Cloud Thinking

"Huh? Who did you say came?"

Helia looked up from the mountain of documents, her eyes were dark and her hair was messy, she looked completely drained.

She looked at Trocia, the captain of the guard who had come to deliver the message, raising one eyebrow high.

Kalzer, who was assisting with the office work, also looked extremely haggard.

In just half a month, he lost more than ten pounds. The once energetic young man is now listless and his eyes have almost lost their light.

Trivial and tedious work is indeed the biggest culprit in killing vitality.

Anyone who gets covered in the smell of the class will end up looking half-dead.

"Your Highness, Lord Colin is on his way to Behrman and is expected to arrive before tomorrow evening." Trosia respectfully presented the letter. "This is a letter from the Association headquarters; please take a look."

Helia opened the letter, glanced at it, and suddenly her eyes widened. She sat up abruptly, as if she had seen a sow climb a tree.

"What's wrong?" Kalzer asked, leaning closer.

During this time, he accompanied the deceased nobleman in handling the matters concerning his fiefdom; there was no secret he was unaware of.

Helia trusted him completely and was very satisfied with his work ability.

After a quick glance, Kalzer was also shocked: "They agreed? So readily?" He repeatedly checked the stamp at the end of the letter, still finding it hard to believe.

He knew perfectly well how unreasonable Helia's demands were.

It's unheard of for an association that has held power for so many years to agree to relinquish it.

This extremely controlling organization, which even used Zhou Ranyi to manipulate registered mages, has now compromised without even haggling.

Helia didn't believe it and was convinced there was a conspiracy behind it.

The fact that the association sent Colin, with whom she had a grudge, made her even more certain that the other party had ill intentions.

"No other news?" Helia crossed her legs and leaned back, clenching her fist against her chin, her brows furrowed.

"We are still gathering intelligence, but have not yet obtained any valuable information," Trocia reported.

As the de facto rulers of the North, the Antonio family controls both overt and covert intelligence networks, so in theory, no movement in the North should escape their notice.

Now they have gained nothing, either because the other party's communication channels are extremely secretive, or because the order was given suddenly—even Colin himself may have been kept in the dark.

Kalzer read the letter over and over, but something seemed off: "Could you tell me all the information you've gathered? Whether it's important or not?"

Trosia bowed respectfully: "Six days ago, Lord Colin received a mission from headquarters and set off from the Meneben branch with a team of twenty or thirty men, heading to Bellman in a grand manner."

"Six days haven't passed yet? Is his leg broken or something?" Helia keenly sensed something was wrong.

"His Excellency Colin took a detour to other branches under the pretext of inspection, which caused the delay."

Helia still felt something was wrong.

Kalzer slowly said, "Meneben, as the largest branch in the North, has a magical teleportation array connected to Carter's Academy... If you can teleport, why go through all that trouble and spend several days traveling?"

"Oh no!" Helia sensed something was wrong and jumped up and rushed out the door.

"Your Highness!" Kalzer hurriedly caught up.

Helia hurried toward her bedchamber—her bedroom, which was also where Yuros had been recuperating recently.

She burst through the door, scanned the empty room, muttered curses under her breath, and a sense of unease quickly spread through her.

"Yorus! Little fox! Where are you!" she cried out urgently in her heart, clutching her chest.

Calzer caught up, panting, and immediately understood: "Colin's grand arrival is clearly to spread the word that you overstepped your authority by handing over the management of the resident mage."

"The current resident mage and those who covet this position will all turn their attention to you because you have threatened their interests."

He paused, his expression suddenly changing, realizing the gravity of the situation: "If news spreads at this critical juncture that the Bellman branch has been destroyed and the mages have been brutally murdered..."

"I'm afraid they'll think that after you purge the nobles, your next step will be to purge the association's influence."

"Fear will fuel anger, and the survival instinct will amplify the threat. At that point, you will become the target of everyone's attacks."

"Even those who have no intention of vying for the throne may risk confronting the royal family to save their lives."

Helia is in extremely dangerous condition.

From the moment Colin set off, she went from being proactive to being passive.

The association gained the initiative by sacrificing the Bellman branch.

They bet that Helia wouldn't dare to act, that she couldn't withstand the wrath of so many mages, and that she wouldn't dare to fight the entire magical world alone.

And let's not forget Zhou Ranyi's existence.

Helia escaped her captivity thanks to Madeline and Claude's wariness, but her teachers, friends, and family are all registered mages in the association.

If the association can control these people, Helia will be powerless—just as Mobius paid a heavy price for his youthful arrogance.

Half a month of high-pressure work had left Helia physically and mentally exhausted. Now, faced with such a thorny situation, she was instantly consumed by anger.

Her veins bulged, her fists clenched, and her mind was filled with murderous thoughts.

She gasped for breath, her chest heaving violently. She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself, but only felt her anger burning ever brighter.

"I can't stay passive... I have to break this deadlock..." she murmured. "What should I do..."

Kalzer was deeply worried, but he was at a loss for what to do.

He hated his own powerlessness—he was also one of the weaknesses that bound Helia.

While Helia's strategy of using killing to stop killing was not a good one, it was the most efficient method.

But she is human, with feelings and attachments, and therefore has weaknesses.

The pain that killing inflicts on others will one day pierce her heart.

“Your Highness,” Kalzer suddenly spoke up, “perhaps…we can turn the tables on them.”

Helia turned sharply to look at him: "What do you mean?"

