Volume 6: The Meeting of Two Heroes, Chapter 9: Murderous Intent

“She… she kicked again!” Cheiristoya exclaimed, her face beaming with a blissful smile.

Asuna hurried out of the garden, wiping the dirt from her hands on her clothes, and together with Cynthia, she helped Cheiristoya sit down.

After the three women had their share of playful commotion, Cheiristoya felt a bit hungry. “Cynthia, your brother is back. He’s upstairs playing with little Klo. Go call them both down. Let’s prepare for the meal.”

The “brother” Cheiristoya referred to was Cynthia’s own younger brother, Adonis. He was already eight years old and also studying at the school in Thurii.

Cynthia said, “Oh,” and got up to head upstairs, but then she noticed a plate of something dark on the wooden table beside her. Curiously, she asked, “What’s this?”

“This is dried meat that your Aunt Andria made, smoked with beef and salt on the suggestion of your father. She specially sent it from Grumentum for us to taste it first,” Cheiristoya said.

Cynthia grabbed a small piece and took a bite. “It’s a bit hard.”

She chewed vigorously for a while, then swallowed and said, “After chewing it for a long time, the taste isn’t bad, just a bit salty. It’s good as a snack.”

“Your father intends to use this dried meat as one of the soldier’s rations,” Cheiristoya said, her eyes lighting up at Cynthia’s casual remark. She only cared about the taste; the excess salt didn’t bother her. Ever since Davos had the Daonia Academy people figure out ways to improve the salt-drying method, the output of sea salt had greatly increased, and the price of salt had become extremely cheap.

Cynthia stuffed the whole piece of dried meat into her mouth and walked around the garden.

At the other side of the garden stood a small altar, with a stone statue of Artemis, bow in hand and smiling. The statue was exactly as tall as a person, carved lifelike. After the pearl of Rhegium, Agnes, married Davos, she could not forget the years when she had served as the priestess of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt. Even though Davos had her reassigned as the chief priestess of the Temple of Hera, she had—with her husband’s consent—built a small altar to Artemis in the backyard. To her surprise, Cynthia became a devotee of this goddess. Perhaps it was because the Greeks regarded Artemis as the moon goddess, the night being her domain, and the name “Cynthia” itself meant the moon, giving it a natural sense of affinity. So Cynthia only entered the main building after faithfully offering her prayers to Artemis.

Asuna saw Cynthia go inside, hesitated, and said to Cheiristoya, “Madam, aren’t we… aren’t we going to wait for Lady Agnes to return for the meal together?”

Cheiristoya was taken aback, then smiled. “She’s preparing for the Marriage Festival celebration tomorrow. She’ll probably be busy at the temple until late. We don’t need to wait for her. With her temperament, she won’t mind.”

“And the master?”

“Don’t wait. The Senate has been in discussion for two days now; there’s no telling when it will end. It’s all because of those nobles and merchants causing trouble in the square… and that damn Polyxides!” Just mentioning it made Cheiristoya a bit irritated.

…

“Honorable senators, it is not only in Thurii; in Crimissa, Pyxous, Amendolara, and other cities, many citizens have come to the squares to protest. Please open the doors and listen to their voices—listen, they are shouting, ‘Convene the Assembly!’”

Polyxides’ impassioned speech was immediately interrupted by Antonios: “From what I know, there are actually only a few citizens protesting in Thurii and Crimissa; it’s not the ‘majority’ as you claim! Moreover, nothing like this has happened in Amendolara or Pyxous!”

“That’s right. As a citizen of Amendolara, I can confirm the truth of Antonios’ words!” Scombrus said.

Polyxides had anticipated this rebuttal and sneered coldly: “Not speaking out doesn’t mean there aren’t people who object. The citizens just hold this discontent in their hearts and dare not vent it. It is truly laughable to think about it: their demands are simply very basic and not excessive. Do we really need to be so nervous? You must understand that every city-state founded by Greeks must have an Assembly! Even going back to the age of kings hundreds of years ago, when there were kings, the Assembly still existed! It is only city-states ruled by tyrants that, because they fear the people and suppress them, dare not have an Assembly—Syracuse, for example.”

As he spoke, Polyxides turned to face Davos, who was seated in the front, and summoned his courage to ask, “May I ask, Honorable Magistrate, is our… is our Alliance ruled by a tyrant?!”

The words shocked the entire chamber.

Davos, however, remained calm, as if unaware that Polyxides’ words were directed at him. “Of course not. The Daonia Alliance is managed jointly by all the senators of the Senate.” Davos’s faint words carried no trace of offense.

