Investigation

(Erwin POV)

Erwin strode in silence along the dimly lit streets, his head low. Upon sighting the familiar ornate shop signage, he glanced around and turned into an alleyway. Hopefully, Lord Dale would be there, it had been a while since he engaged his services.

Taking a few more steps; he pulled his hat low and gave two sharp knocks on the wooden door.

"Who's there?"

"Lucius Arden."

The door creaked open and a well-built guard stepped forward, sizing up on him. "Why do you nobles always like to do this kind of thing in the middle of a damn night? Isn't that right, Lord Arden?"

Erwin passed him a set of falsified papers. "Thrill and pleasure under the darkness often add to the excitement."

The guard's eyes scanned through it and nodded, letting him enter.

He walked inside and up a flight of stairs. Upon entering a room, he eyed several well-dressed men, mixing along with provocatively dressed women - serving wine, chatter, and their bodies for their patrons to run their playful hands around.

A beautiful, slim young lady wearing a long red skirt and black buttoned shirt greeted him. "Hi handsome. "She hugged one of his arms, pressing her soft breasts against it. "I'm feeling lonely tonight, wanna have some fun?"

"I'm looking for Lord Dale." Erwin pulled his hat even lower, inhaling the scent of her perfume. "Old friend of his."

The girl looked stunned for a moment, but it quickly faded away and her red lips curled into an alluring smile." Please follow me, esteemed customer."

He followed closely behind her, climbing up another flight of stairs. Something twitched in his pants as he watched her hips swaying back and forth; that's why he disliked coming to this place - it was just too dangerous.

"The owner is inside." She led him outside an intricate door, gave him a deep bow that exposed her cleavage and walked away.

Erwin knocked and stepped in upon hearing a familiar voice.

"Lord Arden … or should I call you Erwin Smith?" An old man in a dark blue shirt, wearing a black coat greeted him.

As the number one information seller among the elites of the nobility; he was probably the only person that knew his true identity behind the fake pseudonym Lucius Arden. He shook the man's calloused hand. "It has been a while, Lord Dale ."

"Congratulations on your achievements, even the King of the walls has recognized your efforts."

"It was all due to the hard work and sacrifice of my men. I owe it to them." He sat down. "Business has been good, it seems."

Dale poured a glass of wine and pushed it across the table. "Of course, I don't believe there exists a man in this world that can withstand the temptation of my girls, including you, Erwin. That's why you always leave so quickly, isn't it?"

It was true. This place was designed to sink the privileged into the pleasures of women, the looks and the air around the girls here were a totally different standard ; nothing less than the best would be able to satisfy the lustful cravings of the elites that dwelled in the Inner District of Mitras.

"Not that I approve of your trade, but it is indeed an effective way to loosen the tongues of many nobles, that can't be denied."

Dale gave a laugh. "And their wallets as well."

Erwin took a sip of the mulled wine. "Money talks. It's the same for you as well … isn't it?"

"Of course. For the right price, you can get any information you need, as usual." Dale smirked. "If you are interested, I can even hook you up with some of the beautiful young ladies in the upper nobility, you won't be disappointed. With your status and looks, they'll be begging for your charms."

Erwin raised a brow. "You're still quite the tease. I need information about a man called Rod Reiss. Any and everything you have about him. Name your price."

"Hoh …" The man folded his arms. "Five pieces of gold. Seeing that we go way back and how I like you. I`ll give you a discount. Four."

"Deal." He nodded, his eyebrow twitching at the cost. Dale had the deepest network among the nobility in the walls, the fact that he charged such a high price meant this noble wasn't ordinary. From experience, his information was accurate as well - he had relied on it when he became the commander years ago, to find out who amongst the nobles were for and against the Survey Corps.

Dale stood up and walked towards a shelf at the corner of the room, running his hand through the files there. He then pulled out a brown-colored document, coated in dust, and slid out the papers from it.

