Arcane: Twin Cities Mechanic

On the marble pathway near Piltover's southern district by the edge of the canal, Mel and Ambessa walked one behind the other. 

It had been ten years since Mel had last seen her mother. Yesterday, Ambessa's sudden telegram announcing her arrival today had left her scrambling. 

After hastily summoning Jayce, arranging a temporary lockdown of the Hexgate airship tower, and rushing out the door, she was met with... this kind of reunion. 

Staring at the broad figure ahead of her, Mel felt a suffocating frustration welling in her chest. "Mother!" 

She called out, and the woman in front stopped in her tracks. 

"What exactly is your purpose in coming to Piltover?" Mel questioned sharply. "Why are you still entangled with the Du Couteau family?" 

Ambessa lowered her head, sighing heavily. Her voice carried a trace of sorrow. "Your brother is gone." 

Mel froze. It took her a moment to process the words. "What happened?" 

Though she had barely interacted with her brother growing up, blood ties ran deep. The sudden news of his death left a hollow ache in her chest. 

"He crossed someone he shouldn't have." 

Ambessa turned slightly, her gaze fixed on the undulating waves ahead. 

Mel's brother had always been groomed by Ambessa to inherit the Medarda family name in Noxus. 

Though there had been a time when Ambessa considered shaping her daughter into a leader, Mel's mercy during the war ten years ago had shattered that notion. 

In Noxus, a land governed by the law of the strong, showing compassion to enemies was unacceptable. 

Mel had never seen such an expression of weariness on her mother's usually resolute face. Coupled with the recent arrival of Katarina from the Du Couteau family, Mel began piecing together what might have happened. 

"Did my brother provoke Swain?" 

The question had barely left her lips when Ambessa's expression shifted. She strode forward, clamping a hand over Mel's mouth, startling her. 

"Knowing is enough; don't say it aloud." Ambessa's eyes darted warily as she whispered, scanning their surroundings. 

The canal's outskirts were sparsely populated, far from the bustling Sun Gate docks. This open and isolated area, free of obstructions, was precisely why Ambessa had chosen it for their conversation. 

Once reassured they were alone, Ambessa exhaled and released her grip. "Walls have ears. It's not just Katarina Du Couteau watching us." 

Mel wasn't naive and immediately grasped the hidden implication. 

The Du Couteau family supported Swain, and Katarina had been sent as an overt observer. But lurking in the shadows, there were likely others waiting for the right moment. 

Ambessa clenched her fists, the sound of her knuckles cracking cutting through the air. She sighed again and locked eyes with Mel, her gaze weary. "I was careless, and now an irreversible mistake has been made." 

Her mother's defeated demeanor and cryptic words left Mel stunned. 

"The Trifarix announcement in Noxus these past two years—my brother disobeyed it and was purged, wasn't he?" 

Ambessa lowered her head once more, hiding the grief buried in her eyes. "I didn't expect even you would know about that." 

"The times have changed. I know many things now," Mel replied. "And Noxus's coup was a major event. As a councilor of neutral Piltover, of course, I paid attention." 

"You've grown, Mel." Ambessa's lips curled into a faint, approving smile. "I heard you have a friend named Li Lin. He built a Hextech exosuit capable of flying into the skies?" 

Mel paused, her sorrowful expression instantly hardening into one of irritation. "I knew it!" 

She turned away, striding several steps past her mother, her tone sharp with impatience. 

"Mel!" Ambessa called after her. "The situation in Noxus remains unstable. The Grand General is eliminating all opposition, and you don't understand his power. No one's secrets are safe from him!" 

Ambessa stepped closer to her daughter, speaking with urgency. "War is coming, Mel. Because of your brother's actions, our branch of the Medarda family is in grave danger in Noxus—" 

"Stop!" Mel interrupted, her tone cutting. "You don't need to fabricate reasons to justify seeking weapons. Li Lin is my friend, yes, but his inventions are his own. Even the Kiramman family has no claim over them." 

"And what about your Jayce Talis?" Ambessa pressed, unwilling to relent. "He created the Hexgates. Developing new Hextech weapons would be no great challenge for him." 

"That's enough!" 

Mel turned to glare at her mother, doing something she had only dared to imagine as a child but never had the courage to carry out—she argued back.

"I funded Jayce's development of the Hex Gates to advance the City of Progress, not to profit from war machines like Noxus!" 

She recalled the time she, alongside other council members, had observed Gaboga in action. 

The massive molten colossus, said to have once fought in the Void War, was utterly helpless against Gaboga's devastating punches. 

According to Heimerdinger, the pilot, Li Lin, had barely unleashed half the mechanical giant's power during that battle, particularly its most formidable feature, the [Gigaton Cannon]. 

The thought of using Gaboga to assault Noxus—of leveling the Immortal Bastion within mere minutes of charging—made Mel's stomach turn. She couldn't even fathom the horrors that would follow if such a war machine fell into her mother's hands—or worse, Noxus'. 

Seeing her daughter refuse to hand over the weapon, Ambessa's demeanor hardened. "Once a weapon is created, it is destined to be used!" 

She paused briefly. "Medarda is on the brink of ruin. As its kin, will you just stand by and watch our family fall?" 

"We don't represent Medarda," Mel countered coldly. "Even though the Hex Gates have diminished the profitability of the Sun Gates Port, Jago Medarda is still the wealthiest person in Piltover." 

"Don't bring up that old miser," Ambessa snapped, gripping Mel's shoulders firmly and forcing her to face her. "I thought you had grown, Mel, but clearly, you're still as indecisive as ever." 

Her piercing gaze didn't falter, even as a nearby sightseeing airship approached. "It seems my trip to Piltover wasn't in vain. I'll have to guide you toward the right decision myself." 

"I don't need your guidance!" Mel shot back, meeting her mother's intensity head-on. 

"That remains to be seen." 

At that moment, a familiar female voice rang out from the approaching airship. "Hey, Medarda, are you two done chatting?" 

Both women turned to see Katarina leaning casually against the ship's railing, twirling a small dagger effortlessly between her slender fingers. Her mischievous smirk made both Mel and Ambessa frown. 

Beside her stood a handsome young man in elegant attire, holding a tray of wine with a nervous, almost trembling expression. 

This man, who had once been Ambessa's favored companion, had apparently been commandeered by Katarina for the moment to act as her makeshift servant. 

"Just arrived," Katarina remarked with a grin, "and I'd love to sample some local delicacies. Care to join us, Mel?" 

"She won't be coming," Ambessa cut in, stepping between Katarina's gaze and her daughter. 

As soon as the gangway of the airship was secure, she strode aboard confidently. 

"My company will suffice." 

[End of Chapter] 

=========================================================

DROP THEM POWER STONES PLEASE

SUPPORT ME ON P@TREON IF YOU'D LIKE ACCESS ON ADVANCED CHAPTERS

PAT REON . COM / TurdTranslations (Just remove the space).