In Piltover, Jayce was fully dressed and ready, with Viktor beside him in formalwear as well.
Both n were wearing white suits, with a beautiful rose pinned to the left side of their chests.
Over the years, Viktor had beco far less frail. After Singed helped regulate his condition, his physical health had improved considerably.
His disabled leg had also been reinforced with Hextech devices, to the point where walking and running were no problem anymore.
Now, even though he still worked behind the scenes and remained on the front lines of Hextech research, the growing number of scientists across the Twin Cities had finally given Viktor a lot more free ti.
He used that ti to train his body, so while he still looked lean and sowhat delicate, his face no longer lacked color.
And at this mont, Viktor was helplessly shaking his head.
"Why isn't Logan back yet? It's almost ti for the bride pickup. Everyone's already dressed and waiting for him, so what in the world is he doing right now?"
Sitting on the couch, Jayce rubbed his forehead. His hair was slicked back, and today Mr. Talis had even taken the ti to properly trim his beard. The whole look made him seem clean, sharp, and very handso.
Nearby, Ekko, also in a white suit, his dark skin especially striking against the outfit, thought for a mont and said, "Do you think he went to another world again? I rember Logan saying that when he's over there, he tends to forget the ti flow in our world. Maybe that's why he didn't make it back in ti."
"Is he an idiot?!" Jayce snapped. Even though he thought Ekko's explanation actually made so sense, he still couldn't help saying it irritably. Then he stood up and added, "The bridesmaids' side has already started hurrying us."
As he spoke, Marsen suddenly ran into the room. He was wearing the sa white suit as Jayce and the others, yes, Marsen was one of Logan's groomsn too, and now he walked in with a dumbfounded look and said, "Uh... everyone..."
"What now?" Jayce looked at Marsen, and the second he saw him stamring like that, his headache got even worse.
Sure enough, Marsen had not brought good news. If he had, he wouldn't look like that.
"The problem now isn't just that Logan still hasn't co back. Jinx suddenly disappeared too." Marsen groaned in misery, looking half-dazed.
They still hadn't found Logan, and now the bride was missing too.
What the hell was this supposed to an?!
Jayce slapped a hand over his face and shouted, "Then what are we waiting for? Go ask Goddess Janna what's going on!
Everything that happens in the Twin Cities is under Goddess Janna's watch. If Jinx suddenly vanished, then Goddess Janna definitely knows where she went."
But Marsen's expression only beca even more helpless. His tone was thick with disbelief as he said, "That's the problem. We can't even get in touch with Goddess Janna right now. She's ignoring us."
"..."
After hearing that, Jayce let out a sigh, then drove his fist into the couch and said, "I should've stopped Logan a few days ago and never let him go."
Hearing that, Ekko gave a wry smile and said, "You couldn't have stopped him, Jayce. To Logan, fighting Jax and Yi is like you or or Viktor discovering so new possibility in technology. Once that excitent hits, no one else can stop it."
Jayce thought about it and had to admit Ekko was right.
If he made a real breakthrough during research, he would absolutely forget to eat and sleep for a long stretch, throwing himself into the work with his whole mind and body. At that point, even if l ca to drag him away and told him to rest or eat, he would ignore her completely.
Then Jayce seed to suddenly let go of it all. He waved a hand and said in a defeated tone, "Whatever. I'm not the one getting married. If anyone should be panicking, let Silco and Vander deal with it."
"They're obviously the ones who should be worried."
Viktor smiled faintly from the side, while Marsen still looked miserable.
Being chosen as one of Logan's groomsn made Marsen feel extrely honored, but this wasn't seriously going to turn into a situation where the wedding started and the bride and groom still weren't there... right?
No, seriously, if that happened, what kind of train wreck would that even be?
At that thought, Marsen suddenly shot Ekko a look.
The unspoken understanding between Zaunites was flawless, so Ekko instantly understood what Marsen ant, and his expression turned strange.
Was Marsen suggesting... that if Logan and Jinx really both ran off again, they should just push Jayce and l onto the stage instead?
Well... after thinking about it, Ekko decided that probably wasn't Marsen's idea, because Marsen didn't have that kind of nerve.
Jayce was easygoing, sure, and he could trade insults with Zaunites all day long, but no matter what, he was still the richest man in the Twin Cities and a councilor of Piltover.
