"I, Ares, swear here!"
"I must get to the bottom of this matter!"
"...Okay, since you've made up your mind, I have nothing to say." Hera was not indignant or disappointed with her son's decision. Rather, it was reasonable for Ares, one of the main gods, to make such a choice after knowing the ins and outs of many things. "However, you should not make these things public. There are many things that other gods don't know, but once they know, the gods' world will fall into chaos, and Lord Zeus will definitely come forward in person. You can investigate secretly, but you must pay attention to your own safety."
"Understood!"
Hera's instructions.
On the one hand, it can be regarded as agreeing to Ares' request.
So Ares said to his mother: "Mother, you must protect yourself too."
"...Okay, I know."
Since Zeus would do such a crazy thing, no one can predict what Hera's fate will be. Even the goddess of fate, in this chaotic world, probably can't figure out the trajectory of the world.
But for Athens, the prophecy made by the Athenian priests at that time was fulfilled in another form.
Hilde was destined to be the one who destroyed Athens—
And naturally, now he led the Byzantine army to attack Athens, and then made Athens a part of the empire, and announced himself as His Majesty Basilius in Athens. This kind of thing can be said to be a huge shock to Athens, which has always been honored by democracy and freedom. The arrival of Hilde completely disintegrated the order of the Athenian city-state for hundreds of years, and shattered the Athenian democratic system established from Solon, Cleisthenes to Pericles.
At the same time, Hilde crushed the nobles of the Mountain and Plain factions, breaking the three-way balance of power in Athens and allowing the Coast faction to dominate. The Athenians of the Coast faction, who had gained enough benefits, immediately showed their courtesy to Hilde. They sang praises to her and even wanted to say that Hilde was Athena herself. The reopened Athenian theater also staged a play promoting Hilde's heroic deeds.
Just like today.
A play specially written by Euripides and performed in the Athenian theater.
He was a famous Athenian tragedy writer, and he was also a very critical person. He actually had some doubts about the democratic system of Athens, and he also wrote some plays to criticize the shortcomings of Athenian politics and society. In particular, he could not stand Athens' internal exploitation, external aggression, and the low status of Athenian women. After Hilde came, these problems were almost solved. Although Hilde's advocacy of Greater Hellenism did not conform to Euripides' ideas, Hilde's care for the status of women won his favor.
And in order to show my diligence.
Naturally, there were Athenians from the Coast School who invited Euripides to write a play.
The purpose is of course to honor Hilde.
Perhaps because he was afraid of Hilde's authority, or perhaps because he approved of Hilde's style of government, Euripides, who had always been relatively independent, actually wrote a play and found the most outstanding actors in Athens to perform. With this series of efforts, a play called "Hilde in Byzantium" was staged.
The second tune, the tenth section, returns to the past
The content of this play is also simple.
It tells the story of Hilde's arrival in Byzantium.
At the beginning of the story, Pericles was deceived by a traitor and exiled Hilde, the heir of Athena, to Byzantium. The lord of the city at that time, Patrofilus, welcomed Hilde with false affection. On the surface, he showed respect, but he had evil thoughts about Hilde's beauty. The dire situation in Byzantium made Hilde's sense of justice unable to sit idly by. Finally, at the cocktail party, Hilde exposed Patrofilus's conspiracy, and then killed the archon and his lackeys in front of all the nobles of Byzantium.
This is basically a very ordinary heroic script.
However, the effect is very good.
And these things are indeed true stories, but they are not as thrilling as portrayed in dramas.
Hilde stood at the end of the stands. She didn't want her presence to affect other Athenians. In her sight, the actors were performing hard. The actress who played Hilde still couldn't show her charm, but after all, she was a famous actress in Athens, so the audience was quite satisfied. The theater was now full, and all the audience stared at the stage closely, afraid of missing any details.
"How is it?"
Xerxes stood beside Hilde.
He smiled and asked:
"This is the true love of the Athenians."
"Using drama to enhance my prestige? Interesting."
"Are you bored?"
"It's not that I'm bored, but I'm the protagonist of the play, so I feel this situation is a bit strange." Hilde smiled bitterly and shook her head. She cared more about the audience's reaction than the play itself. "But this is also good. After watching it, the audience will have a more positive understanding of my image. In the future, my rule over Athens may last for a long time, who knows."
"Yes."
Xerxes sat at the railing.
She looked at the actor, but couldn't help but think in her mind.
In the future, Hilde's story will definitely become longer and longer.
People will certainly rush to praise Hilde. "Hilde in Byzantium" is only the beginning. She starts as a small city lord and gradually becomes the Greek Basileus and establishes the Greek Empire. In the future, she will defeat the gods, defeat the Persian Empire, and establish a unified empire in the world. At that time, what role will I play in Hilde's story? Will I be the enemy defeated by Hilde, or the beauty conquered by Hilde's charm? Xerxes was so lost in thought that he didn't notice that Hilde had stopped watching the play.
“It’s too exaggerated.”
Hilde couldn't help but smile awkwardly.
"I didn't say that at the time."
“Maybe the audience likes this style.”
"That's too much."
Hilde was still acting like a real person: "Oh! Patrophilus! Your conscience is like the mud on the bottom of the sea. The purest water of the Hellespont cannot cleanse your filthy heart! Do you dare to stand before us and swear by the gods that there is no trace of evil in your eyes when you look at me? Did you put nothing in my wine?"
"Ha ha ha ha."
Xerxes was amused.
She slapped her thigh and couldn't help but complain.
"If you had said it so sourly..."
"Stop it, it's too embarrassing."
Hilde waved her hand, but the sound from the drama again attracted their attention.
