Zeke stared blankly at the familiar words written by his father.
He continued flipping through the notes, and from that point onward, every few paragraphs contained Grisha's confessions directed toward him.
Through those three notebooks, he finally came to fully understand the truth of what had happened back then.
So it turned out to be the work of that man, the one whose codename was "Kruger," the one who concealed Dina Fritz's true identity, ultimately leading to Zeke's mother being exiled.
His father's entry into the walls had also been orchestrated by that man.
Kruger had even ordered his father to seize the power of the Founding Titan and restore the glory of the Restorationists.
But his father never did that. After inheriting the Attack Titan from the "Owl," he began a new life within the walls.
Instead of searching for the Founding Titan, Grisha Yeager remarried and quietly spent time with a woman named Karula.
He seemed to feel deep guilt over his peaceful life, constantly confessing it within his notes to his former lovers and to his son.
"Dad... you... you deserved it... you betrayed Mom..." Zeke closed the notebook, raised his head, and met Gale's calm gaze staring at him.
"You already knew? I'm Grisha Yeager's son."
"It's hard not to notice. After all, he cared deeply about you, didn't he?" Gale sent someone to retrieve the notebook.
"What happened to my mother? Didn't she turn into a Titan right in front of my father? Did you allow her to inherit the power of a Titan?"
"As you should know, the inheritor of Titan power can see the memories of the previous inheritor. Grisha lived within the walls for a long time. Before his thirteen years ran out, he found a successor, and we learned the truth."
"We found the Titan Dina Fritz had become through the memories seen by the successor of your father's Titan, and we allowed her to inherit the power of the Female Titan and regain her consciousness."
Zeke frowned in despair. He did not know what kind of life his mother had lived within the walls, but royal blood was precious, and members of the royal family possessed unique abilities when inheriting Titan powers.
For example, he himself could control Pure Titans with his roar. His Titan fluid also possessed a special effect: if an Eldian inhaled the mist released by the evaporation of that fluid, they would transform into a Titan upon hearing his roar, even without a special injection.
As far as Marley was concerned, if a member of the royal family was discovered, there was only one way to deal with them: reproduce with that person.
If it was a man, turn him into a breeding stallion constantly mating with women; if it was a woman, find a way to keep her pregnant and continuously producing children.
Zeke frowned, wondering whether his mother had suffered some kind of humiliation on this island.
His reunion with his mother, and the fact that the people of Paradis Island had spared his life, was it because his mother had made some sort of sacrifice?
Just as he was thinking those terrible things, there was a knock at the office door.
Mikasa opened the door and brought Dina Fritz inside.
Dina wore the same beige dress from a few days earlier, with a brown shawl draped over her shoulders.
She looked exhausted, with red swollen marks around her eyes. Her thin eyebrows were shadowed, and her eyes had lost their brightness, as though she had suffered some terrible torment.
In only a few days, her cheeks had grown noticeably thinner.
Zeke immediately stood up, walked toward Dina, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, seemingly intending to shield her within his embrace.
"Are you trying to threaten me with my mother?" Zeke asked in a hostile tone.
He knew the best thing he could do in that situation was pretend he did not care about Dina.
He should show his ruthless side and make the devils of the island believe he did not care about his mother at all.
However, seeing his mother again a few days ago had deeply shaken him.
He had just finished reading his father's notes and now felt that he could understand his feelings a little better.
Human beings were ultimately emotional creatures. Although he had complained about his parents in the past, he never hated them.
She was his mother, the woman who gave birth to him, raised him, and used to cradle him while he fell asleep. As a son, he could not bear to see his mother crying in front of him.
"It seems you have misunderstood something, Mr. Zeke." Gale's calm eyes were threatening, but he knew how to maintain composure when necessary as he said, "Miss Dina is simply worried about your safety."
"We have never mistreated her; she is simply a mother worried about her son."
Zeke lowered his gaze toward Dina's face, and Dina forced a smile before naturally embracing him.
"Zeke, don't worry about me. I just haven't been sleeping well these past two days."
Zeke received a hug for the first time in a very long time; it was a warm embrace, his mother's embrace, carrying a familiar scent.
He hesitated for a moment, then slowly raised his arms and hugged Dina back.
"I've always… always dreamed of the day I could see you again…" Dina broke down crying once more. "Zeke, please stay here and live with Mom."
"Please stay here. Don't return to Marley. This is our Eldian paradise."