So this was probably that person's idea... a backup plan to avoid total humiliation if they really couldn't find the couple?
But that raised another problem.
If the people getting married suddenly had to be changed on the spot, wouldn't that be even more humiliating?!
Ekko really couldn't wrap his head around it.
And the person Ekko was thinking of was currently suffering from a headache of his own.
Seated in front of Silco was a whole cluster of Zaun's upper leadership. Even Aunt Marna was there. As one of Zaun's most approachable and beloved councilors, Aunt Marna had imnse prestige among the common people, so naturally she had thrown herself into preparations for City Lord Logan's wedding. In fact, she had played a huge part in rallying the citizens.
And right now, she too was looking at Silco with deep concern, while Councilor Silco spoke to Secretary Renata.
"We can't wait any longer. If we drag this out any more, the whole world is going to laugh at us. Janna is obviously pretending to be dead and ignoring us, and that is clearly Jinx's idea. Those two have always been close, and Janna is helping her now."
Renata nodded and said calmly, "Then here's the question, Silco. Are you sure Jinx is still in the city? Could it be like last ti, when she and Logan ran off together again?"
"No," Silco said imdiately. Sitting at the table, he rubbed the center of his brow and said bitterly, "Jinx has been dying to marry Logan. She wants to marry him more urgently than any of you realize."
As he said that, his face darkened a little, clearly putting him in a worse mood.
Fair enough, what father wants to watch his daughter look that desperate to get married? The way she practically couldn't wait to marry herself off made Silco feel equal parts exasperated and speechless.
He continued, "So Jinx would never miss this chance. She has to be hiding sowhere in the city right now. We banned her from eting Logan in private during this ti, had Caitlyn stay with her, and made her learn how to behave like a lady and study noble etiquette. She definitely hated that."
Silco knew Jinx very well, so he was convinced she hadn't left.
Which ant Jinx was still sowhere in the city. As for where exactly... even Silco didn't know.
"There's sothing else. The venue has already opened. The delegations from Demacia and Noxus have already entered and are waiting for the bride and groom to arrive. The Winter's Claw hasn't shown up yet, but they should be here soon too."
"If Logan and Jinx still aren't there by then, this will be a serious blow to the Twin Cities. We'll absolutely beco a joke to the outside world," Renata said.
She shifted one arm, resting a hand against her chin before continuing, "Should we start preparing for a public relations war in advance? Though honestly, I don't think it'll be easy to spin. After all, we were the ones who invited the whole world to co, and if this ends as a joke, then even if most of them only ca for profit, that still won't stop it from becoming everyone's favorite dinner conversation."
"I know," Silco snapped, glaring at Renata.
Of course he knew.
That was exactly why he was so fed up.
"Change the plan. Have Jayce and the others get ready. Get all the Hextech hovercars moving too. We'll create the appearance that Logan is already on his way to pick up the bride."
"Yes," Renata replied.
Vi blinked from the side, wanting to ask what she was supposed to do next. After all, as Jinx's sister, she obviously couldn't be one of the bridesmaids. And now, as the person who had been assigned to keep an eye on Jinx, she had sohow managed to lose her right under her nose.
After thinking it over, Vi decided that staying silent was probably the smartest move.
Don't give Silco a chance to yell at !
Damn, I'm a genius.
Vi felt quite proud of herself.
Ti quickly approached noon.
The streets and alleys of Piltover were absolutely packed with excitent. And there, at the very front of the long procession, was the world-famous Councilor Talis in full formal dress. He held a confetti launcher in his hand and fired it off whenever they reached a new stretch of the route. Behind Councilor Talis was the varied groomsn's party of Zaun's ruler, n of different skin tones and heights.
They had departed from Bluewind Court in Piltover's wealthy district. From there they left Bluewind Court, crossed Stellar Boulevard, passed through the Ecliptic Comrcial District, and then headed toward Pronade Walk.
Under normal circumstances, the one leading the procession should have been Logan, not Jayce, but the problem was... no one could find Logan.
Soft music played over the citywide broadcast. There was sothing sacred in the lody, and over it floated a sweet, joyful voice, the kind that instantly made people happy just by hearing it.
"The groomsn's party is about to reach Pronade Walk. They will board the brand-new Shriekers and soon arrive at Pronade Walk, where the beautiful bride is waiting for her groom..."
