The true royal family

"How has your training been lately?"

Bai Yu asked with a broad smile.

But that smile made Kali shudder. A bad feeling rose in her chest, and she instinctively stood ramrod straight.

"Well, um... p-pretty good..."

Bai Yu's smile grew even kinder.

"And just how good is 'pretty good'?"

"Well..."

But before she could finish, Bai Yu turned to Armin beside her.

"Armin, how has Kali been ranking in training lately?"

Armin instinctively glanced at Kali, but then Bai Yu's face appeared right in front of his, leaving him no choice but to answer.

"Most of the time, she places fifth or sixth. Sometimes she's in the top three. Today... she was doing pretty well today."

By all rights, those results should have been considered quite impressive. They would at least have made her an excellent soldier-but only by ordinary people's standards.

Xiate, standing nearby, frowned slightly as well, but said nothing.

Ming, however, spoke up directly.

"That's a little low."

Those words made Kali's expression stiffen.

Bai Yu sighed softly and turned to walk away. Ming and Xiate followed him, glancing back at Kali from time to time.

The punishment Kali had expected from Bai Yu never came, but she had heard his sigh perfectly clearly, and her heart lurched.

"B-Bai Yu?"

Her voice trembled, as though she thought Bai Yu was about to give up on her.

But Bai Yu waved a hand without turning around.

"Just you wait. I'm going to get you a month's leave. You'll spend that month training with us! You're in for it. When you come back, you'd better be able to pin Mikasa to the ground."

His words put her at ease, but Mikasa, standing nearby, was clearly displeased by what Bai Yu had said and clenched her fists.

"Bai Yu, don't get so full of yourself!"

Bai Yu turned to Mikasa with a mischievous smile, then addressed Kali.

"I've been sick of that Mikasa girl for ages. Kali, if you still can't beat her after training with us, you might as well pack your bags and go to the Military Police Brigade!"

"Hey, Bai Yu!"

Seeing that Mikasa was about to lose her temper, Bai Yu grabbed Ming and Xiate and ran.

Jean piped up from beside them.

"What's so bad about the Military Police Brigade?"

Annie glanced at him.

"I don't want to join the Survey Corps either, but that's all it is-I don't want to go. It doesn't mean I think the Military Police Brigade is better than the Survey Corps, especially for Kali."

Jean was left speechless.

Kali looked awkwardly at Mikasa beside her.

But Ming stopped, slowly turned around, and walked toward Kali, while Bai Yu and Xiate headed for Instructor Keith's quarters.

Ming stopped in front of Kali and looked at her as she swallowed nervously.

"Ming, was there something else?"

Ming shook his head gently, his wine-red eyes fixed seriously on hers.

"Next month, you'll accompany our Support Squad on the 37th expedition beyond the walls. That will be part of your training too."

At those words, the nearby Cadets all looked over. Some grew nervous at the mention of an expedition beyond the walls, even though they weren't the ones going.

Others looked at Kali with concern, while shock showed in a few pairs of eyes.

But Ming paid them no mind and continued to watch Kali quietly.

"If you don't want to go, we won't force you. Bai Yu's earlier promise still stands. As long as you place in the top three of the 104th Cadet Corps, you can still join our Support Squad. So, what do you choose?"

"W-why didn't Bai Yu tell me?"

"Because Ming felt there was no need to ask-that you would agree. I feel the same way. But you weren't mentally prepared, so I came over to let you know first."

Kali fell silent for a moment, but before long, she slowly raised her head and met Ming's eyes with determination.

"I want to go!"

Ming nodded gently.

"Our Support Squad will face the Armored Titan sooner or later, and the Colossal Titan too. They're both among our designated targets for elimination."

With that, he turned and walked in the direction Bai Yu had gone. Then, as though something had occurred to him, he tilted his head slightly and spoke evenly.

"Bai Yu said they won't live."

His voice was very soft, yet every nearby Cadet of the 104th Cadet Corps heard him clearly. Though his tone was calm, the killing intent within it crept into the hearts of every Scout present.

By the time the others came to their senses, Ming had long since vanished. A few had even sunk to the ground, gasping for breath.

"M-Ming was... so terrifying just now..."

Annie looked toward the back, where no one else was paying attention. Reiner stood with his head lowered, his expression dark, while Bertholdt beside him was extremely uneasy, his eyes darting back and forth.

Of course, Annie knew she was hardly any better off. Looking toward the spot where Ming had disappeared in the distance, she couldn't help pressing her lips together, though her expression betrayed nothing.

Christa turned to Kali with concern.

"Are you really planning to go on an expedition beyond the walls with Instructor Bai Yu and the others next month?"

Kali smiled at them.

"Don't worry. Bai Yu and the others are really strong. You all know that too, don't you?"

Another expedition beyond the walls was naturally coming up soon, but the main objective of the expeditions now was to kill as many Titans as possible.

Erwin now knew that the number of Titans was finite. Although he had learned the truth about the outside world, the first priority of their expeditions was still to retake Wall Maria and expand the territory they could live in.

Erwin had also assigned Bai Yu's squad a task.

In a certain basement.

Bai Yu looked at the two rather elderly people tied to chairs in front of him. Their lavish clothing made it obvious at a glance that they were nobles.

By now, however, their clothes hung in tatters, and their bodies bore marks left by branding irons. There wasn't much blood, but the stains left on their faces by dried tears and mucus were almost too much for Bai Yu to look at.

"So, have they told you anything?"

Erwin led Bai Yu outside and closed the basement door. Ming and Xiate followed from either side of the doorway.

"They admitted it. The current king isn't of the true royal bloodline. The true royal family is the Reiss Family."