Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.
The festive New Year atmosphere gradually faded with the passage of time, and people's lives returned to normal.
Recently, more newspapers had appeared in the Royal Capital.
With printing technology made available, more and more people entered the field.
Although the Royal City Bulletin had great influence, there were always things it could not cover, and those were naturally divided up by the newspapers that entered the industry early.
The Royal City Bulletin had taken a big bite out of the pie, while the rest was split among the other newspapers.
The growth of the newspaper industry also meant that information now spread much faster across Demacia. Nowadays, aside from some villages, even towns had traces of newspapers.
News that used to take many days to spread now needed only one day.
Bicycles had also been released in more and more versions. They were no longer as single-purpose as they had been at first. Now they were divided into many functions. Some were more suited for long journeys, some were more stable on steep terrain, and some were more casual and fairly priced.
People bought different kinds of bicycles according to their preferences, and in the end, the same money flowed into Luke's pocket.
More and more households were also using electric lights. Electric lights already showed a trend of replacing traditional oil lamps.
However, that was destined to take some more time.
Because if they wanted to achieve that, they would have to face new technical problems.
Generators powered by batteries still cost quite a bit in practice.
So at a time like this, they needed a more practical steam engine. Once they had steam engines, they could manufacture stronger self-excited direct-current generators.
They would be able to supply power to more electric lights at the same time.
Only then would the use of electricity truly take a step forward.
However, that day would not take too long to arrive. The talents of the Research Institute were developing and improving steam engines day and night, and things were currently progressing steadily.
It was believed that before long, steam engines would officially enter people's lives.
The changes steam engines could bring would be the most direct and visible.
Today, the streets of the Royal Capital were quite lively. The citizens had gathered along both sides of the street on their own, excitedly discussing things.
At the city gate, Luke had been waiting for quite some time.
As time passed, a group of figures gradually appeared at the far end of the horizon.
At the lead was a tall man riding a fine horse. He wore imposing armor, and behind him followed a group of soldiers with extraordinary presence.
Seeing this, Luke went forward to meet him, his face full of smiles. "Big brother, welcome back."
"Second brother!"
After seeing Luke, Jarvan IV also showed a long-missed look of affection on his face. He happily dismounted and embraced Luke.
After a month, he had finally returned from the border.
Although he had missed the festive New Year, in his view, the stability of the border was far more important.
Now, the area around the Gates of Mourning on the border had completely stabilized. As a defensive line, the Gates of Mourning had reinforced its defenses and troops.
If Noxus still dared to come this time, then however many came would be however many got hurt.
Besides, they had just suffered such a major defeat recently. Noxus probably would not come again in the short term.
In truth, Jarvan IV had not intended to return this early, since he had already missed New Year's anyway.
But as the eldest prince, he naturally could not stay outside the border for too long.
This time, when he returned, Lev, Garen, Cithria, and Shyvana from the border all returned with him.
After greeting the first three, Luke looked toward Shyvana.
Compared to the impression he had of her, Shyvana had not changed much. However, this was her first time coming to the Royal Capital, and she had arrived in such a grand situation right away, so it was clear that she was still somewhat nervous.
"Welcome to the Royal Capital."
Luke smiled at her and expressed his welcome. "Don't be nervous. In a while, enjoy the applause you deserve."
"Mm." Shyvana nodded gently and took a few deep breaths, calming herself down.
After exchanging greetings, everyone mounted their horses and entered the Royal Capital.
Like Luke, Jarvan IV's return was naturally welcomed by the people lining the streets. There were flowers, cheers, and applause. Even after so much time had passed, the great victory at the border still made people feel deeply excited.
This time, Luke did not shamelessly follow along and bask in it again. He trailed the procession from a distance.
"Who is that woman with purple-red skin?"
"I don't know."
"She can actually ride alongside Garen!"
"I've never seen her before either. Her eyes have such presence too."
"If she's in the second row, she must be a great hero who helped us defeat Noxus. Just clap and be done with it."
"Exactly."
Shyvana's uniqueness naturally attracted countless gazes, all gathering on her. No matter who they were, everyone felt more or less curious.
