After returning to Shadow Keep, Lucian went straight to Messmer's dark chamber.
He was preparing to return to the Lands Between soon, so Lucian wanted to see whether his brother-in-law had any thoughts about going back as well.
If he did, Lucian could take him to Stormveil and show him around.
After hearing Lucian out, Messmer rested one hand against his chin and lowered his head, sinking into thought.
After a while, Messmer shook his head and looked at Lucian.
"The Lands Between…"
"There is naught for me there any longer."
"The Lands Between… Tell me, what differeth they from this Land of Shadow now?"
"The Grace of the Erdtree hath long since departed. What cause, then, have I to return?"
"And besides…"
"I doubt I should find leave to depart, even were I so inclined."
Messmer tapped his fingers against the armrest and continued.
"Thou art quite concerned with Miquella, art thou not?"
"That fellow is not one whom we may simply leave be."
"I shall make pilgrimage throughout this Land of Shadow, and seek out every trace of his passing, leaving not a place unsearched."
"There is, besides, tidings concerning the whereabouts of Godwyn's Death Knights."
"In due time, I shall have the places marked upon thy map."
Lucian nodded and did not ask anything else.
His brother-in-law was still reliable.
Miquella really was a ticking time bomb. Until they found him, Lucian could never truly relax.
As for the Death Knights, Lucian was also very interested in finding them.
As long as he located the Death Knights, he should basically be able to follow the trail and find the places where they performed their rituals.
By destroying the rituals from both the outside world and the spirit world, the faded sun would gradually collapse.
As long as Lucian dealt with every single ritual site, the faded sun blocking the way outside the Lands Between would cease to exist.
Of course, the believers' dream of resurrecting Godwyn would also be shattered.
But what did that have to do with Lucian?
Not to mention, it wasn't as if Lucian wanted them messing around with Godwyn's corpse.
If Godwyn knew what they were doing, he might have had something to say about it himself.
Unfortunately, Godwyn had died too early and left no final words behind, so now he could only be forced into having no opinion whatsoever.
Since Messmer had his reasons, Lucian did not press the matter any further.
But after thinking about it for a moment, Lucian asked another question.
"What about your partner, the 'Twin Moon Knight'?"
"If she wants to go back, she can go back too."
"After all, both the Academy and Caria Manor are under my control now."
Caria Manor had not actually been taken over by Lucian.
It was simply that nobody was going there anymore.
Ranni herself had already abandoned her physical body and given up on restoring the Carian royal family, while Blaidd and Iji were both in Stormveil.
As a result, there were barely any living people left in Caria Manor now.
Lucian could practically make the decisions there himself.
In Lucian's opinion, perhaps it really was time for Rellana to go back.
As one of the few remaining relatives of her mother, Rennala, still in the Lands Between, perhaps returning there could bring about some change in her situation.
If they could guide Rennala's condition in a better direction before dealing with Radagon, that would be even better.
Faced with Lucian's question, Messmer's expression immediately became hesitant, as though he were struggling with something inside.
Rellana had already severed her ties with the original Carian royal family and drawn a clear line between herself and them.
Even though, in truth, her relationship with the Carian royal family remained harmonious, and she was still extremely close to her elder sister, the 'Queen of the Full Moon'.
But no matter how one looked at it, once she had made that choice in the past, there was no longer any place for her in the royal family.
The Land of Shadow was supposed to be a place that had to be sealed away completely, without leaving even the slightest trace behind.
If Rellana wanted to follow Messmer, then she had to abandon everything from her past.
Her identity.
Her status.
Her family.
All of it would remain forever beneath the shadow.
When Rellana chose to stay here, it should have meant that there was no road back.
…That was how it was supposed to be.
But the seal over the Land of Shadow had now been opened by a crack, reconnecting it with the Lands Between.
And now that circumstances had changed, perhaps there really was a road back after all?
After a long while, Messmer finally raised his head and made his decision.
"She… hath already severed her ties with the Carian royal family."
"And yet… perhaps she ought return, but once."
"…Aye. I shall ask it of her."
Once he said that, Messmer's usual composure returned. He repeated himself in a firm voice.
"Aye. I shall ask her what she thinketh."
"When thou art ready to set forth, I shall escort thee unto Castle Ensis."
"As fate would have it… thou hast yet to make her acquaintance as well."
Castle Ensis was the place where the Carian forces stationed in the Land of Shadow lived and made their home.
