The answer hovered at the edge of her mind, clear as morning frost. She could envision it now—standing before the assembled Carians, raising her left hand as Throne slid the Dark Moon ring onto her finger. A single gesture to silence every whisper, every doubt. But then the thought struck her like a cold breeze.
"Wouldn't that make it seem like I'm the one chasing him?"
Ranni shook her head, her pride bristling. Such a display was beneath her.
And what if, by some cruel twist, he dismissed it altogether? What if he said, "This is merely a superior-subordinate relationship. You're overthinking it"? Where would her dignity go then? The likelihood was slim, but Ranni wasn't Melina, charging headlong without a second thought. A sharp mind always accounted for the worst-case scenario. Contingency plans were her armor.
No, even if it succeeded, she'd lose her footing. She was the Queen of Caria, not some pawn. Wouldn't this make him the one in control? Yet the stalemate gnawed at her. The nuisance of others grew daily—Melina was one thing, but Lansseax? That woman dared to look down on her. Unbearable. Absolutely unbearable.
Her thoughts spiraled, crafting ten hypotheses, ten plans, each more intricate than the last. Between the calculations, she cursed Lansseax with every word she knew, her mind a whirlwind of outrage and strategy. Only the sharp rap at the door snapped her back to reality. What am I thinking?
She let her hands drop with a frustrated huff, turning to settle into the high-backed chair. Her hands rested on the armrests, her other two hands rising to pat her cheeks. The gesture brought her composure back, her icy demeanor restored.
"Come in."
The door swung open. Miriam stepped inside, bowing swiftly before presenting a thick stack of documents.
"Your Highness, the Academy's latest research findings. Your review is requested."
Ranni wasn't a novice; her mastery of magic often yielded insights even the scholars missed. But thoughts of Throne's antics outside stirred irritation, and she gestured vaguely to the side.
"Leave it there. Anything else?"
Miriam set the papers down and straightened.
"The Leyndell intelligence network reports expansion within the Nights Cavalry. They're even recruiting Omens."
Expansion was expected. This wasn't an age where a handful of heroes could alter the tides. The scent of war was thick, and power players moved accordingly. But Omens? That caught Ranni off guard. Those cursed beings had been exiled to the capital's sewers, hunted by zealous followers of the golden order.
She'd crossed paths with an Omen once. In hindsight, their strength far surpassed that of ordinary humans.
"Finally desperate, are they? What's the Church of the Two Fingers doing?"
Miriam hesitated, then answered. "They've been holding debates. Discussing whether honor can cleanse the curse. 'Fell Omen' Margit gave a personal testimony. He swayed many nobles, even secured funding for equipment."
Ranni smirked.
"A performance by the Two Fingers and Morgott."
Pressure bred motivation; short-term gains outweighed long-term consequences. In the Erdtree's prime, Omens were abominations to be eradicated. Now, with the Erdtree crumbling, they were expendable assets.
As for whether doing this would shake the foundations of the golden order in the future, that was no longer a concern. 'Black Blade' Maliketh had delivered the message to the Two Fingers. It made sense—Radahn and the Ancient Dragon's interference would spur contemplation. With the Two Fingers' transcendent authority, the debate was mere formality. Approval was inevitable.
Ranni tapped the back of her chair gently. These surface phenomena could not deceive her. The ones currently obstructing Morgott were actually those stubborn Golden nobles.
"Tell me, what movements do the Tarnished have?"
"Bishop of the Two Fingers Shimlei went to Stormveil. I heard he is going to meet the Roundtable, and he is accompanied by a Tree Sentinel."
"Starting a new stove? Or do they want to use the Tarnished to force the Golden nobles? It seems the Two Fingers have turned their attention back to Caria."
Ranni nodded again. Because of the return of the Tarnished, the Golden nobles were not irreplaceable, but she also remembered another matter. Throne had already planted seeds within the Tarnished, just waiting for them to take root and sprout. Could this be related?
"Keep an eye on him. Also, pay attention to the movements of the Roundtable Hold. There might be something there; these Tarnished are a hidden danger after all."
"Yes. Additionally, another bishop went to the northern Haligtree, presumably to investigate the movements of Malenia."
The Haligtree? Ranni was stunned for a moment.
Over the past ten years, the situation in The Lands Between had changed drastically, but the Haligtree had remained almost completely silent, as if it had submerged entirely. Investigating Malenia's movements should be correct, but the Valkyrie being involved with rot could no longer be tolerated by the golden order. Could they be trying to lure away the Haligtree Army below?
That was absolutely impossible. The Haligtree Army was loyal. Unless the Two Fingers could solve the Scarlet Rot, but that was also impossible; only Miquella could suppress it in this world.
"Keep a close watch on them too. Perhaps Elphael has secrets I don't know about."