At this time, a red-haired woman stood on the stage. She was wearing a proper maid's outfit and was standing beside Hilde. As a slave, she was promoting the greatness and justice of her master. There was no doubt that the prototype of this character was Sophia, the girl who had accompanied Hilde from Athens to today. Hilde looked at the red-haired girl and couldn't help but be a little lost.
Although Hilde did not show much sadness, Xerxes still saw it. Since Sophia was captured, Hilde's absent-minded state often occurred. Although... Hilde did not cry wantonly, did not have hysterics, and did not even affect Hilde's plans and work. Everything went smoothly, as if this incident had not happened at all.
But this time.
Hilde's weak side was still exposed.
"do you know……"
"Ok?"
Hilde's right hand gently stroked the milky white marble railing in front of her.
"When I was a kid and could leave home at will, Sophia and I often came here to watch plays. Actually, women were not allowed to enter the theater at that time, not even me. So, every time, Sophia and I would sneak to the high place at the side and look into the distance, watching the actors perform comedies or tragedies one after another."
As Hilde spoke, she felt her thoughts returning to the past.
That was when I first came into this world.
I have no relatives and everything is unfamiliar to me.
Everything about Greece exists in Hilde's modern books. Apart from that, there is nothing. Even Hilde felt a strong resistance to that strange world at the beginning. Not to mention, Hilde's long silver hair and purple eyes made people think that Hilde was Aspasia's illegitimate child. Everyone talked about it, and Pericles was also prejudiced against Hilde. The most deadly politician in Athens treated his daughter coldly, as if he were an enemy.
So who warmed Hilde?
For her——
It was Sofia and Aspasia.
One is your good friend and lover, the other is your mother.
When I was young, Sophia would agree to whatever crazy ideas I had. The warm and rough feel of marble that came from my palms now was something Hilde had often experienced more than a decade ago. She and Sophia held onto the marble railings and watched the drama in the distance. In fact, they could hardly hear each other from such a long distance, and Hilde didn't think the drama was interesting, but Sophia liked to watch it, so Hilde often found opportunities to secretly come here to watch the drama.
Time flies.
I returned to the theater.
But Sophia was gone.
Xerxes sighed and said helplessly:
"It's okay, Sophia will be back."
"I know."
"Many places in Athens will remind you of things with Sophia. If these things make you uncomfortable, you should leave Athens for the time being. For example, you can go to Delos. I heard that it is quite prosperous there."
"That's all."
The first section of the third chapter is orderly work
Hilde declined politely.
Although she knew that this was Xerxes's good intention.
"There are still many things in Athens that need my attention."
"Sissi, leave it to me."
Xerxes saw that Hilde was a little lost, so she reached out and held Hilde's hand... It was not until this time that Xerxes realized that Hilde's hand was so slender and so cold, and the whole hand was like a fine marble sculpture, and even had no blood color. Feeling that something was wrong, Xerxes said distressedly: "Sissi, I am the emperor of the Persian Empire. I can help you deal with government affairs. You... should go to a place you have never been to and relax."
"Little Xuexue."
Hilde pulled her hand away, then opened her arms and hugged Xerxes.
"Thank you."
"…No, no, why are you thanking me!?"
"You are the Emperor of Persia, and I am the Emperor of Greece. Our status is no longer the same as before. Before, I could still choose to rely on you, depend on you, and get what I want from you. But not now. I am Basileus of Greece, the Emperor of the Greek Empire, and the ruler of all Greeks. I can no longer rely on you like this. After all, I have to work hard to fulfill my promise to you next."
"Sissi!"
Xerxes pushed Hilde away.
Watching Hilde take two steps back, staggering crookedly.
Xerxes felt that his strength was too great again, and hurried forward to support Hilde.
"Sissi, I'm sorry."
"Aren't you going to apologize to me too?"
A stiff, bitter smile appeared on Hilde's face.
"It's okay, I'll just take it easy."
"Sissi..."
Xerxes saw a familiar look on Hilde's face.
Isn't this... my previous self?
When he first ascended the throne, he was greeted by the Persian Empire, which was in trouble both internally and externally. The empire was surrounded by crises, and the nations conquered by the Persians began to stir up trouble at that time. The domestic situation of the Persian Empire was not optimistic either. The nobles controlled the government, and the ministers were full of lies, treating Xerxes like a child. Everyone tried to use lies to maintain their interests, so that they could continue to gain benefits from the chaotic Persian Empire. At that time, wasn't he like this, with no way out?
Lifeless, like a walking corpse.
Handle repetitive government affairs every day.
But my heart feels like it’s dead.
He kept saying that he was fine, but his body was deteriorating day by day.
This kind of Hilde...is not the Hilde that Xerxes wants to see.
Xerxes felt a strong sense of guilt. After all, Hilde was under so much pressure because she had to fulfill her promise to him. After he was devoured by the God of Light, Hilde had to save the entire Persian Empire from him... At the beginning, Hilde agreed to this matter, and this matter almost became the main reason why Hilde conquered Greece and has continued to this day.
But now Hilde has lost the most important person to her... Moreover, Xerxes found that in Hilde's heart, he could not be compared with Sophia at all. Even if he was with Hilde every day, Hilde's empty heart would not be healed by his existence. Xerxes has never felt such a strong sense of loss and powerlessness, but...
Now, Hilde can't leave me.
If I were to back down...
"Let's go back."
Xerxes held out his hand, mustered up his courage, and made an invitation.
"Go back and have a good rest."
"Um……"
Hilde looked at the hand extended to her and took Xerxes' hand as well.
"Let time take care of the rest."
------------
After returning to the temporary palace, Hilde went back to her room to rest.
Xerxes did not intend to disturb Hilde's rest. She just stood in front of the torch at the entrance of the Parthenon, looking at the blazing fire in the torch, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought. She didn't know what she could do for Hilde, but if she just watched like this... Hilde's condition would only get worse.