“Then does the law of Daonia include a clause ‘forbidding the convening of the Assembly’?!” Polyxides grew bolder and pressed on.

“Of course not,” Davos replied still unhurriedly.

“Since that is the case, it is only reasonable for the citizens to demand the convening of the Assembly. I hope the Senate will seriously consider this matter and not disappoint the citizens!” Polyxides saw Davos fall into the linguistic trap he had set and seized the opportunity to speak loudly.

“Honorable Polyxides, convening the Assembly is no easy thing,” Kynogoratas rose to say. “The situation of the Daonia Alliance is very different from other Greek city-states. Our citizens are not concentrated in one city but are spread throughout all the cities in the Alliance. Just gathering them is a major problem that consumes both time and energy! Moreover, Daonia citizens are not only Greeks; Lucanians and Bruttians make up a considerable number. They still don’t understand what an Assembly is and have never participated in one. If we rashly hold an Assembly, it will not only confuse them but also very likely throw the Assembly’s order into chaos and make us the laughingstock of our neighbors…”

Kynogoratas listed the difficulties of convening the Daonia Assembly. In his heart, he also had a private thought: as a powerful figure in the Daonia Senate, he did not want the Assembly to be convened, because he was tired of having to flatter citizens and attack political rivals back when he was in Thurii just to get elected as general—doing things against his will. And after being elected, if he was even slightly careless, his political enemies could incite the citizens and force him out of office. It was far better now that he could work steadily, only needing to be accountable to the Alliance and… to Davos.

There were many senators who held similar thoughts, such as Cornelius, Scombrus, and others who had always held key positions in the Alliance.

“Honorable Kynogoratas is right! We Bruttians don’t care about any Assembly. As long as there’s food to eat, women to sleep with, and wine to drink, that’s enough!” Sedorum said in a deliberately rough voice. “We Bruttians only believe in whoever has the ability and the biggest fist; we obey them!”

“We Lucanians are the same. The Assembly is too troublesome; we’re not interested!” Hemon immediately chimed in.

The open opposition from the other two major factions in the Senate, the Lucanians and the Bruttians, made Polyxides’ expression somewhat ugly, but he still didn’t intend to give up. He continued, “There are difficulties in convening the Assembly, but should we give up just because of difficulties? Is that the style of us Daonians? The Thurii–Laüs Road had to cross high mountains and ridges with countless obstacles, but didn’t we still complete it after several years of effort?

The citizens have been longing for the convening of the Assembly for a long time. If, at the beginning of Daonia’s establishment, we faced threats to our survival and had to unify the people’s thoughts and concentrate all efforts to defeat powerful enemies, thus temporarily suspending the Assembly, which consumes much time and energy, that is perfectly understandable. But now Daonia is stable and prosperous; the citizens are well-off and leisurely. As Greeks who have a strong tradition of participating in city-state politics, Daonia citizens’ demand for convening an Assembly will only grow stronger as the years pass! As the most distinguished representatives among Daonia citizens, you honored senators must deeply recognize this point and make the right choice in time. Don’t wait until the citizens’ discontent has accumulated to a dangerous level before hastily making decisions. That would be detrimental to the Senate and to the Daonia Alliance!”

Polyxides’ words, both emotional and veiled with threat, caused subtle changes in the expressions of many present.

Davos looked at Polyxides, lost in thought.

“Now, we will vote to decide whether or not to pass this motion to convene the Assembly!” the rotating chairman Cornelius announced loudly.

As usual, the senators from the Army Corps faction all opposed it, as did the Lucanian faction senators. Most of the powerful senators also disagreed. Those who supported Polyxides were mostly senators who had not been given important roles, predominantly from the Thurii faction. But among those in favor, Davos saw Bourkos, Petalus, and even Eanilus, the naval commander of Daonia…

Davos narrowed his eyes, a cold glint briefly flashing through the slits.

Emerging from the Senate building, the sky was already dark. On a spring night, the weather was still cool, but the chiton Polyxides wore was practically soaked through—it was cold sweat from the fright of challenging Davos.

Although his motion had been rejected again, Polyxides now felt confident because he saw that the number of his supporters was increasing.

Davos was nothing special. Next time… he thought excitedly, and his steps became firmer, and he spoke louder when talking with the senators walking alongside him.

“I don’t know why, but this cowardly fellow is getting more and more arrogant!” Mariji stood on the steps outside the Senate, indignantly watching Polyxides in the distance, laughing and chatting. Then he said to Davos with some worry, “Sir, we can’t let him keep acting so insolently!”