"But I can't avoid it!" Arthas clenched his fists tightly. "Aecinas, that guy, claims to be the regent, but at the critical moment, he asked me to make the decision. There are many things I don't know at all. By the time I found out, I had to choose the less bad one between two bad decisions. I don't understand, in essence, what is the difference between me and you, the commander, when making choices?"
The surroundings suddenly became quiet.
Although this side hall was empty, who knows if there was anyone eavesdropping next door.
No, it should be said that Duke was sure that someone was eavesdropping. He didn't even need the system to prompt him, he had already heard the heavy breathing. Duke didn't know who it was, Duke only knew that he had to be careful with his words.
Duke held his cheek and said, "Can I ask you a somewhat cruel continuity question?"
"You ask." Arthas made a gesture of invitation.
"You are adrift on the sea with a boatload of refugees, with no hope of rescue, and suddenly you discover that one-third of the people are infected with the plague. What do you do?"
"I..." Arthas showed a painful look on his face: "I will let the one-third of them jump into the sea."
Isolation and then leaving the infected to fend for themselves is the most common way to deal with the plague in this era.
Duke was noncommittal: "What if you find out that half of the remaining people are also infected with the plague?"
"Let them jump into the sea too." Arthas's voice had become softer.
"After a while, you will find that among the remaining people, there is still one-half..."
"Enough! You are torturing my conscience and soul!" Arthas' eyes turned red and he slammed the table and stood up.
"No, I'm not questioning your conscience and soul." Duke looked at Arthas coldly, "I'm just telling you not to use your shallow common sense to judge every problem, and then force yourself into a dead end of dilemma. The biggest difference between you and the commander is that you consider the problem comprehensively!"
"Yes! I just asked you what to do. I didn't force you to deal with it according to the rules of this era."
Arthas was stunned: "What should we do then?"
"Have you ever learned any medical knowledge?"
"Have you asked if there are any doctors among the refugees?"
"Have you confirmed the type of plague?"
"Is there any hope of recovery?"
Arthas was stunned by the five "yes or no"s in a row. He defended himself by saying, "But I don't understand that common sense at all..."
"That's why I asked you to find out if there are any doctors among the refugees. As the commander-in-chief, it doesn't matter if you don't know the answer. Just leave it to the experts. You must appoint the most reliable person to be your advisor. If you don't know how to choose, let the people in that field nominate one. If you can't judge, let the experts judge for you."
Arthas was shocked at first, but after that he was filled with admiration from the bottom of his heart. It turned out that Edmund Duke, the deputy commander of the Alliance and the Horde, who had won so many great battles, had a reason for his success.
Is this the difference between me and the top commander?
That's right! After receiving the alarm from the deputy commander, since the regent was incompetent, I should have taken on the responsibility and arranged things as comprehensively as possible, instead of doing nothing and waiting until the situation worsened before making a painful decision.
Arthas bowed deeply to Duke.
"I'm glad to hear your advice. Sir Edmund, I just have one last question."
Arthas asked solemnly: "What if, at the end of the day, I have no one to rely on, and no common sense in this area, and I have to make the choice by myself?"
"Avoiding the worst-case scenario is also increasing your options. The lack of a better option itself proves that your vision is too narrow. If your wisdom and insight are not enough to create some better options for you, then you should choose the option that you are most confident in. If you really tried your best, you will always feel better, at least you can comfort yourself."
"To comfort myself...?" Arthas was a little dazed and felt dizzy. He thanked Duke again as if sleepwalking and then left.
Duke sighed as he watched Arthas, who was supposed to become the Lich King, leave. He felt sorry for the fall of Arthas in history. He could not blame Arthas in history. This was the conspiracy of the devil who was most proficient in human nature and the most despicable and shameless.
Duke didn't know if he could reverse the "future" of Arthas's fall. Maybe he could change the fate of death and tragedy like Llane, the VanCleefs, and Lirath, or maybe not, but at least he tried.
"Isn't it better to regret doing something than to regret not doing anything?" Duke seemed to be talking to himself and mocking himself.
"Yes! Well said!" A clear female voice suddenly came into Duke's ears, and Duke instinctively felt that the voice sounded a little familiar.
The next second, he discovered who the owner of the voice was—Princess Calia Menethil.
A girl in a pure white, low-cut long dress was standing alone at the door of the side hall.
Seeing the girl crossing her hands in front of her chest as if to suppress her excitement, Duke suddenly felt a sense of purity.
He didn't know if there was a slight sigh mixed with his breath.
Obviously, at this moment all the noise disappeared because of the girl's concentration.
Any other elements would be degraded to impurities. The two pure, focused, and even slightly fanatical lights in the girl's eyes were overwhelming.
The love almost turned into reality, like a prayer that went straight to the heart, Duke almost instantly felt the admiration from the girl's eyes.
Princess Calia... is madly in love with me?
I have to say that Princess Calia is indeed a stunning beauty. Her exposed skin is crystal clear, and her body is so slender that looks like porcelain that will break at the slightest touch. She exudes a kind of beauty that makes people lose their minds.
The problem is, Duke has never had any thoughts about Princess Calia!
In Duke's eyes, the royal family of Lordaeron was a trap. He had no intention of befriending the royal family of Lordaeron. When Duke met Princess Calia's eyes, he was stunned.
The girl's breathing was getting heavier and she was obviously very nervous. She seemed to have forgotten what she was supposed to say.
The princess' voice was trembling, and she was a little incoherent: "Thank you for the rose that day... But I... I was most moved by the fact that you saved the entire city, including me, when Lordaeron was about to be destroyed."
"Well, that's what I should do."
"I...I...I...Can you let me be your follower?"
"Huh!?" Duke was confused again!