Chapter 440
"However, the restaurant is currently facing a problem. There is a shortage of wheat, flour, and fish, and we are unable to provide the food that the customers want. This has led to many complaints... "The restaurant manager explained the situation.
"Sigh, there is nothing we can do about it! Because of the war, the entire Alliance's grain and fish supply is very tight. We are not the only ones who are sad... "Christoya sighed and said seriously," I suggest that we put a notice on the door of every restaurant to explain the reason to the customers and express our apologies. At the same time, we suggest that the customers order more beef and mutton, such as boiled beef and mutton, fried beef, roasted lamb leg... Andrea wrote to me from the Grumentum that Lucania City has raised too many cows and sheep this year. If they are not consumed in large quantities, the cows and sheep will lose weight in winter, and if the weather is too cold, many of them will freeze to death. That will be a huge loss for the herdsmen, so we have to buy as many livestock as possible from Lucania City...
Furthermore, considering that this is a difficult time, the entire Alliance's people are facing food shortages. If we make a high profit at this time, we will be resented by the people! Therefore, I have decided to lower the price of all the food and only make a small profit to pay the employees. Before the war ends, we have to work together with the people of Diónia to get through this difficult time together! "
"Yes, madam! I will carry it out immediately! "The restaurant manager's response was much more straightforward.
Christoya yawned. Asuna saw that her mistress was a little tired, so she immediately stepped forward to stop the meeting and let the managers go back first.
"Madam, you are about to give birth, so why are you still working so hard? You have to think about the child in your belly! " Asuna grumbled as she supported her.
Christoya held her big round belly with both hands and said softly, "With such a big thing happening in the Alliance, there will naturally be more things to do. I have to deal with them. In a few days, Andrea will come and temporarily take over these things for me, so I can safely give birth to the baby... "
"Madam Andrea is coming? That's great!" Asuna said happily. She helped Kristoya take a stroll in the backyard to get rid of the swelling in her legs caused by sitting for too long.
"Andrea also wants to bring her two children back to Turií (one of them is her ex-husband's son) so that Bagoule's father can see his grandson properly and satisfy his longing …" Christoya sighed. Andrea had been married before, had a child, and married into a foreign leader's family. Andrea had put in a lot of effort to make Bagoule's huge family accept her and get along well with them …
"Adoris and little Crowe will definitely be very happy!" Asuna laughed.
"Is Aegnis back?" Christoya asked, suddenly remembering.
"Not yet. Madam, I think it's because of the failure of the battle. Not only are there more people going to the Temple of Hades, but there are also more believers in the Temple of Hera. That's why Madam Aegnis is still busy … "Asuna guessed.
"Nonsense!" Christoya frowned and said anxiously, "She's also pregnant. How can she not take care of her own body? Send someone to call her back. Tell her it's my order! "
"Yes!" Asuna knew that her mistress was a woman of her word, so she hurriedly went to call the other maids.
At this time, the backyard door was pushed open.
"Mother, I'm back." Cynthia carried a satchel filled with school supplies and took the initiative to rush forward and support Christoya.
"Where's Adoris?"
"He's playing football with his classmates in the school square."
"I hope he won't return home when it's dark like yesterday."
"He won't. I already warned him." Cynthia comforted Christoya, then asked with concern, "Mother, is there any news from father? This afternoon, everyone heard the news of our defeat in Xiliten. They're not in the mood to go to class. They're all asking me, 'When will father lead the army back?' "
Christoya turned to look at her adopted daughter, who was almost as tall as her shoulder. She thought of how wary she was of the Devers when they first met, but now she was proud of him. She couldn't help but feel gratified. "Don't worry, your father will return victorious soon!"
"Yes!" Cynthia nodded vigorously.
"Mother, I'm back!" A child's clear voice came from outside the door.
"This little rascal is back!" Christoya's face revealed a doting smile. During this period of time, because she was close to giving birth, Christoya could no longer accompany the energetic little Klaus. She could only let the maids take him to the square to play every day.
"Mother, I'll go accompany brother." Cynthia sensibly walked forward.
The maid who came in after her shouted excitedly, "Madam, good news! Good news! Messengers from Lucania returned, saying that the master had won a great victory in that place called Poseidonia. He said … he eliminated more than 20,000 enemies … "
"That's great!" Christoya couldn't help but shout. The Devers had been leading the army for so long, how could she not be worried? But as the mistress, she usually had to pretend to be calm, but this time she was really relieved …
As soon as she shouted this sentence and relaxed, she felt a warm current between her legs, and her abdomen began to swell with pain.
