Augustus Road

"No, stop talking!" Demetrius cried with a sad face, crawled to Adiana's feet, and kissed the princess's feet, "That's a joke, you must be Her Royal Highness the Queen of a small reading kingdom."

Adiana struck while the iron was hot and went straight to the point. She politely asked Pompey: "Honorable, the new king of kings in Asia Minor, in fact, I have been staying in the palace for such a long time just to ask you, do you think of the rice?" Where are Nande and Stratonis placed?"

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty the Princess, but today I have shown you the side of a certain slave who has neglected his duties. His threats are all baseless lies. I can tell you responsibly now that I will allow Menander and St. Latonis's marriage, and they will be the king and queen of Ponticabion. No matter what doubts you have about his or her identity, this is a fait accompli after all. As for you, my princess. ." Pompey kicked Demetrius aside and continued with a serious expression, "I still think it is more appropriate to marry you to Charnus."

Adiana had already responded to these words beforehand, "But because this King Godini participated in the rebellious war of Little Tegre, he has been captured by the general and ordered to live in seclusion. I will not marry a king whose reputation has been tarnished." past."

"What about marrying the princess to your brother-in-law, Tegranis, the King of Kings?"

"I don't mind serving a man with my sister, but I will definitely instigate Tegranis to become an enemy of Rome at the right time." Adiana's eyes suddenly became serious, "General Pompey, I am not willing to accept it. It’s your unilateral instruction, how about we make a deal?”

"Oh, tell me." Pompeo was also slightly interested.

"Give me a small kingdom. As long as you give me the power of a vassal state of Rome, I will govern the kingdom in an orderly manner and ensure the tribute to the city of Rome - and, most importantly, when you need it in the future. , my kingdom will provide you with money and troops for free, above."

After hearing what the princess said, Pompeo smiled with a noncommittal expression, "Under the current circumstances, I really can't trust you too much. My lord, the princess, you have to provide proof of your sincerity."

"What is proof of intention?" Adiana looked serious.

In a tentative mood, Pompeo said, "We have a well-known dish in Rome called pickled fish blood, which is to pickle the fish's internal organs with salt, expose them to the sun for three months, and then store them in jars. Now, princess, you If you can give me your mother's little crown for "storage", I will promise you to become the queen of a small kingdom.

Sure enough, Adiana turned white, looked at Pompey and Demetrius, and then at Pidoetta on the side, and finally said: "Since he is not even afraid of death, why should I be afraid of these vain things?" Honor is so silent? We often say to the God of Beauty, if you know how to love, love the sun. If you don't know what love is, love the sun too." After saying this, the princess took up her courage and pushed Biduita away. With dissuading hands, he took off the girdle and the astonishingly beautiful little crown...

A few days later, at dusk, the princess's carriage came out of Pompeii's palace. Adiana was lying on the cushion on it, her face hidden behind the veil was radiant, and the group of people were waiting to go to the city's breakwater. As they walked, under the palm trees planted on the embankment, with the sound of waves, Calabis, still covered in his black and white coat, was waiting for the princess.

"How's it going?"

"Your Excellency, the princess, mortgaged the small crown to Pompey in exchange for the throne." Biduita replied.

When the sedan chair approached, Adiana said to Calabis: "Pompey must have wanted to use the small crown as the highlight of the triumphal ceremony, but I am now the queen of Eubotia, and Calabis Ear clay pot, we are halfway there.”

"But you have lost your crown," said Calabis.

"What else do I have to lose? In the past, I valued these things so much and thought they were the symbols of the princess, the crown, the embroidered gold robe, the scepter of the goddess of victory, and the New Model Army. But now I understand, can Re-rising from the ruins of his father's empire, this kind of glorious achievement is the true heart of a king." When Adiana said this, she gently pressed her hand on her chest, "Besides, as compensation, Pompeo also gave me a reward. Give me two hundred talents as a gift to pay for my father's funeral and to repair the palace in Eubotia. Calabis, are you willing to continue to follow me? Calabis and Calabia cannot join forces. victorious.”

Calabis put his hands on his hips, smiled and shook his head, "I have my own destiny and responsibility. Although I have laid out the plan now, I must return to Rome in a while. My woman is about to give birth."

"Please don't!" The princess hurriedly stretched out her hand, then calmed down and whispered: "Anyway, you have done everything you should do, and you still have plenty of time. Come with me to Sinop to bury your father. You are my kingdom's Dear guest, let me entertain you well, and I believe we will continue to meet in the future.”

Seeing Calabis still hesitant, Biduita stepped forward and said: "Actually, before committing suicide, His Majesty once asked me that if the princess finds someone he can trust, she will ask him to bury her body with the princess. " Then, Biduita continued in a very mysterious manner, "You know, there is a dream in the Mitra family that will be passed down from generation to generation. Only the heir will be exposed to this dream. Why don't you follow the princess for a while to explore it? After all, this is the fate you are talking about. "

"Maybe, it just so happens that I still have a promise that I haven't fulfilled for Adiana." Karabis agreed.

Two days later, the white sailboat, driven by the gentle and moist north wind, sailed towards the city of Sinop, and the pirate's rowing boat followed behind: the fake body of "Mithridates" was placed in the cabin, and the coffin was filled with ointments, aloe vera, ice and other preservatives. The princess stood at the bow and waved gracefully to Pompey and others who came to see her off. She also saw Demetrius, Stratonice and Menander with sad faces behind Pompey. "The next period of time will be enough for the Jews to make up for it, but there is still something worse to come." Carabis, who was sitting by the wall in the bridge room, thought secretly.

As the coast got farther and farther away, the princess came down from the bow easily, but with some confusion, she sat next to Carapis and asked, "Why do we take these pirates with us?"

"Not only that, you have to apply to Pompey immediately to request that the Kingdom of Euberthia be used as a resettlement place for the Purple Sail Pirates." Carapis took a bite of the masa and asked.

"That's right. Pompey settled all the surrendered or captured Mediterranean pirates on the land of Asia Minor and allocated them land. Now Cilicia, Bithynia and Armenia Minor are all good pirates. The next step is to divert them inland." Adiana then seemed to think of something, "Amphora, do you mean to turn Euberthia into a pirate kingdom?" (To be continued.)