Luke lay there with his eyes closed for a long time, but the drowsiness had completely slipped away.
He'd gotten up a little early today. Normally, at this hour, he'd still be dead asleep.
He opened his eyes and glanced outside, and couldn't help thinking that Miss Crownguard was probably still sleeping like a rock.
Then Luke remembered—Lux had left the transmitter thing on her bedside table.
So he sat up, pulled the microphone close, took a deep breath, and shouted as clearly as he could into it:
"WAKE UP!!!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Luke let go, rolled out of bed, and headed off to wash up, feeling refreshed and thoroughly pleased with himself.
Morning, Royal Academy.
When Luke entered the classroom through the back door, he immediately saw Miss Crownguard sitting there, staring at him with a resentful, haunted look.
Luke acted like nothing happened and greeted her casually. "Good morning, Miss Crownguard."
"Good my ass!"
Lux gritted her teeth, shot him a vicious glare, then turned her head away and refused to look at him.
She was clearly furious.
Luke was already used to it. He sat down nearby without a word.
Girls had morning crankiness. Totally normal.
If he ignored her for a while, she'd cool off on her own.
Before class started, he handed in the essay he'd written the night before.
Sure enough, after the first period ended, Miss Crownguard wasn't mad anymore. She leaned in on her own and asked curiously, "What did you write your essay about?"
Luke said, "Not telling you."
"Tch. Stingy. Fine, don't." Lux huffed, then declared confidently, "Either way, first place is going to be mine."
Luke had no idea where that confidence came from. He chuckled, then turned to look out the window.
Sorry, Miss Crownguard—this time, first place was his. No question.
As the morning went on, by the last class before noon, the results of the entire grade's essay judging were already out.
The classroom door swung open. Instructor Mors walked in with medals and the top three essays in hand.
"Students, the rankings for this Royal Academy essay contest are in."
She stood at the front with a broad smile, then announced solemnly, "Special congratulations to Luke for earning first place. His essay is titled—My King Father."
The moment she finished, the entire class turned to look at Luke.
Honestly…
Just hearing that title, it already felt like it deserved the ranking.
"Now, I'll read an excerpt from the most outstanding passage," Instructor Mors said.
She lifted the manuscript and began reading with emotion.
"Later, watching Father's hunched back as he walked away, I finally understood—what he carried on his shoulders wasn't only this family.
The morning light didn't merely illuminate Father's office. It illuminated the path forward for the people of the entire nation.
When he puts on the crown, he is the king. When he takes it off, he is my father.
My lifelong role model."
When Instructor Mors finished, she started clapping first.
Very quickly, every student joined in with sincere applause, utterly won over by the essay.
Then Luke walked up to the podium, and Instructor Mors awarded him the first-place gold medal.
When he returned to his seat, Miss Crownguard gave him a look full of disdain and clicked her tongue. "Doesn't that gold medal burn to wear?"
Luke ignored the look and hung the medal on his chest with complete peace of mind. "Why would it burn? I won first place purely on personal skill."
"Heh."
Lux looked even more disgusted. "I'm too polite to expose you. Can you learn something from me and rely on actual talent?"
Even though first place had been taken, she still seemed absurdly confident about placing near the top.
Luke was just about to ask—
When Instructor Mors's voice rang out again from the front: "Let's congratulate Lux for earning second place. Her essay is titled—My High Marshal Aunt."
Luke watched the girl beside him spring to her feet in an instant, pride radiating from her as she marched to the podium.
"Next, an excerpt from the outstanding passage," Instructor Mors said.
"When I came back to myself, I realized that somewhere along the way, a few more lines had appeared at the corners of Aunt's eyes. Her back didn't seem quite as straight as before.
And yet even so, late at night, I could still see the light in her room—always burning.
She said: 'For every minute I sleep less, the people of Demacia get ten minutes more.'
Only then did I finally understand: High Marshal isn't merely a title. It's a responsibility.
