By noon the next day, Lock saw Dina Fritz return to the base safe and unharmed, walking beside Grisha with a calmness she hadn't possessed days earlier. The gentle smile on Grisha's face confirmed everything.
The Yeager household had accepted the truth.
"I explained everything to Carla," Grisha said, visibly relieved. "She… accepted it."
Lock nodded, quietly respectful of Carla's grace.
He hesitated before asking:
"And… did you tell Eren about inheriting the Attack Titan?"
Grisha froze.
His fingers twitched.
"That…"
He couldn't finish the sentence.
Because the moment Lock mentioned Eren, Grisha's eyes faltered. His guilt surfaced — and because along with Eren came the memory of another son.
Zeke.
Dina's expression dimmed as well. She didn't speak, but her grief spilled through her silence. Though she had never once blamed Zeke for betraying them, she carried the weight of knowing why it happened.
They had pushed him too hard.
Demanded too much.
Forced him to accept an ideology he barely understood.
They saw a savior.
Zeke saw suffocation.
"It was our fault," Dina whispered. "We forced our dreams onto him… a child. We thought we were giving him purpose, but we… we only trapped him."
Grisha's voice trembled.
"Am I really wrong, Lock…?"
His steadfastness wavered — finally, after years of carrying guilt alone.
Lock met his gaze seriously.
"I think Eren should choose for himself."
Both Grisha and Dina stared at him.
"Let him… choose?" Grisha murmured. "But he's still—"
"He's not a child anymore," Lock said gently. "Eren has seen life, death, cruelty, and sacrifice. He knows what freedom means. He's capable of deciding his own path."
Lock added, voice steady:
"If he agrees, he'll inherit the Attack Titan. If he doesn't… then we choose another soldier from the Survey Corps. Someone loyal who believes in the future we're trying to build."
He paused.
"But the most important thing is that the decision comes from him."
This wasn't just a political decision.
It was a human one.
Lock already knew Eren possessed the exact traits the Attack Titan required — resolve, passion, the unbreakable instinct to fight forward. But he also understood that repeating Zeke's story, repeating the mistakes of the past, would destroy the boy.
Grisha slowly exhaled.
Dina squeezed his hand with quiet support, saying nothing — but her eyes said I trust you.
Lock gave them space and sat by the window, watching soldiers train.
He let his mind drift.
From Marley's absence so far, Paradis should have a period of stability. Reforms will advance, but true breakthroughs require years. And years… we don't have.
Education, technology, manpower, and artillery — all lagged far behind the world beyond the sea.
"It took other nations decades, even a century," Lock whispered. "Paradis can't catch up overnight. What we lack most is time…"
Paradis needed a miracle. Or an opportunity.
If Marley acts soon, it may be a blessing in disguise.
If Zeke himself led the mission, even better.
"With both of his parents here, capturing Zeke would be… easier," Lock muttered. "Even if he never changes his ideals, we could still use him."
At that moment, Grisha spoke up behind him.
"Lock… I've decided."
The lock turned.
"I'll talk to Eren today," Grisha said firmly. "I'll explain everything — the truth, the power, the burden. This time… he chooses. I won't repeat my mistake."
Dina nodded, her expression steady.
Lock stood.
"A wise choice. Do you want me to call Eren here?"
"If you could… I'd appreciate it."
"It's nothing," Lock replied. "Talk together first. Think through what you want to say."
With that, Lock slipped from the room, leaving the couple alone.
---
Dina leaned gently against Grisha.
"Eren choosing his own path… that's the best way. I don't want him to become like Zeke."
Grisha's eyes clouded again.
"We didn't think it through. If we hadn't pushed Zeke so hard… maybe none of this would have happened. The Restorationists wouldn't have been wiped out. You wouldn't have been…"
He stopped, voice breaking.
Dina squeezed his hand again.
"Grisha… listen. When I was injected, the officer told me something."
Grisha looked up sharply.
"We were under Marleyan surveillance long before Zeke said anything," Dina whispered. "Even if Zeke hadn't reported us, they would have taken us. They already knew."
Grisha's breath caught.
He hadn't known that.
"Zeke… only stepped ahead of what would've happened anyway," Dina said, voice soft and sad. "He didn't condemn us. Marley did."
Grisha's expression froze, then slowly collapsed into a deep, aching grief.
"So… we blamed him for something he wasn't responsible for," he whispered.
"We were too optimistic back then," Dina said. "Too naïve. We thought changing a nation would be easy. But it's like Lock says — 'Only when we are truly strong can we talk about liberating Eldia.' Strength first. Everything else later."
She looked up at Grisha, eyes tender.
"It seems you trust Lock very much."
Grisha smiled faintly — tired, but sincere.
"Yes. He's someone who sees farther than we do. Someone who understands the world better than either of us ever could."
He took a deep breath.
"And for Eren… perhaps Lock's judgment is what we needed all along."
Dina leaned her head on his shoulder.
The sunlight softened around them.
Tonight, they would face Eren.
Tonight, they would reveal the past, the truth, and the burden of the future.
Tonight, a boy would choose his path.
And with that choice… the fate of Paradis would shift.
---
A/N: 30% OFF ON ALL THE FANFIC FOR FEW DAYS CODE "NS300"
A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
Support: patreon.com/Narrator_San