Chapter 266: 42. Mechanism (Two-in-One)
When did Helena begin to fall in love with the man from outside the palace, Aedras?
She honestly couldn’t remember; she only recalled the moment she first saw Aedras, her heart raced, especially when she noticed the lingering melancholy in his brows.
Such sorrow hanging on such a beautiful face could make a lady of the kingdom want to soothe that pain…
Clearly his expression was so obvious, but why did her mother never seem to realize?
Although Helena bore a resemblance to her mother, her heart was much more delicate. She quickly became acutely aware of her feelings for Aedras, knowing full well that this forbidden emotion could never be tolerated by the world. Thus, she had to keep it buried deep inside as a secret known only to her.
Even so, Helena sometimes couldn’t help but want to gaze at him from afar.
Watching him come alone to the depths of the courtyard away from the court, watching him wrap himself in a fur coat and stay in a pavilion for an entire afternoon, watching him lovingly hold Captain Alagina in his arms…
It was precisely because of these hidden feelings that she held a strange sentiment towards her sister Alagina.
Because of their resemblance to Aedras, Helena was very attentive to her; but because Aedras spoiled her, Helena felt particularly jealous.
Until one day, Helena’s suppressed feelings finally reached their limit, and she mustered the courage to reveal her emotions to Aedras.
As expected, she was firmly rejected by Aedras, and even now, she still remembers the shock and disgust on his face.
That expression pierced her heart and left her feeling utterly humiliated, which ultimately led her to leave the Hammond Fiefdom and go to the side of the sovereign, becoming a Phoenix Knight.
However, leaving the Hammond Fiefdom did not bring Helena the forgetting and peace she longed for; her spirit was trapped within unresolved emotions. What awaited her was not relief, but only a simple message about Aedras’ suicide by drowning.
At that time, far from the sovereign’s side, Helena suddenly felt some regret about leaving the Hammond Fiefdom. If she had still been there, perhaps Aedras would not have met such an end…
In a tavern, a very tired Alagina raised her fist high towards Helena but did not bring it down on her face.
“You people of the Hammond Family do not deserve to mention my father; all of you make me feel extremely sick!”
“Ah, is it the hatred for your family? You are neither the first nor the last, but does any of this really make sense?”
Helena narrowed her swollen eyes, which had been hit by Alagina, and looked at her with a cold smile, saying, “Alagina, you possess many things that others envy, those are the source of your being envied. You have talents that astonish even your mother, the affection of Aedras, and loyal subordinates, yet you have done nothing right, nothing to hold onto…”
“You clearly have countless superior conditions to save Aedras from his suffering, to change the situation of the Hammond Family and the fiefdom, to make a name for yourself in the outside world, yet you squander all that you have.”
“In my eyes, you are just a capable fool with no goals, like someone holding a belly full of wealth and throwing money everywhere… Haha, however, Alagina, what I want to tell you is that seeking only the lower will yield nothing. The smaller the target you set, the less you will obtain!”
Helena’s words struck Alagina, causing her to momentarily be at a loss, as if she had hit a painful spot in her heart.
When her father was still alive in Sardinia, her goal had simply been to stay with him; to her, the future throne and power were trivial; during her quest for revenge for her father, her only goal was to kill the king of the Hammond fiefdom, as for the future of this kingdom, she didn’t care at all…
But in the end, what result did such simple goals lead to?
Her father was forced to drown, and the Hammond Kingdom lost its king only to have another foolish successor. She and her subordinates had turned into wanted criminals in Sardinia…
Perhaps Helena wasn’t wrong; if her goals had been a little grander and she had put in a little more effort, would the final result have been better?
Just like now, if her goal was simply to give the crew a good ending, wanting to marry Fisher and be together, would setting such a goal really lead to that result?
As Alagina pondered and became momentarily dazed, Helena suddenly sprang up and delivered another punch to Alagina’s face.
“Bang!”
“Ugh!”
With this last punch, the atmosphere in the room truly quieted down, leaving only the intermittent gasps of the two sisters.
Both of them, bruised and battered, lay on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling, neither of them spoke, focusing all their attention on breathing, reminiscing, and their conversation earlier.
There was no snowstorm from Sardinia here; the past years had already passed, so recalling old matters added a touch of reflection for both of them.
As the noise in the room fell silent, Fisher, who had been waiting at the door for a long time, finally walked in with a strange expression.
Yes, in fact, Fisher had arrived outside the battlefield of Alagina and Helena a while ago, but upon hearing their conversation, he did not rush in to interrupt them.
