Chapter 371: A woman’s heart (1/2)
Chapter 371: A woman’s heart
Using the Cemetery of Death’s transportation array, Han Shuo arrived at an desolate area within an underground abyss near Seagate City. After summoning the elite earth zombie to tunnel to the surface, he left the underground abyss and hurriedly headed towards Seagate City.
With the kind of power Han Shuo had at his fingertips, any city’s defense was as useful as a paper shield in front of him. He swooped in unseen, landing in a deserted corner of Seagate City. After which, he made his way casually to the manor Helen had taken as her residence during her first trip. However, only after Han Shuo arrived at that place did he notice that Helen and his personal guards had already left Seagate City long ago.
He changed headings, soon arriving at the Dark Mantle’s stronghold at Seagate City. He called for Delante, and soon found out that Helen had already swept through the city in a bloody purge. She’d gained complete control of Seagate City.
The letter that Han Shuo sent last time had already entered Dick’s hands. According to Han Shuo’s commands, Brettel City had begun spreading another rumor of how Helen had absolutely never been in an intimate relationship with Han Shuo and how the previous rumor about Helen’s rape was just an assumption made by his subordinates.
Furthermore, Brettel City also made a formal statement attesting to the veracity of their new rumor. This was quickly and deliberately spread widely throughout the seven grand duchies. Indeed, that alone convinced a majority of people. However, some narrow-minded people were still as before, disbelieving in the authenticity of this message.
As this official statement and its accompanying rumors started to spread through the duchies, some of the citizens of the Helon Duchy who deeply respected their grand duke Helen began to believe in her again. Helen originally felt that it was beneath her dignity to come out and testify as to its authenticity in public. But after facing so many impassive faces and thinly veiled contempt, she took advantage of the situation to finally stand up to say her piece to the public after Brettel City sent out its statement.
Helen agreed to an evaluation of her body held by the various nobles of the Helon Duchy, overseen by several ladies of prestigious, virtuous reputation. Three old specialists dispatched by a couple of powerful nobles to examine Helen’s body finally confirmed that Helen was indeed a truly intact virgin.
After the powerful nobles and ladies published a formal statement together, all the citizens completely believed the authenticity of the situation, clearing Helen in their eyes. Perhaps because the citizens felt that they had insulted their own grand duke’s reputation, they all began grieving, lamenting, and even reflecting on their previous actions of despising Helen. After going through this event, the citizens of the dukedom began viewing Helen with an unprecedented level of respect and admiration.
Taking advantage of her citizen’s newfound faith, Helen swiftly and decisively rooted out several political enemies in rapid succession, completely cleaning her court of conspiring nobles and disloyal aristocrats. After she had finished her blood spattered massacre, there wasn’t a single noble left in the entire Helon Duchy that ever dared rebel again.
At this moment, Benedict Sackville, who had originally treated Helen with incomparable disdain and indifference, immediately sent an ardent letter to Helen. On one side, he bitterly and hatefully expressed his remorse. On the other, he was like his former self, stubbornly starting to pursue Helen again.
At the Helon Duchy residence within Seagate City, Helen held up the letter that was filled with his touching words of love. She tore the letter into fragments with a cold sneer as she spoke to Firewind by her side, “I have thoroughly and clearly seen through the true face of Benedict Sackville after this event. What he was pursuing all along was Helon Duchy, and never me. Back then, when all the citizens and nobles of the Helon Duchy rebelled against me, not only did he not extend a hand in help, but he even schemed against me in the shadows. Yet now that I’ve restored my power within Helon Duchy, he has once again begun to chase me like an annoying fly. It seems that only the Duchy has ever been the true target of his affections.”
Firewind had transformed into her human form, and so nodded at Helen’s words. “I told you long ago that Benedict Sackville wasn’t a trustworthy person. Politicians, they always act for their own benefit. This person’s hypocritical behavior makes me feel nauseous. I really don’t know how you could have willingly cooperated with him before.”
Helen’s tender and beautiful cheeks slightly reddened from Firewind’s words. “Sister Firewind, I was just using him, that’s all. It was just a thing between nations. Narsen Duchy has the same enemies as me, so I was just using him to defeat the enemy. That’s all.”
After pausing for a moment, Helen’s face became even redder. She hesitated for a moment, and asked Firewind somewhat cowardly, “Sister Firewind, what do you think of Bryan?”
Firewind blanked momentarily before gritting her teeth with hate. “That despicable and baseless person?”
Without knowing why, Helen’s heart itched ever so slightly when she heard Firewind call Han Shuo a despicable and baseless person. It was as if the depths of her heart was unwilling to heard anyone vilify Han Shuo. Even someone as intimate as her sister Firewind was not an exception.
“Mm, exactly that Bryan. Sister Firewind, what do you think of him?” Because Helen and Firewind had such a close relationship for so many years, she naturally didn’t rebuke her and even looked expectantly at Firewind.
After Firewind had flung out her earlier sentence, she shot a glance at Helen and noticed an expectant expression within her eyes. Firewind had already noticed that Helen didn’t have a single bit of her previous resentment. Firewind sighed in her heart and forced a laugh as she said, “Helen, this Bryan is even harder to deal with than Benedict Sackville. I could even sense a little bit of his filthy thoughts being directed towards you when he was facing Benedict Sackville. Furthermore, he wears a hypocritical expression that is completely at odds with his innermost thoughts.”
“However, when I’m together with Bryan, I’m completely incapable of sensing his heart’s mood. He seemed like a bottomless cold pond, an unfathomably grim feeling. As for going even deeper, that is something I have absolutely no way of prying into. Ai, that man is too powerful. If he wanted to kill us, we couldn’t even put up a decent fight, let alone survive. I know we can’t defeat him, but I also don’t know if your methods are truly the right way of doing things.”
Firewind knew that Helen had already unconsciously developed feelings for Han Shuo. Han Shuo indeed had the ability to attract any woman. However, this type of guy was simply a type of poison for a women. If one became addicted then it would be hard to free oneself. However, to the ambitious and exuberant Helen, only an equally ambitious kind of tyrannical person was the most suitable for her.
Han Shuo was exactly this kind of person. Looking at it from Helen’s point of view, the frighteningly powerful, decisive, and fierce Han Shuo was filled with a deadly attractiveness. If Helen had such a guy constantly supporting her, then it wouldn’t be a bad thing even if the seven grand duchies warred all year round. Alas, this guy schemed way too much. It was clear that he would never be satisfied with just one Helon Duchy. When he begins trying to seize all the seven grand duchies, Firewind didn’t know if it would be Helen’s good fortune or misfortune to follow him.
“Sister Firewind, I already know what I want. Benedict Sackville can’t give me the things I want, but I think Bryan can. Additionally, I don’t know why but I’ve noticed that I can’t feel any hatred for him. Perhaps, I am just too sentimental. I can hate someone to the bone, but I can also transform this hatred into love after something’s happened. Ai…..” Helen heaved a sigh as her voice became laden with emotion.
As Firewind and Helen pondered within the duke’s home, a ball of light mist slowly drifted over. After passing the courtyard, it rose in spirals, before finally descending down towards Helen’s window.