Whenever that simple thought surfaced, a faint, indifferent voice would always seem to echo in Melina's heart, coldly telling her, "No."
The one who was truly unfree, the one bound in chains, was actually herself.
If Nolan could see the thoughts hidden in Melina's heart, he would probably laugh and tease her.
"Hiding it well? Young lady, you're thinking far too much. If you want to learn how to act, I can teach you."
The moment the two of them stepped onto the stairs, Nolan suddenly heard a series of heavy, powerful footsteps approaching from afar.
He could not help turning his head toward the sound.
"Lord Iji, it really has been a long time."
The Troll War Counselor was striding in through the main entrance. He gave a slight nod.
"Mm. You've finally returned, Lord Nolan. Go on ahead. I'll take care of things here."
After a brief exchange, Nolan turned and led Melina toward the upper floors of the Mage's Tower.
They soon arrived at the lift. After waiting a moment, they stepped onto it together.
Before entering the room, Nolan deliberately paused to straighten his armor, then reached out and pushed open the tightly shut door.
As their eyes lifted, they saw that night had fully fallen outside. A bright full moon hung high in the sky, and soft moonlight like flowing water quietly spilled over them.
The whole room was silent. It was so quiet it almost felt as though one could hear a heartbeat.
Her Highness the Princess seemed a little nervous.
A faint, mischievous smile flickered across Nolan's face, but the next moment he forced the corners of his mouth down and put on a serious expression.
He turned his head, his gaze passing through layers of shadow until it finally settled on the high-backed chair, where a familiar figure sat quietly.
Ranni was seated atop a pile of books, wearing a broad hat with its brim lowered just enough to hide most of her face, leaving only a faint glimpse of her outline.
Soft moonlight streamed in through the window and fell gently over her, as if draping her in a thin layer of silver frost, making her look almost dreamlike.
She seemed to be dozing. Nolan thought he could hear a faint snore. She must have been exhausted tonight.
It was rather adorable, and such a sight was rare. The bad man quietly admired it without making a sound to disturb her.
Unlike Nolan, who was wholly absorbed in admiring Ranni's sleeping face, Melina remained alert the entire time.
She stared fixedly at Ranni, missing nothing.
"So this is Ranni?"
As mysterious as the stars, as powerful as the moon.
But her breathing was clearly a little uneven. She had obviously just gone through a fierce battle.
And there also seemed to be a subtle trace of attention emanating from that body, quietly gathering on the man beside her.
Watching this strange scene, Melina's confusion only grew, and in the end she could not help turning to Nolan.
In a soft voice tinged with puzzlement, she asked, "Now that you've met, why aren't you saying anything?"
"Do you know what it means to be of one heart and mind? Never mind. This is adult business. Children shouldn't worry about it."
Nolan gave an annoyed snort.
Of course, despite saying that, he did not really treat the person before him as some ignorant child.
From what he knew, the siblings were not young at all.
Messmer was Radahn's elder brother, so Melina naturally could not be much younger. By that logic, she was even Ranni's elder sister.
But compared to her thoughtful, deeply calculating younger sister, this elder sister seemed somewhat more innocent.
And in the world as it was now, that innocence was precious. It was also what Nolan liked most about her.
"I'm not a child at all."
Melina immediately huffed in dissatisfaction, then quickly turned her head aside in a pout.
At the same time, she crossed her arms tightly over her chest, clearly putting on the look of someone who had no intention whatsoever of paying attention to those two oddballs.
At that very moment, the Demigod seated in the high-backed chair slowly raised her head.
One eye opened on that delicate doll-like face, and without a word she shot Melina a fierce glare.
The atmosphere had been perfectly good, and now Melina had ruined it. How infuriating.
The hostile look was extremely well hidden, but Melina, who had learned from the Black Knife Assassins, caught it at once.
Not only was she unafraid, she glared right back.
This really was just children sulking. Did the two of them have to be this cute?
Nolan not only made no move to stop them, he watched with obvious interest. It was simply too amusing.
"Nolan, thank you very much for saving Adula."
That sounded rather distant.
Nolan glanced at Melina beside him and immediately understood why Ranni had chosen those words.
In front of an outsider, she had to preserve the dignity of the Lunar Princess.
"It was only what I should do."
"Who is she?"
"This is Melina, a companion I met in Limgrave. She helped me find Torrent again. Don't you know her?"
"How would I know her?" Ranni shook her head, a trace of confusion in her eyes.
She could not understand why her knight would ask such a question.
Seeing Ranni's reaction, Nolan understood at once.
Melina's existence truly was mysterious. No wonder there had been no place for Messmer and Melina among the thrones beneath the Erdtree.
Sensing that the girl was still staring at her, Ranni felt a little helpless.
After observing her just now, it was clear Nolan had not been lying. The person before her really was as simple and innocent as a child.
Perhaps she really should be a little more tolerant and understanding.
But Melina might be childlike. Nolan certainly was not.
"My knight, you have finally returned. I have waited far too long for this day."
Why did those words sound so much like a pout when they reached the ear?
Sharp as ever, Nolan instantly caught the faint grievance hidden in her tone and hurried to reply.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for waiting so patiently, and for specially sending Blaidd out to look for me."
"After meeting him, I returned to Liurnia at once, only so I could see Your Highness as soon as possible."
Ranni lowered her head slightly, and the broad brim of her hat happened to cover her face completely.
After a brief silence, she spoke softly.
"You... actually, you did not need to hurry so much. I know you have your own matters to attend to."
"It was only because Blaidd happened to be idle and bored, so I gave him something to do."
Her cool voice drifted out from beneath the oversized hat, while her hands had already clasped tightly together without her noticing.
"That didn't look like boredom at all."
Nolan thought back to the grief and indignation written all over Blaidd's face when they met.
If Nolan had not thoroughly beaten him first, that guy would never have stopped so easily.
Still, he had to admit it. Sometimes direct honesty really did work on proud, awkward people.
Moonlight still fell quietly upon the earth, illuminating everything around them.
Beneath the wide Snow Witch Hat, Ranni was already on the verge of losing control of her expression.
This foolish knight had actually dared to say something so blunt in front of so many people. It truly left her at a loss.