That night, the glow slipping through the crack in the door lit up my lost and uncertain heart."
The classroom erupted into another wave of heartfelt applause.
Lux returned wearing a silver medal, and her gaze met Luke's as he looked up at her.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
"Congratulations to Barton for earning third place. His essay is titled Flowers and Me… excerpt…"
After Instructor Mors finished announcing the top three, she tapped the desk and said, "The essays from first through third place will be displayed in the Royal Academy's main hall. I hope everyone studies them actively."
The students: "…"
Third place, sure.
But first and second?
How was anyone supposed to "study" that?
At the same time, inside the royal palace.
Tianna had just finished handling a stack of work and finally had a bit of rare free time.
She looked out the window, poured herself a cup of hot black tea, and felt an unusual sense of peace.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Come in."
The door opened, and an instructor from the Royal Academy stepped inside, holding several copied manuscripts. "High Marshal, these are what you requested—the top essays from this contest."
"Mm. Leave them," Tianna said, nodding.
On a whim, she'd wanted to see how the students had been doing lately—especially since Luke and Lux were in this year's class.
She wondered what place those two troublemakers had taken.
The instructor withdrew.
Tianna picked up the first essay with one hand and held her tea with the other, blowing gently across the surface before taking an easy sip.
"Pfft—"
The second her eyes landed on the first title, her eyes widened, and she nearly sprayed hot tea across the desk.
Across the top, in bold letters, was:
My King Father.
She didn't even need to look at the author's name. She already knew exactly who had written this "masterpiece."
Her calm mood instantly became a roller coaster—but even so, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to read the whole thing.
And the worst part was…
It was actually written pretty well.
After steadying herself, she flipped to the second essay. The moment she saw the title, her mouth twitched.
My High Marshal Aunt — Lux.
After enduring another emotional spike and finishing that one too, she stood up immediately and, two minutes later, was in Jarvan III's office.
Smack!
She slapped the first essay down on the king's desk and smiled. "Your Majesty, do you have time to admire your son's essay?"
Jarvan III had never seen Tianna like this before. Curiosity piqued, he picked up the paper.
When he saw the title, even he paused for a beat.
Then he read the entire essay, word by word. By the end, his eyes were red. "This child… he's grown up."
Tianna: "…"
Her mouth twitched again as she stared at Jarvan III, who looked like he'd been moved to the depths of his soul.
How was it that the moment anything involved that kid, Your Majesty's IQ fell off a cliff?
She could see it clearly now—this trip was pointless.
Looks like she'd have to take matters into her own hands.
When Jarvan III finally came back from his heartfelt haze, he realized Tianna was already gone.
He looked back down at the essay, thought it over, and ordered, "Someone, hang this essay in my bedchamber."
Royal Academy.
Noon, in the cafeteria.
"At first glance, I didn't think much of it—but reading closely, I realized how brilliant His Highness's writing is. Especially that line, 'what he carried on his shoulders wasn't only this family'—that's the perfect finishing touch."
"Agreed. And Miss Crownguard's line about the glow through the crack in the door lighting her lost heart—that's a pretty sophisticated technique too."
Luke and Lux were trading polite compliments back and forth when—
A chill crawled up their spines.
Luke's sixth sense was sharper than most people's. He immediately knew this was not a good sign.
He flicked his eyes to the right.
Instantly, his whole body went rigid, like ice water had flooded his veins.
Lux noticed Luke's expression change. She also sneaked a glance to the right—and shuddered, her face turning pale.
"Since you've noticed me," Tianna said with a bright smile, "are you not going to say hello?"
Lux forced the cutest smile she could manage. "Aunt Tianna… good afternoon."
Still smiling, Tianna replied, "Good afternoon."
Luke, seeing this, tried the same strategy—cute his way through it. "Aunt Tianna, good afternoon!"
Tianna raised a hand and flicked him on the forehead. "Who are you calling 'aunt'?"
