Chương 130: Chapter 129: The Return to the Capital and the Festival of the Sun

The gates of the Solaris capital were buried under a sea of white roses and the blinding flash of tens of thousands of daytime magical fireworks this morning. The capital's central avenues were packed with citizens, guild delegations, soldiers, merchants, and an alarming number of Nameless Knight reading clubs. Inside the Vance family's armored carriage, Lucian pulled back the window curtain and brushed away rose petals blowing in through the vents. Ting! The Unified System V2.

0 panel opened: [SUN FESTIVAL STATISTICS:] Roses thrown onto the carriage roof: enough to distill into 5, 000 bottles of premium perfume, estimated auction value — thirty thousand gold, clean. Lucian sighed.

"All this flower-throwing is scratching up the carriage's gold paint job. What a waste of resources." TESTING... TESTING... 1... 2... 3! A thunderous magical amplification cut straight through the royal fanfare. At the center of the main gate, Sword Emperor Regulus stood tall on a three-meter wooden platform.

He'd traded his usual armor for a pure white ceremonial suit studded with thousands of diamonds, blinding in the sunlight, a ceremonial sword in one hand and a magical microphone in the other, bellowing out over the crowd.

"Hear me! To celebrate my boy coming home beside Her Highness after helping ratify peace, I'm personally underwriting a one-day fifty-percent festival rebate at every participating Vance Commerce store!" The crowd erupted. Confetti cannons fired, shop bells rang, and cheers rolled down the avenues:"LONG LIVE THE GENEROUS SWORD EMPEROR! LONG LIVE YOUNG MASTER VANCE!" Inside the carriage, Lucian clutched his forehead and slumped against the leather seat, groaning.

"Dad... reimbursing that rebate is going to burn two hundred thousand gold of family dividends!" Eleanor, sitting beside him, dissolved into giggles. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. She wore a stunning white silk dress trimmed in gold for the Grand Sun Festival, her golden hair pinned beneath a small diamond tiara. She reached over with a silk-gloved hand, took hold of his hand — still buried in his own hair — and gently pulled him upright.

"Time to face your admirers, President Vance." Click. The carriage door swung open. Lucian, in a solid black formal suit, the glowing snow-rose pin on his chest, took Eleanor's hand and stepped down onto the red carpet that stretched from the gate all the way to the palace. Thousands of fresh petals rained down over them as the crowd's cheering shook the sky. Eleanor's fingers tightened gently around his, and she leaned in to whisper.

"The whole capital has heard the ridiculous court rumor now. No escape from the teasing, President Vance." Lucian looked at her bright smile, the corner of his mouth curving into a helpless grin.

"Well then... guess I'll count it as a lifetime portfolio investment." That evening. The main dining hall of the Vance family estate. No reporters. No diplomats. No noisy toasts. Firelight flickered from the magical hearth across a long cedarwood dining table, crowded with home-cooked dishes: a pot of demon-beast beef stew Valeria had simmered herself, honey-glazed ribs from Regulus, a plate of seafood noodles from Evelyn, and a massive bowl of strawberry ice cream from Astra.

Regulus had shed the diamond-studded suit for a loose silk robe, pouring wine for Emperor Alaric, laughing heartily.

"See, Your Majesty? Told you! Big talk and bigger swords out there, but back home the boy still sits down and eats what his mother cooks, good as gold!" Valeria, seated at the head of the table, smiled gently and set a tender piece of beef onto Eleanor's plate.

"Eat plenty, sweetheart. If you keep visiting this house when you're both older, I'll teach you how to use spatial magic to cut fruit faster." Eleanor flushed and took the plate with both hands, nodding.

"Thank you, Lady Valeria." Astra tore into a chicken leg in one hand and a spoonful of strawberry ice cream in the other; Sylvia and Evelyn sat nearby, sipping wine and laughing over the new railway's profit margins. Lucian sat in the middle of the table, looking around at each bright, familiar face. After all the battlefield chaos, the debt calculations, the breathless border negotiations — a warm, quiet, complete feeling settled into his chest. The feeling of home. Buzz... buzz...

Inside his coat pocket, the ancient dragon-scale compass he'd taken from his mother's vault let off a faint pulse of warmth. He slipped a hand into his pocket, fingers brushing the cool metal. The compass needle spun once on its own, then settled, pointing due east — toward the Endless Sea, and the still-unexplored continents of the next age. Midnight. The family dinner had wound down.

Lucian stood alone on the balcony of his familiar bedroom, a cup of hot chamomile tea in hand, watching the full moon shine down over a sleeping Solaris capital. He opened his palm and looked at the dragon-scale compass, its golden light glinting, pointed steadily east. He took a sip of warm tea, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold, confident, calculating smile.

"The other shore of the ocean..." He let out a thin breath into the still night air.

"Looks like... there's still a whole lot of unopened markets out there, just waiting for me to come set up shop."