Chapter 3594: The Sooner, the Better

For Helena, abdicating is simple, but for the Nordic royal family, once she abdicates, the royal family is basically done for.

Now that the throne has come to her, there is no one left to inherit it, and if she insists on abdicating without an heir, there are only two possible outcomes: either the royal family ends here, with no more Nordic royal family thereafter; or they simply borrow a king from another European constitutional monarchy.

Such a thing was common before World War II, when European royal families were basically all related by marriage or blood, and it was not unheard of to send a young relative from one's own family to inherit the throne when an uncle's line had no heirs.

But nowadays, relations are relatively distant, and moreover, the national sentiments among Europeans are no longer as harmonious as before the war, with people generally viewing foreigners with colored glasses, so from the people's perspective, it is very difficult to accept a royal family member from another country coming to rule as their own king.

Thinking of this, Helena could not help but recall what her grandmother had always emphasized.

The point is not that she must marry Ye Chen or anything like that; the point is that she must have a child.

She could not help but sigh inwardly: "Grandma was right after all…… No matter what, the royal family must have an heir……"

Seeing her fall into silence with a thoughtful expression, Lin Wan'er could not help but step forward and whisper: "Your Majesty the Empress, do you also want to go to Antarctica with us?"

Helena felt that this little girl had seen through her at a glance, and feeling embarrassed to meet her teasing gaze, she muttered awkwardly: "I…… I don't have your freedom to go wherever I want, whenever I want; royal duties only leave these few days' gaps, and soon I will have to resume various activities and friendly visits to various countries."

After speaking, she sighed softly: "I'll still make a phone call to confirm, to see which day suits you best for arriving in Argentina."

Seeing her distracted, Lin Wan'er could not help but chuckle lightly and then stopped teasing her.

Soon, Helena returned after making the call and said to the few people: "I just confirmed that the research vessel is currently at Ushuaia port in Argentina, with plans to depart in five days; as long as everyone arrives at Ushuaia before departure, there will be no problem."

Ye Chen nodded and said: "Then I'll coordinate the aircraft, departing directly from the Nordic region."

Yun Ruge could not help but remind him at this moment: "Mr. Ye, don't forget that the lair of the Break-Purity Society is on some small island in South America near Antarctica, and Argentina is one of their global springboards; if we go directly to Argentina, won't we be walking into a trap?"

Lin Wan'er said with a smile: "I and the Young Master have previously tracked a shipping company actually controlled by the Break-Purity Society, and found that they indeed often have flights departing from and arriving at Buenos Aires, but we have never seen any flights to Ushuaia here; Ushuaia is at the southernmost tip of Argentina, and also the southernmost part of South America; it is still two or three thousand kilometers from Buenos Aires, and generally those who come here use it as a transfer point before heading to Antarctica; since the Break-Purity Society has never used Ushuaia, this proves their lair is not near Ushuaia; if we bypass Buenos Aires and fly directly to Ushuaia, we will likely be much safer."

Helena said solemnly: "Flying from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic Circle, this journey will likely take at least twenty-plus hours; such a long-distance flight is very rare, and aviation enthusiasts will surely be curious about the flight's purpose, even discussing it online, so if Mr. Ye does not mind, I had better arrange the flight myself; fortunately, the Nordic research vessel is already in Ushuaia, and we can externally claim to be urgently transporting a batch of special supplies needed for Antarctica to the research vessel in Ushuaia, which would make it seem more reasonable."

Ye Chen nodded and said: "Then thank you for your trouble in arranging it."

Helena asked: "When will we depart?"

Ye Chen said: "The sooner, the better."

Helena then said: "Then we'll return to Oslo City tomorrow morning; I'll have them prepare, and we'll take off tomorrow afternoon; besides, I'll have someone prepare a set of Nordic identities for you, so that entering Argentina will be safer."

……

The next morning, Ye Chen drove the business car left by the Nordic royal family, carrying the four women on the journey back to Oslo City.

Because Helena's trip to the polar region this time was confidential, the return journey also did not have the royal motorcade escort; Helena felt safe as long as she was with Ye Chen, and had no worries about any safety risks.

Most of the areas along the way were sparsely populated, so the return journey went very smoothly, and after a few hours, they were already approaching Oslo City.

