"Mr. Corin, as you know, our Councilor Talis has recently been busy recruiting workers, so he wanted to ask what you thought about it."
A polite smile appeared on Mel's lips. Learning that he was unwell, she even had the butler behind her help him over to a stone bench.
"What do I think?" Corin coughed twice and, without suspecting anything, voiced his opinion. "Councilor Talis has a good idea. I also think Piltover needs to be more energetic. It's just..."
At this point, Corin looked troubled. He hesitated for a long while without speaking.
"Could you be more specific? If I have made mistakes, I need you to correct me. I still remember how flustered I was when I first became an apprentice. You and Orianna never hesitated to point out my mistakes."
Jayce sensed that something was off and looked at Corin expectantly.
"A lot has happened in Piltover recently. First, Zaun declared independence. Ordinary people did not feel that too deeply; only those of us on Workshop Street were affected. After all, our suppliers are all on Zaun's side."
Corin was still somewhat hesitant, but when he saw Jayce's sincere expression, he sighed and continued.
"Then later, we heard that a Councilor had died. The people above said it was a terrorist attack by Zaun, but none of us truly believed it."
"Why? Zaunites really did commit that act." Jayce's expression shifted slightly.
"Councilor Talis, have you ever been to Zaun?" Corin asked hesitantly.
"Just call me Jayce. I have always remembered my days as an apprentice. As for Zaun, Viktor and I went there a few times. It was truly chaotic back then, not somewhere that made you want to stay long." Jayce spoke frankly.
"Yes, it was chaotic and terrible. It used to be Piltover's slums. I went there many times for work, and I understand that they have their own rules for survival. They would not attack a Councilor without reason," Corin muttered.
"Why?" Jayce found it hard to believe. "The Council has never lied."
They had never deceived the people below them, so why did those people refuse to believe them?
"We understand that, so we guessed that some Councilor, or perhaps some important figure in Piltover, had thoroughly enraged Zaun. Afterward, Lady Camille also clarified the matter, so..." Corin's gaze flickered away.
"So you think we were deceiving you? No, more accurately, manipulating you? That we were actually eager to provoke a war?"
Jayce almost laughed in anger. Zaun's blatant threat was right before them, so why were there always people who refused to see it?
"I do not know about those things. Councilor Jayce, we do not want war. Everyone is actually confused. We have already declared Zaun independent, so why do we still have to enter factories to work, and perhaps go to the battlefield in the future? Will Zaun... really attack us?"
After coughing twice, as if he felt that he did not have much time left, Corin boldly voiced his thoughts.
He simply did not believe that Zaun would attack Piltover. Whether they stormed the bridge or destroyed it, it had all been for independence. They were already too busy governing their own territory—why would they attack Piltover?
What would they gain from fighting Piltover to mutual destruction? They had only just gained hope for a better life. Were they supposed to all perish together afterward?
"This..."
Jayce's mouth fell slightly open. As he watched Corin's departing back, a touch of despondency appeared on his face as well.
"Do you understand something now?"
Mel, who had remained silent all along, placed a hand on Jayce's shoulder and asked with a pursed-lip smile.
"No matter what Zaun thinks, our people do not want war at all. Or perhaps they would rather back down and submit." Confusion filled Jayce's eyes. "That is the real reason we cannot recruit anyone. Now I am even beginning to doubt whether I am fighting for Piltover."
Only after hearing Corin's words did he suddenly understand. The people below did not think they were protecting Piltover at all. Instead, they thought the Council was the source of the turmoil.
Or rather, the people did not care what consequences Zaun's rise would bring, nor did they care whether Zaun wanted independence. They simply did not want to be dragged into war. They did not want to fight to protect this city.
"War does not mean glory, Jayce. This is not Noxus."
Mel kept her hand on Jayce's shoulder, understanding how he felt.
Just as she still could not agree with her mother's beliefs.
She remembered how, when she was young, her mother had led her army on an expedition against a small city in Shurima.
In the sands, Noxus's army slaughtered every able-bodied defender in the city. Then her mother asked her a question.
When facing the city's nobles and royal family, should they choose slaughter or mercy?
The incident had left a deep impression on her. At the time, she chose mercy, believing it would benefit the empire.
But the result was exactly the opposite. Her mother reprimanded her and personally slaughtered them all.
Watching blood flow across the ground, Mel understood from that moment on that she did not belong in Noxus.
To Noxus, blood meant military merit, and war meant glory.
Only through unending conquest and slaughter could one gain more glory and rise to a higher position.
Take Darius, the current commander of the northern front, the empire's iron-blooded general known as the Hand of Noxus.
She had grown up listening to his stories. He had been born lowly, even more lowly than ordinary people.
Yet he had climbed step by step over mountains of corpses and seas of bones, from an unknown soldier to the commander of an entire front. What had carried him there was the glory accumulated through war after war; every scar on his body bore witness to a victory in battle.
Later, she had been sent to Piltover, a city where peace and progress coexisted.
Piltover had taught her that not every place was Noxus. Even the weak had soil in which to survive. Even without relying on war, Piltover's people could live well.
The price paid was not small, but compared to having the people constantly live on the edge of a blade, it was a price that satisfied everyone.
"Do you know why Lady Camille went to Zaun that night to carry out the decapitation plan?"
Mel emerged from her memories and suddenly asked with a smile.
"Why? Because the Ferros Clan's crystal mines are in Zaun?" Jayce instinctively thought of those Councilors who cared only about profit.
"Her vision is not that narrow." Mel shook her head with a laugh. "It was because she understood that it was the last chance to unite Piltover."
"The last chance? Why?" Jayce's gaze sharpened slightly.
Deep down, he did not quite agree with that idea.
If they had succeeded that night, it would undoubtedly have strengthened everyone's confidence, and that confidence would have been enough to face any new challenge.
But even if they had failed that time, they would still have another chance, and another after that. Piltover had always been a city that represented advancement and progress. That would never change.
He dearly wanted to know why Mel had reached such a conclusion.