Outside, Aoxi was still trying to wake the crew, and the Phoenix Knights brought by Helena hadn’t managed to stand up yet, so their conversation, aside from himself, was likely unheard by anyone.
At first, he thought Helena was a loyal supporter of Alagina’s mother, here to settle the crimes committed by Alagina. He never expected that she was secretly in love with Alagina’s father, and the reason for their fight was entirely due to jealousy of her crush’s daughter?
Though it sounded a bit complicated, upon careful consideration, Alagina’s father was significantly younger than her mother, being only eight years older than Helena, the aesthetic preference of the mother and daughter was unexpectedly aligned, leaving Fisher unable to judge the right and wrong of the situation and only able to give her emotions the most basic respect.
But after all, these matters were already in the past and had descended into the curtain of punching “intimate exchanges” just earlier.
As Helena said, when Alagina’s father died, her heart had already died, making it somewhat unclear why she was now seeking out Alagina.
It wasn’t merely to respond to past jealousy against Alagina; otherwise, she wouldn’t have said those words to her in the end.
What was it really? Perhaps only Helena herself knew, and Fisher didn’t mind.
He simply took off Aoxi’s cloak draped over his face, then approached Alagina, helped her sit up a bit, and looked at her while saying, “Alagina, are you alright?”
“Fisher.”
In reality, both Alagina and Helena were seriously injured. The brutal attacks had left numerous bruises and dried blood on Alagina’s face, making her current appearance quite disheveled.
Yet even so, facing Fisher’s gaze, she instinctively averted her eyes, as if not wanting him to see her currently vulnerable state. In addition, she uttered a predictably cute and stubborn phrase, “I’m fine.”
Fisher didn’t expose her stubbornness; he just wiped away the blood oozing from the corner of her mouth and then said, “I don’t have healing magic with me now; I’ll inscribe one for you later.”
“Mm. Thank you, Fisher.”
Alagina pressed her lips together, seemingly warmed by his words, and gently grasped the corner of Fisher’s clothing but did not make any other excessive movements, as if that alone was enough to alleviate her pains significantly.
Next to them, gasping for breath, Helena struggled to lift her body a little and was met with the sight of her sister gently leaning beside a handsome man, as if they were the center of warmth, making the room feel much warmer and leaving Helena alone in the bone-chilling winds of Sardinia.
She opened her mouth, tasting the bitter flavor of blood from her wounds and then reluctantly moved her body to lean against the nearby wall, without saying a word.
“Fisher, Paz and the others—”
“Ah, they’re fine. Or rather, your sister never intended to harm your crew; she came to find you.”
Alagina turned her head to glance at Helena but saw her shaking her head coldly and saying, “Do you really think I would come here to settle accounts with you for my mother? Don’t be naive; if it weren’t for a task assigned by the sovereign, we wouldn’t even meet. And now, I’m just here to confirm your purity as a woman.”
Helena’s expression seemed a bit lonely; she didn’t look at Alagina’s face, fearing it might remind her of someone hidden in her memories.
“But what I said before wasn’t a lie, Alagina. The future of this world is not a frozen lake, but a brewing tempest. Nali’s new queen, Cardu’s ‘Holy Pope’, the Pirate Harbor’s ‘Black Chieftain’… those are not monsters that can be easily understood, and they will complicate the future of this world even more.”
“Even the Northern Region is about to undergo bizarre changes because of the perfect ice appearing on this island. So, Alagina, staying stationary will only cause you to lose more.”
Alagina still coldly ignored her words, leaving her with no good impression of the sister who had inappropriate feelings toward her father. She stored Helena’s words in her heart without replying.
But Helena never expected her to respond; she merely rubbed her shoulder and slowly began to rise from the wall.
It seemed her physical condition was indeed much stronger than Alagina’s; it took only that moment of catching her breath for her to regain her mobility.
Speaking of which, Fisher had been curious as to why women of Sardinia were often stronger than men from other countries.
Now, with his newfound understanding of rank theory, he began to suspect whether they had some higher-tier subhuman blood within them, which might contribute to this peculiar phenomenon.
Hmm, it seemed very possible; he could research the origin of this phenomenon later.
“Alright, I should take those worthless people and leave this place. You all should leave Pat Sulshen Island quickly; it’s not safe here.”
Hmm, leave?
Fisher looked at Helena, who was twisting her neck as she walked away, puzzled, unable to grasp her meaning.
