But even if they cursed it—so what if the world was hell now?
Not a single country dared to step forward and challenge Roger Eikam. They all tucked their heads in and refused to move. No matter how deeply they resented Eldia, they didn't dare say it out loud.
Behind the scenes, they were still scrambling to rebuild their arms and their armies, intending to launch a new round of attacks against Eldia.
But Nelly Quick had already anticipated that long ago.
He would not give any country in the world a chance to strike Eldia.
Since Eldia now stood at the very top of the world, he could use that advantage to manipulate other nations.
He might not be able to control them one hundred percent, but Nelly could absolutely exploit the distrust between them—turning them into loose sand that would never, ever form a united whole.
As long as strategy was used, they would never be able to unite.
Not to mention: Eldia was now ruled by Roger.
Roger might not bring happiness to everyone in the world, but he would never allow any nation to use "salvation" as an excuse to oppress another.
So the countries maintained a tense peace.
Under Eldia's hegemony, they didn't dare start wars lightly. People were able to live and work in peace, and even enlistment numbers dropped sharply.
Humans have a slave nature—give them benefits, and they'll forget you're the greatest threat.
Just like the people of Eldia, who had been trapped behind the Walls for more than a hundred years.
During their time inside the Walls, they were self-sufficient, living in peace, unaware of any threat at all—aside from the Titans outside.
They feared the Titans because they knew nothing about them.
Those towering monsters were "the unknown" to them.
And it was precisely because of the unknown that humanity produced curiosity, the urge to explore, the urge to gamble… and even deeper fear.
Roger knew that sooner or later, someone like Eren would appear—someone who pursued freedom at any cost, someone who would try every possible way to break Roger's monopoly on force and carve out a path of their own.
But would that really be salvation?
Roger used to be that kind of person too.
But he didn't want another person like him to appear ever again.
So he made up his mind: before a second Eren could emerge, he would wipe it out completely.
Yet humans were an inherently restless species. Roger had no real confidence in this, and he didn't believe he could maintain absolute hegemony forever.
The only thing that could break this cycle… was greater power.
Only by obtaining even greater power could he secure a more unbreakable rule.
Humanity can only be happy when unified—this was Roger's belief now.
But first, he had to find the Tybur family.
Back then, because the Rumbling had swept through Marley, the Tybur family could very well have been destroyed. Roger had always worried they were already gone—wiped out and erased from existence.
However, once Nelly broke the Scorpion Gang apart and scattered them across the world to search for information, the reports that came back made Roger overjoyed.
The Tybur family still existed—and there was no sign of decline.
Because they had lost the War Hammer Titan, they had fallen back into being an ordinary family.
But because they had been famous for so long—and because, on the surface, they had no direct, open connection to Marley—they were living extremely well in a remote, obscure country.
Roger decided to personally set out to find the Tybur family.
Before he left, Historia prepared travel clothes for him.
Historia was now pregnant with Roger's child. As a mother-to-be, she had become especially gentle. The girlish air she once had was gone, replaced by a mature dignity that made her look every bit the embodiment of a queen.
And as the queen within the Walls, every gesture carried authority—only in front of Roger did she soften, becoming once again a woman who wanted to be cherished.
"Even if there isn't much about you that worries us… you still need to be careful. You're outside. Anything can happen. Don't let your guard down," Historia urged, the tenderness in her eyes nearly melting Roger on the spot.
But Roger remained as resolute as ever.
He wasn't bound by Historia. If anything, he was still worried about whether this country could truly survive in peace.
Still, no matter how bad things became, he had the ability to unleash a full-scale Rumbling and make every other nation fear to lay a hand on Eldia—so in the end, it didn't change much.
"Take care of the country. Don't let the people fall into civil unrest."
He left only that sentence behind and turned to go.
But as he turned, Historia grabbed his hand.
Roger looked back in confusion—only to find that she had gently wrapped her arms around him.
In that instant, Roger understood.
She couldn't bear to let him go.
But if he didn't find the Tybur family, then sooner or later the world would collapse—so he couldn't stop.
He gently stroked the top of Historia's head, then finally pried himself out of her embrace and left in silence.
Watching her husband go, tears shimmered in Historia's eyes.
She couldn't understand why—why even after doing this much, she still couldn't win this man's heart.
In his eyes… was she really nothing more than an ordinary tool for childbirth?
No. That wasn't it.
Historia thought it through carefully. His behavior just now didn't look like he didn't care about her—he simply wasn't good at expressing it. He still loved her. Thinking that, warmth slowly spread through her chest.
But Roger's mind was filled with one thing only: the item the Tybur family was guarding—an object left behind by General Tybur.
What was it, exactly?
Why hadn't Mr. Torin Eikum told him directly, instead leaving a clue only after his death and forcing Roger to search for it himself?
If Mr. Torin Eikum had told him back then that the Tybur family held a priceless treasure of immense importance, Roger would never have unleashed the Rumbling—no matter what.
Or… was the Rumbling actually necessary?
Maybe Mr. Torin Eikum didn't want him to stop halfway.
Roger couldn't know.
But right now, the top priority was to find the Tybur family as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, the Scorpion Gang soldiers' intelligence was accurate enough. Without too much trouble, Roger found the family hiding in that remote little country—the Tybur family.
Staring at the luxurious estate in front of him, Roger immediately thought of the noble households within the Walls.
So the Tybur family lived like this… in such extravagance.
Did they never think about how humiliating it had been for their own people to live in the internment zones?
Did they really not have a shred of sympathy?
The more Roger thought about it—how he, an Eldian, had grown up in poverty and filth, while these people lived in indulgent luxury—the more furious he became.
"Who are you?!"
The attendant guarding the gate was the first to notice Roger.