Chapter 596: Throne Voting

Anduin would never forget why his treasured sword, Quel'Zaram, shattered.

Indeed, his divine blade could not harm those of true nobility. If he had any doubts before, everything became clear when he returned the broken fragments of the blade to Archbishop Alonsus Faol and placed them in the holy pool of Stratholme. For the shattered divine sword was, astonishingly, reforging itself.

Though the process was slow, it was undeniably reforging.

In other words, if this deduction was correct, then the noble Orgrim would surely speak the truth, even if it concerned a duke of an enemy faction, insignificant to him.

Anduin's eyes lit up, "I agree with Lord Marcus's view. We need the testimony of Warchief Orgrim as a key witness to this event."

King Llane shivered, finally understanding. He knew how Anduin's once-invincible sword broke at a crucial moment on the battlefield, nearly causing him to lose a dear friend. This had troubled Llane for a long time.

Llane quickly added, "I concur."

Duke Barov raised his head, a mix of shock and hope in his eyes. For Duke Marcus... Duke Marcus did not abandon him in his most desperate moment. He didn't see the significance of interrogating Orgrim, but it offered hope.

Then, Terenas spoke, "Summon Warchief Orgrim, if he is still of sound mind..."

A servant left to carry out the command.

At that moment, the hearts of Duke Barov, Llane, and Anduin all skipped a beat.

Moments later, the truth was revealed.

"Reporting to all, Warchief Orgrim, due to the severe mental distress from today's tribute ceremony, seems to have gone mad. He's struggling uncontrollably. We had to restrain him with two sets of the largest 100-pound shackles."

Indeed, Terenas's earlier words were a hint. Realizing that they had overlooked Orgrim, who might now become a liability, they took measures. Perhaps they drugged him, causing Orgrim to lose his sanity temporarily.

Suddenly, all hope of turning the tables vanished.

Duke Barov's face turned ashen.

Anduin was puzzled. Given Duke Marcus's intellect, he shouldn't have given the enemy a chance to rectify their mistakes. What was Duke Marcus's intention?

Terenas spoke again, "It seems there's no other way. We must rely on Orgrim's previous testimony. Is there any other evidence or requirements? If not, we proceed with the throne vote, deciding whether to brand the Barov family as Alliance traitors."

Silence filled the air.

Ignoring the many doubtful or opposing gazes, and the faint sobbing of Jandice, Terenas announced, "Let the public voting begin."

The throne vote was the Alliance's supreme method of decision-making on significant matters. Originally designed to prevent a single country from monopolizing command, each member nation had a single vote, with Lordaeron, as the leader, holding two. The involved party's nation had no voting rights.

Votes could be in favor, against, or abstentions. The decision was based on the majority. If there was a tie, Lordaeron's wish would be the final decision.

"Those in favor of branding the Barov family as Alliance traitors, please raise your hand."

Genn was the first, followed by Solaras and Antonidas, and finally Terenas.

Now, with the double vote from the leader, that made five.

But that was it.

Terenas was uneasy. He realized these individuals weren't considering the 'evidence' or 'reason'. They were purely opposing because Duke Marcus did. They trusted Duke Marcus, who had genuinely helped them, more than any 'objective' proof. Clearly, they were siding with Duke Marcus on this divisive issue.

Now, the votes stood at five to five.

Technically, Terenas could use his leadership right to pass the motion. The problem was, one nation with voting rights hadn't voted yet!

All eyes turned to Prince Kael'thas, representing the Sun King at the Triumph Ceremony.

The handsome prince seemed flustered.

He hadn't expected to be thrust into the power struggle between Alliance leader Terenas and Duke Marcus. He had received no forewarning, and no nation's representative had approached him.

Politically, this was an affront to the High Elves, suggesting their marginalization. Still, this was a consequence of their long-standing isolationist policy.

Personally, Kael'thas would have supported Duke Marcus.

However, he was well aware of the sentiments back home. Even if Duke Marcus's forces had saved Quel'Thalas, and even if Quel'Thalas had sent support to the Alliance forces, the High Elven elite despised Duke Marcus.

Simply, jealousy.

They resented what Duke Marcus achieved, which they couldn't. They couldn't protect their own nation and had to rely on Duke Marcus.

The proud elf was conflicted.

Moreover, their representative, Marian, had been branded as a servant of Deathwing and was captured by the Red Dragon Queen. Many council members couldn't accept this and took out their anger on Duke Marcus.

So, publicly, Kael'thas couldn't support Duke Marcus.

After a pause, Kael'thas finally said, "Quel'Thalas abstains."