This world was vast, yet there was no place for him in it.
Loneliness, sorrow, despair, all kinds of emotions surged into his heart. This was the first time Nocturne had ever felt so helpless as a demon.
After returning to the spirit realm, Nocturne could indeed feel with extreme clarity that he had become stronger.
With just a casual sense, he could easily detect all kinds of delicious nightmares within this realm, yet he could not go to them.
A powerful strength had returned to him, but what came with it was an amplified version of the contract's terrifying suppression.
It was as if the stronger he became, the stronger the contract's restraint on him became as well.
This made Nocturne feel deeply powerless.
After a long while, Nocturne suddenly exerted his strength and began wandering through the spirit realm.
That damned human brat completely disregarded him and had opened up his right to move freely through the spirit realm.
Since that was the case, no matter what, he had to try.
The high-ranking demon erupted with terrifying power, wandering recklessly through the spirit realm. Many spirits hid away and trembled. Even other spirits who were also demons did not dare show themselves.
The more this happened, the more grief and indignation filled Nocturne's heart.
To think that he, the mighty Eternal Nightmare, had once been a terrifying existence before whom any creature would lower its head in submission.
Yet now, he had fallen into becoming a homeless dog under the hand of a despicable human.
Humiliation!
This was the greatest humiliation of Nocturne's life!
At this time, in the Mage Association.
Luke walked up from the third underground floor. From a distance, he saw Lux standing alone over there, boredly kicking a stone by her foot.
He walked over, and Lux quickly noticed him. She immediately came up to him and suggested excitedly, "It's still so early. Why don't we go walk around the streets? Just the two of us."
She emphasized the final sentence.
Seeing this, Luke thought about it, then nodded. "Sure. It's been a long time since the two of us went shopping."
A flash of delight shone in Lux's eyes, and she became visibly happy. "Then let's go to Starfire Plaza first. I heard a lot of fun things have opened there."
She clearly already had a plan. She must have thought it up while waiting earlier.
Luke agreed to everything and nodded. "Move out!"
The two of them got into the carriage and went straight to Starfire Plaza.
They had been here once before. He remembered that they had encountered a miserable old woman here, and later, this entire area had set off a trend of catching thieves.
Now that they had returned to this street, they also noticed the changes everywhere along it.
"So many houses have been renovated."
Lux walked side by side with Luke, looking at both sides of the street. One stall after another had small awnings set up, arranged neatly in rows. Each vendor did their own business, and occasionally, stall owners chatted casually with one another.
On the street, people came and went, carts and horses flowed constantly, and the calls of merchants, the conversations of passersby, and the playful voices of children all gathered together into a lively clamor.
Of course, the capital's streets were generally very lively.
Luke also looked at both sides and said, "This place was heavily damaged last time, so it happened to be renovated."
During the mage rebellion last time, this street had been badly damaged. Afterward, it was renovated as a whole, and the buildings, shops, and restaurants had all been built a little higher.
Three- and four-story buildings, and even taller ones, could already be seen. In the capital, such buildings were no longer rare.
In the future, these buildings would be built even higher.
As Luke and Lux walked down the street, they attracted quite a few sideways glances, though naturally, neither of them cared about these gazes.
Starfire Street mainly had many little entertainment games, but to the two of them, most of them were a bit like bullying beginners.
After easily clearing several games, Lux left satisfied under the stall owner's constipated expression, holding a large plush toy in each arm.
They had not walked for long before she found them annoying and shoved them to Luke. "Hold these for me."
Luke took them and followed behind Miss Crownguard like an attendant.
She walked in front with her head held high and her chest out, the corners of her mouth curved happily, and even her steps seemed a few points lighter and more cheerful.
Soon, she noticed a newly opened clothing store and enthusiastically opened the door and walked in.
Before long, she came over holding a clean white dress, then held it against herself and asked, "Does it look good?"
"It looks good."
Luke first nodded, then said, "But it doesn't really suit you. No matter how I look at it, this dress is for a proper young lady."
Lux's elegant brows furrowed. With a cold snort, she directly tossed it to the clerk. "Wrap it up! I'm wearing it anyway!"
Was she not proper enough?
