Potion of Passion (1)

Today was an important day for the Tyros Family of Piltover. The family patriarch, Fickle Tyros, had dressed in his formal wear early that morning and was waiting for their visitors at the family estate with his children. The visitors were none other than the Technology Oversight Committee, an organization with a formidable reputation in Piltover. It was responsible for inspecting and regulating new technologies to ensure they met safety and humanitarian standards. Today, they had come to test the new healing potion recently introduced by the Tyros Family.

It was just past eight o'clock. Fickle checked his watch for the fifth time, unable to hide his anxiety. The whole family was counting on this opportunity. After all, the Tyros Family, which had made its fortune in medical chemistry, had a much weaker foundation than the families that had thrived in recent years thanks to Hextech Industry. Their influence in the council had also been gradually waning. It had long been a thorn in his side. Fortunately, some time ago, his youngest son, who had always been a good-for-nothing, had brought back a brand-new potion formula. Fickle had seen with his own eyes as an old man who had been lame for half his life drank the potion and stood right up. And that wasn't all—the miraculous potion could treat most common internal and external injuries. In all his years, the old patriarch had never seen such a "miracle cure." Yet he had immediately realized how much wealth this extraordinary potion could bring the family—provided it passed the Technology Oversight Committee's tests today. But the old man wasn't worried about that. He had already paid out plenty in bribes.

The clock passed eight thirty. At last, several fine carriages appeared on the road and, guided by the servants, came to a stop at the estate gates.

"Oh! William! Long time no see!"

A broad, heavyset man stepped down from a carriage. Master Fickle went up to greet him and extended his right hand.

"It certainly has been a while, Fickle."

The oily-faced head of the Technology Oversight Committee, William Borison, grasped the old man's hand and shook it. Then, unable to contain his curiosity, he asked,

"So, what's this new wonder your family has come up with?"

"Oh, it's just a new medical technology the younger generation stumbled across. You'll see for yourselves soon enough."

Fickle's gaze swept over the inspectors who were getting out of their carriages. Several of them were familiar faces. But when he saw a graceful figure stepping down from William's carriage, his eyes widened.

"And who is this?"

"Ah, I was just about to introduce her."

As he spoke, William waved her over. The girl quickly came forward. Her silver hair, tied in a single ponytail, fluttered behind her in the breeze like a strand of soft silver silk. Her white uniform dress complemented her hair and gave her a crisp, capable air. She came to stand before the two men, pushed up her glasses, and bowed respectfully.

"Good day, Patriarch Fickle. I'm Justina Millian, Mr. William's office assistant. It's a pleasure to see you in good health."

Fickle paused, then quickly gave the committee head a knowing look and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Getting on in years, but still having fun, huh? Be careful you don't throw your back out."

"Uh... heh... heh heh."

Faced with Fickle's lewd joke, the committee head could only manage an awkward chuckle. Not because he was a prude, of course. He just didn't dare show whatever he might be thinking. The girl had been sent by the Fierol Family, after all. He could hardly afford to offend them; he needed to curry favor with them. Fickle, for his part, was sharp enough to notice the committee head's subdued reaction, so he quickly waved everyone along.

"Heh, all right. We can chat later. Let's take care of business first. This way, everyone."

"These are our latest invention: a medical potion that will completely reshape the current market."

Fickle pointed to rows of blue-green potions in vials on the table and introduced them to the visiting inspectors with evident pride.

"That's certainly an unusual color."

Curious, one of the inspectors stepped forward and picked up a vial, holding it up to the light.

"But I wonder whether its effects are really as powerful as Mr. Fickle claims. And what about its safety?"

"You'll have to judge that yourselves. I'm very confident in the results, though. As for its efficacy, we'll be conducting a live demonstration shortly. Please come to the testing area and see for yourselves."

Led by Fickle, the group continued on, chatting animatedly. The committee head's "female assistant," however, had fallen to the back of the group without anyone noticing. She glanced back at the rows of potion vials on the table.

"So these are the things Camille wanted me to investigate? They don't look like anything special."

Ling Ying complained silently to herself. After all, these things were why she had to disguise herself and follow a group of Piltover officials around. She chalked it up to Camille's near-professional "paranoia."

"The Tyros Family has been making some big moves lately."

Ling Ying remembered Camille telling her that.

"They've submitted an application to the technology committee to bring a medical potion to market. I've read the application. If their claims are true, it'll bring them huge profits."

"Oh? And?"

