Demacia's Dilemma

Although he stood in the dock, Jarvan IV still held his head high.

He had heard of many public trials. He had also heard that whenever nobles and their lackeys from noble cadet branches were publicly hanged in disgrace, the local people cheered.

But Jarvan IV was not worried in the slightest, because he knew he was different from those people.

In Jarvan IV's view, those nobles might not have deserved death, but they still should have been punished severely. If they had fallen into his hands, they would at the very least have been stripped of all their honors—except the nobles had absolute control over their own fiefs, leaving him unable to intervene.

He could declare with a clear conscience that he had done nothing wrong.

Jarvan IV wasn't just talking tough. Since his coronation, the army under his firmest control had indeed been relatively fair, and soldiers had been promoted based on merit. Many of the soldiers who had served under him in Tobicia, back when his force had transformed from a noble's private army into a regular army, had distinguished themselves and become minor nobles.

So, as long as Lux dared to take the same stance she had in the north and conduct a relatively impartial trial, he was certain to be acquitted.

But to his utter surprise, Lux's very first question was something he had not expected: what powers and duties did Demacia's king have? ... Was she trying to prove he was unfit for the throne?

What a joke!

Since his coronation, Jarvan IV could absolutely be said to have worked tirelessly day and night. He wasn't fond of luxury or ceremony, and lived a solitary life. He even regularly went to work in the barracks. Most of the income from his direct fiefs went