Chapter 55

"Aris?" Isis turned her head, only to realize that the person kneeling beside her was no longer the maid who had grown up with her.

A sharp, hidden pain flashed across her face. She knew all too well that in this world today, there was no one left who would wholeheartedly look out for her. Isis’s heart grew cold and hardened once again. Gazing down from the third-story balcony, she saw that tonight Thebes was alive with blazing torches and endless noise. Yet this grand celebration welcoming the entire nation had nothing to do with her; her homeland and her family had left her nothing but humiliation and tears.

"Queen Isis?" The maid had initially been delighted when the queen called out to her in such a gentle voice. Even though she wasn't the one being summoned, seeing the goddess-like, lofty princess behave so warmly brought her a wave of inexplicable joy. But when Isis's expression shifted in an instant, the maid was so frightened that she hurriedly prostrated herself on the floor.

Ignorant of this little maid's mix of awe and affection, Isis only cared about what she wanted. "Where is General Nakhtmin right now?"

"My Lord General has already taken hundreds of Lower Egyptian elites and gone into hiding outside the city. The scouts are scattered among the safe houses within the city without arousing any suspicion." The maid frowned, recalling a remark Nakhtmin had told her that she didn't quite understand, yet she dutifully reported it anyway: "The Lord General also asked me to tell Your Highness that he has purchased a vast quantity of the most expensive fabrics from around the Great Green Sea, ensuring the Queen will have a magnificent wedding."

Upon hearing this, Isis knew that Nakhtmin had made contact with that person, and she felt a secret wave of relief. She turned her gaze back to the surging torchlight within the city, as if looking at the undercurrents beneath this veneer of peace, eager to devour everything in their path. "Heh, exactly how many people with ulterior motives are gathered in Thebes right now? Medisu, has General Nakhtmin found any trace of the Hittites?"

Although Medisu was relaying the information she had been given, she had no idea what any of it actually meant—which was precisely why she had been sent to deliver the message. "General Nakhtmin said he found traces of young merchants matching the description, and there is indeed a young woman in their party. However, they are staying in the residential quarters on the eastern side, and there have been no unusual movements from them in recent days."

No unusual movements? Isis cast a cold glance toward Memphis's palace. By tomorrow sunrise, Carol—who would possess both the title and the reality—would appear before everyone. Having acquired the de facto inheritance of half of Egypt, she could no longer be described merely as a tempting, succulent piece of meat.

Isis ordered Medisu to withdraw, then slowly leaned back against a pillar, crushing a handful of withered, dried flowers in her grip. A moment later, a few droplets of water fell, dampening the dry petals once more.

Memphis, my brother, do not forget your sister—Isis, who flows with the supreme and noble blood of King Neferkare. One day, I will return to Egypt. I will definitely return!

At that moment, the Pharaoh of Egypt, Memphis, was fiercely engaged in a passionate performance on the bed. With every thrust more violent than the last, the bed curtains—along with the gauze draperies specially hung throughout the room for the wedding—swayed in a rather spectacular fashion.

Carol’s face was flushed crimson, her hips suspended in the air, and her legs hooked over Memphis's arms. No matter how much she felt she couldn't take it and tried to break away, she only ended up locking her legs tighter around Memphis's shoulders, forced to swallow his pent-up, long-accumulated desires.

"Carol, Carol! You are finally my queen!" Contrary to his violent movements, his words were tender and filled with deep emotion. He kissed Carol's flushed cheeks and moistened blue eyes, listening to her indistinct, delicate moans. The satisfaction in his heart grew ever more overwhelming, driving him to plunge into her with even greater abandon.

Carol felt as though she were about to faint from the relentless pounding, but being needed so fiercely by the one she loved—even if maximum pleasure had not been reached—brought a psychological fulfillment that defied description. She buried her face in the crook of Memphis's shoulder, parting her legs even wider.

The young maid quietly asked the court lady, Nefertari, "King Memphis is so fierce. Is he beating the queen?"

