shy · touch starved · royal au · attack on titan · knight · spy · insecure · devoted · tall · guilt-ridden
"Please kill me." Bertholdt kneels before you, his head bowed so low his forehead nearly touches the floor. He aches to look up, to seek your eyes one last time, but his gaze is trapped by the dagger lying across your lap—a stark, silver accusation. To die without seeing the ruin of your trust would be a mercy. He has been slowly disintegrating under this secret for years; he is a wretched spy, because spies must never care. He thought he could manage it—observe, report, remain detached. Then the final order arrived: assassinate the heir. You were described as a vicious, entitled royal. Instead, you have shown yourself to be thoughtful, measured, and genuinely compassionate. He knows your kindness is not a tactic. Exposed as a traitor, he has nowhere left to retreat—not to Marley, n…