"Mortal, you are courting death!"
Hela was furious. In all her years, no one had ever dared to say such provocative words to her face.
No one had ever been born who could make her serve as a maid.
After shouting, Hela didn't waste any words. She immediately formed a short sword in her hand and flung it straight at Su Ye.
Bang!
The short sword struck an invisible force in the air, forming a mirror-like crystal shield.
As the mirror shattered, the short sword fell to the ground and disappeared.
"Hmph, magic? No wonder you dare to speak so arrogantly. Seems like you have some skills."
Hela snorted, flicked her wrists, and two black short swords appeared in her hands again.
"But if you think this level of defense is enough to act arrogantly before me, then you're gravely mistaken!"
"I am Hela, Goddess of Death, once the greatest war god of Asgard! When I dominated the Nine Realms, your ancestors were still mere savages!"
Hela swung her hands, ready to throw the short swords in her grasp.
But at that moment, Su Ye suddenly raised his hand.
"Stop, stop, stop!"
"What are you saying? Whose ancestors are savages?"
"Aren't you a bit too full of yourself? Did you investigate? Did you verify? How dare you claim my ancestors were savages!"
"I…"
Hela opened her mouth, but the momentum she had just built up was suddenly interrupted by Su Ye, leaving her unsure of what to do—even the short swords in her hands felt misplaced.
"What 'I'? If you can't explain, then shut up and listen to me!"
Su Ye waved his hand assertively, leaving Hela no chance to argue.
"When you Asgardians came to Earth, did you explore the entire planet? Of course not! If you had, you would never have said such a thing!"
"No need to explain—you Asgardians love making broad generalizations. It's a habit passed down through generations, I get it."
"But let me tell you, Earth is not just Scandinavia, not just Vikings, not just that cold and desolate land."
"In your time, the places you visited might have still been wild lands, where people were uncivilized and lived like primitives."
"But in places you never saw, a great and ancient civilization had already thrived for thousands of years."
"That country's history is older than you—no, even older than your father! Do you understand?"
"'The bright moonlight before my bed seems like frost on the ground. I lift my head to gaze at the moon'—I'm your father now! Have you heard of it?"
"This poem has been around longer than you've been alive!"
"On Earth, we have something called luxury goods, and there are people we call 'nouveau riche.' Your Asgardian palace style? It's nothing more than a gaudy rich man's taste—thinking a bit of gold makes something grand."
"Do you know what Duan inkstones, Hu brushes, Hui ink, and Xuan paper are? What about Ding ware, Ru ware, Guan ware, Jun ware, and Ge ware? Or Su embroidery, Xiang embroidery, Yue embroidery, and Shu embroidery? Have you even heard of agarwood, sandalwood, ambergris, or musk?"
"Just hearing these names is making your head buzz, isn't it? You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"
"I can understand those upstart civilizations that got rich through plundering and resources, but you—mighty Asgard, self-proclaimed ruler of the Nine Realms for thousands of years—are still living a life less refined than our ancient ancestors."
"And yet you still have the audacity to boast?"
"Honestly, the reason I wanted you to be my maid was to broaden your horizons. You act so self-important, thinking you own the whole universe, when in reality, you're nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well. Frankly, I'm embarrassed for you."
After talking for so long, Su Ye felt a bit parched. He casually conjured a cup of water out of thin air and took a sip to moisten his throat.
Meanwhile, Hela was completely dumbfounded.
"..."
She wanted to refute him, to make Su Ye understand that she was Asgard's rightful heir, the ruler of the Nine Realms, the most powerful and knowledgeable being across the realms.
No one had ever dared to point at her nose and say she lacked knowledge.
But just as she was about to argue back, Su Ye waved his hand again, and suddenly, a long row of clothing racks appeared beside him.
These racks were filled with garments—each piece made of soft silk with exquisite embroidery, ranging from Hanfu, to Tang Dynasty attire, to Song and Ming Dynasty clothing, and even the cheongsams that were popular during the Republic era.
