The meeting dispersed.
The ministers left one after another, still discussing the dragon's skull on the way out.
Luke, meanwhile, followed Jarvan III and Tianna to Jarvan III's office.
There, Luke saw someone he had not seen in a long time.
The Seneschal of Demacia, Xin Zhao.
He usually protected Jarvan III from the shadows, just like the hidden guards he had trained himself.
After not seeing him for some time, Xin Zhao still stood straight and tall. His unsmiling face carried a natural dignity.
"Xin Zhao, it's been a while."
When Luke saw him, he greeted him.
"Your Highness, it has been a while."
Seeing Luke, the severe corners of Xin Zhao's eyes softened considerably, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
After the door was closed and Luke took a seat, Tianna finally spoke. "We read the letter you sent from the border. Explain the details."
Luke knew what she was referring to, so he said, "Basically, a Noxian assassin leader came over to our side for some unknown purpose."
Hearing this, both Xin Zhao and Tianna frowned slightly.
On matters like this, they believed Luke would not joke around. The moment they received the letter back then, they had secretly strengthened the guard.
Xin Zhao had also begun investigating this person in secret.
However, he had not obtained any clues, and after so much time had passed, not a single disturbance had occurred.
After thinking for a moment, Tianna asked again, "How did you learn about this?"
The letter had not said much on this point, so they were rather curious about Luke's source of information.
Luke said, "Would you believe me if I said the assassin's daughter told me?"
Hearing this, Tianna and Xin Zhao's frowns did not loosen for even a second.
Tianna looked at him in annoyance. "We're talking about something serious. Stop messing around."
Luke said helplessly, "I'm telling the truth…"
Then he briefly explained Katarina's situation.
In his opinion, there was no need to hide this matter. He said everything that needed to be said.
After the three of them finished listening, they fell silent for a few seconds, momentarily unsure what to say.
Calling this kid careless did not seem quite right, since he had seen through Katarina's disguise at a glance.
But calling him careful did not seem quite right either, since he had directly brought her all the way to the capital.
Normally speaking, in this situation, Tianna should have directly ordered Katarina arrested and thrown into the dungeon.
However, after pondering for a few seconds, she sighed. "So you believe this story of father and daughter turning on each other?"
Luke nodded. "I feel like it's worth trusting for now."
"You little…" Tianna looked at him helplessly, then said in annoyance, "Since that's the case, keep a close eye on her for me. If she causes even the slightest trouble, don't blame me for showing no old affection."
She swept Luke with a dangerous gaze.
Seeing this, Luke immediately promised, "Don't worry, Aunt."
"Like hell I'm not worrying."
Tianna could not be bothered to keep looking at him and waved her hand. "All right, you can go. The three of us have things to discuss. We'll pay attention to the matter you mentioned."
"Then I'll head out first."
Luke nodded, stood, and walked outside.
After he left, the three people in the office began discussing the matter.
Tianna thought for a moment, then said, "What is the purpose of this assassin Noxus sent? Has this assassin already hidden inside the capital?"
Sitting in his seat, Jarvan III also pondered. "There is an eighty percent chance this move was ordered by someone. There must be some hidden purpose."
As for who had given the order, even without saying it aloud, all three of them already knew.
At this moment, Xin Zhao said seriously, "No matter the situation, I will protect Your Majesty's safety."
"You don't need to be so tense." Jarvan III looked at him and smiled. "I am currently in this palace, which is as solid as a fortress. Nothing dangerous will happen. Right now, the focus should be placed on the people of the capital. If this assassin did not come for me this time, but for them…"
He did not finish speaking, but the office fell quiet.
All three of them realized one problem.
If they proceeded under the assumption that this assassin was already inside the capital, then this was like a time bomb, a problem that could explode at any moment.
"Investigate freely. You must find a clue."
Jarvan III gave Xin Zhao an order, his deep gaze condensing slightly. "Send your hidden guards out. Include those noble houses as well, and do not overlook any of them. Also, remember, do not alert the snake in the grass."
Xin Zhao bowed and accepted the order. "Do not worry, Your Majesty. I know what to do."
Luke had not left the palace at this time.
Earlier, he had brought Poppy in as well and let her wander around by herself.
Poppy had shown a look of nostalgia toward this place, and he did not know where she had wandered off to.
He had to ask the patrolling palace guards while looking around. In the end, he learned that Poppy had gone to the palace's back garden.
In the back garden.
