Before AD [Babylonian Favorites]

What does he mean?

I was suddenly slightly startled.

According to legend, Alexander's first wife, Roxana, was the daughter of a tribal leader in Asia. Could it be the Scythians here?I smiled wryly and sighed in my heart, history is indeed irreversible.

"General, you can't bring horses in! Horses can't enter the tent!" The guard's shout brought me back to reality.

Melanie took a step forward to block the door curtain, but just as he put his hand on the sword, Ptolemy kicked it away.

"Nonsense! I've never heard of such a rule! Who are you lying to?"

Melanie staggered and rushed over to grab the rein: "General! Your Majesty is resting, you can't go in like this!"

Ptolemy was stunned, and then straightened his chest forward again. Melanie hesitated, but this time he actually raised his sword and crossed it in front of him.

"General, don't force me."

Melanie's dark green eyes were extremely determined.

Ptolemy looked back at the group of people behind Kassander, and couldn't believe it: "Don't be kidding, he would rather see these people than take one last look at Amin?"

Melanie's lips were tightly closed, and she still didn't move.

Kassander's eccentric voice sounded from behind: "... Poor old man, it's a waste of effort, so many people die every day, Alexander can't care much..."

Snapped!

Kassander stood there stupidly, and after a while, the left half of his cheek slowly turned red.

"I believe him, he is not you, Kassander, don't put such dirty thoughts on him." Ptolemy withdrew his hand, turned around while supporting the dead body on horseback, a trace of sadness flashed in his blue eyes, "But Anyway, Melanie, tell him I'm disappointed. If he remembers that Amyntas who deified him at all times... Alexander, Alexander..."

His back looks very gloomy, one man and one horse walking alone in the wind, gradually blending into the night.

Kassander seemed to have never recovered, he touched his cheek thoughtfully, felt something again, and wiped the corner of his mouth.He didn't laugh until he saw the blood on his hands.

I took this opportunity to pull Melanie aside: "What's wrong, Your Majesty?"

Melanie frowned.

"Has he passed out again? There must be a ghost for you to stop Ptolemy from seeing him like that!"

Melanie became impatient and covered my mouth: "Don't be so loud, Your Majesty has hardly had a rest for three days. After all..."

"Melanie, is there someone outside? Did I hear it wrong, it seems to be Bagoss' voice."

Suddenly, Alexander's bright voice came from the tent.

"The envoy of Scythia asks to see you."

Kassander rushed forward.

"What?" The voice in the camp was quite surprised.

"I mean, Your Majesty," Kassander raised his voice slightly, "Scythia sent an envoy to see him."

There was silence in the tent for a while.

"Understood." Alexander paused, then suddenly said, "Bagoss, are you... are you outside?"

"Your Majesty," I said.

"Your Majesty Alexander, the envoys of Scythia are still waiting..."

"Bagos, do you have something to report to me?" Alexander asked impatiently.

"...Yes." I lowered my head.

"Let him in first."

Alexander's uncharacteristic behavior only added to my worries.With Kassander's skeptical gaze, I stepped in, only to find the long table empty.

"here."

Alexander's voice came from a corner on one side.

I went around the round table and saw him sitting alone in the dark against the column.

"His Majesty."

"Zeus bless, I'm really glad you're here." He whispered, "The armor can't be worn anymore, you take it off for me, I feel... as if I touched a wound."

I walked behind him in response, helped him carefully untie the armor, slowly lifted it up, and suddenly my heart was stabbed.Blood flowed along the white Greek robe inside to the corner of the back, and the wound burst open.

"Your Majesty, does it hurt?" I looked at the blood that was still dripping and my hands trembled a little, so I said in a steady tone, "I'll help you bandage."

He suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Thank you. I'm sorry, I promise, this is the last time to trouble you, Bagoas, the last time... Thank you."

I felt so uncomfortable, I unbuttoned his clothes silently, wiped the wound carefully, and bandaged the wound.Melanie came in and handed me a clean white robe.I helped Alexander put it on and fastened the belt.

He suddenly handed me the golden crown in the shape of an olive branch.

I stretched out my hand to pick it up naturally, but suddenly retracted: "No, this one won't work."

"Ah, this," Alexander seemed to have regained his senses, picked it up and looked at it for a while.

"Hephaistion..."

He slowly stroked the crown, and suddenly showed a sad expression.

"If you don't stop me, I will almost forget it, Bagoss, I will really forget it."