Inside a tall building in Piltover, standing in front of a huge cluster of machines no one could na, a pink-haired girl with a sweet, lovable face had scrunched her features into a little bun as she held a sheet of paper and painfully read from the script in front of her.
Her na was Seraphine, and she was the broadcaster for this wedding.
And right now... she was terrified.
But she had to pull herself together, because she absolutely could not ss this up. She could not let the people of the Twin Cities realize that while the wedding was underway, both the bride and groom were missing.
Not far from Seraphine, l sat with one ear covered by a headset, narrowing her eyes as she listened to Seraphine's broadcast. The whole ss today was so absurd that she almost wanted to laugh.
They had prepared this wedding on a grand scale, invited the whole world, had Enforcers sending invitations everywhere, and for several days the Twin Cities' Hextech ships had even been transporting guests from around the world for free. The newly built towns were offering free lodging to the "guests" as well.
Logan's wedding was not just about him and Jinx. It was also about the Twin Cities.
This wedding could serve as a perfect display of power, a justified reason to invite major nations to the Twin Cities and show the world the Twin Cities' place in Runeterra.
But now...
It looked like the whole thing was about to beco a joke.
Still, l was not as anxious as Jayce. It wasn't because of a personality difference, it was because she hadn't been directly involved.
Jayce was a groomsman, so he was part of the event. But l? She was just watching from the outside. Even if the Twin Cities ran into trouble and made fools of themselves, that would be Silco's headache, not hers.
Why waste energy worrying so much?
Better to enjoy the show and take the opportunity to relax a little.
At that thought, l's narrowed eyes slowly softened. She smiled, lifted the glass of red wine in front of her, and took a small sip.
On the broadcast, Seraphine continued, now entering the section about Councilor Logan's rise to success, going on and on praising him.
They had to build a new public image for Logan in the eyes of the outside world. Famous people needed a story, after all.
"What everyone is about to see next is the ho where Councilor Logan once lived before he rose to prominence. Here, Councilor Logan ca to understand Zaun's shortcomings. United with the people, he personally experienced..."
The Zaunites listening to it all felt that this was exactly right.
Zaun wasn't that big, and even though Logan's status had grown lofty, the truth was that if you greeted Councilor Logan in Zaun, he would always answer you with a smiling face.
He was a leader with unbelievable personal warmth. The broadcast wasn't wrong at all.
That was exactly what their Councilor Logan was like!
But on Piltover's side, people found the whole thing a little... off.
Most Piltovans no longer had any issues with Logan. The Twin Cities were in a honeymoon phase now, and relations between the two sides were incredibly good. But as the people living above Zaun, how could they not know what Zaun was really like?
The broadcast was presenting Zaun's best side, talking about how Zaunites were resilient and unyielding, possessed of extraordinary toughness and spirit.
But if you thought about it a little more carefully, what it really sounded like was that all those qualities had been forced out of them by Piltover.
Ahem, which was basically true, but still, if you're in the underworld, then just say you're in the underworld. Why make it sound so inspirational?
Soon enough, the crowd gathered in front of Logan's house, a place that technically already counted as his "forr residence" even though he wasn't dead yet, saw a line of Enforcers blocking sothing from view, and then Councilor Talis raised a gaphone and shouted, "Let's go!"
The mont Jayce called out, the procession erupted in cheers, and the surrounding crowd clapped happily along with them.
Stalls lined both sides of the street, offering free drinks and food. Even the outsiders who had co from other places were swept up in the atmosphere and started enjoying themselves too.
The celebration was in full swing. Through the great speakers across both cities, the gentle music beca faster and more upbeat. Seraphine's voice rose several notes as well, becoming excited and soaring, as if she were caught up in the joy herself.
In reality, little Seraphine was pinching her throat while talking.
Putting on a performance, that was basic pop star technique.
Soon, noon arrived, and the grand luncheon officially began. The entirety of Black Lane had beco the "wedding venue." And from the mont people entered Black Lane, they could see a massive platform suspended high in the air.
No one had any idea how it had been built, but the thing was more than fifty feet long and over twenty-five feet wide, floating up there in midair.
And it even had stairs.
How in the world had the Zaunites built sothing like that?
Whatever, that wasn't important at all.
Because now, guests could enter.
Now, the wedding was underway.
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