She, who had experience with childbirth, immediately steadied herself and used her hands to support herself on the stone table. She tried to use a calm tone and said, "Asuna, Asuna, I'm going to give birth. Go, go, go inform Hoppus …"
… … …
Just as the Devers' mansion was in a panic because of Christoya's birth, the news of the archon leading the army to victory over the Samonais in Lucania was like a warm wind that calmed the Turkistan people who were beginning to panic. Among the people worshipping at the Temple of Hades, someone publicly shouted the slogan "Let the Devers be king" for the first time.
But at dusk, the messenger from the south once again broke the people's gradually calming mood. The shocking news of "Syracuse's army breaking into Xilyting, not only ransacking the city, but also turning all the people into slaves" shocked the Turkistan people again, and also shocked the Senate, causing the originally hesitant senators to quickly make a decision: they agreed to Felicius' proposal to send the newly built Legio VI to Crimissa to protect the safety of Diónia.
… … …
That night, while the Turkistan people were tossing and turning, unable to sleep, a newborn baby was born in the Devers' mansion.
"Madam, it's a healthy and lovely girl!" Asuna carried the newborn baby, whose body had already been wiped clean, the umbilical cord tied, and was wrapped in a clean linen cloth. She carefully walked to the bedside and showed it to Christoya.
Christoya, who was already exhausted to the point of no strength, turned her head with difficulty and looked at her daughter, who was clawing her hands and crying loudly. A kind smile appeared on her face, which was covered in sweat.
"… Eunice … Her name is Eunice …" Christoya remembered the agreement she had with the Devers.
The people who had been anxiously waiting outside the bedroom all this time heard the good news of "mother and daughter are safe", and they all let out a sigh of relief.
In this era, giving birth to a child was a big matter, but it was also a difficult matter. Difficult childbirth was a common occurrence during childbirth. Even though the Devers had told the doctors like Hoppus about the precautions he had heard about in his previous life, and had also suggested that the experienced midwives of Diónia be gathered together, and through professional training, they would become doctors in charge of delivering babies in the hospital … the implementation of these measures allowed the death rate of newborns in Diónia to be controlled to a certain extent, but the death rate was still not low.
"Little Klaus, you have a younger sister!" Aegnis gently stroked little Klaus' head and said softly.
"Younger sister?! Can I play with her often?! "Little Klaus happily asked.
"Not now, you can wait until she's older." Aegnis explained to him while holding her slightly bulging belly. She sincerely hoped that in a few months, she would be able to smoothly give birth to a child.
"That's great, it's a younger sister!" Adoris also happily shouted. Little Klaus had been pestering him to play with him every day, and he didn't want to have another younger brother. That would be annoying to death.
Cynthia was also very happy. She could finally have a little follower like the other female students.
Eunice was welcomed by the whole family from the moment she was born.
… … …
The next day, when the Turkistan Senate was gathering the newly built Legio VI soldiers in Victory Square, preparing to send them south to defend Crimea, Syracuse's emissary, Damocles, walked into Corunia with his head held high.
Damocles brought with him Dionysius' ultimatum to Corunia: Surrender immediately, or else Xilyte will be its example!
All along, Corunia had been the frontline of Crotone's resistance against Locriel. Its people were full of confidence in defending the city, and that was mainly because it had the full support of Crotone and other allied states behind it. However, this time, they had lost the battle. Diónia and Crotone had been defeated, and Xilyte and Triene had been captured. The forces supporting them had all but disappeared.
Now, Corunia was deeply besieged. Moreover, they had long heard that Syracuse's siege capabilities were very strong, and that they had once captured Carthage's strategic town in Sicily, Mortia. The news that had just arrived shocked them even more: Xilyte had fallen in half a day (Syracuse and Locriel's army had tightly sealed Corunia, so no one knew that the fall of Xilyte was due to Dionysius' treachery). This caused the Corunians to lose confidence in defending the city, and at the same time, the tragic fate of the Xilyte people also frightened them.
The Corunians believed that even if Diónia and Crotone had a chance to counterattack in the future, Corunia would have already fallen by then. They themselves would have become slaves and sold to other places. Even if Corunia was recovered, it would have no meaning to them.
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