Since they had been in Caria for quite some time, and the Aozaki sisters had brought many positive changes to the Kingdom of Caria, their reputations had steadily improved across the entire realm. Even the royal mages, loyal to the crown, held great respect for these two sorceresses from the outside world.
To be more precise, even Ranni's attitude toward Aoko had become more affectionate. At the very least, she now spoke in riddles and nonsense far less often in Aoko's presence.
"...Who told you I was leaving the Lands Between?"
Ranni gave Aoko a baffled look. Now that she had regained her physical form, her strange four-armed body was gone, making her appear even more delicate and lovable.
"Huh?" Aoko scratched her head and said, "I heard you wanted to escape the control of the Two Fingers, leave the Lands Between, and pursue your laws of stars and moon. Isn't that right?"
"...Half right," Ranni said as she took a sip of her warm drink. "Back then, I was desperate to break free of the Two Fingers' control. My mother was also in a confused state of mind, so I wanted to just give up and leave. But now…"
"I get it," Aoko nodded. "Now you're still the princess and heir of Caria. Your mother has recovered as well. So compared to venturing into the cold, unknown cosmos, staying here is more free and comfortable, right?"
"Hahaha, everything sounds so vulgar and blunt when it comes out of your mouth, Aoko~"
At that moment, Touko walked over and sat beside Aoko, teasing her sister.
"...Sigh," Ranni sighed weakly. "Honestly, I used to think that way. But after learning the truth about the Mother of Fingers and the Greater Will from you…"
"I understand, I understand. It's that sudden feeling of disillusionment, like 'punching a pillow', right?" Aoko said with a mischievous grin. "The Greater Will doesn't care about the Lands Between at all. Everything was handled by its subordinates. Now that this subordinate has been dealt with, your old life goal has changed, hasn't it?"
"Something like that," Ranni said in resignation. "Anyway, Caria will remain an independent kingdom in the end, because neither Messmer nor the Tarnished can restore the Golden Order."
"You're that sure?" Aoko asked curiously. "Isn't Queen Marika still inside the Erdtree?"
"Hmph, Marika is doomed," Ranni sneered. "She was the vessel of the Elden Ring, yet shattered it and betrayed the Fingers. There's no way she'll end well. There must be a backup plan hidden in the Ring and the Great Runes. And right now, there's still one last pair of Fingers left inside the Erdtree."
Aoko and Touko exchanged glances, but neither commented on this, as it didn't concern their interests.
"You should be cautious of Messmer," Aoko said seriously. "Though we've worked with him for a long time if he receives orders from his mother Marika, he won't hesitate to attack the Kingdom of Caria."
"What Radagon couldn't do, that guy won't be able to either," Ranni shook her head. "My mother has regained her strength, and I'm no longer bound either. Messmer is no threat to me."
"Saying that...won't it make your Aunt Rellana uncomfortable?" Touko teased. "It must be hard choosing between your beloved and your family?"
"It's not the first time anyway..." Ranni muttered. "Whether it was Radahn or Rykard, they both abandoned the star-and-moon of Caria. We're used to that by now."
"Speaking of Radahn..." Aoko hesitated, then said, "Regardless of the circumstances, the two of us still took part in the battle against him... We want to apologize to you for that."
"No need," Ranni said firmly. "Whatever Rykard may have been, Radahn severed ties with the Caria royal family long ago. My relationship with him wasn't even as close as the one I had with Godwyn."
Aoko looked confused. She didn't recall Ranni having a bad relationship with Radahn…
"Speaking of which, since you fought Radahn, did you notice his armor?" Ranni suddenly asked Aoko and Touko with a mischievous tone.
"If I recall...it was golden lion armor with a red cape," Touko replied after thinking. "Is there something wrong with it?"
"Oh yes, a lot," Ranni said with a wicked smile. "On his cape were images of the Erdtree, a lion, and a water lily—but no star and moon of Caria."
I see, Aoko thought to herself, now understanding why Radahn sealed the fate of the Caria royal family. He was aligned with the Golden Order and naturally didn't want the star-and-moon-aligned Caria dynasty to gain momentum and threaten the throne of the Golden Order.
But... a water lily?
"Let's ignore the Golden Order symbols for a bit," Ranni said, lowering her voice as if gossiping. "Do you know what the water lily represents?"
"A water lily... is that Miquella's?" Aoko said thoughtfully. "Don't tell me..."
"Exactly!" Ranni grinned. "My strongest demigod brother had a promise with that pure gold Miquella when they were young."
"What kind of promise?" Touko asked curiously.
"A promise between a king and a god," Ranni said with a mocking smile. "In the eyes of the beautiful Miquella, my brother was his Promised Consort~"
Gasp!
Aoko was quite shocked by this gossip. That beastly man Radahn liked someone like the effeminate Miquella?!
The Lands Between really were far too open and free...
"...So Miquella's wish is to replace Marika and become the god of the Lands Between?" Aoko asked. "But doesn't he know that even Marika was under the control of the Fingers?"
"Who knows," Ranni said indifferently. "Maybe he just doesn't care. I've never been able to figure out what that pair of siblings are thinking."
Aoko fell silent, sipping her tea and pondering the implications hidden in Ranni's revelations. Even though she was planning to take Touko and leave soon, she still wanted to witness the ascension of the new monarch of the Lands Between.