The celebration lasted a full two hours, so even after it ended, the entire capital felt even livelier than usual.
And for Luke, today's busy schedule was only just beginning.
He had barely returned to the Citadel of Dawn—he hadn't even had time to sit down and drink a couple sips of water—before nobles started coming in to greet him, introducing themselves and presenting congratulatory gifts.
Xin Zhao had told him this was a required part of the process.
Luke needed to remember these nobles, and they needed to remember him.
No sooner had the first noble left than the next one walked in.
And every single one of them had to be received by Luke personally.
He was basically a living prop—at first he could still smile, but eventually his smile went numb, and he repeated the same routine over and over like a machine.
Someone tell me, exactly how many nobles does this capital even have?
Finally, the "meet the nobles" segment ended—and there was still more to do: the evening banquet.
The banquet was hosted by Jarvan III and attended by many nobles. The location was the Citadel of Dawn itself, and the purpose was obvious: to celebrate Luke.
So as the centerpiece of the night, he had to appear.
But at least this part was less of a headache than the afternoon, because he'd already met the nobles he needed to meet.
They called it a banquet for Luke, but really it was just the adults switching rooms so they could keep talking business somewhere nicer.
"Your Highness, are you ready?" someone came to urge before it began.
"Yeah."
Luke straightened his outfit. He was still wearing the same clothes from the morning, and the prince's crown had already been put away.
Jarvan IV had said there was no need to wear that thing all day—his own had been sitting at home collecting dust.
Besides, even without it, in Demacia nobody would ever forget who he was.
Following the servant who came to fetch him, Luke headed to the banquet hall.
His "job" was a short speech before things started. Once he said a few words, he could basically do whatever he wanted—as long as he didn't leave.
When he arrived, the room was brightly lit. The banquet spread was already fully prepared: lavish dishes laid out like a buffet, with an entire section devoted to desserts.
Drinks were arranged in two separate areas, and there was even a vintage gramophone playing relaxed music.
All the guests had already arrived, waiting for the main character to enter, every noble dressed in formal attire.
Luke pushed the door open, and his sharp look immediately drew countless eyes.
With everyone's attention snapping to him, the gramophone music stopped at just the right moment.
"Welcome, everyone. You're all respectable people, so there's no point in me rambling. I'll say just one thing—enjoy tonight's banquet."
Xin Zhao had prepared a full script for his entrance, but it was long. Later, seeing how Luke had been dragged around all afternoon, Xin Zhao told him it wouldn't matter if he didn't follow a script at all.
So Luke improvised.
He couldn't be bothered with fluff. He said two quick lines, and the gramophone started up again.
The nobles snapped out of it, offered some polite applause, and didn't make a big deal out of it. The atmosphere stayed cheerful.
After all, Luke was the star tonight.
"Father."
Luke walked over to Jarvan III and offered a respectful bow.
Jarvan III was speaking with Roy. Seeing Luke, he smiled and said, "Go have fun. Don't worry about anyone else."
"Alright."
Luke nodded and walked away.
The tightness in his body finally loosened.
Then he saw a tall man approaching—white hair, white beard, clearly past fifty, yet still straight-backed and broad in presence. Luke bowed again. "Uncle Barrett."
This was Barrett Buvelle—Kahina's father, and Jarvan III's close friend.
A couple days ago, Jarvan III had already introduced Luke to him.
"Good kid," Barrett said with a booming laugh, teasing him. "Looks like today wore you out pretty bad."
Luke smiled helplessly.
"I won't keep you," Barrett went on. "You know Kahina, right? She won't be able to come for a while. But your uncle brought you a gift today—hope you enjoy yourself."
He left that cryptic line behind and walked off.
Luke was curious, but he didn't chase him down to ask.
Right now, he just wanted to find a place to sit and rest. He wasn't interested in heavy food, so he set his sights on the dessert section.
Dessert was one of his hobbies, after all.
But the moment he got there, he ran straight into the person he couldn't avoid.
The instant Luke arrived, his eyes met the gaze of a blonde girl holding a plate with a slice of cake on it.
The second their eyes connected, Miss Crownguard snorted and turned her head away.
"Still mad?" Luke sat down in a nearby chair. Lux looked especially stunning tonight—delicate and elegant, like a princess.
"Mad? What are you talking about? The word 'mad' isn't even in my dictionary," Lux said, turning back with a fake-sweet smile.
The very next second, her fork viciously stabbed into the cake.
"Ahem."
Looking at the cake's miserable condition, Luke cleared his throat. "About last time—I was wrong. I really wanted to apologize, but these past few days have been so busy I couldn't spare a second. See? The moment I had time tonight, I came straight to you."
Because of him, Miss Crownguard had gotten smacked for no reason.
To be honest, if he had to quantify his guilt… there was a little.
But after that first moment, the idea of apologizing had vanished completely.
Still, looking at Lux like this, if he didn't say something, there was no way she was letting this go.
"Really?" Lux turned back, her little eyes full of suspicion despite how earnest he sounded.
"Really," Luke said, nodding with absolute seriousness.
"Still not good enough!"
Lux wavered for a split second, but the memory of that day hit her again, and her tone turned firm. "The trust between you and me is just like that cup—it shattered into pieces."
After saying that, she snorted again, lifted her fork, and stuffed nearly half the cake into her mouth in one bite.
"But I didn't even lie to you," Luke defended himself. "Did you or did you not end up discovering the sixth sense?"
"You had better ways to test it!"
Lux gritted her teeth.
This time Luke had nothing to say.
Looks like Miss Crownguard's anger wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, so he stopped bothering her and let her enjoy her cake in peace.
He grabbed a plate too, picked a cake that looked especially good, and started eating leisurely.
The two of them sat there less than a meter apart, not talking, just eating like their lives depended on it.
Before long, it turned into a silent competition.
Lux realized this jerk was eating faster than she was—without her noticing, he'd already eaten one more slice than her.
When it came to cake, she had never admitted defeat to anyone.
No way she could tolerate that.
She immediately sped up.
Luke had been eating just fine, but when he saw her start grabbing with her hands like she was raiding a battlefield, he worried there wouldn't be enough left for him—so he sped up too.
And just like that, the desserts in the dessert section began disappearing at an alarming rate.
The two of them ate pastries with the intensity of people taking down a full dinner.
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