The Prince and His Servant

Chapter 46

At first, I was confused, and in my confusion, I didn't lift my head. My first thought was the one many people would think in this situation. I wished it were true, with all of my heart. I wanted confirmation, to know it was who I so desperately wanted it to be, but I couldn't bring myself to life my head. However, the feeling was gone as quickly as it came. The warmth on my head turned to cold as the hand retracted itself. Only after a few long seconds did I muster the courage to life my head, but I was saddened by what was before me.

Eren was not awake. He was laying just as I had seen him before, eyes closed and somewhat pale, breathing slow and even. His chest rose and fell with every breath it took. I blinked away the tears that clouded my vision, wishing desperately that my eyes were playing tricks on me. That after everything, Eren was finally back to his old self. But the reality I wanted never came.

Reality hit me like a brick, and I wanted to cry again. Was I starting to hallucinate? But it felt so real, I couldn't say for certain that I was. Of course, I confirmed my suspicions when I heard a familiar voice behind me, a few feet away.

"Levi... I know this isn't the best time, but we have something we need to set straight."

I craned my neck to see who the voice belonged to, and I was both happy and sad to have been correct; it was Hanji, the woman who housed me when I fled this very place. But she seemed almost tainted, her usually chipper attitude sounding a little grim and disheartened. She spoke seriously, and it took me by surprise. However, I didn't mind, because somehow, I was glad she was the one to see me in such a state.

Standing to my feet proved to be a tad difficult, because one of my legs had gone numb from my awkward position. Once I managed to be upright, I looked at her dead on, ignoring my red tear-streaked face. She smiled like a mother proud of her child. My first thought was that if I'd ever seen a smile like that, it was when I was too young to remember. And yet something about it seemed so familiar...

"It's not a problem, Hanji. Today seems to be my day of revelation, because mere minutes ago, Isabel informed me of something I was overwhelmed to hear."

That smile. It grew on her face, little by little. From what I was aware of, she'd never had children of her own, so she had nobody to give such a smile to. Why did I feel like the look suited her so well? Why did I feel as if that smile made sense... no, rather, belonged on her lips?

"I'm aware. I spoke to her earlier, apparently right after you ran from the room after she spoke to you. But there is still information you need to be conscious of. And, unfortunately, it doesn't concern Eren. Would you mind if we went to a more private place?"

I turned to look at Eren, who lay unconscious on the bed. He looked so peaceful... But I wished nonetheless that he were awake and by my side. I wanted to tell him everything. I didn't want to keep things from him anymore, and so if Hanji had something to say, I would make sure Eren could hear it too. I knew it was a silly thought, acting as if a sleeping person were awake, but I still felt as if I should stay by him.

"It's quite alright. I don't mind staying here. We can take a seat on another bed, if you see no problem in that."

After a quick glance at Eren, she nodded and walked toward the bed next to his, sitting down and gesturing for me to do the same. I obeyed the simple command, taking a seat next to the redhead. She gave me a slightly concerned look. Raising my brow at her, I wondered what she could have been thinking to give me a such a look. However, the silent inquiry was soon answered.

"Levi... You remember your past, right? Your life before the manor? I know it's not the best thing to have to recollect on, but... it's important that you do."

An icy chill ran down my spine at the mention of my past. The hell I was in back then... it was awful. My mother died and left me to fend for myself all alone, and I was constantly harassed by every other kid my age at the time in that damned village.

"When your mother died, you were alone. But that didn't last too unbearably long, did it?"

She was right, as I soon recalled. Someone took me in, to be my caretaker. She was the closest thing to a mother I'd ever had... My biological mother never loved me as much as my caretaker did. The one thing that my mother valued most was drugs, while my caretaker actually paid attention to me. To my needs, my desires. I forgave my mother for what she'd done long ago, but I still didn't like to look back on it.

"That's right... though I don't remember everything about her. Hell, she didn't even tell me her name, but I can kind of see why. She had red hair, and it looked a lot like yours. Come to think of it, she had a similar personality to yours as well. She was a really nice person."

Smiling once again, she let out a small chuckle. It seemed familiar, too.

"That's nice. Now, think back to two months ago, when I took you in. When you found out about the killer, you had to escape. You slipped back in the house only to hear me being questioned by someone. That someone was the secretary, Armin, in case you didn't know. Did you ever hear why they were questioning me, of all people?"

The answer seemed obvious. I was starting to wonder why she was saying all of this in the first place, as it all seemed quite odd. But I said nothing about it as I answered her question.

"That's plain to see. The villagers knew you were housing me, and so they reported you for housing me once the notices were put up. I didn't need to hear it to know."

For the first time since the conversation started, she did something other than smile, looking at me with a slightly disappointed look and sighing. Once again, I cocked my brow at her confusing behavior. Why did this have to be treated as some high science that I couldn't solve?

"No, Levi... it's not because of that. Nobody in the village suspected you to be the killer. They came to me because I would be the only one to shed any light on the situation at hand. They were convinced you were the only possible suspect, but I tried to convince them otherwise. Unfortunately, that didn't go over so well, and they didn't believe me. However, Armin did figure out the truth later on."

Confusion was the only thing I felt. I had so many questions, I barely had room in my brain for all of them. I wanted to know why she would be the one they went to. I wanted to know why she could give them any real information, why she believed she had a chance at clearing my name. Not to mention how it managed to slip my mind that the place she spoke of moving to in her letter was here, in the manor, without my connecting the two.

"Don't you see, Levi? I can't believe you haven't put two and two together yet... They thought that you would come back to me after you ran, because it was the only place you would think you could. And, even though we found each other by chance, the assumption was correct. It's because I was the one who took care of you after your mother died, Levi.

"I was your caretaker."

~~~~~

[A/N] You all hate me now don't you

I'm sorry