She was practically the definition of a proper young lady.
This guy had no eye for beauty, but Lux was not angry, because she was in a good mood today.
After wandering through the store for a while, she came over again holding a bright red, rather seductive long dress, and asked the same question. "Does it look good?"
Luke glanced at it and said, "Being able to pick out the two pieces least suited to you from so many clothes is honestly impressive. Buy it."
"Hmph."
Lux put it back where it had been, then clapped her hands and continued browsing.
After all, it was a newly opened store, so there were still quite a few types of nice-looking clothes. Miss Crownguard did not only buy for herself, she also generously picked out two outfits for Luke.
And so, in addition to the two plush toys, Luke now had several more clothing bags in his hands.
"Where should we go next?"
After leaving the clothing store, Lux looked around, selecting the next destination.
"My suggestion is home."
Luke followed her out, holding a large pile of things in his hands and already feeling tired.
"We've barely started."
Lux glanced back at him and decided on the next destination. "There's a theater over there. Let's go!"
She walked toward the theater in a relaxed and carefree manner, while Luke still had to carry a large pile of things.
He turned back to look for Yurna, then remembered that he had told Yurna to wait by the carriage earlier.
He could only helplessly follow.
When they arrived at the theater entrance, the ticket seller at the door saw Lux and Luke and was first stunned, then bowed in flattered surprise. "Greetings, Miss Crownguard, Your Highness."
"Hello."
Lux showed a beautiful smile and asked, "How much are the tickets?"
"It is already our honor for the two of you to visit the theater. There is no need for tickets. Please come in."
The ticket seller immediately said this.
Naturally, Luke and Lux did not lack such a small amount of ticket money. After all, it was only one gold coin per person.
After leaving behind two gold coins and receiving the tickets, they entered the theater. The inside of the theater was spacious, and there were quite a few people there.
One play was The Rose Wedding.
The other was Standing Unbroken.
The former was clearly a romantic love story at a glance, while the latter was clearly an inspirational story.
Both seemed pretty good. Come to think of it, this was Luke's first time watching a Demacian play, so he was rather interested.
As for Lux, the romantic love story was clearly more attractive to her right now.
So she looked left and right, then extended a slender finger and pointed at The Rose Wedding. "I'm watching this one."
Luke nodded, looked at Standing Unbroken, and said, "Sure. Then I'll watch this one."
Lux was clearly stunned for a moment. Then she reacted and looked over with an unfriendly expression. "What do you mean?"
Luke said, "We each watch our own."
"Is there something wrong with you?"
Lux glared unhappily at this guy. Who went out to watch a play with a girl and then watched separate plays?
Feeling as though she was about to pounce on him, Luke took a step back. "Fine, then we'll watch yours."
Only then did Lux withdraw her fierce gaze, raise her head, and walk toward the right.
At this time, other audience members were also entering one after another, and the two of them followed inside.
After handing over their tickets and entering, they found that the inside was not packed. Many seats were empty.
Lux found a quiet spot and waved to Luke. "Here!"
Luke walked over, put down the things in his hands, and sat beside her.
The theater's style was more or less what he had imagined. Chairs were arranged neatly one after another, and at the very front was a large stage, with red curtains raised on both sides.
At this moment, the lights inside the hall were on, and electric light spilled down from the ceiling, illuminating every area.
Ever since electric lights had been invented, the stage and inner hall lighting had all been supplied by large electric lamps.
The audience sat in their chairs and spoke quietly. Most were men and women together in pairs, sitting close to one another as they chatted softly, looking extremely intimate.
Lux withdrew her gaze from them and secretly glanced at Luke, only to find that this guy was yawning with a bored look on his face.
She became especially annoyed and suddenly reached out, poking him in the waist.
Luke's entire body suddenly jolted, and he looked over in surprise. "What now?"
Lux looked forward and snorted. "The play is about to start."
Luke slowly formed a question mark in his mind, thinking that this little blonde really had been getting more and more brazen lately.
However, the play was indeed about to start, because the curtains on both sides slowly dropped. The sounds of the stage being set could be faintly heard.
Soon, with a click, the lights on the ceiling suddenly dimmed.
