Chapter 705
Eunice didn't say anything. She just looked at him eagerly.
The reason why Alcibidus was so popular with the children was that he would bring all kinds of gifts for them every time he came.
"Of course I brought gifts for all of you this time. However, don't worry. Line up first and take them one by one. "Alcibidus smiled and patted Briante's little head.
"Line up! Everyone, line up! " Eunice immediately acted like a big sister. She directed her siblings according to their ages and quickly lined up.
"Great, Eunice!" Alcibidus praised and waved his hand at his subordinates.
A servant immediately brought over a pure white pony.
"Oh, she's so beautiful!" Eunice's eyes were glued to the little white pony.
"This is a pony I bought from the nomadic Bedouins east of Canaan. It's said to be especially good at running. Eunice, she's yours now. "Alcibidus said with a smile.
"Really?! That's great! " Eunice was extremely excited. She hugged Alcibidus and gave him a big kiss. "Uncle, thank you so much!" Then, she ran over to lead the pony.
The servant quickly handed the reins to Eunice. The pony snorted and then docilely licked Eunice's hand. Eunice cried out excitedly again.
Alcibidus touched his face and smiled. He looked back at his nephew. "Abolus, do you want a pony too?"
Abolus tilted his head and revealed a mischievous smile. "Uncle, if I want a white pony too, can you give it to me?"
This observant little fellow! Alcibidus patted his shoulder lovingly and smiled. "I don't have a second pony, but I have this —"
He waved his hand and a servant brought over seven or eight sandpaper rolls.
Alcibidus pointed at them and said seriously, "There are poems written by the Egyptians, stories about the Egyptian gods, and part of Egypt's past history. I spent a lot of time and effort to buy them from the Greek scholars in Naucratis. If you don't like them, I'll be very sad!"
Apox immediately gave Alcibidus a strong hug excitedly. "Thank you, uncle. I like it very much!"
"Uncle, where's mine?!" Briantes asked impatiently.
"Don't worry, you won't be forgotten," Alcibidus said as the servant walked over.
"Ah, puppy!" Briante barked excitedly. In the servant's arms, there was a milky white puppy barking.
"This is a Saluki. In Egypt, they're known as the Pharaoh's Hound. They're very good at running and are very loyal to their masters. They can catch wild geese and hares, and they even dare to fight crocodiles and hippopotamuses. When you grow up —" Before Alcibidus could finish, Briante had already picked up the puppy excitedly and ran away.
"This child!" Alcibidus smiled and looked at his niece, Olivia, who was standing in front of him.
Olivia, who had always been quiet, widened her eyes and stared straight at the little black cat in another servant's arms.
Alcibidus did not say anything else and immediately placed the cat in her arms.
Avriya hugged the kitten in a flurry.
The kitten meowed and rubbed her hand with its whiskers.
Olivia thought that it was extremely cute. She looked up and asked Alcibidus, "Uncle, what's its name?"
"It doesn't have a name yet. From now on, you're its master. Of course, it's up to you to name it," Alcibidus said with a smile.
And so, Olivia stroked the cat gently as she lowered her head and pondered.
"Brother, I heard that in Egypt, black cats are the incarnations of gods …" Aegnis, who had been watching from the side, said worriedly.
"In the hearts of the Egyptians, it's not just black cats. Cows, crocodiles, eagles, leopards … Many animals are objects of reverence, but that doesn't stop them from raising cats and dogs, hunting crocodiles and hippopotamuses. Moreover, this is Diónia, a land under the protection of Hades. The children are the descendants of Hades, so what's there to worry about? "Alcibidus said half-jokingly and half-seriously.
Aegnis's worry disappeared, and she asked, "Did you go to Egypt this time?"
Alcibidus nodded. "Yes, I specially brought a set of high-grade cosmetics for the Egyptian concubines and princesses. I also brought a set for Princess Cristoya."
Following the direction of Alcibidus's finger, Aegnis saw many exquisite-looking large wooden boxes being carefully unloaded from the carts by the slaves.
Aegnis didn't refuse, and instead said with some joy, "Brother, you've really gone to the trouble!"
At the age of almost 40, she felt her skin begin to loosen, and her hair gradually lose its luster. She really needed to dress up and take care of herself. As far as she knew, in the Mediterranean, the country that was the best in this area was Egypt.