(And to clarify, this 'Tang suit' refers to actual Tang Dynasty clothing, not the modern misnomer.)
With all these outfits from different dynasties, in various styles and patterns, laid out in front of her, Hela's eyes practically dazzled.
No woman could resist the temptation of beautiful clothes—none!
Hela was no exception. And considering she had been wearing the same battle uniform for over a thousand years—ever since following Odin to war, through to her imprisonment—she might not have even bathed in all that time… ahem.
The moment she saw these clothes, her eyes unmistakably lit up.
'So… so beautiful! I… I want to try them on!'
'No… no! I can't be impulsive! He's my enemy—how could I just take his clothes? This must be his scheme! If I accept, I'll be falling right into his trap!'
'But… I really, really want to try them on!'
'What do I do? I can't hold back much longer! What do I do?!'
Just as Hela was deeply conflicted, with two little versions of herself battling inside her mind—almost tearing her apart—two figures appeared.
One of them was someone Hela recognized—her mother, Frigga.
The other was a girl just as beautiful as she was, both in figure and face.
When she saw that girl walking so intimately beside Frigga, Hela suddenly felt a pang in her chest, as if something important had been taken from her.
What hurt her the most was that the girl was dressed in an outfit almost identical to her own green tight-fitting battle suit, making her look like a knockoff version of herself.
'After I was gone, did you create another me to take my place?'
At that moment, Frigga saw Hela, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
"Hela! You… you are my daughter, Hela!"
Frigga immediately abandoned the green-clad girl and rushed forward, pulling Hela into a tight embrace.
"Hela, my daughter, I've finally found you! This is wonderful! You've come back—this is wonderful!"
As Frigga spoke, her tears fell uncontrollably, soaking Hela's clothes in no time.
"Let go of me! Back when Odin imprisoned me, I didn't see you standing up against him. Now you want to act like a good mother?"
Before Frigga could respond, the green-clad girl couldn't hold back anymore.
"You must be Hela, my elder sister. I'm Loki. We've never met, but I've heard many stories about you from our mother."
"She told me all about the fun things you did as a child, and how after every battle, you would return to Asgard and enjoy the wolf meat soup she made for you!"
"Did you know that every time there was a major festival in Asgard, mother would always serve an extra bowl of wolf meat soup and set it aside? I never understood why—until I heard your story. Then, I finally understood her feelings."
"It was father's decision to imprison you, not mother's. She pleaded for you, but father wouldn't listen. She even argued with him for a long time over it. She did everything she could… and this is all she gets in return?"
"I…"
Hela suddenly felt like things weren't unfolding the way she had imagined.
She had expected to return as a conquering queen, slaughtering gods and mortals alike, willing to bathe Asgard in blood if necessary.
She wasn't doing this just to prove her strength—she wanted to reclaim what had been taken from her, with her own hands!
That was the proper script—revenge and absolute carnage!
But what was happening now? Why had her epic revenge story turned into a family soap opera?
This felt less like a vengeful warrior returning to take her throne and more like a rebellious daughter confronting a weepy mother and a sharp-tongued sister-in-law!
"Ahhh!"
Hela was suddenly overwhelmed with frustration.
"Who the hell wants to act in a family drama with you people?! I want revenge! I want to be powerful! I want to dominate everything! I want to be queen!"
Frigga gently released Hela's shoulders, her tear-filled eyes full of love and understanding.
"You've lost weight. You've suffered all these years on your own, haven't you? Have you even been eating properly?"
"Look at you! You used to be so robust, with broad shoulders and strong arms that could rival a warhorse. That's how a true warrior of the Aesir should be!"
Hela finally couldn't take it anymore and started ranting.
"Who the hell had broad shoulders?! Who had arms big enough for a horse to run on?! Go look at the ancient murals—I've always been this slim and elegant, even a thousand years ago!"
