Chapter 307 Helen, No! (4.7k)

Inside the small courtyard, the atmosphere fell into silence.

Atalanta looked at Lorne with a frown on his face, feeling uneasy, and quickly began to explain.

"Teacher, I just want to know who my parents are and where I come from. I have absolutely no intention of distancing myself from you! I will always remember the care you and Lady Artemis have given me!"

"I know."

Lorne nodded and gave Atalanta a reassuring look.

On an island in ancient Greece, one day, as the sun was setting, the saint Socrates looked out at the vast sea and sky and asked three questions: Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going?

Once the question was raised, it became the ultimate proposition of philosophy, always testing human wisdom and dialectically validating human existence.

Because everyone will basically think about similar questions and explore the meaning of their life at a certain period of time.

Apparently, Atalanta had reached that age, too.

Of course, Loen could understand this, but he was not angry about it. What he was thinking about now was actually another problem.

"What if I tell you the answer, what happens after you meet them?"

"I wonder why they left me behind?"

Atalanta answered without hesitation, looking serious.

Lorne sighed and told the truth calmly.

"Because your father wanted a son to inherit his family business, but you were a baby girl, so you have no value to him."

When Atalanta heard this, a trace of paleness appeared on her pretty face, and her tiny silver teeth unknowingly rubbed a bloody mark on her cherry lips.

Abandoning a newborn baby in a deserted jungle, the result is self-evident.

If it weren't for the fact that the teacher and Artemis were hunting in the Arcadia Mountains, she would have probably become meat paste under the iron hooves of the centaurs, or food in the mouths of monsters...

Atalanta gritted her teeth and asked in a deep voice.

"Who is he? I want to see him!"

"Then what?"

Lorne still asked the same question and examined his student with a deep gaze.

"Accept him? Submit to him? Spit on him? Or kill him?"

Hearing these soul-piercing questions, Atalanta was dazed and stood there blankly.

Indeed, even if the father and daughter could recognize each other, she didn't know what attitude or method to use to face the blood relative who abandoned her.

Looking at Atalanta's distraught appearance, Loen couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

The daughter is a good daughter, but the father may not be a good father.

Before, they met together the King of Arcadia, Iasus, who was the unscrupulous father mentioned by Loen who abandoned his daughter Atalanta in anger because he could not have a son.

Moreover, in order to never see his daughter who made him feel ashamed again, he specifically ordered his servants to abandon the newborn Atalanta in the Arcadia Mountains far away from the main city. It was clear that he intended to let this shame of his die completely in the deserted mountains and forests.

What is even more chilling is that after Atalanta grew up and shone brightly in the Calydonian hunt, the King of Arcadia took the initiative to come to his house to claim recognition as a relative and hypocritically took Atalanta back to the palace.

What awaited Atalanta next was not her father's guilty love, but one forced marriage after another.

Since it is not easy for a daughter to inherit the throne, she should marry a man and give birth to a grandson for him.

——This is the true intention of the King of Arcadia.

From beginning to end, he never showed the slightest remorse for the crime of abandoning his daughter.

After her father's repeated persuasion, Atalanta finally relented and agreed to set up the ring to find a husband.

But as a follower of Artemis and having sworn to remain chaste forever, her choice was tantamount to betrayal to the hunting goddess in the original myth.

As a result, she lost the protection of the hunting goddess Artemis, and was subsequently influenced by the power of the goddess of love Aphrodite to marry an unknown suitor, Hippomenes.

In the end, Hippomenes, who had won the beauty, was cursed because he forgot to offer sacrifice to Aphrodite. Atalanta was also implicated and accidentally committed the crime of blasphemy. She was turned into a lion and served as a chariot puller for the gods.

After reviewing Atalanta's life experience in his mind, Lorne spoke earnestly.

"Think about it carefully. Once you figure it out, it won't be too late for me to tell you the answer."

Atalanta came back to her senses from her daze, heard the concern in the words, nodded slightly, and then walked back to her bedroom with a head full of confusion and thoughts.

Indeed, she needs to think carefully about how to face the father who abandoned her.

Looking at the somewhat distraught back of his student Atalanta and thinking of the tragic life of his junior sister Medea, Loen felt a headache.

Alas, these two things never make me feel at ease.

After muttering to himself, Loen raised his hand and gathered the scattered crystal ball fragments in the pond into his palm, preparing to take them back to his bedroom to study the meaning of the divination.

Anyway, as the goddess of roads, Hecate is quite capable in prediction.

If we can decipher the meaning of that omen, perhaps it will provide some help in the subsequent efforts to quell the beast disaster.

Soon, Lorne erased all traces in the yard and walked into the bedroom with a bag of crystal ball fragments.

