Chapter 3595 The sooner the better

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

Now that the throne has come to her, there is no one to pass it on to. If she insists on abdicating without an heir, there are only two possible outcomes: either the royal family will come to an end and there will be no more Nordic royal families; or they will simply borrow a king from another constitutional monarchy in Europe.

Such things were common before World War II. At that time, European royal families were mostly related by marriage. If no one from the maternal uncle's family was left, it was not uncommon for the family to send a young person to inherit the throne.

However, nowadays, relations between people are relatively distant, and the national concepts among the people of European countries are no longer as harmonious as before the war. They generally view other countries with prejudice, so from the people's perspective, it is difficult to accept members of other countries' royal families coming to be their kings.

Thinking about this, Helena couldn't help but recall the key point her grandmother had always emphasized.

The point isn't that she absolutely has to marry Ye Chen or anything like that; the point is that she has to have a child.

She couldn't help but sigh to herself, "Grandma was right after all... No matter what, the royal family needs an heir..."

Seeing that she had fallen silent and looked thoughtful, Lin Wan'er stepped forward and whispered, "Does Her Majesty the Empress also want to go to Antarctica with us?"

Helena felt that the little girl had seen right through her. Embarrassed to meet her mischievous gaze, she muttered awkwardly in a low voice, "I... I'm not as free as you guys, going wherever I want. The royal family's activities only have a few days of rest. Before long, we'll be participating in various activities and making friendly visits to different countries again."

After saying that, she sighed softly, "I'll make another call to confirm and see which day would be more suitable for you to arrive in Argentina."

Seeing that she was distracted, Lin Wan'er chuckled and stopped teasing her.

Helena quickly returned from the call and said to the group, "I just checked, the research vessel is currently in the port of Ushuaia, Argentina, and is scheduled to depart in five days. As long as everyone can arrive in Ushuaia before departure, there will be no problem."

Ye Chen nodded and said, "Then I'll coordinate the flight and have it depart directly from Northern Europe."

Yun Rugo couldn't help but remind him, "Mr. Ye, don't forget that the Broken Qing Society's hideout is on a small island in South America near Antarctica. Argentina is a springboard for them to spread their influence around the world. If we go directly to Argentina, won't we be walking into their trap?"

Lin Wan'er smiled and said, "Young Master and I have both tracked a shipping company actually controlled by the Breaking Qing Society. We found that they do have frequent flights to and from Buenos Aires, but Ushuaia has never been mentioned. Ushuaia is at the southernmost tip of Argentina, and also the southernmost point of South America. It is two or three thousand kilometers away from Buenos Aires. People usually use it as a transit point to go to Antarctica. Since the Breaking Qing Society has never used Ushuaia, it proves that their lair is not near Ushuaia. We will bypass Buenos Aires and fly directly to Ushuaia, which should be much safer."

Helena said seriously, "Flying from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic Circle will probably take at least twenty hours. Such a long flight is very rare. Civil aviation enthusiasts will definitely be curious about the purpose of the flight and may even discuss it online. So, if Mr. Ye doesn't mind, I'll arrange the flight. It just so happens that the Nordic research vessel is in Ushuaia. We can announce that it is an emergency transport of a batch of special supplies needed for Antarctica to the research vessel in Ushuaia. That would seem more reasonable."

Ye Chen nodded and said, "Then I'll trouble you to make the arrangements."

Helena asked, "When do we leave?"

Ye Chen said, "The sooner the better."

Helena then said, "Then let's return to Osu City first thing tomorrow morning. I'll have them prepare so we can take off tomorrow afternoon. Also, I'll have someone prepare a set of Nordic identity documents for you, so it will be safer to enter Argentina."

……

The next morning, Ye Chen drove a minivan left behind by the Nordic royal family, carrying four women, on his journey back to Ausu City.

Because Helena's trip to the Arctic was kept secret, she did not have a royal convoy escort her back. As long as Helena was with Ye Chen, she felt safe enough and had no worries about any safety risks.

Most of the areas along the way were sparsely populated, so the return journey was very smooth, and a few hours later, they were already close to the city of Osu.

