tidal (Levi x Reader)

130. wandflower

"I don't see why it matters," I glanced over at Hitch, "look all you want."

stay calm

"Now tell me why a Duke from a region known for its gemstones would give his wife who he 'loves' such a plain ring," murmurs of agreement flooded the crowd as Hitch spoke.

you-

"If you mean to bother me with that comment it isn't working," I smiled innocently over at her, "I don't believe that a ring can properly represent the extent of our love for each other."

the problem with this is that they're forcing me to say super gross things in public

when really-

levi and i show our love by harassing each other 90% of the time-

"There's no point in getting through to you," Hitch grinned as she turned my own words back onto me, "I just mean to let our audience infer what they will from this."

"Don't attack her for her ring-" Levi began to protest.

"Levi-" I muttered- "she's going to-"

"Levi you don't have to defend her- she must have something over you- if you tell me what it is I can help you."

she's going to do that

"She doesn't have anything over me, and if she did I would not involve you in my personal matters," Levi denied, his temper rising.

it doesn't make sense if you think for longer than two seconds about it

levi is in a position of power over me whether he exercises it or not

especially at the beginning of our relationship when i didn't have the connections and relationships i have now it would've been incredibly easy for him to get rid of me without any issue

assuming that i really did have something over him-

he could easily solve that by killing me in a ditch somewhere

"She's threatening you," Hitch's accusations were getting bolder by the second.

unfortunately, the crowd is getting caught up in it

"I told you it didn't make sense- I mean how many of you even knew what the 13th princess looked like before she became Duchess?" The same crowd members who were in our favor earlier were now beginning to switch sides.

"If I really was threatening him- with what resources would I be doing that with? You're saying it yourselves- you didn't know who I was before this. Do you really think it would be that easy to blackmail a Duke?" I addressed the crowd, squeezing Levi's hand for reassurance.

the only thing we can do is attempt to reason with the crowd

"If you think I'm that easy to control you're insulting the Ackerman Duchy," Levi squeezed my hand back.

if all else fails i'll burst into tears and make everyone feel awful

"No," the first princess spoke up, silencing the scattered murmurs of agreement with our argument. "There must be a reason why you can't speak against her," she addressed Levi, "she must have forced you into some kind of contractual relationship."

well-

AND WHY WOULD THAT BE A PROBLEM

EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THE ISSUE WITH THAT IS-

WE BOTH COMMUNICATED WHAT WE WANTED TO GET OUT OF THE RELATIONSHIP

IT WAS MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL

"Sorry?" I could feel my anger rising.

i'm going to do something really stupid

"It all makes sense when you think about it like that," she grinned, "the abrupt proposal, the ring, even the fact that you rejected my proposal," she addressed the last comment at Levi. "She had something over you and forced you into a contractual relationship so obviously you couldn't accept my proposal."

she thinks that levi and i met before that party-

hold on-

she proposed an engagement to him before that party?

that partially explains why he was so willing to accept mine

he was already pushed into a bit of a corner

which means that-

she's the one who pushed him into a contractual marriage

"I rejected your proposal because I didn't want to marry you, I hold no feelings for you in that way," Levi was firm with his rejection. "I thought positively of you once but you've completely ruined that, my rejecting you has nothing to do with my wife and everything to do with your own actions."

it has to hurt hearing him say that 10281028 times

"That still doesn't explain everything else- if you really loved her then you would-" she was clearly getting desperate.

the crowd-

The crowd seemed confused at best, the majority of them appeared to still be on the princess's side, I could feel harsh glares and stares coming from every angle.

what are we supposed to do?

"If you can't handle the truth- there's nothing that either of us can do," Levi frowned.

the truth

the truth is that we're both right

levi and i are lying to some extent

but she also doesn't have the full picture

and our lies eventually became truth- to the point where what really happened didn't seem to matter

but maybe

maybe it could change things

"Levi-" I tugged on his sleeve, gesturing for him to come closer so I could whisper something to him.

"Feeding him lines right in front of us?" Hitch scoffed.

"Is it a crime to tell my husband something? At least give me this since you're so insistent in dragging your own private issues into the public." I snapped back at her, before turning to Levi, whispering into his ear.

i'm aware that this looks suspicious

"Y/N-" he gasped, eyes widening at my words. "You shouldn't."

"Isn't it easier to just come out with the truth? I'm confident in our abilities to prove ourselves," I replied, glancing at the eager crowd.

everyone loves a good love story

right now we're having a hard time proving ourselves because the first princess's entire argument rests on the fact that no one really trusts me

but if we reveal something that hurts our current argument to push a different one

i think it will work

if it doesn't-

"I'm sorry I'm late," a soft voice murmured from right behind me, "I was making sure that Father knew what was happening."

Historia was finally making her appearance, Annie and Ymir following quickly behind and behind them-

"What is happening here?" A low commanding voice rang out over the crowd.

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sorry for the late update! i just moved in to college <3333

- ami