“Colin’s detour is clearly buying time to spread the word. Why don’t we take this opportunity to spread the word ourselves?” Kalzer’s eyes flashed with a sharp light. “Let’s say that in order to preserve the overall situation, the association has voluntarily relinquished the management of the Bellman branch to show its loyalty and compromise to the royal family.”

"At the same time, we secretly sent people to protect the mages of each branch, creating the illusion of internal conflict within the association. This made everyone believe that it was a power struggle among the association's higher-ups, rather than a unilateral purge by His Highness."

Helia pondered: "Shifting the blame?"

“Exactly.” Kalzer nodded. “Then we’ll bring the Antonio family to the forefront and declare that the Northern City Magus will be jointly supervised by the family and the Academy.”

"This way, the pressure is shared, and the family's prestige is used to deter villains."

Helia hesitated for a moment, then her eyes gradually regained their light: "What a clever deception. But what about Colin..."

“Colin is nothing but a pawn,” Kalzer sneered. “If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll play along; if he doesn’t…”

He looked at Helia, "Your Highness should know what to do."

Helia took a deep breath and finally showed her first genuine smile in half a month: "Kalzer, you really are my capable assistant."

She strode back to her study, picked up her pen, and wrote furiously: "Trasia, immediately send people to secretly protect the mages of each branch, especially..." She paused, "...those who have a grudge against Colin."

"Send another message to Brother Brot, asking him to issue a statement in the name of the Antonio family: In order to maintain stability in the North, the family will temporarily assume the role of supervising the resident mages until the royal family establishes a special department."

She put down her pen, her gaze intense: "Colin wants to play the media game? I'll show him what real—"

"To cut off the fuel supply from under the cauldron."

-

"You mean Bellman leaked the information on his own initiative?"

After listening to the messenger's report, Colin frowned, unable to fathom Helia's intentions.

"Yes, Your Excellency," the messenger replied respectfully. "The Antonio family has also issued a notice that they will jointly manage the resident mage of the Bellman branch with the academy, temporarily exercising supervisory power on behalf of the royal family."

Colin stroked his thick beard, smacked his lips in thought, then sneered as if suddenly realizing something: "Ha! Dragging the Antonio family into this, trying to muddy the waters? They're really not afraid of losing both their wife and their army!"

He waved his hand dismissively: "Proceed as planned, continue monitoring, and report any developments immediately."

After the messenger left, a gloomy figure slowly emerged from the shadows behind Colin.

The man's long, wet hair clung to his scalp and cheeks, and his clothes clung tightly to his skin, making him look like a water ghost that had just crawled out of a ditch.

"When to make a move..." His hoarse voice sounded as if it had been sanded by sandpaper.

"Don't rush," Colin reassured her in a gentler tone. "The secret weapon is always reserved for the grand finale."

"Too many changes, I'm afraid complications may arise..." the water ghost man murmured.

"Helia is just a greenhorn. Even if she has some skills, she's still immature and not worth worrying about," Colin said dismissively, clearly not taking Helia seriously.

Does a child who acts arrogantly because of his birth really think he's omnipotent?

This time, we must teach her a lesson so she'll understand what it means to be outmatched and have a higher level of understanding.

The man with the wet hair peered at Colin through the gaps in his hair, quite displeased with his arrogance: "But it was this very 'child' who slaughtered dozens of noble families in the Northern Territory and annihilated the entire Association's enforcement team..."

Colin has been in a high position for a long time and is most afraid of being questioned by others.

Upon hearing this, his face immediately darkened, but because the other party was of equal or even higher status, he suppressed his anger and did not lash out.

“She does have some skills.” Colin stood up, turning his back to the man with the water ghost, unwilling to elaborate. “But aren’t you still here?”

"Let her taste the pain of losing her loved one, and even her most arrogant arrogance will be extinguished."

The water ghost man said no more, his eyes flashing with excited, bloodthirsty light as he thought of his soon-to-be-captured prey. His long, scarlet tongue licked his sharp canine teeth, as if he could already taste the deliciousness of his prey.

A sudden gust of wind rose outside the window, whipping up sand and gravel that lashed against the windowpane.

Colin walked to the window, looked at the gloomy sky, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth: "A storm is coming... perfect."

He turned to the water ghost man: "How are the preparations going?"

"Everything is ready," the water ghost man said in a hoarse voice, "all that's left is to wait for the prey to fall into the net."

"Very good." A ruthless glint flashed in Colin's eyes. "This time, I'll teach that little girl a lesson in real—"

"A net that can be cast from heaven and earth."

Meanwhile, inside Carter's Academy, Helia was deep in thought, staring at a map of the North.

Kalzer stood quietly to the side, ready to offer advice at any time.

“Colin’s detours to inspect the various branches are not just about spreading information.” Helia traced Colin’s route on the map with her fingertips. “He has placed his pawns in each branch.”

“He’s gathering his forces,” Kalzer said gravely. “It seems he’s planning a direct confrontation.”

Helia sneered, "Perfect, I'm too lazy to play hide-and-seek with him anymore."

“Princess, be careful.” After hearing Helia’s plan, Mobius felt that things were becoming more and more complicated and troublesome.

“Teacher, this turmoil was bound to happen sooner or later; it was only a matter of time,” Helia said. “If I continue to endure and back down, it will only embolden the enemy.”

“If we have no scruples, no sense of awe, I fear that such things will happen again and again in the future.” Her gaze was resolute. “I will never allow it.”

She looked at Kalzer and Mobius, her eyes softening instantly. "They know my abilities, so they most likely won't confront me directly, but will choose to start with you."