Daisy II | Levi Ackerman

Chapter 47 - The Tests of Faith

854-855

[Naomi]

Chief Mulle, General Theo Magath's deputy, and thus the acting commander of the Marleyan Military, was on my side. After careful conversation boarded on the coast guard ship, I had offered him more proof of the authenticity of my blood but he 'need not see it anymore', he said, for he had been fighting alongside and under the Dietrichs for many years that he was able to know for certain. He said Dietrichs had a certain air. And more than that, apparently Willy Tybur had discretely informed the military leaders back then to keep an eye on the up-and-coming 'journalist', Daisy Dietrich. See if she makes any strange maneuver to politics.

The Chief decided it was high time that one of them returned and knocked some sense into this strife, which, in a way, I told him was the same thing General Magath told me the moment before he sacrificed his life for the sake of our mission. The Chief was struck at the news, but he seemed to have not expected less from such a valiant leader. I agreed.

Upon docking, Jean, Connie and I were met by a dozen Marleyan troupes at the ready for our welcome, though it was still a secret affair. These forty men were Chief Mulle's handpicked, well-trusted platoon, and I spoke to them about our intentions and objectives in a hangar by the airstrip where they all expressed unanimous support for it.

Some were of course as expected, a bit iffy at the suggestion that a foreign soldier and politician should take over the country they have arduously protected over the years, let alone from the very nation they were at war with; but I was in no rush and I was more than willing to win them over.

I and my comrades from Eldia spent the next few weeks working with them, sleeping under the same roof, eating on the same table, getting to know them thoroughly. I would say that those years I've spent in a balance between the government and the military gave me just enough charm and the humility needed to gain their trust. And I genuinely trusted them back, no matter how little our numbers were compared to the entire army.

On the last week of the month, Reiner, Annie, and Pieck came to Sumter Island, where we were, and there helped us scheme out a sound and calculated plan for the following days, to make sure everything would fall into place.

From there, the circle of influence would grow; and barely at the doorstep of September, word had gone out within the Military that a Dietrich- one from Eldia at that- was retaking Marley.

This caused some stir in the political world. The Parliament, whose representatives I had mostly mingled with in the conventions and soirees I'd been to before, were very wary of this prophetic return. The Executives, consisting of the Prime Minister, the President and their councils, were quite defensive- which made me and my gained allies at the Military think that they knew and predicted that this was bound to happen. Determination then became stronger as a consequence.

By the end of the first week of September, my allies and I were ready to saunter into the Parliament and make the plea. It was going to be discrete, as Levi recommended. Just a negotiation with the Executives, whom had the most power. Chief Mulle and the Warriors arranged for that night at a well-known hotel that my side had arranged for.

They were not so punctual. I don't like people who did not respect my time, but I suppose strutting in late was their way of asserting their control of the situation. Aldrich Engels, of the People, and Ford Reagan, of the State.

The room was alight in auburn shadows at seven in the cold evening, with the wine red curtains draping the high windows of an opulent place. On one of the velvet armchairs, I sat, facing the long couches where the two national leaders were invited to sit. Behind me, closest to me was Levi, my voice of reason on his wheelchair; the Warriors, sitting on the bar stools, with Chief Mulle. It was the meeting that would determine the ultimate course of history, and I was dressed up for the occasion. Like my comrades, I attired formally, with a silk ivory dress, its pale color emphasizing the distinguished sapphire necklace on my chest.