Trolls appeared outside the building, the Glintstone Dragon circled in the sky, and Ranni's body tensed up. Naturally, she didn't think Throne was going to murder her. Seeing the heavy sword on the ground, she slightly parted her small mouth:
"Baleful Shadow, you..."
"I visited Nokstella earlier; this is a gift I brought back for you." He spoke with a calm smile.
"You went to Nokstella???"
"Yes, and this second gift is this."
Throne pulled out a piece of luxurious white paper with gold edges—a document. Ranni took it in confusion, and then she froze.
The first document was written by Throne, explaining what had happened at the Ainsel River and his conjectures regarding the Two Fingers' movements. Breaking the seal, Astel, Astel, Naturalborn of the Void, and using the secret treasures of the Eternal City to lead toward Caria—no matter how one looked at it, it was a startling conspiracy.
The second was a covenant, an alliance between the Nox and Caria, with both parties agreeing to advance and retreat together.
Comparing the two items, it wasn't hard for someone of Ranni's intelligence to see that Throne had exploited an information gap to fool the Nox. Originally, these matters were only directed at Caria—no, at her. To think he had done so much without a word...
Ranni placed her hand on her lower abdomen, her heart feeling quite warm. She finally knew why he had been so meddlesome.
This man always brought her surprises, settling her troubles silently. If not for him, she would have been in big trouble this time. She inadvertently let out a smile, striving to maintain her coldness and dignity:
"Thank you for your hard work, my knight."
"At your service."
Time passed, and the two remained in perfect sync.
Melina watched them back and forth, feeling that the two were very strange. Then, she felt it wasn't worth it for Throne; such a great contribution was summarized with just a single sentence of thanks, so she opened her mouth.
You better shut up! Throne glared fiercely at Melina. If he fought for rewards, why wouldn't he have stayed with Godrick? Believe it or not, within half a year, he could have overthrown his superior and become the Lord of Stormveil.
"Princess, 'the tree wants to be still but the wind won't stop.' We must make preparations early."
As for why the Two Fingers acted, there was no need to ask. Whether it was sooner or later depended on the threat Caria posed, and the cards in Ranni's hand were almost too many to hide.
"Yes, at least we have the initiative and can handle things more calmly. I will consider it." Ranni nodded, but then turned her attention back: "But now, the issue between you and her is more important."
Throne had shown his value once again, and Ranni was even more reluctant to let go. Her attention was not diverted. Smart people are indeed hard to deal with.
Seeing that his scheme hadn't succeeded, Throne could only stand there and prepare to face what was coming.
"First question: why does she follow you all the time?"
"It's a characteristic. Melina exists between the living and the dead and needs a medium..."
"Meaning she's similar to a Spirit-Caller Snail?"
The analogy was a bit strange. Throne nodded slightly: "Pretty much."
"I see. I will find a way to peel her away from you." Ranni touched her index fingers together.
As soon as she spoke, Melina, who had been dazing out, immediately refused. "That's impossible. On what grounds do you interfere with our deal?"
"Everything is possible for me. Besides, this won't affect your deal. You can do what needs to be done; there's absolutely no need to stay on Throne."
"No."
"Then give me a reason. If it's to take you to Leyndell, using another vessel would be the same, and perhaps even more flexible in battle."
"No means no."
Melina shook her head without giving a reason, just like when she agreed to Throne's request—not a single word could be changed. The two women stared at each other, neither willing to back down.
After a moment, Ranni simply ignored her and turned her gaze toward Throne, who was looking at the scenery.
"My knight, what do you say?"
"Ah, well, I think either way is fine." Throne really didn't know how to answer. Melina was just stubborn.
"But our opinions are not unified, so you need to decide." Ranni said seriously, giving him no chance to be slippery.
"Right, on what grounds does she interfere with the deal between the two of us?" Melina also looked over.
With two gazes fixed on him from front and back, Throne felt his head throb, his intuition screaming a warning. Ranni was smart, Melina was obstinate—neither was easy to provoke. Moreover, he wasn't some Elden Lord who could suppress them with authority.
How was he supposed to solve this death-trap of a question???
He glanced out of the window, signaling War Counselor Iji to save him, but the Troll only gave him a look that said "I can't help you" and immediately slipped away. Adula flapped her wings and let out a joyful roar.
These bastards who leave others to their fate. Throne was furious.
He gritted his teeth and coughed lightly: "I think dealing with the threat of the Two Fingers is more important right now."
"The two are not in conflict. Or rather, this would allow for more tactics." Ranni crossed her legs and looked at him leisurely.
"Princess, sometimes it's quite nice to play dumb."
The witch smiled, feeling a sense of retaliatory pleasure: "Sorry, I'm naturally incapable of that."
Throne looked back and forth, silent for a long time, already envisioning a bloody scene. He couldn't handle Ranni and Melina. If Sellen came back and the three met, wouldn't that be the end of him?
His thoughts wandered for a moment before he immediately reeled them in.
How should he solve the current problem? Silence? He probably couldn't get away with it.
There was only one way.
Throne took a deep breath and performed a knight's salute.
"I have a proposal. If Your Highness feels uneasy, I request that you bestow a doll for tactical guidance. That way, when I carry out missions in the future, I can use the power of both of you."
He chose the Qishang Fist—wasn't Ranni worried about him being poached by Marika or having bad things said about her? Personal supervision should work, right?
Audacious, a counter-move. Ranni's eyes widened instantly. "You dare bring that up!?"
......
Inside the Unnamed Magic Tower, the glintstone lamps cast a soft glow. The ancient bookshelves remained, along with various experimental materials and a collection of books.