Poppy sat on her hammer, and not far in front of her was a white statue. The man wore a suit of heavy armor, had a full beard, and carried a broad, hearty smile. On his shoulder rested a hammer identical to the one beneath her.
This man's name was Orlon.
Demacia's first king.
The sculptor's craftsmanship was excellent. The moment Poppy saw him, she felt as if she had instantly returned to many years ago, when she and Orlon had sat in this very place, laughing and chatting.
That had been such a happy time. Yet now, everything had changed. The people and things from back then were no longer there, leaving only these things that made her eyes sting just from looking at them.
Poppy liked facing life with a smile. That was why, even when Orlon had been nearing his end, she had quickly prepared herself and continued living happily while carrying his final wish.
So she did not like this feeling right now, but she also did not want to leave.
"Orlon, I found someone worthy of your hammer."
Poppy spoke as if talking to an old friend, rambling on by herself. "How should I put it? I feel like I've been looking for quite a while. So many times, I thought I'd found the person who could truly use this hammer, but in the end, the results were always not very ideal. But I've never been as certain about someone as I am this time. He has to be the best choice."
As she spoke, she raised her head and saw Orlon's hearty smile. "You think so too, right?"
There was no response, but Poppy still felt as if she had found a shared topic with Orlon.
"He's also one of your descendants, though he isn't like you at all. But he's just as outstanding as you. I really like him quite a lot. Speaking of which, we recently killed a dragon together, one a little bigger than the one we fought back then…"
Poppy shared many things with herself. The yordle's young voice continued to ring through the back garden, carrying childlike innocence along with a faintly sorrowful atmosphere.
It was as if time were mercilessly cutting something apart.
After saying a whole pile of things in one breath, Poppy sighed. "But he doesn't seem to like this hammer very much. Do you have any good ideas to make him accept it?"
She raised her head and looked at Orlon. Of course, the statue would not respond to her.
But Poppy did not need a response either. She clenched her fist seriously. "But don't worry. I'll definitely make him accept this hammer. We made an agreement. As long as we can't find that demon hunter, he'll accept the hammer. And now we've already searched for… so many days!"
Of course she remembered that agreement from back then. As long as they could not find the demon hunter, Luke would accept the hammer.
However, it was very difficult for the purehearted Poppy to imagine what a shameless person might do.
If they could not find the demon hunter, couldn't he just keep looking forever?
She had not thought of that at all.
At this moment, she was filled with confidence and cheering herself on.
After hearing footsteps behind her, Poppy stood up and looked at Orlon one last time. "All right, that's enough talking for today. I'll come see you again another day."
After saying that, she even waved her hand, picked up the hammer, and walked toward Luke, who had come to find her.
Her short little legs followed behind Luke, and both of them looked to be in pretty good moods.
After leaving the palace, nothing could stop Luke's heart from going home anymore.
Soon, he was sitting in the carriage, traveling all the way toward home.
About half an hour later,
the carriage slowly stopped. Through the curtain, Luke could already see his own courtyard, and he truly missed it quite a bit.
After getting out of the carriage, he saw that the courtyard looked like it was often cleaned, and it was very tidy.
The door was open, which meant someone was already inside.
He walked toward the main house and entered the living room. With one glance, he saw that Lux had already sprawled herself lazily on the rocking chair in front of the fireplace, lying there with a peaceful look on her face.
The corners of her little mouth curved upward, and she seemed to be in quite a good mood.
Hearing movement behind her, she did not even bother to turn her head and continued lying there comfortably.
Sona and Kahina were sitting on the sofa like sisters.
The room was very warm. The fireplace must have been lit for quite some time.
Luke first pointed at Katarina and instructed Yurna, "Arrange a room for her."
Yurna answered, "Yes."
Luke's estate was rather large, a villa about three stories tall, with plenty of empty rooms on the first and second floors.
In any case, there was definitely enough space for everyone to live there.
Moreover, the rooms were well soundproofed, so there was basically no need to worry about any inappropriate sounds leaking out in the middle of the night.
Otherwise, Luke would not have specifically installed a voice tube to talk with Yurna.
At this moment, Katarina was also examining the unfamiliar environment. Thinking that she might have to live here for a while, her mood became rather complicated.
Before leaving Noxus, she had never imagined she would encounter something like this.
Now, she had actually become someone else's bed-warming maid.
If this matter spread back to Noxus, she, Katarina, would no longer have any place there.
Thinking of this, she sighed faintly in her heart.
