Terenas dismissed the maids and guards, facing his wife alone. "Lianne, tell me, why has our son changed so much? Look at what he wrote in this letter! Hmph, to actually slander a long-standing nobleman for treason and even confiscate his domain! What will the other great lords think? The kingdom needs the lords to govern it. And my son used to be a good, obedient student. But now? He's too arrogant! Tell me, why is this happening!"
To say he hadn't noticed would be a lie. Terenas simply couldn't accept his son's transformation. His son was supposed to be a pious, upright, and sunny prince, loved and admired by all, who would inherit the throne after his death. But now? He was acting recklessly. If it weren't his son, he might have already flown into a rage.
Facing her husband's roars and questions, Queen Lianne gracefully took a bottle of wine from the nearby cabinet, poured the red wine into a glass, and elegantly took a sip, exuding an ineffable grace and intellect.
"You don't need to worry. Arthas is still Arthas. He's just expressing his own thoughts now. He has always had his own ideas. You think that by packing his schedule full, you were doing him a favor? Hmph, you were just turning him into a puppet."
When it came to their child's upbringing, Terenas felt a deep sense of pain. "Tell me, what is the reason for all this?"
"It's nothing. The support of the Dragons has allowed him to have his own thoughts and ideas. Overall, it's a good thing. And what is that dog Shangke? A nobleman? Hmph, laughable. Terenas, you are still the king! What are you afraid of! Arthas has the Dragons' support, yet Shangke still dared to send assassins after him and frame it on pirates. How ridiculous. Do you think he wouldn't assassinate you if you had a conflict with him?" Queen Lianne retorted with contempt. Of course, she believed her son. Even if Arthas said the Eastern Kingdoms would be destroyed and told her to leave, she wouldn't doubt him. At most, she would just need to pack and prepare in advance.
This was a mother's trust in her son—a son who was so close to her, who even dared to harbor carnal thoughts about her, yet was unable to express them. The mere thought of it made her chuckle.
"Did you instigate this?" Terenas's somewhat cloudy eyes stared at his wife. He had even suspected that his wife had encouraged all of this.
"No." Queen Lianne picked up a pastry and began to eat, completely ignoring her husband's gaze.
Even with little affection left between them, Terenas still knew what kind of person his wife was. She was a woman who would not deceive him; what she said was what she meant. She had even dared to admit to killing his mistress and child, just to secure her own child's position. He could find other women, but he could not have more children, not even daughters.
"Fine, I understand." With that, Terenas left the rear palace. He needed to deal with this thorny issue. Did he not know that the great lords were growing powerful with their own armies? He knew, but he still maintained this system because it was convenient. As long as he controlled the great lords, the rest was insignificant. Managing a domain was simply too troublesome, involving so many aspects: medicine, education, public welfare, construction, finance, trade, security, threats, and so on. Plus, two thousand years of human imperial history had been like this; he was neither willing nor able to change it.
Soon, Lordaeron issued a declaration: Sir Shangke was a traitor who had colluded with the enemy. All lords across the land were to execute him on sight, for which the royal family would offer a reward. A second order commanded Arthas to lead his army north to support Quel'Thalas and not to linger at Shangke Manor.
Shangke Manor had now been renamed; its history was a thing of the past. It was now called Set Sail Manor, signifying that Arthas's great ship was about to set sail.
The various lords, including the generals fighting on the front lines, received a personal letter from Terenas, telling them to kill Sir Shangke on sight, for he was a traitor who had contacted the orcs! Every great lord was somewhat shocked. They of course knew of Arthas; he had recently resolved the Dragon crisis. Otherwise, their armies, within range of dragon breath, would have been melted outright!
Such a heroic prince had suddenly uprooted a long-standing nobleman who had tried to assassinate him? Such ruthless methods were truly hard to believe. Was this the Prince of Lordaeron? When he became king, would he start wars between kingdoms?
Looking ten steps ahead from a single move, many things, when combined with a sensitive status, could indeed lead to much speculation. However, the urgent priority was still to fight the Horde, and this was an internal affair of Lordaeron, having little to do with them.
At sea, Admiral Daelin had just led his fleet into battle with goblin merchant ships, capturing a large number of vessels and supplies. These goblins were all doing business with the Horde, transporting resources for orc-aligned consortiums, and ended up being targeted by the idle admiral! The Horde's fleet had been completely annihilated, and since his troops were not skilled in land warfare, he continued to patrol the seas. He happened to run into the goblins—dog-eat-dog, nothing to be ashamed of. Warships turning into pirates was something every consortium had done.
After receiving the letter, Admiral Daelin Proudmoore tipped his captain's hat with his pistol and handed the letter to his eldest son, Derek. "The younger generation is truly formidable. Your sister's fiancé has shown his fangs."
Derek thought more deeply. He had always been suspicious of Arthas, because the latter's brilliance overshadowed the princes of other kingdoms. It was natural to feel displeased, even if he was his own brother-in-law.
"I worry that he might one day covet Kul Tiras!" "Haha, it's possible, but he wouldn't be interested." It wasn't that Daelin hadn't considered it, but what did Kul Tiras have? It was just an island kingdom with no abundant resources. What was the benefit of targeting it?
Meanwhile, in the capital of the Kingdom of Alterac, King Perenolde received a guest, an unexpected one: Sir Shangke! No one knew that Sir Shangke was his uncle, his biological uncle! This blood relationship was rather baffling. A nobleman of Lordaeron was related to the King of Alterac? Who had infiltrated whom?