The man returned to his seat, his gaze fixed on the papers." One of the regional Lords of the Orvud District. A fairly well-to-do noble, but not influential, or at least that's what it seems. About a year ago, one of his rivals in the agricultural industry came to me. Wanted me to recommend to him the best assassins there were in the wall. "He paused." To kill Rod Reiss.

'Did he succeed?" Erwin asked.

"Nope, he had quite the ending."

Erwin's fingers drummed the top of the table; curious about the man's fate.

Dale continued. "One week after he approached me, his entire family got killed, his manor burned down by robbers. I gave him a list of the top ten assassins available then, and it seemed that he hired all of them because … no one was able to contact any of them ever again."

He helped himself to another bottle of wine, filling his glass with it. "Dead? Ten assassins, the best within the walls and they couldn't kill even one noble?."

"It seems that Rod Reiss fella must be really well protected," Dale laughed.

"Almost as well protected as the King." He swirled his glass. "And ?"

Dale paused, his hands shuffling the papers. "There was another noble, who also tried to take the life of one of Reiss family members as well, around twenty-one years ago … in the year 829."

"The year of the Ackerman Proclamation? Your information is as detailed as always ... Who was it?"

"Of course, I never hold back on details if my customers are generous. That proclamation was issued a few weeks after that man approached me. If you want to know more ..." Dale raised three fingers.

Erwin sighed and nodded. "Go on."

The grin on Dale's face grew even more, probably pleased at how much he was making off him. "The Assembly."

"You mean-"

"Yes, one of them approached me. Wanted the best man for the job. To take the life of someone in the Reiss family; didn't say who. Back then the number one assassin was a person by the name of Kenny. He was so infamous as an assassin that he once even took the life of an Earl in his mansion, right here in the Inner District of Mitras, the safest place supposedly in all of the walls."

Erwin paused for a moment, steadying his nerves. "I can't imagine the chaos he had caused then, to actually kill a high nobility."

"It caused quite the scene; the Military Police declared that they would execute him in public and feed his corpse to the dogs. They sent about a hundred men to catch him, including their elites - The Fifth Brigade which specialized in hunting down hardened criminals and gangs then. However, every single one that went after him failed, never returned, and the fifth squad was completely wiped out. He became known as Kenny the Ripper afterward."

He took a deep breath. Kenny the Ripper? Levi had shared with him about that person before; he used to stay with him in the underground for a period when he was young.

Dale continued. "So, I told the Assembly noble how to get in touch with Kenny the Ripper. Never heard from Kenny again. He probably died in his failed attempt and ratted out on whoever hired him because … the noble disappeared also afterward."

He paused for a moment. The Reiss family was definitely suspicious, from the looks of it they were extremely well-protected, and influential as well. To be able to remove a member of the assembly and still remain untouched was no mean feat.

"Thank you, the information was well worth the price." Erwin took out a parchment, signed and slid it across the table. He intentionally gave Dale more than the agreed cost; it was important to continue building goodwill with the man before him.

"Of course, my customers always leave satisfied." Dale aligned the edges of the paper and pushed it towards him. "The other details, such as Reiss family residences, businesses as well as miscellaneous information are inside here."

"Is that all?"

"Well, there's one more thing." The man leaned across the table, placing a hand to the side of his mouth as he spoke. "Rod Reiss is here in Inner Mitras. He's going to be attending the gala after your award ceremony as well."

Erwin gave a small smile. It was the right choice to pay him a little more after all; the man was sharp indeed. Now, would Levi be able to sneak into their agreed meeting place before it? He was supposed to meet him two days ago but didn't show up; something must have happened.

He stood, straightening his clothes, and slipped the documents in a pocket underneath his cloak.

Dale winked at him. "Are you sure you don't want to relieve your stress here? I have some really good women that would make you think you were in heaven. Considering how you are one of our loyal customers, I'll make sure you get the best."

His foot was already out of the door. "I appreciate the offer, maybe next time."

"You always say that," Dale grumbled.

A.N: 1.7k words

Note: This entire fanfic is headcanon. So some stuff is going to be changed and added in as well. This isn't 100% canon-compliant.