Cloud Thinking

Casper seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, raised his eyes to meet Afra's eyes which were still bright in the dim night, and said:

"One last question. Are you here tonight because of Helia's instructions?"

Aphra understood that he had compromised, and the smile on her face widened. She then shook her head, "She has never assigned me any tasks, nor has she hinted at anything. All the choices I make now are based on my heart."

Casper just sneered. Although he had already compromised in his heart, perhaps out of his arrogance of not wanting to admit defeat, he deliberately took a step towards Aphra, letting the dagger in the other's hand press tightly against his neck, looking fearless.

"What would you do if I said I insisted on leaving?" he asked.

Aphra thought silently for a moment, then put down the hand holding the dagger, returning to her original pure and innocent appearance, and making her attitude clear.

"Mr. Casper, you know that my life is now closely tied to you."

"How could I possibly hurt you, right?"

After this incident, Casper finally got a better understanding of Aphra. Once she turned back into her easy-to-buy look, it meant that everything about her was a disguise, and her expression and words could not be trusted.

Aphra played with the poisoned dagger, and it flew between her fingers into an afterimage. Looking at her familiar movements, it seemed that she was also an expert with a dagger.

The movement of her hands also made the smile on her pretty face carry a hint of cold cruelty, like the kind of perverted murderer who would grin and dissect a person's body.

Seeing Casper's disbelief, she could only shrug helplessly, revealing some of her true nature.

"Okay, I'll be honest."

"If you continue to refuse to cooperate, I will most likely use Teparu voodoo on you. It is a poison that can keep a person asleep in a dream. Unless the poisoner gives you an antidote, you will never wake up."

"At least I'll save your life. If someone finds you, I can take credit for taking good care of you. It won't be my fault."

Casper frowned, revealing a complicated expression, and murmured, "Where on earth did you get so many strange poisons..."

Aphra put her hands together and placed them on the side of her face, tilted her head, and said with a smile: "There is no other way. If I don't learn more about how to survive, you may not even be able to see me now~"

Casper made a judgment in his mind. Not to mention that Aphra, a master of poison, was blocking him head-on, Helia probably had set up many traps and manpower in the dark that were difficult for him to find. It would not be so easy for him to escape from this dragnet.

Instead of doing something that is doomed to fail under impulse, it is better to learn from Aphra, pretend to surrender first, lie dormant, conserve your energy, and wait until you are sure of the current situation and have greater confidence before escaping. It is not too late.

"Well, I'll go back." Casper walked backwards towards the window of his room, from where he had just climbed out.

"If Helia asks about what happened tonight, you can tell her the truth," he added.

Aphra smiled and watched Casper go back. After hearing his instructions, she nodded in agreement.

"Please rest assured, Your Excellency. Even if I don't tell you, Helia will know it. You don't have to worry about being misunderstood."

Casper was stunned at first, then he smiled dejectedly, feeling that all his efforts to escape over the past few days were a joke.

"As expected... You know there are people watching us all the time..."

"You jumped out to stop me tonight just to show Helia your extraordinary skills and sincerity that you will not betray me. You already knew that I couldn't escape..."

Aphra did not reply, but continued to look at him with a smile, but silence had already answered for her.

She was very sensitive to smells and also to gazes. After all, she had always lived under the gazes of many people. Some of these gazes were blatant, but most of them were hidden in the dark, like peepers.

As a qualified actor, you cannot just maintain a mask on stage. You must also maintain your own personality off stage. You must always be vigilant and never let your guard down and expose your true nature.

Thanks to her highly sensitive body, Aphra knew from the beginning that Helia had been monitoring them.

In addition to the two maids in sight and the guards outside the house, there is another powerful presence who has been hiding in the dark and observing their every move, even when they are sleeping.

Although being monitored didn't feel good, Aphra felt that Helia's behavior only strengthened her determination to join the other party.

Only a powerful person who can control everything is worth her risking everything to gain future freedom.

After that night, Helia didn't talk to any of them. Everything was as usual, as if nothing had happened and Helia knew nothing. Everyone was still busy with their own things, not disturbing each other and occasionally showing concern for each other.

Casper actually thought about whether he should take the initiative to find Helia to express his sincerity. No matter if he was pretending or sincere, he should express his attitude.

Aphra had already shown his attitude by taking the initiative to cook for Helia, but he never gave Helia a clear answer.

He even suspected that he was sick. He was so eager to get Helia to order him around. He also felt that if Helia didn't use him, it meant that she looked down on him and didn't value him. He was so mean.

