Ambessa Medarda

Caitlyn jumped, instinctively reaching for her neck. She took a step forward, then turned, and saw Vi.

Vi stood with her hands in her pockets, looking at Caitlyn nonchalantly, a smile playing on her lips.

"What are you doing here? Are you crazy? How dare you come up here?" Caitlyn, startled to see Vi behind her, straightened up and frowned.

Piltover had been unstable lately. A Zaunite showing up at this hour? Crazy, absolutely crazy!

"What, didn't you say last time you'd arrest me if you saw me? I'm practically delivering myself to your doorstep," Vi said with a grin, holding her hands out, wrists together, palms up, in a gesture of surrender towards Caitlyn. "Come on, Miss Cop."

Caitlyn rolled her eyes, took a deep breath, grabbed Vi's arm, and pulled her away from another Enforcer's line of sight to a tree. She spoke to Vi in a low voice, "I don't have time to mess around with you, Vi. I'm busy, understand? I'm working right now."

"Yeah, protecting kids in the park? That's a damn important job, isn't it? What do you Pilties say? Oh, children are the future. So, you're protecting the future of Piltover?" Vi raised an eyebrow, teasingly.

"."

"Just tell me what you need and hurry up!"

Seeing Caitlyn's genuine impatience, Vi smiled and said, "I just came up to buy something. What, are Piltover's goods no longer sold to us Zaunites?"

"Then go buy it. Once you're done, hurry back," Caitlyn said.

Seeing Caitlyn's consistent attitude, Vi became a little unhappy.

Seeing Caitlyn in Piltover, Vi was instantly reminded of the days they spent together. Honestly, Vi had a pretty good impression of Caitlyn. She found this cop interesting, different from other Enforcers. She was polite, kind, especially in her attitude towards Zaun. Caitlyn didn't look down on Zaun; on the contrary, she hoped for a good relationship between Piltover and Zaun.

Her enforcement wasn't based on who the person was, but on the deed itself. This was another reason why Vi's impression of Caitlyn had improved.

But now, what was with this cop?

"Yes, I, a little hoodlum from Zaun, shouldn't disturb you, a distinguished Enforcer of Piltover. I'll be going now, Your Highness." Vi looked at Caitlyn coldly, then turned and walked away with her hands in her pockets.

Watching Vi's retreating back, Caitlyn suddenly called out, "Wait!"

"What? Changed your mind? Want to send me back to prison?" Vi turned around.

Caitlyn shook her head and said, "Vi, I'm not angry with you. It's just that Piltover isn't stable lately. You'd best not come up here again. It'll cause trouble. I'm serious."

Hearing Caitlyn say this, Vi suddenly felt a lot better.

Then, recalling the people in red she'd seen along the way, Vi seemed to realize something and looked at Caitlyn. "What happened?"

"Noxus." Caitlyn took a deep breath and continued in a low voice, "The Medarda family is here. Many of them. Their ships are docked at the port, and the military has entered Piltover."

"Then what are you waiting for? Damn it, kick them out! This is your territory, isn't it?" Vi exclaimed incredulously, "Just like you drove us away. Why are you acting like this when it comes to the Noxians?"

"Calling you Pilties 'Skinny Guys' wasn't wrong at all. You let them come to Zaun and see if we kick them out," Vi said dismissively.

"." Caitlyn wordlessly took off her Hat, ran a hand through her hair, and whispered, "It's not that simple. The Medardas are not only a military noble family of Noxus, but their matriarch is also Councilor Mel's mother."

"Wait. The Councillor you're talking about, is that the beautiful dark-skinned woman?"

"Can you be more respectful? Why do you always have to talk like that?" Caitlyn looked at Vi, a headache forming from her words.

She really wasn't good at dealing with Vi's type.

"We Zaunites are like this. Don't talk to us about 'manners.' We can barely survive, what's the point of talking about manners?" Vi spat.

"Tell me more, Cupcake. Tell me what exactly happened here."

Caitlyn looked at Vi, who was walking towards her, hesitated, then nodded.

In a room for entertaining important guests at the Piltover Council building, a dark-skinned woman in a golden gown, her hair up, with a dignified posture and a voluptuous figure, adorned with various gold and silver ornaments, was anxiously looking at the woman before her.

Standing before her was a white-haired, tall woman with a scar on her face, wearing heavy armor, her eyes like a wolf's, exuding a powerful aura.

"Mother, I'll say it again. This is our city-state's internal affair. You have no right to interfere in Piltover's domestic matters!"

The woman with the powerful aura smiled upon hearing this, looking at her daughter with a hint of sarcasm in her eyes.

"Mel, once you bear the family name, everything about you belongs to the family," Ambessa said calmly. In front of Mel, she raised her hand. Four guards holding long spears nodded and respectfully saluted Ambessa and Mel before leaving the room, standing guard outside as they closed the door.

Ambessa sat on the sofa, placing her large hand on the armrest, her fingers caressing the ornaments on it. She lowered her head and said softly, "The status you have achieved in Piltover today is all thanks to the family. It's because Medarda has interests in Piltover that you could profit and become a Councillor of Piltover, isn't it?"

"What do you want?" Mel said, taking a deep breath and exhaling to calm herself.

"I don't really want anything, but I truly can't stand it anymore." Ambessa looked up at Mel. Seeing that she had calmed down, a hint of admiration flashed in her eyes.

"You've neglected the problems of Zaun for too long. Hextech shouldn't just be used for commerce. It's a weapon, a powerful weapon."

"You wish!" Mel retorted. "You want to make Hextech a tool for your glory? Your ideas will destroy Piltover!"

"Fool! What you are doing now is destroying this city!" Ambessa stood up and walked towards Mel, step by step.

She was taller than Mel, her body strong from years of training. She raised her arm, clenched her fist, and with a forceful shake, her muscles bulged like solid rock. Ambessa said in a deep voice, "The wolves are circling, yet you use iron to build houses and fences. When the wolves charge, you'll be nothing but lambs to the slaughter!"

"Foolish!"

"Our situation with Zaun is more complex than you think, Mother. You don't understand," Mel said calmly, looking at Ambessa. She still couldn't fully grasp her mother's intentions, but that didn't stop Mel from holding firm to her own beliefs.

Mel bowed to Ambessa, lowering her head. "It's true that I am Mel Medarda, but I am a Medarda of Piltover."

"I am not a Medarda of Noxus."

Mel stood up, glanced at Ambessa, and said softly:

"Mother, I have other matters to attend to. Please excuse me."

Ambessa did not stop her. After Mel left, she clapped her hands.

A Noxian soldier entered the room. He was tall, with a stern face and a large beard, and looked at Ambessa with great respect.

"Miss Mel. You still don't plan to tell her, even though she's your enemy?"

Ambessa casually raised a hand, placing one hand on her hip, her back to the soldier. She said loudly, "Tell her? She knows nothing. Being my enemy is a good thing. It will let them know she's at odds with me, and she'll become safer."

"Have someone find those councillors and tell them it's time for us to act."

"She'll be sad," the soldier said after a moment of hesitation.

He knew Mel's position in Ambessa's heart, and it was precisely because of this that he was willing to entrust his life to Ambessa and be loyal to this powerful woman.

"Are there few things I've done that made her sad?" Ambessa sneered.

"Yes." The soldier nodded, bowed, and left the room.

Ambessa stood by the window, looking out at Piltover.