Chapter 80: Hold on tight

◎ Elena took a step towards the light, but after a moment she suddenly turned around and disappeared at the end of the road.◎

Swish, Elena jumped off the horse lightly and ran up the marble steps.

The closer you get to Caesar's palace, the fewer guards there are in the open. On the one hand, this demonstrates the king's strong self-confidence, but on the other hand, it means that the guards are relegated to the shadows, serving as gardeners, servants, or even lurking in the mezzanines day and night.

The last assassination attempt is still fresh in my memory.

Although Caesar didn't care and didn't think the assassin in the temple could do anything, Elena still felt a little scared: if the assassin really succeeded, what would the situation be like now?

Marcus, or whoever did it, would take that position. The rest of the princes and princesses would either submit or marry far away. Even brothers and sisters, born of the same mother, might die in a corner, uncared for.

If my father dies in a year or two...

It was a truly outrageous thought, but she couldn't help but follow her thoughts: What should she do next? Greece—Greece's attitude was crucial.

The closest "allies" may also become enemies when they sense that the situation is changing, and we must find ways to stabilize Greece.

The second is Persia... Persia will not change its attitude easily. All we can do is confuse them and try to make them focus on harassing the border.

Rome's territory was very vast, but it was not a solid geometric body and had many weak parts.

If the enemy sees the internal weakness, they may turn into an arrow aimed at the rich territory and pierce the heart.

We must not allow the situation to deteriorate to the point where we have to retreat to the city-states on both sides.

Finally, both inside and outside the world are filled with people who cannot be simply divided into allies or enemies, such as nomads.

Elena's mind flashed back to Sunny and her companions: they were not simple.

It is said that the Huns once occupied the further east, a complete and plundering force, but encountered a more powerful mysterious empire, which drove them all west.

According to the Huns themselves: "Were they driven away? No, they didn't. The migration was the normal movement of the royal tent!"

They originally had two royal tents, the East and the West. Now the East Royal Tent is declining, while the West Royal Tent is rising.

Are these Huns really as kind and pure as they appear? They always speak in various dialects with accents, do business with you in a cheerful and cheerful manner, are good at singing and dancing, are generous but not good at calculating.

She gradually sketched out the areas where the Huns and other nomads were active in her mind, and she felt a chill for a moment: there was no doubt that they were slowly infiltrating the entire west. Now they were closer to Persia, but with a slight detour they could touch Rome or Greece.

Apart from a large area of ​​desert and nomadic activity areas east of Persia, the nomads seem to have no fixed territory.

Do they really not need a fixed piece of land?

"Elena, you're here."

Caesar's deep voice woke her from her thoughts. Elena took half a second to scan the furnishings in the room, then quickly walked to the front and saluted: "Father."

Beside him lay several exquisite chess pieces, and the chessboard was carved from wood into the shape of towers and moats. It was obvious that they were rehearsing a war.

Caesar took a few steps forward until he was in front of his daughter. His gaze was like a substance, looming heavily over her.

Elena waited for a moment and raised her head: "Father, do you need me to play chess with you?"

"Play chess?"

Caesar looked at the chessboard and collected the pieces on the edge. "This game is over. I called you here for Greece."

"…marriage?"

"That's right."

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind: Antonio, Libra, marriage, chips, the loudly meowing white cat, and... Melia's lost face.

[Meliya is ill and is recuperating at home.]

She should have thought of the best answer to please Caesar in these few seconds, but she was confused: "I thought - Antonio was not the best choice." The words came out without much thought.

"oh?"

When Caesar raised his eyebrows in surprise, Elena suddenly grasped the key.

She looked over with bright eyes. "Father, the 'marriage' you mentioned isn't the real purpose, is it? You don't need to ally with Greece through marriage. Besides, Ophelia would be a better choice."

On the surface, Ophelia's noble birth and elegant appearance better meet the needs of Greek aristocrats.

Family members understand their own affairs. Ophelia... was neither civil nor military, short-sighted, and possessed a distinct inertia. Of all the princes and princesses, she was the only one who truly dared not covet the throne, and was solely devoted to Marcus.

A princess like this was not sad to be sent away: Ophelia was too proud and indecisive, and as long as she lived well, she would not pay attention to the outside world. Her ability to educate children and assist her husband was no different from that of most common women, or even worse, just superficial.

She was unable to help Antonio with any advice, and in order to maintain her own status, she would definitely lean more towards Rome: when a person lacks influence on his or her spouse and does not have exceptionally intelligent children, he or she will rely more on a strong original family.

"Very good." Caesar nodded with satisfaction. Although his daughter had slave-like blonde hair, she had a useful enough brain.

He pointed to the two couches beside him, lay down on the left side first, and crossed his legs comfortably: "Have you heard of the Crown of Alexander?"

"Crown of Alexander?!"

Elena calmed herself and nodded gently. While knowing about this matter was a bit tricky, feigning ignorance was even more suspicious.

The so-called Crown of Alexander is also known as the Crown of the Guardian of Mankind.

