Ilucia looked at the bustling streets of Lordaeron, momentarily lost.
The troubles within Alterac had been largely eradicated, and the reconstruction of Alterac City was proceeding in an orderly fashion.
When the city was completed, Ilucia would be the new Queen of Alterac, and the Barov Family would be the new royal family of Alterac.
Even though two happy events were combined, Ilucia felt no inner stir, but rather an involuntary sadness.
The reason was simple: in this game… no, it should be called a play, the Barov Family was merely an outsider without even a line of dialogue; it even appeared as background.
Arthas, or rather the Alliance, only needed a new royal family of Alterac in the background.
This was Ilucia's thought; she was already infinitely pessimistic about her fate, and everything Arthas had revealed to her left her unable to find a way to resist within her limited understanding.
"There are no other options."
Ilucia leaned back on the soft sofa in the luxurious carriage—she was already the prospective Queen of Alterac, and today she entered Lordaeron as a noble figure, not the timid Miss Barov.
But she herself believed that this was merely a ceremony of "servant meeting master."
She felt even more despair than her last visit to Lordaeron, because last time she at least felt that things could take a turn for the better.
But now?
Opportunity, fortune, situation—everything was just a joke; fate was not unpredictable, because the destiny of the weak was always held in the hands of the strong.
Moreover, Lordaeron and Arthas represented a power so great that Ilucia could never conceive of resistance.
Fortunately, the Barov Family's experiences had long accustomed Ilucia to this state; even with a dead heart, she still methodically "played" her role.
Ilucia knew that Arthas had gone to the front lines again, so the one who wanted to meet her this time should not be Arthas, nor King Terenas.
Calia Menethil, the Princess of Lordaeron, one of the most noble individuals in the kingdom, her status was the best proof of Lordaeron's strength.
She was Arthas's elder sister, a good friend of the Kul Tiras Princess, and King Terenas's daughter.
These few halos alone could make countless people hesitate when facing Calia, not daring to look directly at her glory.
"Those are just exaggerated rumors."
Compared to the demonic Arthas, Calia was simply the embodiment of gentleness; her tone was unhurried, like a spring breeze, bringing endless imagination and fragrance.
Calia personally poured Ilucia a cup of milk tea, "Have a taste; this is a special drink Arthas gave me, it seems quite valuable."
Upon hearing the name Arthas, Ilucia's body involuntarily tensed, then quickly relaxed; she responded in a manner that tried not to arouse Calia's suspicion, "Thank you for your hospitality, Princess Calia."
However, no matter how much Ilucia tried to hide it, her slightly constrained and nervous actions were still seen through by Calia.
The Princess chuckled, "You seem very nervous, Your Majesty the Queen of Alterac; actually, you don't have to call me Princess at all."
"Without Lordaeron's help, Alterac would never have this day of rebuilding, and besides, I am not yet Queen, please Princess Calia, just call me by my name."
Despite Ilucia's immense fear of Arthas, Lordaeron had not mistreated the people of Alterac.
Those nobles were naturally filtered out by Ilucia; as vampires constantly coveting the remaining benefits of the old era, Ilucia had no good feelings for them.
"You're still a bit reserved. Let me guess, is Arthas making you nervous?"
Ilucia's expression stiffened; she suddenly felt that the Princess in front of her might not be as naive as she seemed.
Seeing Ilucia not answer, Calia smiled slightly, elegantly picked up her cup, took a sip of the drink inside, and then slowly said, "Perhaps Arthas did scare you a bit, but I want to ask you not to misunderstand him; he is just a bit… unique?"
As she said this, Calia's own tone was also a bit uncertain, as if she was searching for a suitable word to describe her younger brother.
Unique?
Calia's description left Ilucia unsure where to begin complaining: Your brother is indeed unique; putting aside everything else, just the fact that he has an army of undead under his command, you probably don't even know about that, do you?
A living person controlling a Legion composed of undead seemed unbelievable, yet Ilucia was precisely one of those controlled—though she was not undead.
But Ilucia dared not speak of this matter, otherwise she might truly become undead.
So, in response to Calia's words, Ilucia could only force a smile, "Prince Arthas is indeed extraordinarily heroic; he is the most excellent man I have ever seen."
Calia glanced at Ilucia, and suddenly said with some helplessness, "He is indeed extraordinary… but sometimes, I worry if he is too unique.
I am his elder sister; although I am not much older than him, I am still his sister, yet my brother has always made me feel since childhood that I seem to be the one who is taken care of.
During the Orcish Wars, even my father was anxious all day long, and the atmosphere in the entire palace was very oppressive. Do you know how I spent those days?"
Ilucia shook her head.
"I always went to the library to find Arthas; although the library was one of my most disliked places at that time, being by Arthas's side made me feel a precious tranquility during those oppressive times."
Calia's expression was full of reminiscence, "He was just a little boy then, but he already had the shadow of his present self. Arthas always liked to sit in the library, or train his swordsmanship in practice.
Although he was always busy with his own affairs, just watching him, and occasionally chatting with him for a while, made me feel incredibly relaxed and happy."
At this point, Calia smiled, "Sorry, I've strayed off-topic so much, but I just want you not to be too afraid of Arthas. Although I know that the matter of Alterac is not as simple as it seems, I want to tell you that Alterac is not a vassal of Lordaeron."
Ilucia blinked after hearing Calia's words, momentarily unsure how to respond to such a direct statement.
"Arthas does not want Lordaeron to put too much pressure on neighboring countries, but Lordaeron recovered from the trauma of the Orcish Wars earlier than other kingdoms, and Lordaeron's development speed is too fast, almost every kingdom feels pressure from it.
