Cloud Thinking

Amber Palace, Rose Garden -

Although Eric had already understood the general situation when he discussed with Claude in the morning, he still wanted to hear Helia's explanation again and wanted to hear Helia's attitude and thoughts.

Helia has grown up and changed a lot. She is no longer the little girl who always follows herself and her father around.

She became strong, independent, and opinionated, instead of just blindly obeying others.

So he needed to know what Helia thought in order to respect her choice.

"Now we just have to see what attitude the Magic Association has."

"Of course, they will definitely take care of it, but I don't know how they will do it."

Helia, Eric and Vikes were walking in the rose garden, discussing the matter of the experimental subject.

This is her territory, so she is not afraid of anyone hearing it.

After all, those who eavesdrop will either die with the secret or live with the secret.

Those who want to reveal secrets will die, and those who can keep their mouths shut will live.

It’s a very simple truth, and the Amber Palace has always been managed according to this rule.

She didn't need talkative servants, and the lake in the palace where countless corpses had sunk was the best warning for them.

Eric also looked worried when he mentioned this: "The association has been restless in recent years. When I was still in college, I noticed that they were expanding their influence and constantly attracting talents."

"Anyone who has some talent in magic has been divided up by the various factions within the association."

"They use irrefutable excuses. I don't know what they want to do."

Helia pressed her knuckles, making a crisp sound, and said in a bad tone:

"After I settle the Knights, I will take some time to visit the academy and the research institute."

"A bunch of traitors who enjoy the resources we provide, but go to other people to work for them, and even go against us..."

Eric smiled with relief and a little sadness, and raised his hand to help Helia tuck the strands of hair behind her ears.

"It's my brother who is useless, making you worry and work so hard."

"How can you say that?" Helia felt helpless when she saw Eric's self-blaming face.

"We are a family, and a family supports and helps each other."

She said with a serious face:

"I am very happy to be able to help my brother and father. This shows that I have grown up, become capable, and become strong and powerful."

"And I am no longer the useless person who can only hide behind you, enjoying your protection but unable to do anything."

Eric didn't say anything else, but just stroked Helia's cheek gently.

Looking at his increasingly beautiful sister and meeting her serious gaze, he felt inexplicably melancholy.

His sister grew up when he couldn't see her, and he felt both sorry for missing her growth and guilty for the suffering she had endured.

Without sharpening, how can a sword be sharp or a gem be dazzling?

"Okay brother, you're touching me so hard that my face is peeling." Helia felt a little uncomfortable being looked at by Eric, so she turned her head away.

Eric knew she was shy and was amused by her reaction.

Well, no matter how much my sister changes, she is still the little girl who is shy in front of her brother.

Back to business——

Eric looked at Vikes who had been standing aside as a background for a long time and asked, "How is Carlisle doing in the Knights?"

"Since he can make dinner appointments with me, he probably won't stay near us anymore," replied Weikes.

"Only a fool would continue to go against the two princes. If he had any brains, he would know what to choose."

"But Carlisle does not represent the entire Knights." Eric looked at Helia again and gave her a few instructions.

"Xiao Ya, I'm afraid you'll have to worry more about the Knights."

Helia nodded and agreed.

"Speaking of which, is the selection and assessment for the Knights about to begin this year?"

She vaguely remembered that Vikes had told her that the annual selection of the Knights Templar would be held in the middle of next month, which would be another major event after her birthday party.

Otherwise she wouldn't be in such a hurry to come back.

"Well, in a week." Vikes replied.

"But this year is quite special. The selection and assessment process is open to the public, and we have invited many famous and promising people to serve as judges. It will probably last for half a month."

Helia laughed after hearing this. "Then those who try to use the backdoor are doomed, right?"

"People should do their job and seek their work in their positions. Those who have no ability but still occupy positions should have left long ago."

Eric glanced at her gently, but Helia understood the warning in it and quickly covered her mouth, "I won't say bad words again."