Lux was already trembling. She knew Tianna too well—when she smiled like that, it meant the fury underneath was a wildfire.
It was over. Completely over.
"Honestly," Tianna said, "the two of you have the spirit of literary masters. Even praising each other now, are we?"
Her gaze swept back and forth between Luke and Lux.
Then she reached out and grabbed Luke by the ear, clicking her tongue. "Look at what you wrote. Taking the crown off, putting the crown on—afraid people won't know your father's the king?"
Luke suffered in silence. And Lux, who tried to slip away, didn't escape either—Tianna caught her too, pinching her ear with her other hand.
"And you," Tianna said, still smiling at her "dear niece." "All these years, I really haven't cared for you in vain."
The cafeteria students noticed the commotion and looked over with curiosity.
They watched as the prince and Miss Crownguard were hauled away by the High Marshal.
On the way, Lux whimpered as her ear was pinched, eyes full of misery. "Aunt Tianna… it hurts."
Normally, Tianna would've softened instantly.
But now, the moment she started to—she remembered the essay's content again and laughed in anger. "I'm thirty-seven. I'm in my prime. And you wrote that I've got wrinkles on my face, huh? That my back isn't as straight anymore, huh?"
"And what's this 'for every minute I sleep less, the people of Demacia get ten minutes more'? Since when did I ever say that?"
"Weren't you 'lit up out of your confusion'?" Tianna squeezed harder. "Come on. Tell me. What exactly are you confused about?"
In her agitation, her grip only tightened.
Lux's eyes teared up from the pain.
On the other side, Luke was playing dead. He cracked one eye open to glance at Lux and sighed inwardly—Miss Crownguard was still young.
At times like this, only one thing worked.
Play dead. That was the only chance of survival.
"You think staying quiet means you'll be fine?" Tianna saw through his shameless act and put more pressure on his ear too. Luke hissed through his teeth, and she snapped, "Can you spend one day researching something respectable? Talk. Whose idea was it?"
In her mind, someone had definitely planned this.
But it could've been Luke, or it could've been Lux.
Luke immediately protested. "Not me!"
Lux looked pitiful and rushed in too. "Not me either."
Tianna paused, confused. Would these two dare lie right now?
No—if they lied, she'd feel it.
So that meant…
They'd each independently come up with their own disaster?
She was suddenly furious and also almost laughing. "I've really seen everything now. How did House Lightshield and House Crownguard end up producing the two of you?"
Just imagining their essays being displayed in the Royal Academy's main hall for everyone to read made her go numb.
These two had made history. In all these years of House Lightshield and House Crownguard, only these two had ever pulled off something this bizarre.
And on the same day, no less.
Sooner or later, the reputations of both houses would be ruined in their hands.
But since it had already happened, Tianna couldn't do much besides punish them and vent.
Before leaving, she still asked, "Do I really have wrinkles on my face?"
Both of them looked at her face and shook their heads so hard they resembled bobbleheads.
Only then did Tianna's expression finally soften. She turned and left.
After her back disappeared from sight, Luke turned to Lux and said, "I think I figured out the main reason she was mad."
Lux sighed. "I was just using a little exaggerated rhetoric…"
Regret didn't even begin to cover it.
Maybe if she hadn't written that line, nothing would've happened.
The two of them headed to the library.
During lunch break, they usually took a nap there.
Fiora was there too, reading as usual.
Today, when she saw them walk in with one ear red on each side, she set her book down and asked in confusion, "What happened to you two?"
"Ran into a small setback," Luke said with a relaxed grin, waving it off. "No big deal. Tomorrow, we'll be free."
No matter what, he and Lux still came out ahead.
First place was worth twenty credits. Second place was worth fifteen.
Five credits could buy a day off.
Trading a little pain for four days of freedom?
That was a steal.
Fiora picked up her book again and smiled faintly. Even if they didn't say it, she could probably guess what happened.
Those two had definitely pulled some kind of stunt again.
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