and gave him an eye smile. When she was younger, she always thought that Reiner could be a potential partner. He was strong and handsome. But her dreams were crushed when she learned that any relations between a Marleyan and an Eldian were strictly prohibited. As the years went on her childhood crush on him faded and he left Marley for Paradis.

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