Gilneas leaving the Alliance was out of fear that Lordaeron would threaten their independence; King Genn worried that Lordaeron's ambitions would swell like our strength.
I cannot deny this, because my father is a qualified monarch; his entire life has been spent trying to expand his rule, whether it is Alterac or Gilneas, they represent everything he desires.
However, Arthas is completely different; he agrees to integrate the strengths of various kingdoms, but he does not want to use violence to bring fear to other kingdoms, although in our eyes, he is a bit too idealistic, but he has managed to do it.
Now, Lordaeron is slowly moving forward according to his ideas; Arthas wants to gather the strength of humans, Dwarves, Gnomes, and Elves, not to satisfy a desire for power, but to prepare for something.
After all, I am Arthas's elder sister, and I have spent more than twenty years with him day and night; I think I should understand Arthas better than my father. Arthas has hidden some things from me, perhaps to prevent me from worrying too much, or perhaps to protect me.
I don't know what Arthas is preparing for and worrying about, but I want you to know that this is not an oppression of weaker nations and races—if it were truly necessary, we would have taken that step long ago."
Ilucia was stunned, staring directly at Calia, truly speechless this time.
Calia's movements remained elegant and steady, "I am not like the genius Arthas; I have no special talents, neither magic nor martial arts, I have only barely received the blessing of the Holy Light, able to use some ordinary Holy Light spells."
With that, Calia stood up, walked to Ilucia's side, and gently placed her delicate hand on Ilucia's shoulder.
"Arthas has protected me more than once; he has shielded me from countless slanders, rumors, and harms. I do not wish for anyone to misunderstand Arthas, do you agree, Queen Ilucia Barov of Alterac?"
Calia's words were still so gentle, but the slender hand resting on Ilucia's shoulder conveyed a completely incomprehensible fear and chill to her.
It was as if, standing behind her was no longer the gentle, kind, beautiful, and elegant Princess Calia, but an infinite darkness that devoured light, and even the originally sunny garden seemed to suddenly enter midnight.
Ilucia's body tensed because of this, and she fell into a state of confusion.
Until Calia withdrew her hand, Ilucia involuntarily shivered, not daring to look back at Calia at all.
And the Princess, after withdrawing her hand, left the fragrant garden; the sunlight once again shone on Ilucia, but she felt no warmth from the sun, but was surrounded by a chill that had not completely dissipated for a long time.
The strong Miss Barov looked as if she was about to cry—although she was afraid of Arthas, she would certainly not betray him and the Alliance, so why did even Arthas's sister have to come out and scare her?
So scary! I want to go home, even Scholomance is a hundred times warmer than Lordaeron's royal city. Are the Menethil Family all monsters?!
What do you mean you only know a little Holy Light magic? You can clearly beat me, who is already considered a formal mage, right?!
Arthas, completely unaware that his sister had once again frightened the poor Ilucia, was reading a letter sent by Jaina.
The contents of the letter made Arthas breathe a sigh of relief; his relaxed expression undoubtedly made Magni and Thoras feel much more at ease.
"Good news, we have basically obtained the weapon to defeat Ragnaros and his minions."
"Really?!" Magni's eyes widened; this news was indeed too incredible.
The Dwarves had spent hundreds of years without finding a way to defeat Ragnaros the Firelord, yet Arthas told Magni that the weapon to deal with Ragnaros the Firelord had already been found.
"Is it some divine artifact? Where is it, I'll go with you right away!"
"Don't get excited, Magni, it's not some divine artifact, nor some ancient relic. The answer to the problem is very simple, and it has always been by our side."
Arthas took a map from the side and spread it on the table, pointing his finger at a section between Dun Morogh, Burning Steppes, and Searing Gorge.
"This is… a bay?"
Thoras and Magni looked at the place Arthas was pointing to; it was the bay on the western side of the three regions, but because of Ragnaros the Firelord and the Black Dragon's presence, coupled with the already unfavorable terrain there, it was basically a forgotten sea area.
Magni was indeed one of the initiators of the Adventurers' Guild; his imagination, no smaller than his brother's, quickly came up with a seemingly outlandish answer, "You want to use seawater… but how is that possible?"
Although Blackrock Mountain was near the western side of the entire mountain range, and not too far from the bay, wanting to make seawater cross the numerous mountains and flood this area was completely impossible for human power.
Magni even suspected that even a Titan Guardian might not be able to do all this in a short time.
"If it were just us, of course it wouldn't be possible. So I had Jaina take a group of mages to perform a ritual by the sea.
Since Ragnaros the Firelord can permanently destroy a part of the Redridge Mountains, turning it into the current Searing Gorge and Burning Steppes, then is there another element that can extinguish Ragnaros's flames?"
Arthas's words were like opening Pandora's Box, causing Thoras and Magni to involuntarily fantasize.
However, Magni sobered up faster; he asked doubtfully, "Are you sure this can really work? And… how do we ensure we don't create a second Ragnaros? We still have our people here; if such a disaster really occurs, most people will probably be buried here."
"Under normal circumstances, there is indeed such a risk, but there happens to be an Elemental Lord who has a 'not-so-good relationship' with Ragnaros. Leaving aside his attitude towards mortals, just the faction he represents has an irreconcilable conflict with Ragnaros."
Arthas said firmly, "Therefore, if we want to deal with Ragnaros the Firelord and his minions, we must first exploit the conflict between Ragnaros the Firelord and the other Elemental Lord."