Imperial Affairs (Levi X Reader) AU

50. A Sense Of Achievement

Reader's POV

"I'm cold," I shuddered while Erwin combed through my hair.

"I told you that it wouldn't end well before you left for the North. 'Haste makes waste'," Marlowe quoted as he prepared some medicine for my cold that I had eventually, inevitably caught again and he was attempting to calm it down so that it wouldn't show at the party I was getting ready for.

"Your Highness should just drop the idea of going to the party if Your Highness feels excessively unwell," Erwin suggested.

"Your Lordship needn't worry about me," I huffed, "If Your Lordship wishes to keep these formalities going."

"It is my duty to worry about Your Highness," Erwin did not give up. It was the day of the party and all the preparations for my departure had been made and Erwin and I were still at the fight in which both of us refused to surrender.

Oh, how I wished that Erwin could come along with me to these boring parties but no one remembered about the Smith Marchy being still alive to invite him. Those who did remember did not acknowledge their existence since the Marchy had long since fallen from power and was even abolished once before I finally brought it back to the heir who didn't want anything to do with it any longer.

But I believed that a time would come, no, I knew that a time would come when Erwin would realise that my talks about him working for me even after his death were nothing more and nothing less than silly jokes I made to pass the time. I knew he would realise that someone, like Reiner, could be trained to take his place and that one day, he could return to his Marchy and return the glory it once held before.

I knew that I would miss him when he left my side but I also knew that the job he did wasn't anything enjoyable and did not make him feel proud like his Marchy would.

"Your Highness," Erwin snapped me out of my thoughts, "What are you thinking about so deeply?"

"Huh?"

"Your Highness looks like you're about to cry."

"No, I don't!" I wondered about how he could read me so well before I finally remembered the honorifics, "I am fine, Your Lordship."

"I have raised you more than anyone else in your life," Erwin narrowed his eyes, "Your Highness should just say what's on your mind or, like always, it will end up becoming a big problem."

"Erw- I mean, Lord Smith," I decided to ask about my concerns and possibly clear some of them, "Do you...like your life? I mean, working in this palace, do you like it? Do you feel that you'd rather be somewhere else?"

Erwin gave me a worried look before answering, "I will not say that I enjoy being an overworked butler but yes, I do like working for this palace and working for Your Highness. I don't feel that I'd rather be somewhere else but I'd appreciate it if Your Highness didn't dump Stohess's management on me."

"Do you feel a sense of achievement here?" I whispered so that Marlowe, who was busy dusting my room and grumbling about Reiner not being here to do it, wouldn't hear.

"Why of course," Erwin put the comb back in one of my drawers and took out a gel, "I raised a kid, though dysfunctional and manipulative but a kid nonetheless. It is no easy job. Especially when I never asked for a kid."

"Why?" I nudged Erwin, "Was I a big problem when I was a kid?"

"First of all," Erwin started, "Your Highness is still a kid, And second of all, yes."

"Why? What did I do?" I pouted.

"I have a list," Erwin teased me, "Do you want to hear it chronologically or alphabetically?"