The Mad Tycoon of Rome

< 247. The Future of Rome 7 >

The would-be assassins finally agreed to be exiled without exception and even signed a pledge not to renege on their decision.

Caesar wrote a document stating that he would respect this decision and made it public to the Roman people.

Of course, Caesar did not stop there.

Curio, who acted as his spokesperson, gave a passionate speech at the rostra about why Caesar did not execute the assassins and why he settled for exile.

“Caesar thinks that even the most heinous assassins are still Romans. Of course, some of you may wonder why we need to respect some wicked criminals who broke the law. I thought so too at first. I wondered why we should not do what the Senate did, suspending the rights of citizenship with their ultimate decree whenever they felt threatened.”

“Right! We don’t need to pity the assassins!”

“Just execute them! Exile is too lenient a punishment!”

As the citizens began to shout, Curio slowly raised his hand and added more force to his voice.

“We can make that claim. Because we are angry. How can we not be furious when those who would have been trampled by the barbarians’ hooves if it weren’t for Caesar dared to try to kill him?

But Caesar decided that he should not do that. He thought that a person who bears the heavy responsibility of leading Rome should follow the principles, not be swayed by emotions.

Do you think he was not angry? It was his own life that was in danger. I am sure that Caesar’s anger was greater than anyone else here.”

As the citizens calmed down their emotions, Dolabella followed Curio and praised Caesar’s decision.

“In fact, the right to trial, and the right to exile instead of death, are rights that every Roman has. And this is obviously a clause that assumes when a crime is committed. If we deprive these rights from a malicious criminal, wouldn’t it be too prone to abuse in the future? Caesar took that into account and made this decision.”

The populist senators then criticized the illegality of the Senate’s ultimate decree one by one.

In fact, this incident marked the downfall of the Senate’s ultimate decree as a relic of the past.

The Senate had lost another powerful weapon that they had wielded as they pleased until now.

With the enthusiastic support of the citizens, the exile process of the assassins proceeded smoothly.

The enormous wealth of more than twenty patricians was first transferred to the national treasury, and then their ships and escorts were arranged.

The assassins were detained and did not dare to try to smuggle out their assets.

But they did not despair either.

As long as they had their lives, they thought they would have another chance to start over.

Even if their wealth was confiscated, they were former senators and patricians who still had many connections in the aristocratic faction.

They could recover as soon as the situation favored them.

And Caesar and Marcus knew that fact all too well.

After finishing all the procedures for exiling the assassins at the Senate meeting, Caesar invited Marcus to his mansion.

“I did everything you wanted. Is this really it?”

“Yes. Didn’t I tell you? That’s all we or Caesar have to do. We shouldn’t do more.”

“I thought you had something more up your sleeve. I didn’t expect you to be satisfied with just confiscating their wealth. Of course, I don’t think they will live comfortably in the hot desert land…”

“That’s what they deserve. They made the wrong choice even though we gave them many opportunities. They have to pay for it.”

Caesar asked with a gleam in his eyes at Marcus’s meaningful words.

“By the way, I heard that the person who handled this matter was Octavius? He said he was related to me?”

“Yes. He is about your distant nephew. I have been taking care of him since he was young in Antioch.”

“He must be barely an adult now, but he did a very neat job. He seems to have a lot of talent. What do you think?”

“As you expect. No, he is probably more capable than you think.”

“Then you must be thinking of making him your son-in-law.”

Marcus answered with a smile instead and turned his gaze to a large map.

The people of Rome still hardly knew who Gaius Octavius was.

Even Caesar was just beginning to take an interest in him, let alone others.

That’s why there was no better person than him to entrust this matter.

No, in fact, there was no need to entrust anything at all.

This time too, Marcus did not say anything.

He just left the matter of dealing with the assassins to Octavius and watched how he handled it.

And so far, Octavius had never disappointed him in this kind of work.

He was sure he would do so this time too.

※※※

All of Rome seemed to be waiting for the day of the assassins’ exile.

Of course, not to see them off.

It was to pour out mockery and insults to them, who had lost everything and were banished from their prestigious nobility.

The crowd, packed tightly, began to spew out coarse cheers and curses as soon as the assassins showed themselves.

Among them, there were quite a few who had served under Caesar.

There was no other choice for them. 

Almost all of the young men in Rome had served under Caesar at some point.

They had fought in various battles, whether it was the Gallic War, the Alpine defense line, or the Black Earth front.

