Bonds

At noon, knock knock knock, there was a knock on the wooden door of an ordinary little house in the Wald Manor.

"Please wait a moment, she's coming right away. Is it Carla's back?" Then came a flurry of hurried footsteps.

The wooden door opened, and Lucia, wearing an apron and holding a spoon, had a bead of sweat on her face.

Yago stood frozen in place, his hand that was knocking on the door also frozen in mid-air.

This scene instantly brought back memories for Yago.

Five years ago, the child that Vig brought back from outside the wall stood outside the door in the same way, watching Lucia hurriedly open the door with a spoon.

Lucia also recognized the people at the door: Yago, Lisa, and Yago, the girl Annie had brought home before.

Lucia was naturally overjoyed to see Yago.

"Mother, I'm home." Yago smiled.

Lucia, forgetting about the stew in the pot, immediately opened her arms and hugged her child, tears welling in her eyes.

"Child, it's good that you're back."

Lisa and Annie stood aside without disturbing the mother and son.

The table was laden with delicious stews and some fragrant roasted meats.

Yago looked at his mother, who was still busy in the kitchen, and was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.

He turned to Lisa and sincerely thanked her, saying, "Miss Lisa, thank you so much."

Lisa: "No, it's what I should do. After all, you saved my life back then, and I can never repay that debt."

"There's a flu outbreak in the Mauritius District (fictional), Carla, who knows some medicine, volunteered to help," Lucia explained to Yago and the others, explaining why Carla wasn't there.

"What!" Yago exclaimed in surprise. Aunt Carla had actually gone out? The Royal Government must know Carla's identity. They captured Eren, and they certainly wouldn't let Aunt Carla go either.

Seeing Yago suddenly become anxious, Lisa said meaningfully, "The Mauritius District belongs to the Eastern Theater, Garrison Regiment there is under the command of my uncle Randy Vald, the Commander of the Eastern Theater Command."

The implication is that Carla's safety is guaranteed.

Hearing what Lisa said, Yago felt a little relieved, but safety is never absolute, and the most urgent matter now is still that Nobility Reiss.

Yago's decision to visit his mother was impulsive, and he risked exposure to find Lisa Wald.

The Survey Corps is in a very bad situation now, with all members wanted and arrested. The incident of Yago and Ymir transforming into Titan in Trost District has finally come to light.

However, the Survey Corps did not sit idly by and has now presumably begun a counterattack.

Seeing that his mother was safe, Yago felt relieved.

"Miss Lisa, don't you suspect our identities? After all, we're wanted criminals now," Yago asked.

Lisa shook her head. "No, Mr. Yago, I have witnessed you fight and shed blood for humanity. If you were truly traitors to humanity, why did you rescue countless people, including me, from the jaws of the Titan? So I don't believe those words."

Yago smiled, then suddenly remembered something and asked Lisa, "Has my mother seen the recent newspapers?"

Lisa understood what Yago meant. The newspapers these past few days had been filled with reports of the Survey Corps betraying humanity, which was very unusual, as if someone was stirring things up behind the scenes.

The thoughtful Lisa naturally didn't send the newspapers from the past few days to Lucia, and besides Lucia was usually very busy and hardly ever read the newspapers.

"No, please don't worry."

While Yago and Lisa were talking, Lucia was chatting and laughing with Annie.

Yago had invited Annie to his home several times, so Lucia was naturally quite familiar with Annie.

In Lucia's eyes, Annie was a shy little girl with a good personality and good looks, but she didn't like to talk much. Lucia liked her no matter how she looked at her.

Yago was well aware of Lucia's intentions, so at this time Lucia's mother began to subtly try to help her son settle down with a wife.

Poor Annie doesn't talk much, except when she's with Yago. Otherwise, Annie is usually indifferent to everyone else.

Lucia's almost blatant hints quickly made Annie blush, leaving her speechless. She could only give Yago a somewhat embarrassed and annoyed look.

Yago smiled and stopped his mother from asking her bizarre question.

Lisa watched the amusing scene with great interest, though Lisa fixed gaze on Annie made Yago feel a little uneasy.

After a hearty lunch, Yago and Annie were about to leave.

"We still have missions to complete in the corps, so we need to rush back. We'll come back next time we have a day off."

Since Lucia doesn't know the current situation of the Survey Corps, Yago can tell a little lie to comfort Lucia.

"Oh, right, Mother, if Aunt Carla comes back, tell her that Eren and the others had a mission and that's why they couldn't come back. They'll come back with us next time," Yago called out, waving to Lucia.

"Okay! Yago, take care of yourself and Annie," Lucia replied from the doorway.

Yago felt a warmth in his heart. The bonds between family members are always beautiful, so Yago couldn't sever ties with Paradis Island, because his family and his bonds were there.

"Miss Lisa, I'm counting on you again."

Lisa Wald performed a standard Nobility curtsy. "Rest assured, the Vald Family will protect Lady Lucia and Carla."

Yago and Annie mounted their horses, the kind of high-quality mounts from the Wald Manor that could go straight into battle.

Yago waved to Lucia one last time, then left with Annie.

Watching Yago's retreating figure, Lucia felt a little dazed. On that day, Vig, who had just become Scout, was about to set off with the Survey Corps.

Standing in the crowd Lucia only saw Vig's back and his last words. "Lucia, we will win someday, believe me."

Watching Yago and Annie's figures until they disappeared, Lucia returned to her room, somewhat dejected.

I took a slightly crumpled newspaper out of the drawer, with some tear stains on it.

The headline "Survey Corps - Traitors to Humanity" was prominently displayed in the newspaper.

When Lucia saw the newspaper, she was extremely worried about Yago, and she shed tears of worry while looking at the newspaper alone.

But like Vig, she worried countless times about Vig's participation in the expedition outside the walls, but Lucia never stopped Vig; respect is the highest form of love.

Lucia didn't know what Yago was going to do, but Lucia would pray sincerely for her child.