While holding Dina, Zeke looked once more at Gale's face.
He always felt that everything was part of some plan, but... he could not refuse...
He realized that his heart was beginning to waver, and the moment he embraced Dina, his unwavering faith began to crack.
For a brief moment, he abandoned the idea of the extinction of his people and began imagining a life together with his mother.
Could this really be true...?
…
Late at night, Zeke waved goodbye to Dina in the hallway.
"See you tomorrow, Mom."
"Alright, see you tomorrow, Zeke." Dina smiled, hugged him once more, waved goodbye, and left the hallway guided by a soldier.
She looked much better because Zeke had agreed to "cooperate" with the people of Paradis Island and had promised to live with his mother in the future.
Zeke leaned against the hallway wall, staring at the palm of his hand.
"I have a dream…" Zeke said to Gale, who was standing by the doorway. "I want the Eldians to stop suffering. I believe the power of the Titans is an evil power and should be eradicated from this world. But… the people on your island, the Titans here… they seem different from the Titan power I know… Do you really use that power to produce all this? That's unimaginable."
"The power itself is not frightening; what is frightening is the one who wields it," Gale calmly replied. "The Marleyans and the old King Fritz only thought about plundering, which is why people fear Titans. In the beginning, the people on our island were just like those outside, terrified of man-eating giants."
"But things soon changed, and when the Titans began producing crops in the fields, we stopped fearing them."
"Is this really the right thing?" Zeke asked quietly.
"Whether it is right or wrong is not something you or I can decide, but I can assure you of one fact: five years ago, on Paradis Island, many people could not even afford to eat. Back then, the old government wanted to feed 200,000 people to the Titans in order to ease the food shortage. We prevented that tragedy. And today, five years later, I can proudly tell you that everyone on the island, regardless of age or gender, can eat until they are full, and no one will go hungry."
After hearing those words, Zeke left without saying anything.
Gale returned to his office, gathered his belongings, and prepared to leave work. It was then that Eren found him.
"How did it go?" Eren asked, hoping to hear the outcome of the plan.
Gale stored Grisha's notes inside a drawer. "Just like the memory fragments you saw, Zeke was moved by Grisha's notes. It was worth bringing them so quickly from the capital."
"I see…" Eren nodded. To him, trusting Gale and his plans was clearly paying off.
"How are things between you and Mikasa? Did you two talk things through?" Gale looked at Mikasa and Eren's faces.
"Uhm…" Mikasa blushed. "Eren and I have already made our decision."
"How did it go?" Gale asked with a smile.
"We plan to register at the city hall next year." Mikasa was shy, but this time her eyes no longer wandered away. "We don't need any kind of ceremony or anything, but after we register, I want to move into the same room as Eren."
"That will also make it easier for me to protect Eren closely." Mikasa's voice gradually grew quieter.
"You can't skip the ceremony." Gale patted Mikasa on the shoulder and said, "Even if we can't make it too extravagant, I'll try to gather all our acquaintances. Everyone will be there to witness it, so be happy, Mikasa, you are now Eren's fiancée."
Those two needed to enjoy their short time together, because even if Gale wanted everyone to be happy, he could not extend Eren's lifespan.
But that was not so bad. Gale had given Eren the chance to truly enjoy his life with the person he loved.
At the very least, Gale felt that this was the best possible ending, and it would be perfect if they had a child together, even if that meant losing a powerful Ackerman who, together with Levi, represented the face of Paradis' military.
Eren looked at Gale's back as he walked away and murmured, "Why does he protect us?"
"Because he's our friend…" Mikasa murmured without understanding Eren's words, while Eren himself remained deeply confused.
Why did Gale work so hard for the happiness of other people?
At first, Eren thought Gale was simply an anomaly within the paths of the future where he always died for the happiness of his friends.
However, because of the knowledge Gale possessed, Eren soon believed he was an enemy planning to use them for his own benefit.
But no matter how much Eren observed or tested Gale, his decisions were always aimed at giving them a chance to survive without resorting to the Rumbling.
Eren was confused. Would he truly trust Gale and his plans?
He had never trusted anyone except himself. His sacrifice had given others the chance to be happy. But now, Gale was the one sacrificing himself for others.
That left Eren extremely confused…
Perhaps Gale's anomaly existed because, in this timeline, he did not die at Kenny's hands, which triggered the perfect timeline where maybe the world could witness another sunrise without the need for global extinction.