However, before he could start his research, there was a light knock on the door.

As the door opened, the graceful Helen was standing quietly in the dark corridor, and carefully handed over an exquisite food box hidden behind her back.

"My brothers and I haven't had the chance to thank you formally for what happened before, so I made some snacks tonight and would like to invite you to try them."

Having said that, based on the sneaky movements of the blonde beauty just now, the white dress she had just changed into, and the rose scent left on her skin after bathing... and other traces, Lorne guessed that this box of snacks probably had nothing to do with the careless Gemini, but was just Helen's personal behavior.

Although he knew this was a trouble, looking at the hopeful face of the blonde beauty, Lorne nodded helplessly.

"I just happened to be awake, come in."

Upon hearing this, Helen smiled brightly and quickly went into the house, opened the lunch box, put several plates of freshly made snacks on the table, and invited her savior to taste them.

As for herself, she sat opposite Loen after he took his seat, with her chin in her hand, staring at her savior from head to toe.

The undisguised curiosity and a hint of throbbing passion in those bright eyes made Loen feel a little uneasy.

The emotional expression of the divine life is often unrestrained and passionate.

Judging from Loen's many years of experience as a "friend of women", it is very likely that Princess Helen has taken a fancy to him.

Of course, this is just the result of desire and the extension of appearance. It is an instinct of life to pursue beauty, and it is far from being a question of love or not.

Just like the black humor in the past, when a handsome hero saves a beautiful girl, there will be a plot of "I have nothing to repay you with but my body".

If you are too ugly, sorry, "I will be your slave in the next life and repay you with a favor" is your destiny.

With excellent genes from his parents and the power of love from the Rose, Loen's appearance and attractiveness are first-class among male gods.

Moreover, he stepped forward twice along the way, not only saving Helen herself, but also pulling the twin brothers back from the brink of death. With the help of the suspension bridge, it was no surprise that Princess Helen, who was obsessed with looks, was attracted to him.

However, Loen was not very interested in the most beautiful woman in Greece who came to him on her own initiative.

On the one hand, this was not a woman who was content to stay put. After several years of marriage, she fell in love with the visiting Trojan Prince Paris and chose to blindly believe the sweet words of the pretty boy and elope with him, chasing the so-called "love", which eventually triggered the Trojan War.

On the other hand, although Luo En is a bit of a scumbag, he is not to the point of falling in love with every woman he meets.

Besides, there are so many beautiful, XP-compliant and unique goddesses around, so why bother to mess with this love-brained girl?

Many beautiful things can be admired from a distance; it is not necessary to pick them all and put them in your own vase.

Lorne responded with a few indifferent remarks, and after tasting the snacks Helen brought, he prepared to leave.

Seeing this, Helen became a little anxious. She quickly raised her flushed face and spoke stutteringly.

"I, I think you are a very good person, so..."

"Well, thank you for your kindness."

Lorne immediately interrupted Helen's combo and reminded her with a smile.

"If you have nothing else, go back to bed early. I need to rest too."

Hearing the order to leave, Helen could not help but stand there in a daze, her childish face full of surprise and confusion.

As the little princess of Sparta, she was loved since childhood. With her stunning beauty, everyone around her obeyed her.

Especially the opposite sex, they almost never refuse any of her requests.

But why is the man in front of her not only indifferent to her advances, but also seems to be deliberately keeping his distance from her?

Puzzled, Hai Lun asked as a matter of course.

"You seem to be avoiding me?"

“Yeah, a little.”

Lorne nodded and answered bluntly.

The girl was even more confused.

"You don't like me? Why? Is it because I'm not pretty enough?"

"It has nothing to do with being pretty or not. Liking someone is a matter between two people."

Lorne shook his head and advised patiently.

"If you can't figure it out, then wait until you grow up to think about it. It's too early for you now."

"I'm not a child!"

Helen protested angrily, feeling quite resentful after suffering a series of setbacks.

Looking at the little girl in front of him who was trying to stand on tiptoe to save his face but only looked like a high school student, Loen didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and then he said seriously.

"Well, tell me what liking is? What is love? If you need to marry someone you don't love, what will you choose?"

“…”

Hearing this barrage of questions, Helen was stunned for a moment, her face full of confusion.

If you like it, then you like it, right? Why ask so many questions?

The Spartan princess, unable to answer the question, was pushed out of the house in a daze.

"Once you have figured out these problems, it won't be too late to come to me."

After the man at the door said this, he closed the door.

A gust of cold wind blew in the corridor. Princess Helen, who was wearing a thin long dress, could not stand the coldness of the night. She could not help but cross her arms over her chest, and her body shivered slightly.

