Pherenike - Chapter 50

In addition to the duty of presiding over the ritual, Actor also entrusted Deucalion with the significant task of refurbishing the tomb of the founding king. Besides these duties, there were several banquets and enjoyable games.

For the people of Lykke, these events were the only opportunities to see the ‘famous’ Lord Paetusa up close. Although one could glimpse him while idly wandering near the tomb, they risked being caught by the guards of Paetusa.

The arrangement was the same at banquets and games, be it chariot racing, running, or fighting. When the king took the highest seat, the queen sat to his right, and Lord Paetusa, his brother, sat a little lower on the left.

While these arrangements were not immediately treated as spectacles, they became topics of lively gossip once outside the banquet or game venues. Stories spread far and wide, even without a plot.

The woman who held both noble sons of Pelagon in her hands, only to choose one and become the queen.

It became a source of endless stories for the people. They could even make crude jokes about the child she was carrying. Such was the atmosphere in southeastern Lykke.

This region had been thriving since long before the founding of Evdokia by Pelagon, a place initially cultivated by the Thasos family on barren land. Notable families from the southeast of Lykke, other than the Thasos’, had settled there with the grace of the Thasos. They were people who knew how to show gratitude even after a long time.

Even though Thasos kept people’s mouths and doors tightly closed, they all eagerly and skillfully broke down Pherenike like singing beautiful songs. As if the words that brought the queen down seemed to be the ones that exalted the Thasos family.

In truth, most Evdokians who feared the goddess dared not speak of the queen in such a manner.

The child in her womb was the child of prophecy, and the queen was a Kybellaune specially cherished by the goddess. No matter what the queen had done in Geotil or whether the only man in her bedchamber was truly the king, joining in such baseless speculations would bring no blessings.

The rumors originated from the southeast, where people harbored a deep-seated hatred for the queen. Why would they engage in actions that would only bring retribution when they didn’t even share the same level of hatred for her?

Therefore, they chose to focus on the sentiments of the king’s sons instead. Rather than the untouchable noble sanctuary woman, who they dare not touch. They seemed distant and extremely noble, but they seemed more human.

This was typical of enjoyable gossip: the wife’s former lover, the former lover’s husband, half-brothers separated by their biased father’s lopsided decisions.

The queen grew more beautiful by the day, and her stomach grew with child, leaving no doubt about which of the two men was in a more miserable position. Lord Paetusa had lost his lover to his half-brother and remained unmarried.

Despite the longing of the past few years, could the king truly not find a single trace of affection in the queen’s heart? Between the man who once had her heart and the one who now shared her bed, who was more tormented? Now, who would harbor more hatred? Or perhaps, who was the more twisted inside?

“…And so? Still entertaining such fanciful thoughts,” Dexikos, who had stayed behind while Lord Paetusa’s procession left, clicked his tongue lightly in response to the careless chatter of the bystanders.

The street remained noisy. The royal couple had come out to the palace balcony to bid farewell to the King’s brother. He had promised to lead the Paetusa army in a winter campaign.

While Deucalion at the front had already left through Lykke’s city gates, his army was still in the process of leaving, though not much remained.

Public attention shifted from the departed brother of the king, back to the remaining queen. Recently, Pherenike’s popularity had soared, attracting large crowds near the palace, eager to catch a glimpse of her even from a distance.

Dexikos searched for his vanished colleague among the multitude, his face weary and troubled.

“Pherenike Kybellaune!”

“Her Majesty the Queen!”

“Blessed Pherenike Kybellaune under the ash tree! Please look upon this place, upon my child!”

“Daughter of Kybellar! Please descend in your noble grace just once, and care for this old, sick person!”

People were calling out her sacred name from all directions. Naturally, there were more pleas for blessings from her than blessings for the child-bearing woman.

Some people view those close to the gods as gods themselves.

In Dexikos’s view, the glory was always ambiguous, whether it was good or bad. People did not see her as an ordinary human.

From childhood, Pherenike appeared to Dexikos as merely another human with remarkable talent. Her stubbornness is greater than her skill. A perfect human being with possessiveness for what was hers.

Honestly, she didn’t seem particularly holy. She did perform many miracles. Her personality was difficult. She didn’t seem to have innate talents. Sometimes, she even appeared mad.