Before long, Johnsen came to visit.
Without looking up, Vanessa asked, "Has Li Yueke confessed everything?"
Like a faithful old butler, Johnsen replied with the utmost respect:
"I promised to protect Li Yueke's family, and after that he agreed to cooperate. His account matched the statement from Monroe, the Horde's special envoy. Li Yueke had an important mission: to drive a wedge between the Alliance and the Draenei. He also confessed that there were three people in Monroe's party. He didn't know the identities of the other two, but their mission was to help the Horde with certain matters."
Vanessa nodded and explained to Robbie, "The Wings of Freedom happened to capture Monroe, the Horde's special envoy, and got some information out of her. Then they laid a trap and had Li Yueke's men murder her. With the special envoy dead in Lunarfall, Li Yueke and his whole family would have struggled to stay alive."
"Was the Horde's special envoy that important?" Robbie asked, puzzled.
Johnsen froze for a moment, then gave a bitter, drawn-out sigh.
Vanessa, meanwhile, fought back a smile and said with a perfectly straight face, "Jaina gave Prince Anduin a Hearthstone that led straight to her bedroom."
Robbie had indeed heard about that. All sorts of versions circulated among adventurers. Back then, Prince Anduin had still been a tender, delectable little boy. Auntie Jaina had really been willing to sink her teeth into him.
Vanessa snickered, then held back her laughter and put it as tactfully as she could:
"Jaina taught the prince a few things, like how to appreciate an Orc woman's inner beauty. His Highness immediately broke off his long-arranged engagement and resolved to marry a beautiful Orc woman. King Varian nearly marched on Theramore because of it."
In contrast to Vanessa's joking tone, Johnsen's expression was far more bitter:
"Monroe Doras, the daughter of Doras, the richest person in Kalimdor and the flight master of Orgrimmar, was voted the most beautiful woman in Azeroth. She once held a concert in Orgrimmar that brought countless heroes to their knees and made them vomit nonstop. Orgrimmar's sewers were clogged for three months. Prince Anduin fell in love with her at first sight. This time, Monroe came under the pretext of meeting the prince in secret, while acting as a spy. Though she brought an Epic Orb of Deception, the Wings of Freedom still discovered her."
So that was how Alexi Barov had gotten his Orb of Deception.
"This was what Monroe wanted to give Velen." Johnsen took out an agreement and handed it to Vanessa. She glanced at it, then passed it to Robbie.
"Embaari Village relocation compensation agreement"
It had to be said that Thrall had offered the Draenei exceptionally generous terms. Each person would receive a large seaside villa and two commercial residences with courtyards, along with Kobold servants, Murloc butlers, and other attendants, as well as full-figured bear-woman maids whose sole duty was to warm their beds.
But there was a major trap hidden in the agreement.
They would have the right to use the properties for only seventy years.
After seventy years, the Draenei of Shadowmoon Valley would be expelled, left with nothing.
For a long-lived race, that was nothing short of a catastrophe.
If the Wings of Freedom hadn't intervened, would Velen have signed the agreement? It was hard to say. Robbie didn't have much confidence in Velen.
Even though he was a prophet.
The Elekk quartet had been hanged, their bodies swaying in the wind. That had deterred the adventurers for the time being, and it was foreseeable that the atmosphere in Lunarfall would improve and that crime would decrease significantly.
Not long after Johnsen took his leave, Yrel came to invite Robbie and Vanessa to meet Prophet Velen.
Ashran, Stormshield.
A crowd had gathered outside Prince Anduin's secret residence. Every one of them was tense, ashen-faced, and dejected, as though the sky had fallen.
Sobs came from behind the door, the crying rising and falling, utterly heartbroken.
It was Prince Anduin crying.
"How long has this been going on?"
Udir, the Worgen Priest who had just hurried over after hearing the news, asked.
Major Shanmiusen, who was standing guard at the door, gave a mournful sigh, his pained expression uglier than if he had been crying. "Three hours. He's much better now. When he first heard the news, his crying was truly pitiful."
"Yes, it was his precious, beautiful first love, after all."
Udir, the Worgen Priest, managed to squeeze out two tears and rubbed hard until his eyes and their rims were red. "His Highness and Miss Monroe fell in love at first sight and were about to write a perfect love story. Who could have expected it to end like this? Fate really plays cruel tricks."
The love between a human and an Orc.
In terms of the hardship and steadfastness of that love, it was far more precious than the love between Rhonin and Vereesa Windrunner, or Turalyon and Alleria Windrunner.
Those two tales of love across racial lines were much talked about, but they mostly inspired envy.
After all, the Windrunner Sisters were High Elves, and their looks were extraordinary. No human man would turn them down. What was more, High Elves barely aged, remaining young and beautiful all their lives.
By comparison, Prince Anduin and the Orc woman Monroe cared nothing for looks and valued only what was inside. That was true love.
"Who were the killers? Have they been caught?" the Worgen priest Udir asked.
