Chapter 596
Cristoya was happy to hear that. She pressed her head against the Devers' sturdy chest and said softly, "I'll listen to you …"
"It's getting late. Go to sleep, go to sleep …" The Devers patted him lightly. The two relaxed and soon fell asleep …
… …
Early the next morning, the Devers got up and went to the courtyard for his morning exercise. By the time he returned to the main building, drenched in sweat, it was already bustling.
Molina, the butler of the backyard, had already instructed the female slaves to wake the children up one by one. She had them dress and wash up … Then, she heard the sounds of complaints and crying in the main building. Molina was unmoved. When faced with children who were unwilling to get up or even fooling around, the female slave had no choice but to go into the house and pull them up by force. She dared to do this in front of these princes and princesses of Diónia because Cristoya had given her the authority.
Eight years ago, under the matchmaking of the Devers and Cristoya, Asuna and Aristiras were married. Of course, she had to leave the Devers' official residence. Molina, the female slave from Thessaly, was the child's wet nurse at the time. Cristoya found that she was decisive and even more daring than Asuna, so she let her take over Asuna's position. Reality proved that Cristoya had a good eye. Over the years, with the increase in children, the backyard was indeed well-managed by Molina, which saved Cristoya a lot of trouble.
After the Devers had a simple shower, he walked into the dining room. Most of the family was already seated at the dining table.
"Where's Olivia?" The Devers glanced around the hall and asked. Olivia was his third daughter, born to Aegnis. She was only four years old this year.
"That crybaby refused to get up as usual. Aunt Molina went in to get her up, but she was still yelling. Mother Aegnis went upstairs to get her," Briantes replied loudly. Briantes was the Devers' fourth son, born to Cristoya. He was six years old this year.
"Briantes, Avriya is your sister. Instead of helping her when she's in trouble, you're saying weird things from the sidelines. That's not right, understand?" Cynthia immediately criticized him.
"Sister is right. Briantes is annoying." Eunice also complained. She was born during the Great Greek War and was now ten years old.
Briantes felt aggrieved at being criticized by his two sisters. He turned to his second brother, Cloto Catax, for help.
Cloto Catax turned to look at Cynthia. "Young Bout didn't mean to say bad things about Avriya. He's realized his mistake now."
"Alright, I've forgiven you, but it still depends on your future actions!" Cynthia said as if she was talking to a child.
Briantes nodded hastily.
Third Brother Apox, who was opposite him, made a face at him, which made him smile. Apox was born to Aegnis at the end of the Great Hellenic War, and was now over nine years old.
The Devers and Cristoya sat quietly, not interfering with the small conflict between the children. They had always been like this, because with Cynthia and Crotocatax around, everything would be resolved in the end. The Devers also hoped that the children would learn unity, love, tolerance, and compromise in the process of resolving conflicts themselves.
At this moment, Aegnis brought Avriya into the living room.
Avriya's large eyes were red, and there were still traces of tears on her face. She carried a small doll in one hand, and Aegnis was holding her other hand as they walked forward.
"Little Avriya darling, hurry and sit in your seat. It's time for breakfast," Cristoya said softly.
Her words were very effective. Avriya let go of her mother's hand and sat down on her own seat. She placed the doll behind her, and Aegnis sat down beside her.
Usually, because of the simple way of eating, ordinary Greeks didn't even have a dining table. They could eat outdoors while sitting on a wooden chair, squatting, or standing, with food in their hands. The Greek nobles and the rich had a much more formal meal. They had their own dining room, with tables according to the number of people they had. There were also slaves waiting at the side to clean their hands at any time, because they ate with their hands.
The situation of eating in the Kingdom of Diónia was very different. After the Devers invented knives, forks, and spoons, the people no longer needed to eat with their hands. Although they still ate separately, many families began to eat at the same table. Very few families did not even separate men and women. It was said that this was all due to the Devers' influence.
As the number of family members increased, the Devers had a skilled carpenter make a large round table and placed it in the middle of the dining room. The family sat around it and ate. This way, there were no close or distant relationships, and there was a lively atmosphere of a family. It was also beneficial in nurturing the children's love for their family and valuing it.
