Cloud Thinking

The ball was almost over, and Helia was chatting with other invited noble ladies in the dining area. At this moment, a servant came and asked Helia to go to Marshal Hawke's office, saying that the marshal wanted to discuss something with her.

Helia glanced at Ronnie who was trying to get some words from the guards of Perkinsburg not far away. After thinking for a moment, she felt that nothing would happen on her own territory, so she didn't call him.

After saying goodbye to others, she walked upstairs alone, away from the noisy crowd.

In order to celebrate Helia's birthday, not many people were left on duty in Perkins Castle. Most of them were called by Lady Iena to attend the banquet. Helia walked in the deserted corridor, listening to the clattering sound of high heels hitting the ground, and felt inexplicably uneasy.

Soon she arrived at the door of Hawke's office. What puzzled her was that a place where important military and political documents were stored was unattended tonight? During a banquet, when people were coming and going, it was the easiest time to sneak in. How could someone be left alone to guard it?

Helia looked at the tightly closed door in front of her and suddenly decided to back out. Her intuition told her not to go in now, as something bad might be hiding or happening inside. She thought for a moment and decided to follow her intuition. She turned around and prepared to call someone to accompany her.

But as soon as she turned around, the door behind her opened by itself for some reason. The double doors slowly opened from the middle to both sides and from the outside to the inside, and Helia was instantly exposed to Hawke's sight who was standing in the middle of the room.

"Come in, I have something to tell you." Hawke said.

Helia turned her head and glanced around the room from left to right. The whole room was dim, with only the lamp next to Hawke's desk lit. Hawke was shrouded in the dim light and looked a little gloomy.

"Uncle, why don't you light the lamp?" Helia stepped over the threshold and walked in. She did not go in the direction of Hawke, but turned to where the oil lamp was, took the matchbox beside her, and lit the lamp by striking it.

"Let me talk to you about your birthday wish." Hawke did not stop Helia from lighting the lantern. He just stood there, his eyes falling on her every now and then. She felt like a thorn in her back.

"I'm just worried that I'll cause trouble for my uncle, and that he might dislike me for being too nosy or even hate me, so I want to ask you for a promise so that I can feel more at ease." Helia blew out the match in her hand, put on the lampshade, and then walked to the next lamp.

"If uncle feels embarrassed, then forget it. I will just change the gift."

But Helia felt that it was highly likely that Hawke would not reject her. She had already shown her goodwill and weakness. With Hawke's personality, there was no reason for him to reject her, unless he knew what Helia was doing now. But if he rejected her for this reason, then Helia would have to continue investigating.

It’s covered so tightly, there must be a big secret!

Hawke did not speak until Helia lit up all the lights in the room. It was not until she put the empty matchbox aside and walked towards him with the last lit oil lamp that he slowly spoke: "This request is not too much. I promise you."

"Uncle, you're so nice!" Helia said happily, even though her expression was very calm and she couldn't tell how surprised she was.

"What are you doing lately? You seem to be very close to that bard who hangs around doing nothing all day." Hawke recalled the dance they had performed. Many times he felt that the two of them were too close, far beyond the so-called social distance, and the atmosphere was also ambiguous. There was something wrong.

"Oh, are you talking about Ian Hill?" Helia placed the oil lamp in her hand on the table next to the sofa, adjusted her skirt, and sat down. "He came to the library to look for books before, and happened to meet me while I was sorting them. That's how we got to know each other."

"But he's so mysterious. He never tells me anything about him. Uncle, can you tell me about him?"

Helia looked like a young girl in love, which made Hawke frown. Last time I told her to stay away from this guy, she didn't listen at all, right? Now she dared to dance in front of him? It really pissed me off!

"He's just an idle idiot. You're a princess, so stay away from these people." Hawke warned. "Forget it this time, but if I find out you're meeting him privately next time, I'll kick him out."

. . . . . .

"Okay, then let's do as my uncle said. I'll just hide from now on." Helia didn't expect to get any useful clues from him.

Perhaps he sensed the awkwardness of the atmosphere at the moment. Today was Helia's birthday, and he shouldn't have scolded her like that. Hawke coughed twice and changed the subject: "Did you have fun at the birthday party tonight?"

"I think it's pretty good. It may be because there are always a lot of people I don't know hanging around at birthday parties held in the palace, scheming against each other, which makes me annoyed." Helia said truthfully, "But the people here are very nice. My uncle, aunt, brothers and sisters are all very nice. I had a lot of fun."

"That's good." Hawke nodded, as if he had been struggling for a long time. He then said, "You can stay here as long as you want."

Helia was stunned for a moment, then she laughed and said tactfully, "I also want to stay here forever, but my father will be lonely staying in that big and cold palace alone. He will miss me."

"I am my father's favorite daughter, so of course I have to stay with him and fulfill my filial duty. When he is alone, he only knows how to work. He stays in the executive hall all day long, sitting there all day long. It's not healthy at all."

"Before I left, I had someone pick out new varieties of flowers to plant in the rose garden. When I return, I will definitely pick a good day to go flower viewing and boating with my father. There are many other things I want to do with my father."

"And my brother must have missed me too. I haven't seen brother Eric for a long time."

She spoke very seriously but did not notice that Hawke's expression became uglier with every word she said. By the time she finished speaking, Hawke's face almost merged with the night outside the house - it was terribly dark.

