Dawn Castle.
Tianna finished reporting the situation on the northern frontier to Jarvan III. After dragging the conflict out for so long, those savage tribes from the Freljord had finally chosen to retreat back into the Freljord.
After receiving word from the capital, Tianna had rushed back as quickly as she could.
She walked out of the castle, looked up at the clear blue sky, then sat in her carriage and took in scene after scene along the streets.
For a moment, Tianna felt as if she had only gone out for a single trip, yet by the time she returned, the entire era had suddenly changed, and the change was so immense that it left her stunned.
The Demacia she had left behind and the Demacia before her now felt like two entirely different places.
The harmless smile of a certain prince flashed through her mind. Tianna let out a breath, lowered the carriage curtain, and closed her eyes in thought.
Some time later, the carriage slowly came to a stop.
Tianna, who had just returned from the border and had not even gone home yet, had come first to the front gate of Luke's home.
After stepping down from the carriage, she immediately saw Luke lounging leisurely in a rocking chair in the courtyard.
Hearing the movement, Luke opened his eyes, sat up, and smiled brightly. "Aunt, long time no see. Welcome back."
Seeing this boy, Tianna walked forward with a stern face and stretched out her large hand.
Luke instinctively dodged.
"You brat."
However, Tianna only patted Luke on the shoulder. "Before I left, I had a feeling something would happen. I never thought that one moment of inattention would be enough for you to stir up such a huge commotion."
A faint smile appeared on her face. "Still, you did well."
In the blink of an eye, this little brat had already grown to the point where he could change the course of a coup.
Even that girl Lux's growth was shocking enough now.
Back then, the two brats skipping classes at the Royal Academy had each been hauled back by one of her hands. Now they had both grown to the point where they could stand on their own.
Tianna could not help feeling gratified.
"I originally planned to come back and give you a proper lecture. But I know you have your own ideas. From now on, go ahead and do what you want. I'll support you from behind."
As Tianna spoke, she patted Luke's shoulder again, looking at him with pleased eyes.
Luke smiled. "Thank you, Aunt."
"Send some over to House Crownguard later. I barely had any chance to drink while I was away this time." Tianna smiled, no longer intending to say anything else, then turned and left.
From the first time she met this boy, an instinct had told her he was no simple person.
The facts proved that her instincts had not lied.
She did not know what Luke planned to do next, but she knew this boy seemed to have already thought through many things in his heart.
What she had to do now was simply support him from behind.
Thinking about it that way, it was actually quite relaxing. At the very least, with them around, it seemed she no longer had to worry too much about Demacia.
Time soon reached the afternoon.
A carriage from the Research Institute arrived and stopped at the courtyard gate.
Maylee leaped down from the carriage, ran into the courtyard, and found Luke lying in his chair, basking in the sun.
"Your Highness, the director asked me to call you over. The rails have already been laid, and they're preparing the first trial run."
Hearing that, Luke opened his eyes.
Beside him, Lux, who had also been lying on a rocking chair, opened her eyes at the same time and asked curiously, "Rails? What rails?"
"A kind of track for an iron carriage to run on. They're already trialing it this quickly?"
Luke pondered for a moment, then sat up. "It's about time to let you all have a look. Get ready. We're going out."
Those words immediately aroused Lux's curiosity. She knew Luke and the Research Institute had been working on something, but she did not know much about the specifics.
This guy had also been acting mysterious and refusing to explain anything.
Was he finally willing to reveal it now?
After a simple round of preparations, Luke and the others boarded the carriage and set off toward the Research Institute.
Inside the carriage were Fiora, Poppy, Quinn, and Kahina. The girls were all curious about the Research Institute they were about to visit.
About an hour later, the carriage slowly stopped at the entrance to the Research Institute's development base.
On the road there, the group had also noticed something rather new. From the entrance, a long line of iron rails stretched outward.
They had noticed it very early on and had been quite interested.
The rails extended an extremely long distance, and no one knew where the end was.
After the group stepped down from the carriage and entered, they soon saw Wenward and the others walking toward them.
Once everyone greeted one another, Wenward led Luke and the others to where the train was currently located.