And Messmer's partner, the former Carian princess, the 'Twin Moon Knight' Rellana, also lived within Castle Ensis.
Lucian nodded and agreed.
"Alright."
"We'll let you know when we're ready to leave."
With that, Lucian turned and left, heading back toward his room.
He needed to make a few preparations and ask whether Irina and the others wanted to return to the Lands Between with him.
And on the way back to his room, Lucian also intended to take a look at the Miquella's cross Melina had mentioned, the one located on the fourth floor of the Specimen Storehouse.
That damn pretty boy really was incapable of letting anyone have a moment of peace.
As Lucian left the dark chamber, the doors slowly closed behind him, and the room once again fell into silence.
The Winged Serpents sensed their master's thoughts and hissed softly, their forked tongues flicking in and out.
Messmer stood up and looked toward the statue of Marika behind him, waves of emotion stirring within his heart.
By all rights, after being struck from the Carian royal family's records, Rellana would probably return to find that no one even recognized her anymore, let alone welcomed her.
But then again, deep down, Messmer wanted Rellana to return to her homeland.
No matter what happened, a homeland was still a homeland.
Even if it had become completely desolate, even if there was no one left there, it would still be a place tied to her most important bonds.
Not returning and being unable to return were two entirely different things.
For all this time, Messmer had carried a sense of guilt toward Rellana.
Unlike the warriors who had followed him and the Erdtree into the crusade, Rellana had come solely because of him.
Not only had the powerful 'Twin Moon Knight' herself joined the Crusade, she had also brought an elite contingent of Carian troops with her.
Among those soldiers were even several powerful and exceedingly rare Carian Knights.
This included Rellana's own attendant, the famous Carian Knight, Moonrithyll.
Although part of the Carian army had been dispatched by the Carian royal family for political reasons, Rellana herself had followed him entirely of her own will.
And in the end, she had fallen into the shadow alongside the seal, remaining here forever.
As a former Carian princess, Rellana had never actually needed to go this far.
The Moon and the Erdtree had been close allies. Important figures only needed to keep their identities secret, and her mother would never have detained Rellana.
When the crusade ended, she could have completely led her soldiers back to the Lands Between.
But in the end, Rellana had still chosen to remain here.
She had chosen him.
All the sorrow and all the curses should have been directed toward him alone.
Yet Rellana had willingly chosen to bear them alongside him.
Messmer sighed and sat back down.
After the Land of Shadow had been sealed away, he had understood Rellana's feelings perfectly well.
There was not much he could do.
All he could do was answer Rellana's love beneath the witness of this statue.
In the unknown and forgotten Land of Shadow, they had become partners, comforting and supporting one another.
But later, certain things happened that gradually made the pain in his heart even deeper.
Combined with all the trauma he had suffered before, it was far more than moonlight alone could ever soothe.
Perhaps too much time had simply passed.
Recently, he really had been somewhat cold toward Rellana…
——
Another ordinary day had arrived at Castle Ensis.
Nothing special.
Rellana lay sprawled across a table, resting her head on her arm as she stared blankly at the helmet sitting before her.
A glossy, smooth black braid lay across the helmet.
It had been given to her by her own elder sister, the 'Queen of the Full Moon' Rennala, when she had left home.
As she looked at the braid, its luster still undiminished, Rellana fell into a daze.
Before she knew it, so much time had already passed in the Land of Shadow…
Not only was there no longer any moon to guide her, but even the Erdtree itself had ceased to exist.
Now, even her own hair had grown out again. Perhaps it was even longer than her sister's had been back then.
Because she missed her sister so much, Rellana had learned from the way her sister used to wear her hair. After tying it up, she draped it over her shoulder so that it fell across her chest.
Did she regret her decision to leave back then?
Did she regret following Messmer and remaining here in the Land of Shadow?
Rellana asked herself these questions, but she could not find even the slightest trace of regret in her heart.
No matter how many times she were given the choice, perhaps she would still make the same decision.
Rellana had fought alongside her sister, and together they had ultimately established the Carian royal family. That family was incredibly important to her, and abandoning it had been difficult.
But a solitary figure had stolen her heart.
Messmer's powerful and heroic figure had drawn her gaze again and again on the battlefield.
Although he appeared completely fearless, deep within Messmer's heart was an overwhelming sadness, along with a fear of something.
Rellana could sense those emotions, so difficult to notice and deliberately hidden away by Messmer, and she was deeply drawn to them.
