Family Business 44 (Patreon)

Family Business
Chapter 44

-VB-

“Noxus wants a truce?” Jarvan IV asked his father.

King Jarvan III nodded. “Yes. It seems that they were struck hard by the Black Mist, perhaps even harder than we had been struck due to their proximity to those accursed isles,” he hummed while leaning his back against his throne.

Garen stood off to the side, acting as the guard along with Xin Zhao for all of the nobles and royalties in the discussion.

Personally, he did wish for a truce between Noxus and Demacia, if only so that he could meet with Katarina without having to point his sword at her.

That would be nice.

“I think, at least for the duration of this crisis that has visited all of the lands, we need to agree to this truce. Fighting against Noxus is just not viable when we have to garrison each of our own cities at this rate. Especially with Duke Jorasmang infirm and out of commission…”

Then the king… pondered.

Garen knew that face very well. The king liked to think that he had a good poker face, and the truth of the matter was that he did. However, he had been his guard for a long time. Not as much as Xin Zhao, who looked like he was stoically ignoring everything but in truth would allow himself to be consulted by the king in private, but he did spent the last ten years of his life meeting the king often.

That face right there?

That was the king considering the peace.

“I will speak with the Noxian messenger.”

As the court turned towards the gate leading into this throneroom, the doors creaked open as if responding to the king’s command (when in truth, it was the new gate pulling and pushing pulley mechanisms).

Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

Garen’s eyes widened as he saw who the messenger was.

It wasn’t Katarina or her slithering sister. It wasn’t Darius or any other brutish murderers calling themselves generals.

“Talon?!”

The feared assassin bowed before the King of Demacia.

“It could be construed as a threat to send an assassin as a messenger,” the king said.

“Yes,” Talon replied. “It could be. However, only I was fast enough to reach Demacia in time before the next unpredictable crisis struck our lands.”

“Then speak!” the king began. “Noxus has extended a hand of peace, but what is the price?!”

Talon did not speak for a moment before he straightened his back.

“Noxus’s greatest grief … started on the day that Demacia slew the ambassador we sent you two hundred years ago,” he spoke up. “And do you know why he was slain? The response we got from you?”

Silence.

“Because he was a magician.” Then he took a breath in. “We let this insult go, because we had bigger issues immediately around us, and Demacia had been too far. However, this changed when one of our greatest generals, Sion, conquered lands neighboring Demacia. Though we did not directly attack your kingdom, you chose to attack us. As a result, both of us lost our great leaders of the era.”

The Demacian court glared at Talon, because he was obviously framing the border clash as if Demacia had been at fault when in truth, Noxus had attacked one of Demacia’s neighboring allies!

“All we want for the peace of today… is an apology.”

The king blinked.

“An … apology.”

“Yes, just an apology. Not for the latest war. Not for the latest clash. Not for the worst war we have involved our two countries in. But an apology for the first ever talk between us. Not the death of our greatest leader at the time but the murder of our ambassador.” Before anyone could speak up, he continued. “This is a cheap price for continued peace. We gain nothing, not even face, because allowing ourselves to formally announce this apology also means that we, Noxians who pride ourselves on being able to fight back, allowed the death of an ambassador to go unpunished! No, this is an offer to see if Demacia can truly be at peace with Noxus. If you reject this simple offer, then there is no way Demacia will ever accept any sort of peace between our two nations!”

Garen… had to agree. This was a small price for peace and cessation of border skirmishes. They had bigger iss-.

“That is preposterous!” one of the nobles rose up in self-righteous anger. “You intentionally sent a magician to speak with us to a country that loathes magicians!”

“Loathed,” the king corrected. “But no longer.”

The noble faltered but regained his steam, turning his impotent ire back at Talon. “You insulted us first by that fact!”

“That ambassador is still considered to be one of Noxus’s greatest dipomats, having secured many peace and trade deals for Noxus, more than any other!” Talon snapped back. “No ambassador has since then achieved as much as he had done! It was not an insult but a nod from Noxus acknowledging that Demacia, a much smaller country, was our equal!”

“Equal?!” another noble rose up. “Noxus is-!”

“ENOUGH!”

The king’s roar silenced the hall. He glared at the two nobles who’d risen up to interrupt the conversation before he gave Talon his attention.

“And how do you wish to receive this apology?” he asked. “It cannot be a mere letter or even words of a king.”

“You are right, King Jarvan III,” Talon bowed briefly. “And I thank you for your consideration.” Again, some of the nobles - not all - protested but not too loudly as to get the irate king’s attention. “It has been decided by the High Council of Noxus that an apology to achieve peace must not be unnecessarily humiliating or harmful lest one side break the truce out of anger. As such, they have instructed me to ask the Royal Court of Demacia to formally write a letter of apology.”

Garen paled.

That was not going to happen.

The Royal Court was all of the nobles who had a hereditary position above the rank of count and were only called up during regencies and extreme times of weak kings.

It was also a very fickle group of people that couldn’t decide what they wanted.

Was this a trick? A way to keep the eyes of Demacia turned inward and not outward?

“...” the king stared. “Would a public proclamation from the king be an acceptable alternate?”

Talon stiffened before relaxing. “It … would be, Your Highness. Our High Council asked for the Royal Court because they believed you would not personally issue an apology.”

“In this time of crisis, setting aside our differences as we have done in the past two years,” King Jarvan III spoke up while looking over all of the gathered nobles. “Is far more important not just for the kingdom but also its people than my pride.”

Talon seemed to look at the king in a new light.

He bowed.

“Noxus will gladly accept such an apology.”

And that, despite the grumblings of the lesser nobles who weren’t even dukes, was the end of this.