“Aren’t you supposed to trade with the Nali people? Are you leaving now without conducting the trade?”
Hearing Fisher’s question, Helena seemed a bit surprised, glancing at Fisher beside Alagina and said, “Man, you know a lot, huh? You’re right; we did come to trade with the Nali. They managed to secure a piece of perfect ice from the territory of Miya and informed us of this news. But after I landed on the island, I felt something was off about them, especially regarding that group from the Exploration Company.”
“Off?”
“Mm.”
Helena seemed to recall something, her expression serious, “I sensed that the aura of that group from the Exploration Company was very strange, their scent also quite particular, as if they were merged from several entities. That’s why we delayed the trade.”
“Sure enough, just now the kingdom sent us a magical warning saying that Miya’s warship is approaching, telling us to abandon the trade and leave Pat Sulshen Island. I’m not sure what happened with the Nali, but we can’t take chances; if we fall into a trap, it would be troublesome. So be careful, and hurry up and leave this place.”
Fisher suddenly caught a crucial piece of information in her statement; he seemed to realize something unusual.
If Miya’s warship is approaching, then what about the Snow Cloud Assault Team they encountered earlier? Could this also be part of their plan not revealed to him?
But if they had mentioned that Miya’s warship would ignore other countries and head here directly, there would have been no need to contact the Iceberg Queen for his assistance.
Or was there another purpose in contacting the Iceberg Queen?
For example, himself.
Moreover, if Miya’s warship came in force, wouldn’t there be any feedback from Sardinia and the Nali?
Now even the Phoenix Knights of Sardinia were clueless as to what was happening, and the only possibility was that the Nali force on this island had encountered some change, causing them to suddenly deviate from the original plan.
Fisher’s expression changed slightly as he quickly lowered his head and said to Alagina, “Alagina, you stay here to recuperate. I have something to deal with!”
“Fisher—”
But she hadn’t finished her words before Fisher had already propped her against the wall and rushed outside.
He sprinted through the tavern, passing Aoxi, who was tending to the wounded outside, and the Phoenix Knights slowly entering the tavern, reaching the street.
The personnel outside were sparse; the tavern where the Nali resided was also silent, with only the distant voices of negotiations between Miya’s warships and pirate ships ringing loudly.
Fisher frowned and pulled out the mechanical card Blair had given him earlier, tapping it before placing it against his ear. Within seconds, the voice of the Cloud Cat Breed Blair came through.
“Ah, just in time, Mr. Benavides. I’ve taken care of most things here. How’s your situation over there?”
Fisher’s expression grew increasingly serious; he seemed to understand something, completely ignoring his niceties as he suddenly spoke, “You’re not from the Snow Cloud Assault Team, who exactly are you?”
Yes, Fisher suddenly realized that Blair and the others they had encountered earlier were not members of the Snow Cloud Assault Team at all. He had doubted it when they presented those bizarre Completion Manuals, and now, with trouble brewing for the Nali, his suspicion only intensified.
Under normal circumstances, Miya’s warship reaching here would not go unnoticed by either Sardinia or the Nali. Only a change among the Nali on Pat Sulshen Island could lead to the Nali officials becoming unreachable, causing Sardinia to be unclear about what the Nali meant, thus forcing the trade to cancel.
Blair’s voice stopped abruptly, and after a moment of silence, it resumed, “You are surprisingly perceptive, Mr. Benavides. But no worries, I’m still at the hotel where the Nali reside. The Fate Lord’s risks have been temporarily eliminated. If you have any questions, you can come and inquire; I also have some matters I want to discuss with you regarding the Nali.”
Erwind?
The Nali traders were marked by Erwind, but why?
Was it because of himself, or some other object that caught their attention?
The Cloud Cat Breed didn’t care about the dealings between the Nali and Sardinia; they were targeting Erwind, who had acted against the Nali. They were members of the Creation Society.
Fisher looked at the card in his hand, remaining silent for two or three seconds before moving his feet and running toward the direction of the Nali’s residing tavern.
“I’m coming over now.”
“Awaiting your arrival.”
In fact, the location where Alagina and the others had been was still quite far from where the Nali were staying. But with the excessive endowment from Fisher’s dragon lineage, it wasn’t long before he arrived at the entrance of the most luxurious hotel of Pat Sulshen Island.
As he expected, the hotel was eerily quiet, as if completely cleared out.
Fisher frowned and entered the hotel’s lobby, immediately taken aback by the scene inside.
