第六卷 双雄会 第一百四十二章 闲话家常

“Mom, I saw Dad! He looked so majestic!” Little Klo ran over to Cheiristoya after hugging his mother Agnes.

“Is that so?” Cheiristoya smiled tenderly at her son. “Then do you want to become an excellent general like your father?”

“Yes!” Little Klo nodded seriously.

“I want to be a brave general like Father too when I grow up!” Adoris chimed in from the side.

Cheiristoya laughed and pulled them both into her arms. “If you want to become generals when you grow up, you need to start now—study hard at school and train hard. Only then can you become generals one day, understand?”

“I will,” Adoris said immediately.

“I will too!” Little Klo copied his older brother.

“Did your father come back to camp after his victory?” Cheiristoya asked with concern.

“No, Father went north with the fleet. Brother Henipolis said Father led the army to take the chance to drive back the invading Tarentines...” Cynthia answered.

Hearing this, Cheiristoya grew a bit worried again.

“Don’t worry, Cheiristoya. His Majesty will surely return victorious!” Andria quickly comforted her.

“Yes, my lady,” Asuna added. “Hades is protecting His Majesty now, and His Majesty has never lost a battle!”

Cheiristoya hugged the two children and gave a faint smile. “If we can drive back the Tarentines, Thurii will finally be completely safe.”

“Indeed, His Majesty fights hard battles one after another without even coming home, all for the safety of the alliance’s people. If the gods don’t protect him, who else would they protect!” Andria praised Davos effusively, then remembered something and called back, “Eumathesius, don’t just squat there. Come over and meet Cheiristoya’s children. Haven’t you been saying you have no one to play with?”

Andria called a few times. From the garden came an “Oh,” and a child stood up from among the flowers and plants, his face showing a bit of awkwardness and shyness.

Little Klo saw him, immediately broke free from his mother’s arms, ran over quickly, and looked up at him. “Big brother, what were you looking at just now?”

“...Ants,” Eumathesius said hesitantly.

“What’s fun about watching ants? Let’s go find Henipolis and play ball!” Adoris came over and said.

Eumathesius was a bit uncertain. Little Klo stepped forward, took his hand, and urged, “Big brother, let’s go play together.”

Eumathesius nodded involuntarily.

The children bounced and hopped to the front yard.

“I’ll go watch too,” Cynthia said, following them out.

“Cynthia really acts like a big sister now!” Andria watched Cynthia’s retreating back, her eyes gleaming.

“They’re all growing up, and we’re getting old!” Cheiristoya sighed emotionally, then asked with concern, “Andria, Eumathesius is already this big. Why is he still like he was when he was little?”

“Ah!” Andria sighed, worry creeping onto her face. “You know, that man was no good to me and the child. He used to beat and scold him. Eumathesius was frightened from a young age, and he’s always been timid... Bacule treats Eumathesius well enough, but... Lucanians all like brave children. Eumathesius’s nature... he doesn’t get along very well with Bacule, and in Grumentum... Eumathesius doesn’t like to go out, so... he has no friends there...”

“Your younger son should be almost three now, right? Why didn’t you bring him along today?” Cheiristoya changed the subject.

“His grandfather hasn’t seen him for two years. He came back yesterday and has been with him the whole time, unwilling to let him go out,” Andria said helplessly.

“It seems the two children in your household receive very different care...” Cheiristoya said meaningfully.

“Alas!” Andria sighed again, her face full of sorrow. One was a stepson with an unappealing personality; the other was her own child. It was obvious whom Bacule’s family preferred. But in Andria’s heart, she loved her eldest son more. After all, during her hardest times, this child had stayed with her and been her spiritual pillar. She knew all too well how sensitive Eumathesius was inside. The estrangement of his new family only made him more withdrawn. Yet as a mother, she could find no good way to solve it.

“Don’t worry,” Cheiristoya gently comforted her friend. She looked at the open back gate and said, “I think Little Klo really likes Eumathesius, and Eumathesius is willing to play with him.”

“Yes, I’m also surprised. This child usually doesn’t easily agree to others’ requests. Even though Little Klo is young, he has a charm that makes people want to get close to him!” Andria said, half flattering and half delighted.