Ling Ying clearly had little interest in family affairs. She joked as usual,

"Does the Fierol Family just not want anyone else to do well?"

"Not at all. In fact, if this is true, I'd be quite pleased."

Camille simply shook her head, her tone even despite Ling Ying's sarcasm.

"But my intelligence network tells me there's something strange about this latest invention of the Tyros Family. Their medical research had been at a standstill for quite some time, and this new product seems to have come out of nowhere. What's more, I've learned something else: apparently, the potion was brought back by the Tyros Family's youngest son, the family's most useless member."

"So?"

"So I need a fresh face to look into things and find out whether this is a hoax or the real deal."

The day after that conversation, a young and beautiful assistant appeared at the side of William, the head of the Technology Oversight Committee. Ling Ying couldn't help marveling at Camille's influence.

"Good morning, beautiful."

A dashing young man suddenly darted from the side and appeared in front of Ling Ying so quickly that she hadn't even noticed him coming.

"You seem very interested in our 'Light of Hope.'"

"Ah... I..."

The man's sudden appearance made Ling Ying stumble over her words. But she quickly regained her composure and played along.

"So that's what it's called, Light of Hope. What a lovely name. I just thought its color was... quite appealing, so I couldn't help taking a closer look."

"Oh? I thought most girls liked cute colors."

The young man looked as if he'd just heard something fascinating. A moment later, he smiled and held out his hand.

"I'm Lunge Tyros, the youngest of the four brothers. And what might your name be, beautiful?"

"You can call me Justina."

Ling Ying hesitated as she looked at his outstretched hand, but finally shook it.

"Mr. William, the committee head's..."

Ling Ying's words caught in her throat halfway through. The brightly lit hall had vanished, replaced by a gloomy forest shrouded in mist. Trees crowded the place, twisted and grotesque, like ferocious monsters. A mournful song echoed through the forest, adding an indescribable eeriness to the whole place.

Ling Ying froze for a second at the sudden change. Then, just as she instinctively went to draw her weapon, everything vanished in an instant, like a fleeting dream.

"Miss Justina? What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"Ah, no... It's nothing..."

Ling Ying shook her head and came back to herself, then immediately pulled her hand away.

"I probably didn't sleep well last night. Heh. Oh, sorry, I need to catch up with your father and the others. Goodbye."

Without giving him time to reply, Ling Ying hurried after the group, which had already gone quite far ahead. Once she'd walked several yards, she looked back again. The vast hall was empty; the man who'd introduced himself as Lunge had disappeared without her noticing. The lights in the hall still shone brightly.

"That was weird."

Ling Ying muttered to herself. After watching for a few more seconds and seeing nothing change, she hurried to catch up with the others.

The potion's clinical demonstration went smoothly. Several volunteers suffering from various ailments quickly improved after being injected with the Tyros Family's potion, leaving the inspectors, including William, exclaiming in disbelief. After that, they took samples of the potion back for professional testing. Two hours later, Ling Ying was once again riding in the committee head's carriage away from the estate. She got off midway along a city street and turned into a small alley.

"Oh? So the potion itself doesn't seem to have any problems?"

At the Cafe, Camille held a cup of black tea and pondered.

"From what I saw, I couldn't tell anything was wrong."

Ling Ying shrugged from her slouched position on the sofa.

"After all, I'm no expert."

"Then we'll have to wait for the test report from my contact inside the Supervisory Committee. Anything else worth noting?"

"Oh! Right, I meant to ask you something."

Ling Ying sat up straight as she remembered.

"Can that youngest Tyros son use magic?"

"You mean Lunge Tyros? Absolutely not."

Camille shook her head with certainty.

"You couldn't find a single mage in this entire city, and they're all under the Enforcement Department's supervision. As for Lunge, he spends all his time drinking and chasing women. He doesn't have a shred of talent."

"Oh? When I met him, he gave me a scare. He used something... possibly a mental spell."

"A mental spell? Are you sure?"

Camille finally set down her teacup, her tone turning serious.

"Come to think of it, according to the intelligence, that potion formula was brought back by Lunge, too. Does that mean this playboy isn't quite the same person he used to be?"

"You think someone's controlling him, or that he's been replaced entirely?"

"It's hard to say. One encounter with him isn't enough to draw any useful conclusions. It seems we should focus on that irreverent youngest son..."

As she pondered, someone suddenly knocked on the Cafe door.

"Winston?"

The slightly chubby Cafe owner went to answer. He opened the door and spoke with the visitor for a few minutes. Then he returned with an elegant invitation in his hand.

