About ten minutes passed.
Luke glanced up at the sky. "That should do it."
As soon as he spoke, Yurna Doer—already prepared—reached into the fire with iron tongs and pulled the four clay-covered bundles out one by one.
After two hours of baking, the shell around the campfire clay-baked chicken had turned rock-hard.
Next, Luke picked up a small hammer, lifted it, and brought it down.
Thunk.
The outer shell cracked open on impact. A burst of hot steam rushed out like a splash of boiling water, and in just moments, a rich aroma drifted through the yard.
Lux's eyes lit up just from the smell.
Even Fiora, cool and distant as ever, fixed her pale gaze on the opened bundle and didn't look away for a long time.
Luke struck three more times, cracking open the other shells. Instantly, the entire courtyard was filled with mouthwatering fragrance.
After dinner, Luke lay back in the rocking chair, completely satisfied.
Eating like that in summer left him sweating, but that was exactly why lying down afterward and letting the breeze cool him off felt incredible.
Seeing him like that, Lux thought for a moment and asked, "What about that 'really good drink' you mentioned yesterday?"
Luke had just closed his eyes—he opened them again.
If she hadn't brought it up, he would've almost forgotten.
"It should be ready too."
He got up from the rocking chair and headed for the kitchen.
The second he left, Lux immediately flopped into the chair, enjoying the breeze like she belonged there.
Fiora watched, thoughtful. Only one rocking chair… that was one too few.
She quietly decided she'd get another one tomorrow, then followed Luke into the kitchen.
Yurna Doer had gone to clean up the rooms.
That left Lux alone in the yard. She lay there quietly for a few seconds, then suddenly felt something was off.
She sprang up at once—like she was afraid Luke and Fiora would sneak a taste without her—and jogged into the kitchen.
She quickly caught up to Fiora, and the two of them entered together.
Right on time, they saw Luke lift the lid off a large pot. Inside was something he'd clearly simmered earlier; after sitting for two hours, it had cooled.
The moment the lid came off, the air filled with a medicinal smell—sweet, but unmistakably herbal.
They leaned in to look and saw a pot of dark liquid.
Then they watched Luke grab a handful of white powder and toss it in.
Sssss—!
The dark liquid instantly boiled, surging and rolling in the pot.
Both women froze.
Lux hesitated, then said it anyway, "Look, we've been freeloading meals a lot lately, but you can't just poison us…"
Poison was one thing. Doing it this openly was another.
Fiora's brows knit as well. She stared at the unknown liquid, and it genuinely looked like Luke was trying to murder them.
The whole scene felt exactly like those stories about an evil witch brewing a lethal potion.
"Wow, so you two actually have enough self-awareness to admit it," Luke said, flicking them a glance.
He stirred the pot a couple times with a ladle, scooped some up, turned around with a smile, and said, "Alright. Who's drinking first?"
The moment he finished, Lux and Fiora stepped back in perfect unison.
Luke clicked his tongue. "If I really wanted to poison you, do you think you'd still be standing here?"
With that, he ignored them, poured the ladleful into a cup, and took a sip himself.
When the familiar taste spread across his tongue, his expression softened into pure satisfaction.
It tasted even better than the original.
Seeing his face, the suspicion in their eyes wavered. That black liquid… could it really taste good?
Lux couldn't help asking, "Is it good?"
Luke looked at her. "If you're that curious, try it."
Being Lux, she immediately worked up the courage and stepped forward.
If it was poisoned, Luke already drank it!
That was her logic.
She poured herself a cup and examined it closely.
Fiora stepped in too. Through the clear glass, the drink looked black at first—but when they held it up to the light, it was actually an amber color.
Lux lifted the cup and took a careful sip.
The first sensation was sharp—almost like a sting, like a bite of spice—but it came paired with a sweet-and-sour flavor and a fizzy kick.
She tasted it again, slowly. One sip wasn't enough.
So she took a bigger drink.
The fizz hit harder, but the taste stayed the same.
"This is weird," Lux muttered. "I need another sip."
She raised the cup and—glug, glug, glug—downed it in one go.
Then she let out a crisp breath, suddenly hit with the urge to pour another.
She couldn't quite call it the best thing she'd ever tasted… but once she finished, she wanted more.
That bubbly feeling was addictive, and the flavor was absolutely her kind of thing.
Fiora watched, then poured a cup for herself. She took one sip—and her eyes brightened too.
Just as she was about to say something, she and Lux saw Luke reach into his pocket, pull something out, toss it into his mouth, then swallow.
Both of them went still.
Lux swallowed nervously. "What did you just eat?"
Luke smiled. "The antidote."
Lux: "?"
Fiora: "?"
So you really DID poison it?!
Lux had drunk the most. Her little face went pale. She suddenly felt like her chest hurt, her heart started aching, her waist felt sore—everything felt wrong all at once.
She looked at Luke with pure misery, pathetic enough to make a statue feel guilty.
"Seriously? You scare that easily?" Luke sighed, then laughed. "You two might be the only people alive I could 'poison' in broad daylight."
Lux hurried to confirm, "So you didn't poison it?"
"No."
Luke stared at her jumpy expression and said, annoyed, "Do you really distrust me that much?"
Lux straightened her face and answered seriously, "Because you look like the kind of person who would do something like that."
Luke: "…"
He looked at Fiora.
The Swordmistress gave a small, solemn nod on the side.
Luke suddenly started wondering what kind of monster he was in these two women's minds.
Lux reached out curiously. "Then what did you just eat? Give me one."
"Why do you want to eat everything?" Luke smacked her hand down.
He patted his pocket—there was nothing in it. "It was a mime act. I just felt like scaring you."
As he spoke, he demonstrated again: grabbed "something," tossed it into his mouth, chewed, swallowed—so convincing it didn't look like acting at all.