“I have a suggestion,” Cheiristoya said seriously. “Why not let Eumathesius stay at my house? I have many children here, and they’re all around the same age. They can go to school together, play together. Then Eumathesius won’t feel lonely, and his personality will become livelier... What do you think?”

Andria’s heart stirred at Cheiristoya’s words. This was the new King of Daonia’s mansion! Who else in the entire alliance could have such an honor!

But as a mother, she instinctively refused. “My lady, thank you for caring about Eumathesius, but that would be too—”

Before she could finish, loud cries came from the carriage beside Cheiristoya. “Waah! Waah! Waah!...”

“See, even little Eunice agrees that Eumathesius should stay,” Cheiristoya said with a laugh.

...

The children ran to the front yard but couldn’t find Henipolis anywhere. Finally, Aristelas told them, “His Majesty Davos called him to the camp. He said he had something important to tell him.”

As the children were disappointed, Cynthia asked, “Has my father returned?”

“Yes. His Majesty led the army to annihilate the Tarentine invading force and has already returned to camp!” Cynthia saw that even the normally stern Aristelas seemed excited.

The children started shouting excitedly, “Victory! Father won again!...” They scrambled to run back, eager to tell Cheiristoya and the others the good news.

By the time Davos returned to camp, it was dusk.

Two consecutive great victories had set the whole city of Thurii cheering. Especially when the people saw thousands of Tarentine soldiers and Syracusan sailors, stripped naked and bound in strings like pigs and sheep, being marched separately to Thurii’s copper and stone quarries—the line stretched for several miles. The citizens stood on both sides of the road, cursing loudly and throwing stones. The gloom of war that had hung over the city was largely lifted.

Many people even lit bonfires in Victory Square, dancing and singing around the miraculously revived Thurii Fountain, thanking Hades for his protection and shouting, “Hail King Davos! Hail!”

When the patrol inquired of Thurii’s Chief Magistrate Kynogoratas whether they should disperse the crowd to avoid disturbing the city’s order and people’s sleep, the normally strict Kynogoratas laughed tolerantly and said, “Let them dance and revel. Thurii hasn’t been this happy in a long time. But you must maintain order.”

“Yes!” the Patrol Captain left excitedly.

Compared to the citizens’ all-night revelry, most of the soldiers who had just returned to camp were exhausted from the hard battles. They collapsed into their tents and fell asleep immediately.

Davos was also tired, but he had important matters to handle and had to force himself to stay awake.

By the time Martius entered the tent, Davos had already fallen asleep at his desk.

Martius saw that he was sleeping soundly. Knowing how hard the day’s fighting had been, he couldn’t bring himself to wake him. He hesitated inside the tent for a long time before finally stepping forward again. After all, it was so late, and Davos had still summoned Henipolis. It must be something important! As Davos’s guard captain, it was his duty to relay messages. He couldn’t delay important matters!

“Your Majesty... Your Majesty...”

Davos opened his eyes groggily.

“Your Majesty, Henipolis has arrived,” Martius said softly.

“Henipolis? ...Oh, right.” Davos came to his senses and quickly asked, “How long has he been here?”

“He just arrived.”

“That’s good.” Davos rubbed his numb face vigorously and said, “Let him in.”

“Yes.” Martius turned to leave, but Davos called him back. “Why are you on duty?”

“I sent the others to sleep first.”

“Ridiculous! You’ve only just recovered, and your body isn’t fully healed yet. How can you be so careless with your health? Go get some rest immediately and have another soldier take over. Otherwise, tomorrow you don’t need to follow me—go home and recuperate properly!”

Davos’s outburst left Martius with no room to argue. He obediently left the tent.

As soon as Henipolis entered the tent, he excitedly expressed his feelings: “Davos the Great... Your Majesty, congratulations on winning the naval battle and annihilating the Tarentine army! It’s incredible! To achieve such a brilliant victory in a single day—I really should have refused your order to return early and report to Lady Cheiristoya about your situation and why you couldn’t come home. I should have stayed by your side so I could witness the entire battle...”

“I can tell you the whole battle process in detail,” Davos interrupted.