Rellana wanted to understand his sorrow and his happiness.
She wanted to heal him.
The Carian royal family believed in fate, and even the moon guided them along that path.
When Rellana was young, she and her sister Rennala encountered the moon together.
It was a pair of moons, overlapping and nestled against one another.
From that moment onward, their fates were drawn along by the moon.
But when it came to her own feelings, Rellana did not believe in fate.
Because she knew this was not some vague and ethereal guidance from destiny.
She had truly fallen in love with Messmer.
Rellana understood clearly that the moon's radiance could not heal the person beside her.
But she was unwilling to give up, even knowing that the road ahead would be difficult.
At some point, 'Sword of Messmer' had already become another name for her.
Looking at the braid that carried her sister's blessing, Rellana sighed.
Human emotions were truly strange.
Even when faced with feelings that could not be compared, feelings that were all irreplaceable in their own way, people could still endure the pain in their hearts and make a choice.
It was like a perforated cutting line.
In order to cut apart these faded feelings, all one had to do was trace the dotted line already carved into place with a fingertip, and without thinking too much, they could easily tear it apart.
As long as one hardened their heart and used words that made the other person seem like a stranger, they could slowly cut away yesterday's tears and sever the bond with the person they had once loved.
Suddenly, a sound came from the door, interrupting Rellana's moment of sorrow.
Rellana looked toward the door and listened carefully.
That familiar sound of armor clinking and those familiar footsteps could only belong to Moonrithyll.
She normally would not come to the study herself. Moonrithyll only came when there was someone requesting an audience.
There were not many people who would come looking for her in the Land of Shadow…
Could it be Messmer?
At the thought of this, anticipation immediately rose within Rellana's heart.
Rellana put on her helmet and stood up meticulously, waiting to receive her visitor.
There was a knock at the door, followed by Moonrithyll's voice from outside.
"Lady Rellana, Lord Messmer has arrived."
A smile appeared on Rellana's face, and she answered happily.
"Yes. I'll come out to greet him."
She strode to the door and pushed it open, finding Moonrithyll standing outside and waiting respectfully with her head bowed.
When Rellana came out, Moonrithyll straightened and followed half a step behind her.
As the two of them walked outside, Moonrithyll spoke.
"Lady Rellana, Lord Messmer did not come alone this time."
Rellana was startled.
Ever since the rebellion launched by the Black Knights, the sorrow already weighing on Messmer's heart had become even harder for him to bear.
Although Messmer had long since decided to shoulder the sins himself, the fact that his close comrades had turned their blades against him still inevitably caused him immense pain.
He had even come to see her far less often.
There was nothing Rellana could do about it either.
She had never expected Messmer to bring someone with him when he came to visit her.
Who could it be…?
Moonrithyll seemed to notice Rellana's confusion and took the initiative to explain.
"Accompanying Lord Messmer this time are his younger sister and her lover."
Upon hearing this, Rellana was completely stunned.
If her earlier anticipation had mainly come from the prospect of Messmer's arrival, then now her surprise was beyond anything she could have imagined.
After becoming Messmer's partner, Rellana had learned some things about what had happened to him.
They were not matters of glory, nor were they things worth speaking about openly.
Messmer had always felt sorrow over the power within him that did not truly belong to him.
As for his younger sister, that hidden child of Queen Marika, even Rellana had never seen her before.
No matter how one looked at it, she absolutely should not have been here.
Back then, she had not even been allowed to participate in the crusade. Queen Marika had kept her existence hidden throughout.
So why was she now appearing in the sealed Land of Shadow, and with a lover at that?
Rellana bit her lip, filled with questions, and hurried outside.
Outside the castle of Castle Ensis, the two finally reunited once more.
Messmer looked at Rellana, who remained as noble and pure as moonlight, and could not help but feel deeply moved.
Rellana had not changed in the slightest.
She was still just as gentle and elegant as ever.
What brought him the most joy, and at the same time caused him the greatest pain, was that Rellana's loyalty had never wavered.
Even before the crusade, she had participated in the Erdtree's ceremonial combat using a Carian thrusting shield, proving that she harbored no disloyalty toward the Erdtree.
Messmer stepped forward first and took Rellana's hand.
"I came to find you… my moonlight."
Lucian and Melina stood behind Messmer, quietly observing the two of them.
Neither of them had expected that one day they would actually hear words of love coming from Messmer's mouth.