“Antrapolis has done well! Even after his promotion as a statesman, he still had time to exercise, unlike some people who think that being a statesman is wonderful!…” Davos' voice was soft, but Aristias' eyes blinked involuntarily.
“Aris, your brother, has become a statesman, yet you are still a court herald. Do you regret it?” Davos looked at him and asked half-jokingly.
After becoming a king, Theonia's governing system didn't change besides asking the Senate to add several positions that were directly under the king's command: One was the captain of the palace guard, held by Martius and was responsible for guarding the king and his family, as well as maintaining the palace's order; The other was the secretary, held by Henipolis, who was responsible for writing letters for the king, and so on.; Lastly was the court's herald, held by Aristias, who was responsible for conveying the king's order, summoning the officials, and so on. Even though most statesmen knew that Davos had a group of subordinates responsible for collecting intelligence reports for him, Davos still felt that it would leave a harmful impact if he set up a position like the intelligence officer and brought this matter to the surface. Hence he used the herald position as a cover-up, but it was just like hanging a sheep's head but selling dog meat. And these three positions are all mid-level positions, a much lower status than that of a statesman of the Senate.
“Your majesty, I have never regretted it. On the contrary, I like my current position as it enables me to use my abilities fully. Moreover, I think it is more glorious working as an ordinary civil servant beside your majesty than becoming a statesman.” Said Aristias earnestly.
“You've learned to speak eloquently now!” Davos pointed to him and laughed.
“It's already getting late; hurry back and take a rest.” Davos stood up and casually added, “Keep an eye on Naxos.”
“Yes, your majesty.” Aristias answered and left. Although he no longer lives in Davos' residence, his house was near the palace, just at the foot of the hill.
Davos then went out of his study and headed to the rear yard.
When he was about to enter the main residence, Davos saw a slim figure standing beside the statue of Artemis in the garden.
“Cynthia.” Davos called softly.
“Fa…father!” Cynthia looked a bit flustered.
“It's already late; why are you still not sleeping?” Davos asked with concern.
“Erm…I am praying to Artemis, wishing my brother a safe return in his first expedition!” said Cynthia hurriedly.
“We had sent three legions to deal with the Daunians this time, plus a cavalry legion, totalling about 30,000 men. With our side having more soldiers than the other, we would easily get the victory. Thus there is no need for you to worry about Adoris at all, as even though he is new to the battle, he has always had talent in combat, especially in a one-on-one battle where many veterans are not his opponent. Besides, Olivos is there to take care of him, so what is there to worry about?!” Davos reassured her and then asked with a smile, “Or you aren’t just praying solely for Adoris?”
“Father!” Cynthia's face began to blush.
“Once this war ends, your mother and I will officiate your wedding with Patroclus. You are already twenty years old, yet you are still unmarried. If you still don't get married, the people will think that no one wants the princess of the kingdom of Theonia.” Davos teasingly said.
Cynthia became shy and happy when talking about marriage, “Thank you, father!”
“Hurry up and go to sleep.” Davos waved his hand. He then smiled and said, “Patroclus, as a legion's senior centurion, wouldn't face any danger at all as he personally won't fight the enemy. On the contrary, if you worry about him every day that you can't get a night of sleep, it would result in your skin becoming terrible. And once Patroclus comes back, he might not want you anymore!”
“He dares!” Said Cynthia as she crossed her arms.
Davos smiled. But as he was about to turn around and go upstairs, Cynthia's grateful voice sounded, “Father, thank you!”
Davos immediately understood what she meant by thanking him: Cynthia was a charming girl at the age of 16, and with her status as the princess of the kingdom of Theonia, it was only natural that an endless stream of people would come to propose, including the children (mainly adopted sons) of his former mercenary comrades. However, Davos rejected them one by one because Cynthia already had someone she liked, and Davos broke the Greek tradition by respecting her choice. After all, the daughters of citizens in Greek city-states belonged to their fathers until they married, and even though the Theonia kingdom was much more open, it was still a bit of a shock to allow a daughter to choose her own husband if she so wished.
Davos paused but didn't look back and just continued to head to the second floor.
