Night fell.
Inside Luke's room, a figure suddenly appeared without a sound.
It was Katarina, who had already changed into a different outfit. In the dimly lit room, her eyes looked especially bright. At this moment, she was standing in front of the bed, staring fixedly at Luke as he slept.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
As she gazed at Luke's sleeping face, Katarina's eyes flickered faintly.
For her, this trip to Demacia had been an extremely special journey. Two sides that should have been enemies had instead lived together harmoniously in one courtyard.
Over these past few months, she had set down her anxiety, eased her exhaustion, and lived a relaxed life unlike anything she had ever experienced before.
There was no denying that her state of mind had changed greatly during this time.
If she had to describe it, this small courtyard was like a shelter from the storm.
It had given Katarina's constantly tense heartstrings a chance to loosen.
And all of this had begun when she met Luke.
This man was strange. His personality was completely different from the Demacians Katarina knew. He could even be described as lazy, sinister and cunning, quietly wicked, and extremely irritating.
But putting those things aside, there were countless shining points about him too.
He cooked well, he was good-looking, he knew many things, his strength was not weak, and his talent was an exceptionally rare kind of monstrous.
So many factors blended together to form the man currently lying on the bed.
If she had to say who had left the deepest impression on her during this journey, it was probably this man.
Life here really was quite nice. Unfortunately, it was not the life Katarina wanted.
Although she did feel some reluctance in her heart, she knew she had to leave.
Right now, she naturally could not stop. Noxus was being toyed with by the Pale Sorceress like a plaything, and her younger sister and mother were also constantly on the edge of danger.
Her most urgent priority was to rush back to Noxus.
After thinking for a long time, Katarina still decided to leave immediately and not delay any longer.
The next time she met this man, who knew when it would be, or whether they would even have another chance to meet at all.
Katarina herself did not know how much chance she would have against the Pale Sorceress when she returned to Noxus this time.
Perhaps this would be their last meeting.
Thinking this, she leaned down slightly, drawing closer to Luke's sleeping face. She considered herself someone who had no need for sentimentality.
Even so, she stopped at an appropriate distance. She only looked at him once from up close, then straightened.
After that, without lingering too much, her figure flickered and silently vanished from the spot.
In midair, a sheet of paper as light as a feather slowly drifted down and landed on the table.
The next morning.
The first ray of sunlight spilled through the window into the room, shining onto Luke's bed.
His eyelids trembled slightly before he woke up. At first, he was still somewhat sleepy, but after sitting up, he became a little more alert.
After stretching lazily, Luke only felt that this sleep had been extremely comfortable.
Then his peripheral vision swept over something and saw a note on the small table beside the bed. There were only two simple words written on it.
"I'm leaving."
He picked up the note and glanced at it, then looked out the window. "She left just like that? Without even saying goodbye."
Last night, he had indeed vaguely felt that someone had come into his room, but his sixth sense had not reacted, so he had been too lazy to wake up.
Thinking about it now, it had been Katarina.
Although she had agreed to stay a few more days, judging from this, after learning about the Black Rose, she had still been eager to return.
By now, she had probably already boarded a fleet heading east.
There was no banquet under heaven that did not come to an end. Katarina's personality destined her to never immerse herself in a comfortable life for too long.
Not to mention that she was still a Noxian.
So their parting had been expected. Luke was not surprised.
He simply did not know when they would meet again.
Luke got out of bed and stretched. Still, he believed they would definitely meet again.
He went downstairs. No one else had arrived yet, but Yurna was already awake. In the kitchen, there was already a pot of hot water ready.
After Luke woke up, he could drink a cup of hot tea at any time.
At the moment, she was outside the courtyard, gently sweeping the ground. The broom made a soft rustling sound, which was not unpleasant to hear.
After seeing Luke wake up, she first put down the work in her hands and brewed him a cup of tea.
One had to admit that as a maid, Yurna was absolutely top quality.
Although she often wore a cold, pretty face, she could understand Luke's needs right away. Her combat ability was also not weak, and when it was time for her to contribute, she never held back in the slightest.
Up to now, Luke did not even know how many life-and-death situations she had followed him through.
She had even accompanied him onto battlefields. As a personal maid, she was simply too perfect.
Recently, Luke had been considering whether he should give Yurna a raise, but she never seemed to have asked for one.
She worked hard without complaint, and even Luke's black heart felt a little unwilling to keep going like this.
At this moment, Yurna was holding a cloth and wiping down a cabinet nearby.