Ranni let out a long sigh and thought of Throne's virtues again.
This man was always a step ahead, solving two major threats for her. If the Redmane, the Tarnished, and Leyndell were to unite, that force would be enough to flatten Liurnia. Now, as long as the Redmane didn't come, and if the Tarnished split again, it would be hard to say who would win against Leyndell alone. Forget it. For the sake of his ability to get things done, I will be a bit more tolerant.
Ranni finally cast aside her displeasure and said softly: "Miriam, go and urge War Counselor Iji. Throne is coming back. Prepare the gift for him; it has already reached the final stage."
Hearing that there was another gift to be sent, Miriam was not surprised at all, but hesitated for a moment and quietly revealed a smile: "Your Highness, how are things between you and Lord Throne?"
Miriam was loyal to Caria and had served for many years; she could be considered someone who watched Ranni grow up, so she had the qualification to ask. Ranni turned her head away and said vaguely: "Nothing much. He remains incredibly loyal to Caria. I am very reassured."
Why is your usual decisiveness absent when it comes to these matters? I wasn't asking about Caria.
Miriam felt quite helpless, and her still-charming face showed a hint of vicissitudes: "Your Highness, heroes do not lack women. Some things, once missed, can never be made up for. You should know my lesson."
"Miriam, I'm sorry to have reminded you of the past."
Ranni clearly knew the story and nodded slightly.
"It is all in the past. My future now only has Caria left, but you are different. You still have ideals and a future. Taking a step back in some matters might be better. At the very least, there is never such a thing as perfection in feelings."
The princess blinked, feeling that these words made some sense, but she didn't know how to respond, struggling with the pride and self-esteem in her heart. Without waiting for Ranni to answer, Miriam bowed again and quietly retreated.
As she closed the door, Moongrum and other knights were already waiting there.
"You spoke to Her Highness?"
"Yes, it's frustrating to watch. Her Highness is clearly a decisive person, it's truly baffling."
"She is a smart person, after all, so she always thinks too much."
War Counselor Iji poked his head out from the windowsill and said in a muffled voice: "And the constraints of the position of the Carian Queen make it difficult for her to lower her posture. Perhaps only when she is far away from The Lands Between will she let go of her disguise."
"It's all that Throne's fault. He has too much luck with women, causing Her Highness such embarrassment. Should we help out?"
"Darriwil, don't learn from that fool Blaidd. We are not qualified to interfere. Throne values old ties, I still have confidence in that." The Troll said seriously, forcing the Bloodhound Knight to hang his head.
"I'm just very unwilling. She is clearly infatuated with him, and yet he still goes around flirting!"
"This is all fate's arrangement. You can't blame Throne. Also, this is clearly jealousy on your part!"
Except for Miriam and War Counselor Iji, a group of Carian Knights turned their heads away. That's right, they were just jealous to the point of grinding their teeth. In their hearts, they had already cursed Throne to high heaven. If it weren't for the fact that this guy was too strong now, they would have beaten him up... Achoo!
"Damn it, who is cursing me again? It wouldn't be Maliketh, would it? So classless."
On the back of the flying dragon, Throne sneezed. Flying in the sky was just great. In a mere day, he had already crossed Limgrave and went all the way northwest along the coastline. Under his feet were surging waves, which reminded him of that shipwreck.
The Tarnished crossing the sea of fog must also be a journey of suffering. It's a good thing I came directly. Throne smiled smugly, turned his head, and saw Millicent had already leaned her head on his back and fallen asleep.
"Having a thick skin is a good thing. It's just a shame about such magnificent scenery." He shook his head and continued to shield the girl from the wind and rain.
Speaking of which, riding a dragon was not an easy task; if it were an ordinary person, they would have been blown off by the airflow long ago. Fairy tales are all lies. Where in this world are there dragon knights? Even if there were, they would use a different method to ride a dragon. The gale was blowing so hard that Throne couldn't even open his eyes.
Adula was still a flying dragon of not-too-large size; if it were an Ancient Dragon, sitting on it would already be very strenuous. If it were to perform stunts like rolling or diving, even a hero probably wouldn't be able to hold on. But then again, my relationship with dragons is getting deeper and deeper.
Lansseax goes without saying, and on this trip to Caelid, the ones he killed the most were flying dragons, especially that Greyoll. Previously, Throne's body was too battered to dare to try, but now that he had rested for more than a day and recovered most of his strength, his pupils involuntarily turned golden. The Dragon Heart beat powerfully, transmitting violent power to his whole body.
Just hearing a 'crack' sound, Throne looked down and saw that the protruding small horn of Adula had already been cracked by him. Roar—
The Glintstone Dragon roared unhappily. It was not just the aura; it felt like it had been pricked by a needle.
