She had agreed perfectly in front of Augatha, but back in her room, looking at the gorgeous maiden dress, Lux could no longer maintain her smile.
Thinking of her mother's recent admonition, the Crownguard family's little princess finally couldn't help but wrinkle her small face—banquets, socializing, etiquette!
Help!
Undoubtedly, Lux was a kind and well-behaved child, so she was happy to bring a relieved smile to her constantly tired parents through her politeness and good behavior.
However, this did not mean that she was inherently a little girl willing to be prim and proper and adhere to etiquette.
In fact, Klein had already discovered that Lux's nature was actually quite lively and her energy extremely abundant, with no hint of quietness at all; only such a person could awaken an astonishing talent for light magic in Demacia, a place that suppressed magic.
And for such a child to meticulously maintain aristocratic demeanor, wearing a mask to interact with people, for Lux, all of this could only be described as torture.
Moreover, this aristocratic demeanor had to be maintained under Klein's constant reminders, forcing Lux to multitask…
Tsk, tsk, tsk, just thinking about it was pitiful.
Thus, although he knew it was not good, a certain scoundrel still couldn't help but chuckle, laughing so hard that Lux ripped off her mask of suffering and then clenched her fists.
"Klein! Stop laughing!" Lux said through gritted teeth, "Quickly, help me think of what to do tomorrow—ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, just thinking about having to maintain a noble posture all day tomorrow under your nagging, I feel like my face and legs are already numb!"
"This is a noble's duty, Lux, you know that." Even though Lux was almost frantic, Klein's tone still carried unconcealed mockery, "Our little princess must dress like a true princess and behave like a true princess—you should be glad that a nine-and-a-half-year-old girl doesn't need to wear high heels yet, otherwise the suffering would double!"
"Wait, Klein, how do you know wearing high heels is painful?" Lux finally found a point to counterattack, "Could it be... you've worn them?!"
"Setaka said so." Klein's tone was innocent, "Even the Warrior Queen couldn't stand it, so what do you think?"
Klein's words somewhat deflated Lux—before this, Lux had also participated in noble banquets and events, but she always sat at the children's table, where roughhousing was fine.
But this time, her mother said she would participate in social events for the first time as a young noblewoman.
(_)
"Klein, help me!"
Mockery aside, after Klein had had his fill of laughter, he still provided Lux with a quite effective method.
"If you really find maintaining noble etiquette too troublesome, I suggest you try to talk more with that little girl adopted by the Buvelle Family tomorrow—I know a little about Ionia, and if you can establish a good relationship with her, even if you don't consistently adhere to etiquette, it will still count as a perfect performance."
"That's possible?" Lux blinked, and after a moment of thought, her worries finally turned to joy, "That's true... Then quickly tell me, what kind of country is Ionia? I asked Xin Zhao earlier, but he wouldn't tell me anything!"
"Ionia, ah, that is a country even older than Shurima, it is the First Land and source of magic of Runeterra... Look at your expectant face, if you were this serious when I lectured, perhaps you could already start learning to cast spells now—tonight's self-study is temporarily canceled, I'll briefly tell you about Ionia!"
"Haha, I knew Teacher Klein loved me the most!"
"But tomorrow's self-study will continue, and after the banquet, I will test the knowledge I taught you today. I hope you don't forget too much in two days—"
"Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, Klein is a big jerk! You stinky scoundrel!"
"..."
"..."
The next morning, Lux, who had woken up early, seemed to be in good spirits.
After Klein's "cram session," it's no exaggeration to say that Lux was now one of the people in the entire Demacia Capital who knew the most about Ionia.
Although Klein didn't say much due to time constraints, and most of the information was very outdated, compared to other nobles who only knew Ionia by name, Lux could already be considered an "Ionia expert."
The adoption ceremony took place in the morning. After a simple warm-up and a light meal, Lux bathed, changed, and then rode in a carriage adorned with the Crownguard family crest, arriving at Buvelle Manor.
After presenting her invitation, she was guided by a servant into the remarkably spacious and luxurious manor.
Along the way, ladies and young women from various families greeted Lux, and Lux, under Klein's guidance, responded to everyone with perfect composure—this demeanor was nothing like a novice participating in social events for the first time as a young lady; instead, she was even more composed than a veteran.
Therefore, even before the ceremony officially began, many people had already begun to quietly use Lux as a reference and compare her to their own children.
And the conclusion was... their own children couldn't compare.
