In Tiana's eyes, everything was under her control.
That wasn't entirely true, but she really hadn't lied to Lux.
In Tiana's eyes, everything she did was truly for Lux's own good.
As a noble of Demacia, Lux had to stand firm in her noble identity. Only then could she help the Crown Guard family rise even higher.
Just as noble families would ruthlessly crush young people's freedom to love whom they chose, Tiana had personally come to play the villain this time, destroying Lux's friendship with her own hands and helping her sever this unnecessary bond.
Kindness was a fine quality.
But kindness had its time and place. Getting too close to commoners would bring trouble to the Crown Guard family!
Nobles could be kind, but they couldn't give up their dignity for the sake of kindness.
Tiana knew all too well that Lux's excellence had drawn countless eyes across the Demacian Imperial Capital. That meant Lux had to carefully consider everything she said and did!
Tiana didn't mind even if Lux resented her aunt.
She believed Lux would understand her good intentions sooner or later.
As for Lux's little tricks outside Nullstone Prison...
Tiana saw right through them and didn't care in the slightest.
Just as Lux had realized, much of her current authority came from her birth. Being the Crown Guard family's young lady was what earned her respect and allowed her to do things that didn't entirely follow the rules.
And within the nobility, Tiana's authority far surpassed Lux's in every respect. So no matter what little tricks Lux tried, Tiana knew all about them.
You can jump around all you like, but you're never escaping my grasp!
However, things had turned out a little differently than Tiana had imagined.
Tiana's good intentions had made Lux give up hope.
"You're right, Karya." Lux left the study, her emotions tangled. "As long as you're in Demacia, you'll get caught up in these complicated relationships."
"That's what happens when power comes from status," Karya said matter-of-factly. "The limit for a noble lady... is being a Noble Exemplar."
"But honestly, I'm still not sure about your plan." Lux had already agreed to Karya's plan and begun putting it into action, yet whenever she thought about its immense scale, she was still astonished. "You've used almost everyone in Demacia City—from nobles to commoners, from the Magic Seekers to the Illuminators."
"I wouldn't call it using them. At most, I simply went with the flow. Most people got what they wanted." Karya sounded quite relaxed. "As for leaving Demacia, to be honest, part of that comes down to my own personal reasons. My condition has stabilized, so it's time I went looking for a few old things from my past."
"But you still won't tell me what they are."
"You'll know when you see them." Karya still wouldn't say outright. "It's hard to describe them when you haven't seen them—"
"Fine, fine. You always have to be mysterious about the strangest little details." Lux sighed. "And who was it who used to say, 'Mages who dabble in the occult are all garbage'?"
"This is different." Karya didn't mind Lux's sarcasm at all. "These things are just a matter of personal privacy. They have nothing to do with spells or anything like that... Anyway, Lux, it's time for the next step!"
"Can I really trust your mark?" Lux left the estate and made her way onto the streets of Demacia City. "Sona can't do too much to hint at things for us. People might suspect her—"
"You can be a hundred percent sure." Karya sounded utterly confident. "I didn't watch the Illuminators grow up, but I was there when they were born. I know many of their secrets that outsiders don't. Once they see the mark you left, the Silencers will believe it's genuine [divine guidance]. They'll help you."
"You really lived through the age of the Winged Sisters, right?" Lux soon reached the city walls, though she seemed to be wandering aimlessly. "Karya, what were those two Winged Sisters like?"
"They were little things with plenty of ideas." Karya chuckled. "They had ideals, too, but in the end, they weren't as determined as you... Still, it wasn't easy for them."
"I see..." Lux nodded. "Sounds like you think pretty highly of me."
"But you're still the worst class I ever taught." Karya didn't hold back. "No question about it."
"You said the Winged Sisters weren't as good as me!"
"That's why I never taught them in the first place..."
"..."
"..."
As she chatted with Karya in her mind, Lux wove through the crowds at the city gate like a fish in water, soon losing her family's guards. By the time they came panting up outside the city and caught up with her again, the Crown Guard family's little princess was standing beneath Galio, gazing up at the enormous statue carved from Nullstone.
The guards let out a long sigh of relief.
It seemed their young lady was just in a bad mood.
Unfortunately, they had no idea that Lux had already left a curious mark and a string of inconspicuous, mysterious runes in a secluded spot on the city wall.
That evening, the Illuminators' choir returned from its tour and passed by the spot, where they saw the mark.
Sona thought the mark had been "artistically designed," so she memorized its appearance and sketched it in her notebook.
Then Mrs. Buweier, who had come to call Sona to dinner, "happened" to see the mark. After asking Sona where she had seen it, she couldn't even wait to eat and hurried out of the Buweier family estate that very day.
As a secret message written in a coded format was copied again and again and sent to the various provinces, the Illuminators, who usually seemed aloof from worldly affairs, suddenly sprang into action!
Because she had to keep an eye on her "troublesome niece," Tiana's intelligence network had been unusually active lately.
The day after the Illuminators began to act, she learned through her own channels that "the Illuminators are making a major move."
Although the Magic Seekers and the Illuminators were connected in countless ways, even Tiana knew little about this matter, which was considered an absolute secret within the Illuminators themselves.
The only thing she could confirm was that the Silencers, who usually avoided worldly affairs and served only as the order's keepers of tradition, had joined the effort this time.
When she heard the news, Tiana frowned instinctively.
Why had those people from the Illuminators become active now?
After all, ever since they lost a political struggle a century ago, the Illuminators had deliberately withdrawn from politics.
They had been dormant for quite some time, especially after the "secular faction," led by the Buweier family, took power.
To be honest, Tiana liked the Illuminators as they were now.
Or really, who wouldn't like a semireligious, semieducational organization that spent its time doing charity work, making art, and encouraging people to be good?
But now the organization had suddenly sprung into action, and seemed intent on doing something big...
Tiana couldn't help feeling worried. She vaguely remembered that when the Illuminators had tried to enter the political arena, their Silencers hadn't taken part. This time, even the Silencers were on the move. Something seemed wrong.
Thankfully, even if the Illuminators' actions were unexpected, Tiana's current task had nothing to do with working alongside them. She had returned to Demacia City specifically to set her niece straight and put her back on the right path.
The Illuminators might be making a big move, but that had nothing to do with her.
Surely they weren't doing this because of Lux?
By comparison, she was more concerned about what the family guards had told her earlier: Lux had left the city for no apparent reason and gone to see Galio.
Her husband was the leader of the Magic Seekers, so she knew a little about Galio. At the very least, she knew that magic could recharge him.
To prevent any accidents, Galio had been taken away for repairs the day after Lux left the city.
After all, Galio needed regular maintenance. Touching up the paint and the like was routine—it had just been done a little early this time.
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