Cloud Thinking

Helia narrowed her eyes slightly, turned her head to meet Ansel's gaze, and took the book he handed over. The three words "Empire Chronicle" were written in large letters on the cover.

This is a history book that introduces the rise of the Otis Empire and the rise of the Abraham royal family.

Of course, all of this is beautified history, and all that is recorded is past achievements.

At least in Helia's eyes, this book is not worth reading.

What's so good about a book that is full of praise, flattery and sycophancy?

"Don't be nervous." Helia smiled and patted Ansel's shoulder. "I don't mean to hold you accountable."

Ansel's action certainly violated the interests of the empire and Claude's interests.

But... so what?

If Claude had any ability, he should have taken charge of this matter long ago.

But the current situation is that he has no hands free!

So even though he knew that Ansel was going to become the king of the Southern Continent, he could do nothing about it and could only turn a blind eye, thinking that he would deal with him when he had enough energy in the future.

Of course, he also had his own plans in mind.

He just needs to wait for Ansel to finish all the difficult tasks, and then kill him, and then he can take over as the shopkeeper and take over half of the empire that the other person has worked so hard to build.

It doesn't cost any money or effort, what a great idea.

You have to control it from time to time to prevent the fish from breaking through the net and running away with a belly full of fish food before you even get to the time to pull in the net.

In other words, whether it is Claude or Helia, not only will they not touch him at this moment, but they will also try every means to protect him and maintain a good relationship with him.

"I went to the Southern Continent to investigate the entanglement behind my life experience." Helia handed the book back and continued:

"You've probably guessed it. I have a special origin and a special relationship with the gods in heaven."

"I went to the Southern Continent, firstly to accept Wisdom's invitation, and secondly to see if the Southern Continent under the blessing of Fengze is as good as He said."

Ansel raised his eyebrows in surprise, "God of Fengze?"

Helia nodded. "When I was still studying at Carterth College, He sent believers to find me."

"Speaking of which, I'm quite curious, what attitude do you people from the Southern Continent have towards Fengze?"

Ansel frowned, touched his chin, and replied while thinking: "Little Princess, you may not know that the southern continent is not unified."

"There are many forces living on the land of the Southern Continent. Some are willing to accept the rule and protection of the Empire, while others are rebels dedicated to resisting the Empire's rule."

"There are also self-sufficient wilderness tribes, towns governed by local people, the Avid people who are committed to building countries everywhere, and the rumored descendants of gods."

"The southern continent is a mess. Everyone fights for food every day. How can they have the time to believe in gods?"

"The gods won't give them food, nor can they guarantee their food, clothing, shelter and transportation. Faith is the most illusory thing in the southern continent."

He paused for a moment and continued, "Except for the tribe."

"They are self-sufficient. They do not need the protection of the empire, nor do they need to trade with the outside world for daily necessities. They work by themselves and support themselves."

"Although the tribe is backward and closed, it has a pure faith that other people in the southern continent disdain."

"Almost half of the tribes believe in the God of Abundance."

"As for the others, they either believe in other gods, or believe in beasts such as dragons, tigers, and leopards, or they invent something that doesn't exist at all. They believe in everything."

"Everyone believes in their own beliefs, does not interfere with each other, and respects each other."

"As for the attitude of the people of the Southern Continent towards Him... I can only say that those who believe in Him believe in Him, and those who don't believe in Him don't believe in Him."

After listening to Ansel's explanation, Helia realized that she knew very little about Fengze, but she had clearly studied the information of the gods who were currently in power.

But Fengze’s history of becoming rich is too bizarre. Which good god became rich by eating the remains of ancient gods?

Moreover, he became famous so quickly, rising to power in a flash, and has remained in the position firmly for hundreds and thousands of years. I think his strength must be quite good.

But there are very few descriptions of Him, and among the vast majority of believers, it is almost difficult to find people with rich faith.

"As far as you know, are there many people in the southern continent who believe in Fengze?" Helia asked again.

Ansel shook his head. "Not many. The majority are those who don't believe."

