Lux, the Girl Who Was Force-Fed

The next morning, Lux rose early and attended her uncle's burial wearing a black-and-white formal dress.

In the Hall of Valor, she stood with countless nobles and watched as her uncle's body was sealed inside a coffin and buried in the nobles' cemetery.

Her mother had told her that the family had immediately sent a messenger to Whitecliff City to invite a master sculptor from the Durand family to carve her uncle's tombstone.

On the tombstone, the Durand master would record, in bas-relief, the outstanding contributions her uncle had made to Demacia while serving with the rangers.

Lux clearly couldn't yet understand the meaning behind those merits and contributions, but she could at least tell that her uncle had truly earned the Demacians' respect. Besides the nobles, many soldiers, townspeople, and farmers had come to pay their respects.

In the past, Lux had heard her uncle tell many stories about them.

And here, she heard them tell many stories about her uncle.

It turned out that her uncle was good at more than just telling stories.

"He was a hero of Demacia." After the ceremony, Karya offered his assessment in a calm voice. "So don't let him rest for too long, little girl. Work hard!"

"No problem." Lux gripped the hilt of her sword. "Now tell me, what should I do?"

"Listen to my lessons." Karya paused, then continued, "I talk, you listen. Remember to keep your magic flowing under control at all times. Don't let your mind wander. I'll notice immediately if you lose focus."

"Lessons..." Though she was determined to study magic, Lux still couldn't help frowning when she heard she would have to attend lessons. "Like when the governess teaches me noble etiquette?"

"The format is somewhat similar, but the content is completely different." Karya seemed quite disdainful of the noble etiquette Lux had just mentioned. "I'll be teaching you arcane truths and the Elemental Laws. They're nothing like tedious formalities. Now, find somewhere you can read, then pick up some book about etiquette and skim through it."

"Wait, why do I need to find a book about etiquette?" Lux looked confused. "Didn't you say you'd be teaching me arcane truths and the Elemental Laws?"

"The etiquette book is just a cover." Karya looked as though he'd planned it all in advance. "I'll help you memorize it, then keep up the tedious formalities whenever you need them. You just listen to my lessons and remember what I teach you. That way, if anyone asks what you're doing, you can say you're studying etiquette."

Lux blinked, then understood what Karya meant.

How should she put it...

To Lux, the plan seemed a little devious.

But if she set aside the fact that it involved lying, it did seem like something that would benefit everyone.

Lux wouldn't have to memorize those headache-inducing rules of etiquette, her mother wouldn't have to spend a fortune hiring a governess to watch over her, and Lux wouldn't need to worry about making a faux pas at future banquets. Everyone would have a bright future.

Lux thought it over for a long while but couldn't see any real harm in it.

The only problem was that Karya would have to take notes on etiquette and teach her at the same time. Could he really manage both?

"Don't worry about me, little girl." Karya seemed to have guessed what Lux was thinking and spoke cheerfully. "My memory is beyond what ordinary people can match. Besides, Demacian etiquette is already a hodgepodge of Noxian, Helian, and Shuriman traditions. Nobody knows more about this stuff than I do."

Karya seemed to be in high spirits now that they'd started talking about this. Lux even felt he had an instinctive urge to spread his hands wide, like someone playing an accordion.

(Is Mr. Karya really that good at memorizing things and etiquette? That kind of talent is so enviable—and what does that gesture mean? Is he saying he knows a lot?)

"Then it's settled!"

The sun sank toward the horizon, and dusk approached.

After Ogesha had personally seen off the last visitor, she gave Garen a thorough whipping with her belt when he once again said he wanted to enlist. At last, the exhausted matriarch of the Crown Guard family had a moment of peace.

Different people always saw things from different angles.

During the two days of the funeral, the soldiers, townspeople, and farmers who had come of their own accord out of respect were one thing. But in Ogesha's eyes, most of the noble visitors had come with a clear purpose.

They were tolerant of a little girl like Lux, but when dealing with Ogesha, they showed their true noble colors.

After all... the man lying in the coffin had been Demacia's Ranger General. His passing left a vacancy in part of the military's power structure.

So many people, either openly or in passing, mentioned how their father, husband, son, nephew, or even their sister's son had always admired the Ranger General who had given his life for his country. The dead were gone, and they would follow in the footsteps of those who came before them, and so on.