A normal nine-year-old child—even a precocious little girl—could not possibly, like Lux, perfectly use different etiquette, titles, and gestures to interact with everyone, nor could she identify the crests and emblems of all families with a single glance; this manner of handling people was already beyond what "precocious" could describe.
So, upon seeing Lux, many people simultaneously let out quiet exclamations: "As expected of the Crownguard family's princess!"
These praises, half-intentional and half-sincere, were heard by Lux, causing the little girl's cheeks to flush slightly—she knew very well that it was all Klein's doing.
Lux, making a perfect first appearance, thus became everyone's "child of another family."
Then, just as she was about to thank Klein, she heard his reprimand.
"Don't try to show a foolish smile, that will ruin all your previous efforts! Now, turn sixty degrees to the left, the Lightshield Family's envoy has arrived. Although Jarvan III did not attend himself, he brought the royal insignia, so you need to bow!"
The gratitude that had just arisen vanished in an instant with the merciless reprimand. Lux still maintained a perfect smile on her face, but she huffed indignantly in her heart: "Only you are capable!"
The next moment, Lux, maintaining her perfect etiquette, took a step and walked in the direction of the Lightshield envoy.
...
The Lightshield Family envoy, bearing the royal insignia, had clearly timed his appearance to be last.
After he received greetings from the various noble families, it was time for the ceremony.
As the bell chimed, the entire hall fell silent.
On the second-floor landing, the curtains of the arched doorway opened, and the Buvelle couple walked out smiling. Behind them was their daughter, Kaxinna—and behind Kaxinna, a timid little girl was led out by her hand.
She had long, ice-blue hair, paired with a sky-blue long dress, making her appear gentle and lovely.
One of the little girl's hands was held by Kaxinna, and in her other hand, she tightly clutched a large zither. Upon stepping out from behind the curtains and seeing the dense crowd of nobles outside, her face flushed—but even so, she still bowed to everyone according to Demacian etiquette.
Thunderous applause erupted in the banquet hall.
Mr. Buvelle, who was walking at the very front with a beaming face, waited until the applause ended, then cleared his throat and loudly introduced the new member of his family.
From Mr. Buvelle's introduction, Lux learned that this adorable little girl was named Sona, a few months younger than herself, from an orphanage in Ionia's Galin Province, and a very gentle and lovely girl.
However, regrettably, she was born unable to speak—she could understand others' words, but she could not speak them.
As for the zither she held tightly in her arms, it was discovered with her at the orphanage. According to Mr. Buvelle, it was an ancient zither she depended on, which was why she always held it.
The nobles present all expressed their understanding of this explanation.
Although in an adoption ceremony, the adopted person should hold the family's ceremonial object, considering the little girl came from Ionia, holding an ancient zither... it was barely acceptable!
After Mr. Buvelle finished his introduction, a venerable bishop from the Illuminati ascended to the second-floor landing.
This Bishop personally baptized Sona, then, in the presence of all the nobles, asked in a clear voice:
"Mr. Barrett Buvelle, head of the Buvelle Family, are you willing to accept Miss Sona into the Buvelle Family, to treat her as family and bestow upon her the glory of Buvelle?"
"I am willing!"
"Miss Sona, from Ionia, are you willing to join the Buvelle Family, become a member of the family, and uphold the honor of Buvelle?"
Sona nodded.
Having received affirmation from both parties, the Bishop took up a pre-carved seal bearing Sona's name with one hand, then raised the parchment recording the Buvelle Family's genealogy high with the other, and stamped Sona's name beneath Barrett Buvelle's.
Thus, with everyone as witness, Sona received a surname for the first time—Buvelle.
From this day forward, she would be Sona Buvelle!
Applause erupted again, and Sona, with a flushed face, descended the spiral staircase to the first floor, receiving greetings from everyone in the hall.
She seemed very shy, wanting to lower her head several times, but ultimately, she maintained a smile and responded to everyone who offered her blessings with awkward but proper etiquette.
It was then that Lux finally realized an incredibly awkward problem.
Sona couldn't speak, so how was she supposed to get along with her?
If she couldn't complete the task this way, would she have to tough it out until the end, enduring this undoubtedly long and tedious banquet?
At this moment, Lux finally froze in place; just thinking about having to stay in such a prim and proper environment until evening, she felt phantom pains in her legs.
In desperation, Lux could only maintain her smile while frantically calling for help.
"Klein, Klein! The plan isn't working, now quickly use your invincible ancient wisdom to come up with a solution!"