The Devers sat facing the entrance of the dining room. On their right was Aegnis, and on their left was Cristoya. Next to Cristoya was their eldest daughter, Cynthia, their second son, Cloto Catax, their second daughter, Eunice, their third son, Apox, their fourth son, Briantes, and their third daughter, Avriya. If their eldest son, Adoris, was included, the Devers' family had a total of ten members.
The backyard supervisor, Molina, stood at the side. There were no other slaves in the dining room. After all, even the youngest, Molina, was already four years old and could take care of herself. The Devers had always hoped that their children could do things on their own, be self-reliant, and not rely on slaves to serve them. That way, they would not become useless people who did not know how to eat.
"Let's eat." After the Devers finished speaking, Cloto Catax brought the food and bowls with Molina's help. He first set up the cutlery for each family member, and then distributed the food to each family member. This was the task that the Devers had arranged for the older children in the family, mainly to train their awareness of serving others. It just so happened that it was Cloto Catax's turn today.
After distributing the food to his parents, Crotocatax turned to Cynthia.
This time, the Devers' eyes widened as they saw their eldest son quickly distribute the food to Cynthia.
"Thank you, Crowe!" Cynthia said with a smile.
Crotocatax calmly walked towards Eunice, as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
The Devers immediately cast a puzzled look at Cristoya.
Of course, Cristoya understood what her husband meant. She hadn't thought that after telling the Devers about this matter yesterday, he would publicly confirm it today. This was simply …
Cristoya immediately gave him a look, telling him not to be too obvious.
The Devers pretended not to understand, and opened their mouths, assuming a puzzled posture.
Cristoya could only clench her fist and hit him on the thigh.
The Devers bared their teeth in an exaggerated manner.
Cristoya almost spat out the oatmeal in her mouth onto the table.
Aegnis noticed the abnormality between the two and turned her head, casting a questioning look.
The Devers, however, extended his right hand towards her smooth and supple thigh.
Aegnis blushed slightly, and immediately pinched it hard with her fingers.
The Devers showed a pained expression again, but it was gone in a flash.
The children obviously didn't notice the farce between their parents. Their attention was on the food.
"Same as before, with a spoonful of honey?" Crotocatax asked his sister with a smile.
Before Eunice could reply, Briantes shouted, "Do you even need to ask? She doesn't like cow or goat's milk."
In this era, many citizens of the Greek city-states raised sheep, so goat's milk was a very common food. Apart from making cheese, it was also processed and consumed directly. Cows were mainly used for practical use and transportation, not for milk production. The Devers had once asked Bagoule to advocate for the people of Lucania Municipality to use cow's milk for sale and consumption. There were only a few people who used cow's milk, and the production wasn't large either. Of course, there was a small supply in the palace.
However, the beverage for breakfast today was goat's milk. Goat's milk had a strong odor. Fortunately, the Devers had made it a rule for the children to drink a cup of goat's milk every morning so that they could grow taller and stronger. Now, the children had adapted to it, including the youngest Avriya, except for Eunice.
"I don't like it, so what?!" Eunice immediately glared at Briantes.
Briantes didn't want to admit defeat in the face of his sister's threat, but he couldn't say anything. He could only bite the bullet and say, "Anyway, it's not right!"
Eunice ignored him and turned to smile at Crotocatax. "Brother, give me two spoonfuls of honey, thank you!"
Cloto Catax finished distributing the food for Eunice and put food for Apox.
Apox cheered, "Great, there's meat buns today!"
The Greeks used fermented flour to bake bread, while the Devers had the chef wrap the beef and mutton in the fermented dough and steam them in an iron pot. The steamed meat buns were fragrant, and the children, especially the boys, liked to eat them.
Apox held the hot bun with both hands and took a big bite, ignoring the heat in his mouth. Then he saw that Briantes had also distributed the food. He suddenly rolled his eyes and said to his brother, "Bute, let's play a game, okay? Whoever wins can take a bite of the other party's meat buns. "
"No way!" Briantes cautiously put the wooden plate of meat buns in front of his chest with both hands. He lost to Apox every time they played games, so he had some psychological scars.
Apox was thinking about how to persuade Briantes when he heard Eunice say disdainfully, "Bute, look at how timid you are! Abo, here you go! " Eunice was satisfied that Apox had made a fool of Briantes. She immediately broke off a small half of the meat bun and handed it to him.
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