Seeing that Helia was completely suppressed by Eric, Vikes felt inexplicably good and the corners of his mouth curled up.

Haha! Even if the school girl is lawless, there are still people who can control her!

"Yes, I remember that Her Royal Highness the Princess said at the time that I had to keep an eye on it personally to prevent any more pests from sneaking in."

"I didn't expect that His Majesty Claude had the same idea as you. I guess he also wants to use this selection and assessment to make a big change."

Helia curled her lips, "Ha! I think father has wanted to do this for a long time."

"It's just that you just haven't found the opportunity before. Now that you finally got me inside, you want to use me as an excuse to do these things."

"So father should have reserved a seat for me in the referee's box, right?"

Eric shook his head, and when Helia was about to go back to Claude to ask for an explanation, he quickly added, "But you have a veto power."

Helia was stunned.

Helia was surprised.

Helia was ecstatic!

It also allowed me to become a permanent representative of the United Nations Security Council, hahahahaha!

Although she was extremely happy inside, she still had to pretend and remain reserved.

"Well, father is really thoughtful. I will take some time to go and have a look then."

Seeing her pretending, Weikes thought: As expected, this junior girl is still the same junior girl as before, and she can't change her pretentious nature no matter where she goes.

But before she could be happy for a while, Eric dropped a bombshell: "It's not about finding time, it's about following the whole process."

"Ah?" Helia was stunned, pointed at herself, and asked, "Does that mean I have to go every day during the half month of the selection?"

Eric nodded.

Oh my god! It turns out it’s not welfare! It’s overtime allowance!

The ups and downs of life.

Although Helia was as frosted as an eggplant, she did not forget the real matter she wanted to discuss with Eric.

"Senior...you should go back first. I have something private to discuss with my brother..."

Vikes looked at Eric, and after getting his nod, he left.

"What do you want to talk to your brother about?"

Eric had guessed early on that Helia had a secret to tell him, otherwise why would she bring him to the rose garden?

"Let's talk about mother." Helia said seriously, "I have some questions about mother, and I want to ask my brother if he knows the answer."

On the night she first met Carlisle, when she stayed up late at night cosplaying as a thief to modify the palace's defense magic circle for Lydia, she came across the monument that Claude had erected for Madeline.

Moreover, the land where the monument is located is also full of weirdness.

I just want to ask, whose grave soil is not only hot but can also spit fire? ? ?

Helia walked forward slowly, saying as she walked, "I heard from Drummond that when he first met me in the rose garden when he was a child, he ran into my mother."

"Although he saw Princess Selassie at the time, he was abnormally certain that the person was his mother, even though he had never seen her."

Drummond told her these things later in a letter.

He knew that Helia had been investigating his origins, and thought that what he had come across might be useful, so he wrote to her.

This is also one of the evidences that Helia is certain that Madeline's soul is trapped in the palace.

"Not long after I returned to the palace, I sneaked out to play in the dark one night and happened to wander into my father's Dali Palace."

"And in a corner, I saw a tombstone that my father had erected for my mother."

"Brother, do you know what's going on?"

Helia later investigated the stone tablet and the strange land, but found nothing.

The people in the Dali Palace are all tight-lipped people. Even if they know something, you can't pry them open, no matter how much threats or inducements are used.

After all, those who cannot keep secrets will suffer a more miserable fate than Helia's sinking into the lake.

She also asked Watsise if he knew why the land became like that, and his answer was - God's punishment.

Yes, deceiving the gods, disobeying the gods, or sealing the gods, no matter which one it is, I am afraid the price to be paid is unimaginable for ordinary people.

And her mother did it all for her.

Even if she lives in this world as a half-human, half-ghost, she cannot see her most beloved child again. Isn't this a torture?

Eric didn't expect Helia to mention her mother. He looked into the distance, recalling his childhood memories bit by bit...

That gentle yet strong mother...

I will hold him in my arms and sing and read stories to him, kiss his forehead before he goes to bed and wish him a good dream, and perform magic to cheer him up when he is in a bad mood...

