For Duke, it was just a matter of convenience, but for the Barov family, it took on an entirely different meaning.
Seemingly seeing through what Duke truly desired, Lady Illucia only threw out her ultimate bargaining chip after confirming their close alliance.
"It would be Jandice's honor to study the mysteries of magic with you, Duke. I'll write a letter right away. Please deliver it to Jandice when you arrive in Dalaran."
"Oh?" Duke was curious. "My lady, how did you know I was going to Dalaran?"
Lady Illucia revealed a smug expression. "I heard you used frost magic to kill more than a dozen powerful orc assassins at the command post, saving four kings?"
Duke tilted his head. "That's right."
"I only know that if it were my senior, Antonidas, even when he was still a Sky Mage, he wouldn't have let the last assassin break through his frost domain and escape, even if that assassin were a Horde chieftain."
"It's because back then, he had a top-tier Frost Circuit model that you didn't have," Lady Illucia said with a flowery smile, sipping her tea elegantly. Duke felt as though he could see an equally elegant fox tail swaying behind her.
This was where Lady Illucia's intelligence shone through. If you looked at the alliance or deepening friendship perspective, the conditions she had offered Duke before weren't particularly generous or high-stakes.
She and the Barov family certainly hoped to have Duke's support as external help, but at this point, it seemed the Barov family didn't necessarily need Duke's backing. In a way, this was also a test.
If Duke refused, then naturally, the top-tier Frost Circuit model would have nothing to do with him.
If Duke agreed, like he did now, it would be a pleasant surprise.
Lady Illucia didn't include this bargaining chip when she made her request, as she didn't want this to become a mere transaction. Accepting the Barov family's gift through a transaction would likewise not guarantee their help in crucial moments.
Once Duke understood this, he held no ill will towards Lady Illucia.
He didn't dislike this 'I respect you a foot, you respect me a yard' approach.
Moreover, Lady Illucia, who cleverly perceived what he wanted, indeed possessed considerable wisdom.
"The Frost Circuit was something I had agreed upon with my senior Antonidas long ago to pass on to Jandice. As half of Jandice's mentor, I think you should help her study it thoroughly, Duke." With that, Lady Illucia summoned a servant, quickly penned a letter, and handed it to Duke.
"Thank you so much, my lady."
And so, Duke arrived in Dalaran with Lady Illucia's handwritten letter.
Unlike his previous visit in the dead of night, this time, although Duke was visiting in a more personal capacity during his rare leisure time, his status today was completely different.
Back then, Duke's miraculous abilities were unverified to the Northern Five Nations.
.
"Now, Duke Marcus truly holds a prominent position as the Deputy Commander of the Alliance. Therefore, the one who led the team to greet him was none other than Prince Kael'thas Sunstrider, one of the six members of the Council of Dalaran.
"Welcome, Commander Marcus." It must be said, at this moment, Kael'thas was still the epitome of a high elf – graceful and courteous, giving everyone a feeling of being bathed in a warm spring breeze. Moreover, he deliberately omitted the 'Deputy' part, making him seem more mature.
Everyone loves flattery.
Kael'thas's seemingly accidental slip of the tongue was actually a slightly exaggerated compliment.
"Heh, the way you're talking, I'd almost think Commander Lothar had arrived," Duke Marcus replied subtly.
"Don't be modest; everyone knows the contributions you've made to the Alliance," Kael'thas said, not intending to stir up any issues between Duke Marcus and Lothar. "In fact, many mages in Dalaran are fascinated by your casting techniques. If you have time to teach or hold seminars in Dalaran, I believe many mages would join the Kingdom of Stormwind's royal mage corps for your reputation alone."
"Oh? Wouldn't it be wrong for me to poach mages from Dalaran?" Duke Marcus was genuinely intrigued.
"In Dalaran, all mages are equal and free. The Kirin Tor values fair trade, and what is the temporary surrender of freedom in exchange for exploring a deeper world of magic? Just as everyone can choose whether or not to join the direct mage corps of Dalaran, Dalaran wouldn't mind if free mages joined the Kingdom of Stormwind or became your followers. What do you say? Would you consider it?"
If at first Kael'thas had merely been flattering Duke Marcus, this time his proposal was a tailor-made, brilliant suggestion that struck a chord with the Duke.
