Chapter 678: A Changed Trajectory

"Are you okay?" Ilussia patted Jaina's back gently. "It's probably just initial shock. My first glimpse of battle was much like yours. I spent two days retching afterward."

"Damn it! Duke has ruined Valentine's Day, ruined my birthday," Jaina spat with a ferocity that suggested she might very well devour Duke whole. "I will remember this for a lifetime!"

Ilussia could only shrug helplessly; even she couldn't defend Duke this time. Of all the days to choose, he had to pick this one—what a torment.

Sighing, Ilussia conceded, "Yes, yes! Little Jaina, if only you could pummel him with magic until he's black and blue. Sometimes, he truly is detestable."

Jaina was sharp. She caught the undercurrents in Ilussia's words—despite everything, Ilussia was still firmly in Duke's camp. Jaina felt an indescribable oddity. Was her confidante about to become a rival for the man's affections?

Deciding to observe and wait, Jaina prodded, "Well, tell me more about Duke."

"Oh? Have you begun to respect him?"

"No, to conquer an enemy, one must first understand him..."

"Alright then..."

So, it had escalated to the level of enemies.

Well, Duke, don't blame me for spilling your secrets. Of course, I don't believe Jaina, as she is now, could handle you...

At this moment, in Karazhan's top-floor master bedroom, Duke welcomed back Alleria and Vereesa. Commanding the Windrunner Rangers in their stead was Sylvanas.

Vereesa, homing in like a bird to its nest, lavished Duke with affection, "Duke, I'm overjoyed. When you crafted such a Valentine's Day, I almost thought you were inventing a holiday in the Stormwind Kingdom just for Jaina's arrival."

Alleria, shedding her white coat with a laugh, chimed in, "If this counts as Valentine's Day, then surely it's a blood-stained one."

Vereesa tactfully stepped aside, allowing her older sister a warm embrace with Duke.

After a whirl of banter, Duke led the sisters to a dining table already laid out for them.

Nobles typically dine in silence, whispering if they must speak. But Duke's table knew no such restraint. They conversed freely as they ate.

"So, you actually admire Jaina's talents?" Alleria always wondered. She didn't understand why Duke, seemingly resistant to Jaina herself, would go to such lengths to cultivate her.

Duke sliced a piece of steak, chewed, and swallowed before dabbing his mouth and replying, "Firstly, her magical talent is top-tier. Like Rhonin, she's cut out to be a Mage of the Radiant Sun."

Coming from Duke, this was high praise indeed.

The Windrunner sisters paused mid-action.

"Furthermore, given her princess stature, should Lordaeron face upheaval, she could be pivotal. But she has a particularly unique trait—excessive rationality. She's accustomed to weighing everything on a scale of value, for better or worse. At her worst, she could be the next Perenolde, the great traitor."

Alleria lost her appetite at that.

"So..."

"No worries, that's why I gave her a harsh lesson."

Duke had pondered long and hard about Jaina.

Following her original history, Duke would've been content to finish her off with one strike.

To ally with the Horde against evil forces, then betray her 'inconvenient' father to Rexxar and Thrall, only to weep crocodile tears upon his death.

In the original timeline, except for the defense against Archimonde at Mount Hyjal, Jaina often fraternized with the Horde when she shouldn't have. And when true alliance was crucial, her heart's work in Theramore was obliterated by Warchief Garrosh's mana bomb, rendering her senseless with grief.

Ultimately, Jaina was too clever, too rational, forgetting that human society is ultimately sustained by human emotions.

Duke's harsh medicine was the brutality of the orcs.

In the original timeline, a younger Jaina, untested by the Dark Portal wars and raised in Dalaran's sheltered mage society, sympathized with the oppressed orcs, seeing them as victims, unable to comprehend her father Daelin's hatred and paranoia.

Now, Duke had given her an invaluable lesson ahead of time.

Talent can be nurtured.

Heroes cannot be replicated.

Why?

Simple.

Education can be repeated, but life experiences cannot.

Even the same trial, faced for the first time in an unknown dungeon, is a completely different challenge from a routine harvest.

The original Jaina had it too easy. Raised in a greenhouse, she developed a sanctimonious streak. Duke's blunt message to her—"This world is brutal; if you can't stomach it, retreat to your greenhouse"—was bound to alter Jaina's life path drastically.

That night, while Duke engaged in passionate battle with the Windrunner sisters, King Daelin of Kul Tiras received the news.

Staring at the over-thousand-word magical missive, Daelin was stunned for a long while.

His lover, Gina Golden Sword, rested her hands on his shoulders from behind, beginning a soothing massage. After the death of Daelin's queen, Gina had become the de facto queen, never attempting to claim the spotlight or formalize the status of her and Daelin's illegitimate daughter.

She was content with her position and wished not to trouble Daelin.

Thus, he trusted her immensely.

"That little rascal Duke, he dares!" Daelin was torn, unsure whether to rage or to laugh.

"He's been rejecting it from the start, his stance has never changed," Gina reminded Daelin.

"I thought..."

"He was never a true politician. If he were the type to compromise for political gains, he wouldn't be the hero of the Alliance. Right?"

"The nerve of that kid! I intended for him to be my son-in-law!"

Gina chuckled, "Now, he's merely fulfilling his duty as a mentor. Even if you took it up with the Alliance's high command, no one would support you. Don't forget, you gave him the command, demanding he fulfill his teacher's duties."

Daelin suddenly felt like he'd shot himself in the foot.

"The cheeky brat! One day, I'll make him pay!"