Davos quickly signed an alliance treaty with Crustuerium through Publius. After the Theonian army conquered the east of Rome with lightning speed, they started to target the Latin city-states to the south.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
“My lady, you look so beautiful in this set of… undergarments! So much so that even Aphrodite would envy you!” Agnes' close female slave kept on praising.
“Stop speaking nonsense. How can I compare to Aphrodite!” Despite saying that, Agnes' tone wasn't harsh. She then turned around and asked softly, “Is it really beautiful?”
“It was known that Aphrodite's girdle is full of temptation, but I think this set of undergarments, coupled with your beautiful figure, made you so attracted that even I, as a woman, can't help but be attracted, and even…envious. If His Majesty Davos saw it, he would definitely be deeply fascinated by you, my lady!” The slave girl exclaimed with a face of infatuation.
Agnes remained silent, her gaze fixed on the tall bronze mirror beside her. One hand touched the white undergarment on her chest while the other struck a graceful pose. At forty years old, the relentless march of time became evident in her skin as it began to sag a little. However, the set of clothes sent by Cheiristoya, which she referred to as ‘undergarments,' not only offered her comfort but also accentuated her slender figure, just like when she was young. They added a mysterious sense of beauty that made her look in the mirror and captivated by her own reflection.
Some time passed before she dressed up again, went downstairs with the slave and came to the hall.
Cheiristoya, who was sitting in the hall discussing matters with Ribaso, immediately ordered everyone else to withdraw after seeing her.
When only two of them were left in the hall, Cheiristoya asked with a hint of urgency in her tone, “Are you wearing it, sister Agnes? How do you feel?!”
“Very…very good! I really like it!” Agnes replied shily.
“Since you think it is good, then the women of Theonia would think it is even better!” Cheiristoya clapped her hands excitedly, “Tomorrow, I'll have Ribaso send slaves to build a clothing workshop and then purchase more than ten female slaves who know tailoring to start making these undergarments. Then we would first present them to the wives of the statesmen so that they can help us spread words of it…”
Cheiristoya spoke excitedly, but Agnes, who was less interested in these matters, suddenly asked, “Sister, didn't you say that it was His Majesty who designed this undergarment?”
“Yes. I had wanted His Majesty to give me some ideas to compensate for the losses caused by the bank's effort to help the people overcome the drought last year, but who knew he would give me such an idea!” A smile appeared on Cheiristoya's face. Then, upon remembering something, her expression became serious again as she said, “He is usually busy with politics, but who knew he would pay so much attention to…our!”
Cheiristoya gritted her teeth saying that, then grasped Agnes' hand and said intimately, “Sister, you and I need to keep a close eye on His Majesty and never let him go outside to cheat!”
“Perhaps…perhaps it was Hades who gave His Majesty this inspiration…” Agnes murmured in Davos' defence.
“Hades isn't a god who likes this kind of thing…” Cheiristoya also murmured. She then said earnestly, “Sister, we are getting old and need to learn to dress better so that His Majesty's gaze would remain on us!”
Agnes gently nodded and squeezed Cheiristoya's hand. Two women of similar age and different hobbies had lived together for almost twenty years and had established a closer relationship than real sisters.
“Sister, you shouldn't wear white outfits too frequently, as it might bore His Majesty to see you in them all the time. Therefore, I'll arrange to send you a variety of coloured and patterned undergarments within the next few days…” suggested Cheiristoya.
“Un…” Agnes responded with a hint of shyness.
“Mother, we're back!” Suddenly, a clear shout came from outside the door, followed by two pretty girls, one tall and one small, entering the hall.
“Mother Agnes is also here!” The tall girl immediately said loudly.
The small girl bowed and greeted respectfully, “Mother! Mother Cheiristoya!”
“Eunice, haven't you learned how to greet your elders?!” Cheiristoya sat upright and said with a stern expression.
“I know…” Eunice pursed her lips and reluctantly bowed to her two mothers, then glared at Aviya, who was chuckling, to show her dissatisfaction.
“Why had you come back so early today?!” Cheiristoya asked.
“Uh…I had a dancing class scheduled for this afternoon. However, due to my period, the teacher allowed me to go home. Since I found going home alone quite lonely, I helped Aviya take an early leave,” said Eunice boldly.
“Not only was it enough for you to be lazy alone, you even involved your younger sister!” Cheiristoya's expression darkened.
