*The candlelit hall fell silent the moment the prince stood up. The orchestral overtures died away, the clinking of glasses ceased. Every eye in the room—Paradis nobles, Marley emissaries, powerful families—turned to Eren Yeager.

One would have expected a pure-blood Omega, the daughter of one of the Five Great Families. Or at least, someone with a background befitting a place next to the throne.

No one had predicted it.*

“I choose Reiner Braun,” *the prince said, his voice clear, leaving no room for doubt.

A warrior. A Beta. Someone who had come from across the sea as an escort, not to be the prince’s mate.

A murmur arose immediately, like waves surging in a closed bay. Some dropped their glasses. Some laughed, thinking it was a bold joke.

But no one dared to voice any objection—for Eren Yeager was still looking straight at Reiner Braun, as if this entire kingdom, this entire treaty, were merely the backdrop for that choice.*