Legend has it that two thousand years ago, before the human kingdom existed on Earth, fairies crafted a crown and said, "This will belong to the great king, and the country will be named after him!"

However, a thousand years passed in a flash, and there were many people named Alexander, but none of them ascended the throne.

The legend was later annotated: It is said that a fairy sage appeared in Babylon, looked at the newborn Babylonian prince and said, "The direction of the river is wrong, but Babylon will still disappear."

She regretfully flew out of Babylon holding the Crown of Alexander and was never seen again.

Legends aside, the rulers of Rome, Greece, and even other countries had a relatively unified guess about the Crown of Alexander: it was an ancient magic prop, the "legacy" of a fairy sage, with powerful functions that could influence the entire country.

After all, fairies like to make prophecies: their prophecies are not really about predicting the future, but about creating a prophecy first and then pushing humans in the direction of the prophecy.

Caesar looked out the window. "That Antonio guy... he said the Crown of Alexander is in Greece."

"That's a very sincere offer." Elena sat down across from her father. "I'm just afraid he simply can't afford it, or doesn't want to."

Caesar nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's why I need you to cooperate with him. The wedding is a cover. Come back as soon as you get the crown."

What if I can’t get it?

What if this is a scam?

Even if he got it, how could he escape from the arranged marriage and return to Rome?

Elena could see the questions clearly, but she didn't ask any of them.

For her father, for His Majesty, the most important thing was to obtain the Crown of Alexander or something of equal value. If she could get it, Rome would have a way to protect her. If she didn't get anything, at least it would have served as a marriage alliance.

There was no turning back on Caesar's order. Elena bowed slightly and stood up tacitly.

After taking a few steps, she finally stopped at the door and said, "Father, how did you plan to deal with my marriage? And what will you do when I return from Greece?"

Her tone was rather cold, but Caesar didn't care: "Have you ever noticed those Huns?"

"The Western King's Tent? They are very cautious of the Romans."

"You are not familiar with the history of the Huns, those nomadic peoples." The emperor raised his glass with some pride. "They are extremely superstitious about Khan, Chanyu, Great King, or whatever they consider to be their leader."

It sounded similar to Rome. Elena resisted the urge to interrupt and continued to listen.

Caesar finished his wine. "Nomads are like wolves; they are only fierce enough when led by a wolf king. Due to long wars and conflicts between wolf packs, they have been unable to unite into a single nation. Ethnic groups often migrate and merge with other groups."

Elena thought for a moment and then spoke slowly, "You want me to marry the Wolf King and become the Wolf King."

"very good."

Caesar smiled with relief. "As expected of my daughter, Elena. Marcus may not be able to take the throne of emperor. His age is really... Phew, forget it. Go back and prepare first."

Too young? No, too old.

Caesar likely outlived every one of his children except himself, who was a throwback to his dragon bloodline.

Elena didn't say anything and pretended to be submissive and saluted, as if she had been completely convinced by the promise her father had made: Look, even the favored crown prince found it difficult to become the Roman emperor. Being married to the nomads and "waiting" for her husband to die, living a life on the edge of a knife and licking blood, is not bad, right?

Oh.

…

Even though the palace was brightly lit, she still felt dizzy when she walked into the sun.

Elena touched her forehead. "Strange! I don't have a fever, so why do I feel so empty and weak?" Her father and His Majesty had made the right choice. If she were Caesar, she would have made the same choice.

Send that shrewd daughter to seek treasure. If everything goes well, she can even marry the Xiongnu King of the Western Tent the following year... I heard the old man in the main tent is 60 years old? It wouldn't be surprising if he died any day.

[You don't understand the history of the Huns and those nomadic peoples! ]

Well, she actually knows a little bit:

The Huns were extremely obsessed with the so-called "golden blood". Under the influence of the golden blood, no baby girl had ever been born in the Hun royal family. Therefore, the Hun kings of all generations were men respected by the nomads as "sons of God" and "perfect men".

When the Hun king was alive, their wives were second only to him and were considered as being present in person, whether participating in politics or leading the army, as long as the Hun king allowed it.

However, as soon as the Hun king died, the wife, a large number of concubines, and slaves would be inherited by the next Hun king.

The next Hun could only have one main wife. If she was not chosen as the main wife but was demoted to a concubine, her status would be no different from that of other Huns.

Caesar suggested that she learn about the history of the Huns, but he did not directly enlighten her: if she failed to quickly win over the next Hun king after her husband's death, her so-called dream of becoming the Wolf King would be nothing but a bubble in the water.

At that time, her only choices would be to continue serving the next Hungarian king, or return to Rome in disgrace and become a princess again.

A princess who completely lost her inheritance rights.

"Father, you play chess very well."

Elena spoke softly, and when she came to her senses, her feet had already stepped into Melia's courtyard.

How did she get here? Her legs were aching.

I want to see Melia, and I want to see her now.

Elena walked towards the light, but after a moment she suddenly turned around and disappeared at the end of the road.