"Even if you know that Claude killed your mother personally, will you still choose to stand on Claude's side?" Hawke said in a low voice.

Helia looked up suddenly, her expression full of shock. Didn't Hawke clearly know what happened to her mother's death? Why was he now saying that Claude killed Madeline?

Helia put away her shocked expression, turned serious, and said firmly: "My mother left to protect me."

"Madeleine's death is closely related to Claude. Why should she, as a mother, be the only one to bear the consequences of death, while Claude is sitting safely on his throne?" Hawke walked towards Helia step by step. Each step he took was very heavy. His footsteps were the only sound in the quiet room. As the distance got closer, the sense of oppression made Helia feel a little uncomfortable.

She stood up and wanted to leave the place covered by the shadow, but as soon as she stood up, she felt her whole body go limp, she lost her strength, and fell to the side uncontrollably.

She looked at Hawke in front of her in doubt and uncertainty, she could never imagine that she would fall into the hands of her own family. Then her eyelids drooped heavily, darkness swallowed her consciousness, and she fell into a coma.

Hawke lowered his eyes and stared at Helia, who was lying unconscious on the ground. The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, revealing a creepy smile. She was undoubtedly beautiful tonight, and only such a beautiful and noble person could be a sacrifice to the Lord.

When Helia woke up, it was already a day later. She was locked up in a dark and damp cell, with her hands and feet tied up with rough hemp ropes. Probably because they had been tied up for so long, she could hardly feel her hands and feet. They were so numb that she couldn't move.

She was still wearing the same dress she wore at the banquet, and her high heels were kicked off somewhere, but her hair was a mess. She lay crooked on the floor, and could even see the cockroaches and rats running around in the cage opposite her, and the bugs crawling in and out of the cracks in the floor below her.

She gathered some strength and pulled herself up in a very twisted posture. She leaned her back against the wall and took a deep breath before looking around:

The cell was very small, so small that it could only accommodate three or four people. Apart from some worn-out straw on the ground, there was not even a bed. It was probably a place used for short-term detention.

A stale musty smell wafted into my nose. There were no windows on the walls, only dim lights in the corridor outside. The cell was very dark and there was no ventilation. The ground was wet and traces of water seepage on the walls were clearly visible. The air was filled with dampness, making it difficult for people to breathe.

The iron railings were rusty and cold to the touch. The door was tied with a wrist-thick iron chain and the lock was as big as a fist. If you didn't know her, you would think she was a murderer. In this quiet environment, you could occasionally hear the sound of water dripping from the ceiling, as if time had frozen here.

Damn it, where on earth did they take me to? Helia cursed in her heart.

Now she was almost certain that it was the Morogen Church's Cardinal Wednesday, Dean Charles, who had brought her here. The Hawke she saw that night was not the real Hawke, but the Hawke disguised as Cardinal Wednesday.

There was no need for Hawke to attack her. Even if he wanted to, he shouldn't have chosen that time. She was kidnapped in Perkinsburg. What would people think of him if the news got out?

But she didn't expect that the Morogen followers were so bold that they sneaked into Perkinsburg and even pretended to be Hawke to trick her away. They tricked her into Hawke's office, knocked her out and took her away. If Hawke knew about this, he would be so angry that his hair would stand on end...

This was no longer a provocation, this was like riding on his neck, slapping him in the face and calling him a waste! Not only was he impersonated in his own territory, but he also lost Helia in the place where the most important military and political affairs were stored. This was simply a great shame!

Helia banged her head back, although this was also due to her carelessness. After all, she didn't expect that this person would dare to disguise himself as Hawke and call her away. Even though she had noticed that something was wrong at the time, because she didn't know Hawke and trusted Hawke's control ability, she only remained at the level of some doubts.

Unexpectedly, her intuition was right. It seems that she should be an intuitive person rather than a rational person in the future.

Helia tried to summon her wand, and the exquisite wand that Yoriff gave her immediately appeared in her hands that were tied behind her back, but she did not rush to break free, but put the wand away again.

Obviously, the Morogen Cult didn't know that she could do magic, and it should be said that they didn't know much about her current situation. When she left Carterth Academy, she also took away the group of girls who had been arranged to enroll with her. With so many people leaving, everyone couldn't be sure which one was Helia.

This also effectively separates the two identities of Belaiyi and Helia. Except for some trustworthy classmates who know that Belaiyi is Helia, others would not associate the two together due to the deliberate information blockade by the academy and Chiko.

Therefore, magic is her biggest trump card for escape. It is better not to expose it easily before figuring out what the other party wants to do.

Besides, she was also very curious about what these people were planning to do. Now that she was deep in the enemy territory, she would be wasting this good opportunity if she didn't bring back some clues. Normally, she couldn't find anything even if she wanted to investigate. Now, she was sent directly to the base camp. This opportunity must not be missed!

After simply moving her shoulders and neck, Helia tried hard to control the movements of her fingers and toes to allow the blood to return to her hands and feet, and she was able to stand up after a while.

"Uh-huh-"

Helia, who was trying to stand up by holding onto the wall, was frightened by the groan not far away and fell to the ground. She looked towards the source of the sound cautiously. Because the light in the cell was dim and the person might have just woken up, she had not noticed it before. Until now, she tried to move in that direction and squinted her eyes to look carefully. At this time, a tiny light flashed through her eyes.