Nefertari burst out laughing. "You'll understand when you get a little older. Those are joyful cries, you see!"

The commotion inside gradually subsided, and the gauze curtains finally stopped fluttering wildly like a hurricane. Carol lay flat on her back on the bed, utterly exhausted and unable to move a single finger. Memphis pulled her onto his chest, kissed her small, red lips once more, massaged her lower back and hips, and said with profound satisfaction, "My little cutie, you are finally mine. For my sake, you must protect your body!"

In this era, life was exceptionally cruel to women. If not for the nations' reverence for the gods and the protective title of the Daughter of God, Carol would have long since lost her purity after falling into the hands of ruthless men as vicious as jackals. Hearing Memphis bring this up now, Carol knew he was worried that she—with her increasingly sensitive status—might become the target of covetous eyes. Yet, recalling the night in the valley when she was abducted by Asis, she couldn't help but shudder involuntarily.

Suspecting nothing, Memphis simply assumed Carol was shivering from the night breeze while naked, and pulled a blanket over his wife. The two of them whispered sweet words of affection, exchanging vows never to part.

Izmir once more arrived at the residential house in Thebes where he had previously stayed. Because the city was celebrating the Pharaoh's grand wedding throughout the night, patrols and security had been heavily reinforced, making it difficult for suspicious individuals like them to easily venture outside during the day.

Inanna could only chew on sand-infused bread day after day because the Egyptian winds and dust were far too severe. Then, in this scorching-hot place, she had to rely on the local sweet beer and wine to fall asleep at night while drenched in sweat. If Izmir happened to remember her on rare occasions, she might get a share of a Nile duck leg to improve her meals.

Right now, Inanna was skillfully slicing duck meat with a knife Izmir had given her, casting a malicious look at Izmir, who was holding a wineglass and gazing up at the starlit sky. "Your Highness, after tonight, the Daughter of the Nile will belong to King Memphis."

"That is only natural," Izmir's reaction deeply disappointed Inanna. "A woman who retains her purity can never be a legitimate Egyptian queen, nor can she ever achieve her maximum value."

She knew that men in this world didn't care much about a woman's first time, but for a woman of high status, it was a different story entirely. "Didn't Your Highness say you wanted to marry her? King Memphis's reputation across the Great Green Sea is no less than yours. Are you really willing to let this go?"

Izmir gave Inanna a bewildered look. "There are only two ways from Hatti to Egypt: either by ship, or crossing the Anatolian Plateau and then entering Egypt via Syria. Even with boundless ambition, Egypt is hardly suitable for annexation into Hatti, not to mention that Babylon and Assyria in Mesopotamia lie right in between. When it comes to distance from Egypt, it is infinitely closer to Hatti than I am. The Daughter of the Nile is merely a tool for me to hold Egypt hostage and win the hearts of the people, so that Egypt will not block our inherent interests in Mitanni and our path of expansion toward Syria. As for Egypt itself..."

Izmir finally couldn't help but fan himself with his hand. "It is truly a colossal burden."

Just as Inanna was about to retort, Izmir quick-wittedly picked up a piece of bread and shoved it into her mouth. Inanna clamped her lips shut, nearly chipping her teeth on the gritty sand. With a bitter expression, she closed her mouth and walked off to rinse with water, buying Prince Izmir a moment of peace.

That tranquility, however, was fleeting. Even though it was already night, the clamor of voices and the chaos of scurrying chickens suddenly echoed not far away.

Izmir's small outpost consisted of barely a dozen people. Calling it a small merchant caravan raised no suspicions, and the house was piled high with goods he used as a cover. Therefore, when the Theban guards knocked on the door, what they saw was a group of merchants making merry—just like every other spot celebrating in Thebes tonight.

The captain's eyes fixed on Inanna, who was leaning near the prince. "If you're going to party, why didn't you call for a few more women? Can such a small, delicate girl handle this many men? Everyone stand up! Men to the left, women to the right!"