Lux stared, speechless for a second. "Great performance. Don't do it again."
Fiora raised her cup and took another small sip.
Her focus was different from Lux's. Now that she understood it was a sweet-and-sour fizzy drink, she asked the question she'd been holding back. "Why did I smell herbs earlier?"
Luke replied, "Because it has herbal ingredients in it."
Fiora nodded, then asked, "And the white powder you poured in at the end—what was that?"
"Cola is a carbonated drink—soda. The powder is why it fizzes."
Luke gave a rough explanation.
If he really tried to explain it properly, it would take forever.
Normally, the fizz in cola is added by forcing carbon dioxide into the drink under high pressure until it dissolves.
But Demacia probably didn't have machines capable of producing that kind of pressure, so Luke used another method.
Honestly, he wasn't even sure if what he made counted as real cola, or just a drink that tasted like it.
But that wasn't the point. The point was that it was good.
Fiora took another sip, then asked, "Why do you call it 'cola'?"
"Because it's easy to say," Luke replied with a casual grin.
To Lux and Fiora, it didn't feel especially easy—this was their first time encountering the word—but the name didn't really matter.
What mattered was that it tasted good.
Maybe it was her imagination, but after finishing a cup, Fiora felt more energized. That sluggish, sleepy heaviness you got after a big meal faded quite a bit.
Meanwhile, Lux had already poured herself a second cup while they talked, and now she was reaching for a third.
For Lux, the cola flavor was getting more addictive by the second.
Luke honestly admired her. She'd eaten a huge dinner, then drank two cups of cola—without even letting out a single burp.
Miss Crownguard had a terrifying appetite, always finding new ways to reset Luke's understanding of what was possible.
After thinking, Luke said, "If you chill it overnight, it'll taste even better."
Lux forcibly stopped herself from refilling. She pulled her hand back and licked her lips, still craving it.
If it could be even better tomorrow, then she'd save it for tomorrow.
She had that much patience.
Luke poured the whole pot of cola into a container he'd prepared ahead of time and sealed it tightly so the fizz wouldn't escape.
The "container" was really a wine barrel.
Luke had made a small modification: he'd cut a little opening at the bottom and attached a spigot.
That way, when someone wanted a drink, they could just turn the spigot.
Then he carried it down to the cellar's cold storage to chill it. Tomorrow, once it came back out, it would be the ultimate summer drink.
By now, it was nearly nine at night. The sky had gone dark, the bright moon hung high, and the night scenery was beautiful.
Lux and Fiora were about ready to head home.
But before leaving, both of them suggested taking the game board with them.
Luke didn't mind, but only one person could take it.
So Fiora and Lux decided to play one match—winner takes the board.
The result: Lux lost.
It seemed Fiora really had figured out something about the game. The problem was that her first opponent had been Luke, so whatever she discovered hadn't helped at all.
But once her opponent switched to Lux, that confidence came roaring back.
In the end, Fiora took the board home.
Lux trudged back to the Crownguard estate, head drooping.
But she didn't dare walk in openly. With the servants covering for her, she snuck into the bathroom.
She needed to scrub Luke's "artwork" off her face. Last time, even one little turtle had made her too embarrassed to be seen.
This time, it wasn't just one turtle.
If anyone saw her like this, Lux would die of embarrassment on the spot.
At the same time, Garen—exhausted after a long day—finally returned home.
After greeting his aunt and his mother, he went to the bathroom to wash up.
But as he got close, he noticed the bathroom door was open.
And he could see the back of his sister, Lux.
She was bent over, apparently washing her face.
Confused about why she was here, Garen walked up, about to ask what was going on—when he heard Lux muttering irritably to herself.
"Ugh, why is this so hard to wash off?!"
Then he saw Lux lift her head… and in the mirror, he saw her face.
In that moment, time seemed to stop.
Even Garen—who had faced countless major battles—couldn't stop the slight twitch at the corner of his eye.
His steel-hard, unshakable expression snapped taut in an instant.
At the same time, Lux lifted her head and saw Garen standing in the doorway through the mirror, and she froze on the spot.
After several seconds of silence—
"You didn't see anything."
Lux turned around and stared at Garen with a blank face.
Garen didn't know what to say.
So Lux's eyes sharpened with a hint of murderous intent, and she repeated herself, word for word.
"You didn't see anything!"
Garen's gaze went empty. Then, as if nothing had happened, he turned around and quietly walked away.
Only after he'd gone far enough did Garen finally exhale, wiping sweat from his forehead.
That was close.
Didn't die on the battlefield—almost died at his own sister's hands.
His mind involuntarily replayed the mirror image he'd seen, and a chill ran through him all over again. He knew he wasn't going to forget that for a long, long time.
Back in Luke's yard.
He was lying in the rocking chair, admiring the night.
On the table beside him sat a cup of cola with a few ice cubes and a straw.
He lounged comfortably, taking a sip now and then, feeling overwhelmed with satisfaction.
This—this was the life he wanted.
Only after the drink was gone and only ice remained did Luke stand up and return to his bedroom.
The moment he entered, he heard the communicator tapping nonstop—tap-tap-tap—like someone was knocking out a secret code.
"What is it?" Luke said into the receiver, sitting down at the desk.
Within seconds, a voice came through.
"Ugh! Do you have any idea how hard it was to scrub the pen marks off my face?!"
Hearing Lux's resentment-heavy voice, Luke smiled. "It's fine. You're not the only one feeling that way."
At the same time, at House Laurent—
Fiora stared at her reflection, teeth clenched. No matter how she washed, faint traces still lingered on her face.
That man's infuriating expression flashed through her mind.
She tightened her fist and silently swore: tomorrow, she was absolutely getting her revenge.
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