After being unable to sleep for four or five days in a row due to excessive thinking, he really couldn't stand it anymore. When Helia came back, he decided to talk to her face to face and explain everything. It was better than thinking about it all day long.

When he walked to Helia's door, he was inexplicably nervous. He had never been nervous even when he represented the family at important occasions to give speeches or make important decisions. But now he felt nervous because he had to express his opinion to Helia.

Is he really going crazy from being locked up like this... Did Helia give him some kind of drug to make him look like this...

He suppressed the emotions that shouldn't have appeared in his heart, raised his hand politely and knocked on the door.

He also couldn't sleep last night. He tossed and turned and heard Helia coming back. After that, he stayed awake and didn't hear her go out. He thought she should be in the room.

But as soon as his knuckles touched the door, with the force of his knocking, the door in front of him, which had not been closed at all, slowly pushed inward, revealing a gap.

The door is not closed... ?

Casper was puzzled for a moment, but did not push the door open directly. Instead, he continued to knock on the door a few more times, but no one answered.

Did he go out? No way, I didn't hear any sound of him leaving. Could he have left through the window?

After hesitating for less than three seconds, Casper gently pushed open the door that seemed to have been tempting him to come in, and took in the general scene inside the room.

The room was a little dim, the curtains were drawn tightly, and there was a bulge on the bed, rising and falling with steady breathing sounds. It seemed that the owner of the room was asleep.

Casper should have closed the door and left at this time, but for some unknown reason, he walked in lightly and stood beside Helia's bed. Seeing her peaceful sleeping face, he seemed to confirm whether she was really asleep or just pretending to sleep, just like last time.

Helia's sleeping posture was not pretty. She was lying on her side with one leg resting on something, one hand stretched out and the other tucked in front of her chest. There was a small black thing in the crook of her neck, moving with her breathing.

It was the dragon cub, but it seemed to be asleep now, otherwise it wouldn’t have walked here without any reaction.

Casper stared at Helia for a long time, confirming that she was indeed sleeping due to exhaustion, and she didn't even close the door, obviously she was very confident about the surrounding environment.

What is there to be assured about? If it hadn't been for the wrong timing last time, he would have strangled her to death. Why should she trust him, Aphra, and others so much?

Or is she very confident in her own abilities, and is sure that she can still sleep peacefully without taking any protective measures even if there are two people around her who can backstab her at any time?

"What a conceited woman...hateful..." he muttered.

Staring at Helia's peaceful sleeping face, Casper didn't know whether he was angry because of being humiliated or because of the vague thoughts in his heart that he couldn't explain clearly. He slowly leaned over and stretched out his hand to try to touch the other person.

Although he hadn't touched Helia yet, he seemed to have already felt the temperature coming from her body, just like the last time he touched her, warm, fresh, and soft...

But before his hand could touch Helia, the person he thought was in deep sleep suddenly opened his eyes, and with quick and accurate moves, he grabbed Casper's neck, turned over, reversed the positions of the two, and pressed him under him.

Casper felt suffocated as someone was pinching his neck. He struggled to pull Helia's hand and kicked the bed. But when he met Helia's cold gaze, his body suddenly froze, and he let the hands around his neck tighten little by little.

"Let...let me go..."

But the will to survive quickly regained control of his body. He waved his hand to summon his wand, and in panic, he threw a spell directly at Helia, finally forcing her to let go.

Helia reacted quickly, leaning back to avoid the magic, but because the distance was too close and she was completely unprepared, a bloody mark was still left on her face, which was now bleeding.

She raised her hand to wipe it away carelessly, looking at Casper as if he were a dead person. The little black dragon that had been sleeping in the crook of her neck was now awake, standing on Helia's shoulders, and staring down at Casper who was coughing violently, just like her.

Both gazes were very intimidating and oppressive. Casper knew very well that if he didn't explain himself quickly, he would not be able to leave the room alive today.

"Helia! I have no hostility towards you! The reason I came here is to tell you that I am willing to cooperate with your actions and I can help you!"

Casper struggled to explain his purpose with an aching throat, but he did not put away his wand because Helia was obviously still angry and he could not lose the only weapon to save his life.

"the second time."

"This is the second time you've tried to attack me while I was sleeping. How can I trust you?"

Helia maintained an attacking posture like a wild beast hunting. One of her hands unconsciously transformed into a claw. The sharp nails were guaranteed to tear the fragile neck of the prey in one go.

