âMother, this girdle is too important; I canât accept it!â Cynthia hurried handed the girdle back to Cheiristoya as she realised its importance.
âTake it; I donât need it anymore. Instead, this would bless you, my daughter!â Cheiristoya smiled. Now she was the queen of Theonia, with countless riches at her disposal, a husband loved by all, and wise and understanding children. Moreover, this will allow her to cut ties with that past completely.
Cheiristoya handed the girdle to Cynthia, then pointed to the long wedding dress and beautiful gown on the bed and said, âThese gifts are from your father. He had bought the best fabrics from Persia and had the best weavers in the kingdom sew it for youâŠâ
Cynthiaâs eyes turned red as she looked at them. She hugged Cheiristoya tightly and said, âMother, IâŠIâŠâ she wanted to speak thousands of words, but all of them could not leave her throat.
Cheiristoya stroked her face and said softly, âSilly child, your father and I have always treated you as our own. These things can only express our feelings slightly. Your father couldnât come to see you offâŠbecause the wedding tradition dictates that adult men are not allowed to enter your bedroom. Hence your father entrusted me to say that he hopes you wouldnât rely on your status to treat the people arrogantly after you marry into Patroclusâ family. Rather, you must do your best as the lady of the house, take care of the housework, and be filial to your in-lawsâŠâ
Cynthia nodded her head every time Cheiristoya said something to her. Then the two talked for a while before Cheiristoya left the room.
Cynthia wiped away her tears and looked at the wedding dress that was lying on the bed.
Then, the door opened, and a small head peeks out from the small crack, âSister.â
âCome in!â Cynthia waved to her.
Then Eunice rushed in Aviya.
âSister, youâd be bored staying in your room alone. Let us accompany you.â
âThank you, Eunice. You are so thoughtful!â
âSister Cynthia. Now that you will marry, will you still see us often?â
âOf course. As long as you donât sleep late, I will come back to see you often, Aviya.â
âUnâŠI wonât sleep late anymore.â
âSister, you must also come to see me often too!â
âAs soon as you stop bullying your classmates, Iâll come back to see you.â
âHow could I bully my classmates?!â
âSister Cynthia, whatâs this?â Aviya, with her sharp eyes, curiously asked when she saw the girdle that Cynthia placed beside her.
âThatâsâŠâ Cynthia couldnât think how to answer.
Eunice suddenly shouted, âI know! I know! Thatâs the girdle of the beautiful Aphrodite! Every time mom and dad slept together, she would quietly put it on. I asked mother about it, but she said I was too young and could only wear it once I grew up.â
âWhere do you put it on?â Aviya became more curious.
âStupid!â Eunice, acting as if she knows-it-all, patter her breasts and says to Aviya, âItâs naturally worn inside the dress to protect this part. Do you see the bulge on sisterâs chest? I also have a little here, but you donât have it yet. But once you grow up, you will have it too, and then you can use this girdleâŠâ
Hearing her two sisters talking about topics unsuitable for children, Cynthia blushed slightly and found it amusing. She then said, âEunice, Aviya, I will now wear my wedding dress. Would you two help me dress up?â
âAlright!â The two shouted excitedly.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door gently.
âWho is it?!â Eunice shouted first.
The man outside the door didnât think anyone else would be in the room. After a while, he said carefully, âItâs me, Croto.â
âAh!â Eunice cried suddenly.
âAh!â Aviya copied her sister.
âBrother, you canât come in! Mom said men canât enter the room!â
âThatâs for grown men.â Cynthia lightly knocked Eunice on the head, punishing her for deliberately making a fuss. She had nothing to hide about her younger brother Croto, who she had grown up taking care of. After tucking the girdle under the quilt, she said, âCome in, Croto.â
Crotokatax then walked into the room, looking rushed. When he saw Cynthia sitting by the red bed and looking at him with a smile, Croto felt like he had chugged five liquor bottles, as he couldnât tell what he was feeling. After coughing twice to clear his throat, he said with a dry voice, âElder sisterâŠtonight would be yourâŠwedding, but because I have to accompany father in the palace to entertain the statesmen who would come to the banquetâŠI cannot participate in your weddingâs processionâŠso this is theâŠwedding gift I preparedâŠâ
After Crotokatax said those, he took out the gift clasped under his armpit. Suddenly, Eunice snatched it, held it with both hands and said, âWow, what a beautiful helmet!â
Indeed, this silver and white legion-style helmet was crafted finely and added a lot of ornaments, making it look beautiful and practical. And only the plume at the top of the helmet wasnât inserted, which is obviously for the owner to do himself.
