Nest & Wings (Annie Leonhardt x Male Reader)

Chapter 49: Plotting A Revolution

In spite of the fact that the majority of diplomats agreed with the proposal, Marley had the final call in all matters pertaining to the subjects of Ymir as they were the ones who put an end to the Eldian Empire. It's also the reason why the other nations haven't spoken out against them for keeping seven titan shifters to themselves— five at the moment as two of them have since joined you.

As the General declared the end of the forum, you notice the head of the association fall down on his knees in disappointment. You walk up to him and reach out your hand. He accepts your gesture and you help him to his feet.

"I understand your feelings sir... Your wife isn't a criminal and your children aren't demons. The outcome may not have been what you wanted today, but I promise you, we'll continue fighting Marley with our ideology." You reassure him.

He responds, "Thank you, I appreciate it."

He wasn't aware that you were a subject of Ymir yourself, let alone one from Paradis. But the very same reasoning stands to prove that the two sides can sympathize with each other and cooperate if they could simply overlook the complications of race and history which no one alive today had anything to do with.

With that, you and Armin along with Kiyomi leave the building and return to her mansion to report the events to Jean and Rico. While the ideals of the forum itself weren't at all favorable for Paradis, the fact that it caused some disagreement between Marley and the other nations essentially laid part of the groundwork for your plan.

At the end of the day, your strategy was to antagonize Marley and turn the rest of the world against them. So attending the forum was worth it as you learned from seeing General Calvi that Marley indeed represented everything you accused them of.

The next morning,

You thank Kiyomi for everything and set off to begin your mission. You sneak your way into the internment zone where you would stay undercover and gather intelligence ahead of the Liberation. There were several key objectives for this mission.

One was to kidnap at least a few titan shifters and either convince them to join your cause or imprison them if they refuse. This would cripple Marley's military strength, as they often over relied on titans; something that was made apparent during their war against the Middle Eastern Federation.

The second was to start a small Eldian Restorationist movement to get people's interest and plant the seeds for when you would arrive to liberate them from Marley. It was also important to sneak out a handful of Eldians from Liberio to act as envoys to testify on behalf of Paradis when the time was right.

Finally, the last objective was to gather information on their military and figure out the most effective time to commence the Liberation. As you noted before, it had to be done in a single day without giving them a chance to gather their military stationed around the rest of the world.

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Over the next two months, the four of you go undercover and gather intel on Marley. Using the information you got from Dr. Jager's books and the Attack Titan's memories, you were able to track down the families of the Eldian restorationists who were exiled alongside Eren's father.

Most of them were resentful towards the previous Restorationist movement as it got their relatives exiled and families shamed in society. You bring them together and tell them about your plan to liberate the Eldians and bring them to Paradis, where they would be able to live peacefully.

You explain your plan in brief without giving away any crucial information as you have yet to confirm who among them you could trust. Some of them out right refuse the idea while others were more skeptical.

However, there were about a dozen families who were hopeful and willing to give it a try. Most of them had their relatives 'sent to paradise' even after the revolution. It made them uncertain about their safety within the internment zone despite how they lived. It was essentially the same reasoning that led Annie's father to seek the 'Honorary Marlean' status.

Your intentions were different from the previous movement that planned to restore the Eldian Empire and go to war with Marley. While there was debate among them regarding whether it was wise to start another revolution, your desire for peace and freedom for Eldians made an impression on some of them.

They come together to start a new Restorationist movement that strives towards peace. They start doing secret rallies underground and distributing handouts that put the idea of freedom in everyone's head.

You and Jean actively take part in the Restorationist movement and help them out with their rallies. While the two of you did that, Armin and Rico focused on gathering information about the Marlean military and the infrastructure of Liberio.

Armin learns that the population of Eldians in the internment zone was estimated to be around thirty five thousand. This was necessary as you had to come up with a way to transport them out of Liberio. While you had your own ships in Paradis thanks to Hizuru, you couldn't sail into Liberio with an armada as your plan required you to be discreet.

He informs you that a single Marlean warship can carry around seven thousand people if crammed and that there were about half a dozen of them stationed in the port at all times. With that, you decide to commandeer Marley's ships on the day of the attack.

Meanwhile, Rico was tasked with tailing Captain Magath, who was in charge of the warrior unit. Both Annie and Bertolt had mentioned how he was someone to look out for, as he was much more keen on things than the rest of the Marlean commanders.

As expected, their hunch pays off when you receive a letter from Rico which had a transcription of part of a conversation between Magath and Willy Tybur— the head of the family which possessed the Warhammer Titan.

They were an Eldian family that had a noble status within Marley despite their race. According to Kiyomi, Willy Tybur was famous in many countries and was someone you thought could help your plan to liberate the Eldians. However, what you read in Rico's letter revealed the reality of the situation.

"If someone wants to pull Marley's strings from behind the scenes, I have some words for him. It's too late now." ~Magath

"I swear, Captain, you're completely merciless, aren't you? Your hunch was right. This country is run by the Tybur Family. But militarism is something Marley chose for itself. We gave this country freedom and power as atonement. As a result, Eldia and Marley were thrust into a dark age. The fault for that lies with the Tybur Family. At the upcoming festival, I intend to reveal everything to the world." ~Willy

It confirmed that Willy Tybur had a hand in everything from behind the scenes. What's more, they had information on what must've truly happened a century ago. You assume it had to do with the Warhammer Titan's memories, similar to how Eren learned about his father's life. You instruct Rico to continue tailing the two of them and find out more about their plan.