Over the next few days, nothing major really happened.
Everything—everything at all—overlapped perfectly with the life Luke had imagined.
He slept until he woke up naturally every day. Once he was up, he did his daily check-in. The rewards these past few days were all rare fruits and exotic produce, most of them stored away in the system inventory.
After getting dressed, the maid downstairs would hear him moving around and bring up a freshly made breakfast.
At noon, he'd take a carriage into the capital and pick a decent restaurant for lunch.
In the afternoon, he'd wander around, and every so often he'd get to laugh at Miss Crownguard, who'd run over to his place to hide out.
Dinner was naturally eaten out as well—over these few days, Luke had practically toured every famous restaurant in the capital.
Life was comfortable and unhurried.
Now, even when he lay down to sleep each night, the corner of Luke's mouth would be curled up in a smile.
Until this day.
"Your Highness, it's time to get up for school."
In his sleep, Luke heard Yurna's voice. She gently shook his body.
"Stop it. Let me sleep a little longer."
He thought he was dreaming, rolled over, and kept sleeping.
"Your Highness, the High Marshal is waiting for you."
Yurna continued.
The High Marshal?
Luke's brain cleared for a split second—then the drowsiness swallowed it again.
Forget the High Marshal. Even if his father showed up today, nobody was stopping him from finishing this sleep.
One minute later—
The door was shoved open with a loud sound, followed by the sharp clack of hard-soled shoes stepping across the floor.
"Yurna, be quiet."
Luke thought it was Yurna making the noise. He rolled over again, cracked his eyes open, and glanced that way.
And once he saw who it was, he couldn't close his eyes again.
A familiar face was right there.
Tianna—smiling as she looked down at him.
The High Marshal really came?
Luke's eyes snapped open. There was still a trace of blank confusion in his gaze.
"If I remember correctly… this is my house, isn't it?"
Tianna nodded. "Correct."
"How did you get in?"
"I walked in."
Tianna answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Luke stared for a moment, then said, "You do know breaking into someone's home is illegal, right?"
"I do. But it's fine." Tianna smiled, completely unconcerned. "We can just add a law that says the High Marshal entering the prince's room doesn't count."
Luke: "…"
He couldn't even argue.
That… was really how it worked?
Thinking seriously about it, yeah—she probably could be that casual.
The woman in front of him was, in Demacia, one of the very few people whose status and authority came second only to his father's.
At this point Luke felt a little numb. He still hadn't figured out why Tianna was here.
"Three minutes," Tianna said warmly. "Can you get up?"
Luke nodded reflexively, then immediately reacted.
"Get up for what?"
Tianna replied, "School."
Luke froze again. "School for what?"
"You're not dumb enough to need me to define that word, are you?"
Tianna straightened up, clearly not interested in explaining.
"Wait… why do I have to go to school?"
Luke rubbed at a temple that was already starting to ache.
Tianna countered, "Why can't you go to school?"
"I'm a prince."
"And being a prince means you don't have to go to school?"
"…"
Luke had just woken up. His head still wasn't fully running.
But he had a sharp sense that something was seriously off.
Why was the word "school" even something that could be connected to him?
Wasn't he supposed to be long past that?
"I still remember your brother looking just as confused as you do now," Tianna said, recalling it with obvious satisfaction. "But after I beat him up once, his understanding became a lot clearer."
As she spoke, she lowered her head and gave Luke a gentle smile.
"I think you're a little smarter than your brother."
That smile made Luke shiver for no reason.
He wasn't about to gamble on whether Tianna would actually beat him up.
Because she was one of the few people in all of Demacia who absolutely would—
And she'd face zero consequences afterward.
Which was… deeply unpleasant.
If it were Roy, that old man, Luke would at least dare to shout a couple of lines at him.
But right now—
Silence was his only reply tonight.
"Change into this. You still have a bit of time—no need to rush. The carriage is already prepared."
Tianna tossed down a set of clothes that had clearly been readied in advance. Then she placed a hand on Luke's head and rubbed his hair a few times, deliberately messing it up until it looked thoroughly ruined, before turning and leaving the room.
Luke sat on the bed with hair like a bird's nest, suddenly questioning his life choices.
He turned to look at the maid standing beside him and asked, "Why didn't you stop her?"
This was his house, wasn't it? And Yurna just let someone barge in like that?
Outrageous!
Faced with the question, Yurna answered with a perfectly serious expression:
"Because I can't beat her."
Luke: "…"
A sudden wave of despair.
Even though he didn't want to, Luke still followed his body's instincts—got up, washed up, and changed clothes.
He was wearing the school uniform now, and honestly… it looked pretty good on him.
After admiring himself for a second or two, Luke finally went downstairs.
And there, outside, was Tianna waiting.
To be personally waited on for this long early in the morning by a nation's High Marshal—most people would probably consider that an honor.
A carriage was parked at the door. It looked like it belonged to House Crownguard.
Yurna stood at the entrance to see him off. "Safe travels, Your Highness."
Luke looked back at her with reluctant longing, then climbed into the carriage in despair.
He lifted the curtain and stepped inside—
And immediately saw Lux, wearing the exact same expression of despair.
"…"
"…"
They stared at each other for several seconds in complete silence. Then Luke quietly sat down on a seat to the side.
Lux—who'd been half-dead from sleep a moment ago—suddenly looked energized. She snapped upright in one smooth motion and scooted closer.
Then she patted Luke's shoulder with her small hand, full of emotion.
"That's life."
The words were soaked in mockery.
That punchable little expression was exactly the same one Luke had been wearing before.
Seeing Luke sit there, silent the whole time, Miss Crownguard's mood instantly improved—and she laughed with genuine delight.
Luke hadn't expected her "curse" to actually come true.
All of a sudden, he felt like Jarvan III making him move out of the palace had a deeper meaning after all.
And not only that—he'd been moved to a place no more than ten minutes away from House Crownguard!
So this was a conspiracy.
A premeditated conspiracy!
He'd never seen a nation's High Marshal go to someone's home early in the morning just to drag them off to school.
What did I ever do to deserve this?!
"It's not as painful as you think," Lux said, speaking as a "senior" now, sharing her rich experience. "Just endure it and it'll pass."
Looking at Lux's smug, delighted little face, Luke decided he didn't want to talk.
And right then, he suddenly understood one simple truth of life:
You really can't be too arrogant as a person.
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