The scene shifted.
"That's basically what happened..."
Lux sat on the sofa with a sigh, her little face full of worry.
Luke drank his hot tea. After listening to her, he said, "So you're planning to drag us along too?"
Lux looked at him, her eyes lighting up as she nodded repeatedly. "Right, right. That place is super fun. It has mountains and rivers, and the scenery is really beautiful."
Luke laughed when he saw how hard she was trying to sell it. "Where can't you find pretty mountains, rivers, and scenery? I remember Fossbarrow is on the northern border, close to the Freljord. It's probably still very cold there right now. Besides, that area is mostly mountainous, and there are even more mountain roads than in the south. Climbing mountains alone can wear a person out. You're telling me that's fun?"
His analysis, point by point, made Lux's confidence grow weaker and weaker. In the end, she pouted and said faintly, "Anyway, it's just fun."
Luke smiled. "If it's fun, then go by yourself."
"No!" Lux immediately collapsed onto the sofa, lying there limply with no strength in her body. "I don't want to go alone. Can you really bear to watch me go all by myself, lonely and pitiful?"
She looked at Luke with watery eyes, putting on an adorably pitiful expression.
Luke calmly took a sip of tea, then said, "I didn't say I wouldn't go. I've also heard a little about your great-grandfather's story. This is a good chance to go see the old man, and we can treat it as a spring outing while we're at it."
Lux's great-grandfather was named Fossian Crownguard.
He had once been a famous hero of Demacia. This hero had ultimately sacrificed himself in a battle against a demon, but his legendary story was still passed down to this day.
Because of that, the small town of Fossbarrow had also been named after him.
That was also where Lux was going this time.
It was located in northern Demacia, close to the Freljord, where the climate was cold year-round. To be honest, this was not a good time to go.
But there was no helping it. House Crownguard's ancestral memorial day was coming up soon.
After hearing Luke's answer, Lux's eyes lit up again. She sat up and smiled brightly. "That's great. Then we'll leave tomorrow!"
For some reason, even though she had been quite resistant to going to Fossbarrow to pay respects to the ancestors before this.
After all, the road was long, the mountains were high, the weather was cold, and she had childhood trauma on top of that.
But now that she heard Luke was going too, she immediately did not resist as much. Instead, she even began looking forward to it a little.
After that, Lux asked the others as well.
In the end, Poppy, Sona, Yurna, and Katarina were all going too.
With more people, things naturally would not be boring.
Kahina sighed with some envy. "Too bad I have an important exam in a few days. I can't leave the capital."
Right now, besides being an official member of the Illuminators, she also had to find time to participate in the capital's knight assessment.
That was a proper assessment route, starting from trainee knight and climbing all the way to the top level.
Cithria had started from that kind of assessment as well, though she had risen from among the common people.
By comparison, Kahina, as the youngest daughter of House Buvelle, would have it a little easier in this kind of assessment and appointment.
And so, the matter of departure was settled.
Miss Crownguard, now that she had people to accompany her, instantly became much happier.
Poppy, meanwhile, sat there as if remembering something. In her mind flashed the image of a tall, powerful, unsmiling man with exceptional strength. His eyes were as bright as sword blades, his face was firm and sharply defined, and his laughter was loud and hearty like a great bell.
She muttered to herself, "Fossian... I met him before. He really was an incredible hero."
Along her long journey, she had witnessed countless stories of Demacia and met countless people.
Fossian was one of them. Although he had only been a passerby in her life, Poppy still had a deep impression of a man with such heroic spirit.
However, some stories were destined to be enjoyed by Poppy alone.
Time arrived at evening.
In the living room.
Sona sat on a chair, holding the score Luke had given her. Her expression was serious, and her gaze was focused on it.
She had already studied it for an entire afternoon.
The deeper she understood it, the more she felt that this score was anything but simple.
Every single piece in it was one she had never heard before, and every single one was extremely high quality. They were also of different kinds, and playing them produced different effects.
Their difficulty varied as well. The more difficult a piece was, the stronger its effect became.
Most importantly, she discovered that the effects of these pieces could blend with the Etwahl.
If a mage needed a staff to cast spells, then the Etwahl was Sona's staff.
Her musical inspiration spread through the Etwahl, thereby achieving the effect of spellcasting.
And now, this score had given her great inspiration. After trying it, she discovered that by playing the corresponding pieces, she could trigger different effects.
If after possessing a staff, spellcasting still required magical inscriptions or incantations, then to Sona, these scores were her incantations.
So far, she had only learned a few pieces from the score.
If she could learn every piece in it, she would definitely be able to help His Highness even better.
Thinking of this, Sona's lips unconsciously curved into a smile.
