Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Luke woke up in bed, still feeling rather groggy.
He glanced to his left. The blanket had been lifted there, and the spot beside him was empty, though a faint lingering warmth seemed to remain.
Dawn had only just broken outside. The room was silent.
"Don't tell me she left without saying goodbye again."
Luke lay back down, yawning as he scratched his head, then stared blankly at the ceiling.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door, and a moment later, the door was pushed open.
A pair of long, toned, flawless legs appeared in the doorway, followed by a soft laugh. "Did you think I'd left again?"
Katarina wore nothing but one of Luke's coats. Her perfect figure was half-hidden beneath the white fabric, her red hair spilling loose around her shoulders, and she held a glass of water in one hand.
"I was just thirsty, so I went to get some water."
She walked into the room on her own.
Luke thought for a moment and said, "Makes sense. You lost a lot of water these past two days. You really should replenish it."
Katarina's hand paused as she raised the glass. She shot Luke an embarrassed, annoyed look and clearly had no intention of continuing that topic. "But Swain has already been gone for three days. It's time for me to go back too."
She slowly sat down at the edge of the bed, her eyes fixed on Luke as though she wanted to carve his face into her memory.
If she could, she truly wanted to stay here.
But Noxus still needed her, and she could not be that selfish.
Spending three days with this man somewhere no one could disturb them would be one of the most unforgettable memories of her life. For her, that was enough.
Luke sat up and asked, "What if I tried to talk you into staying and being my maid? Would you?"
Katarina's bright eyes stared straight at him without the slightest avoidance. "If you try a little harder, I absolutely will."
She did not think she was the sort of woman who hesitated when something happened. But right now, if Luke really wanted her to stay, if he only said a few more words, she was afraid she would no longer be able to refuse.
Luke smiled. "You've already learned how to use the Secret Key. If you miss me, you can video call me anytime."
Katarina stared at him for a long while, then smiled too. "You mean when you miss me."
For some reason, she suddenly felt relieved.
"When are you leaving?" Luke asked again.
He knew Katarina was a woman with ambitions and ideals, and she had already given up so much for them.
So he would not selfishly try to keep her by his side. That would be no different from breaking a bird's beautiful wings.
Besides, it was not as if they would never see each other again. It was only a short separation.
Katarina drained the water in her glass in one gulp, rinsed her mouth, then spat it back into the cup. She glanced at the light outside. "No later than noon."
As she spoke, she lay back down on the bed and looked into Luke's eyes from up close. She caught his large hand on her body but did not move it away. "Don't rush. There's still one more thing."
Luke was in no rush, of course. It was only early morning, and there were still at least six or seven hours until noon.
"What is it?"
"About Kevink Losario."
"My mother's father?"
"Yes." Katarina nodded gently and said, "After I left last time, I still sent people to Gukoli City. They found out that Kevink had already died. He was buried at his old estate."
Luke fell silent for a moment.
Katarina continued, "He was already eighty this year, so I suppose it was a natural death. I heard he passed away in his sleep."
Luke said, "I was thinking of going to see him."
Kevink Losario. The only reason Luke had wanted to see him was simply because he was Melli's father.
For Melli's sake, Luke should have gone once.
But before he had the chance, he had heard this news.
Katarina said softly, "There's no need now. According to the intelligence I gathered, he served in the military before. After retiring, he stayed in Gukoli City and had nothing to do with the Black Rose. He had already accepted the news of his daughter's death years ago and never left again."
"He didn't have any other family?"
"No. His wife passed away a few years ago too."
"I see."
Luke was a little distracted. He inevitably felt some regret, but it passed in a flash.
Melli's matter had now reached its final end. He would not dwell too much on a stranger he had never even met.
With the other matter finished, Katarina felt it was time to get down to business. She looked at the distracted Luke, then suddenly slipped under the blanket.
"Hiss."
Another day passed in the blink of an eye.
After Swain's departure, news of the armistice treaty had already reached the Immortal Bastion one step ahead.
The news that Noxus and Demacia had officially ceased hostilities immediately caused quite a stir.
