Chapter 1063
Eunice and Avriya had come to the Hill of the Gods because Kristoya had caught a cold and her condition was rather serious. Although she had been actively treated, it had already been five or six days and she still hadn't fully recovered. Eunice hoped that her mother's illness would recover as soon as possible, so she decided to ask Hades for protection.
The main temple of the Hades was being rebuilt. In order not to be disturbed, the priests had already informed the believers to go to other temples of the Hades in the outskirts of Turín to worship. However, in the past, when her parents were sick, Eunice always came to the main temple to pray, and it was quite effective, so she stubbornly chose to come to the Hill of the Gods.
A group of people went up the hill, and immediately alerted the Scepter Priest, Plesinus.
The rebuilding of the main temple of the Hades was the kingdom's top priority, especially for the priests of the Hades. Plesinus stayed at the construction site almost every day, supervising the progress of the construction, helping to coordinate and solve some problems encountered, and even postponed many Senate meetings.
After understanding the purpose of the two princesses' visit, Plesinus did not dare to neglect them. He immediately arranged for the priests to clean up the temporary temple for them to worship and pray.
After Eunice and Avriya prayed for their mother's blessing, Eunice did not lose interest and wanted to visit the whole construction site.
Plesinus was a little hesitant about this request. The King of the Devers only came once when the construction started, gave a speech, and visited the construction site a few months later, so he was not sure if Eunice's request was inspired by the Devers.
Moreover, as far as he knew, Eunice was deeply loved by the Devers, so he did not dare to neglect them. He personally accompanied the two princesses, showed them around, and explained the whole project in detail.
Plesinus had been a priest of the Hades for more than 20 years. Not only was he eloquent, but he also had an unusually profound knowledge of the theology of the Hades (most of which came from the writings of the priests of the Hades). Therefore, the boring construction process of the temple was lively and interesting, and the princesses and the guards listened with great interest.
Meanwhile, in the mural drawing area, Aviya stood there for a long time, seriously watching as the painters mixed various mineral powders with pigments and then drew sketches of Elysium and Nether Purgatory on wooden boards. Under Eunice's instigation, Ivia even shyly picked up the paintbrush and tried to draw some patterns. She was praised by Plesinas and the painters.
The construction site was a man's world. The sudden appearance of two beautiful girls, who were of noble status, naturally stirred up waves among the craftsmen and laborers. However, under the strict supervision of the foremen and the coercion of the palace guards, they only dared to secretly peep at them. Instead, they worked even harder.
To Eunice and Aivia, they did not feel uncomfortable even though most of the men in their field of vision were topless. They had seen it many times in various competitions in Turís since they were young, so they were already used to it.
The group chatted merrily and wittily as they walked around half of the construction site. Eunice suddenly stopped, pointed to the front and asked, "Who's that?"
On the precipitous western side of the God of Heaven Peak, there was a person. He stood there motionless, like a statue.
Compared to the bustling construction site where everyone was working hard, this man's behavior was too eye-catching. Eunice even showed a look of dissatisfaction.
Plesinas hurriedly explained, "His name is Alikson, and he's from Tarantum. He's not a craftsman or laborer who participated in the construction of the temple."
"Tarantum?" Eunice was a little puzzled and still questioned, "Now that the temple is being built, aren't ordinary people not allowed to enter?"
Plesinas explained patiently, "Your Highness, he's a candidate who signed up to participate in the design of the statue at the top of the mountain, and he passed the preliminary test. However, he made a request, saying that he has never been to the Hill of the Gods, and that he hopes to visit the mountain to find inspiration so that he can design the perfect statue … At first, we didn't agree to it, but he actually trespassed into the palace and wanted to petition His Majesty, so he was arrested by the guards as a criminal. In the end, when His Majesty heard about it, he actually agreed to his request, so we had no choice but to allow him to enter. He has been here for two days, but he didn't wander around. Most of the time, he just stayed there quietly."
The biggest difference in the reconstruction of the main Temple of Hades this time was that a huge statue of the god of Hades would be erected on the hill in front of the temple. Not only would the people in the city be able to see its majestic figure, even the people, tourists, and pedestrians in the Xbari Plain, the nearby mountains, ports, and the coast would be able to see its dazzling brilliance, thereby demonstrating the supreme power of the patron saint of the Kingdom of Diónia.