A small number of people could sense the kind of presence coming from her.
That feeling was just like the pressure they had felt when visiting the dragon skull in the military camp.
But very soon, curiosity was replaced by cheers and applause.
Jarvan IV rode in the first position, and those following behind him were naturally the people who had made great contributions at the border.
Garen, Lev, Cithria... Shyvana was among them as well, and her position was quite far forward.
This silently showed her achievements.
And at this moment, Shyvana thoroughly felt the welcome of the Royal Capital's people, and her heart gradually settled.
Although she could tell that many people still felt suspicion and unease toward her unusual skin.
She knew this was inevitable.
Just like when she had first walked into Hill City.
So she believed even more that her actual actions would eventually change these people's views.
Among the crowd, there were even people wearing masks who were staring fixedly in this direction.
From what she had learned, these people were called Mageseekers in Demacia.
Both Luke and Jarvan IV had mentioned to her that after returning, she would definitely be targeted by these Mageseekers.
However, the Mageseekers naturally had no way to do anything to Shyvana.
Because she was not only a great contributor at the border, but also a trusted person of the two princes. It could be said that she had the protection of the royal family, so naturally, she was safe.
Just like that, Jarvan IV entered the royal palace.
After leaving the royal palace, Luke quickly returned home, but he still could not rest, because he had to go out again right away.
At the city gate,
"After this farewell, who knows when we'll meet again. In any case, have a safe journey."
Luke stood in front of Miss Duelist with tears in his eyes and saw her off.
Hearing this, Fiora raised her brows, and the corner of her mouth curved into a faintly amused smile. "So do you want me to leave, or do you not want me to leave?"
Faced with this life-or-death question, Luke answered without even thinking, "Of course I don't want you to leave."
He did not give Fiora a chance to speak and swiftly added with a serious expression, "But I want even less to delay your dream."
Fiora continued asking with great interest, "Then in your view, between me and my dream, which one is more important?"
"..."
Luke fell silent for a moment, then said speechlessly, "Do you really have to ask that?"
Seeing his expression, the curve of Fiora's lips fully turned into a smile. She waved, then mounted her horse. "I'm leaving."
Luke also waved and watched as Fiora turned around on horseback without the slightest lingering hesitation. With a flick of her riding crop, she sped off into the distance.
Leaving as soon as she said she would, doing whatever she said she would, she had always been this kind of decisive woman.
Watching Miss Duelist's figure disappear into the distance, Luke slowly let out a breath, and a hint of a smile finally appeared on his face.
She finally left!
At this moment, he felt rather like a husband whose wife had gone back to her parents' home, leaving him alone in the house.
After resting in the Royal Capital for so long, Fiora also had to return to High Silvermere and prepare for her final push toward the top of the sword rankings.
Now that all of today's business was finished, Luke's whole body relaxed as well. He could not help stretching, then slowly turned around.
By the time he returned home, it was already afternoon.
Lux and Kahina were still over at the Church of the Illuminators, Katarina was sweeping the courtyard, and Poppy had gone off somewhere to play.
When he entered the living room, he saw Sona sitting there.
After seeing Luke come in, the blue-haired girl immediately raised her head. Her sparkling eyes shimmered with soft light, like flowing water, as she looked gently at Luke.
These past few days, she had fully experienced what it meant for something to be visible but out of reach.
In front of Miss Duelist, she always felt a natural disadvantage.
Even though the other party had already made it clear that she did not mind the two of them being together, Sona still could not help feeling embarrassed and avoiding it.
At certain times, she had even felt that Fiora had said it on purpose.
In short, after all these days, she had only been able to watch from afar.
Now, Miss Duelist had finally left!
"Your Highness!"
Soon, the girl's delighted voice entered Luke's mind.
He could clearly hear that Sona's tone today was even more excited and cheerful than usual.
He sat down on the sofa and looked at Sona's flickering, waterlike, emotional eyes, then at the girl's slightly reddened cheeks.
Suddenly, he realized that even if Fiora had left, he still would not be able to rest.
So to prepare for tonight, Luke silently got up, went outside to the courtyard, and began doing extra Vitality Arts practice.