"Maybe I should have broken both of your hands when you put them around my neck that day."

Casperton felt guilty. Although he knew that Helia, who had been monitoring them, must know what happened that morning, he was now exposed by her own mouth. His current situation was almost the same as that day. He really had no way to defend himself.

Helia was not an arrogant person. On the contrary, she was a person who valued her life very much. She had forgotten about the last incident, but it had also completely eroded her trust in Casper. So this time, she would not let this dishonest guy off easily.

Even though she wanted to train a prophecy magician of her own to provide an extra layer of protection for her future actions, and Casper was the best and only candidate, it did not mean that Helia had to have him. She would rather take unknown risks in every future action than have a guy who could stab her in the back at any time by her side and live in fear every day.

"I've already told you that he can't be trusted, but you insisted on waiting until he attacked you for the second time before you opened your eyes and saw clearly." Wattsise was also urging Helia to act quickly in his sea of ​​consciousness.

"Me! I really didn't come here with the intention of hurting you this time! I have something very important to tell you!"

Casper tried his best to explain, even though he knew how powerless his words were. If he and Helia had switched places, he would definitely not listen to these ridiculous words, but would take action directly.

He took a deep breath and tried to appear calm, otherwise Helia might not believe what he said next, which was the gift he intended to use to show his surrender.

"I foresee your death, tonight," he said seriously.

Helia glanced at the tightly drawn curtains. The next second, a sudden breeze blew away the heavy curtains that blocked out the skylight. The afternoon sun shone through the colorful windows, dispelling the darkness in the house, and the warmth of the setting sun eased the tense atmosphere of the confrontation.

Helia sneered, catching the hidden meaning in his words: "In other words, last time, you really wanted to strangle me to death?"

"Also, you know what, I actually hate it when other people think they are superior and dictate my life. It's really disgusting."

Casper's words were quite powerful. He hit two of Helia's weak points directly at once. Moreover, they were weak points at the bottom line. In a way, it was quite powerful.

Although Helia said she was unhappy and disgusted and looked furious, she retracted her murderous intent.

And seeing Casper's obviously flustered expression because she had said the wrong thing, Helia forced herself to feel a little better. She thought that this so-called young master of the Tanasha family, the genius praised by everyone, was just so-so.

Casper: No more pretending, no more being arrogant, and being honest.

Under Helia's iron fist, this person had to face reality and bow to it.

Casper calmly analyzed the situation and after confirming that Helia's murderous intent towards him had dissipated, he decided to be honest and lay everything out.

Anyway, the other party knew exactly what he was thinking. Instead of racking his brains to think of ways to get away with it, he might as well take this opportunity to confess and gain Helia's trust - trust that would save his life.

"If I say that I have absolutely no hatred towards you and have no intention of killing you and escaping, that is impossible, and you will definitely know that I am lying."

"But right now, you have complete power over me, so why should you worry about me escaping from your grasp? Not to mention, I'm very useful. You took me away because I can predict your future, right?"

"And now I don't intend to continue to fight you. I am willing to stand with you and do things for you. Isn't this exactly what you need? And all I ask is that you let me go after everything is over."

"It's a good deal, isn't it?"

"If you still feel resentful about what I did before, then I am willing to pay an equal price. Whatever else you want, I can make it up to you as long as I can afford it."

"Anyway, the thing has been done and the facts cannot be changed. It would be a loss if you kill me. You might as well find a way to maximize its function and profit from it. You are so smart, I think you will make the most appropriate choice."

It was at this time that Casper showed his side as the family heir. Like a businessman who puts profit above all else, he logically promoted his product and tried to tie the two of them together with profit.

Moreover, he now almost figured out the real purpose of Helia's arrest of him.

Helia has a special identity, and ordinary magicians cannot see her future at all. Only he, as a human, can withstand the pressure of fate because he is watched by the gods, and capture the fragments of her destiny, adding an extra guarantee for her next actions.

This is what makes him special, and it is also what Helia values. As long as he no longer tries to touch Helia's bottom line, they can maintain a friendly and cooperative relationship.

But he would not explain all this to Helia, because Helia had said before that she did not like others to be condescending and tell her about her life. If he was complacent and even tried to manipulate Helia by relying on his specialness to her...

Haha! Then he is doomed! Because Helia will never let herself be controlled by others.

If she can't possess good things, she will destroy them. This is her way of doing things, just like her imperial father.