“I…I am also feeling a bit unwell, so sister just-” Aviya stuttered as she was about to help defend Eunice, but Eunice patted her and said, “Don't talk.”
Cheiristoya rolled her eyes, but Agnes beside her hurriedly said, “You should go rest since you are feeling unwell.”
The two girls' faces brightened joyfully, and then they looked at Cheiristoya again.
Cheiristoya's expression remained gloomy, “I'll forgive you both this time, but you will be punished the next time you try to leave so early!”
“Understood!” The two responded simultaneously and smiled at each other after turning around and walking out the door with brisk steps.
As they were leaving, Eunice turned her head and asked, “Mom, is there any news about father and brother today?” contemporary romance
“Yes! A messenger brought a letter from your father this morning, which said that the Roman army had disbanded, and your brother and brother Adoris had safely returned to Rome and are preparing to participate in the Triumphant Return they would hold in Rome…” said Cheiristoya.
“Triumphant Return in Rome?!” Eunice shouted softly and then said with regret, “I really want to go see it!”
“When will father and brother return?” Aviya interjected.
“Child, this…it wasn't mentioned in the letter.” Cheiristoya then smiled as she said, “However, the day of the final victory shouldn't be that far with our army already occupying Rome and defeating the enemy’s army, so your father and others will return by that time!”
Aviya smiled upon hearing that.
“Aviya, we need to go to our room and rest,” Eunice winked at her.
The two girls left the hall while vaguely whispering, “We will later release Brillantes' dog and get my horse while you grab your kitten, and then we'll play outside.”
“Brother Brillantes will get mad once he finds out!”
“He won't dare as long as I am here!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cheiristoya could only let out a sigh.
Seeing that, Agnes quickly said, “Sister, you shouldn't be too strict with the children and give them time to relax occasionally.”
“I am not worried about that,” Cheiristoya shook her head. Then, after looking out the door, she said, “In a few months, Eunice will be fourteen years old. Despite nearing adulthood, she still plays around like this…”
“Eunice is still two years away from becoming an adult. Therefore, there's no need to worry too much, sister. Additionally, I believe Eunice having a strong personality is a good thing as she won't be bullied in the future. On the contrary, I am much more worried about Aviya,” Agnes comforted Cheiristoya.
In most Greek city-states, a woman could marry at the age of fourteen. However, in the kingdom of Theonia, due to the strong request of King Davos and with the support of medical authorities like Herpus, the Senate passed a law stating that a woman could not marry until she reached the age of sixteen. (Davos initially wanted to set the marriage age as eighteen, but the average age of Greeks wasn't high in this era because of the harsh environment and primitive medical science. Moreover, women tended to mature early, so if they were to wait until eighteen to get married, the cost of raising them would increase. Finally, he could only compromise since it wouldn't be favourable to the growth of the Theonian population.)
“Who would even dare bully our children?!” Cheiristoya knitted her eyebrows. She then looked at Agnes and muttered, “Andrea came over this morning and talked about her eldest son, Umateseus. Then, either intentionally or not, she even asked about Eunice…”
“Is she trying to arrange a marriage for her son?!” Agnes was surprised. Although she rarely interacts with others, she grew up in a wealthy family in Rhegium and had some understanding of these things.
“In other Greek city-states, Eunice would already be of marriageable age, so Andrea is trying to inform me in advance. However, I pretended not to notice and didn't reply to her, and I suspect it won't be long before more people inquire about this…” Cheiristoya shrugged helplessly.
“Sister, there's no need for you to worry too much since His Majesty already said several times that Eunice and the other's marriage would be up to them to decide, and they can marry whoever they want.” Agnes continued to comfort her.
She and Cheiristoya knew well of the traditional patriarchal Greek marriage system as Cheiristoya was given to the Persian prince Cyrus the Younger as a concubine, while Agnes was sent to Thurii, both outcomes determined solely by their father's decisions without consulting their desires. Fortunately, both stories had a happy ending. Agnes, of course, doesn't want her children to face a similar fate, so she is naturally pleased with Davos' decision.
“Sister, it isn't that simple.” Cheiristoya shook her head and said, somewhat troubled, “With how young Eunice is, how can she tell whether the man she likes is good or bad? So we must take care of her! Besides, if she really married a commoner, what would the wives of the Theonian statesmen and officials feel? What would their children feel? Moreover, the pressure this commoner son-in-law would be under in the kingdom in the future will be tremendous, so would he still be good to Eunice?…we must consider all of these things!”
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