Harry Potter: Journey to Godhood

"Master, why?" Onyxia looked at Alaric with confusion.

She had just taken the initiative to chase after the fleeing Blademaster and Alex Barov, who had been taken by him. Was that not the right thing to do?

"Thank you for your help, Onyxia," Alaric gave her a reassuring smile. "But now isn't the right time to pursue him. After all…"

As he spoke, he gestured toward the sorrowful Jaina Barov nearby.

Onyxia, a seasoned schemer who had once thrown Stormwind's court into chaos, quickly understood his meaning.

Although Jaina was furious at Alex for killing his brother, betraying the Alliance and humanity, and had even declared she was cutting ties with him, he was still her son.

If Onyxia had captured Alex just now, what would Alaric have done with him?

Kill him? That would mean severing all ties with the Barov family.

But if he didn't, then as a high-ranking member of the Alliance, that would send a signal to others that betrayal could be forgiven.

Moreover, keeping Alex alive posed a deeper, more personal threat to Alaric.

Realizing that the Barov family had lost its patriarch and one son, and that the remaining son had committed a monstrous crime, Alaric immediately understood, this was his chance to intervene in the Barov family and establish his own power base in Lordaeron.

Of course, with Alaric's reputation and abilities, any kingdom would have gladly offered him land and power in exchange for his loyalty.

But he had no intention of pledging allegiance to anyone, even nominally.

The Barov family was different.

They were practically an independent entity, only nominally part of Alterac.

Without Alaric's protection, once the Kingdom of Alterac ceased to exist, the Barov family would almost certainly face the same fate as in the original timeline, being carved up.

But Alaric had enough prestige and status within the Alliance to speak on their behalf. With him shielding them, the other nations would have no excuse to divide them.

Originally, with the three Barov men present, Alaric hadn't even considered this plan.

He couldn't be bothered to play power games with a bunch of men.

But now, with two out of the three men gone, and the last one irredeemably disgraced, the future of the Barov family would rest solely with Jaina and her daughter, Ilucia Barov.

True, without a male heir, the Barovs were even more vulnerable to being divided by the other kingdoms, but that also meant they would have to rely even more on Alaric to survive.

And Alaric was more than happy to welcome these beautiful women into his fold.

…

Alaric's schemes aside, Onyxia had at least vaguely guessed his intentions with her intelligence.

But she still had other concerns.

"Still, letting them escape like that, what if the Horde finds out about us? What if they realize their plan has been exposed?"

Onyxia had originally assumed that if they could stop the orcs and Alex Barov in time, they could prevent information about Alaric's arrival from leaking.

Then, when the Horde tried to ambush Lordaeron's capital, the Alliance could turn the tables and spring a trap.

Alaric shook his head at her suggestion.

"So what if it's exposed?" he said casually.

"Honestly, as long as they can't take Lordaeron's capital, the Horde's defeat is inevitable. Isn't a hard fight in Alterac exactly what I want?"

"Why?"

The black dragon princess still didn't quite understand.

"What's our real goal here?" Alaric smiled slightly, hinting at the answer.

"I… I get it now!" Onyxia's eyes lit up.

If Orgrim could be taken down with one ambush, then even the fall of Alterac wouldn't truly test the Alliance.

But if news of Alaric's arrival leaked and Orgrim realized he couldn't take Lordaeron by surprise, his only option would be to advance before reinforcements arrived, and face the Lordaeron army in a direct clash.

If the Horde won that battle, they could truly threaten Lordaeron's capital. But if they lost, they'd be forced to fall back to Alterac and defend it.

During that time, they'd need to take control of the entire region, essentially making it their territory, a fate not far from total ruin.

Either way, it would be a significant and sobering event for the Alliance.

While Onyxia was finally enlightened, a soldier came rushing into the hall.

According to his report, Alex had used his identity to trick the gate guards into opening the fortress gates, and then escaped on the orc envoy's ship.

"Well, let him go then."

Hearing this, Jaina recovered slightly from her grief. After giving orders to the guards and servants and stabilizing the situation, she led Alaric into the study.

Onyxia knowingly remained outside the door.

But before parting, she gave Alaric a teasing, ambiguous smile.

"Sorry you had to see the Barov family like this," Jaina forced a smile as she shut the study door behind them.

"This was all my fault… the fault of an unfit mother… I must have made a fool of myself in your eyes."

"It's me who should be apologizing," Alaric gently patted her shoulder. "If I'd arrived a little earlier, maybe I could have prevented all this."

"No, it has nothing to do with you." Mentioning her children only deepened Jaina's sorrow.

"I was too obsessed with magic in the past. I never taught them properly… And they inherited all the worst traits of their father's noble blood… This is all my fault…"

As she spoke, tears streamed once more from the eyes of this beautiful woman who looked barely over twenty.

Suddenly, she threw her arms around Alaric, burying herself in his chest as sobs escaped her lips.

Feeling the sudden press of her voluptuous figure, and the unexpected softness against him, even Alaric, who had been through countless battles, stiffened for a moment.

But soon, he gently wrapped his arms around Jaina and began softly patting her back.

Her sobs gradually quieted. Just as Alaric was about to let go, Jaina held him even tighter.

"Sorry, little one… let me lean on you a bit longer, just a little."

Whether out of pity for Jaina or moved by the weakness and sorrow in her voice, Alaric didn't push her away. The two remained in that quiet embrace.

Indeed, the mage before him was exhausted.

As a mother, she had lost two sons in a single day, one killed by the other, and the remaining one disowned by her own words. They would never reunite.

The suddenness of it all had left her, a widow, feeling as though every support in her life had crumbled.

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