Sleeping at night wasn't too much of a problem for Davos, who had two wives. He would even sleep with his wife by turn, and sometimes they would even offer to let him go to the other wife's room when one got a period, which is quite harmonious. Sometimes he would even think that if he has three or even four wives, just choosing where to sleep every night would become a huge trouble. Although he had a huge goal, he never had such an idea. Rather, his only desire was to be healthy and live a longer life. Thus he did not indulge in his innermost desires too much.
He then pushed open the door and went inside Cheiristoya's bedroom.
With the candlelight flickering in the bedroom, Cheiristoya had her back facing him as she lay on her side on the bed, with a light blanket dyed with red and blue stripes covering her body, only revealing her snow-white shoulders and slender legs.
“Cheiristoya.” Davos called her softly, but she didn't respond, ‘It seemed that I came back too late, and she was already deeply asleep.’
After walking gently to the bed, Davos removed the chiton he was wearing and prepared to lie down next to Cheiristoya. But when he pulled the blanket, he was surprised to find that Cheiristoya wasn't wearing any clothes. Even though Cheiristoya was already a mother of three, she still had delicate skin and maintained her figure. Her slim, fat-free waist extends down to her round and plump hips, making it look like a perfect undulating and smooth body curve from a distance.
Davos couldn't resist snuggling to her smooth back, placing his right hand around her waist and his palm pressing on her soft chest. But just as he was about to do something, Cheiristoya suddenly turned around and kissed his face.
“You're still not asleep?” Davos was slightly surprised.
“What do you think?” Cheiristoya winked with her eyes as beautiful as silk, and her gorgeous red lips bit Davos' mouth…
. . . . . . . . . . . .
After making some love, the two lay side by side on the bed, panting softly.
“Who were you talking to downstairs just now?” Asked Cheiristoya softly.
“Cynthia, she is praying for Adoris and her future husband.”
“This little girl has been in a trance all this time, and it seems only that young man named Patroclus is in her mind. Alas, we can't keep our daughter!”
“When our war against Dauni ends, let's hold her marriage.”
“Out of all the fathers, you are too irresponsible. Others would choose a good husband for their daughter, but you didn't choose from the children of numerous statesmen, important ministers and rich merchants who came to propose and just let her choose it herself!” Cheiristoya complained.
But Davos said seriously, “In my current position, do I still need to use my daughter's marriage to consolidate my power?! So just let Cynthia pick a satisfactory husband for herself, and at least she won't complain to me in the future. Besides, Patroclus' family isn't bad as well. Even though his father has a disability, he was someone capable and a respected demarchos. In addition, his excellent work made Lysias, the praetor of Thurii, consider promoting him as the vice praetor or agricultural officer of Thurii. And if he continues to develop like this, he will likely become a statesman at the age of fifty. In addition, Patroclus is also a hard worker, so even though he had only been in the legion for ten years, he was already the youngest senior centurion… So it is safe to say that Cynthia had a good eye for picking a husband. And by marrying her splendidly, her dead parents could consider us worthy!”
Cheiristoya was just complaining because she still couldn't adapt to the sudden departure of her daughter. After listening to Davos, she could only exclaim, “It would've been better if she was married earlier, removing Cro's thoughts that he shouldn't have…”
“What do you mean?! Cro-” Davos was surprised.
“Cro likes his sister who isn't related by blood.” Cheiristoya sighed again.
“How come I am not aware of this?!” Davos was stunned.
“You are too busy with politics every day. Besides, I only noticed it after we agreed to Patroclus' proposal, and Agnes alerted me about Cro having been in a bad mood for days on end…sigh… Cheiristoya felt a bit of a headache when thinking about it.
“It's not bad to have a daughter and a daughter-in-law.” Said Davos jokingly.
But when he saw Cheiristoya staring at him, he quickly changed his tone and said, “Cro is still young and doesn't understand the relationship between men and women. I think he only admires Cynthia a little and would be fine once he gets older. Now that he is almost sixteen years old, it seems I should increase his military training to prepare for future military service while studying at Theonia's Akademia so that he won't even have the time to think about these things by then…”
“Are you really going to let Cro fight enemies in the future?!” Cheiristoya asked anxiously.
“How would he convince the kingdom's citizens in the future and order those seasoned strategoi if he doesn't fight and make contributions?! Without military knowledge and experience, he wouldn't be able to govern this kingdom well and would be easily fooled by his ministers, much less bear this kingdom I have created!…” Although Davos said it like that, he obviously had great expectations for his eldest son.