They had a long history of thousands of years, a rich lifestyle, and a special environment (desert, sandstorms, and exposure to the sun). Egyptian women, regardless of whether they were rich or poor, placed great importance on beauty and dressing up. Over a long period of time, they designed many cosmetics, skincare products, and ornaments.
For example, the Egyptian cosmetics that Alcibidus bought were made up of a variety of ointments and protective oils, mixed with plant juices, flowers, fruits, and herbs to moisturize and mask odors. They were carefully placed in bottles of various sizes, filling up two large boxes.
This didn't include the cosmetics on the face, such as very finely ground mineral powder mixed with raw ingredients such as cat, hippopotamus, or crocodile fat, used to apply eye shadow and eye shadow, and to draw eyebrows, blush, and lips … This was enough to fill up another large box.
There were even more accessories, with wigs being the most important. The Egyptians generally thought that grey hair and natural baldness were extremely unsightly, so they invented wigs and even tried to mix various formulas to help the grey hair regain its original color. These wigs were all made from human hair and plant fiber pads. There were long, short, thick, dense, and all kinds of wigs, filling up another large box.
As for the exquisite earrings, necklaces, anklets, hair pins … There were all kinds of them, a dazzling lineup. Alcibidus also carefully bought many tools that the Egyptians used for makeup, such as small tweezers, tongs, small razors, and eyebrow pencils made of ivory …
So when Aegnis said that he had put in a lot of effort, she wasn't wrong at all.
"Hasn't Clotho returned yet? I brought him a present too, "Alcibidus asked in a seemingly casual manner.
"He and Adoris have been summoned to participate in military training. This training will last for two days, and they'll spend the night in the barracks. They'll only return the day after tomorrow. Sigh, wars are always endless! I hope that Clotho won't be sent to the battlefield, "Aegnis said with some worry.
Cloto Catax was almost 19 years old. As an adult citizen of Diónia, he had already participated in military training for more than a year, and was now a reserve soldier of the First Legion. When he didn't need to participate in military training, the Devers arranged for him to run errands in the Ministry of Military Affairs, so that he could familiarize himself with all aspects of the Ministry of Military Affairs.
As for why Adoris was also undergoing military training in Turín? That was because the Devers discovered that the original transfer of Adoris to Legio IV in Crotone was to hide his identity. In fact, the effect wasn't obvious, and instead made Adoris's life and training very inconvenient. So they simply transferred him back to Turín, where he was now a soldier of the Second Legion.
Alcibidus was slightly disappointed that he wasn't able to see Cloto Catax. He had wanted to get closer to the eldest son of the Devers. From the various signs that Aegnis had told him in the past, the Devers might have already made Cloto Catax their heir. Unlike his father, Atilis, Cloto Catax wasn't worried about this. He knew that Cloto Catax's feelings for Aegnis were very deep, even more so than his own mother, Cristoya.
When Cristoya heard that Alcibidus had arrived, she immediately asked the chef to prepare a banquet.
Cristoya didn't like Alcibidus, and the embarrassing scene two years ago had made her very angry. Fortunately, it was only a family gathering, and the Devers had strictly controlled it afterwards, so it wasn't publicized.
With Cristoya's lofty image in the eyes of the people of Diónia, she didn't think that Alcibidus' words would damage her image in the slightest. Moreover, the Devers had privately expressed many times that Cloto Catax was their heir to the throne, and that they had put in a lot of effort to nurture him. In addition, Aegnis had always felt guilty about this, so they treated her with more respect. This allowed Cristoya to get along with Aegnis as usual.
Aegnis' brother, Alcibidus, was completely different from his father. Through Cristoya's long-term observation, every time he came to the mansion, he not only treated her with respect, but also gave her endless gifts. He also liked every child, without any obvious bias.
Hence, Cristoya naturally had to return the favor and entertain him warmly.
"His Majesty just sent someone back to say that he has some important matters to attend to today, so he'll be back later. He asked Aegnis and I to entertain you well as the mistress of the house! "
Cristoya smiled and looked at Aegnis, then raised the wine in her hand and said to Alcibidus, "Thank you very much for bringing us so many gifts, which are exactly what we need! Aegnis and I would like to offer you our thanks! At the same time, we warmly welcome you! "
Alcibidus immediately expressed his gratitude. He drank a mouthful of wine, and heard Cristoya continue, "Because of the drought, not only did the wheat seedlings wither, but all kinds of fruit trees were also seriously affected. Even the production of wine has sharply declined, so tonight's food is a little simple. I hope you don't mind!"
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