âSo this helmet is for sisterâs husband. From what father told me, he is an outstanding soldier,â said Eunice as she handed the helmet to Cynthia.
âCroto, thank you!â Cynthia happily accepted the gift and told him, âIâm leaving. You have to take good care of our parents! AndâŠlook after these little guys!â
âDonât worry.â Crotokatax forced a smile. As soon as he answered that, Eunice complained, âIâm almost grown up; you donât need anyone to look after me!â
Cynthiaâs smile didnât change as she knocked on Euniceâs head again.
Seeing Eunice deliberately covering her head and making exaggerated cries of pain, Crotokatax smiled, âI hope Clus could protect you like this helmet andâŠloves you forever!â
Those words, however, brought tears to Cyntiaâs eyes. A bride would always be uneasy, excited and sensitive before her wedding. Cynthia suddenly stood up, walked towards Croto, and hugged him tightly.
Crotokatax hesitated for a moment, then hugged her gently. After listening to her cry, he sincerely said in the end, âI wish you happiness, Cynthia!â
. . . . . . . . . . . .
The slave girl then came to Cheiristoya and whispered a few words, relieving Cheiristoya.
After the slave left, Cheiristoya said to Agnes, sitting opposite her, âCroto took a helmet and went to Cynthiaâs room and left soon. The slave said Croto was calm and nothing special happenedâŠâ
âSister, didnât I say nothing would happen? Little Cro is so sensible and has self-control. You donât have to worry too much; he will completely overcome this matter after a while!â Agnes comforted her. Although Crotokataxâs biological mother was Cheiristoya, Crotokatax was closer to Agnes when he was young. Hence he was more willing to confide some things to Agnes, including his likes of Cynthia, which Agnes first noticed.
Cheiristoya sighed, âI hope so. What do you think about finding a marriage partner when Croto comes of age?â
âSister, for little Cro, I am afraid you arenât the one to decide this,â Agnes warned. She had a deep understanding of it as she was sent to Thurii by her father without her knowledge back then. Fortunately, Artemis protected her.
âYouâre right. I am just worrying too much.â Cheiristoya patted her forehead. After all, Crotoâs marriage involves the stability and interests of the kingdom, so even the Senate would intervene in the matter.
âSister, there is one thing I need your helpâŠâ Agnes said thoughtfully.
âTell me.â Cheiristoya was curious. Besides caring for the children and Davos, Agnes has no desire for anything else, so it is rare to see her acting like that.
âFor the past two years, Iâve been in charge of the main Temple of Hera. And I started to feel that my energy wasnât as good as before. Now that Cynthia would get married, I want her to come to the Temple of Hera to help me and take over as the chief priestess in the futureâŠâ
âSister, you canât just decide who would take over as the chief priestess of the Temple of Hera without discussing it with our husband first!â Cheiristoya reminded her.
That startled Agnes for a moment that she stopped talking.
Then Cheiristoya covered her face with her left hand and sighed, âWe are indeed getting oldâŠâ
. . . . . . . . . . . .
With the company of her two sisters, time had passed quickly, and it was already dark. Cynthia then ate two bowls of seafood oatmeal porridge to fill her stomach.
Suddenly, Cheiristoya came in and took the two little kids.
And with the help of the female slaves, Cynthia put on her wedding makeup and became nervous again as she knew that the wedding was soon coming.
Fortunately, many Theonian citizen families had abandoned the marriage tradition of the Greek city-states and allowed the girls to meet their future husbands in advance before marriage. And since Cynthia had been in love with Patroclus for many years, she didnât have to worry about whether her husband was ugly.
At this time, she could vaguely hear the noise outside the building. Then a female slave that was close to her ran inside and excitedly said, âThe young master is here! He is here!â
Thus Cynthia hurriedly put on her wedding dress. But while waiting, she felt that the time was passing too slow.
Soon, she heard the door push. Then she could hear a familiar voice, âCynthia, Iâm coming!â
Cynthia immediately stood up and stretched out her hand.
Then a smell of myrrh lingered in her nose as a well-dressed Patroclus approached her, took her by the hand, and led her downstairs.
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