Acquiring mages for free!
Without needing to train them himself, he could take these semi-finished products and mold them for a year or two. By that time, he'd have a formidable mage corps that, even if not awe-inspiring, could be quite intimidating!
Duke Marcus was genuinely tempted.
This time, he sincerely thanked Kael'thas: "Kael... uh, sorry, Kael'thas, I truly appreciate it. I think I'll make time for it. Before that, though, I need to meet with Archmage Antonidas."
"Please, follow me," Kael'thas said, finally confirming that he had successfully redeemed the initial unpleasantness and won Duke Marcus's favor.
By all accounts, as the prince of the high elves, Kael'thas could have completely ignored Duke Marcus.
But don't forget why Kael'thas came to Dalaran to study in the first place and ended up staying for so many years, unable to return to Quel'Thalas. The story behind it all involved his father, the Sun King, and the power struggle with the Council of Silvermoon.
Having seen the customs of two worlds, Kael'thas had long become incredibly mature in his mindset. Establishing a good relationship with the popular Deputy Commander of the Alliance, Duke Marcus, could only be beneficial. Moreover, he felt a peculiar sense of closeness to Duke Marcus, as if they shared a common origin...
Walking the streets of Dalaran, Duke Marcus felt a strange sensation. This was a Dalaran that had not yet been destroyed. Although it lacked the wonder of the future Dalaran, suspended in mid-air and hailed as the 'City in the Sky,' this Dalaran was larger and possessed a richer historical atmosphere .
The beautiful city, nestled south of Lake Lordamere, combined wisdom, power, grandeur, magnificence, art, and mystery, making it the brightest jewel on the entire continent, if not the entire world.
Almost every human mage in the world had once studied the magic they learned from the high elves here. The mysterious and elegant white towers scattered throughout the city symbolized the mages' wisdom, ambition, status, and power.
Had Duke Marcus not inherited Karazhan, he might have considered building a mage tower here.
As Kael'thas led the way, he introduced Duke Marcus to everything about the city. At that moment, a beautiful blonde girl approached Duke Marcus.
"Hello, Duke Marcus Sky Mage, I am Jaina Proudmoore."
In the world of Azeroth, there are two female heroes who cannot be ignored.
Jaina of the Alliance.
Sylvanas of the Horde.
In one crisis after another, in the face of apocalyptic changes, perhaps neither of them played the most critical role, but they were indispensable in every event.
Duke's feelings towards Jaina were complicated.
Maybe in the future, Jaina would still embark on that seemingly destined path of hardships, watching her rumored boyfriends perish one by one, witnessing the entire northern continent being destroyed by the Scourge and being forced to migrate to Kalimdor, and even having to commit patricide to cope with greater threats and ensure peace with the Horde. She would stray further and further from her path after each blow...
Eventually, after the city she had managed for half her life, Theramore, was leveled by an Azerothian nuclear bomb and all the people who trusted and supported her were killed, she aged overnight, turned completely dark, and became that Jaina who would support the genocide of the Horde regardless of the circumstances.
If it were that Jaina, there would undoubtedly be a severe conflict with Duke, an advocate of the Alliance's supremacy. However, at this moment, Jaina was still a 12-year-old girl.
Her exquisite face, as if carved by God himself, had a small chin, crystal-clear blue eyes, soft blond hair just past her shoulders, and a delicate, youthful figure.
A typical beautiful young girl with great potential.
Alas, at 12 years old, this was an age where Duke would have been in serious trouble if he had made a move on her before his time travel.
Perhaps she already had many ideas about love and peace in her heart, but they were only at the level of a young girl's fantasies.
Maybe she would still become that "Saint," but at the moment, she was just a 12-year-old girl.
Young girls have many virtues; well, no.
In fact, with Duke's current status in the world, he had no reason to envy Jaina.
Or rather, if Duke wanted to, he could easily adopt Jaina, rename her "Airi," and teach her about the concept of a "ghost father."
Cough, cough! Just kidding!
Duke was not that kind of person. He always believed in his integrity.
Look, if necessary, he could unhesitatingly declare three times:
"I'm not a lolicon!"
"I'm not a lolicon!"