Until... my younger sister was born...

The one he had to stick to his mother's belly to listen to every day, the sister he had been waiting for for a long time...

He returned his gaze to Helia, looking at her bright red hair and her face that was very similar to her mother's.

No matter Hawke, Claude, or him, they can't deny that -

They do place their love for Madeline in Helia and look for Madeline's shadow in her.

Even though this was not fair to Helia at all, she could not help but remember and remembrance the dead.

"I..." He opened his mouth and was about to say something, but was frightened by his own hoarse voice.

He thought he was about to forget what his mother looked like, but he didn't expect that when he recalled her again, he would be speechless and choked with sobs, almost unable to speak.

"I don't know much about it. I rarely talk about it with my father since my mother passed away."

"After all, this is an indelible pain in the hearts of both of us." Eric calmed down and replied.

Eric didn't know either...

Helia frowned and subconsciously raised her hand to pinch her brows.

Eric also knew that the reason Helia was investigating these things was just to find out her own life experience and what her mother had done for her behind her back so that she could prepare countermeasures in advance.

Morrogan's teaching not only taught her a lesson, but also forced Eric to make a choice.

Between his mother and his sister, whose wishes were more important to him?

It's Helia.

The dead cannot be brought back, but the living are still in the present and still in front of us.

"But my mother was not buried in the imperial mausoleum. The only thing buried in the coffin was her favorite set of clothes during her lifetime. I don't know where my mother was finally buried." He added.

Hmm... In other words, Madeleine's body might be buried under the stone tablet in the Dali Palace...

And because of the divine punishment, that land became so strange...

Although this was just her guess and there was no evidence to prove that this was the so-called truth, Helia didn't want to investigate further and decided to stop here.

She let out a breath and didn't ask any more questions.

There is no need to get to the bottom of some things. Sometimes the truth is very important, but sometimes it can become a sharp blade that stabs you.

She wasn't crazy enough to dig up the ground to see if Madeleine's body was buried underneath.

Even though Madeline semi-forced her onto the path she was unwilling to take in the name of doing good for her, it had to be admitted that Madeline loved her.

She is a good mother and her love is always available.

It's just that such a majestic and heavy love sometimes makes Helia breathless.

The reason why Helia asked about Madeline was not to solve the mystery of her own life experience, but more to know what Madeline's current situation was.

Although she didn't know why she was trapped in the palace and why she couldn't meet her, Helia had already made a decision in her heart -

Sooner or later, she would find a way to set her free.

How can a bird born in the sky be willing to be trapped in a golden prison for its entire life?

Seeing that Eric was still immersed in past memories and showing a hint of sadness, she was about to say a few words to comfort him.

But suddenly, something soft hit her leg and grabbed it like an octopus.

The noise was quite loud, and both Eric and Helia were drawn to it.

The two looked down and saw a glutinous rice dumpling with soft golden hair, hugging Helia's calf and twisting her hips with a humming sound.

"Hector?"

Helia recognized the person immediately, squatted down, put her hands accurately under the armpits of the little glutinous rice dumpling, and lifted the little guy up.

"Da da!" The little guy was startled when he suddenly flew into the air.

But when he saw Helia, he quickly grinned again, spread his fingers and swung his feet with a smile.

Eric frowned and looked around. "Why is there no one to serve the little prince? Why did he come here alone?"

"Could he have gotten lost and ended up here?" Helia particularly liked Hector's chubby little face. She held the child in her arms and bit the little guy's cheek maliciously.

The force was not strong, but the child's skin was tender and one bite left a red mark.

"Da Ya! Da Ya!"

Hector also imitated Helia's actions, opening his mouth and pressing it against Helia's face.

He kissed and sucked her, leaving her face covered with saliva.

"Ouch! That drool is flowing!"

Helia didn't mind, and asked Eric for a handkerchief with a smile, and carefully wiped the drool from Hector's mouth.