The Grand Marshal of Demacia

In truth, Garen's talent was no less than Zhao Xin's; it was just that he was constantly busy with military affairs and had no time to hone his martial arts skills, so he gradually fell behind.

Seeing that victory was becoming increasingly difficult for him, Garen began to bring other skilled players to challenge Zhao Xin, but none of them were a match for him.

Zhao Xin didn't take them seriously. He kept thinking about the woman he couldn't defeat back then and desperately wanted to have another match with her, but he didn't know why Garen always disagreed.

Feeling bored, Zhao Xin began wandering around far from his residence, and later encountered Fiora near the Hall of Valor.

The moment they met, Zhao Xin thought he had mistaken her for someone else. Her eyes, the way she walked, and even the tone of her voice were exactly the same as that woman's!

Zhao Xin's intuition told him that they must know each other, so he recklessly went to meet them.

Skipping the intermediate steps, Zhao Xin had a match with Fiora. During the battle, he discovered that Fiora's moves were very similar to those of a woman, both being highly skilled in fencing!

Perhaps due to his distraction, Zhao Xin ultimately lost, but at the same time gained Fiora's approval, and the two started chatting.

This conversation completely changed Zhao Xin; he not only learned Garen's identity but also the woman's.

She was formerly a member of the Laurent Family, and by lineage, she was Fiora's aunt. Now, she is the wife of King Jarvan III, and thus the Queen of Demacia!

No wonder Garen refused to reveal the woman's identity or let Zhao Xin meet her; this was the reason.

Seeing Zhao Xin's disappointed expression, Fiora roughly guessed the reason. Her aunt had always been a wandering knight-errant since childhood, and even after becoming queen, she had never restrained herself. She must have met Zhao Xin by some coincidence.

They tacitly avoided continuing the topic and instead chatted about Demacia customs, finally agreeing on a time for their next match before parting ways.

Later, Zhao Xin sparred with Fiora several more times, and his reputation grew, eventually reaching the ears of Jarvan III.

At that time, Demacia and Noxus were constantly at odds, with both sides frequently sending assassins to carry out assassination missions. Jarvan III, unable to bear the harassment, decided to establish a personal guard, Fiora, Zhao Xin, Sylas and others were among those selected.

At first, people didn't believe this Ionia, especially Tiana, the head of the House of Lightshield, but Zhao Xin's performance won everyone's trust.

He was meticulous in his work and dedicated to his guard duties, single-handedly thwarting several enemy assassination attempts on his own.

Later, Zhao Xin was responsible for almost all of Jarvan III's life and travel, thus earning him the title of "Grand Marshal of Demacia".

This reputation even reached the Noxus military, and from then on, assassinations decreased significantly, as such schemes were futile against Zhao Xin.

Besides his guard duties, Zhao Xin has never forgotten the competition in the Doco arena back then. Now that time has passed, he still cares about the results of the competition. Victory or defeat is not important, as long as there is a result.

He had met the Queen a few times over the years, but they had hardly communicated. The Queen seemed to have long forgotten about their duel, especially after Prince Jarvan was born; she rarely practiced martial arts anymore.

In recent years, as the Prince have grown up, she has reverted to her chivalrous nature, but she often disappears for months at a time, making any competitions out of the question.

Zhao Xin never mentioned this regret to anyone; probably only Fiora and Garen knew about it.

At this point, Zhao Xin stopped talking, and everything made sense. The reason he had concealed these things was to prevent Jarvan from misunderstanding.

To everyone's surprise, Jarvan didn't seem to care at all. Instead, he was somewhat astonished. He hadn't expected his mother to be a master swordsman, and on par with the famous Grand Marshal of Demacia.

Then she seemed somewhat somber, because her mother hadn't returned for a long time, and she probably didn't know that Jarvan III had been killed in battle.

Irelia's expression was similar to Jarvan's, but her thoughts weren't on the Queen, but on Zhao Xin:

"You've been living in Demacia all these years?"

"As I just said, I spent a few short months in the arena, and then I came to Demacia."

"Have you thought about the people of Ionia? Have you thought about the Western Harbinger? Just because life in Ionia isn't suitable for you, you've abandoned it?"

A barrage of questions left Zhao Xin speechless. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke:

"My actions have indeed failed the Harbinger One and the people of Ionia, but please forgive me. I have become someone who loves battle and can no longer return to that pure land."

"Heh, what a noble reason. Even if you don't want to go back, couldn't you at least have someone inform you? Do you know how worried everyone has been about you all these years? Do you know... never mind, I don't want to waste my breath on you."

Irelia stormed out of the hall, Zhao Xin tried to stop her, but Syndra stopped him.

"Chasing after her now will only make her angrier. Since you've already made up your mind to abandon Ionia, then sever these ties."

"Lady Syndra, Irelia is my best friend since childhood. I can't just stand by and watch her get so angry. Please don't stop me."

"A good friend? It's your idea that made her so angry!"

"Yes, I didn't do what a friend should do, but in that case, I should apologize even more."

"You still don't understand what I mean. I meant Irelia for you..."

"Alright, Lady Syndra, I'm fine now."

Irelia came in and out, interrupting Syndra before she could say anything.

It seems she doesn't want Zhao Xin to know her feelings, as it wouldn't benefit either of them; emotional burdens are the most tiring.

"Irelia, although I have no right to say this, I still hope you can forgive me..."

"Okay, I forgive you."

Zhao Xin was somewhat puzzled by Irelia's forgiveness before he could finish speaking, but he was relieved nonetheless.

After discussing these matters, Jarvan officially ordered Garen to lead troops north to support Noxus's actions as an ally, which also served to demonstrate Demacia's stance.

I also plan to go with the army, mainly because I'm afraid they won't be able to handle things properly, and it would be terrible if the war got out of control.

Just then, Jarvan called out to me, "Wait, Ezreal."

"What is it, Your Majesty?"

"I heard from Lady Fiora that your background is very special and that you know many things. Do you know anything about me?"

"Well... I do know a little about that, but I'm not sure which aspect you're asking about?"

"My strength!"