Pherenike - Chapter 36

Even at times, Pherenike appeared as an excellent wife. She always behaved as if she had forgotten her noble origins from the sanctuary when dealing with Actor’s close associates.

This was her way of life, not only in the sanctuary but also in Lykke, long after she inherited the dignified position from the old Kybellaune.

Over time, Pherenike just seemed like the wife of the Prince Regent, and now, she had become a queen, a shadow of the king. She saved the king’s confidants from death’s door countless times.

When Nikandros’s officers fought the monsters of Balkasa, she went there quicker than the sanctuary’s priests to save them. Few Evdokian men could point fingers at their life-saver, no matter how thick-faced. They gradually began to conform to their lord’s wife.

No matter where she came from, now she was only Actor Nikandros’s wife. This too, must be the fate woven by Moirai.

In the end, complete betrayal can be entirely good for someone.

Even though half the world, led by the Thasos’s family, hated and denounced her, Actor’s people gradually accepted her. After accepting her, they revered her.

Pherenike was an excellent wife to Actor. A humble vassal. She, who could have ruled over them like a daughter of the goddess, sat beside them. She cared for the people under Actor’s name.

All that was lacking in their eyes was an heir to Actor.

They desired an heir for their master and at the same time a hostage to eternally bind Pherenike Vassilios. This was the remaining piece of their ungiven trust.

Actor’s favorite sincerely advised her. You must have a child before it’s too late, before some cunning woman steals your husband.

Before their loyalty to the queen wavered.

Pherenike barely sat at the edge of the bed, then familiarly spread her legs and inserted her fingers. Despite the somewhat vulgar act, her expression was impassive. It was a routine after her affair with Actor.

As she scraped the inside with her curled fingers, his milky trace leaked out and dropped onto the marble floor. She pushed her fingers deeper. She didn’t want to leave a trace of him.

Her elegant brow furrowed momentarily, like contemplating the action for a moment. Like untangling a necklace. She blankly thought while familiarly scraping out Actor’s seed from inside her.

Could a child have been conceived in Geotil?

She couldn’t take any medicine in Geotil’s sanctuary. That was the first time she’d been with him without medicine. Now, too, it was no different, having hurriedly been held by him upon their return.

She went to Geotil with nothing.

Actor’s men said, maybe all this conflict and hardship was a beautiful providence for them. Perhaps the long drought of the oracle had finally ended.

The goddess spoke, and a new king and queen were chosen. It was sixty days after King Epicydes, who wandered before Hades for years, died.

And the old Sybylles, on the same night, spoke with one voice about the king’s heir. They said that the queen must conceive that life in Geotil for the child to become the glory of Evdokia.

How ironic.

Unlike other times, the goddess’s message did not come to her, the Kybellaune. It became something she could not defy.

Before the oracle, even the king and queen were no different from commoners. Like the poor, they must follow the oracle’s command. The poor usually have no burden to bear.

Days later, the king and queen, without attendants or proper baggage, set off on a single horse. Normally, the journey would take four days at a relentless pace and would require a change of horses. Or ten days in a decent carriage with rest stops.

But they had only an aging horse.

Thus, they ended up traveling for over twenty days to reach Geotil. Changing horses was not allowed. Actor often dismounted to walk under the noon sun, sparing their frail horse, for it struggled most at midday.

Pherenike, on the other hand, always sat comfortably on the horse. Despite her reluctance, Actor insisted. This sometimes made them seem more like master and servant than a married couple. Yet, they had to rest whenever they found shade.

The horse was neither Actor’s sturdy warhorse nor the fine steed Pherenike received as a gift. It was an old horse specially given by the sanctuary for their arduous journey. It struggled with climbing hills, crossing fields, and moving all day.

And it wasn’t just the animal that suffered.

They couldn’t stay in luxurious inns or find quality food. They only had dry rations, eaten once in the morning and once in the evening, like soldiers on a long march.

However, on rainy days passing through rich fields, Actor would stop to pick small fruits.

The fruits and flowers were unattended by anyone but the sun and rain, so the flesh was not very sweet. It was often bitter and sour. Yet, chewing these fruits was a small luxury in itself.