Family Business 5: Nothing Wrong (Patreon)

Family Business
Chapter 5: Nothing Wrong

-VB-

984 AN

As expected, the Duke of Angrimoria had to pay a fine to the Crown and to us, the Crownguard, for the attack, lost some land to my family, and nothing else happened. 

The reason, as the king judiciously stated, for a lack of stricter punishment was that the Duke’s men were acting without his approval.

Bullshit and everyone knew it. Unfortunately, the king’s words were the law in such manners of disputes between nobles, and so we had to suck it up and move on.

Father also had decided that I deserved the most reward - since I defeated the last of the “bandits” and brought evidence to condemn the Duke of Angrimoria - and gave me the Title of the County of Jorasmang, the land the Duke of Angrimoria had to surrender to Father. 

As such, I was now the Count of Jorasmang of the House of Crownguard. 

Fancy, yes?

If a title and land was what I got for my troubles later down the line, then I would have rejected them. Unfortunately in this medieval world, nothing came and went easily without the approval of someone stronger and older. I learned this the hard way when I was more or less forced to accept the title.

This did come with new responsibilities that Father wasn’t keen on letting me delegate, one of which was the traditional role of landed nobles to stay on their land and actually manage the people and land, the only good tradition among nobles if I say so myself. As such, I was now to go to this new land of mine and rule as Father ruled High Silvermere.

For another, Father decided that I was now an adult - having wet my blade with the blood of my enemies, protected family from enemies, performed the duty to the nation, blah blah blah - and promptly emancipated me.

What?

-VB-

“But why?” I asked Mother and Father. 

Honestly, this felt a little like abandonment to me. Out of nowhere, they just … threw this at me. 

Father sighed. “Because, at this point, I don’t think I can properly educate you.”

“B-But…!” I tried but no proper word came out from my lips due to the shock I felt. 

“Son, let me be clear: you are far beyond me in arithmetics, land management, economics, tax reformations, and more. Along with your accomplishments and deeds, I am bound by tradition to assert your adulthood.”

Demacia had a tradition like that?

The fuck?! I thought I lived in a conservative backwater magic-phobic nation, not a progressive backwater magic-phobic nation keen on pushing teenagers into adulthood as fast as they could!

… Actually, that made sense. Demacia was a martial nation, and teenagers needed to be recruited into the army as fast as they could be to bolster its forces, even more so during strained times such as these.

“But I don’t feel ready,” I objected, almost whining. Yes, show as much childishness as I could! That way, they can declare that I wasn’t ready for adulthood yet!

Father and Mother exchanged looks before sighing. He then looked up and gestured for the guards to leave us. The guards bowed and left, closing the door slowly yet firmly in their awake. 

Alone in the room with my Runeterran parents, I wondered what they intended to say.

“Son, I know that you practice magic.”

…

Fuck.

“And that you are teaching Lux to do the same.”

Double Fuck.

“As … As a Crownguard, I cannot let such a thing happen in my own household,” he spoke with a lot of strain and stress in his tone. Almost as if he was grieving the fact that Lux and I were magicians. Then he paused. He took a deep breath in and then sighed. His shoulders hunched. “But I love you and Lux just as I love your Mother and Garen.” Mother placed a hand on Father’s white knuckled fisted hands resting atop his knees. “And it is my duty as a father to provide the best I can for you, and what I came with is thus.”

He then pulled out a parchment.

I read the title and my head snapped up.

“You are now an adult, which means that you are allowed by law to have someone as your ward to teach them the ways of Demacia. Thus, I ask you, my son and Count of Jorasmang, to take my daughter and your twin sister, Luxanna Crownguard, as your ward.” He paused. “This is as far as I can go while fulfilling my duty as father and a citizen of Demacia. I cannot pursue ‘dangerous’-” he emphasized. “- when I don’t see them, yes?

“And I give you, the Count of Jorasmang, independence, for I cannot go after an independent count for conduct unbefitting of a Demacian noble like I can with a vassal count.”

I nodded mutely and quietly. 

And for the first time, I spoke sincerely.

“Thank you.”

-VB-

It took me a week to settle all of my business - legal, duty, or illegal - before we were ready to leave. 

And so it was that Lux and I were pseudo-exiled from our parent’s household and into a new one. 

Our farewells were teary and stoic, as it should be. Lux cried a lot, for I had explained what happened, and Mother cried too. 

And then we were off. 

But before we went to the County of Jorasmang, I had to first go to the royal court of the Great City of Demacia.

Why?

To swear fealty to my liege, King Jarvan III of Demacia.

“Are you excited?” I asked Lux as the Great City of Demacia appeared over the horizon from where we sat in our carriage. 

Lux quickly nodded. “We’ll see Garen, too, right?!” she asked excitedly. 

“Yes, we will.”

Garen was a conundrum for me. For one, a mature Garen was one who would not blindly follow duty and orders, but such Garen wouldn’t be seen - if canon was left untouched - for another ten years. He was als our older brother, but one who I haven’t gotten close to as much as Lux had. 

I would have to wait and see how all of us interacted before I put down any real verdict. 

“Mar, do you think Garen would be … open?” she asked quietly. 

The sound of the carriage wheels and the trotting of horses made any kind of overhearing conversations hard, but I was glad to see that Lux was getting used to the idea that magic was unwanted by people as I’ve taught her.

“Maybe, but it’s best if we didn’t tell him anything about it right away.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

-VB-

The first thing she noticed about the Great City of Demacia was the number of poor people. It was so unlike High Silvermere, where brother Mar used a lot of his ideas to make the city and its people better.

This place was … not as great. 

Yes, she saw better buildings, richer people, and more people, but there were also little things, like the homeless in the alleys and side streets, that made her wary of this city.

It wasn’t as friendly or homely like High Silvermere. 

“Stop the carriage!” her brother suddenly ordered. “Park to right!”

Her brother’s well-trained man-at-arms obeyed, and in a stream of actions that she could only say it was fluid, they “parked” the carriage and brother dismounted.

She looked around, and saw that they were at the street that directly led from the center of the city to the port. 

But why were they here?

Mar got off the carriage and briskly walked towards a group of … monks? Only a single guard went with him while the rest stayed with her and the carriage. Mar walked up to the monks, and they began to talk. 

There was a series of quieter conversations before Mar looked at a few of the shorter people among the monks. 

Mar then stopped, staring at a girl with long blue hair.

And Lux … felt like her stomach dropped. Mar just kept staring at her.

Why?

Then Mar turned back to the monks, conversed again, and he gave them a small bow as they did too. Then the long haired one followed Mar as they came back to the carriage. 

The girl and Mar came onto the carriage, and they began to move towards the palace again. 

“Who’s … she, Mar?” she asked slowly. 

Mar looked at her and smiled, making her feel better again. “This is Sona, Lux. She’s going to be part of our family.”

And that pleasant feeling from having her brother smile at her died an ugly death.