They were all saying, in one way or another, that they hoped to join the rangers.

According to them, although they weren't members of the Crown Guard family, they would still protect its interests and power once they joined the rangers. The lady could consider supporting them. Everyone knew Ogesha didn't have the final say in such matters, but that was how noblewomen's politics worked.

Of course, they wouldn't put it so bluntly, but that was the gist of it.

As the matriarch of the family, Ogesha knew exactly what these people were after. Her responses had been impeccable. She came from a noble family herself. Though she was from Whitecliff City rather than a true Demacia City native, she wasn't some fool who'd come into sudden wealth and forgotten her place.

She could listen to their probing, flattery, and compliments and leave it at that. Ogesha was no longer the little girl who blushed whenever someone praised her!

All afternoon, Ogesha had maintained flawless etiquette while dealing with the ladies and young women of the various families. When it was all over, her face was practically stiff.

So even though she knew corporal punishment wasn't a good idea, when she heard Garen still shouting about enlisting, she couldn't help pulling a belt out of the cupboard.

After a flurry of smacks, Garen grinned through the pain and went back to his room. The whole world fell quiet.

But no matter how much she beat him, the problem still needed solving.

Ogesha planned to discuss Garen with her husband, Peter, the next day. Although he'd finally shut up after she'd given him a beating, a mother knew her child best. She knew exactly how stubborn her son could be.

She had to find a way to settle him down, or he really might leave without a word and run away from home!

The Noxians had been anything but peaceful lately. After the farewell ceremony, Peter had been summoned to Dawn Castle to attend the military council of nobles convened by Jiawen III. He still hadn't returned.

Her younger brother had only just been buried, and Peter had already gone back to work. That showed just how tense things were!

So even if Garen really was going to train in the army, now was not the time!

But how could she talk the little rascal out of this impractical idea?

Rubbing her temples, Ogesha thought of her little darling, Lux.

Garen might be a little rascal, but he always listened to his sister. For some things, Lux might be more persuasive than their parents or other elders.

As the thought occurred to her, Ogesha suddenly realized she hadn't seen Lux all day.

Hadn't the butler said at noon that she'd gone to the family reading room?

Remembering this, Ogesha looked up at Lux's room on the top floor of the manor.

The light wasn't on.

She called for the servants to prepare dinner, then turned and headed for the family reading room.

By the time she arrived, it was completely dark outside.

All the crystal chandeliers in the reading room were lit. In the soft glow, Lux sat in a corner with a thick, hefty book spread open on the table in front of her.

Ogesha recognized it at once: The Grand Etiquette.

Lux was reading this thing?

Ogesha blinked in surprise. For a moment, she even wondered if she was so tired that her mind was playing tricks on her. Her daughter hated etiquette more than anything!

And now she was reading The Grand Etiquette?

And judging by the looks of it, she'd already gotten quite far?

Still surprised, Ogesha knocked on the door, pulled over a chair, and sat down opposite Lux.

"Sweetheart, you must be hungry, right?" Though puzzled, Ogesha pretended to glance casually at the page number. Then she reached out and smoothed a loose strand of hair at Lux's temple. "I've already asked the kitchen to prepare dinner. Meat-tooth porridge, your favorite."

"I... am a little hungry." Lux seemed about to say she wasn't, but hesitated before nodding. "Thank you, Mother."

"The butler told me you've been sitting here since lunch." Ogesha recalled some of the contents of the book as she spoke. "Sweetheart, this really isn't like you."

"I should do something for Uncle, at least." Lux lowered her head, apparently checking the page number, then slowly closed the hefty book. "Everyone has their own duties and responsibilities."

"'Everyone has their own duties and responsibilities, and upholding impeccable etiquette is one of a noble's duties.' That's the opening line of volume two. You've been reading quickly." Ogesha smiled with relief. "I'm so glad my sweetheart thinks this way..."

As they spoke, a servant knocked on the reading room door. "Madam, dinner is ready."

"Come along." Ogesha stood. "Have something to eat with me. Now, I'll teach you another lesson: noble etiquette can't be rushed. It's unwise to wait until you're thirsty to dig a well. Let's go!"

On the way from the reading room to the dining room, Lux's expression and movements seemed rather unnatural.

