"You are the Queen, Historia. I've told you countless times that the only thing you need to do is wait. When this is over, we'll be able to do whatever you want, even touch the sea."
"All right…" Historia awkwardly scratched her head, embarrassed by the comment.
The conversation naturally shifted toward more personal matters as the moonlight illuminated Historia's serene yet thoughtful face.
Then, softly, she said, "When we return to the inner walls, the engagement ceremony will take place, right?"
"Yes, it will."
"Honestly… I'm looking forward to it. I thought maybe I would never get married, or that if I did, it would happen hastily with a stranger I barely knew."
"People might think we're already getting married, but this is only an engagement." Before announcing it, Gale had made it clear to Historia that it was only political.
It would stabilize the kingdom and lay the foundation for her reign, but over time, something that had only existed to drive away the vultures had slowly started to become reality.
"That's true, but I have no intention of breaking off the engagement. So to me, this ceremony might as well be a wedding." Historia was determined.
She laughed softly, and her gaze turned to meet Gale's. "That's why I wanted to ask you something before the ceremony."
"What is it?" Gale snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Historia more attentively.
Historia smiled gently, a melancholic curve on her lips. "Gale… Is there someone else in your eyes?"
"Someone else?" Gale looked thoughtful.
"That girl named Mikasa is quite pretty, isn't she? Aren't you interested in her?"
For a moment, Historia looked like a young bride trying to find out whether her beloved's heart belonged only to her.
"If you tell me now, I'll let it pass. But I'd like an answer as soon as possible."
For the first time in a long while, Gale burst into laughter and said between chuckles, "You should stop reading romance novels. They're messing with your mind."
"Since I'm feeling very understanding, why don't you tell me now?"
Historia's gaze fixed directly on Gale, waiting for his answer. For a moment, Gale opened his mouth to speak, but the only thing that escaped was a faint, inaudible hum.
It wasn't without reason.
The interplay of light and shadow created by the moonlight, combined with her melancholic smile, made Gale's mind stop looking at Historia and instead see a future filled with nothing but war, blood, and destruction.
Gale had never stopped to think about romance. It would be foolish to do so with his knowledge of the future.
Historia waited for Gale's answer for a while, but when he couldn't say anything, she lowered her head in silence.
Her hair cascaded down, covering her face and leaving Gale unable to read her expression. With a calm voice, almost like a whisper, she began speaking again.
"You know something? I like you quite a lot, Gale."
"At first, I thought you were simply strange… But the more I watched you, the more I realized you had a lot to teach me. The fact that you're just as young as I am and still stand out above everyone else is amazing."
Historia laughed softly, then fully turned to face Gale and raised her head.
The backlight slightly darkened her features, but her skin was flawless, without a single imperfection.
Her eyes trembled faintly, but they never avoided Gale's calm and deep gaze.
In Gale's life, Historia Reiss had only ever been a product of training. She was widely known as the Queen of Eldia and the rightful heir to the royal family's throne.
What Gale had always seen was a young woman experiencing things beyond her control, someone who had only recently taken on an important role to create real change in the world beyond the walls.
"For some time now, I've felt a strange sense of dissonance. While we talk, your gaze often drifts into emptiness or grows distant with a certain nostalgia. Isn't that true?" Historia had learned to be observant.
"It would have been better if it had all just been my imagination… But now I see that it wasn't." Historia barely managed to lift the corners of her lips into a bitter smile.
"Even so, I still like you quite a lot, just the way you are. So let me change the question a little."
Historia extended a hand and touched Gale's cheek, as if to stop him from looking away, silently forcing him to focus only on her in that moment.
"What do you think of me, Gale? Are you looking forward to this marriage, just like I am?"
Her voice carried a slight tremor of unease.
Finally, Gale, who had remained silent, opened his mouth to answer. "Of course. I'm looking forward to it too."
He vividly remembered the promise they had made on a moonless night before the coup d'état.
He also remembered how that promise had ultimately ended.
"You're right. I think less and less about the things around me these days. Because I'm afraid of losing. I'm afraid that my actions will take away the lives I worked so hard to save." Gale's sudden honesty left Historia speechless.
"You're the first person I've ever told this to, and believe me, if I win, I'll celebrate only with you. But if for some reason I lose, there won't be a narrow path left to escape through." Gale knew that if he failed, he would die.
Those were the consequences of defeat: death.
Gale had accepted that from the moment his orders ended enemy lives. And because this was war, he was also ready to dedicate his heart.
"No matter the outcome, you're the only one in my memories. There is no one else. Everything I do is so we can finally have a peaceful life." Gale extended his hand toward Historia's cheek, and this time it was his turn. "Leave this to me. I promise everything will end as soon as possible."
"Then I hope you won't feel too anxious. I want you to look forward to the engagement ceremony, just like I do."
Historia, still holding Gale's cheek, froze for a moment.
Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but it took her quite a while before she finally spoke.
"I must be such a simple woman. It only took a few words from you to calm my heart. But waiting idly for my presence to grow inside you? That's not my style."
Suddenly, Historia pulled Gale's cheek with her hand and kissed his forehead.
Surprised, Gale found himself frozen in place, letting her do whatever she wanted.
Historia's eyes, slightly tinted blue, curved into crescent moons as she smiled. "From now on, I'll make sure you don't have to carry such a burden alone."
"Well, that's enough talking for now. I shouldn't stay much longer since I sneaked in here in secret. It wouldn't be good if we got caught now."
"Yes, I suppose it wouldn't. Regardless of our engagement, it wouldn't be good for people to see you entering a man's room late at night."
"Why does it sound like you're accusing me of doing something inappropriate?" Historia puffed out her lips, then suddenly grabbed my hand and brought it to her mouth.
She bit my finger, not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to leave teeth marks and a slight sting.
"What are you doing?" Gale was surprised by Historia's antics.
"Marking what's mine, that's all."