"Yurna."
Sitting on the sofa, Luke took a sip of tea and spoke.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Yurna stopped what she was doing and turned her gaze toward Luke. Her voice was like a secluded orchid, carrying a natural coolness.
Luke said, "You don't seem to have taken a vacation in all this time. There shouldn't be much going on for the next while, so I'll specially grant you a week of leave. Paid leave. Whether you want to rest, go relax, or do anything else, it's up to you."
After he finished speaking, a clear trace of confusion flashed through Yurna's violet eyes, as if she had just seen a black-hearted boss suddenly raise wages.
"Don't look at me like that. I just feel you've had it pretty rough all this time."
Luke waved his hand and said, "If you feel tired, say so. As your boss, I'm still very considerate."
Hearing this, Yurna's face remained expressionless, and she bowed slightly. "Your Highness is overthinking it. I am very satisfied with my current situation."
"Is that so?" Luke glanced at her, unable to see anything from that beautiful face that showed not even the slightest expression. He then said, "Then what about the vacation? Do you need it?"
Yurna answered calmly, "Not really."
"All right. Carry on."
Luke decided to continue drinking tea. It was obvious that she truly did not need it much.
Hearing this, Yurna continued wiping the cabinet. However, the corners of her mouth curved into a faint smile.
That smile was like color being added to a gorgeous painting, beautiful beyond compare.
There had not been a single false word in what she said. She really was very satisfied with her current life.
Half an hour later.
A burst of footsteps came from outside. Luke looked over and saw Fiora, dressed in white, slowly walk in.
"How is your mother?"
Luke asked casually.
"She's recovered. What happened yesterday frightened her so badly that she kept jumping at every little thing. She couldn't even eat properly."
Fiora walked over, sat on the sofa, and spoke as she did.
Not long afterward, Yurna brewed a cup of hot tea for her.
After nodding slightly in thanks, Fiora lifted the teacup and took a gentle sip. She could not help praising, "Yurna's tea-brewing skills are becoming more and more refined."
The temperature was suitable, the fragrance returned after entering the mouth, sweet with a faint bitterness, and the flavor was wonderfully endless. Aside from the tea itself being good tea, the person brewing it also needed some skill.
After all, though the tea leaves were good, adding too much would make it bitter, while adding too little would make it somewhat weak.
Then there was the temperature of the water, and the amount of water used as well.
Luke smiled faintly. "Of course. Look whose maid she is."
Fiora glanced at him and sneered. "Certain people really know how to put gold on their own faces."
"You still need gold to put there in the first place, don't you think, Yurna?"
Luke acted as if he had not heard the mockery at all.
Yurna was wiping the table and responded, "Yes. It is all thanks to Your Highness's excellent teaching."
Fiora looked at Luke with disdain, then looked helplessly at Yurna, her gaze seeming to say, "You really do spoil him."
Before long, another burst of footsteps sounded outside.
This time, quite a few people came. First, the sisters Kahina and Sona walked in together, followed by Quinn and Poppy.
They had probably met halfway and come over together.
"Good morning, Your Highness!"
Kahina greeted Luke full of energy.
"Good morning. You're in a good mood, Kahina."
Luke looked over and greeted her as well.
"Hehe, because I got promoted."
A small hint of pride appeared in Kahina's expression.
Her performance yesterday had also been extremely outstanding, and the rewards had come down that very night. Not only had she officially become a knight, she had also become a knight squad leader.
She now had the qualifications to command a ten-person squad.
This promotion speed could be said to be extremely fast. One had to remember that she had only passed the assessment to become a knight-in-training not long ago.
Now, in one leap, she had become a knight squad leader, and she had not relied on her family's connections.
"Congratulations."
Luke smiled, sincerely happy for her.
He still remembered when he had first met this girl. She had said her dream was to become a great knight.
Now, she was already moving forward steadily on that path.
At that moment, Kahina let out a puzzled sound, looked left and right, and asked, "Where's Lux?"
"Lux?"
Luke followed her gaze and looked around.
Then, in the next second, Miss Crownguard stepped out from behind the corridor wall leading to the living room. She puffed out her chest and called out in a full, energetic voice, "Good morning!"
If one observed closely, one would notice that this girl's earlobes were red, and her gaze did not look toward Luke at all.
"Good morning."
Luke smiled and greeted her, looking her over. It was not hard to see that she was somewhat awkward right now, completely unlike her usual natural self.
