There are times when a fractured limb will heal on its own, given time and tender care. And there are other times when a bone must first be broken for it to be reset.

That was the best way to describe the current predicament. Fractured. Not quite broken beyond repair, but too fragile to be called healthy. Her cousin and Eren could not see eye to eye, but even after two weeks Grace could tell that the speck missed Jisoo greatly. He murmured her name at night, he still checked his phone constantly for updates about her whereabouts, and ever since she left his side had been in a relentless depressive state. 

Despite that, it was clear that Eren could not bring himself to devote himself fully enough to Jisoo. Fundamentally he disagreed with her actions. She had hurt people he cared about, and harmed others he thought were undeserving. Her moment of weakness in which she nearly killed him was an unforgettable sin that would disparage his memory of her forever. Eren loved Jisoo too much to forget her existence and move on, but not enough to forgive what he considered moral depravity. 

Emotional pain like this was something Grace had never experienced in her life. She had lost relatives and friends. But relationships were a different beast. She could see the suffering in Eren’s eyes every morning, his sadness. It was impossible to ‘cheer him up’ with material items or frivolous pleasures. She took him on joy rides around town in her super cars, showed him the beauty of the city and ensured Yuxi took good care of him. Yet no matter what she tried, nothing worked. Ultimately, what Eren needed was something she could not provide.

Time. 

He needed time to heal and think about his relationship to Jisoo, what she meant to him and what he would do now to move on. Their relationship had been passionate, Grace knew from the first moment she saw them together that their love for one another was true. That only made the pain when the trust between them was shattered, even more agonizing. Time would mend the wounds to his spirit, and one day perhaps Eren could move on with his life as Jisoo had hoped. Unfortunately, the world did not work like that.

Eren knew a great deal about the Amrita Corporation, the Fang Dynasty, and their plans for the world. He knew more than some of their own members who had been fully initiated but not yet granted knowledge of their most precious secrets. And he was no longer scheduled to marry a blood descendant of their clan. Many very illustrious, important people had been killed for less. Far less. 

There was no time for Eren to heal. The higher-ups would not sit around and wait for him to move on to see whether or not he would find another potential wife within the family. Thanks to Satsuki, it was now also rumored by many that Eren had destroyed his relationship with Jisoo because he disagreed with actions she took as an operations specialist. He did not approve of their vision. And by extension, he was opposed to the Heavenly Duties.

Although, in the very few times she had spoken with Eren about the nature of their break-up, Grace realized that Satsuki’s claims were hardly a malicious rumor. It was the brutal truth. Eren had rejected their family’s mission, and was also guilty of a far more heinous crime. He had set Jisoo along the same path her mother once walked. Shame, and remorse of her divine will to act as she saw fit. Now she had disappeared, and not where she could be observed and allowed to grow on her own, but she had truly followed in her mother’s footsteps and vanished. 

“If only there was a way for Eren to see our side of things. He has already been exposed to the horrors of humankind…”

In difficult times such as these, Grace often turned to carnal pleasures to cope. Beautiful women like Yuxi who whispered into her ear at night and planted ideas in her mind which solidified what she already knew had to be done. For two weeks while she watched Eren wither away before her eyes, Grace tried desperately to think of an alternative.

“There is no way to convince Eren that human life is meaningless compared to your divine will. He sees himself in Jisoo’s victims. He expresses empathy and therefore humanizes them; he does not think they deserve death… and believes that his thoughts on this matter. I’m worried about what will happen to him in the coming weeks.”

Yuxi’s words kept Grace up at night. She harbored the same thoughts and concerns. Even a housekeeper could see it, that if things continued on this course and Jisoo did not return promptly to take control of Eren, then he would have to be treated as a rogue variable. A danger. A thing to be crushed mercilessly. He would suffer a needless death, alone and miserable. And so would Jisoo without him, and without a doubt she would turn on her family out of spite and lock ranks with her mother and biological sister against them. 

Grace refused to let that happen. She made a promise to Jisoo to keep Eren safe, and she had also made a promise to herself to ensure Jisoo’s happiness. Even if it cost her everything with both of them, Grace was willing to at least try.

There was an uncharacteristic coldness in Grace’s tone that sent chills down Eren’s spine. Her enormous fingers locked around him possessively, and kept his arms pressed firmly against his sides. Yuxi had a similar expression, although hers also bordered on curiosity to see what would happen next.