"Stop assigning me these weird characteristics! It makes me feel like you don't even remember what I was really like!"
But Frigga completely ignored Hela's complaints and reached out to touch her face lovingly.
"Seeing you so thin, my heart aches with guilt."
"Come, our friends from Earth have brought some clothes. Why don't you pick out a set that suits you?"
"These clothes are beautiful! Your sister and I have already tried a few—why don't you pick one and try it on too?"
Hela felt completely numb.
"Fine, say I used to be muscular. But after starving for so many years, shouldn't you first take me to eat something? Where's my wolf meat soup? You always set aside a bowl for me during festivals—where is it?!"
"Instead of feeding me, you're taking me to try on clothes?! What kind of logic is this?!"
"Wait a second… you just wanted to try on clothes yourself, didn't you? And you're dragging me along as an excuse!"
Hela blurted out her complaints, and quite loudly at that.
Her expression and tone were exactly like a straight-man comedian in a comedy duo.
But Frigga had fully embraced her role as the playful, oblivious counterpart, completely ignoring Hela's shouts and frustrations as she dragged her toward the clothing racks.
"Look at this one! It's said to be modeled after the attire of a female general from the Southern and Northern Dynasties who joined the army in place of her father. It suits your temperament perfectly!"
"I don't want to try it! Don't give it to me!"
Hela waved her hand, intending to destroy both the outfit and the entire row of clothing racks.
But as her hand moved, her power didn't activate. At that moment, she hesitated—why did she suddenly feel unwilling to destroy them?
"Mother, which era's clothing do you think would look best on me?"
Loki spun around in front of Frigga, her expression completely natural. You'd never guess that just a day ago, she was still a full-fledged man.
"Try this one!"
Frigga picked up a strapless dress and said, "This one was worn by women in the royal court—it suits our noble status."
Hela couldn't help but sneak a glance—and then found she couldn't take her eyes off it.
To hell with the female general outfit! She was a woman—of course, she should wear real women's clothing! This dress looked so elegant… she really wanted it.
"To promote these clothes, they even made a movie where every woman—from the queen to the palace maids—wore outfits like these. Clearly, they adored this style!"
"Come on, let's try them on too!"
Frigga spoke excitedly and, along with Loki, each grabbed a matching 'Full Court Elegance' dress and headed into the fitting rooms.
Outside, Hela hesitated… then stealthily picked up a matching dress and slipped into another fitting room.
This was Odin's grand hall, usually a place where he handled state affairs and, more importantly, flaunted his grandeur.
But now, it had transformed into a high-end boutique—complete with all kinds of women's clothing, fitting rooms, and even full-length mirrors.
Clearly, Su Ye's level of service was exceptional.
Watching the three of them enter their respective dressing rooms, Su Ye casually made an 'OK' gesture toward the distance.
Over in a far-off corner, Odin and Thor—who had earlier declared they were 'leaving'—were actually huddled together, secretly watching the situation unfold.
They had never truly planned to leave. This was merely a tactical retreat, a strategy to neutralize the threat posed by Hela's return.
This had all been pre-arranged through telepathic communication between Su Ye, Odin, and Thor.
Resorting to force was the worst possible option. Asgard was too small, its population too sparse—it couldn't afford to endure the collateral damage of a full-scale battle.
If they could resolve things peacefully and gain control of Hela, that would be the best outcome.
So, in the end, they devised this strategy.
First, they would appeal to Hela's interests—using beautiful clothes to break down her hostility. Then, Frigga and Loki would step in to rebuild their familial bond with her.
Women understood women best, so it was only logical to leave this mission in their hands.
And judging by the current situation, things were going far better than they had expected.
Not only had Hela calmed down—she had even willingly gone into a dressing room to try on clothes.
This was a stark contrast to how she had arrived, bursting through the portal looking like she was ready to tear everyone apart.
"As expected, Su Ye is truly a genius!"
"Indeed, believing in Su Ye is the right choice!"