"But I heard that Fengze used his divine power to restore the land destroyed by war, turning wasteland into fertile land, and gave his believers land and food for survival..." Helia said as she recalled what she had read in the book.

“Your Highness, the Southern Continent occupies three-fifths of the empire’s territory and is larger than the Northern Continent.” Ansel smiled helplessly.

"And in the territory of the Southern Continent, nearly 70% was once the site of the God's Battlefield. After thousands of years, with the efforts of dozens of generations of Southern Continent people, only 40% of the land has been reclaimed."

"There are many wastelands and many strange places that ordinary people cannot approach."

"How could the power of Fengze alone transform the barren wasteland of the southern continent into a fertile land that can grow food?"

He smiled and tossed the book "History of the Empire" in his hand. "Most people sing praises but hide the suffering, don't they?"

Helia shrugged. "It seems that I really know very little about the Southern Continent!"

"Since you have a reason to go, I don't mind being your escort."

Ansel raised the corners of his mouth and grinned slightly, revealing his sharp little fangs.

He leaned over to Helia's ear and whispered, "But I never do useless work."

"Perhaps, little princess, you can think carefully about how to hire the youngest and most powerful leader of Tasile when you go back to open up a way for you to the southern continent."

Tsk! It turns out that you can’t keep getting free stuff for free!

Even sheep have temper and are about to make trouble.

"I will." Helia tilted her head and blew gently into Ansel's ear. She watched it turn red little by little as she wished, and then left with satisfaction.

You little brat, you still want to fight with me...

Helia actually has some feelings for Ansel, but what determines Helia's attitude towards him is his status as a cannon fodder in the original work.

That’s right, Ansel, in the original book, is a classic cannon fodder who only appears by name.

Although he was young and ambitious, he died inexplicably just to make room for male No. 3.

Male No. 3 inherited everything from Ansel, that is, he holds Tasley and the power of the southern continent in his hands, which is why he was able to get close to Starley.

In short, Ansel worked hard for half his life, but ended up making wedding dresses for others.

Later, an uprising broke out in the southern continent, led by a man Helia did not know, and a fierce character not mentioned in the original novel.

The third male figure, at Starley's request, used his own forces to suppress the rebellion, but ended up with a tragic death and became one of the cornerstones of the rebels' attack on the northern continent.

In short, Ansel had no grudge against her or the original owner. Although he posed a certain threat to the empire, he was not completely impossible to win over.

Moreover, Helia was really curious, this time without the control of the Creator's will, would Ansel be replaced by the so-called third male?

She was looking forward to it.

The results of Carlisle and Wicks' investigation were not so satisfactory. They did not find any clues related to the so-called experimental subject.

It’s unclear whether they really didn’t do it, or if they concealed it so well that it can’t be found at all.

As for the Fitros family, I did find out a lot about the dirty things they had done in the past - their property was confiscated and their family was exterminated so quickly that I didn't investigate it in depth.

After all, the charge of murdering a royal princess alone is enough to have their entire family beheaded over and over again.

Although their family fell more than ten years ago, and Kenleka is a typical immigrant town, those who knew about the dirty deeds of the Fitros family are either dead or moved away, so it should not be that easy to investigate.

But unexpectedly, clues popped up one after another. They followed the clues and suddenly found out the whole line and figured out everything.

It feels like... someone had already figured out these things and was deliberately displaying them to them for free.

After listening to their reports, Helia had a guess in her mind that it must be Ansel's work.

Tasley is cooperating with the Fitros family. In order to ensure smooth cooperation and prevent the other party from turning against him, he must have some leverage over the other party, right?

This is called coercion and inducement. You won't get far if you only rely on interests. After all, people are always greedy.

In addition, when Ansel took over Tasley, he also stepped on the Fitros family and followed Eric's men to rob other people's homes, taking away a lot of good things.

As the saying goes, the person who knows you best may not be your own person, but may be your enemy.

As someone who rose to power by stepping on others, Taslai must be well aware of what those pagans had done.

Anyway, these clues are useless in their hands now, so they might as well throw them out generously and do Helia a favor.

"Tsk... I owe more and more favors to these bastards... I guess I'll have to pay for it myself in the end..." Helia complained to herself.

