"Okay, isn't it time to drink happily? I brought out Sissi's favorite first-class wine from a winery in the hills north of Byzantium City, okay?"
Chapter 7 of the 9th tune: A toast to friendship
"Wow, isn't this His Majesty's favorite wine? If His Majesty knew that we drank it secretly, he would definitely be sad."
Alcibiades said this.
However, he had already picked up the jar of wine skillfully and opened the seal.
Tomyris was a little confused.
Originally, there were so many things going on today that Tomyris was a little dizzy. As a result, before she could sort out these problems, she found herself sitting in front of the campfire, eating bread and drinking soup, and drinking Hilde's collection of fine wine.
and.
Now, Sophia is here too.
This is the person Hilde trusts the most, no doubt about it.
Now he was sitting here with himself, drinking Hilde's wine secretly.
It might seem a bit funny.
Tomyris looked at Sophia in the firelight and couldn't help but become fascinated.
In Tomyris's mind, Sophia was just a small vase beside Hilde. Moreover, calling her a vase was fair to Sophia, because of Hilde's goddess-like appearance and the oppression of the monarch. Sophia's image was very close to her previous identity, a slave. Everyone's eyes would focus on Hilde, but no one would pay attention to Sophia.
However, after a long time of contact, Tomyris finally understood why Sophia was by Hilde's side instead of others. The maid who grew up with Hilde was not only Sophia, but also came from other places. But Sophia was able to accompany Hilde from Athens to Byzantium, relying on her gentle and strong heart that could warm many people.
She was indeed protected by Hilde.
But she is gentle and tolerant.
He was also the one who prevented Hilde from going to extremes.
Anyone who has great power will inevitably be affected by various temptations. For example, the King of Thrace is such a person... But Hilde was able to firmly plant the belief of protection in her heart, precisely because of Sophia's existence, telling Hilde that there are people in this world who are worth protecting, and you need to do everything you can to protect this person.
And later.
Hilde was in charge of all matters related to the logistics of the troops.
All were given to Sophia.
Sophia ensured that the soldiers were well fed and clothed, and was deeply loved.
It is also part of her personality charm.
As if she noticed Tomyris's gaze, Sophia, who was holding the cup, couldn't help but look at Tomyris.
"what happened?"
"Ah, no, nothing..."
Tomyris immediately shifted her gaze.
However, Sophia saw all of this.
"Today, we are not related in any other way. We are all just friends. You are usually very reserved in front of Sissi, which is normal. After all, Sissi is the queen and she must be polite. However, I have always regarded you two as friends. Although I don't have much ability and may make you dislike me, this is what I think."
"That is absolutely unacceptable."
Alcibiades immediately smiled and said:
"You are not incompetent. You are very capable."
"That's not the case. Although Alcibiades is not an oracle, he knows a lot of knowledge and is Mr. Socrates' favorite student. He is trusted by Sissi in governing the country and the army. And Lady Wolf Princess Tomyris is even more so. She is an oracle trusted by Lady Artemis and a princess of the noble Scythians... She is really admirable."
"You are serious."
Sophia praised me so much.
Tomyris was also a little at a loss.
At this time, Alcibiades had already poured the wine, and Sophia personally brought the wine to Tomyris and raised the glass with a smile.
"Let us first toast to our friends."
“A toast to a friend!”
Alcibiades also raised his glass in joy.
As for Tomyris, she could only imitate the other two's actions, put on a calm look, and raised her glass.
"For friendship."
"For the sake of friendship..."
After the toast, the three of them brought their glasses in front of them and took two sips.
After Alcibiades finished drinking, his eyes suddenly widened a lot. He looked at the wine glass with great surprise and said to Sophia and Tomyris in a hurry: "Good wine, this is really good wine! Alas, His Majesty Hilde is too much. He actually hid such good wine for himself. No wonder Hill Winery is a royal winery. The quality of this wine is really too good."
"Château des Hauts is a royal winery because it was built by Sissi herself."
Sophia also explained with a smile:
"You probably hadn't come yet at that time. When Byzantium hadn't resolved the threat from the Thracians, Sissi had already found a good piece of land in the northern hills to grow grapes, saying she wanted to make wine. Later, after the winemaking and distilling industries emerged, the wine from this hill winery was only supplied to the royal palace."
"I see. Your Majesty is truly far-sighted."
Alcibiades also hurried to praise him.
But for Tomylis.
She couldn't tell whether the wine was good or bad.
Indeed, this wine was more fragrant than any she had tasted before, but Tomyris had to question whether it was as mysterious as Alcibiades said.
Moreover, compared to fine wine.
Tomyris was more concerned about Sophia's situation.
"that……"
Tomyris asked cautiously:
"Why did you come here today to drink with us?"