"Sorry, that was an accident."
Throne patted the dragon scales gently, making a dull thumping sound, and then slowly clenched his right fist.
The Dragon Heart increased by 20%, once again exceeding his body's limit. Throne felt his body begin to feedback pain. This was back to that old problem: too much flour and water, too much water and flour.
Since he was riding on the back of a flying dragon, he didn't dare to ignite his blood to experiment with extreme output. 'The dignified Mother of Dragons shouldn't just have the bonus of the Dragon Heart.' He thought for a moment, slowly closed his eyes, and followed the feeling similar to the glintstone crystal armor to mobilize his instinct, and then his eyes widened.
Woo—
Adula suddenly felt as if a mountain was pressing on its back, and its wings stopped moving immediately. It was feeling a bit terrified when it suddenly felt that sense of heaviness disappear.
"Hahaha, that's right, it's this thing. Greyoll's Roar." Throne laughed against the wind. This was an instinct completely different from Gravity Magic, leaning more towards the mental side.
It was about applying tremendous mental oppressive force within an area, making the enemy unable to move or terrified. It was more appropriate to treat it as an incantation. Besides the sound being a bit loud, it was continuous, and without a magic crest, it was very stealthy. Throne had suffered quite a bit at the time and spent a lot of cost to test the effective range. This is it.
Even if it is not as powerful as Greyoll's, it is quite suitable for me. He was laughing when he suddenly felt a dip beneath his crotch. The Glintstone Dragon was diving towards the surging sea surface.
"Don't be angry, I just forgot I was on your back!"
Forgot? Adula dived even faster. Damn it, calling you to experiment on someone's back! The shrill gale came head-on.
Throne looked at the coastline behind him. It wasn't exactly regret, he just waved his clenched fist. Radahn, you have to get well soon! In Sellia, the General put down the heavy log on his shoulder and looked up to the north, as if he had locked eyes with someone. The sound of iron boots stepping on the ground came, and Ogha approached with large strides.
He bowed and was about to report when he was stopped by Radahn's wave.
"Let me guess, has he left?"
"Yes, the border detected a Glintstone Dragon heading north, and it seems to be carrying someone on its back."
"Sure enough, I guessed he wouldn't come to Redmane Castle."
"Was he scared?"
"No, he just doesn't like an incomplete festival, and he doesn't want to leave any regrets."
Radahn wiped his face, but a smile appeared on his square face, "It just so happens that I don't like it either. Two incomplete heroes simply aren't worthy of an epic battle!"
Ogha moved his mouth, a bit confused as to why the General valued him so much. He remembered that the last time he wanted to fight with all his might, it was still the 'Valkyrie' Malenia.
"Then does the Radahn Festival continue?"
"Continue my ass. A chaotic battle ruined all my plans, and even the opponents I could take seriously have all left, including that Tarnished who can be used for practice."
Radahn cast his gaze outside the town, where a Tarnished was looking up at the sky. Needless to say, after receiving the news, Bernahl would also leave.
By the time they reached their level of strength, finding an opponent for a full-power battle was hard to come by; who would have the interest to bully the weak. The Starscourge General stood with his hands behind his back, looking a bit lonely. The enemies had either fled or died, and this loneliness had nowhere to vent, instead becoming pent up in his heart, making people panic.
"Damn it, it really makes me feel unhappy. That's fine, if I kill him, I'll always feel unhappy, thinking it's returning evil for good. If he cuts me down, I won't have any satisfaction either, always feeling like I took advantage."
Radahn cursed a few times, then covered his head, cursing damn it again. It was annoying that he got a headache whenever he got excited.
If a fight didn't set his blood on fire, if he didn't drink himself blind after victory—what was the point? Ogha saw the fever in his eyes and stepped forward.
"You don't need to do this. If he's an enemy, find a way to kill him."
"But he's a friend. No tricks, no lies—how do I repay honor with a knife in the back? That's not a man's way."
Radahn turned. His gaze hit the Redmane Knight like a hammer, wide copper-bell eyes driving Ogha's head down in shame.
"The flying dragons won't stir again. Don't poke them. Let the men below handle it. After today, don't bring me petty troubles."
He bared his teeth.
"I'll burn the Scarlet Rot from my veins. Six months—just six—and I'll stand whole again."
"Then him and me. No holds barred. A fight worth the name."
In Raya Lucaria, Carian Knights stood rigid in full plate, eyes locked on the horizon. Her Highness's orders were clear: welcome Throne's return with open arms. No skulking in shadows for their Chief Knight—let the gossips whisper about where he'd been.
On the city walls, the armor reflected light, and the soldiers stood tall, squinting at the sky. To most of Caria, their Chief Knight was a ghost—no face, no name, just the certainty of his strength.