The Mad Tycoon of Rome

< 242. The Future of Rome 2 >

Apart from the assassins who were plotting, the political scene of Rome seemed to be peaceful.

It was like the calm before the storm.

The aristocrats tried their best not to catch Caesar’s eye, while the populists agreed with everything Caesar said, as they always did.

But there were always those who gave signs of unrest.

Caesar’s close associates constantly paid attention to the rumors on the streets and warned him.

One of them was Caesar’s wife, Calpurnia.

She was very anxious about Caesar attending public events without any guards.

“Please, can’t you take some lictors with you? There might be people with bad intentions.”

“I have the citizens who always support me around me. What are you worried about?”

“But you are almost defenseless in places where ordinary citizens can’t participate.”

“The only places where citizens can’t participate are public meeting rooms, and there are other officials who have lictors there. So I don’t need to drag lictors around and intimidate people.”

Caesar answered casually, but looked closely at his wife’s face.

She looked different from usual, with no strength in her eyes and full of anxiety.

He grabbed Calpurnia’s hand tightly and asked again.

“Why are you so anxious? Did you hear anything bad?”

“When I went out on the street last time, a fortune-teller warned me to be careful. He was a famous fortune-teller who was very good at predicting bad things…”

“Fortune-tellers are always like that. They create anxiety in people. That’s how they make money. I’m breaking many traditions in Rome right now. But to others, I might look like a destroyer of tradition. So I need to show them that I respect the traditions that have value. Not taking lictors with me is also for that reason.”

“Then how about taking some guards like Marcus?”

Caesar felt a bit embarrassed by his wife’s persistent attitude today.

He wondered if he had to do that much, but he thought it would be best to appease her for now and nodded slightly.

“I’ll think about it. But hiring guards is not something I can decide easily. I’ll think about it slowly after this month’s schedule is over. I have to go out soon because I have to attend a dinner hosted by Lepidus.”

Calpurnia didn’t seem completely satisfied, but she accepted it and stepped back.

Caesar put on a tunic dyed in crimson and purple, and wrapped a huge toga over it.

He finished his preparations and went out of the mansion as he was, riding a sacra via to the temple on the Capitoline Hill.

He finished his duties as the chief priest and met with his clients until evening came.

He turned his footsteps to the Palatine Hill to attend a dinner party hosted by Lepidus.

Lepidus, who was Caesar’s lover Servilia’s son-in-law, had been quite close to Caesar since before along with Cassius.

He also had excellent administrative skills, so Marcus also showed him a lot of favor.

Being friendly with both of Rome’s real powers, he had many opportunities to make money.

He had a talent for seeing through the flow of finance, and accumulated a huge fortune in a few years. 

He bought one of the best mansions in Rome.

The luxury mansion overlooking the Forum Romanum was full of guests he invited.

Looking at the faces of those who gathered, there was no distinction between populists and aristocrats.

Caesar and Marcus, as well as Antonius and Cicero, Brutus, Cato, Piso, etc. 

It was no exaggeration to say that all the prominent figures in Rome were in one place.

Lepidus naturally placed Marcus and Caesar at the highest seats among them.

Soon after all the guests arrived, they took their seats guided by Lepidus.

“It’s been a while, father-in-law.”

Marcus greeted politely and sat next to him. 

Caesar smiled brightly and reached out his hand.

“I feel like I can breathe now that I see your face. I’ve been surrounded by annoying people lately. How is your business going?”

“Yes. I’m planning to open the facilities next month. I’m going to host an opening celebration dinner, and I’d appreciate it if you could join me and brighten up the place.”

“I’d love to go. The black drink you gave me last time… coffee, was it? I thought it was just bitter at first, but it had a strange charm. How should I put it? It makes me want to drink more.”

“Our household staff are already addicted to coffee. Julia tried to drink six cups a day, so I had to stop her with sweat.”

“Oh dear. I drank one cup at night and couldn’t sleep, so I got scolded. But it would be great when I have something to do all night.”

As they chatted and laughed, the banquet went on harmoniously.

Lepidus was very picky about food and wine, so everyone was satisfied with the high-quality meal.

He served the best white wine for the light fish dishes, and specially selected Chios red wine for the heavy meat dishes.

And that was not all. 

He offered four different kinds of wine to match the desserts that followed.

“I feel like my fatigue from today is gone when I taste this.”

Caesar muttered and drank his cup repeatedly.

“How about you? Does Julia always get anxious when you go to war? She tries not to show it, but I can see it. I’m more worried about her health than anything else. Is something wrong?”

“A fortune-teller gave me a bad prediction and told me to take lictors with me again. I explained why I couldn’t do that, and he told me to take guards like you. I wish I had a loyal slave like Spartacus by my side. The problem is that I don’t have anyone like that around me.”

Spartacus had recently been elected as a plebeian financial officer and gained the qualification of a senator.

Thanks to that, he was able to stand by Marcus’s side as if it was natural even when the Senate meeting was held.

