"No, don't say it again!" With a sad face, Demetrius crawled to the feet of Adiana and kissed the princess's feet, "That's a joke, you must be the queen of some small independent kingdom." ”

Adeanna struck while the iron was hot and went straight to the point, and she asked Pompey politely: "Honor, the new king of kings in Asia Minor, in fact, I have spent so long in the palace to ask you, where have you placed Minander and Stratonis?" ”

"I am sorry, Your Excellency, and I have shown you today the negligent side of a slave whose intimidation is all unfounded rhetoric, and I can now responsibly tell you that I will allow the marriage of Minander and Stratonis, and that they will both be king and queen of the city of Punti Kabion, and whatever you may doubt about his or her identity, it is a fait accompli. As for you, my Lady of the Princess. Pompey kicked Demetrius aside and continued with a serious expression, "I still think it would be more appropriate to marry you to Challus." ”

Adiana had already dealt with this beforehand, "But this King of Godini has now been captured and ordered to live in exile by your general because of his participation in the war of rebellion of Little Tegre, and I will not marry a king whose reputation is damaged." ”

"And what about marrying you to your brother-in-law, Tegrenys, King of Kings?"

"I don't mind serving a man with my sister, but I'm sure I'll incite Tegrenice to turn Rome against Rome at the right time." Adiana's eyes suddenly became serious, "General Pompey, I am unwilling to accept your unilateral instructions, why don't we make a deal?" ”

"Oh. Let's hear it. Pompey was also slightly interested.

"Give me a little kingdom. As long as you give me the power of a Roman vassal. I will put the kingdom in order, and I will guarantee the tribute to the city of Rome - and, most importantly, my kingdom will provide you with money and troops free of charge when you need it in the future. ”

After Pompey listened to the princess's words, he smiled with this noncommittal expression, "In the current situation. I can't trust you too much, my princess, and you have to prove your intentions. ”

"What is proof of truth?" Adiana looked serious.

With a kind of temptation, Pompey said, we have a well-known dish in Rome called pickled fish blood, that is, the internal organs of the fish are salted, exposed to the sun for three months, and then stored in jars, and now if you can give me your mother's little crown for "storage", I will promise you to be the queen of a small kingdom.

Sure enough, Adiana was painted white. He looked at Pompey and Demetrius, and then at Pytuita on the side. Finally, he said: "Since he is not even afraid of death, how can I be silent about these vain honors?" We often say to the god of beauty, if you can love, you will love tomorrow, if you don't know what love is, you will love tomorrow. With that, the princess plucked up her courage, pushed away Bituita's dissuasive hand, and took off the girdle and the little crown of astonishing beauty

A few days later, one evening, the royal lady's palanquin stepped out of Pompeii's palace, and Adriana lay on the cushions on it, her face shining behind the veil, and the group made their way to the city's breakwater, where the waves were roaring under the palm trees planted on the embankment, and Calabis, still wearing her black and white coat, waited for the princess.

"How's it going?"

"Her Excellency the Princesses mortgaged the small crown to Pompey in exchange for the throne." Bituita replied.

When the chariot approached, Adiana said to Calabis, "Pompey must have wanted to make the little crown the highlight of the triumphal ceremony, but I am now the queen of Eubernia, Calabis amphora, and we are half the battle." ”

"But you've lost your crown." Calabis said.

"What more do I have to lose? Once, how much I valued these things, thinking that they were the symbols of the princess, the crown, the embroidered robes, the scepter of the goddess of victory, and the new model army, but now I understand that the glorious achievement of being able to rise again from the ashes of my father's empire is the true heart of a king. As Adiana said this, she pressed her hand lightly on her chest, "Moreover, as compensation, Pompey also gave me two hundred Talents to pay for my father's funeral and to repair the palace of Eubertia." Will you continue to follow me, Calabis and Calabia are invincible together. ”

Calabis crossed his waist and shook his head with a smile, "I have my own destiny and responsibility, although I have laid out the situation now, I must go back to Rome City in a while, my woman is about to give birth." ”

"Please don't!" The princess hurriedly stretched out her hand, then quieted down, and said in a low voice: "Anyway, you have done everything you need to do, and you still have plenty of time, come with me to Sinop to bury my father, you are a distinguished guest of my kingdom, let me entertain you well, and I believe that we will continue to meet in the future." ”

Seeing that Calabis was still hesitant, Biduita stepped forward and said, "Actually, before committing suicide, Bixia once instructed me that if the princess found someone he could trust, he would ask him to bury his body with the princess. Then, Biduita continued mysteriously, "Do you know that there is a dream in the Mithra family that will be passed down from generation to generation, and only the heirs will come into contact with this dream, why don't you follow the princess for the time being to find out, this is also the fate of your mouth?" ”

"Perhaps, it just so happens that I still have a promise that I haven't fulfilled for Adiana." Calabis agreed.

Two days later, the white galleon, stirred up by the gentle and moist north wind, sailed in the direction of Sinop, and the pirate's rowing boat followed: the fake body of "Mithridates" was laid in the cabin, the coffin was filled with antiseptic things such as ointment, aloe vera, and ice, and the princess stood at the bow of the ship, waving goodbye to Pompey and the others who had come to see him off, and she also saw Demetrius, Stratonis, and Minander who were crying behind Pompey, "The next time is enough for the Jews to remedy, But more powerful is yet to come. By the bridge room, Calabis, who was sitting by the wallboard, thought secretly.

As the coast drew and went, the princess disembarked from the bow of the ship with ease, but with a little puzzlement, sat down beside Calabis, and asked, "Weishenme We are going with these pirates." ”

"Not only that, but you're going to have to apply to Pompey right away, asking for the Kingdom of Eubertnia to be used as a place for the Purple Sail Pirates." Calabis nibbled on the masa and demanded.

"It is also said that Pompey has placed the surrendered or captured Mediterranean pirates on the land of Asia Minor, and has also allocated them fields, and now Silesia, Bithynia, and Little Armenia are all good pirates, and the next step can only be to divert inland." Adiana then thought of something, "Amphora, you mean to turn Eubertnia into a pirate kingdom?" (To be continued......)