"Because it's fun?"
"Fun?"
"Yes, many people couldn't sleep tonight, including me." Sophia took a sip of wine and looked at Tomyris with a smile. "Tomorrow is the time to attack Athens. I thought about a lot of things and couldn't sleep, so I decided to go out for a walk and breathe some fresh air. When I came out, I saw Alcibiades walking towards the wine warehouse."
"Then Her Royal Highness the Princess stopped me."
Alcibiades scratched his head sheepishly.
“I thought I was going to be criticized.”
"No way."
Sophia smiled and waved.
"Drinking is a happy thing. I know you and Alcibiades are still awake, so I thought I'd come over and chat with you two. Maybe if you have any troubles, I can help you solve them."
"Well... you are really gentle."
Tomyris sighed from the bottom of her heart:
"If I were a man, I would definitely make you my lifelong goal."
"Then I'll have to ask Sissi if she agrees."
Chapter 8 of the 9th chapter: Unconditional supporter
"Ha! I guarantee that any man who dares to have any thoughts about Her Royal Highness will surely die!"
Alcibiades slapped his thigh and laughed.
Sophia held her chin and responded with a smile:
“It’s true.”
"Ah? There really are people like this?"
"Finally, it disappeared."
"Then I guess it's gone."
Alcibiades and Tomyris looked at each other.
This kind of thing is easy to understand once you think about it.
How could Hilde allow such a person to appear next to her beloved Sophia, except Xerxes?
However, the two's joking conversation style also made Tomyris's nervous heart relax a little. Tomyris was very nervous just now, but now, her inner pressure has been dispelled a lot with this relaxed conversation. So, Tomyris raised her head and asked Sophia curiously:
"Um, Your Highness the Princess."
"Just call me Sophia."
"Well...Sophia, what do you think about attacking Athens?"
Hearing Tomyris's question, Sophia was stunned for a moment, then she smiled and answered:
"I think you may have misunderstood something."
"what?"
“I am not from Athens.”
Sophia pointed to her red hair.
"My red hair means I can't be Greek. I'm a Carthaginian. Maybe you don't know where Carthage is... Carthage, you have to go south from here, cross the boundless ocean, and come to another continent. On that continent, Egyptians and Libyans live there, and in a place called Africa, there is a powerful city-state called Carthage. They were founded by the Phoenicians, and I was born there. My parents are also from there."
"so far."
Tomyris was a little surprised.
This was beyond the world she knew.
Of course, it’s not Tomyris’ fault for making a fuss.
For a Scythian, it was not difficult to know the Phoenicians, but it was still very difficult to know where Carthage was and what was happening in Africa. However, she could guess that Carthage was a very far away place, so far away that Sophia did not seem to miss it or want to go back.
"Then why did you... come to Athens?"
"When I was very young, my parents owed a debt, and we were turned into slaves by the Carthaginian nobles. My father worked in the mines, and my mother worked as a maid in the homes of Carthaginian nobles. As for me, I was very young and useless at the time, so I was sold by the nobles. By chance, a slave trader from Athens bought me and brought me to Athens. And by chance, I was selected to live in Pericles' palace along with several other young female slaves."
"Um……"
Talking about his life as a slave.
Sophia didn't feel sad at all.
Tomyris, on the other hand, always felt like she was exposing someone else's scars.
"and then?"
"In Lord Pericles' mansion, my duty and that of the other girls was to take good care of the little princess in the mansion, Sissi. However, when Sissi was a child, she always had all kinds of strange ideas. The other children thought that Sissi would always bully them, so they avoided her. I thought Sissi just had more lively ideas, and I liked to see her bullying Lord Pericles, so I always stayed with her until today."
Sophia thought about the past.
Couldn't help laughing.
“That was a really happy time.”
"But, doesn't Sissi suck blood?"
"That thing... I didn't know about it at first. Of course, one day, I found out that Sissi was not an ordinary person, but I thought it was good this way. I was the person Sissi trusted the most, and I couldn't betray her. If I betrayed her and told her secret to others, what would happen to Sissi? I volunteered to be Sissi's food. In fact, the feeling of being completely needed by Sissi was when I was happiest."
"what……"
This feeling.
Tomyris and Alcibiades were less able to empathize.
After all, this is a more complicated feeling.
But Tomyris continued to ask: "So, you don't have any feelings about the attack on Athens?"
"Thoughts? Well... I just feel that I will unconditionally support Sissi in whatever she wants to do, even if she wants to attack Carthage. This is also good, maybe I can save my parents, but they are probably dead now." Sophia stretched out her hand and adjusted her red curly hair. "To me, Sissi is my world, my everything. Compared with other things, I care more about whether she is by my side. Of course, now I also care about other things, such as Dioni, and everyone..."
"very nice."