General Hazzan hurriedly signaled Inanna with his eyes to remain calm. Even if the Egyptian soldiers got hands-on, she had to endure it and avoid creating extra trouble. Inanna had her own baseline; these soldiers clearly knew she was the only woman here yet still insisted on separating and interrogating them—their motive was definitely not innocent. She would endure if she could, and if she couldn't, she would simply blame Prince Izmir for being incompetent.

The remaining soldiers surrounded Izmir and the others, beginning to question and examine their identification documents, while a few higher-ranking officers entered the house, poking and prodding the expensive goods.

The captain—whose face was rugged, completely devoid of hair on his head or face, making his expression look all the more menacing—dragged Inanna aside. He walked a circle around her, leaned in with a greasy smirk, and stroked her arm as he chuckled. "Such fair and tender skin. If it were peeled off and made into a small drum, it would surely be treasured like a jewel."

Hearing this, Inanna felt her scalp tingle. Unexpectedly, just as the burly man pretended to tear at her clothes, he leaned in closer and whispered quickly in a low voice, "Three days from now, at the Karnak Temple market, look for the house selling purplish-red fabric. The Queen is waiting for you!"

The news came so abruptly that it felt like an unexpected bolt from the blue to Inanna. Before she could react, the burly man grabbed her hand and slapped himself across the face. The sound cracked through the night like a splitting stone. General Hazzan almost groaned out loud: *This girl, why is she so uncoachable?!*

Clutching his face, the burly man began to curse loudly, gripping the hilt of his sword and shouting that he would cut Inanna down to vent his anger. Watching his dedicated performance, Inanna genuinely felt that being a subordinate in this era required a high level of professionalism. Since she couldn't justify not cooperating, she put on a look of righteous indignation. Anyway, it was all acting; two of his subordinates even made a pretense of holding him back from swinging his sword at her. Inanna happily cursed the man for laying his hands on her, calling the Egyptians bald-headed bachelors who hadn't seen a woman in lifetimes, declaring that she would persuade her master never to come to Thebes for business again, and serving them right for walking around half-naked all day.

Even though he was just acting, the burly man was so enraged by Inanna that spots danced before his eyes. *Why on earth did the Queen assign me such a wretched task, sticking me with a sharp-tongued woman who demeans Egyptians as utterly worthless?*

While the quarrel raged fiercely, someone among the group surrounding Izmir spoke up, "Captain, their identities and documentation are entirely in order."

Looking thoroughly dissatisfied, Izmir dug out a full pouch of gold sand from under the gaze of those wolfish-eyed men and handed it over. "She is a foreign slave I bought, and she doesn't know much. Consider this compensation for the adult's trouble." The burly man twisted his mouth, rubbed his aching facial muscles, and then feigned reluctance as he took the money and led his men away.

Inanna did not sleep that night. She lay wide-awake on her rough reed mat, sweating profusely, nervous and excited, yet not daring to toss and turn for fear of disturbing the prince nearby.

Queen Isis had taken the initiative to seek her out—this was a momentous stroke of luck! Yet figuring out how to slip away from the prince's surveillance to meet Isis posed a monumental challenge. Inanna racked her brains and could not come up with a single plan. Fortunately, she wouldn't even need to invent an excuse soon enough, because the prince was about to be more than ready to kick her out.

Oh, Egypt—what a scorching-hot, terribly filthy place!

That's right, Inanna had gotten head lice.

***

Author's Note: When a wholesome *shoujo* manga encounters an unwholesome author... it turns out like this...

The exams went well, but I am too exhausted. Tomorrow I'll slack off a bit and update a "100 Questions" section. It's only 1 point, basically free. Some of the questions in there are ones I need to ask myself... Interested readers can click to check it out; it contains minor spoilers...

If there are any free side stories in the future, they will all be updated in the free Chapter 56.

Thanks to the reader "Yanjing GN" for the landmine!

*Legend of Isis [Daughter of the Nile]* Chapter 55 - *Legend of Isis [Daughter of the Nile]* Free Full Text Reading - Chapter 55 Update Complete!