“How about Verkingetorix? Wouldn’t it be reassuring to have him by your side?”

“I wish I could, but he seems to be busy enough to lose his eyesight. He has a lot of things to worry about as the representative of Gaul.”

“Well, Surenas is in a similar situation.”

Marcus smiled pleasantly as he felt the sweet texture of cheese on his tongue.

The reform of the long-exhausted administrative system had reduced his workload in the eastern provinces by more than half.

It was still premature to introduce a professional bureaucratic system, but he had laid a solid foundation for it.

Moreover, he had delegated most of his authority to Publius and Septimus while he was in Rome, so he had almost nothing to worry about.

He didn’t care much about the construction of hotels or the design of new systems.

He wanted to stay in Rome for the next few years, pretending to work.

Marcus was not a workaholic like Caesar, who dealt with documents even during meals, and he didn’t want to be one.

Caesar glanced at the amendment on free grain distribution and asked him one last question for confirmation.

“Anyway, you don’t agree with me taking Lictor with me, do you?”

“There’s no need to drag Lictor around. I don’t do that either.”

“Your situation is a bit different from mine, but… Anyway, I get it. Since you think so too, let’s keep this situation as it is.”

“But why did you suddenly bring up that topic? There must have been a reason for it.”

It was widely known that Calpurnia had a bad dream on the day Caesar was assassinated.

Whether it was a story made up by later flatterers or a real coincidence, there were quite a few people who warned Caesar of the misfortune.

Caesar ignored their warnings for various reasons, but it was undeniable that he had too much confidence.

“My wife heard some rumors. I guess it’s because I live in the official residence and I’m closer to the citizens than other nobles. Naturally, I hear all kinds of groundless rumors.”

“I see. It must be worrying if you hear ominous rumors.”

“Who doesn’t suffer from absurd rumors as a politician? There must have been plenty of people who wanted to assassinate me since my youth.”

“Well… Considering the rage of countless men who might think you stole your wife from your father-in-law.”

Caesar smirked at Marcus’s sharp remark.

“You’re not so innocent yourself when it comes to having multiple women. How are the Pharaohs of Egypt?”

“They are doing well. They might be on a ship to Rome by now.”

“The Pharaohs of Egypt are coming to Rome?”

“They might have some tourist purposes, but there are some things to coordinate when the Senate seats are expanded. They probably think they can get a better deal if they are in Rome rather than sending an envoy.”

Caesar took his eyes off the pile of documents and looked interested.

He had been thinking of having a conversation with the Pharaohs of Egypt anyway.

“Make a place for them when they arrive in Rome. I’ll gladly attend.”

“Understood.”

Marcus felt a strange feeling as he recalled the relationship between Cleopatra and Caesar in the original history.

He nodded his head.

※※※

The Ides of March was the day when Caesar declared that he would finalize the expansion of the Senate seats.

This matter was so important that Marcus also attended the meeting.

As he entered the Curia, he saw more than 500 senators scattered around chatting.

Those who recognized Marcus hurriedly approached him and vied for his attention.

“You must be busy with your work. How did you find time?”

“I can’t miss such an important matter. But it’s almost time for the meeting to start, and I don’t see the praetor.”

“Oh, Lucius had some trouble at the Colosseum and said he would be late. Anyway, even if the meeting starts, Caesar and the aristocratic faction will argue fiercely, so we won’t vote until much later. It won’t be a problem if the praetor is an hour or two late. If he doesn’t come until the end, you can preside over the meeting instead.”

Marcus nodded his head and went to his seat.

Spartacus naturally stood on his right side, and Surenas, who was sitting on his left side, did not take his eyes off the huge pile of documents in his arms.

‘Is it time to start?’

Marcus stared at more than twenty aristocratic senators gathered below the stairs.

No one thought it was strange that they were gathered together to oppose Caesar vehemently.

Trebonius was loudly talking about their arguments for the debate as if he wanted everyone to hear them.

Cassius’s face was black with tension, and Cicero also had dark circles under his eyes.

Suddenly, he lifted his head and looked in the direction where Marcus was.

Their eyes met, and Marcus waved his hand and smiled.

Cicero smiled back as calmly as possible and came over to greet him.

“You attended the meeting today. You’ve been missing lately.”

“I can’t miss such an important matter that could ruin the republic. It would have been nice if you could stop Caesar.”

“I’m sorry. I have to remain neutral on this matter. But I secretly hope that you and Cato will win the debate.”

“…Yeah. That’s right.”

Cicero nodded his head with a dry sigh and fixed his gaze on Caesar, who had just entered the meeting hall.

“I have to go back now. I need to align my words with my colleagues a little more.”

He let out a short sigh several times and walked slowly, adjusting his breath.

“Good luck.”

Marcus watched him turn around with an inscrutable expression.

Caesar, who had taken his seat on the high podium, declared the start of the meeting in his usual loud voice, as if he knew or didn’t know this tense atmosphere.

< 242. The Future of Rome 2 > End