Twenty minutes later, Luke pushed the door open and walked back into the room.
A clean, soothing incense scent hung in the air. Fiora lay quietly on the massage table, her body fully relaxed.
He took a couple of steps closer and realized she'd fallen asleep.
Her sleeping face felt like morning sunlight spilling into his chest—pure, gentle, and stunningly beautiful.
It was the first time Luke had seriously studied the Swordmistress's sleeping expression, and he couldn't help looking a little longer, admiration filling his eyes.
That usually cold, untouchable beauty softened after she drifted off, gaining a tranquil, dreamy warmth. Her soft, rosy lips were slightly parted, and her breathing made her body rise and fall faintly.
Maybe she sensed his gaze.
Fiora's long eyelashes trembled, and the next second, she slowly opened her eyes—only to find Luke smiling at her.
A blush crept onto her cheeks. She immediately realized she'd fallen asleep without any guard up.
Thankfully, her position hadn't changed. She steadied herself and asked calmly, "Is it time?"
"Yeah." Luke answered, his eyes moving to Fiora's back.
Her flawless pale skin was slicked with tiny, crystal-like beads of sweat, making it look even softer.
He reached out and removed the needles one by one.
Fiora buried her face in the pillow, feeling her back loosen bit by bit.
When there was no more movement, Luke's voice came again.
"I'm heading out first."
After the sound of the door opening and closing, Fiora finally sat up from the massage table. Her bare upper body added a faint, sensual heat to the room.
She looked toward the doorway, slowed her slightly quick breathing, and a strange light flickered in her eyes.
Then she reached for a towel on the nearby table and slowly wiped the sweat from her skin.
At the same time, she could feel the immediate effect of the acupuncture—far stronger than the previous two sessions.
Her entire body felt lighter than ever. Strength filled every part of her, and when she moved, there wasn't the slightest stiffness.
After three treatments, it felt like her strength could advance a full step forward.
After a while, Fiora walked out of the room.
The other women looked up, and it was obvious she seemed even more refreshed than usual.
Sona and Kahina had experienced acupuncture before, so they understood exactly what that feeling was like.
Only Lux—who hadn't tried it yet—had curiosity flicker in her eyes.
After all, Lux didn't have any issues. Her training wasn't nearly as intense as Kahina's or Fiora's, and she didn't feel any pressure on her shoulders either.
So there was no real need for it.
Fiora saw Lux, Sona, and Kahina playing a quick card game.
Luke sat nearby watching, so Fiora sat across from him, cleared space on the table, set the board out, and stared at him in challenge.
Remembering she still owed nearly twenty days—and the humiliation from last time—she spoke up sharply.
"Come on. With stakes."
She'd been grinding her board skills day and night for so long. Today, she wasn't the same as before.
Facing Luke again, she was confident she could beat him.
Luke saw that provocative look from the Swordmistress, coughed once, and shifted his gaze away, focusing on Lux's hand instead. "Not yet. Miss Crownguard's got a good hand this round."
He put on an exaggeratedly serious "watching the cards" expression.
Fiora didn't suspect anything at first.
But soon, the hand was over.
She kept her patience and said, "Now can we play?"
Luke replied, "One more. One more."
So they watched another hand.
After that, with most of her patience gone, Fiora asked again, "Now?"
Luke stretched and yawned. "Feels like it's getting late. How about we just rest today?"
Fiora's brows lifted, and her eyes turned cold in an instant.
Now she understood—this bastard clearly didn't want to play her.
He was deliberately dodging.
She'd worked so hard on her board skills precisely to avenge the humiliation she'd suffered that day.
And now that she finally had the strength to do it, he refused to play?
Heat flared in her chest. Fiora clenched her teeth and said icily, "Tonight, you either go outside and spar with me, or you sit here and play the board. Choose."
Luke's expression stiffened. "Isn't this blackmail?"
Fiora stared at him. "And if it is?"
Luke looked helpless. "Fine. Let's play. Two games."
The truth was, he couldn't beat this Swordmistress in a real fight right now—otherwise he'd definitely teach her a lesson.
These past days, with her body improving, Fiora's strength had skyrocketed.
Meanwhile, Luke had been slacking off, stagnating in place.
And it wasn't just Fiora's strength that had changed—her Five in a Row skill had undergone a real transformation too.
When Luke played her now, he could feel the pressure. He even had the faint sense that he was starting to lose ground.
If this kept going, sooner or later he'd crash and burn.
But with her like this tonight, he had no choice but to play.
So the fierce clash began almost immediately. The commotion drew Lux and the other two women's attention. They set their cards aside and watched the match.
It was only Five in a Row, but the battle was intensely sharp—both players evenly matched, trading blows, neither giving an inch.
Even the spectators could feel the pressure.
Fiora stayed focused the entire time, her gaze locked to the board without wavering.
Luke was the same.
Sometimes, beads of sweat even fell onto the board from their hands.
Twenty minutes later…
"I told you I didn't want to play. Now look—fifteen more days. What a pain."