"I am a lolicon!"
Uh, something seemed wrong with the third one, but never mind. Life is full of troubles, like the countless stars in the sky, so don't worry about such small details.
When Kael'thas saw Duke staring at Jaina, he couldn't help but smile. He suddenly remembered that the young man in front of him, who had twice killed over 200,000 orcs and was a prominent figure in the Alliance, was actually just a 15-year-old boy.
"Miss Jaina is indeed a masterpiece of the gods. She is one of the two most beautiful young ladies in Dalaran."
Upon hearing the handsome and charming Kael'thas, who showed no signs of corruption at this moment, Jaina's face immediately turned red with embarrassment.
"You're exaggerating, Kael'thas."
.
Jaina, already beautiful, was even more stunning in her shy state. As Duke looked at her delicate face, he suddenly understood why Arthas and Kael'thas, both present and future, would fall for Jaina.
Duke smiled and gave a slight nod, "I praise your beauty, Miss Proudmoore. Although I'd like to express my respect for a beautiful lady with magic, this is Dalaran, and it's best not to show off my modest skills in front of everyone."
Upon hearing this, Jaina felt a bit disappointed.
Duke's impressive achievements were well known, but in the realm of women, he was most famous for his splendid magical talents to please them.
In Lordaeron, Duke presented the breathtaking ice-fire rose to Princess Calia Menethil.
In Southshore, Duke used a fantastically colorful ice crystal rainbow symphony, "Ode to Joy," elevating Alleria Windrunner's beauty to a level known by almost everyone in the Alliance.
Men admired heroes for their unparalleled battle accomplishments.
Women, however, were more fascinated by the heroes' romantic and artistic abilities.
Duke had no idea that among the high society ladies, there was a widely accepted belief - only those praised by Duke's most dazzling magic could be considered truly stunning beauties.
Partly due to her own confidence in her beauty, Jaina wanted to see what kind of hero this man, whom her father had repeatedly tried to recruit and almost became the Prince Consort of Kul Tiras, really was.
Now that Duke refused to cast any spell, Jaina's disappointment was palpable.
Unexpectedly, Kael'thas chimed in, "Duke, isn't this unfair? I know that Princess Calia and Lady Alleria are rare beauties in this world. But is our Jaina of Dalaran truly not as beautiful as them?"
Kael'thas put his hands on his hips, looking like he wanted to stand up for Dalaran, making it difficult for Duke to step back.
Duke forced a smile, "Isn't it forbidden to cast spells casually in Dalaran's common areas?"
Kael'thas gently touched his shoulder, "I guarantee it with my status."
Damn, Duke almost forgot that Kael'thas was a member of the Kirin Tor's Council of Six.
Jaina didn't speak, but she stared at Duke with her eyes full of anticipation.
This was a clear case of pushing someone into a corner!
Duke hated being forced, so with a hidden, malicious intent, he raised his hand, "Alright, for Miss Jaina's beauty."
As Jaina eagerly watched, and Kael'thas and other curious onlookers gathered around, Duke, under the watchful eyes of his bodyguard Gavinrad and handmaiden Vanessa, made his move.
With the help of his system, the immature ice circuitry circulated and created the most perfect dreamlike effect.
A massive ice crystal box appeared around Jaina, or more accurately, the beautiful and almost entirely transparent ice crystal box encased Jaina.
Many of Dalaran's Morningstar mages could create an ice box.
What they couldn't do was create the incredibly intricate inner components, such as sound tubes, soundboards, gears, springs, and dampers. Although Kael'thas immediately noticed the box's complex components, he, a magic genius but mechanically inept, could never guess that it was a music box.
As the two mage hands gently twisted the 'spring' on the large box.
Two beautiful ice crystal sculptures, a male and a female, began spinning and dancing on the box, their simple rotations accompanied by dazzling streams of light.
The foreign melody emanating from the music box easily evoked Jaina 's memories of happier times, even casting a spell on her, making her fall into a dreamy reverie.
No one expected that Duke could actually solidify abstract music into a tangible magical artwork.
This was nothing short of a miracle.
The sound enchanted Jaina.
Well, if this melody were to have lyrics, they would be:
"Don't mind me, I peddle swords, worn and broken, it's only natural…"
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