In the end, only two voices remained in the city.
One group was made up of radicals. They believed that choosing to stop the war like this, while watching such a vast stretch of territory be taken by Demacia, was an act that cost Noxus its dignity.
Another group believed that, given the current situation, a ceasefire was absolutely the right choice. Judging by the strength Demacia had shown this time, if they insisted on continuing the war, they would only pay an even greater price and lose even more land.
A third group chose silence.
At least judging by the voices in the city, there were still more rational people than not.
After all, the ones dying were not the people who wanted the war to continue. They were not the ones fighting, so naturally they could not feel the pain.
Now, many refugees from the west had arrived in the capital. Having personally witnessed Demacia's strength, they understood perfectly well what would happen if the war continued.
But no matter what, the decision Swain had made would still have a somewhat negative impact during the early days after he had just taken power.
Inside the newly established Trifarix.
With two representatives gone, only Darius remained to preside over the overall situation.
"Many people in the city believe that Lord Swain's weak behavior is no different from cowardice."
"If this continues, I fear it will damage Lord Swain's reputation."
"They don't understand that if we insist on going to war with Demacia, both sides will only suffer."
"I suspect some of these people may be Darkwill's old subordinates."
"My lord, should we suppress the voices in the city?"
One member after another spoke.
Darius listened quietly. Only after the final question did he slowly open his mouth. "There is no need. The purpose of Swain establishing the Trifarix is to hear every voice from every side. Whether it is slander, praise, or abuse, when a country is left with only one voice, it is either at the height of its strength or only one step from decline."
"Darkwill did that once, and that is why his rule was overthrown."
"The people do not understand Swain, but it is enough that I understand him. I believe that in the days to come, he will also make every Noxian accept him wholeheartedly."
At this point, a cold glint flashed through Darius's eyes. "As for Darkwill's old subordinates, whether they fled far away or are hiding where they are, there is no rush. Once this matter passes, we will deal with them one by one."
With Noxus's coup and its armistice with Demacia, Runeterra seemed to enter a brief period of calm.
During Darkwill's reign, he had ordered campaigns in every direction, dispatching troops on all fronts.
Now, Swain had recalled all those forces. Even the war in Ionia, which had lasted a full eight years, was officially abandoned.
The army withdrew from Ionian territory to await orders from their new master.
Even so, beneath Noxus's surface, undercurrents still stirred.
Whether it was Darkwill's old subordinates, nobles dissatisfied with the Trifarix, or the Black Rose, all of them watched everything silently from the darkness.
But those were not things Demacia needed to worry about.
At this moment, Demacia was filled with celebration.
Even though the most festive National Day had only just passed, every city was still enjoying several continuous days of celebration.
Every corner of every street seemed to be preparing for a banquet. Lanterns and decorations hung everywhere, drums and music filled the air, and fireworks had been going off for days. Every citizen's face was full of smiles.
Because the war had been won!
And not just won. It was a great victory!
As early as the day the armistice agreement was confirmed, the news had already been sent back to Demacia.
With that, Demacia's eastern campaign came to a perfect conclusion. In just a few months, they had taken every piece of Noxian territory occupying the Argent Mountains.
This feat, even when looking across all of Demacian history, was a brilliant achievement never seen before.
The name Luke was destined to be carved into Demacia's history books.
And Demacia's offensive had already spread throughout all of Runeterra.
Just as he had shouted before setting out.
Let the world know Demacia!
From this moment on, Demacia was no longer an obscure, conservative nation located in the west of the Valoran continent.
It was now one of the strongest empires of the age.
It had even forced Noxus to voluntarily choose a ceasefire. The only one who could make the famous little tyrant Noxus suffer a loss and swallow it back down was Demacia.
Walking through the streets and feeling the joyful atmosphere, Fiora could not help the slight smile that curved her lips.
These days, while she was in the capital, the name she heard most often was Luke.
When she heard every sort of praise being spread around, she felt a strange kind of pride, or perhaps a hidden joy.
