Lucian chatted casually with Ranni as he searched for the historical records he wanted.
After sharing a few things at the beginning, Ranni gradually ran out of stories to tell.
After all, she had spent the majority of her existence asleep, so it naturally turned into Lucian doing most of the talking.
He mostly recounted things that had happened during his travels and adventures.
Every so often, he would also adapt a few stories from his previous life and tell them as well. These left Ranni genuinely surprised.
After all, the things from Lucian's world were completely inconceivable in the Lands Between, even after being "localized," they still sounded wildly exaggerated.
But Ranni wasn't as pure and simple as Melina. She herself had already lived through what could only be called a legendary life.
So when hearing these baseless, originless tales, she simply treated them as amusing diversions.
After searching around without results, Lucian was about to move on to another bookshelf when he noticed a delicate little box on the shelf behind Rennala.
The small box sat alone in a single compartment of the shelf, spotless and immaculately kept.
Lucian glanced around. He couldn't find any other boxes like it in the Grand Library.
So… what could be inside this one?
Oh dear, oh dear, what a mystery indeed…
So this little box must be holding Ranni's wedding ring, right?
The size certainly looked about right for jewelry.
This box required a special key to open, so for now, it couldn't actually be unlocked.
Still, Lucian reached out and gave it a light touch, trying to see if it would open.
Naturally, his movement caught Ranni's attention.
Floating in the air, Ranni watched him for a moment and began trying to recall what exactly was stored inside that box.
It seemed her mother had once told her it was an important item meant for the future Carian princess…
Wait… huh?
Wasn't that the wedding ring her mother had prepared for her?
Ranni's expression stiffened.
What the... her mother had really kept that thing all this time?!
She had clearly said before that her dark path had no need for a companion!
Back when Ranni first saw the ring, she had even personally engraved words upon it—declaring her rejection of the Empyrean fate, and of the king that destiny would force upon her.
Seeing Lucian examining the box, the composure on Ranni's face finally cracked.
If Lucian truly decided to force it open, she probably wouldn't be able to stop him. She had to make him abandon his curiosity immediately.
Ranni cleared her throat lightly in midair.
"Ahem. Thou wouldst do well not to lay hand upon the belongings of another, so lightly."
Based on her understanding of Lucian, he was someone with strong morals and proper etiquette. Once she said that, he surely wouldn't continue trying to open it.
Sure enough, after Ranni spoke up, Lucian stopped fiddling with the box.
Still, he knowingly asked her anyway:
"Sorry, I was just a bit curious. It looks like this box has been kept in the Grand Library for a long time."
"I couldn't help wondering what's inside."
Ranni opened her mouth, her expression stiff and awkward.
She hurriedly brushed it off.
"Within lieth… somewhat my mother did prepare."
"I doubt there shall ever come a day wherein it is meant to be laid bare."
Lucian nodded.
Ah, so it's a mysterious relic left behind by the Queen of the Full Moon—Not something like the cold contractual ring of the 'Moon Princess' Ranni, right?
—A large ring shaped like the dark full moon.
Originally, it was the cold contract ring that "Moon Princess" Ranni was meant to give to her partner.
Even though Lucian couldn't obtain the ring right now, Ranni's loss of composure was delicious enough on its own.
After teasing Ranni just a little, Lucian returned to searching for the materials he wanted.
Ranni, meanwhile, let out a quiet sigh of relief and began reflecting on herself.
She really could've just said nothing earlier, why had she gone along with his question so naturally?
Her thoughts drifted back to the faint glimpses of fate she had seen before.
Could it be… that things like destiny truly existed?
No, no... better not think about that.
Time slowly passed. Lucian and Ranni had already searched through most of the library, yet still found nothing.
Even Ranni began to suspect that there truly was some hidden secret at work here.
This was far too abnormal.
Suddenly, Ranni noticed something strange on one of the bookshelves.
In one compartment, there was a hidden recess, concealed unless revealed through magic.
And the design was incredibly refined, so much so that even a sorceress of her caliber had nearly overlooked it.
Ranni floated closer to inspect it, then slowly widened her eyes.
This wasn't just clever craftsmanship—
This looked like her mother Rennala's handiwork.
Ranni immediately took action, deftly lifting the seal on the hidden compartment and opening it.
But as the compartment opened, her brows knit together instead.
Because it truly was a seal set by her mother.
Without the connection between the moons, Ranni might not have been able to open it at all.
Inside the recess was an object covered with a white cloth embroidered with the symbol of the Erdtree.
From the corner that was visible, it appeared to be a heavy stone slab.
There was hardly anything better than stone tablets when it came to recording history.
Ranni took the slab out of the hidden compartment, a faint premonition rising in her heart.
It seemed… they had finally found it.
Holding the stone tablet, Ranni floated down toward Lucian below.
"I have come upon a thing most singular."
"This was sealed away by my mother, within a secret recess, and marked so subtly as to escape the eye," Ranni said.
"If naught untoward hath come to pass, this should be the very thing thou didst seek."
