Chapter 242: Queen Sylvanas' Revelation

Upon hearing this, Duke was completely dumbfounded.

Imprisoned? Imprisoned? Why would Alleria be imprisoned?

There had never been any record in 'history' of Alleria being in jail.

What on Azeroth was going on!?

Duke's face turned grim: "Vanessa, Gavinrad, please leave us for a moment."

"Your Grace, we..." Gavinrad tried to persuade Duke, as he didn't entirely trust the high elves.

"I insist!" Duke cut him off decisively.

Having never seen Duke react so fiercely, Vanessa suddenly realized that this high elf named Alleria held an extraordinary position in Duke's heart.

Vanessa and Gavindrad left, but they didn't go far, standing less than twenty meters away from the house, quietly watching the window.

Sylvanas gracefully somersaulted into Duke's room. Seeing the mage's hand busy signing documents all over the room, she couldn't hide her surprise.

However, she quickly shifted her attention back to Duke and saw a pair of eyes filled with guilt and remorse. They shouldn't belong to a carefree 15-year-old boy; they were more like the eyes of someone who had experienced hardships and pain.

Sylvanas suddenly felt she had come to the right person.

"Speak, I'm listening." It wasn't a command but more of a plea. Duke sat behind the table, his fingers intertwined, pressing tightly against his lips.

"It's because of a book, the 'High Elf Mage Apprentice's Handbook.'"

Duke's heart skipped a beat, his face turning dark in an instant. His intertwined fingers gripped so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and he had unknowingly bitten his lip, blood flowing into his mouth, salty and metallic.

Duke couldn't help but recall how his life in this world started after meeting Alleria. If Alleria had just helped him drive away a wild boar, he could have managed to escape by dragging the carcass. But the handbook containing the Sun King's teachings on arcane circuits was the key to Duke's rise.

It was no exaggeration to say that without this handbook, Duke might have become a great mage, but only great. He would have been far from his current extraordinary status, easily defeating his peers and even higher-ranked mages.

Duke had secretly compared himself to other mages, even those legendary figures like Krasus and Kel'Thuzad, and found his "Arcane Fire Circuit" was no less powerful.

What had he relied on? Wasn't it Alleria's seemingly unintentional gift?

It was difficult for Duke to describe his attitude and feelings towards Alleria, but one thing was certain: she was his benefactor.

Now Alleria was in prison because of him... Duke was furious.

Sylvanas seemed not to notice Duke's reaction and continued to speak. The proud Queen of the future revealed a slightly sad story with a girl-next-door tone:

"Originally, the handbook falling into my sister's hands was a mere accident. But she didn't know that our younger sister, Vereesa, had signed an agreement forbidding the circulation of this handbook outside the Windrunner family. Violators would be severely punished."

"Vereesa forgot to tell my sister about it and just asked her to return the book to Prince Kael'thas when passing through Dalaran. In fact, the prince had no use for the handbook. However, due to adhering to the magic confidentiality regulations, the prince reported the matter to the Sun King, Anasterian."

"Even if a mere apprentice's handbook was lost, it wouldn't cause much trouble. Even if there were problems, the Windrunner family could easily resolve them with their influence. The real issue was that this handbook contained a secret arcane circuit of the Sunstrider royal family.

If this secret hadn't been deciphered or used, Alleria would still be safe. The problem arose when a human teenager obtained the handbook, discovered the secret, and even used the arcane circuit training within to master the foundation of the arcane fire magic circuit.

If the teenager had been an ordinary person, the Quel'Thalas royal family could simply send a team of dispellers to destroy his magic circuit and prevent the leakage of magic, and all would be well. Unfortunately, by the time they discovered this, the teenager had already become an influential minister in a human kingdom.

After all, the high elves were at fault in the first place. Moreover, King Anasterian's concealment of the arcane circuit construction method had caused strong dissatisfaction within the Silvermoon Council. As a result, Alleria was only sentenced to three months of imprisonment in the dark cells.

Perhaps you might think three months isn't a long time, but for the freedom-loving and casual Windrunners, this was more painful than a death sentence. Alleria refused to let any of her sisters tell you about this, but I couldn't help myself. Not long after she was released, Alleria began asking about you again. When she heard of your accomplishments and your appointment as the Alliance's deputy commander, she, who originally planned to come alone, used all her connections and mobilized the Windrunner family's elite forces to help.

I don't know why Alleria did this, but I do know that you owe her many favors. I once suspected that you were her lover in the human world, which is why I tested you when we disembarked.

At this point, Sylvanas shrugged with a hint of resignation: "Alright, I still don't understand what your relationship is, but if you hurt Alleria again, the three of us sisters won't let you off the hook this time."

Duke let out a long sigh before speaking. To Sylvanas' surprise, Duke didn't promise any compensation or make any vows. Instead, he simply said, "Time will prove that meeting Alleria was my fortune. Alleria meeting me is the Windrunners' fortune."

Sylvanas tilted her head curiously before vanishing into the darkening sky with a flicker.

The room fell silent once more.

After a long while, Duke suddenly said, "Alleria, shall we go for a walk?"

In the woods thirty meters behind the cabin, there was a moment of silence. After a full ten seconds, a faint reply came.

"Alright!"

As night fell, Duke and Alleria walked side by side in a forest far away from the refugee camp and military base.