By now, this iron carriage had already been modified into something extremely refined. Whether it was the overall shape of the carriages or the front of the vehicle, it used an arrowhead form that conformed to dynamics and aerodynamics. The outer shell was white-gray, the carriages were firmly connected to one another, and wind shields had been installed between them.
At present, there were only three carriages, and they had not reached the length Luke remembered. Each carriage was only about eight meters long, and even with all three carriages plus the locomotive connected together, the total length was only around thirty meters.
Even so, before everyone's eyes, it was already a massive steel beast.
Lux and the others, seeing a train for the first time, all widened their eyes slightly and stared at it in a daze.
"So this is the... iron carriage you were talking about?"
Lux had not expected that after all this time, what Luke and the Research Institute had been making was this thing.
"More or less."
Luke's eyes were also full of admiration. He looked at Wenward and asked, "There are basically no problems anymore?"
"Basically no problems anymore."
Wenward confirmed it once, his tone carrying a trace of excitement. "We already conducted a round of testing while laying the rails. During this period, we have also been constantly testing the iron carriage's stability. At this point, there should basically be no unexpected issues."
Hearing this, Luke nodded and climbed the stairs into the carriage. Seats had been installed inside, and the clean windows allowed the scenery outside to be seen clearly.
Behind him, Lux, Fiora, Poppy, Quinn, and Kahina also boarded the carriage and began examining the interior structure.
"Your Highness, if there are no problems, then the train's first trial run is about to begin."
Wenward stood outside the carriage and spoke to Luke.
Luke nodded. "All right. It can start at any time."
Wenward gave a look to two subordinates standing nearby, and the two immediately boarded the front of the train. They seemed to be the drivers.
Wenward and the rest of the researchers then boarded the three carriages separately.
After a period of waiting, the buzzing sound of steam rang out, accompanied by a burst of clanking movement.
Everyone's mood could not help growing slightly tense.
"Will this thing be very fast once it starts moving?"
Lux sat upright in her seat and asked Luke, who was sitting beside her in a casual posture.
Luke thought for a moment and said, "It'll probably be very fast. You'd better hold on tight. Once this thing starts moving, it'll shoot straight out. If you don't hold steady, you'll be flung directly to the back of the carriage."
"Really?"
Whether it was true or not, Lux believed him. She stretched out her small hands and gripped the handrail tightly.
The other girls did the same. As the iron carriage shook, their moods could not help growing even more nervous.
"Bzzzz."
After two loud sounds, the train officially started. With a clanking rhythm, it followed the rails and set off forward.
However, the body of the train only shook slightly. After that, throughout the rest of its movement, it stabilized. No matter how much it accelerated, the inside of the carriage remained safe and steady.
Only after Lux realized that the scenery outside the window had begun changing rapidly did she come back to herself. Just now, Luke had clearly been deliberately scaring them.
She let out a slight breath, too lazy to pay him any attention, then widened her eyes and focused on watching the scenery flash past outside the window.
"How fast is this? Also, where are we going?"
Fiora, who was relatively calm, could not help speaking up at this moment.
Wenward answered, "The destination is the Research Institute on the other side. During this period, we have basically all been staying at the research base and rarely returned to the Research Institute. The distance between the two places is about thirty kilometers. If traveling by ordinary carriage, it would take at least more than three hours. But with the train, we estimate it will arrive in thirty to forty minutes."
Fiora nodded. That explanation was not difficult to understand.
Just by looking at the speed they were currently traveling, Wenward's words were almost certainly true.
This saved at least more than two hours.
It had to be said that this product called an iron carriage was indeed astonishing enough.
The rails had not been built on the city roads. Instead, they took a slight detour and were built mostly through uninhabited areas.
No wonder they had not drawn much attention.
Luke spoke at this moment. "This is only a trial run, and it's only the first generation of the train. If there are no problems with the trial run, rails will be formally built inside the city to provide convenience for those who don't have vehicles of their own. As for the train's long-term purpose, it is to reach every corner of the nation and arrive anywhere in the shortest possible time."
Just listening to his description made everyone present develop beautiful expectations for the future.
