Duke had anticipated many scenarios: Jaina yelling, Jaina reasoning, Jaina bringing Daelin to pressure him. He never expected her to shake him with such raw, feminine emotion.
He had always been wary of Jaina, influenced by her future reputation as a "traitor." But in his preconceived notions, he’d overlooked a crucial truth: while a person’s inherent nature is important, it’s their experiences that truly forge their personality. Children who grow up with domestic violence or in single-parent homes, for instance, often struggle with trust. A child who consistently fails will likely lack confidence and leadership as an adult. Jaina’s life trajectory in this timeline was vastly different from history.
Though her father, Daelin, still didn’t favor her, and the Kul Tiras throne would never be hers (Crown Prince Tanred already had a son), she hadn’t been forced into socialite flirtations with fools and rich men. All she sought was a future. Ilucia confirmed Jaina’s past decade had been remarkably chaste; she hadn’t even had a male dog, let alone a lover. Her focus had been solely on magic and business.
"She’s still a virgin," Ilucia had once said, seductively.
Duke grimaced. In an era where teenagers were expected to marry, Jaina’s decade-long engagement had effectively branded her an "old maid" in the eyes of society. Before his transmigration, women in big cities marrying in their thirties was commonplace. In Azeroth’s human circles, however, she was nearing "old witch" territory. Though Duke knew Jaina hadn’t intended this, the whispers of society were potent.
Considering this, and seeing the two lines of crystal tears tracing paths down Jaina’s face in the soft lamplight, Duke suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
"I’m sorry," he began, "I didn’t consider your feelings. My actions were inappropriate. I was trying to separate public and private matters."
Jaina lowered her head, a helpless gesture, then quickly raised it again. Duke couldn’t decipher the complex, swirling emotions in her eyes. She clenched her fists, her entire body visibly tense. The next moment, a near-hysterical roar erupted from her lips.
"I’ve been trying to fall in love with you, Duke! I’ve been your fiancée for over ten years, constantly thinking about how to change myself to please you! But your heart has always rejected me! You never even gave me a chance to begin, and you’ve ruthlessly cut off all possibilities!"
Tears streaming, her body trembling, Jaina took a sudden step forward with her left foot. "After learning about your relationship with Miss Alleria and Miss Vereesa, my court tutor told me that as long as the title of your wife belongs to me, I must pretend not to see anything. This is the rule of the nobility. My father, and other kings, did the same."
Then her right foot advanced! "Yes! I was still a minor then, but from that day on, I told myself I had to be patient—I made myself a good student. Because that was the only time you wouldn’t be on guard against me!"
A third step! The distance between them was less than a meter. She could clearly see every nuance of shock on Duke’s face.
"From my teenage years to my adulthood, I’ve thought about how to win your favor. By Poseidon, I was so frustrated for a long time because my mentor and I began to think you only liked high elves, not human women!"
A fourth step! The gap between them was now less than half a meter.
"Ten years! I’ve waited for you for ten years! A woman’s most golden and beautiful moments, all spent waiting! To escape the torment in my heart, I dared not read any romance novels! I even practiced frost magic! I spent almost all of these ten years in the library and the laboratory!"
A fifth step. Their noses were almost touching. Her blue eyes were filled with infinite sorrow.
"First it was Countess Ilucia, then Queen Calia, and now Queen Sylvanas... How can I continue to pretend nothing happened!? I can’t bear it anymore! Please tell me—what did I do to make you so disgusted and reject me!? Even if I lose! Even if my fiancée status is revoked! Can you give me a reason so I can understand why I’m losing!?"
Duke let out a long breath, collecting his thoughts. From the perspective of the engagement, despite its messy origins and his never fully acknowledging it, his accidental bombing of Karazhan had indeed dragged Jaina into a miserable situation. Moreover, the women he’d become entangled with were increasingly powerful. Before, he could treat them as secret lovers. Now, queens were appearing as if from thin air.
If the engagement were canceled and Jaina had no marriage partner, even as an Archmage, she wouldn’t necessarily be imprisoned by Daelin to live out her life alone. But it was understandable that Jaina felt confused and stressed now that Dalaran was destroyed.
"Jaina, no matter how you look at it, this is a mess. From the perspective of nobility, it’s already unsolvable. But I just want to ask you, do you believe that by marrying me and bearing an heir, you can truly fulfill your dream with peace of mind?"
"Dream..." Jaina shuddered, then froze.
Duke pressed on, "According to royal tradition, you marry a noble you don’t like, become a tool to continue the family line, and spend the rest of your life doing nothing. Are you willing?"
No further questions were needed. Jaina had already given her answer:
No! Never! I will never accept this! How could I possibly accept this!