The next day.
Early in the morning, Luke came down the stairs yawning and holding his waist.
Clearly, yesterday's gift had suited Sona's taste too well, causing the girl to take the initiative and start farming experience.
As the poor little monster being farmed for experience, Luke had nearly been drowned by the tide. Left with no choice, he swallowed a Vitality Pill and recovered a wave of stamina.
"Sigh."
Remembering last night's flood-like scene, Luke sighed softly, then silently walked out to the courtyard and began practicing Vitality Arts.
Before long, Lux and the others arrived as well.
After everyone had breakfast and packed simply, they prepared to set off.
House Crownguard's ancestral memorial day was February 11. Calculating the time, there were still nearly twenty days left, so they had plenty of time.
The capital itself was already located somewhat to the north, and the direction they were heading this time was even farther north.
They would pass through Edessa, Pinara, Lissus, and Velorus, four mountain cities, then arrive at High Silvermere before finally advancing toward Fossbarrow.
These cities were not very far apart from each other. On average, each stretch took roughly a day and a half.
Adding it all up, they had more than enough time.
Riding on horseback as they headed north, Luke suddenly remembered that they would also pass through High Silvermere this time.
High Silvermere was Demacia's second great city after the capital, and it was also known as the City of Raptors. Many famous noble families had originated there.
For example, House Crownguard. The original House Crownguard had been located in High Silvermere.
There was also House Laurent. The main branch of House Laurent was also in High Silvermere.
That Miss Duelist definitely had no idea he would be passing through. He wondered what kind of expression she would make when she saw him.
Luke could not help feeling a little anticipation.
In the blink of an eye, time arrived at February 5.
After eleven days, Luke and the others finally arrived at High Silvermere.
Once they reached the north, the air gained a few extra traces of coldness. Winter here seemed as if it had not passed yet.
In Luke's field of vision, the image of a great city gradually emerged. This was his first time coming to High Silvermere, and honestly, the shock he felt was no less than what he had felt from the capital.
High Silvermere was a city located on the rocky highlands of northwestern Demacia.
It merged with a massive river and waterfall. On the white stone cliffs, buildings stood tightly connected one after another, looking like a spiderweb. It was magnificent and spectacular. A huge arched bridge led to the city's entrance, and farther ahead stood High Silvermere's famous landmark, Knight's Rock.
The Demacians had carved a giant guardian knight into the mountain rock, as if it were guarding this mountain city.
Below the arched bridge, waterfalls rushed endlessly, and boats came and went across the broad river. There were even silverwing raptors hiding above the cloud layer and chasing one another, their cries echoing beyond the nine heavens.
At a glance, High Silvermere was not much smaller than the capital. Looking down from above, the dense buildings below appeared extremely tiny.
Katarina was also sizing up High Silvermere at this moment, and she had indeed felt somewhat shocked.
Noxus had grand architecture as well, but compared to Demacia, they were two completely different styles.
"High Silvermere is right ahead! Let's speed up!"
After seeing High Silvermere, Lux seemed very excited. Her little face was flushed, and after a clear, crisp "Hyah,"
the horse beneath her, named Starfire, immediately shot forward.
This was the gift Pieter had given her on her birthday, the descendant of an excellent warhorse.
After running for some distance, she stopped again, turned back, and looked at Luke and the others, who were taking their time. She urged them, "Hurry up. High Silvermere is right ahead."
The girl repeated herself again.
Luke yawned and said, "We saw it."
It was currently morning. After traveling for so many days in a row, he did not have much strength.
"I never should've brought an old man like you out." Lux sighed helplessly and had no choice but to ride back.
Her riding skills were actually quite good. It seemed that aside from studying, this girl's talents in every other area were unexpectedly excellent.
Finally, under Miss Crownguard's repeated urging, Luke picked up the pace.
The group quickly arrived on the arched bridge leading to High Silvermere. There were more pedestrians around them now. People and carriages entered and exited continuously, and Luke even saw bicycles.
"This bridge is still so huge. When I was little, I thought I'd never finish walking across it in my whole life."
Lux looked at the long bridge, and her tone gained a few traces of emotion.
High Silvermere was where she had grown up, a place filled with her childhood.
But after she, her mother, and the others moved to the capital, she had never returned. Seeing it now made her feel rather nostalgic.
Hearing this, Luke asked curiously, "Since you love causing trouble so much, I imagine you must have been pretty famous in High Silvermere."
"?" Lux seemed to type a question mark with her expression. She looked at him and let out a proud little huff. "You're the one who loves causing trouble. I was very quiet when I was little. But one thing you said is right. I, Lux, was a very famous big deal in High Silvermere."
