Imperial Affairs (Levi X Reader) AU

48. Y/N X Bed

Reader's POV

"Idiot!" Marlowe was furious as he checked me over while I lay sick in my bed in my chambers that I so dearly missed.

I love you, bed. I won't complain about you ever again.

"I'm royalty! You can't say that!" I retorted.

"Your status doesn't give you common sense!" Niccolo was even angrier than Marlowe.

"Let's just calm down," Erwin tried to act as a mediator, "Y/N, are you feeling okay?"

"You used my name!" I gasped in pure joy.

"I feel like I shouldn't have."

"I'm okay!" I nodded, "Now let's just begin the preparations for the engagement party."

"Woah. Woah. Woah," Marlowe reacted like a child, "You think that you can leave in this condition? You'll fall if you try to stand up. Just try it."

"I'll manage," I muttered out, "When is it, though?"

"You forgot?" Erwin asked, "Two days after tomorrow."

"Please make the preparations," I said as I rolled myself up in my blanket, "I have to go to the party. No matter what."

"But why?" Erwin opened up my cupboard and looked through potential clothes for the party.

"I have to crash it," My voice was murderous, "It is a large-scale engagement party. Even I, someone who is extremely hated by the bride, was invited. Hannah's maternal family paid for everything with quite a big budget, may I add."

"So?" Marlowe crossed his arms.

"They are making the party resemble an Imperial one," I narrowed my eyes, "They are basically trying to say that Hannah is the crown princess. If everything goes as it is then-then some smaller nobles will start supporting her."

"And how exactly will you crash the party?" Niccolo took a seat on the couch in my chambers.

"The bride is being overly extravagant," I coughed in a napkin. It seemed that I had caught a cold...again, "It would only make sense if I stole the spotlight from her by showing up as even more extravagant and made it the first event where I had ever had a formal partner. Though it seems that I would have to drop that plan since Mikasa won't be here by then."

"Normally," Erwin started, "I would be very disappointed in you for trying to ruin someone's engagement party but since it's the matter of your dignity and the throne, I'll allow it."

"Great!" I beamed.

"I understand that your current attire in your closet won't fulfil the needs?"

"Exactly."

"Call someone in," Erwin ordered before realising, "But Reiner's not here."

"Meaning that it's your job," I turned around to face Erwin and smiled at him.

There were a few moments of silence before Erwin said something, "I was thinking of retiring."

"Nonsense," I gave him a deadly smile, "You should refrain from making such jokes."

Erwin looked at Marlowe and then Niccolo, hoping that one of them would agree to switch jobs but even the hardest worker of them all, Marlowe, knew that there was no clear line for what Erwin's job was and wasn't in this palace. Normally, butlers would have a lot of work assigned to them but there was a clear line distinguishing the work of a butler and the work of the master of the palace or estate but here, we followed no such rule.

"When am I going to get to retire?" Erwin's left eye twitched.

"When I die," I kept my smile, "Then you can retire."