It turned out that the evening self-study was quite effective.
The next morning, when Lux woke up and saw the sunlight streaming through the curtains, her first thought was, "Sunlight is not Elemental Magic; this is a common point of confusion."
She was truly muddled from studying.
Shaking her head, Lux felt she was going crazy. She looked at her bedside, where Klein lay quietly, bathed in the warm morning light.
Lux glared at the sword hilt, still not quite appeased. She thought for a moment, then unladylike, jumped onto the bed, lifted her leg, and raised her fair, delicate foot.
This scoundrel!
I'll step—
However, just as she was about to step down, Lux hesitated.
This… isn't it a bit much?
After all, he was teaching her knowledge and had promised to help her rescue her uncle, who was trapped in the Shadow Realm.
Although Lux didn't know what use this knowledge would be, or whether she could ultimately rescue her uncle, Klein was her tutor after all.
Reluctantly lowering her leg, Lux changed into a long dress, put on her hairband, washed her face in the washroom next to her bedroom, and finally picked up the sword, attaching it to her belt.
"Oh, you're awake?" As Lux's magic began to flow again, Klein's greeting arrived as expected. "Your magic circulation seems unstable. It looks like you must have been exhausted yesterday—so let's skip self-study today."
"..."
While she was happy to skip morning self-study and avoid Klein's aggressive questioning, the thought that this was only a temporary reprieve made her happiness completely vanish.
"I'm going to eat," Lux pouted, pulling on her small boots. "Remember to remind me about etiquette—Mom seemed very happy yesterday, and I want to make Dad happy today too!"
"You truly are the Crownguard family's thoughtful little treasure!" Klein was in a good mood. "However, in my opinion, if you really want to make him happy, the best way is to keep an eye on your ignorant brother, just as you promised your mother yesterday."
"Brother isn't ignorant!" Lux puffed out her cheeks, angrily retorting, "He's just a little impulsive!"
"A twelve-year-old brat wanting to join the army, especially when the atmosphere is tense and War might break out, cannot be described as mere impulsiveness." Klein made a tsking sound. "Bravery and recklessness are separated by a thin line; I truly don't know which he is."
"He's brave!" Even though Garen had dismantled her beloved wind-up music box and couldn't put it back together, Lux still tried her best to defend her brother. "He must know that joining the army now is dangerous, but he still won't hesitate, because it aligns with noble virtues!"
"Oh? Noble virtues?"
"Exactly, virtues." Lux blinked, trying to find evidence to support herself. "Taking responsibility, charging forward, how does that saying go… 'We accept sustenance, we defend our homeland,' that's it!"
"So, you're very proud of him?" Klein asked casually. "Because his choice, though dangerous, aligns with the definition of noble spirit in the first volume of the etiquette guide, right?"
"Exactly!" Lux proudly lifted her chin, a smile of shared honor on her face. "That's right!"
However, she never expected that after presenting her evidence, she would not receive Klein's approval, but rather a completely irrelevant "praise."
"Our Miss Lux is truly amazing! She diligently studied all afternoon yesterday, and even though she forgot seventy percent by evening, she still had the energy to pay attention to that open decorative book on the table and remember those meaningless phrases… This is truly a unique talent!"
Lux, who had been full of pride, was completely stunned after hearing such undisguised sarcasm.
For the little princess of the Crownguard family, such an accusation was a bit too harsh, and she had never been criticized in a sarcastic tone before. Klein's words caught in her chest, making her momentarily feel breathless.
She was just defending her brother, so why did the topic get dragged back to her not paying attention yesterday?
But then she remembered yesterday evening's test, and she really couldn't answer. Although she was very upset, she couldn't find a reason to refute…
At this moment, Lux suddenly wanted to throw this sword away—throw it into the corner, out of the city, into the moat.
Then, before she could say anything else, Lady Ogessa appeared at the end of the corridor.
"Darling, you're awake!" Lady Ogessa, wearing a fitted long dress, hurried forward and stroked Lux's fluffy golden hair. "Hurry to the dining room. Your father has a meeting at the Citadel this morning and probably won't be back until evening."
Hearing Ogessa say this, Lux temporarily abandoned the idea of throwing away the sword. She nodded, then took a deep breath, and, following Klein's reminder, entered "noble lady" mode.
Scoundrel—you just wait!
Once I learn your knowledge, sooner or later I'll use your own words to refute you into silence!
… … … … … … … …
Breakfast passed peacefully.
Unfortunately, Pete seemed very concerned about the front-line War, and at this moment, he had no mind to notice Lux's ladylike demeanor—the tall Crownguard family patriarch frowned throughout, occasionally lowering his head to ponder something. Aside from glaring at Garen when he clamored to join the army, he didn't say another word.
Lux was somewhat disappointed after breakfast.
The little girl had thought her etiquette would earn her father's approval and cheer him up, but unfortunately, Pete was currently not in the mood to observe his family. His mind was filled with the dispute with Noxus, and Lux's good behavior went unnoticed.
Although Ogessa praised Lux again during their post-meal walk, the feeling still made her very uncomfortable.
Lux knew her uncle wasn't dead, but she couldn't reveal her cooperation with Klein—she hoped to use her own methods to make her family happier, but unfortunately, aside from the perceptive Ogessa, neither her stressed father nor her single-minded brother could understand Lux's feelings.
Even that scoundrel Garen said something after the meal that displeased the little girl: "Lux, why are you acting so prim and proper now?"
Then he was dragged away by his mother, who was pinching his ear.
"Since you want to join the army… then you'll have to undergo training first!" Ogessa seemed to have found a solution. "Your father has already asked the Steward, and he will give you some necessary training while he trains the prince!"
