Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

Of course, Cheiristoya was well aware of this, so she pretended to feel aggrieved and said, “I know you are tired after a busy day of the important affairs of the kingdom. But I don’t have any other choice because you still need to decide an important matter in the household as the head of the family.”

“What is it?…” Davos was at a loss. Usually, Cheiristoya took care of the family’s affairs and rarely asked him anything.

“Our son Adoris is already twenty-one years old, and someone has come to propose a marriage,” Cheiristoya said seriously.

“Propose?! Adoris is still young!” Davos disagreed. But when he saw the serious look on Cheiristoya’s face, he suddenly realised something and asked, “Who had come to propose?”

“Alkibiades came to propose marriage for his daughter. He had originally asked Agnes about it, but she came to ask for my opinion…” Cheiristoya said straightforwardly.

Davos had now lost his drowsiness, so he began to think seriously and said, “Agnes still respects you very much as her sister.”

“Of course, I know since I also regarded Agnes as my sister! We sisters get along fine, but we are afraid that some outsiders would overthink…” Cheiristoya reminded.

Davos breathed lightly and felt a headache coming, as he would rather face thousands of enemies than deal with these trivial parental matters. But he knew the harmony of his household would be affected if he didn’t deal with it properly, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to reject Alkibiades outright. After all, Alkibiades played an important role in bringing Rhegium into the kingdom and organising the Rhegian merchants to buy food for the kingdom on the Black Sea. He is also a relative of our family… Let’s do it this way, ask Adoris if he’s willing. I can’t just force him to agree, as he’s only my adopted son, and he’s even changed his last name now! At least let them meet, which is also a kind of answer to Alkibiades’ request. But I just don’t know if Alkibiades could adapt to the marriage customs of our kingdom…*” (Traditional Greek marriage customs do not allow the man to see the bride before the wedding. On the other hand, Theonia is much more open; not only do they accept blind dates, but most of the children of the citizens of the same place attend the same school. So even though the school separated men and women, they could still see each other daily, and many couples get married as a result when they grow up.)

Davos then asked, “Have you met Alkibiades’ daughter?”

“Agnes took me to see her. She is a beautiful girl and seems to have had a traditional aristocratic upbringing and is very polite!” Cheiristoya pointed out.

“…with Adoris’ temperament, he might not like such traditional Greek girls,” Davos said.

“But what if he likes her?” Cheiristoya was still worried. After all, Agnes was considered a pearl, and the girl wasn’t bad-looking either.

That took Davos back as he said hesitantly, “If that’s the case, there’s nothing we can do since we can’t just ignore him.”

“Why don’t we arrange a few more blind dates for Adoris? In fact, Alkibiades wasn’t the only one to propose during this time, as even Milo’s wife, Stromboli’s wife, Burkes’ wife…and some others all mentioned it at the banquet. But if Adoris still chooses Alkibiades’ daughter, it means that this is indeed a marriage granted by Hera, and we should give our blessing,” Cheiristoya suggested.

Davos knew that the banquet Cheiristoya was talking about was a small gathering of friends she had organised at her residence some years ago. At first, it was just Andrea, Azune and Agnes who occasionally joined, but later it had grown to nearly fifty people, mostly the wives of the statesmen. After that, the people of Thurii called it the Ladies’ Senate. Since it didn’t interfere with Davos’ administration, on the contrary, it provided him with another channel to understand the thoughts and movements of the statesmen, and Cheiristoya sometimes even helped to resolve some family disputes. So Davos didn’t stop this banquet and instead built a banquet hall next to his residence for their gathering to avoid other people’s suspicion, and even sent guards to protect the place and prevent men from entering.

Davos then proudly said, “Even if Adoris is an adopted son, he is still the adopted son of Davos, so it is impossible for him not to be popular. And with so many good girls for him to choose from, I am sure he’ll find a good wife! I believe once it’s Croto’s turn, matchmakers will probably crowd the gate of our house!”

“You would allow Cro to go on a blind date?” Cheiristoya looked at him with a smile.