To Ogesha, it looked as though her darling daughter had read so much that she was dizzy and confused. She was often noticeably slow to respond. Still, it reassured Ogesha that Lux's every move perfectly followed noble etiquette, even if they were stiff and awkward—the obvious result of memorizing everything by rote.

"You don't have to be so nervous, sweetheart." Ogesha felt reassured, but also a little sorry for her. "Perfect etiquette doesn't come all at once. When it's just the two of us, you can relax a little."

At those words, Lux looked as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Her whole body nearly slumped into her chair.

Ogesha found the sight amusing.

"If only your brother had the same sense." Still smiling, Ogesha couldn't help sighing. "He's three years older than you. How can he not be as sensible?"

"Brother is doing the same thing." Lux scooped up a big spoonful of porridge and stuffed it into her mouth before speaking indistinctly. "He's working hard in his own way too!"

"That's not hard work. He's just making trouble!" Ogesha snorted. "With your father and your aunt, the family doesn't need any more people joining the army. Your brother's just getting carried away. You mustn't follow his example!"

"Mhm!" Lux nodded and took another spoonful. "I won't!"

"Slow down." Seeing Lux's bowl empty so quickly, Ogesha simply pushed her own bowl over to her. "This one's yours too. Don't rush, or you'll get a stomachache!"

"Aren't you eating?" Lux looked up and blinked. "You haven't eaten either, have you, Mother?"

"Silly girl." Ogesha smiled. "Now, let me teach you another lesson: maintaining a good figure is part of etiquette—though growing children are an exception."

Then, as Lux stared at her in bewilderment, a servant knocked on the dining room door and brought in a huge bowl of salad.

After dinner, Lux went for a walk in the manor garden with her mother. She didn't return to her bedroom until the moon had risen, after promising again and again that she would report it immediately if her brother ran away from home.

Once she'd shut her bedroom door, Lux let herself go and flopped onto the bed.

It was finally over!

After a whole day of studying, Lux's mind felt like a fog. Later, when she'd seen Ogesha, she'd followed Karya's instructions and maintained noble etiquette to the letter.

Just think about it: she had to answer her mother while also listening to Karya and making all the right gestures. That was far too difficult for a nine-year-old!

Now that it was all over, she could finally relax.

Just as Lux was enjoying the relief, Karya's voice rang out in her mind again.

"Now you can lie down in a comfortable position." Karya's tone was even, but carried an undeniable authority. "Your body can rest, but your mind must keep working. Evening study is beginning. We need to take a quiz to check your progress."

"Evening study?!" Lux had never heard of such a strange thing. "I'm already in bed. It's time to rest!"

"Heh." Karya gave a scornful laugh. "You think you can sleep? If I were you, I couldn't. During this afternoon's lessons, you spent forty percent of the time daydreaming, and you weren't fully focused for the other sixty percent!"

"..."

"I'd wager that after all the effort I put into teaching you this afternoon, you remember no more than thirty percent of it!"

"..."

"What, think I'm trying to scare you? I haven't peered into your mind, but I can clearly sense your state from the fluctuations in your magic!"

"..."

"At first, you sat by the window, staring at the garden outside. Later, you moved to the corner and stared at the decorative pattern on the baseboard. And several times, you actually started reading The Grand Etiquette, which was only supposed to be a prop. Are my lessons even more boring than those tedious formalities? Are they really so dull that you can't pay attention at all?"

"..."

"So we need to take a quiz. You need to understand your own learning ability. Now tell me: what are the seven common forms of resonance in Elemental Magic?"

"Resonance, harmonization, fullness, attunement... and crystallization, manifestation—"

"What's the seventh?"

"...I don't remember."

"And diffusion!" Karya raised his voice. "These are the most basic things. If you want to enter the Shadow Realm, you must master them thoroughly. Next question: what kind of runic crystal branches does the crystallization of Light Magic produce?"

"...Crack-shaped?"

"Radial! Light Magic is your natural talent. You can't afford to be careless about its fundamentals!" Karya began speaking faster. "Next question: what is a Spellcaster's first priority?"

"..."

"..."

At that moment, Lux suddenly remembered the section in The Grand Etiquette about dining at banquets.

Though she was lying in bed, the poor girl felt like a duck trapped in a cage, her mind forcibly stuffed full of knowledge like feed.