Chapter 677: Nauseated Again

After Duke and Jaina had stepped out together, the handmaidens and squires of Karazhan were abuzz with speculation, their innate penchant for gossip blazing fiercely.

"Do you think... could it be that the Grand Duke and Her Highness... you know?"

"Definitely! Who could resist Her Highness's charm?"

"Now that she's the sole princess in all the lands, any man in his right mind would know what to do."

"I still doubt they'd go all the way so quickly."

"You can never tell! The lake in East Elwynn Forest is quite enchanting. What if the beauty of the place was overwhelming?"

"Indeed! I was once so captivated by the seascape, and then I found myself in the arms of that scoundrel Anthony."

"Heh! Don't say, but I heard that His Majesty Proudmoore and Miss Goldenblade... on a ship..."

Not far away, Sylvanas overheard and sneered. She turned to tease Ilussia, "Oh, little Ilussia, aren't you afraid Duke might be overcome by impulse... and make little Jaina land ashore first, heh heh!"

Ilussia shook her head firmly, "Sister Sylvanas, you know about Duke's plan. I'm more afraid that Duke might take things too far and not know how to stop."

The Banshee Queen grinned wickedly, "That's not for certain. Our Duke is so popular, after all. And that heartbreaker, didn't he hide a real princess before?"

"Shh!" Ilussia put a finger to her lips and made a silencing gesture, her face tense.

"Pff, as if they could hear the whispers of the elves," Queen Sylvanas shrugged nonchalantly. "I really don't see what's so great about Duke. The first and third sisters are like that, and so are you, all hopelessly devoted to that lad."

Ilussia's face flushed crimson: "He, he... I..."

"Hey! Want to bet whether Duke will play rough with little Jaina?"

"You're on!" Ilussia agreed, a bit defiantly.

"What's the wager?" asked Sylvanas with a teasing tone.

"Let's bet on making the other do something within their power."

"Agreed!"

Just as they shook on it, Ilussia sensed an arcane fluctuation.

Karazhan was under strict spatial lockdown, especially from the direction of Azeroth. Thanks to Duke and Khadgar's efforts, most spatial rifts were directed to where the Nightmare once resided, now guarded by the Spirit of Valor, the Maiden of Virtue, and the Curator leading the arcane constructs.

The stables at the main gate, the reception hall, and the ballroom had been reorganized, with the opera house soon to reopen.

The arcane fluctuation was from a portal, one that could lead directly to the front door, accessible only to Duke and Ilussia.

Duke had returned, with Jaina.

Jaina's appearance caused all the Kul Tiran maids and servants to cry out in alarm.

"Your Highness! What happened to you!?" Jaina's head maid rushed over in panic, eyeing Duke suspiciously.

"It's not my blood! I'm fine!" Jaina quickly clarified, calming down: "I've been through a brutal magical trial, and now I just want a good bath."

Despite Jaina's reassurances, her appearance was too ghastly to ignore; her entire upper body was drenched in blood, as if she had been pulled from a pool used for dark rituals.

At that moment, even with Duke's imposing presence, every Kul Tiran bore a deep resentment towards him.

What happened to the promised romantic escapade?

The wonderful Valentine's Day?

It was bad enough not to woo our precious princess, but to return covered in blood? What kind of horror was this?

Duke shrugged off the maids' murderous glares.

There, Sylvanas put on a slightly contrived look of shock.

"Is it that exaggerated?"

Both Ilussia and the others nodded in agreement.

Jaina hadn't gone far when her maids began to retch, having seen the chunks of viscera stuck to her back.

Ilussia gave Duke a curtsey, "It seems I am the more suitable one to go."

Despite Ilussia's demure appearance, she had seen the most harrowing battlefields alongside Duke, faring a hundred times better than the maids who had never seen blood.

"I guess I lose, huh?" Sylvanas conceded gracefully.

Ilussia waved her hand as she left, acknowledging she had heard.

Now, only Duke and Sylvanas remained in the hall.

"Really, Duke, you have no regrets?"

"Regrets? When His Majesty Daelin handed his daughter over to the greatest orc-slayer among the magi, he should've been prepared for this." Duke appeared nonchalant.

"You really had the heart to be tough on such a delicate young lady!?" The Banshee Queen asked, hands on hips, slightly amazed: "Is this the same Duke Marcus who couldn't take his eyes off a beauty, handing out magical roses and charming girls with spells?"

Duke's cheeks reddened for a moment: "Enough teasing. Times have changed. Perhaps there will be peace for two to five years, but the symphony of destruction has begun to play. First, Jaina truly has the makings of a hero, and second, only a woman who can stand by me, powerful and self-sufficient in any crisis, will do."

Sylvanas was no fool; she instantly realized she was within Duke's hunting sights!

"Scoundrel! You wouldn't think of bagging all four Windrunner sisters, would you? Over my dead body! Let me be clear, I'm not fond of you, so don't get any ideas."

Duke touched his nose awkwardly, "I never said that."

"Hmph! Good!" Sylvanas turned on her heel, giving Duke a view of the back of her head as she walked away.

Meanwhile, in Karazhan's bathhouse.

The maids were of no use; Jaina had to rely on her confidante and Duke's planted spy, Ilussia, to help her clean up.

She washed over and over with warm water, but no matter how much she scrubbed, the nauseating scent of blood lingered in her nostrils.

Human, orc...

The cavalryman whose neck was pierced by a spear...

The warriors who died before her...

The orcs Duke pulverized with magic...

Everything that happened today replayed uncontrollably in her mind.

Submerging herself, she blew bubbles into the water, bored: "Pffft, pffft!"

The next instant, Jaina's vision hallucinated, and she felt immersed not in clean water, but a crimson pool of blood.

"Gag!" Jaina hurriedly scrambled up, retching again.