The curtains were lifted again, revealing a plain and simple house with the female lead inside.
She was a young blond woman with a peaceful, dignified face. At a glance, she was clearly the kind of woman who would be a female lead in a story.
She wore simple clothes and was diligently wiping the floor with a mop.
From the look of it, the role she was playing was probably some kind of servant.
Before long, the male lead also appeared. He was dressed in gorgeous, luxurious clothes, had a handsome appearance, and was clearly of noble birth at a glance.
At this point, Luke basically understood the story.
Obviously, it was a story about a commoner girl and a noble young master falling in love. This type of story really did have a broader audience.
"Woman, you have successfully caught my attention!"
As scene after scene unfolded, the noble young master suddenly grabbed the commoner girl's arm, the corner of his mouth curving into a domineering smile.
Luke was amused inwardly. Well, look at that. It was the romance-novel billionaire type.
In contrast, Miss Crownguard, as the highest class of noble, was watching with great interest at this moment. Her beautiful eyes never left the stage.
From time to time, because of the twists and turns of the story onstage, she would show worry or delight.
She had completely entered the story, and she was indeed a qualified audience member.
Luke had seen this type of play before, so after watching halfway through, he started to feel a little bored and began yawning again.
While the little blonde was not paying attention, he leaned to the side, planning to secretly take a nap.
But he had only moved a little before Lux's sharp senses noticed him.
In an instant, those eyes glared over, and she whispered sternly, "Can you watch properly?"
"I am watching properly."
Luke defended himself.
Lux raised her fist, as if she wanted to say, look at this sandbag-sized fist, using it as a threat.
In any case, after glaring at him once, she continued focusing completely on the story.
Luke had no choice but to watch along.
A play lasted about two hours, more or less like a movie, and this movie had now entered its final act.
"I will not allow you to be with that woman! If you insist on this, then this family will act as though you never existed!"
The male lead's strict father spoke, harshly scolding the male lead.
After hearing this, the male lead knelt solemnly on the ground and bowed his head to his father. Then he removed the family crest from his chest and carefully placed it on the ground.
After that, he left the family without saying a word.
Father and son fell into silence, and for love, the male lead firmly chose the female lead.
It had to be said that this scene did make Luke a little interested.
As for Lux, her eyes were already filled with tears, and she was incredibly moved.
Soon, the final chapter arrived. The male lead and female lead fled the city, choosing to live in a city where no one knew them.
They encountered many dangers and difficulties along the way, but they overcame them together. Though there were always one or two times when it seemed to be because of a bit of coincidence.
Several years later, someone from the male lead's family suddenly found him and told him the news that his father was gravely ill.
The male lead froze for a moment, not understanding how they had found him.
In truth, the family had always known where the male lead and female lead were. And back then, it was the father who had driven the male lead away on the surface who had secretly helped them through their hardships all this time.
After learning the truth, the male lead immediately returned to the family and saw his father one last time, breaking down and crying.
Seeing that the male lead had grown into a steady man, the father entrusted the position of family head to him with peace of mind. In the end, the male lead inherited the family and lived a happy, fulfilling life with the female lead.
Overall, this play was still pretty good. At the very least, the fact that it could move Miss Crownguard to such a mess already meant it had succeeded.
Luke felt nothing much after watching it, but women tended to be a bit more emotional, so that was normal.
In any case, after leaving the theater, Lux's little mouth was still chattering away as she discussed the contents of the play.
She spoke enthusiastically, and Luke did not ruin the mood, offering a bit of feedback.
After that, the two of them continued walking around the street, and several more things successfully appeared in Luke's hands.
By now, it was almost noon, and it was about time to head back.
Sitting in the carriage, Luke looked exhausted.
In contrast, Lux still looked full of energy and vitality.
She glanced at Luke, who was tiredly slumped in the carriage with his eyes closed, and secretly laughed. This time, she did not bother him.
Instead, after looking at his face for a few moments, she withdrew her gaze and leaned back in her seat as well, feeling her heartbeat quicken slightly.
She was happy.
Just this alone already made her very happy, very satisfied.
At this moment, how much Lux wished it could continue forever.
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