"Mohg?"
As the bright moon rose into the sky, Rellana hitched up part of her long skirt, tied it into a knot at her waist, and rested her hands on her hips. She looked toward the silhouette standing a short distance away.
"It's me."
Hearing the familiar voice, a smile involuntarily spread across Rellana's face.
"Looking at your attire, you were supposed to be attending the banquet. How do you have the time to accompany a 'lonely old soul' like me?"
"A lonely old soul?"
Rellana blinked, momentarily stunned by the term, but she quickly grasped its meaning and let out a soft laugh.
"You hardly count as a lonely old soul, do you? Whether it's your subordinates or your... 'fair-weathered confidantes,' I imagine you have quite a few."
"Confidantes? You flatter me far too much."
Mohg shook his head with a chuckle.
"With a face like mine, not many people are willing to get close to me... and I don't mean the way I look right now."
Seeing the slightly peculiar look Rellana gave him, Mohg added the explanation. He was well aware that his current appearance was strikingly similar to that of his eldest brother, Godwyn.
"Fine, I'll take your word for it for now."
Rellana sat down directly beside Mohg. At that moment, a gentle breeze swept past, sending her shoulder-length black hair fluttering. Under the silver glow of the moonlight, the scene was exceptionally ethereal.
Mohg slowly sat down beside her.
"...Do you truly intend to board my 'rogue ship'?"
"This is the first time I've heard someone refer to their own faction as a rogue ship," Rellana replied, clearly amused by his phrasing.
"Is it not?" Mohg offered her a smile. "You must realize that Caria has already allied with the Golden Dynasty through marriage. For you to jump over to my side—a faction openly hostile to the Golden Order—is that not the definition of boarding a rogue ship?"
"Hmm... you make a fair point. Tell me, if I were to capture you right now and turn you in for a bounty, how much could I get for you?"
"Well..." Mohg adopted a mock-serious expression. "At the very least, a Princedom. A Dukedom, if they're feeling stingy."
Rellana covered her mouth and laughed.
"You certainly have a high opinion of yourself."
"Of course, Your Highness." Mohg gave her a formal knight's salute while seated. "But in all seriousness, Rellana—are you sure?"
He sat back down as her giggles subsided, asking the question again.
"You've asked me that many times already, Mohg."
Rellana leaned back slightly, closing her eyes to enjoy the breeze against her face.
"I have. But I want to ask one last time because you still have room to refuse. You can remain here as the Twin Moon Princess of Caria. There is no need for you to face the pursuit of the Golden Dynasty alongside the Blood Dynasty, or to one day find yourself at odds with your own sister."
"Would you truly make an enemy of my sister?" Rellana asked, opening her eyes to look directly into his.
"...I cannot give you a definitive answer, Rellana. I am the Sovereign of the Blood Dynasty; I must think for my subordinates and my people. I can only promise that I will not do anything too extreme to your sister."
"That is enough. You kings are all the same—my sister is like that, and so are you."
Rellana looked down, a faint, gentle smile playing on her lips.
"Besides, Caria has never been of one heart with the Golden Dynasty. What we desire is the continuation and prosperity of the Royal Family."
"I understand."
Mohg nodded. In other words, Caria was a faction that knew how to judge the situation. While it might sound like they were "fence-sitters," it didn't mean they lacked backbone; they simply chose the path that best suited their interests. If the time came when they had to give their all, the Carian Royals wouldn't choose to live in shameful obscurity.
"So, your answer, Rellana?"
"I've already said this much, and you still ask for an answer? You really are..." Rellana gave him a helpless look.
"Yes. I want to hear the words."
"Fine. My answer is: I'm joining. My King."
Rellana reached out a hand toward him.
Mohg looked at her, understood her intent, and let his lips curl into a smile. He took her hand and pressed a light kiss to the back of it.
"Welcome aboard, Princess of the Twin Moons. Now that you've truly boarded my rogue ship, there's no getting off."
"I'll take that seriously, then. Don't you dare try to kick me out later."
"Never. I've been waiting for you to join for a long time." Mohg shook his head emphatically.
"By the way, regarding that 'Blessing' of yours... if I accept it, will there be any side effects?"
"None. I have already mastered a portion of the Formless Mother's authority within the Lands Between. Specifically regarding Grace, I can perform some of the feats that a God can—such as bestowing and rescinding it."
"What? The Formless Mother doesn't mind you doing that?"
Rellana was visibly shocked. In a sense, he was digging out the very foundation of a God's power!
"Actually, I'm quite surprised myself. But She truly doesn't seem to care. In fact, She seems to support me, as if... as if She has been waiting for someone to take over Her position."
Mohg narrowed his eyes as he spoke.
"Regardless, let's not dwell on that for now. In short, if you want to receive the Blessing, it will be the Blessing of a Blood God—me. I filter the power through the Formless Mother, process it through my own body, and then infuse it into yours. For you, there will be no side effects from the Cursed Blood."
"To think such a good deal exists... Speaking of which, is your hair red because of this?"
"This? It seems so. My hair was black before I made contact with the Formless Mother." Mohg lifted a strand of hair near his temple and glanced at it.
"Do Omens even have hair? I recall those I've seen were mostly..."