This was only the beginning of the train.
In the future, the train tracks would stretch across all of Demacia, becoming a means of transportation on par with sailing by sea.
A road that would take a carriage three or four days to finish could be completed by a train in one day, half a day...
If that became reality, the connections between every part of Demacia would become faster, trade and human movement would become more frequent, and the entire nation would progress at the same rapid speed as the train itself.
Such a future made every researcher feel exceptionally excited just by imagining it.
Among them, quite a few had already taken this endeavor as a lifelong goal for the future.
Wenward said, "There is still too much for us to explore next, but every one of us is filled with fighting spirit and ready to welcome new challenges."
He also looked at the scenery flashing past outside the window. In his heart, what he felt most was admiration for Luke.
From this prince, who was much younger than him, he had truly learned far too much.
If not for him, Wenward was afraid he might never in his life have been able to sit atop such a steel beast.
"Why is it called a train?"
Lux asked at this moment, curiosity sparkling in her bright eyes.
"Because it's driven by fire and runs as swiftly as flame, I suppose."
Luke answered casually.
"Oh."
Lux nodded. She already dared to stand up now. She walked back and forth inside the carriage and discovered something strange.
"Why is the train moving so fast, but I don't feel it inside the carriage? And why am I not affected at all?"
Faced with her question, many of the researchers sitting there were eager to give an answer.
Not long after, Lux sat back down with her head spinning. Thinking about gravity, mutual motion, attraction, and all those other things, her mind went completely numb.
She smacked her lips and said, "It feels like a bunch of knowledge passed through my brain without leaving a trace."
Luke glanced at her and chuckled.
If this thing had to be explained from the beginning, Miss Crownguard would probably explode on the spot from listening to it.
But if it truly had to be explained from the beginning, it would also be extremely troublesome. There was no way to finish it in a short while.
Forty minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
Under the driver's control, the train slowly reduced its speed. Finally, it entered through the railway at the rear gate of the Research Institute and came to a steady stop at the end.
As Luke and the others stepped off the train, they heard a wave of applause ringing out.
At the Research Institute on this side, many people had also gathered, all eagerly anticipating this train trial run.
Seeing the train arrive safely, everyone's emotions became incomparably excited.
Wenward smiled broadly and announced in a loud voice, "I declare the train's first trial run a complete success!"
The next instant, cheers resounded throughout the entire area.
Luke looked at the countless people cheering and revealed a heartfelt smile.
What he saw in his eyes was a Demacia that was growing vigorously and flourishing with life.
The success of the train's trial run startled Jarvan III.
Although he had heard long ago that the Research Institute was developing a high-speed transportation tool that could carry many people at once, he had not expected that it would be completed after such a short time.
At dusk, Jarvan III and Jarvan IV led a group of palace ministers and nobles to the Research Institute.
They examined the train that had succeeded in its trial run.
Wenward also gave them all a chance to ride it.
After all, for the Research Institute, this was also a good opportunity to attract another wave of investment.
Research and development required money.
Although the palace had continuously raised the Research Institute's research funding, it was still far from enough.
At times like this, they needed these noble ministers with full pockets to make a move.
After boarding the train and riding through the route once, every single person felt nothing but amazement.
If the train were put into daily life, the convenience it would bring was simply impossible to imagine.
With that, there was naturally no need to say much about investment.
For a good while afterward, the Research Institute would no longer need to worry about research funds.
Finally, with Jarvan III's permission, the rails were formally allowed to begin construction in the capital.
That night, Wenward held a celebration banquet at the Research Institute and sincerely invited Luke to attend. Naturally, Luke did not refuse.
Everyone gathered together, drank and talked merrily, and jointly imagined a bright future.
They drank until late into the night before finally dispersing and returning to their own homes.
After returning home and soaking in the hot spring, Luke lay comfortably on a chair in the courtyard, his expression relaxed and his mood refreshed.
The moonlight tonight was especially beautiful.
Gazing at the moonlight, he began to ponder.
Now, Demacia had officially stepped onto the right track. The remaining small issues only needed time to be polished away. It was also time to think about the next step in his plan.
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