Helia and her group came in a hurry and left in a hurry.

Except for those who were related and those who were interested in knowing her whereabouts, most other people did not know that Helia had accomplished such a big thing in just a few dozen days.

When he returned, he traveled lightly, and rode away without taking a single cloud with him, except for a pagan who had been frightened to death by Ansel's methods.

Because Ansel promised that he would pack up the local specialties and send them to the imperial capital for her after a while, and she just had to wait and eat them.

Five days later, Helia and her group finally returned to the palace under the cover of night.

Even though it was late at night and the city was dark and peaceful, the executive hall was brightly lit and the people sitting inside seemed to have never rested.

"came back?"

Hearing the noise coming from the door, Claude rubbed his slightly swollen forehead, and withdrew his bloodshot eyes from the pile of documents and cast his gaze on the figure striding towards him.

"Why hasn't father gone to bed yet at this late hour?"

Helia took off her dusty robe and threw it to the servant waiting beside her. Her stunning face showed the same fatigue as Claude.

She traveled all the way, hardly ever resting on the road, and almost worked day and night.

But the weather was not good, and it started to drizzle halfway through the journey. Everyone was eager to return home, so they rushed back in the rain.

I just want to go home, take a good shower and have a good sleep to relieve my fatigue.

But just after passing through the triple palace gates, she looked up and found that the candlelight in the Executive Hall was still on. In the misty rain, it was like a lighthouse on the sea.

Thinking that her father was still awake, she decided to tell her father all her troubles, so that she could sleep more peacefully. So she turned around and went to the Executive Hall.

"You must be tired from the journey. Instead of taking a rest, you come to me. Aren't you tired?"

Claude waved his hand and asked someone to bring two pots of good tea. He felt that tonight would be a sleepless night.

"There are some things I want to ask my father for an explanation." Helia sat crookedly on the chair, crossed her legs, and rubbed her face hard to make herself more alert.

"Go ahead and finish your talk soon and go back to rest." Claude dismissed the servants in the room and left only Chiko by his side.

"Ansel, does my father intend him to be my spouse?" Helia went straight to the point.

She didn't realize anything at first, but when she apologized to Ansel, she figured out something was wrong.

Perhaps, her contact with Ansel was Claude's intention from the very beginning.

"He is a good card. If you can grasp it, no matter what you want to do in the future, it will be much easier." Claude did not deny it, but directly explained what he did.

Helia smiled brightly, "Father really did a lot for me."

It would actually be more appropriate to let Eric do the task of arresting the pagans.

One reason is that it was Eric who led his men to confiscate the family's property and exterminate the entire family. It is only natural and reasonable for them to hunt down those who escaped the net.

And out of a brother's desire to protect his sister, Eric wouldn't want his sister to get involved in this mess again.

Let him do all these dirty and tiring work, these dirty and filthy things. He just hopes that his sister can be a happy and free little princess.

The second reason is that when Helia was six years old, she suffered a very serious psychological trauma from the pagans and became insane for a long time. In order to prevent her from being stimulated and becoming ill again, the best way is to keep her away from these things.

But Claude insisted that Helia take people to investigate the matter, and he made the appointment quickly and urgently, as if he was afraid that Helia would run away.

At that time, she thought that Claude couldn't bear to see her idle and wanted her to get to work quickly.

But now that I think about it, I guess I'm afraid that if I delay for too long, Eric will find out and make a scene -

Alas, her brother is like this. Whenever it comes to matters related to her, even when facing Claude, he will never give in.

Claude's move was to pave the way for Helia, or more precisely, to build up momentum for her.

Since he had let Helia participate in this struggle for succession, he must find a way to make it fair.

As a latecomer, Helia is definitely not as good as Eric. After all, she has been trained according to the standards of an heir since childhood.

There is a gap of nearly eighteen years between her and Eric.

The two wanted to compete on the same stage and fight fairly, even if they themselves did not have such an idea, but in order to make this fight continue and be exciting, Claude naturally had to find a way to make up for the gap on Helia's side.

So, he gave the good card of Ansel to Helia.