Chapter 224: Night of the Alliance (Part 2)

Of course, Duke had no hope of becoming a Holy Priest, with countless bosses ahead like stars in the sky, not knowing when he would fall twice and lose his integrity. So, Duke was deeply moved by Archbishop Alonsus's invitation but refused to accept it.

At this moment, Lord Daelin approached and patted Duke on the shoulder.

"Enough!

Archbishop Alonsus, I think a fine young man like Duke should not become a saint. The world needs him, and..." Daelin suddenly grinned wickedly.

Duke shivered, sensing an ominous premonition.

As expected, he was struck in the next second.

"Actually, if Duke is willing to offer his fleet as a dowry, I would gladly betroth Jaina to him."

Not only Daelin but also the fiend of a 'big brother' Derek spoke, "I heard that although you look mature, you're only 15 years old, right? My little sister is only 12."

Duke almost choked on his saliva and ran to retrieve his corpse.

Forget it!

Historically, Jaina, who sold her father out, was cursed with misfortune. She caused the death of her father and numerous rumored boyfriends.

Even if I could resurrect, I couldn't handle it.

Duke quickly diverted the subject: "Haha! I better not. I don't want to anger Prince Arthas."

At this moment, 12-year-old Jaina already showed her beauty potential, mesmerizing her childhood friend Arthas. Later on, she would also stir the mortal heart of Prince Kael'thas of Quel'Thalas...

"Oh, if it's fair competition, I won't say anything even if my son loses," King Terenas approached.

Duke continued to deflect, "Oh, haha, I don't want to become the enemy of Dalaran's rising stars."

"Strange, isn't seeking a partner with excellent magical aptitude our natural instinct as explorers of the arcane?" Archmage Antonidas joined the conversation.

Duke's heart wept: Why are you guys being so nosy? Do you think you're matchmakers?

"Um, I..." Duke began to stutter.

At this moment, these cunning old foxes noticed that Duke had an inexplicable aversion to Jaina's name.

Daelin was magnanimous, laughing and patting Duke on the shoulder, "It's okay, it's okay. Maybe you'll change your mind after seeing the pearl of Kul Tiras in my house."

Terenas beckoned, "Calyia, come here for a moment."

"Yes, Father," a generous yet gentle voice answered, making the bones of the surrounding young nobles turn to jelly.

Calyia Menethil - the second heir to the kingdom of Lordaeron, the famous elder sister of Arthas in later times, and someone who had a very close relationship with him.

There's no denying that Princess Calyia inherited her mother Queen Lianne's beauty. A serene melon seed face, extremely delicate and noble features, and long, smooth golden hair that cascaded to her shoulders. As she approached Duke, dressed in a moon-white gown and gracefully showing off her exquisite figure, everyone around couldn't help but gasp in admiration.

What a perfect beauty.

Daelin muttered in a low voice that was audible to all, "Damn, I almost want to remarry."

This joke, however, did not amuse everyone present.

A faint blush of shyness appeared on Princess Calia's face, but she still greeted Duke gracefully, "Good evening, Duke Marcus."

This bastard Terenas, fearing that the world wouldn't be chaotic enough, actually tricked Duke, "Hey, young man, the princess just greeted you, and you don't even have a greeting gift. How embarrassing?"

For a moment, the nobles around were all teasing.

"Gift! Gift! Gift!!"

Anyway, everyone knows that Duke is a rich man, and the old and cunning Terenas wants to take advantage of him.

At least give a 10-pound pearl, right?

Duke... is actually broke. Even though he doesn't care about money, with hundreds of thousands of refugees and the need to show off in Lordaeron, he doesn't have much cash left. Because of the war, the nobles have tightened their purse strings and luxury goods that used to sell for high prices are now difficult to move.

Duke doesn't want to waste his money on things like those 10-pound pearl necklaces.

And besides, would the princess of the mighty city-state of Lordaeron really want something like that?

He can't afford to lose face!

Duke casually flicks his mage cloak and seems to say, "Step aside, I'm going to show off," before he takes action.

During his days of training in Karazhan, Duke didn't manage to create an ice circuit to match the one that uses arcane fire magic. But he does have a small ice magic circuit.

With a flick of his finger, Duke makes the plate of wine in the waiter's hand fly into the air. As Duke's left index finger deftly moves, the suspended liquid starts to spin.

What kind of magical manipulation is this?

Duke's understanding and control of elemental magic completely exceeds the imagination of Antonidas, who is supposed to be a master.

The performance continues, and a cold breath emanates from Duke's palm. Under the gaze of the crowd, crystal-clear ice petals gradually form.

A rose made of ice elements!?

Under the radiant lights, every petal of the icy rose was clearly visible, stacked layer upon layer to form a blooming rose. But that's not all, within the icy petals and the cold flower path, there were faint flames flickering, creating a mesmerizing sight that made the ladies in the crowd gasp in amazement.

At that moment, Duke was possessed by a demon.

For some reason, he recalled certain classic movie scenes and decided to play it cool. He executed a perfect hand-kiss and planted a salty kiss on the delicate and snow-white hand of the princess, before presenting her with the ice and fire rose that could almost murder any young girl's heart.

"Princess Calia, only the most beautiful rose can match your unparalleled beauty. I hope you like this little gift..."

With that, Duke retreated in style.

To be honest, Princess Calia had seen plenty of luxurious gifts, but she had never seen anything as creative and sophisticated as this magical ice and fire rose.

Terenas turned his head slightly towards her court mage. The old wizard shook his head ashamedly, telling his king that even he couldn't achieve such fine magical manipulation.

Meanwhile, the princess was completely intoxicated.

Her azure eyes stopped wandering and focused solely on the beautiful and dreamy rose. The flickering flames within the rose had captured her entire mind and soul. She didn't even notice the blush that had appeared on her face.