Pherenike - Chapter 66

After falling severely ill at the onset of spring, Pherenike gave birth to a child twenty days later.

Though the birth was earlier than expected considering the child could have been born much earlier, it was relatively fortunate.

However, the child was born a princess, not a prince. This was deemed the only misfortune the child was born into, as everyone said.

The oracle of Geotil had long filled many with expectations for an heir. All of Evdokia was focused on the queen’s childbirth.

But what the queen ultimately bore was a daughter, and the child’s premature birth became a kind of weakness.

For instance, people believed the princess was not conceived in Geotil’s holy sanctuary. Therefore, the princess was not ‘premature’ at all.

Kybellar had prepared a child to prosper the kingdom, but the king and queen had prematurely had offspring before that.

Of course, men and women coming together out of desire was not a big deal. After all, most humans became parents through mere need or desire, through good intentions or bad mistakes.

How many throughout history had become parents under a grand mission from God?

Originally, the king and queen were the same. At another time, nothing about the princess would have been a problem. Evdokia loved its princesses and the legends dedicated to them. But this time was different.

The queen was supposed to bear a hero as God had said.

A hero could have been born, but a mere girl took the place in the queen’s womb first, preventing the goddess’s child from being born. A mere girl had stolen the place of the great prince. Some gradually came to believe this.

As if a mere infant in swaddling clothes could topple the kingdom.

Some of the hatred that had once been directed at the queen but then vanished found its way to her daughter. The king, who had previously ignored any harmful gossip as if it didn’t matter, did not ignore this.

“The goddess herself never explicitly stated that ‘the child’ would be a son.”

The ministers bowing respectfully before Actor couldn’t shake off the thought that such things should be known without being said. However, they did not show this in front of the king.

In any case, it was their lord’s precious first child, and regardless of what the world said. The princess was also precious to them.

“The place of the princess was always meant for the princess, and no one else.”

And after those who carelessly spoke against the little princess were tied upside down to chariots and dragged along all the roads of Lykke, the princess became even more revered.

The princess resembled the queen in every aspect. She had platinum hair like the lantern of Selene* and beautiful violet eyes.

The princess’s eyes bloomed like hyacinths in the spring she was born, and her plump cheeks were like fully bloomed roses. She was adorable. Everyone who saw the princess even once was captivated by her.

Unlike her mother, the child often smiled. She was curious about many things, making eye contact with everyone who visited. Even the stern-faced elders, known for their harsh temperament, found themselves smiling in the princess’s presence.

And as for the noble ladies who came in place of their husbands to wish the princess longevity and bring gifts, they completely lost their composure. They surrounded the baby with excitement, much like young freedwomen would gather in the marketplace.

Since the queen was still recovering and could not be present, Ino, who had once been the king’s nurse and was now the head of the queen’s handmaids, allowed this noisy gathering.

She was delighted as if her own granddaughter was adored. Regardless of the malicious talk, the princess was a treasure born to such precious parents. She was the perfect gift bestowed upon Evdokia by the gods.

“Who wouldn’t adore our princess, huh?”

Unless they were from the vile house of Axiothea, who would deny the revered presence of this lovely princess?

While such words could not be openly expressed in the presence of the current queen, Ino always cursed Axiothea of Thasos. And thus, at one time, she cursed the daughter, Pherenike as well…

Softness flickered through Ino’s wrinkled eyes as she looked at the baby.

Of course, it’s not that she had not hoped for a child resembling Actor.

Finding traces of the father in the princess was a laborious task, as everyone in the royal palace said. But to Ino, who had nursed Actor, certain traits were unmistakably clear.

The shape of the nose tip, the slight furrow of the brow before a smile, the shape of the earlobes and fingernails… Actor might dismiss these as trifling details, but she paid them no mind.

“Look at this hand. The princess will surely grow up to have long, elegant fingers just like His Majesty.”

“Her mother has long fingers too.”

“Perfect for playing the kithara*. If the princess has inherited anything from her father, she will surely have great talent.”

“Enough already. She is going to resemble me.”

Despite his dismissive response, his eyes constantly lingered on his tiny daughter, occasionally revealing an uncontrollable smile.

“Do you like it that much?”

“You don’t know what there is to enjoy?”

“Contrary to what people say, she doesn’t resemble Your Majesty at all.”

*Selene: The Moon Goddess

*kithara: An ancient Greek musical instrument, a type of lyre, from which the name of the guitar originates.