Family Business 60 (Patreon)

Family Business

Chapter 60

-VB-

Garen carefully swung off his horse after a long journey from the Great City of Demacia to the Jorasmang City.

It was his first time coming to this city since his brother took over, and he saw how much more wealthy the city had become.

The first thing he noticed was the roads. Even great cities like Demacia itself did not extend its roads outside of the city because there was no need to. However, his brother’s city did extend it out. So far out, in fact, that Garen encountered the roads two days before he arrived at the city’s gates.

The second was the number of people. It was on par with the Great City’s influx and outflow of people.

It baffled his mind how this could be. Sure, he knew that his scheming little brother would have done his best to fill his pockets, and he had half expected that to come at the expense of the people. It was how the corrupt nobles got rich. While he wouldn’t call his little brother corrupt, he was also ruthless.

So to see a thriving city with all sorts of people coming and going, many looking better than those in the Great City, and many more looking richer?

It boggled his mind.

“Brother!”

He looked up and saw Marris fast-walking out from the gates with an entourage of guards and a few secretaries. Lux was also with him.

And she was quick to overtake Marris and embrace him with a tackle.

“Garen!” she squealed.

Despite being a mother, Lux was still the same squealing and giddy girl he left behind all those years ago. That was to say the depressed and downtrodden Lux he saw when Marris was in a coma was not her usual appearance and personality.

“Lux, Marris,” he greeted them both by their given names instead of their new lordly names. He noticed many of the people in line to get into the city looked at the three of them. Their stares weren’t … unhappy. They weren’t jealous, envious, hateful, or even cold.

It seemed that his brother was a good ruler. Good.

“Let’s go to our home. The children will be happy to see their uncle.”

Garen froze for a moment as he realized that, yes, his little brother was a pervert with three kids and probably more on the way.

“Right. Umm before that, we can talk about the thing that you asked me to come here for?”

Marr’s eyes hardened. “Of course.”

-VB-

“Fiddlesticks? An unmistakably evil entity from the beginning of time itself … is called Fiddlesticks?”

Marr shrugged from behind his table. “Don’t ask me why the demon of fear thought scarecrow is the scariest thing on the market, but that’s what it thinks,” he replied. “And the people who see it name it after what it looks like, of course. It certainly sounds better than ‘Crickety Crikey Thing that Steals My Voice.’”

Garen looked at Marr with what had to be restrained horror. “It steals voices?”

“Not really, no,” Marr replied with a hum. Garen was about to let out a sigh of relief. “But considering that everyone whose voice it copies gets killed by it, it may as well.”

“And you think that I am capable of fighting this … supernatural phenomenon that has all of your mages staking in their boots?”

The two Crownguards looked to the side and saw the aforementioned mages shaking in their boots.

“Yes, I do.”

He took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.

“Alright, then explain to me why and how you believe that.”

Marr looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“The foundation of Demacia is often linked closely with the myth of the two sisters. I assume you know which two?”

“Yes, the Winged Protectors.”

“Known to those in the know as Morgana and Kayle, the twin daughters of Mihira, the current Aspect of Justice. The aspect who gave her daughters a sword and fragments of her divinity,” he hummed before looking at him. “Whose authority you regularly call upon when you fight.”

“... Part of what you say would be heresy to the fanatics in the core of the Great City, but also be more aligned with their propaganda than anything else.”

Garen also noted that the mages in the room were keenly listening.

“Marr, let’s not dive into this topic. It isn’t what I am here for,” he quickly cut off his brother. “... So you think that I, someone who calls upon the authority of an Aspect, may be the only one who can defeat the demon.”

“Drive out, but yes.”

“Why not defeat?”

Marr paused and looked at him dead in the eyes.

“Can you erase fear? Even as one overcomes it, fear is still present. Fear of loss, fear of failure, fear of love, fear of loneliness… fear of the unknown. It is an intrinsic part of life, and so, as long as life exists, so will fear, and as long as fear exists, so will Fiddlesticks.”

Garen grimaced.

“You believe so.”

“I believe so.”

“Fine then. How will you help me?”

“With my mages, of course,” he smiled. “And armory of the best-enchanted weapons, armors, and tools I can offer. What I want you to do, brother, is to hunt down that beast, that Ancient Fear, and drive it from our homeland.”