The international airport in Ausu City is located in the northeast of the city. Ye Chen and his group drove south from the north to Ausu City and happened to pass by the airport.

Ye Chen originally planned to send Helena back to the palace first, and then take Lin Wan'er and the other two to the airport. However, when they were almost at the airport, Helena, who was sitting in the back row, said to Ye Chen: "Mr. Ye, the royal staff are already waiting at the airport with the documents for Miss Yun and Miss Song. The plane is ready for takeoff. I have also arranged for someone to purchase the daily necessities that Miss Lin needs. They have been packed and loaded onto the plane. Once we arrive, you can take off directly."

Ye Chen asked her, "Shouldn't we send you back to the palace first?"

“No need to trouble yourself,” Helena said. “I can’t waste the time of all four of you because of me. I can also go to the airport to see you off. After you leave, I’ll go back with the royal staff.”

Ye Chen nodded slightly. This was indeed more reasonable. Otherwise, he would have to go to Ausu City first, make a detour, and then return to the airport.

So he said, "Thank you, Helena."

Helena smiled and said, "Mr. Ye, there's no need for you to be so polite with me. Once you arrive in Antarctica, if you need anything, please contact me immediately, and I'll try to coordinate a solution."

Ye Chen nodded, no longer standing on ceremony with Helena, and drove directly onto the ramp leading to the airport.

As we got closer to the airport, the previously unobstructed roads suddenly became much busier, and the speed of vehicles continued to decrease.

Ye Chen found that the road ahead was completely blocked, and his car could only slowly slow down until it came to a stop on the highway. He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Why is it so congested? Has there been some kind of traffic accident?"

Helena leaned over to take a look. The traffic jam stretched for at least several hundred meters ahead, and the cause of the congestion was completely unclear from here. So she said to Ye Chen, "Mr. Ye, please wait a moment while I ask about the specific situation."

After saying that, she took out her phone and sent a message. A moment later, she said with a grim expression, "Mr. Ye, there are environmentalists protesting ahead. They have blocked all the roads leading to the airport and are demanding that no one drive through. Some passengers who are in a hurry to catch their flights have already gotten out of their cars and started walking."

Ye Chen asked in surprise, "Does your country also have such extreme environmentalists?"

Helena smiled wryly: "The most famous environmental activist is a product of our neighbor Sweden. In recent years, under her influence, many young extreme environmentalists have emerged in Northern Europe. What's most troublesome is that many extreme environmentalists from all over the world have been inspired by them and have traveled thousands of miles to join them in protests. This is not the first time they have blocked roads and held protests. A few days ago, they held one in Ausu, blocking the main road in the city center for 24 hours. Later, the police arrested more than 100 extreme environmentalists, of whom more than 60 were from abroad, accounting for nearly half."

Ye Chen asked in surprise, "This time it won't take 24 hours too, will it?"

Helena said, "In general, the police cannot arrest people directly in this situation. They have to make their behavior have a large enough negative impact before arresting them. Only then will the public pressure be less. I estimate that even if it doesn't take 24 hours, it will take at least several hours or even more than ten hours."

Speaking of this, she sighed helplessly: "The situation in Northern Europe is rather awkward. Many people have very strong left-wing ideas. Take global warming for example, the simplest solution they can think of is to protest in the city center, block the road and prevent cars from passing, forcing people to walk. I guess the theme this time will be the same."

"There are all sorts of weirdos out there." Ye Chen sighed helplessly, then glanced at the navigation. The navigation showed that it was still nearly five kilometers away from the airport terminal. So he said, "Five kilometers is not a big problem for us to walk there, but as the Queen of the Nordic countries, if you walk there with us, won't people recognize you?"

Helena immediately styled her long hair into a bun, then put on a dark blue fisherman's hat, completely covering her hair. She then took out a mask and sunglasses, and said with a smile, "Look, people are getting off the bus one after another. With so many people walking, no one should notice me. Besides, once they start, it's unlikely to end anytime soon. Just leave the car here, and I'll arrange for someone to come and take over."

Ye Chen nodded and said, "In that case, let's get off the bus and walk!"