Fiora returned to House Laurent. The family had moved to a new location several times larger than before.
After these past few months of her instruction, some members of the family had begun to show their talent.
She believed that before long, House Laurent's swordsmanship would become famous throughout all of Demacia.
After returning to her bedroom, Fiora stretched lazily. Suddenly, she felt like giving that guy a video call.
She had only just opened the Secret Key when, perhaps because of a shared understanding, the other side's video call arrived first.
Fiora raised her hand without hesitation and chose to answer. Immediately, that familiar face she wanted to punch appeared on the screen.
"Your honeymoon is over, so you finally remembered me?"
"What honeymoon? I've been thinking about you every second, okay?"
Luke, on the screen, looked utterly confused when he heard that.
A faint cold smile appeared at the corner of Fiora's lips as she exposed him. "The little blonde said you disappeared without a word for another three days. Do you want me to guess what you were doing during those three days?"
"?" Luke slowly gave her a question mark, then said unhappily, "Why does that guy tell you everything?"
Fiora raised an eyebrow. "Were you planning to hide it from me?"
"No such thing. Don't overthink it." Luke calmly changed the subject. "This afternoon, many of the soldiers already began the journey home. Noxus doesn't have the nerve to attack again now."
Fiora nodded lightly and looked at him. "What about you?"
She made no effort to hide how much she missed him. All she cared about was when Luke would come back.
Luke heard her and said, "I still have things to finish, so I can't return for now."
Hearing this, Fiora's brows furrowed slightly. "The family's affairs basically no longer need to rely entirely on me. If I take a ship, I can reach your side in just over a month at the fastest."
At this moment, the two of them were communicating through a screen, but the distance between them was already very far.
Even by ship over the sea, it would take at least a month.
Whenever she freed herself from her busy state, Fiora often wondered why she did not just set off on her own to find Luke.
"Don't be so impatient." Seeing her rare impatience, Luke could not help smiling. "Maybe after a while, you won't need to spend a month on a ship."
"What do you mean?"
Fiora did not understand.
"Next, I'm planning to make a trip to Piltover. This was something I had already decided before I set out. Our current position is very close to Piltover, so I figured I might as well go there first, then think about going home afterward."
After saying this, Luke paused, then continued, "I hear they're working on a very interesting invention over there, something more convenient than any form of transportation we currently know."
Fiora listened thoughtfully, then nodded gently. "All right. I'll wait for your news."
After ending his conversation with Fiora, Luke put down the Secret Key, raised his head, and looked at the sky full of stars.
The stars scattered across the heavens truly shone like a galaxy, brilliant and dazzling, so gorgeous that even Luke felt a little entranced.
A cool breeze blew across the rooftop. The climate here in Qualthala was quite pleasant, so even at this hour, it did not feel especially cold.
(TN: Fixed, Kulsara=Qualthala. The correct name is Qualthala)
The army of more than a hundred thousand would withdraw in several batches, and then new personnel would be transferred over.
According to the signed armistice treaty, Qualthala would be the dividing line, and all the mountains to the west would belong to Demacia.
Digesting this territory would require quite some time for Demacia.
However, once the age began developing at a rapid pace, perhaps it would not take too long.
And what Luke had his eyes on was a city to the east, located by the sea mouth, Piltover.
Known across Runeterra as the City of Progress, its level of technology had always been at the forefront, and in recent years, it had advanced by leaps and bounds.
It seemed to be because they had combined magic and technology.
The latest news Luke had received was that they were preparing to introduce a major piece of technology, Hexgates.
This invention was extremely impressive. It could be called unprecedented in Runeterra.
Before setting out this time, Luke had already prepared to make a trip to Piltover along the way.
Because Piltover was a place that absolutely could not be ignored.
Unless something unexpected happened, Luke would not be able to rest for long. Soon, he would have to set out again.
At this moment, a ship headed east was being prepared. There was a waterway beside Qualthala, and traveling by ship was the fastest way to reach Piltover.
At the same time, Luke had already sent someone ahead to inform Piltover of his visit.
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