"Holy Light be praised, the killers have all been captured." The answer came from a long-bearded Dwarf, High Priest Lohan, the mentor who had first guided the prince onto the path of a Priest:
"The four who committed the crime have been executed. The only one left is an Undead rogue, Alexi Barov, a descendant of the Barov Family and a follower of the Horde commander Med'an."
The Dwarf raised his eyebrows and said with a hint of pride, "His Highness understands the greater good and hasn't let hatred blind him. He just had someone send Alexi Barov back to the Horde."
The Worgen priest Udir nodded, sincerely impressed. "His Highness has grown. That is a blessing for the Kingdom of Stormwind. He will become a wise king."
Prince Anduin's trusted aides had gathered together, speaking as quietly as possible, afraid to disturb the grieving prince as they waited anxiously for news.
"Actually, perhaps this is for the best." The Worgen priest Udir couldn't help voicing his thoughts. "The queen of the Kingdom of Stormwind couldn't possibly be an Orc."
"That may be true, but how will His Highness overcome his grief?" High Priest Lohan said worriedly. "This is a terrible misfortune."
"Good news, good news!"
Bishop Faxien of Stormwind City hurried over, smiling more happily than he ever had before. He held an encrypted magical message in his hand.
The message had crossed space and time from Meryl Winterstorm, a human necromancer who had lived for thousands of years and the teacher of Med'an, the savior.
Bishop Faxien had no time to greet his colleagues and hurried in to see the prince.
"Can she really be brought back to life?"
Prince Anduin's eyes were red, and he held an Orc skull in his arms. Its slender tusks and relatively thin cheeks showed that it was the skull of a female Orc.
Other bones lay scattered on the floor. Before presenting them to the prince, his trusted aides had carefully cleaned them and added some spices so that they had no unpleasant smell.
Bishop Faxien handed the message to the prince. First, he put on a sorrowful expression, then said joyfully, "Master Meryl gave his personal assurance. As long as we have the skull, there will be absolutely no problem."
"But after she's brought back, will she still be my beloved Monroe?" Anduin hugged his beloved's skull tightly, as though embracing the entire world.
Bishop Faxien was moved by the sight and wiped away his tears. "Please rest assured, Your Highness. Master Meryl is highly accomplished in necromancy. He guarantees that after her resurrection, she will be no different from when she was alive."
A poster hung on the wall. It depicted an Orc woman in a Glorious set, her figure full of curves as she danced wildly beneath brilliant fireworks. Anduin gazed at it in fascination and nodded.
Bishop Faxien hurriedly gathered the scattered bones from the floor, then took the skull from the prince, who was reluctant to part with it, and carefully placed it in an urn.
"After Monroe is brought back, she'll stay with Master Meryl for the time being and learn some spells to protect herself."
Anduin forced himself to return his attention to the matter at hand. "I don't want another tragedy like this to happen. Though mountains and rivers separate us, they can't stop the love that connects our hearts."
Bishop Faxien hurriedly nodded in agreement. Anduin closed his eyes, looking somewhat tired, and waved a hand. "Tell them all to leave. I need to rest."
Seeing that His Highness was all right, the trusted aides at the door breathed sighs of relief and took their leave in twos and threes. Bishop Faxien held the urn in both hands, wondering how best to handle the matter.
Worgen Udir caught up and walked beside Bishop Faxien. The two had once been friends through life and death, and there was nothing they couldn't discuss with each other.
"I don't believe there's any such thing as a perfect resurrection spell," Worgen Udir said skeptically. "Undead are Undead. How could one be exactly the same as a living person?"
"My dear friend," Bishop Faxien said with a smile, "who said we were really going to bring her back? We only need to find another Orc woman to take her place. His Highness can't tell Orc faces apart any better than we can."
"It's finally over."
Anduin recovered from his agonizing grief, poured himself a glass of wine, and looked at the coquettish Orc woman in the poster with disgust from the bottom of his heart.
A mysterious man in a hooded cloak emerged from the inner room.
Anduin raised his glass to the man and smiled. "The Wings of Freedom finally did me a favor. I don't have to put up with that foul body odor anymore. Want a drink?"
The mysterious man shook his head and sat down in front of the prince without ceremony. Though his face was hidden, his constantly trembling shoulders betrayed his agitation.
"The Wings of Freedom ruined something important for us," the mysterious man said in a hoarse voice. "The Draenei of Shadowmoon Valley should have cooperated with the Horde."
"Don't get worked up." Prince Anduin personally poured the man a glass of wine, displaying a sophistication beyond his years. "No one in this world knows Prophet Velen better than I do. I know his weakness. The Peace Dove still has a chance."
The mysterious man raised his head and looked at Anduin expectantly.
Anduin set down his glass, tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and said with an easy smile, "Prophet Velen is skilled in prophecy. He can guide the Draenei through the many visions he foresees."
The mysterious man looked puzzled, unable to understand.
"A slightly misleading prophecy would be enough to destroy the Draenei, just as they were slaughtered by the Orcs before. My dear Grand Duke Alpha, that shouldn't be difficult for you to accomplish."