To them, Decimus, who had served as a legion commander under Caesar and led the assassination, was a traitor who could not be forgiven even if they tore him apart.

“Decimus, you treacherous bastard!”

“How dare you repay the grace of the Imperator with enmity?”

“You are a disgrace to the Roman army, Decimus!”

The insults hurled at Decimus were so loud that they drowned out the curses directed at the other assassins.

Decimus bowed his head and was dragged by the soldiers onto the chariot.

The mockery and insults did not stop until they disappeared from sight.

The assassins who were escorted to Brundisium were also subjected to all kinds of abuse as they boarded the ship.

The ship that carried them was quite splendid and large.

It was so lavish that it seemed too much for transporting criminals.

It had a stable hull that could withstand the sea, and enough supplies to endure a long voyage.

“Well, at least they are keeping some decency… I wonder if we should be grateful for that…”

Cassius sighed with relief as he looked around the various items prepared inside the ship.

Decimus, who had not recovered from the mental shock he had experienced on his way here, silently took a corner and sat down.

Cassius left him behind and discussed their future plans with Trebonius.

“Do you have any idea about the sailing schedule? Are we going to Syria by sea and then go by land from there?”

“From what I heard, we are going to Egypt first and then cross the Red Sea. It might be a bit shaky, but isn’t it better to take a longer time on the ship than to cross the hot desert?”

“I suppose so. There are hardly any people who have marched through the desert from here.”

“It’s really lucky. The ship is much better than I expected, and there are wine and fruits prepared as well. I think Marcus must have done something for us.”

Trebonius took a sip of wine that was secretly brought in with a smile on his face.

It was undoubtedly a high-quality product that he could feel from the aroma and taste.

Although they had lost all their wealth and glory in Rome and might never return to their homeland again, he felt relieved that they did not have to lose their dignity as senators.

Cassius nodded his head as he received a cup from Trebonius.

“It’s thanks to him that we could end up with exile in the first place. And Egypt is also his territory as well. The journey will be comfortable. I did some research, and his word has more authority than the king in Arabia as well. He must have already told them to treat us well.”

The assassins who had recovered from the shock tried to enjoy their inevitable voyage by imagining their bright future.

Nothing happened for a few days after the ship left the port.

The weather was sunny and the waves were not high, just like when they departed from Brundisium.

“The weather seems to symbolize our future. It’s comforting.”

Was that a jinx?

Suddenly, fog enveloped them and it became hard to see even an inch ahead.

“What is this? What’s going on?”

Cassius anxiously grabbed a soldier and asked him.

“Oh, don’t worry. This area is prone to fog. It’s a sign that we are on the right track. Just relax. The sea is fickle.”

The soldier answered calmly as if telling him not to worry, so Cassius calmed down and went back inside the ship.

“They say this area is often foggy. There’s nothing to worry about.”

The assassins who heard his words relaxed and lay down on blankets on the floor.

“There’s nothing to see on a day like this anyway. It’s better to just stay here.”

“But… I went to Alexandria once before and there was no fog like this?”

“Of course it doesn’t fog every day. Didn’t the soldier say it often does? Maybe when you went there, it was just a day without fog.”

Cassius shrugged off Trebonius’ words casually and found a spot to lie down like the other senators.

Fortunately, there was plenty of wine stored inside the ship.

There was so much wine that it was more than water, so the assassins drank it less diluted than usual.

The outside was foggy and the voyage was getting longer, so they felt bored and drank more alcohol.

They also felt depressed about losing everything they had enjoyed in Rome and maybe never being able to go back home again.

Eventually, they all got drunk and fell into a deep sleep without exception.

‘I’ll show you… This is not the end for me. I will surely succeed in restoring the Republic by overthrowing that bastard Caesar…’

Cassius also fell into a pleasant sleep with a fuzzy head.

How much time had passed?

Bang!

The assassins who were snoring in their sleep woke up with a start at the sudden loud noise.

“What the hell, what was that?”

Decimus, who had spent a long time on the battlefield, reacted the fastest.

“Did we hit a reef or something?”

Cassius groped around in the dark to find his way to the deck.

In the process, his hand touched something wet.

“What… Did we spill some wine yesterday…”

Cassius could not finish his sentence because of the intense nausea he felt.

There was too much liquid for it to be spilled wine.

He reflexively brought his fingers to his mouth and tasted it. 

His face turned pale.

“It’s seawater. Seawater is coming in!”

< 247. The Future of Rome 7> End