But compared to the chill that invaded his body, the coldness that just struck his soul was more powerful.

Now, she began to doubt her own charm.

Just as the frustrated little Spartan princess was about to turn around and leave, the door creaked open and a warm blanket covered her.

"It's cold outside. Don't catch a cold. Put this on."

After a brief explanation, the door closed again.

Helen huddled into the warm blanket, stood in front of the door and stared for a moment, a happy smile blooming on her pretty face which had been full of dejection.

He still cares about me!

It’s just that I’m too young and can’t answer the questions he raised for the time being.

What if I found the answer?

When Helen thought of this, her eyes lit up. She immediately wrapped herself in a blanket and walked excitedly towards her bedroom.

~~

Finally left...

Lorne stood at the window, looking at Helen's departing back, and breathed a sigh of relief.

He has said everything that needs to be said. He hopes that the little girl can take it to heart and not follow his old path of being a beauty that causes trouble.

In the original history, the twin brothers who loved Helen so much should have inherited the throne of Sparta and let their sister live a carefree life.

However, due to a trick of fate, one of the twin brothers died young, and the other was buried alive and flew into the sky. Together they turned into stars, embellishing Zeus's divine power in the sky, causing the throne of Sparta to be suspend for a long time.

The Spartan king had no successor, so kings and princes from various city-states came in an endless stream.

They either coveted the beauty of Princess Helen or coveted the throne of Sparta, and together they put pressure on the elderly Spartan king.

The King of Sparta was frightened by being surrounded by a group of demigods at his doorstep. He felt that no hero from any country should be offended, so he followed the advice of the suitor Odysseus.

That is, "the decision of who would marry Helen was made by tossing a ring, and all the suitors were made to swear that they would never take up arms against Helen's husband, and would help him with all their strength when he was in need."

As a result, King Agamemnon's younger brother Menelaos snatched the ring and successfully married Helen.

Because of the favorable conditions of the marriage contract, the Mycenaean Kingdom where the two brothers lived suddenly became the leader of all Greek states.

Whoever possesses Helen will possess the strongest Spartan warrior and can use the marriage oath to command all the heroes of Greece.

This is the real reason why Helen is called "the most beautiful woman in Greece".

—A title based not on beauty but on power.

As a victim of politics, Helen's marriage was naturally not happy, which led to the story of her eloping with Paris, the prince of Troy.

Agamemnon, the King of Mycenae, who was preparing to expand his territory, took this opportunity to call on the entire Greek city-states and military forces to attack Troy as the leader of an alliance.

Achilles, Odysseus, Ajax the Elder and Ajax the Elder, and other demigod heroes, forced by their previous oaths, had to obey Agamemnon's orders and join the expedition, thus embarking on a protracted Trojan War.

At the beginning of the war, Hector, the eldest prince of Troy, knew the whole situation and understood that the war was inevitable. He gave Helen a chance to make a new choice and allowed her to return to the Greek coalition.

Helen finally chose love and stood on the side of Troy and her lover Paris.

But as time went by and the war situation worsened, Paris's nature as a good-looking but useless pretty boy was completely exposed.

Not only did he not dare to fight Helen's ex-husband in a duel to settle the personal grudge and reduce the sacrifice of innocent people;

In fact, according to the epic poem "Iliad", after being shot by a poisoned arrow, this pretty prince even said some classic scumbag quotes to his ex-wife Oenone in order to save his life.

"My dear wife, I am in pain, please do not blame me. The cruel goddess of fate brought Helen to me and made me leave you. I beg you, pointing to the gods and our past love, please have sympathy for me, use medicine to heal my wounds, and relieve my unbearable pain, because you once predicted that only you can save my life."

That’s right, like Helen, the pretty boy Paris had a legal wife, a nymph who had been with him since he was down and out.

For the sake of beauty, he abandoned his original wife.

In order to get help from his original wife when he was dying, he threw all the blame of his infidelity and trouble on Helen.

After paying a heavy price and being branded as a femme fatale, Greece's most beautiful woman ultimately failed to get the "love" she wanted.

Therefore, Lorne raised those questions in the hope that Helen would return to her rationality and really think about what kind of love and marriage she really wanted, so that she would not act rashly and continue on her old path.

But speaking of it, the Golden Apple incident—the twins turning into stars—the Spartan oath—the Trojan War…

These interconnected things seem to be full of calculation.

It seems as if there is an invisible hand controlling the fate of all the heroes and beauties in the world.

Thinking of Helen's bloodline, Loen looked up at Olympus among the stars and understood.

Tsk, Zeus, it's you again, old man!

(End of this chapter)