The surrounding Marleyan officers were all applauding enthusiastically, as if victory were already in their hands. Yago clapped dryly along with them. Seeing these newly appeared Titans, the wariness in his heart inevitably deepened. This news also had to be sent to Paradis Island as soon as possible.
While clapping, Yago suddenly felt as though someone was staring at him. He glanced around, and his gaze eventually met a pair of eyes filled with fear.
Pieck tightly gripped the wooden railing in front of her. Because of the force, veins bulged on the back of her pale hand. The reason Pieck was so tense was that she had seen someone here who absolutely should not be here.
That person sat calmly among the Marleyan officers, lazily clapping along with everyone else. That familiar face—there was no way Pieck could mistake it. The two of them had met more than once on Paradis Island. The first time they met, he had said, "Miss Pieck, raise your hands." At that time, a cold blade had been pressed against her neck.
"Yago Norman? How could he appear here? How is that possible?" Pieck couldn't believe it. But could her eyes deceive her?
While Pieck was still in shock and doubt, Yago seemed to notice her gaze. He turned his head and met her eyes directly. Instantly, Pieck's entire body jolted, and she quickly turned her head away in fright.
Yago noticed that Pieck had discovered him and felt a bit surprised.
"Pieck's observation skills are pretty sharp. I wonder how it feels for her to run into an old acquaintance."
As he murmured to himself, Yago then looked toward Reiner beside her. Reiner's current scruffy, unshaven appearance made Yago particularly want to sit down and have a talk with him.
After taking several deep breaths, Pieck still couldn't quite believe what she had just seen. She patted Reiner beside her.
"Reiner, I think I just saw Yago Norman."
Reiner had been staring blankly at the small hill in the field that had been destroyed by the Fortress Titan and the Paladin Titan. Pieck's sudden words startled him, and what she said shocked him even more.
"What? Yago? How could he possibly be in Marley? Pieck, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Pieck pointed toward the platform.
"Right there. Look."
Reiner followed the direction Pieck pointed, but after looking carefully for quite a while, he saw nothing. There was no sign of Yago anywhere.
"Pieck, what's wrong with you? You must have seen wrong."
Pieck stared wide-eyed at the seat where Yago had been moments ago. Now it was completely empty. He had already disappeared without a trace.
"Pieck? Pieck? What's wrong with you?" Reiner waved a hand in front of the dazed Pieck. Only then did she come back to her senses.
"Maybe I really did see wrong."
Leaving those words behind, she hurriedly left, leaving Reiner standing there with a completely baffled expression.
...
With his hands behind his back, Yago strolled leisurely along the road. His eyes occasionally glanced slightly behind him. Sure enough, it didn't take long before he noticed Pieck sneaking along behind him.
It seemed he had indeed been targeted.
Pieck quietly followed behind Yago. After finally locking onto him again in the crowd, she absolutely couldn't let him slip away so easily. After all, Yago was someone from Paradis Island. How had he infiltrated Marley? And he was even wearing the uniform of a high-ranking Marleyan officer.
Pieck felt that there must be some huge secret hidden behind all this. Normally she wouldn't care about such troublesome matters—it had nothing to do with her. But Yago was an Eldian from Paradis Island. If someone said they had no hatred toward Marley, Pieck absolutely wouldn't believe it.
For all she knew, they might be planning some kind of retaliation against Marley. And when that time came, would warriors like them—those who fought for Marley—be spared?
Pieck didn't care about Marley.
But she cared deeply about her family and her companions. She didn't want them to be harmed. So for the sake of her family and friends, she had to stop any possible disaster.
Actually, Pieck had two options in mind.
The first was naturally to report Yago and eliminate the threat while it was still in its infancy.
The second was that if there was no time left—or if she had no other choice—then she would choose to switch sides and surrender.
There was no shame in that. It was just surrender. As long as her family and friends could be kept safe, that was enough.
Just as Pieck was thinking this, Yago suddenly made a quick move and slipped into a nearby group of Marleyan officers. When Pieck realized he had disappeared from her sight, she panicked and hurried after him, trying to find him again among the crowd.
However, because the warriors' ceremony had ended, the officers present were all leaving to return home. A large crowd of high-ranking officers noisily poured out of the venue.
If the Middle Easterners discovered what was happening here, they would probably go crazy with excitement.
Just a few artillery shells fired in this direction—no need for many, seven or eight would be enough—could wipe out nearly all of the high-ranking officers of Marley's frontline forces in one strike. At that point, what war would there even be left to fight?
Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs" in war.
Pieck rushed around between the groups of high-ranking officers. Inevitably, she bumped into some people. Many of these officers were pure-blooded young radical Marleyans, and their attitude toward Eldians was far from friendly. When they noticed the conspicuous Eldian armband on Pieck's arm after she bumped into them, someone immediately became furious.
"Damn it! You bastard! How dare you run into me? Are you tired of living?"
A broad-shouldered Marleyan officer grabbed Pieck's arm in rage. The flesh on his face trembled with anger—it was obvious he had a terrible temper.
Pieck hadn't meant to do it. Besides, she had only bumped into him lightly by accident. Considering the difference in their physiques, Pieck felt the rebound probably hurt her more than him.
But she had no choice. She didn't want to get entangled with these Marleyans. After quietly apologizing, she hoped he would let her go.
At that moment, the brute officer's companion also tried to persuade him to let it go.
"Let go, Hauge. She's still a Marleyan warrior after all. She's won many wars for us. Let's go."
But the companion's words only made Hauge even angrier.
"You're teaching me how to do things now??"
He had always despised Eldians. How could he possibly accept such words? He was immediately about to lose his temper.
...
Leaving aside the conflict happening here, the members of the warrior unit were also preparing to return to their camp after the ceremony ended. However, just as Airi and Newt were leaving, someone called out to them.
"Hey, you two—whatever your names were! And the cute little Airi! Wait a moment, we want to talk to you."
Ivanor ran toward Airi with an enthusiastic expression. Airi's pretty face instantly turned pale, and she hurriedly hid behind Newt in fright.
What did they want to talk about?