Throne had studied magic here and learned his survival skill, Starlight movement. Without this magic, he would have died a hundred times.
Initially, moving once would leave him half-dead from exhaustion, but now he was gradually becoming proficient, and moving seven or eight times was no problem.
Throne sat in a reclining chair, resting his leather boots on the desk in front of him, thinking back to the deadly meeting earlier that evening. The more he thought, the more somber he became.
While it hadn't reached the point of jealousy, it far exceeded the scope of "caring for a subordinate." If it were any other Carian Knight, Ranni would have long ago placed them under surveillance to check for betrayal.
It seemed Ranni trusted his judgment, yet she was very displeased that he had brought Melina back.
"Difficult, difficult." Throne rubbed his throbbing temples.
Today, he had used a move that hurt both sides to finally fool his way through, but the problem remained unsolved. He couldn't exactly run to Ranni, rub his hands like a fly, and ask: "Princess, do you want to develop a beyond-professional relationship with me?"
Believe me, he would die a miserable death.
"Ranni is absolutely unwilling to be humiliated in front of Melina. That's why I was able to fool her. Sometimes speaking without thinking is also an advantage."
He recalled the evening—why Ranni had let him off. It was because she was afraid Melina would say something shocking and leave her unable to save face. Melina was a blockhead, but not an idiot. By the end of that question, she had become a bit suspicious.
This was hardly the relationship between a demigod and her knight.
That wasn't all. Throne thought of another difficult woman.
"If Master were present today, wouldn't I have died even more miserably!"
He began to simulate Sellen in his mind.
The latter would definitely be calmly fanning the flames from the side, eventually saying something like:
"Your feelings remind me of the descriptions of love in books."
"Don't make excuses. You are essentially pursuing a male. I don't object; in fact, I'm quite interested."
"I want to see if a demigod can give birth, and if Spiritual species have a reproductive system."
Throne shuddered and jumped up instantly, pacing back and forth in the magic tower.
No, I absolutely cannot let these three meet, or I will die a very miserable death.
He seemed to see the flames fanned by Sellen burning fiercely, a Dark Moon coming at him, and his lower back aching faintly. When Ranni and Melina became angry out of shame, Throne had no confidence in surviving.
"What are you muttering about?" Melina climbed up from the bench, just in time to see the somewhat anxious man.
"I carefully thought back just now. Your relationship with that Lunar Princess is very strange. Could it be, as the Nox say, that you are her Consort?"
Talk about touching a sore spot.
Throne looked over fiercely and replied: "Of course we aren't just a simple monarch and knight relationship."
"But the Lunar Princess tried her best to hide it, though her methods were too clumsy." Melina had an amazing intuition and tilted her head slightly. "I want to know why?"
Because she's a Tsundere, and not only is she out of date, she's also likely to become a losing heroine.
Throne naturally couldn't answer like that, so he asked casually: "What if I am?"
"Understood. I'll go apologize to her then. I still understand basic etiquette." Melina stood up immediately.
"Come back!" Throne's veins bulged. Melina's effect on treating low blood pressure was even better than Sellen's. "I was just joking, don't take it seriously."
"Oh, but I heard that you can't just make these kinds of jokes; it's easy to lose your life."
"Hmph, Ranni wouldn't have the heart to kill me."
Melina tilted her head and thought for a long while before finally understanding the meaning of those words, so she stood up again: "I think I should still go apologize to her."
"Come back, come back."
Throne pulled Melina back and pressed her onto the long bench. "Fine, don't you worry about this. What do you think of Ranni's proposal today?"
Melina the Blockhead was quite easy to fool; her attention was diverted instantly. "She's wary of me."
"You noticed?"
"Do you think I'm stupid?"
Throne looked at her seriously, first shaking his head, then nodding: "You're not stupid, just a bit of a ditz."
"You!" Melina almost jumped up to give him a stab, taking several deep breaths to calm down. "Why didn't you tell me those secrets?"
"Knowing too much won't do you any good." Throne walked behind the desk, poured a cup of water, and raised the glass. "I'm someone who likes to be drenched in the blood of enemies, but I don't like making my friends suffer. When the time is right, I will tell you everything."
"Friends?" Melina nodded as if she understood but didn't quite. She didn't understand Throne's thoughts, but she knew this man must have his reasons and never disappointed anyone.
"Anyway, what do you think of Ranni's proposal today?" Throne asked subtly. He knew the Princess wouldn't give up.
Ranni couldn't afford to have someone tied to Marika anywhere near him, no matter the reason—public or private.
"Wasn't that issue already resolved?"
"Heh, she just backed off for now. With Ranni's temper, she'll find a way to twist it back. I just countered her for a moment."
"That doll?"
"Yeah, Ranni hates humiliation more than anything—ah, forget I said that. I didn't say a word."
Melina's gaze lingered on him, but she tucked the comment away. She sounded casual, almost indifferent. "You're refusing to take the doll with you?"
"Nonsense. One death-trap question is bad enough. If I had both of you at my side, I'd lose my mind." Throne set the water cup down with a clink, hands on his hips, and snorted.
"Then I agree to her proposal."
"Wait—what did you just say?"
Throne stared at her, his brow furrowed.
Melina met his gaze, unflinching. A faint smile ghosted across her otherwise impassive face.
"This is the spirit of fairness in a contract. I won't be an unwitting conspirator. Mutual trust with the Lunar Princess benefits you too."
"Bullshit contract. You just want to retaliate, don't you? Who taught you to scheme like this?"
"I didn't realize you were so petty."
"Wrong. This is fairness and justice in action."