Luke wiped the sweat from his forehead. At last he dared to curl his lips into a cocky grin, flashing that familiar, infuriatingly smug expression the women all recognized.
That kind of smile always made people want to get mad for no reason.
Fortunately, this time only Fiora had to suffer it.
The other three women watched her with sympathy.
The Swordmistress looked like she was about to crack her teeth from grinding them. Her beautiful eyes practically spat fire.
Just a little… it was so close—so close!
She clenched her fist unwillingly. This time, she truly felt she was only one step away from victory.
But he'd found the opening first.
Luke didn't care how Fiora felt. He leaned back on the sofa, crossed one leg over the other, and said, "I'm heading out the day after tomorrow, so the count pauses until I'm back. But today still counts. I'm ordering you—go pour me a cup of tea. Perfect temperature."
The more unwilling and furious Fiora was, the stronger the thrill in his chest.
Sure, he'd nearly lost—but in the end, he still relied on superior board skill, careful planning, and steady control to secure the win.
Faced with Luke's arrogant command, Fiora stood up without a word. She shot him a look that could cut, and her reply came through clenched teeth.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Then she turned and went to pour the tea.
Normally, this was Yurna's job—her tea-making was genuinely excellent.
But after being threatened twenty minutes ago, Luke finally had the chance to hit back, so of course he wasn't going to let it go.
Before long, Fiora returned with a cup and held it out to Luke, head lowered in humiliation. "Your Highness… your tea."
Luke took it casually and sipped. "It's already this cool. The flavor's gone. Whatever—fine."
He'd been about to make her pour another, but when he looked up and saw that "I want to stab you" glare, he immediately changed course.
Better not risk his life over a cup of tea.
He valued staying alive.
As the night deepened, it signaled the day was coming to an end.
The women returned home one by one. Before leaving, Fiora even took the board with her—clearly, tonight would be another sleepless night for her.
With no desire to sleep, Luke lay on a rocking chair in the courtyard, enjoying the night view.
Since he'd be joining the Academy Hunt the day after tomorrow, he figured he should start preparing tomorrow.
Two days later.
July 16.
Morning.
At the Royal Academy gates, countless carriages had gathered—many belonging to nobles, and many prepared by the Academy itself.
Among them, the Lightshield family's carriages—the royal line—numbered three in total.
Those three carriages were packed with supplies of every kind: food, drinks, entertainment, even rocking chairs and sun umbrellas.
Compared to that, the other nobles' preparations looked laughable.
Anyone who didn't know better would think he was going on vacation.
In truth, Luke was going on vacation.
Right now, he lounged comfortably inside the spacious carriage with the curtain lifted. Outside the window stood Miss Crownguard, looking like she was about to be separated forever.
She wiped the corner of her eye and said tearfully, "With this parting, we may never meet again, Your Highness. Take care on your journey."
Luke leaned out and flicked her forehead, speechless. "I'm just traveling for a bit."
Lux held her forehead, still dramatic. "Don't worry! I'll take good care of the basement ice cream for you. And the Coke too. Go in peace!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
Luke couldn't be bothered with this actress. He looked past her to Fiora behind and waved. "See you when I'm back."
The convoy ahead had already started moving.
Fiora nodded lightly and raised a hand in farewell.
Since they were at the Academy gates, Sona and Kahina didn't come, but they both knew Luke was only going out to attend an event.
Soon, with Yurna snapping the reins, the carriage rolled forward.
Luke was just about to drop the curtain—
When Lux, still in full drama mode, ran after the slowly moving carriage, trotting alongside it with an impossibly reluctant expression. "When we meet again… you have to be happy. You have to be blessed."
Luke stared straight ahead, refusing to make eye contact with her.
The carriage gradually sped up. Lux was left behind, doing her best to keep up—until the distance widened and widened, and all she could feel was helplessness.
Tears glimmered again at the corners of her eyes, as if this were some tragic farewell for life and death.
She couldn't hold it anymore and cried out, heartbroken, "I want to go too!"
Watching Luke go off to enjoy himself felt worse than going to class.
And she couldn't even imagine how she was supposed to survive the next half month without Luke's cooking.
Seeing Lux so upset, Fiora felt an echo of that emotion in her own chest.
She just wouldn't show it like this.
Fiora touched her stomach and sighed softly, only hating the fact that she was one year older than Luke.
Otherwise, she could have joined this year's Academy Hunt too.
As the royal carriage disappeared from view, she withdrew her gaze.
Inside the carriage.
Luke's mood was naturally excellent. For him, the next half month was basically a vacation.
Leaning back in his seat, he silently thought, "Check-in."
[Congratulations, host: you obtained an Intermediate Side-Profession Skill Upgrade Card.]
[Congratulations, host: you obtained a high-tier skill—Divine Veil Technique.]
[Detected learnable skill: Divine Veil Technique Lv. 3 (modest mastery). Learn?]
"Learn."
Luke's interest spiked.