At this moment, a familiar sound came from the back courtyard.
Luke headed toward the back courtyard.
When he arrived, he indeed saw Miss Duelist's proud and graceful figure. With her remarkable aura, she was continuously thrusting at a training dummy not far in front of her.
Her swordsmanship seemed even sharper than before. Clearly, while Luke had gone to the border, Miss Duelist had also been working hard to improve herself.
Hearing footsteps, Fiora stopped moving and turned around. Luke was reflected in her cool eyes, and a trace of a smile appeared within them.
Luke smiled at her. "I'm back."
"At least you didn't make me wait too long." The smile on Fiora's face added a few bright notes to her cool temperament, making her look extremely beautiful.
"Quite a few things happened beyond the border. Do you have time to hear about them?"
Luke sat down on a chair in the back courtyard and extended the invitation.
"Gladly."
Fiora chuckled and walked toward him, then sat beside him. "But before that, I'm collecting a little interest first."
Luke froze for a moment. In the next second, he felt warmth touch his lips, followed by a nimble tongue slipping inside.
The scent of Miss Duelist's body was close enough to fill his nose.
The cold winter temperature suddenly rose at this moment.
After a long while, Fiora sat back in her original seat. Her beautiful eyes shone with captivating light, and her flushed cheeks and moist red lips made her look a little more seductive.
After collecting her interest, the corner of her mouth lifted. "Go on. I'll listen slowly."
Luke now understood what she meant by interest, and immediately remembered that he did indeed seem to owe quite a considerable debt.
To be honest, his mood at this moment was half joy and half worry.
After thinking for a moment, he slowly began talking about what had happened at the border.
Fiora sat quietly at the side and listened seriously. Even though she had already received news about some of these matters, hearing Luke tell them again always carried a sense of freshness.
The cold winter wind stirred the short hair over Fiora's forehead, and she listened with a smile as Luke slowly spoke.
Clearly, this guy was only sitting here, yet her heart was already filled.
In truth, she also had many things she wanted to say to Luke, but there was no rush. Once he finished, it would be her turn.
In the middle of winter, the two people sitting in the back courtyard did not feel cold at all.
Even without saying it aloud, the longing they felt had already been conveyed into each other's hearts.
After telling her about the border for a while, Luke asked, "What about Miss Duelist's matters in High Silvermere? How is your progress?"
Back then, Fiora had returned to High Silvermere in order to restore House Laurent's name there.
Hearing this, Fiora smiled. "As for Sword Hall's rankings, I've already entered the top twenty."
Luke said in surprise, "That fast?"
"It's already slow enough." A hint of helplessness appeared on Fiora's beautiful face. "If they weren't worried that challenging too many people in a row would affect my stamina and condition, and if they hadn't forbidden me from issuing consecutive challenges, I estimate my ranking could have gone a little higher."
There were quite a few swordsmen on Sword Hall's ranking list, over two hundred in total.
As a newcomer, Fiora naturally had to start challenging from the very bottom.
After returning to High Silvermere, she had begun continuously issuing challenges one after another, barely resting at all.
Naturally, her ranking had kept climbing. Sometimes she fought two matches in a single day.
Later, the people of her house worried that going on like this would exhaust her body, so they imposed restrictions.
Although she could have refused, she also did not want to disappoint the people who cared about her, so the pace of her challenges slowed down.
Even so, entering the top twenty of Sword Hall's ranking in such a short time was already fierce.
Luke sighed inwardly. As expected of the Grand Duelist. Then he said, "So after the New Year, you're planning to go back?"
"Mm." Fiora nodded lightly. "After all, my goal is first place on the ranking. Naturally, I have to push all the way up in one breath."
When she said this, what surged from her was the pride and confidence that belonged to the Grand Duelist.
Luke also believed she could do it. However, after thinking for a moment, he muttered to himself, "There are only four days left until the New Year."
Today was the twenty-seventh. January 1 was the New Year.
He had only just seen Miss Duelist for four days, and she was going to leave again.
Fiora glanced sideways at him, the corner of her mouth lifting in a smile. "But if I'm in a good mood, I can stay a few more days. After all, someone still has a debt to pay."
Luke's expression changed, and he coughed dryly. "How about you leave right after the New Year after all?"
This time, it was Fiora's expression that changed. She narrowed her eyes and confirmed, "Good. Then I'll stay a few more days before leaving."
Luke: "…"
Happy Dragon Boat Festival, everyone.
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