"Did Lord Becklinell have a connection with Sir Rigyes?" Mohg asked, looking at the butler leading the way.
"Indeed. My lord and Sir Rigyes were brothers-in-arms on the battlefield," the butler replied. "However, Sir Rigyes was chosen to become a Carian Knight, while my lord was required to return and inherit the family fief due to his noble obligations. He was unable to participate in the selection of the Carian Knights—it remains the greatest regret of his life."
"How did Sir Rigyes die?" Mohg asked with a nod.
"Did Lady Rellana not tell you?"
"She did not. She merely mentioned that this armor suited me well and said little else."
"I see..." The butler let out a faint, pensive sigh, pausing briefly before continuing. "Sir Rigyes fell during the war against the Academy. He died under the combined assault of the Academy's sorcerers, though the Academy paid a heavy price for his life: two professors from the Twinsage Conspectus, one from the Haima Conspectus, and one from the Olivinus Conspectus."
"It is said that even when his armor and body were riddled with wounds, Sir Rigyes never once collapsed during the battle. He gripped his weapon firmly until his very last breath. After his passing, Queen Rennala herself ordered the recovery of his remains and his panoply. Sir Rigyes's armor was repaired and reforged as a memorial... and now, it has been bestowed upon you."
As he finished speaking, the butler cast a strange, unreadable look at Mohg. It made Mohg's skin crawl slightly. To be honest, he hadn't expected this armor to carry such a heavy legacy. When Rellana had given it to him, she had acted as if it were a casual gift.
Then again, just how old was Rellana? Mohg fell into deep thought. He decided he didn't want to dwell on that particular detail and turned back to the butler.
"If it holds such sentimental value, why would Lady Rellana just give it to me?"
"That, I do not know. Perhaps you should ask the Lady herself." The butler shrugged and opened the large doors behind him. "Well then, the teleportation gate is here. Lord Becklinell has already activated it for you. You need only touch it."
Mohg nodded and offered his thanks. He stepped up to the gate and reached out to touch the shimmering surface. Suddenly, he realized he had forgotten something very important.
He had forgotten to ask where exactly this gate led!
Flash—!
It was too late to ask now. Blue light engulfed his vision, drowning his senses. In a burst of radiance, Mohg vanished from the spot.
"My Lord, the Knight has departed."
"I see." Becklinell walked slowly into the room from the outer hall.
"Do you not intend to ask Lady Rellana about this?"
"There is no need. If Her Ladyship deems this man worthy of the armor, that is enough. Rigyes surely wouldn't want the panoply he wore through a lifetime of war to sit uselessly in a warehouse forever."
"Whew... I'm still not quite used to that..."
Recovering from the dizziness of the teleportation, Mohg steadied himself by pressing a hand to his forehead. He looked around and let out a sigh of relief upon finding himself in a familiar room. He pushed open the doors.
Two Carian soldiers stationed outside the entrance stiffened visibly when they saw someone wearing Rigyes's armor emerging. They quickly stepped forward to block his path.
"Identify yourself!"
"Gwyn, a soldier under Lady Rellana's command. I have returned from a mission assigned by the Lady herself. Here is my token." Mohg produced the identification token Rellana had given him earlier.
One of the guards took it, inspected it thoroughly, and nodded. "You have worked hard on your mission."
"As have you. Where is Lady Rellana now?" Mohg asked, realizing he had been transported to the Church District of the Gate Town.
"Her Ladyship has been inside the Academy and hasn't come out yet."
"My thanks."
Mohg set off toward the Academy. Along the way, people saw his distinct, Carian-style armor and made no move to hinder him. After a cursory check of his token, he was allowed entry into Raya Lucaria itself.
They didn't even bother to verify his face under the helm. Mohg found this somewhat incredible; it meant a spy could easily infiltrate the place using this method, as the token didn't technically "recognize" the person holding it. However, what Mohg didn't realize was that his token had been personally signed by Rellana; hence the unusually lax security.
With all the green lights along the way, Mohg soon found Rellana in her office, where she was handling the Academy's recent recruitment activities.
"My Lady, I have returned."
"Hm? So soon? That's quite unexpected." Rellana looked up, having assumed the footsteps belonged to one of her personal guards. A look of genuine surprise crossed her face when she saw Mohg.
The Knights of the Cuckoo were useless at many things, but their ability to run away was top-tier. She had expected Mohg to have to chase them all the way to Limgrave to finish them off. She hadn't expected him to resolve the matter so smoothly.
"To be honest, finishing off those Cuckoos so quickly has slightly disrupted the plans I had for you," Rellana said, setting down her pen and lacing her fingers together as she looked at him. "The medal—did you bring it back?"
"I did." Mohg stepped forward and handed over the medal, along with the wealth he had seized from the Cuckoo knights.
"Keep the Runes for yourself. As for the weapon I promised... I will take you to get it later, but not right now." Rellana turned the Cuckoo Knight's medal over in her hand, inspecting it before shifting her gaze back to Mohg. "Kuzun."
"Yes, My Lady." Mohg straightened his posture, assuming a formal stance to receive orders.
"Since you've disrupted my schedule, you can spend the coming days helping me handle these administrative affairs and organizing the Academy's materials."
"Huh?"
Mohg was dumbfounded. He was fine with fighting, but handling paperwork? That was well outside his field of expertise!
"It's settled then. I have other business to attend to, so I'll be going now. I'm leaving this in your hands."
Before Mohg could even get a word out, Rellana vanished from the room with incredible speed, leaving him with nothing but a view of her retreating back.
Finding no way out of it, Mohg turned his gaze toward the desk behind him. It was piled high with a mountain of documents.
His expression instantly turned bitter.
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Elden Ring: As the Consort, I Reject Miquella (400 Chapters – Ongoing)
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