It had been a while since a check-in rewarded a high-tier skill, so he was curious about this one.
The moment he confirmed it, a surge of information poured into his mind, and his proficiency with the Divine Veil Technique began filling in, bit by bit.
As the level rose from Lv. 1 to Lv. 3, his presence pulsed—strong one moment, faint the next.
After a while, Luke finished digesting the information, opened his eyes, and a sharp gleam flashed through them.
This skill was very good.
It was an infiltration-type technique, perfect for situations where he needed to stay hidden.
Stealth techniques had endless uses: assassination, protection, theft, concealment, escape…
Across Runeterra, many experts were masters of hiding, and stealth skills were a core capability for powerful assassins.
Even the royal guards previously assigned to protect Luke—the white-clad bodyguards—were experts in this field, rarely detected when they didn't want to be.
But there were also people with exceptional perception, and those were often the bane of stealth users.
For example, Luke.
His sixth sense far surpassed ordinary people's. Most stealth tricks were useless against him.
But this Divine Veil Technique was extremely potent—powerful enough to avoid, to a certain extent, even those with heightened perception.
By changing and regulating his breathing, it directly influenced the "aura" around his body and lowered his sense of presence.
From the information, Luke also learned that at higher levels, it could even affect an enemy's vision.
That was absurdly overpowered.
If this skill reached max level, it could get infinitely close to true invisibility.
Of course, it was only Lv. 3 right now—so it could only suppress his presence and aura.
Setting the Divine Veil aside for the moment, Luke turned his attention to his inventory and thought, "Use the side-profession upgrade card. Upgrade Artisan."
[Intermediate side-profession upgrade card used successfully.]
[Host Artisan level increased to Lv. 7 (peak mastery).]
As the system messages landed one after another, a massive amount of Artisan knowledge flooded Luke's mind.
It was like sitting at a workbench day after day, night after night, obsessively refining his craft.
Only after a long while did he fully digest it.
Luke now had four side professions: Cooking, Artisan, Divination, and Medicine. Medicine was already maxed and couldn't be raised further.
In terms of immediate benefit, Luke actually wanted to raise Cooking again.
But an intermediate upgrade card could only boost levels six to seven—levels eight and nine required an advanced upgrade card.
And since Artisan and Divination were both level six, practicality made the choice obvious: upgrade Artisan first.
Today's check-in rewards were excellent. As the carriage jolted, Yurna's voice came from outside.
"Your Highness, we've left the capital."
Hearing that, Luke lifted the curtain and looked out. A familiar feeling rose up—outside the capital looked almost unchanged from when he arrived.
In the distance, that enormous white statue still stood out sharply among the forest.
After a few glances, he lowered the curtain again and decided to nap.
The roads outside weren't as smooth as the capital's streets, so the carriage swayed slightly as it traveled.
Even so, Luke fell asleep.
When he opened his eyes again, it was nearly midday.
Feeling the carriage still moving, he lifted the curtain once more. The scenery had changed; the Royal Academy convoy was continuing along the main road.
After thinking for a moment, he stood and stepped outside.
With a flicker of movement, he drifted up to the top of the carriage and sat cross-legged there. Even with the bumps, his posture remained steady.
A cool wind brushed his face. Luke looked back and saw the capital's walls were no longer in sight.
Ahead, the convoy stretched like a long dragon, with soldiers riding alongside on both sides.
He went back into the carriage, grabbed a pillow, returned to the roof, tossed it down, and lay back on it.
Blue sky and drifting clouds above. Sunlight warm against his face. Wind rushing past.
His mood felt weightless.
Night.
Back at Luke's home in the capital, in the hot spring pool.
Steam curled in the air. The women toyed with the water, splashing it over themselves and sinking into the warmth.
And in the middle, the white curtain wasn't drawn anymore, making the pool feel much more open than usual.
Lux could fully stretch out and swim to her heart's content—one end to the other, then back again—her smooth pale legs kicking up water so the pool could never stay quiet.
After two laps, she got bored, rolled over, and floated on her back, letting the water carry her.
She stared at the night sky above, but it felt like something was missing.
It wasn't just her.
As Lux quieted, the hot spring grew quiet with her.
Fiora, Sona, and Kahina all glanced to the left. Even though no one was there, they still unconsciously gathered on the right.
As for what was missing—obviously, it was that guy.
Fiora withdrew her gaze and looked up at the sky, not quite sure what she was feeling.
He'd only been gone for a day, and already it felt unfamiliar.
And there were many more days like this ahead.
Tonight's stars seemed even more beautiful than usual, scattered across the darkness like glittering dust.
Fiora murmured softly, "I wonder if that guy… is looking at this same sky right now."
Hearing her, Sona and Kahina lifted their heads as well, almost in unison.
Tonight's hot spring was unusually quiet.
Out on the road, the convoy had already stopped to set up camp and rest.
Luke found a clean patch of grass, lay down, and stared up at the night sky.
For some reason, he felt like they had to be looking too.
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