Devers, the king, and the Senate requested that the statue not only be bigger than the Statue of Athens in front of the Parthenon Temple, but the artistic design of the statue had to be extraordinary and outstanding. Therefore, under the suggestion of the Devers, the Temple of Hades and the Engraver Guild of the Kingdom of Hades teamed up to organize an unprecedented selection competition. All the engravers and painters in the kingdom were allowed to design the statue at the top of the mountain, so that they could choose the best and most perfect work.
However, the participants would first have to pass two rounds of preliminaries. The judges were all famous architects and painters in the Kingdom of Diónia. Therefore, ninety percent of the participants were eliminated to prevent people from making up the numbers. It was obvious that the person was quite capable to pass the preliminaries.
After listening to Pleasinas' introduction, Eunice's interest was piqued. She walked straight over to the man and found that he was a young man in his early twenties. He stretched out his arms, squinted his eyes, and let the mountain breeze blow against his loose clothes. He had an intoxicated look on his face.
"What are you doing?" Eunice asked curiously.
The young man stood there motionlessly as if he hadn't heard what she said.
Eunice was a little angry and yelled, "Hey, I'm asking you a question!"
The young man called Alekson slowly turned his head and said with dissatisfaction, "I'm sorry, please don't disturb my thoughts. Also, please go away, you're blocking the sunlight. "
Eunice had been doted on by her parents since she was a child. No one had ever dared to speak to her in such a tone. She immediately frowned and shouted, "Hey, do you know who I am?"
Arikson didn't speak, but waved his hand impatiently, signaling her to leave.
Eunice was furious, "I am the daughter of the King of Devers. I order you to leave Celestial Hill immediately. Otherwise, I will order the guards to expel you!"
This time, Alickson looked at Eunice who was standing in front of him, but there was no fear on his face. Instead, he said in a neither servile nor overbearing manner, "I can stand here because of the order of King Dyvers. I just want to know if His Majesty's order is effective? Or do your words count? "
"You! Eunice's anger was suppressed by these words. For a moment, she really did not know how to respond.
"Sister, we should go home!" Avriya's timely shout gave Eunice a way out. Eunice immediately responded, then said with hatred, "You're Arikson, right? I'll remember you. Let's wait and see!"
Alekson completely ignored her threat. He turned his head and continued to quietly look down the mountain.
Eunice stomped her foot hard and turned to leave.
After sending Eunice and the others away, one of the men asked uneasily, "Priest Plesinus, that Tarantum man humiliated our princess. Should we …?"
Plesinus shook his head and said, "That was just a farce between young people. Don't worry about him. As a loyal believer of Hades, we should have a broad and kind heart. Otherwise, how can we convince the people? "
"You're right. I was wrong." The priest immediately admitted his mistake.
Plesinus rubbed his forehead and said, "I'll go rest for a while. When Heraclide arrives (the kingdom's minister of construction), immediately inform me. I still have to inspect the progress of the entire project with him."
"Yes."
… … …
The Devers ended the day's political affairs early and hurriedly left the palace. He rushed back to the mansion on the mountain and then went to Crystal's bedroom. He asked with concern, "How is it? Are you better today? "
Crystal, who was lying on the bed, had not yet spoken. Aegnis, who had not been to the Temple of Hera in order to take care of her for the past few days, said, "Just now, Herpes came again and treated my sister. He said that her physical condition is much better than before. She should be able to recover in two or three days."
"That's great!" The Devers sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Crystal's hand. He said seriously, "The weather is very good these days. I suggest that you let the maids help you walk around the garden and bask in the sun. You'll get better faster."
Crystal glanced at him and abruptly pulled her hand back. She then turned around and sighed, "Don't worry about me. I won't recover. Let Persephone take me to Elysee!"
"Sister, don't talk nonsense —" Aegnis hurriedly tried to persuade her. The Devers secretly waved his hand to signal her not to worry. He then said, "Clotho is busy with political affairs right now. You're not seriously ill, so I didn't ask him to come back —"
"Aiya, I can't take it anymore …" Cristoya sighed again.
"But he agreed to send Chris back." The Devers's next words made Crystal's lamentation stop. She suddenly turned around and asked, "Really?!"
The Devers smiled mischievously, "You're better now?"
Cristoya hit him and asked anxiously, "Is it true?!"
"A king does not lie," the Devers said with a smile, "I reckon that our good grandson will be home the day after tomorrow."
"That's great!" Aegnis had a rare look of excitement on her face, "I wonder how tall Chris has grown now?! The last time he left, he wasn't even a year old. He didn't even know how to walk before he was taken to Rome … "
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