As soon as her voice fell, an elderly woman nearby looked over with a surprised and delighted expression. "Isn't this Laxanna?"
Hearing that, Lux looked toward the elderly woman and immediately remembered her. Her eyes lit up. "Mrs. Huxey, long time no see."
"Is that Lux?"
"The little girl from House Crownguard."
"She's already grown this much?"
Around them, quite a few people also recognized Lux and walked over one after another.
Seeing this, Lux immediately gave Luke a smug little look that said, See? I'm famous, aren't I?
"It really has been a long time. I didn't expect you to become such a graceful young lady in the blink of an eye."
The elderly Mrs. Huxey sighed with nostalgia. "Everyone in High Silvermere has missed you. You finally decided to come back."
Lux scratched her head shyly. "I didn't have time to come back because I was in the capital completing my studies."
"Ahem, ahem."
Luke seemed to choke and coughed several times in a row.
Lux glared at him, then immediately and seamlessly revealed a perfect smile, dazzling the people around her.
Mrs. Huxey smiled very warmly. "Completing your studies is a good thing. I never expected the day would come when you loved studying. I still remember when you were little and didn't want to do your homework. You waited until no one was at school and nearly set the whole place on fire. Haha, now that I think about it, that really was adorable."
Lux froze for a moment. After her dark history was exposed, her little face immediately turned red, especially after seeing the strange looks from Luke and the others.
She could not help defending herself. "It wasn't that serious. I only burned one desk."
"Is that so? Perhaps I remembered it wrong." Mrs. Huxey continued reminiscing. "There was another time when you wanted to skip class, so you incited an entire grade of students to play in the woods outside for a whole day. We searched for quite a while. Back then, I thought you definitely had the ability to become a leader."
Luke's gaze grew even stranger.
Even the roots of Lux's ears turned red. She desperately wanted to rush up and cover Mrs. Huxey's mouth. She laughed awkwardly twice. "Haha, Mrs. Huxey, your memory really is clear. I don't even remember that."
Mrs. Huxey said, "Of course I remember clearly. I also remember..."
"Ahem."
Lux hurriedly interrupted Mrs. Huxey's words and stiffly said, "I still have something to do, so how about we talk next time?"
"All right, off you go."
Mrs. Huxey smiled and waved goodbye.
Lux quickly gave Luke a look and sped up.
Only after moving away from the circle of people did she finally let out a slight breath of relief.
"So this is what you meant by quiet?"
Luke looked at her with clicking admiration. "I never expected Miss Crownguard to be so impressive. This humble one failed to recognize greatness. At least when I was little, I never dared to set fire to a school."
How should he put this?
Miss Crownguard could be said to have accomplished something many people wanted to do but never dared to.
And she could even incite an entire grade of students to skip class for a whole day. As expected of Miss Crownguard.
From the look of it, there seemed to be other impressive stories too.
He suddenly understood a little how this girl had become famous.
He also somewhat understood how she had somehow ended up transferring from High Silvermere to the capital to continue her studies.
Most likely, this vast High Silvermere could no longer contain such a mighty figure.
Lux's face was still red at this moment. She glared at Luke. "I wasn't planning to burn down the school back then. I hadn't done my homework, but I forced myself to hand it in anyway. I was thinking that since no one was at school, I'd secretly burn my homework. Then there would be no evidence that I hadn't done it. But then, the fire suddenly lit up the whole classroom."
Luke asked curiously, "Then how did the fire get put out later?"
Lux raised her hand and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Later, the patrolling guards discovered the flames and ran over to put it out."
Back then, she had already awakened her magic. In her panic, she had used magic to wrap around the flames and control the fire.
Then, when the guards rushed over, the magic just happened to disperse.
In short, after that incident, Miss Crownguard became thoroughly famous in High Silvermere.
This was someone fierce enough to dare set fire to a school.
Afterward, she had also received punishment. Augatha, in a fury, had nearly skinned her alive.
At this moment, Luke raised a thumb and said with admiration, "As expected of a famous big deal!"
Around them, even Sona and the others could not help smiling.
"Famous my ass!"
Lux was furious, gritting her silver teeth as she tried to kick Luke.
But Luke nimbly dodged away.
"Looks like I need to properly admire the glorious deeds of this big deal in High Silvermere. I'll be going on ahead."
Luke flicked the reins, immediately sped up, and headed forward.
Clearly, he held an extremely strong interest in digging up Miss Crownguard's dark history in High Silvermere.
"I won't allow it!"
Seeing this, Lux hurriedly chased after him, murderous intent already stirring in her embarrassed eyes.
Clearly, the only way to stop this bastard from continuing to ask about her dark history was to assassinate him right now!
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