He threw the crown to the ground.

"His Majesty!"

"What's the matter? My Hephaes... I have talked to him so many times, but every sentence has become blurred in my mind."

Suddenly, I saw crystal tears falling into the air.

"I'm so scared, you don't know how scared I am to lose him. But I'm going to lose him, or I never really had him. Bagoas, I'm a bastard in his mind. But I don't know what to do..."

He wept uncontrollably.

"Without Hephaistion, how could Alexander still be Alexander?"

I bent down, picked up the crown, and wiped it clean.

"Your Majesty, what is standing in front of you?"

"Fear and loneliness."

"What is the price of realizing your dreams?"

"Learn to hurt others."

"Your Majesty," I smiled at him, "then how do you know that those people will leave you after being hurt by you?"

Alexander raised his head to look at me, blue pupils of bewildered blue like pure jewels.

I held the crown in front of him: "He loves you, he only hopes for your good, and he will only try his best to help you, even if he stabs himself."

Eyes almost filled with tears.

I didn't dare to blink, for fear that he would see the clue.

he loves you.

……

Me too.

He takes the crown.

"They hate me, but I can't stop." Alexander lowered his head slightly, "As you said, Amyntas... many people died because of me, but once I stop the journey, their deaths will no longer be meaningful .”

I rubbed my eyes.

"That's right, but what those people hate is your greatness. Your Majesty, you should understand that even a god cannot guarantee that everyone will love him."

He hesitated no more, and crowned himself.

"Is it correct?"

I nodded.

Alexander stood up: "Then you won't leave me again, Bagoss?"

I did not speak.

He turned around: "I don't understand, Bagoas, since you love..."

"No, Your Majesty, on the contrary, I hate you," I looked up suddenly, "I hate your greatness."

You are so great that I don't even have a place to stay.Until today, when I saw you crying for the person who was as good as you, I felt that I was not cowardly, but that I didn't feel hope at all.

When I came out, I recalled Alexander's last expression, almost suffocating with pain.His momentary astonishment, and at the same time his eyes that suddenly turned cold hit my heart like a whip.I just escaped in a hurry, and saw Hephaestion standing in front of the door. He seemed to have just returned from the battlefield, but his handsome face was not tired.

Melanie stopped him as usual, and he said, "I have the battle report."

"Let's talk outside." Alexander's faint voice sounded.

Hephaistion's eyes dimmed, but he still said: "The enemy soldiers in the seventh city surrendered without a fight, and they just handed over the letter of surrender."

Alexander hummed: "You go first, I will respond to this matter tomorrow."

Reluctantly, Hephaestion turned around and took two steps, then turned his head and raised his voice: "Alexander?"

"what?"

"are you OK?"

"Ah."

"Remember I'm by your side."

"……Um."

Hephaistion didn't miss it anymore, but turned his head and gestured to me to follow.

The two of us walked slowly on the path under the moonlight, one in front of the other, and there was no one else on the road, but he kept silent until he brought me to his tent.The tent was very tidy, he took off his armor like no one else was there, his long brown hair let loose, and he was extremely beautiful.Then he turned his head to me, his chin resting on his hands, his large eyes calm and gentle.

"Tell me the truth, is Alexander hurt today?"

I watched him shake his head.

"You can't lie to me." Hephaestion looked at me, but fell into deep thought, "He's like this when he's injured, he refuses to see people, he refuses to see a medical officer, no matter how serious the injury is, he will say he's fine."

I bow my head.

Since he knows everything, what does he want me to do?

He knocked on the table gracefully: "Tell me, how bad is he hurt?"

I don't know where the courage came from, so I suddenly asked: "Why don't you ask His Majesty yourself?"

Hephaestion moved his finger away.

"Why, you don't want to tell me?"

"I will not say a word about this matter without His Majesty's permission."

"That's it..." Hephaistion pondered for a while, and suddenly said, "Bagos, what do you like? Gold and silver? Jewelry? Slaves? I'll give you the same. In exchange, you tell me about Alexander's illness. Look at this how?"

My heart suddenly moved.

"Anything is fine?"

A weary smile appeared in Hephaestion's eyes: "As long as you like, as long as I can afford it - of course, Alexander is going out."

"Let me think about it." I scanned the entire tent pretending to be scrutinized, and finally my eyes fell on his intertwined hands.

I stared back at him nervously, my heart began to pound wildly.

"I want your ring."