Clearly, this was one of Ogessa's ways to deal with Garen's desire to join the army.
Want to join the army?
Go train first!
Once you're exhausted from training, you won't have time to clamor about running away from home.
And so, her father left early for the Dawn Fortress, and her mother took her brother away, leaving Lux alone in the garden.
"Are we still going to study?" Lux visibly drooped. "Continue with the lesson?"
"Before that, we need to do some consolidation." Klein didn't answer directly. "Come on, let's go to the wall by the flowerbed. We'll review and consolidate yesterday's knowledge."
To the wall by the garden?
Lux blinked in confusion, but still, as Klein requested, found an secluded corner.
"Very good, this is nice." Klein seemed pleased. "Now, lean against the wall and let me feel."
Lean against the wall?
Although she didn't know what this was for, Lux turned around and leaned her back against the wall. The next moment, an astonishing amount of magic surged from her back into her hand, then flowed into the hilt of the sword she held.
The burning sensation was fleeting, but after it faded, she could still feel significantly more magic in her body than yesterday.
"I imagine you're very curious, perhaps even resentful, as to why I made you memorize that knowledge." Just as Lux was astonished, Klein's voice sounded again. "I want to tell you that it is the foundation of magic, the basis of everything, and the core essence of this world. Now, look at your palm!"
Lux lowered her head and saw a ball of Light Element dancing irregularly in her palm, like a sprite.
Just like when she first awakened her magic talent the day before yesterday.
The wind, growing warmer in the late morning, blew through, and the light seemed to begin to dance.
"I've removed the Petricite protection from you; this is the raw form of your magic." Klein explained. "Now, let's see the advanced changes of raw magic."
As he spoke, Klein took control of Lux's body.
"First, let's look at your mistakes from last night… First are the seven forms of Elemental Magic resonance. The weather is beautiful, so let's take light and wind as examples."
The ball of light began to become blurred, ethereal, and unstable—"This is Resonance."
The ball of light emitted a whooshing sound like a strong wind—"This is Harmony."
The ball of light's brightness increased to a somewhat dazzling degree—"This is Saturation."
After the ball of light dimmed, her palm felt cool—"This is Attunement."
The ball of light transformed into a half-light, half-wind elemental sprite—"This is Embodiment."
The ball of light vanished with the wind, illuminating the corner of the wall—"This is Diffusion."
Finally, the ball of light rapidly transformed in Lux's palm, becoming a bright emblem. Lux recognized that emblem; it was the Crownguard family crest—"This is Crystallization."
"Observe carefully, look at the details of the emblem, the radial pattern—this is the basic form after Light Element Crystallization! If you can't remember this, you won't even be able to create a family crest!"
Seeing the radial patterns on the crystallized emblem with her own eyes, Lux instinctively wanted to nod, but with her body taken over, she couldn't, only watching Klein continue his demonstration.
"Next is the difference between sunlight and Light Element…"
"..."
"..."
And so, in Lux's daze, Klein, using the energy stored in the Crownguard family's Petricite, showed her many exquisite magic tricks.
These tricks had almost no destructive power, but they demanded high levels of magic control. Through these tricks, Klein corrected each of the mistakes Lux made during her evening self-study, proving the truth and correctness of his theories with facts.
When Lux regained control of her body, even though she still didn't trust magic, she couldn't help but marvel at its intricacy.
Although the little girl was a bit tired, her mental state was significantly better, and she looked energetic again. Klein, sensing all of this, finally let out a long sigh of relief.
It seemed that after the three-step process of cramming, reviewing, and practicing, Lux finally showed some initiative in learning magic.
The little leek was finally sprouting!
… … … … … … … …
Education is not a simple matter.
In fact, if Klein had immediately taken control of Lux and extracted mana from Petricite to perform these magic tricks, no matter how exquisite the tricks were, they would never have aroused Lux's interest. Instead, they would have made her feel Terrify, or even report Klein.
Even a big-hearted child would find it difficult to accept their body not being under their control.
Instead, this method of first teaching some theory, reinforcing memory, and then showing the facts, allowed the little girl to accept magic at the fastest possible speed.
After all, Terrify often comes from the unknown. After Lux learned magic theory, even if it was just rote learning, knowing what but not why, it could still make her think, "Magic is controllable."
And once she realized that magic had rules and could be controlled, then Terrify would be dispelled.
At this moment, although Lux still didn't understand much about magic, her enthusiasm for learning it had clearly increased significantly. The combination of abstract theory and visible spells was the true essence of magic, and the unity of knowledge and action was a theory Klein had always insisted on during his time in Shurima!
However, even though Lux seemed very excited, Klein's teaching for today had to stop.
Klein was, after all, a Darkin.
Even if he had no intention of controlling or possessing Lux, and even if he used some of the magic from the Petricite walls as a source of magic to avoid directly controlling Lux's magic, the series of spells just now had already reached Lux's limit.
A nine-year-old girl had little resistance to the erosion of Void power. Excitement was just a facade; in reality, Lux's spirit had reached its limit.
In this situation, whether practicing spells or discussing theory, Lux couldn't keep up. The result of her dissipated mental energy was that she couldn couldn't absorb anything, her mind a tangled mess.
At this point, it was better to chat and relax.
So, just as Lux returned to the reading room, opened that large book for show, and prepared to begin her studies for the day, Klein told her there would be no class today.
"I think we need to understand each other more." Klein said, "At the same time, I also need to understand this era, this country, which will be of great help to my teaching."
"So?"
"So, my dear Miss Lux, would you be willing to chat with this old man?" Klein's voice softened for a rare moment. "Just consider it… a balance of work and rest."