This thing really did have an effect. As for how good the effect was, Fiora knew best.
But the current problem was that this thing was also being practiced by that Miss Duelist.
And Luke had discovered that Sona was practicing it too. One was more intense than the next. If Luke wanted to become stronger, he could only work even harder.
Luke, who was currently practicing Vitality Arts, felt rather bitter at this moment.
In the end, no matter how hard everyone pushed themselves, the one who got hurt was still him.
This thing was clearly more advantageous to women.
Recently, a wave of Vitality Arts enthusiasm had also started in the courtyard because of this. Lux and the others had all joined in. After truly practicing it for a while, everyone could tell that this Vitality Arts really was beneficial to the body.
As a result, the current state of the courtyard was that everyone did a round of Vitality Arts every day, just like Luke.
After one round of Vitality Arts ended, the figure of a messenger gradually approached from the distance and soon stopped at the courtyard gate.
"Your Highness, there is a letter for you."
Hearing this, Luke walked forward and took the letter from the messenger's hand.
With one glance, he could tell that it was not from Panis. After Panis learned the details, she had forgiven Luke for not replying.
The two of them often exchanged letters. Of course, she did not only write to Luke. She also wrote to Lux and the others.
The marking on the envelope was very simple, and on the left side of the letter was labeled "Vayne".
After returning to the living room, Luke opened Vayne's letter and briefly read through the contents.
Nearly a month had passed since Luke had assigned Vayne to pursue the demon Evelynn. During this time, Vayne had also written once before.
This was the second letter.
The letter said that some time ago, the team had tracked down traces of Evelynn. Over this month, Evelynn had not left Demacia.
To avoid drawing attention, she only dared to target some wanderers and vagrants in the wild, or certain disliked people with prior records.
These people often would not draw attention even if they disappeared for a long time, so they had become her main targets along her escape route.
Even so, because Vayne's team had been pursuing her closely the entire way, she had not had time to harm many more people.
And some time ago, the team had clashed with her directly.
After a battle, Vayne sensed that Evelynn's strength had not increased much. It seemed she was still affected by the injuries she had suffered a month earlier.
However, Evelynn's methods of escape were very powerful. After a fight, although the team had no casualties, they had only managed to injure Evelynn, and not seriously. In the end, they could only watch her escape.
When Vayne wrote this letter, she was still on the road pursuing her.
She believed that as long as they kept hounding her like this, sooner or later, they would truly be able to kill this demon.
Luke believed she could do it.
Closing the letter, Luke began to think slightly.
Actually, with Evelynn's current situation, leaving Demacia might be the better choice.
But after a full month had passed, she still had not left.
What was the reason for that?
After thinking for a while and failing to figure out anything definite, Luke stopped thinking about it.
After all, he was not a demon, so how could he know what a demon was thinking?
He looked at his right hand. Right now, a portion of Evelynn's power was inside it.
Could it be because of this?
The possibility was quite high.
However, with Vayne and the others pursuing her the whole way, Evelynn probably could not spare the energy to come and take back her power.
After putting Vayne's letter away, Luke leaned against the sofa, fully relaxing. Listening to Sona's music and feeling the warmth of the fireplace, he began to doze off.
It was not until Lux, Kahina, and Poppy returned together, their crisp voices mingling, that Luke was awakened from his nap.
So Poppy had gone to find Lux and the others.
Now that the three of them had returned, they immediately gathered in front of the fireplace and began warming themselves.
"Home is still the most comfortable. Lately, I keep feeling like it's getting colder and colder outside."
Lux placed her hands in front of the fireplace. The warmth drove away the chill on her body, and a touch of rosiness rose on her soft little face.
"Yeah. I heard the temperature in the south has already started warming up."
Kahina nodded, her little face similarly full of comfort.
The two girls chatted about the temperature.
It was almost mid-January now. Because the Royal Capital was close to the north, its temperature had not changed much compared to some time ago.
Meanwhile, the south had already begun to warm.
The passage of time always gave people an unreal feeling.
Memories often liked to remain in the previous moment.
Before anyone realized it, winter seemed as if it was about to pass as well.
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810