"Mr. William says the Tyros Family is holding a banquet at their estate tonight. He sent two invitations and asked if you'd like to go with him."

"A banquet?"

Camille rubbed her chin and murmured a few words. Then she suddenly chuckled and gave Ling Ying a meaningful look, making her feel inexplicably uneasy.

"Why not? It's a good opportunity."

"Oh, Head William! What a pleasure to see you."

Ling Ying had just stepped through the gates of the Tyros Family estate, wearing a pale blue evening gown and crystal high heels. She walked with an elegant but slightly awkward gait, her hand resting on the committee head's arm. A middle-aged, balding man with a young female companion came over to greet them.

"I hope you enjoyed the 'tea' I sent you last time."

"Ah, it was quite good. My wife liked it very much."

"Haha, I'm honored. Next time, I'll send you some even higher-quality goods from Ionia. When our family's new technology comes to market..."

"Of course, of course."

After exchanging a few words heavy with hidden meaning, William led Ling Ying into the banquet. Ling Ying discreetly slipped her hand free. He took the hint and moved a couple of steps away, heading toward the men and women chatting animatedly so he could continue his "business." Ling Ying surveyed the area. The youngest Tyros son she'd seen that morning was nowhere among the small groups of guests. The eldest and second-eldest sons were hosting the banquet and talking with the guests. The vast estate lawn was ablaze with lights, while servers wove between long tables, bringing wine and all kinds of food to the guests. Ling Ying stood there for a while, taking in the atmosphere of this otherworldly banquet, then turned her attention to the long tables. They were covered in high-end foods she'd never seen before. After a moment's hesitation, she started walking toward them.

"Not getting food when you can is a sign of a faulty brain."

That was what she thought, without noticing that she was walking with her usual stride. The long skirt of her evening gown immediately taught her a lesson.

"Damn it."

Ling Ying tripped over her skirt and stumbled forward. Just as she was about to lose her balance and fall face-first in an embarrassing heap, a slender hand caught her around the waist and steadied her.

"Phew... thanks..."

Ling Ying let out a breath as she straightened up. She was about to thank her rescuer, but when she saw who it was, her expression suddenly turned peculiar.

"Why are you looking at me like that, too?"

Caitlyn sighed helplessly and brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face.

"Vi looked at me the same way."

"Ah, no, it's just so unusual to see Miss Chief Constable dressed like this."

Ling Ying gave Caitlyn's outfit an appraising look, her gaze a little too flippant. The pale purple evening gown had a daring slit up the thigh, revealing the Chief Constable's long, shapely leg...

"Tsk."

Noticing Ling Ying's wandering gaze, Caitlyn immediately tugged her skirt into place, blocking the view. She chided Ling Ying with a reproachful look.

"Did you come here just to do this?"

"Ahem, of course not..."

Ling Ying cleared her throat and turned serious.

"I'm actually more curious about why you're here."

"Because of a mission, of course."

Caitlyn answered as if it were obvious.

"We received information that the Tyros Family might be connected to several recent disappearances. But our investigation into the matter has turned up no leads. So I'm taking advantage of this banquet to look into things under the guise of the Ghilamann Family. Now it's your turn, Miss... Justina. Why did you come to the banquet?"

Caitlyn placed extra emphasis on "Miss." Ling Ying thought she could hear a note of resentment in her tone. It seemed Caitlyn was displeased that she'd chosen to work with the Fierol Family instead. Ling Ying felt a little guilty about it. If she could, she'd rather not get caught up in this mess. She'd feel much more at ease working with Caitlyn. But trouble had come looking for her, and there wasn't much she could do about it.

"Once things in Piltover are settled, I'll find a chance to make it up to her."

Thinking that, Ling Ying told Caitlyn her purpose outright.

"It's about the youngest Tyros son."

"The youngest son? Lunge Tyros? What's special about him?"

"Maybe nothing before, but now there is. He..."

Ling Ying was about to explain what was strange about the man when she happened to spot a familiar figure nearby. Accompanied by several servants, he was hurrying across the crowded lawn toward the estate exit. Taking a closer look, she recognized him at once: Lunge Tyros, the very man she'd been looking for.

"Come with me. I'll tell you on the way."

Without waiting for Caitlyn's answer, Ling Ying grabbed her by the wrist and hurried after Lunge. Over Caitlyn's cries of "Wait!" and "Your dress is caught!", she dashed in the direction he'd gone.