Oslo City's international airport is in the northeastern direction of the city; Ye Chen and the others drove south from the north all the way to Oslo City, and happened to pass near the airport.

Ye Chen had originally thought to first send Helena back to the royal palace, then take Lin Wan'er and the other two to the airport, but he did not expect that when they were near the airport, Helena sitting in the back seat said to Ye Chen: "Mr. Ye, the royal palace staff have already brought the documents for Miss Yun and Miss Song to handle at the airport, the plane is already ready for takeoff, I have also arranged for someone to purchase the daily necessities Miss Lin needs, which have already been packed and loaded onto the plane; when we arrive, you can just take off directly."

Ye Chen asked: "Don't I need to send you back to the royal palace first?"

"No need to trouble yourself." Helena said: "I shouldn't waste your four people's time for my sake alone; besides, I can also go to the airport to see you off, and after you leave, I'll return with the royal palace staff."

Ye Chen lightly nodded; this indeed made more sense, otherwise he would have to first go into Oslo City, make a detour, and then return to the airport.

So he said: "Then thank you, Helena."

Helena smiled and said: "Mr. Ye, between you and me, there's no need for such politeness; when you reach Antarctica, if you have any needs, contact me immediately, and I will try to coordinate and resolve them."

Ye Chen nodded, stopped being polite with Helena, and directly drove the car onto the ramp leading to the airport.

As the distance to the airport grew closer, the previously smooth traffic suddenly became much heavier, and the speed kept dropping.

Ye Chen noticed that the road ahead was actually completely blocked, and his car could only slow down gradually until it came to a steady stop on the highway; he could not help but mutter: "Why is it blocked so badly? Could there have been a traffic accident?"

Helena leaned over to look; the blockage extended at least several hundred meters ahead, and from here she could not see the cause of the jam, so she said to Ye Chen: "Mr. Ye, please wait a moment, I'll inquire about the specific situation."

After speaking, she took out her phone and sent a message; a moment later, her expression grim, she said: "Mr. Ye, there are environmental protesters ahead who have completely blocked the road into the airport, demanding that no one drive through; some anxious travelers trying to catch their flights have already gotten out of their cars and started walking."

Ye Chen said in surprise: "Does your country also have such extreme environmentalists?"

Helena said with a wry smile: "The most famous of these environmental girls is actually a specialty of our neighboring Sweden; under her influence over the years, Nordic countries have also produced not a few young extreme environmentalists; moreover, what is most troublesome is that many extreme environmentalists from all over the world have been inspired by them, traveling thousands of miles to join their protests; this is not the first time they have blocked roads to protest; just a few days ago they held such an event in Oslo City, blocking the main thoroughfare in the city center for a full twenty-four hours; later the police arrested over a hundred extreme environmentalists, of whom more than sixty were from abroad, accounting for nearly half."

Ye Chen asked in astonishment: "Will this also last twenty-four hours?"

Helena said: "Generally in such cases, the police cannot directly arrest people; they must first let the protesters' actions create sufficient negative impact before making arrests, so that public opinion pressure will be somewhat reduced; I estimate that even if it doesn't last twenty-four hours, it will at least last several hours or even ten-plus hours."

Saying this, she sighed helplessly: "The situation here in the Nordic countries is rather awkward; many people hold very severe left-wing ideologies; take global warming, for example; they think the simplest solution is to go to the city center to protest, block the roads so cars cannot pass, forcing people to walk; I estimate the theme of this protest is also the same."

"What kinds of oddballs there are!" Ye Chen sighed helplessly, then glanced at the navigation, which showed that they were still nearly five kilometers from the airport terminal; he then said: "Five kilometers on foot is not a problem for us, but as you are the Nordic Empress, if you walk with us, won't you be recognized?"

Helena immediately coiled her long hair into a bun, then put on a deep-blue fisherman's hat, completely covering the bun under the hat, then took out a mask and sunglasses, and said with a smile: "You see, people are already getting out of their cars ahead, so many people walking; no one should notice me; moreover, once they start, they cannot possibly end quickly in a short time; we can leave the car here, and I will arrange for someone to come and take over."

Ye Chen nodded and said: "Since that's the case, let's get out of the car and walk!"