The reason was easy to guess.
"Hmph."
Lux saw that annoying smile of his and snorted, not planning to pay him any attention.
At this moment, she looked around and asked, "Where's Katarina?"
"She left last night. Something urgent came up. She went back to her homeland."
Luke gave a simple answer.
"Ah, we didn't even get to say goodbye."
Lux, Kahina, and the others all felt somewhat reluctant. After all, they had spent so much time together, yet they had parted without even saying goodbye.
It was a little too sudden.
This inevitably made them feel as if something was missing.
"In any case, it was something especially urgent. She asked me to say goodbye to all of you for her, then left that night."
As Luke spoke, he stood up.
Everyone had basically arrived, so it was about time to prepare breakfast. Frey would not come over. Right now, she still had to deal with matters at the mage camp.
Outside the city, Luke had organized a group of kind-hearted mages, as well as a mage camp. Frey, who understood magic relatively well, had always been acting as the instructor there.
Now that Jarvan III had pardoned the mages, the mage camp naturally no longer needed to stay hidden and could openly appear before everyone.
Because of that, the mage camp could also be relocated.
Luke went into the kitchen and got busy, while the girls in the living room sat down and began chatting.
Luke prepared an especially hearty breakfast today, and everyone ate quite contentedly.
Miss Crownguard kept her head down and focused on eating the entire time. Her fork kept moving rapidly as she shoved food into her mouth. It seemed that after the pressure in her heart disappeared, her appetite had broken through to a new level.
When it came to appetite, Luke had always admired her.
Back when she had things weighing on her heart, she had already been able to eat that much. Now that nothing was weighing on her, how much more could she eat? He did not even dare imagine it.
In short, as long as Lux was around, there was no need to worry about failing to clean every plate.
After breakfast, some washed the plates, some wiped the table, and some swept the floor. Everyone divided the work in an orderly way, and they were soon finished.
By now, the sunlight outside had also grown brighter, clear and dazzling.
Luke prepared to go lie down in the front courtyard for a while. In the back courtyard, Fiora, Kahina, Poppy, and Quinn had already started morning training.
Now that the Mageseeker issue had been resolved, Quinn no longer needed to constantly travel outside. She could properly rest for a while.
Sona was practicing the etwahl inside the house.
In the front courtyard, Luke ran into Miss Crownguard, who was also preparing to lie down for a while.
Their gazes met. Lux instantly thought of last night's embarrassment. When she saw Luke open his mouth, she immediately raised her little hand and blocked him.
"Stop! I know what you're going to say, but please don't say it!"
To put it bluntly, at this point, if Luke so much as lifted his backside, Lux knew exactly what kind of fart this awful jerk was going to let out.
She stared tightly at Luke, her little gaze extremely serious.
Sure enough, Luke closed his mouth. However, in the next second, under Lux's watchful stare, he restarted his mouth. "I just feel..."
Only four words were enough to make goosebumps crawl all the way from Lux's scalp to the soles of her feet. In that instant, she even wanted to die.
But in the next second, Lux's eyes flashed fiercely. Killing intent spilled out, and her bright eyes locked tightly onto Luke.
Even if she had to die, she would die after this peerlessly awful jerk!
"You are my sworn enemy!"
After shouting these words through gritted teeth, Lux directly took out her staff, looking as if she were about to fight to the death.
Since this guy could not forget, then she would use physical methods to help him forget!
Facts proved that one should never repeatedly test the bottom line of a little blonde.
The matter finally came to an end only after Luke ran in front of the great Lady Augatha.
Or rather, he escaped disaster.
The murderous Miss Crownguard wilted in front of Augatha like a little lion that had lost all its air, becoming obedient in an instant.
Augatha speechlessly glanced at the two troublemakers causing such a scene first thing in the morning, then said, "You two came at the right time. Go tidy yourselves up and prepare to enter the palace."
"Enter the palace? Why?"
Lux withdrew the vicious look she had been aiming at Luke and looked curiously at her mother.
Augatha had no intention of answering and said casually, "Don't ask so many questions. You'll know once you go."
In reality, there was naturally a reason to enter the palace.
After all, such a major event had just happened yesterday. In the short term, the aftershocks caused by this matter could not be calmed down.
Lux had performed exceptionally yesterday. As a mage who had summoned the colossus outside the city, there was naturally a need for her to make a trip to the palace.
Likewise, when Luke went this time, he also had to bring Quinn, Sona, and the others with him.
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