“Y-You wanna talk about something?” Eren stammered, his voice cracked slightly at the start of his sentence. No doubt she could feel his heart rate begin to rise as she held him, but the giantess did not seem to care. 

What’s gotten into her? Did something happen? Eren thought and tried to figure out what the meaning behind this was. Just last night Grace had seemed her normal chipper self. She acted like the big sister he never had. One who thought of him as a pet, but still a trusted friend he felt safe around. 

He tried to remind himself of that as he continued. “Sure thing… Did something bad happen? Why are you both so grim?” Eren inquired directly but received no response from the titaness who had him held tightly in her fist. “Grace please, you’re starting to scare me~.”

“Alice Evans tried to kill you. So did Madeleine, once. Giulia and the other people from your old job saw you as an insect. The men you and Jisoo met in that Greek restaurant wouldn’t have batted an eye if they killed a thousand of your people.” Grace said in a soft but direct tone which rendered him silent immediately. “Jisoo killed those people for you. To protect you, and your people. She didn’t have to. You already know that the suffering inflicted upon specks is by our own design as an unfortunate consequence necessary to subjugate humanity. Jisoo saved you because she wanted to. She loves you. So why? Why did you push her away? Why did you judge her for acting in your best interest?” Grace asked with a sorrowful tone he would have never expected from her. 

They rarely spoke about the break-up. Grace and her cousin were as close as sisters, Eren did not want to slander Jisoo in front of her. Evidently Grace had done her research as well. She knew a lot more about what had happened than he imagined she would have. Admittedly given her open preference for casual sex rather than serious relationships, Eren had not thought to ask Grace about what he should do. There was no way she could empathize with how he felt. 

Isn’t that the reason for all of this too? Empathy? If more people could empathize with others so much of this wouldn’t have happened. Eren considered and took a deep breath. “I’m sure in her own way Jisoo thought she was keeping me safe. But the things she did in Norwich… That was for herself.” He murmured. “She’s angry and hateful at people. For so much of her life she was treated as a mistake, vermin, and a pest even by her own kind. Now she’s attained so much power in such a short period of time and she sees her tormentors everywhere. To her every person who slighted me was no different from the people who tortured her for years. And she let it go to her head that she was a goddess.”

“But the reality is that she’s just a person. So are you, Grace. No matter what strength your science provides you with, you aren’t gods. You’re just people like everybody else. I think she realized that too late, but she has to undo the ideology she latched onto to justify the human part of her which screamed out every day that what she was doing was wrong. That’s why I couldn’t be with her anymore. At least for now. She needs to be away from me to learn to love all people again. Not just me.” Eren said mournfully. 

He felt relieved to say it all aloud. The thoughts that had plagued him. Thoughts which circled around his mind at night like vicious buzzards and begging the question as to why he couldn’t just shut up and let Jisoo and her kin inflict their will upon all the world. Jisoo wasn’t happy. She was constantly angry and hateful, and the Amrita Corporation fed her rage and turned her into a weapon to be unleashed. Killing people on a whim was wrong. Jisoo knew that, she tried to justify it to herself. And when she was confronted by her mistakes she snapped. Ultimately, she just needed time~.

“Why did you say that?” Grace said solemnly, in a voice filled with despair that interrupted his inner monologue. He looked up into her cold eyes and for a moment saw her outwardly stony demeanor give way to sorrow. 

He sighed and realized it might have been a mistake to be so careless with his words around Grace. But those things needed to be said. Grace needed to hear it too. She wasn’t a goddess; she was just a person who had been granted godly power.

Still, he refused to back down even when clutched in her hand. “You’re my friend, Grace. I just wanted to tell you the truth~”

“No… I completely understand.” She interjected suddenly and took a deep breath. Eren blinked in surprise, he had expected her to be angered by his response. After several moments of quiet contemplation, Grace opened her eyes and gazed at him strangely after her initial words seemed to indicate she had been saddened. 

Her grip loosened slightly. “You have strong feelings about what is right and wrong, and while you do still love Jisoo, you believe what she has done is unjust. The actions of a traumatized victim unleashing her wrath on all those even vaguely similar to those who wronged her in the past.” Grace remarked, more to herself than Eren. “These are your true undiluted thoughts… I appreciate your candor. I really do.” She proclaimed with a soft smile.

A smile which made her next words even more haunting.

“It makes what I must do to you now much easier.”