"I am an exception. You can think of us as the royalty among Omens. There are many differences between us and the rest of our kind."
"In that case, you must have many Omen subordinates?"
"A few, but not many. For one, those wandering outside are hard to track. For another, I cannot touch those in the Capital's sewers just yet."
"Why is that?"
Rellana looked confused. Since Mohg was Omen royalty, she assumed he would want to help his tragic kin living in the sewers.
"There are even more terrifying things buried beneath the Capital's sewers. Having those Omens there acts as a deterrent to those with ill intentions."
"What kind of things?"
"The Frenzied Flame."
Rellana's pupils contracted. She clearly knew exactly what that was.
"Like the things that appeared in our eastern Lake District recently?"
"Wait... the Frenzied Flame appeared in the Lake District?"
Mohg was momentarily blindsided. He had no idea about the situation in eastern Liurnia. Since the Carian-Golden alliance, he had retracted his forces in the region, causing the Blood Dynasty's intelligence network there to weaken significantly.
His primary reason was that he felt only the Carian Royals, the Golden Dynasty, and the Academy required his attention. Everything else in the Lake District seemed trivial.
In his memory, the outbreak of the Frenzied Flame in the Lake District shouldn't have happened so early. It was supposed to occur after the Shattering began, when the Golden Dynasty's power waned and all sorts of monsters crawled out from the shadows. Only then was the Frenzied Flame meant to quietly emerge and fester in secret.
Yet now, it was making moves right under everyone's noses.
Is Shabriri insane?
Mohg couldn't wrap his head around why Shabriri was stirring the pot so early. The Golden Dynasty was currently at its peak strength. To provoke them now didn't match the style of that old schemer.
Unless... unless he had a reason he had to act now. But what could it be?
"Yes. A Frenzied Flame incident occurred in the eastern Lake District. My sister has already handed the matter over to Radagon. I imagine the Erdtree Church's Inquisition will be dispatched for an investigation and to assassinate those involved."
Rellana answered his question and gave him a brief rundown of the events.
After listening, Mohg was certain this was Shabriri's handiwork. The individual who escaped was likely the vessel Shabriri had chosen for himself.
"Hmm... based on the location, he has nowhere to go but Limgrave. I'll keep an eye out for him."
"Oh? You're surprisingly invested in this," Rellana said, looking at him with surprise. Leaving the flame alive would usually be a good way to distract the Golden Dynasty so they wouldn't notice the Blood Dynasty.
After all, the threat the Frenzied Flame posed to the Erdtree was unprecedented—even greater than the Giants' Flame of Ruin.
"The Frenzied Flame is the enemy of all life. On this matter, I stand on the same side as the Golden Dynasty. I might want to use them to distract the Golden Order, but those fanatics of chaos likely want to use me for the same thing."
Mohg nodded and explained his stance.
"I must say, I'm starting to see you in a new light," Rellana remarked with a sigh. Initially, she worried that someone who worshipped the Formless Mother might have lower moral standards, but it seemed she had been wrong.
Then again, if he were truly like that, she probably wouldn't have chosen to follow him.
What Mohg didn't tell her was that he could currently contact Morgott and Godwyn. If necessary... the Blood Dynasty could even cooperate with the Golden Dynasty on this specific issue.
They could wipe out the remnants of the Frenzied Flame together. Even if the Erdtree Church was reluctant, they would have to swallow their pride and obey an order from Godwyn.
This was thanks to Godfrey's "upbringing." He had established a fine tradition during his reign: if someone didn't want to listen, he'd "discuss" physics with them. He was quite literal about beating sense into people. Even if your argument was more logical, it didn't mean you'd escape the beating—at most, he'd just hit you a little softer. That was the limit of his mercy.
"What's next? When do you plan to take me to the Dynasty?"
"Hmm? Such haste? Shouldn't you stay here until your sister's wedding is over?"
"That's the plan, but once Radagon is around, I'm not sure how easy it will be for me to leave..."
"Is he going to stop you?"
Mohg laughed, but then a thought struck him. He looked at Rellana with a mix of surprise and uncertainty.
"Wait... you're not planning to bring your subordinates with you, are you?"
"I am. Is that a problem?"
Rellana tilted her head at him. Mohg was momentarily speechless. He hadn't expected her to bring an entire army.
"Of course not! It's actually fantastic! Though, your concern makes sense now. Moving a unit like the Silver Moon Knights is no small feat..."
Mohg frowned as he calculated the logistics.
"How about this? Have Sellen and the others lead people over in small batches first? Then, finally, you can come over with Sellen and Kay?"
"That could work... but I need to go back and arrange things. I'll let you know tomorrow."
Rellana looked up at the moon.
"I finally have a moment to rest today. I don't want to worry about this and that anymore."
Mohg paused, then pushed the concerns from his mind.
"If the Princess says so, how could I, as your subordinate, not ease your burdens?"
Mohg reached into the void and pulled out a flagon of fine red wine.
"Wait here. I'll go catch some local specialties to grill. Drinking alone is boring. I'll let you taste my cooking while I'm at it."
"The King cooks personally? Now I'm truly interested."
Rellana couldn't help but let out a genuine smile.
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