“That’s just a joke.” Davos said hastily, “Unlike Adoris’, Cro could not decide who to marry, as it must be beneficial to our family’s rule and the stability of the kingdom!”

Cheiristoya didn’t get angry at Davos’ refusal to grant Crotokatax the freedom to marry. Instead, she smiled, knowing that Davos’ words confirmed that his eldest son would be the heir to the throne.

Cheiristoya stretched out her white and slender hands and actively massaged Davos.

Having woken up, Davos couldn’t go back to sleep right away. He closed his eyes, enjoyed his wife’s gentle service, and muttered, “It’s time to find a wife for Adoris, so he can settle down sooner, lest he keeps clamouring about going to fight in Latium daily…”

“You intend to send him to the battlefield again?” Cheiristoya asked casually.

“I can’t help it! He will have to follow if the Second Legion is to go into battle. Otherwise, what would the other soldiers think?” Davos said without hesitation.

“What about Croto? He’s not even nineteen and still a reserve.” Cheiristoya asked casually.

“Of course, he has to go-” just after saying that, the hands massaging him stopped moving.

He turned his head to Cheiristoya, who had a worried look on her face and was about to speak. So he said frankly, “But he would be with me. Since he has come of age, it is time for him to learn what a real war is like! In this day and age, it’s hard to be… a good king without knowing about the military and war!… Eh, don’t stop. The left side of my back is sore; press on it harder.”

Cheiristoya was relieved of her worries, smiled and continued to massage her husband, asking, “Are you going to join the battlefield again this time?”

“…it hasn’t been decided yet, because it would depend on the development of the war situation…” Davos closed his eyes slightly and softly muttered as he pondered deeply again.

Over the years, Cheiristoya has grown accustomed to her husband’s victories, and she no longer worries so much about his safety.

“Your Grace, are you still awake?” Cheiristoya asked quietly after a while.

“Hmm?” Davos answered.

“I want to start a new industry, but can you advise me on what to do?”

Davos was taken aback, turned his head to look at Cheiristoya, who was leaning over his back massaging him, and asked doubtfully, “What’s the problem?”

“As trade in the kingdom continues to flourish, there are more and more merchants, whether it be restaurants, school supplies for students, or ball games, there are also many new shops and even restaurants competing with us. Just like you said about our business… the brands we have established are already well-known and loved by the people of the Kingdom. However, our income has declined slowly for the past two years… so a new industry is needed to increase our profits quickly!” Cheiristoya complained to Davos.

“Isn’t there the bank where you already monopolise the deposits and loans of the whole kingdom?” said Davos disapprovingly.

“Just the bank isn’t enough! We have many children, so we need to prepare more for them for their future,” said Cheiristoya in a determined tone. In fact, this spontaneous idea was inspired by what Davos had said earlier about Agnes’ brother Alkibiades organising the Rhegian merchants to buy food. In this way, she hoped to become wealthier so she could have more influence over the kingdom’s trade.

As Davos searched his mind for ideas from his former life that would be useful to the kingdom’s trade, his eyes were involuntarily drawn to the two white clouds in Cheiristoya’s loose nightgown that swayed like water droplets as her body moved. Then a light flashed through his mind, and he blurted out, “Cheiristoya, you could make women’s undergarments!”

“Undergarment?…” Cheiristoya muttered the new word, then said with a slight disappointment, “You mean the clothing we wear underneath? Those are what we make and wear ourselves at home, and no one would go to the market to buy them.”

“No. I am not referring to those.” Davos shook his head and said, “Do you remember the Aphrodite’s girdle you all wore when getting married?”

“I didn’t wear it when I married you.” Cheiristoya didn’t forget to pout and complain.

Davos did not know whether to cry or laugh and simply said, “This undergarment is similar to the girdle. However, it is made more intricately than a girdle, more comfortable to wear, and more likely to accentuate the beauty of a woman’s figure and increase its allure to men…”

Cheiristoya immediately asked as she became interested, “What does this undergarment look like?”

“It is-” Davos wanted to describe but didn’t know how to say it. Instead, he simply let Cheiristoya lie down and take off her nightgown.