Royalty used to be mascots, or marionettes controlled by the cabinet and legislators—invited to make public appearances on occasions, but otherwise having no say on national matters.In fact, the cabinet and legislators tend to be wary of royalty, showing respect on the surface but absolutely loathing the idea of their meddling in national matters.Even so, Helena's influence in Norway proved atypical—more than that, she had decent approval ratings in Europe and the rest of the world. While being a steady source of good PR for Norway, she had also attracted foreign investment, which distracted from and alleviated the pressure on the government to perform. That was why the current government attached great importance to their queen and was even willing to let Helena participate in national affairs to a certain extent. Therefore, in this case, they inevitably must consider and carry out Helena's instructions on the matter, which one could describe as a certain degree of royal autho

The overwhelming media coverage and the flood of online praise delighted Helena and the Norwegian government. No one had anticipated that seizing this little opportunity would lead to such a massive impact.On the internet, people weren't just praising Helena's courage and determination, but also breaking down the many events leading to her coronation. Looking back on her journey, they could only see that the young and beautiful queen had taken every step with remarkable composure and prudence.Beautiful, dignified, competent—and most importantly—morally righteous, Helena was the role model for all royal houses, while her approval ratings continued to soar.-Meanwhile, at Ushuaia, Argentina's southernmost port city, also known as the 'end of the world'.Charlie—the mastermind of Helena's surge of popularity, had landed in Ushuaia airport with Penny, Ruby, and Vera, all of them having Norwegian identities. When they disembarked, a crew member of the Norwegian icebreaking researc

Ushuaia Port—being the closest port to the Antarctic continent, was the transit point and primary location of resupply for ships bound for Antarctica.However, the port was not large, with one commercial pier and one oil resupply pier, totaling fewer than ten berths. During peak season, berths were often insufficient, forcing many ships to anchor in the nearshore anchorage and crew having to disembark on ferries.At this time, the port berths were almost full, mostly with research vessels flying different national flags, including those from Norway, Oskia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia.Due to the turbulence in the Drake Passage these past few days, the research vessels were berthed and waiting for clearer seas before heading out.It was said that many cruise ships and research vessels from the Antarctic Peninsula, the mainland and the archipelago were also waiting for their return window, as they were rushing to disembark before the window for final d

Charlie smiled. "Of course it's fine."With that, they each retired to their own cabins.-Meanwhile, on an island around 1900 miles away from Ushuaia.Fleur was sitting cross-legged in her own chambers, and before him were five gems of different sizes and shapes.She was using breathing techniques to absorb precious Reiki from each gem, until each gem was drained dry.The Griffins had gathered those gems from around the world, offering them to her as tribute.Over the past 300 years, she never stopped having the griffins search the world for mystic treasures and spirit stones.During the early years, they were gathering troves of ideal cultivation materials, helping her unseal her pineal gland and improving her cultivation—even forming her own private army of cultivators.But with the advent of modern technology, such treasures only became rarer. Nature's boons that already took millennia to grow before, were now not growing at all due to climate change and various modern dev

Fleur was painfully aware that the Griffins' loyalty came with ulterior motives.It was her decision to keep them split into five different military governorates, like a feudal king would keep his five princes divided, governing five different principalities.But even if they were meant to be loyal to their father the king, they would still grow discontent with the king hoarding more power and wealth than the rest of them.That was why the five different military governorates might not be all that motivated to find Vera—from their point of view, they had no reason to care where Vera was, or if she was alive.Even if they were basically family to Fleur and owed everything they were to her, they knew full well that their comfortable lives were all thanks to the five governorates.Hence, even if Fleur died, they would still live like kings thanks to the governorates.In contrast, Fleur's being alive posed a threat because of how she ignored the consequences of her actions, and her w