Lucian looked up. When he saw the stone slab Ranni was holding, his eyes lit up with delight.
"That's perfect. There's no way I could've found where it was hidden without you."
"I might've searched for ages and still come up empty."
Ranni drifted over to Lucian's side and extended her hand, passing him the heavy stone slab.
"After so long a search, even I find my curiosity stirred as to what lieth writ within."
"Come, then, let us look upon it together."
Lucian nodded. Only after Ranni floated behind him did he reach out and lift the white cloth away.
But the moment the cloth embroidered with the Erdtree sigil was removed, a dense lattice of interwoven golden lines appeared before his eyes.
In the next instant, a violent burst of golden light erupted, stabbing straight into Lucian's vision.
Lucian immediately sensed danger and shut his eyes, but it was already too late.
The face of a handsome red-haired man appeared out of nowhere in his mind.
Ranni's father—Radagon.
Radagon cast an emotionless glance at Lucian, then raised the stone hammer in his hand.
Bang!
The hammer crashed down, and Lucian's soul shuddered violently. An indescribable agony tore back and forth across his spirit.
'Radagon! You bastard, you set me up!'
Since transmigrating into this world, this was the first time Lucian had ever suffered damage to his soul.
Compared to this pain, all previous injuries felt trivial. This was true, unmitigated damage—no resistance, no mitigation!
Radagon's phantom hadn't disappeared yet. He was already lifting the hammer again, preparing for another strike.
The worst part was that Lucian had never even considered a situation like this before. He had no countermeasures at all.
In the midst of the pain, something pressed gently against his forehead.
In the next moment, a cold, dark moon appeared within Lucian's consciousness.
Seeing this, Radagon's phantom froze, the stone hammer suspended in midair.
But Ranni's dark moon had no intention of sparing him.
Frost spread rapidly across Radagon's form, encasing him completely. Then, along with the phantom itself, the frozen figure shattered into pieces.
From the moment Ranni's power intervened, Radagon's phantom never moved again, allowing her to erase it without resistance.
After the phantom vanished, the cold dark moon continued to radiate frigid air.
Yet that chilling power steadily soothed the damage inflicted upon Lucian's soul.
Before long, the countless fine fractures in his spirit had been largely healed.
Lucian opened his eyes, only to find Ranni's face right in front of his.
At that moment, Ranni had her eyes closed, her forehead pressed against his.
Sensing that Lucian had mostly recovered, Ranni opened her eyes as well.
Their gazes met.
For a brief moment, the atmosphere turned inexplicably awkward.
After a while, Ranni silently drifted backward.
But clearly, she wasn't as calm as she looked—she even bumped into the bookshelf behind her.
Seeing this, Lucian quickly spoke up, giving her an easy out.
"Thanks for stepping in just now. Otherwise, I'd be in for a rough time."
Ranni turned her face slightly away and replied:
"Ahem… 'twas naught. The one thou didst see but now was he who forsook my mother—my good-for-nothing sire, Radagon."
"Seeing it was his design, I was bound to intercede, be it at any cost."
"Matters touching upon the soul are ever knotted and abstruse. The posture thou didst witness was but the most expedient."
"Think no further on it."
"Nay, thou shalt put from thy mind all that hath just transpired. Forget it utterly."
Lucian nodded, solemnly swearing that he had already forgotten everything.
If Ranni hadn't intervened in time, his soul would've suffered lasting damage, and it certainly wouldn't have healed so quickly.
Getting smacked by his future father-in-law's hammer wasn't really a big deal in the end.
Even if Radagon had landed a few more blows, he couldn't have killed Lucian across space like that.
And besides, there was cuddling involved.
Not only was it not a loss, it was a massive win.
Ranni shook her head, looking somewhat vexed.
"Tch… I looked not to find that knave of a sire leaving aught such as this behind."
"I ought to have given it scrutiny ere now."
"Such an assault would scarce have troubled me; yet for one such as thee, unversed in the lore of the soul, it was burden overgreat."
At the moment the attack had been triggered, the defensive wards engraved upon Ranni's soul had automatically blocked it.
That allowed her to free up her power to deal with the phantom threatening Lucian.
"Radagon…"
Lucian muttered the name, increasingly convinced that this piece of history concealed something major.
And it was almost certainly tied deeply to the Golden Order, likely some dark secret deliberately buried by the Golden Lineage.
It was clear that although Radagon had left a trap behind, he had also wanted someone to uncover this history.
After all, something with a physical form like this was easy to deal with—carry it away, destroy it, either option worked.
It couldn't possibly be that Rennala had preserved it specifically because it bore Radagon's imprint… right?
Lucian picked up the stone slab covered in interwoven golden sigils.
Though he'd taken a hit earlier, since Ranni could handle it, there was no need to be overly cautious.
This time, no attacking phantom appeared.
Still, some lingering power remained on the slab. When Lucian stared at it, he felt a faint stabbing pain in his mind.
The sensation wasn't strong, maybe it could even be used later as a tool to train the soul.
But for now, it was better to focus on trying to unravel the seal.