I Love You... In Every Universe (AOT Alternative Universe)

33. Historia

Christa continued without a word.

"If you keep crawling to the foot of the mountain at this rate, he'll probably be a goner by then, and we'd be lucky not to be. Which means there's only two outcomes. Leave Daz here and save ourselves, or all three of us die." Ymir said.

Christa finally stopped.

"Which will it be?" Ymir asked.

"You forgot one," Christa said after a pause. "That your prediction is entirely wrong. I'll be able to reach our base at the foot of the mountain with Daz. You can go ahead of us and get back safe." She looked back at Ymir. "How about that? There's no trouble in it for you. We'll make it back for sure. Go ahead of us."

Ymir watched her push forward. Christa fell, but stood up after a second and kept moving. Ymir pulled down her scarf.

"Hey, why haven't you asked me to help at all?" Ymir asked and started walking. "I think... you have no intention of saving Daz."

Christa stopped, staring at Ymir in shock.

Around them, the storm continued to rage.

Daz was unconscious in the sled, parts of him covered with snow.

"You don't care. You've resigned yourself to death already." At Ymir's words, Christa turned away. "You're hoping to die here, aren't you? How could you? I thought you were a good girl. You've gotta at least make it look like you're trying to save his life."

Christa appeared terrified as Ymir continued, an intense look on her face, voice mocking.

"If you want people to remember you as a hero who died trying to save someone, don't drag him down with you. That's what a bad girl would do." Ymir said.

"You're wrong!" Christa said and grabbed Ymir's scarf, clutching tightly, voice wavering. "I didn't... That's not..." Her hand fell away, head bowed. "I..."

"It's you, right? The mistress' daughter who had people after your life." Ymir said.

"How do you know?" Christa asked with wide eyes.

"I see... So it was you after all. It's something I happened to overhear. At a church in the interior, back when I snuck around borrowing things to stay alive."
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Ymir walked through the church, ducking and hiding when she noticed someone coming in.

Two priests talked as she eavesdropped.

"What a sob story it was. An illegitimate child can't succeed a powerful noble. So they just wanted to kill her, to end all the fuss once and for all."

Ymir's eyes widened before narrowing as she listened to the two men talk.

"But they'd look aside if she changed her name and lived a humble life."

"In the end, I heard the girl was forced to join the Training Corps."
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"Don't you worry," Ymir assured Christa. "I haven't told anyone. I don't plan to either."

"Then... did you enter the Training Corps just to find me? If that's the case... why?" Christa asked.

Ymir appeared as if she didn't know how to answer.

"Who knows? Maybe because we're similar." She replied.

"What? You and me... have similar backgrounds?"

"Well, more or less."

"That's the reason you became a soldier?"

"Could be. I don't really know." Ymir replied and looked way. "No, it's not."