The Mad Tycoon of Rome

< 249. The Future of Rome 9 >

“Did you know about this?”

Caesar cut to the chase without any small talk.

“What are you talking about?”

Marcus calmly poured some tea and handed it to Caesar.

He took the cup and asked again with a serious expression.

“Why do you pretend to be ignorant now? There’s no need for that. What happened? I didn’t hear that you were going to do that much.”

“Are you talking about the accident that happened this time?”

“Accident?”

“Yes. It was an unfortunate accident, they say. They should have accepted their exile quietly, but why did they make such a wrong choice?”

Marcus’s words reflected the feelings of most of the Roman citizens.

No one sympathized with the powerful Patricians who died in a mass murder, even though it was a major incident.

They tried to assassinate Caesar, the greatest hero of Rome, in the Senate hall and were arrested on the spot.

And then they also bribed soldiers to hijack the transport ship and escape, which made them deserve to be cursed.

But Caesar saw through that this was not an accident.

“You didn’t intend to hide it either, did you? You made some meaningful remarks in front of me more than once.”

“I didn’t try to expose it or hide it. As I told you before, I was more of a bystander in this plan.”

“I heard that you didn’t lead it last time. But did you really not interfere at all, or even listen to anything?”

“There were some people I knew well among the assassins. I thought it was not desirable to be swayed by emotion and let them go, or to be too cold and cut them off more than necessary.”

Cassius was a friend he had been close with since childhood, and the others were all familiar faces he had seen several times.

That’s why he left their disposal entirely to Octavius’s hands.

Of course, he also had the intention of checking Octavius’s skills.

Caesar clicked his tongue as he guessed Marcus’s inner thoughts.

“So the public opinion campaign that is happening in Rome now is all his work.”

“Yes. Personally, I think it was more than satisfactory work.”

“It seems more than satisfactory… He just became an adult, didn’t he?”

“That’s right. That’s why he’s such a promising talent for the future.”

Caesar shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it.

He secretly prided himself on having better judgment and reason than anyone else.

But even Caesar showed many immature aspects when he was not even twenty years old.

He didn’t think Octavius would be much inferior to him when he compared him with his past self.

Rather, he wondered if it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he was better.

What Caesar noticed most about Octavius was his cold-blooded decisiveness.

Usually, young men of that age would hesitate when they had all the choices in their hands.

They might know in their heads that they had to sort things out, but they would be reluctant to actually do it.

If they made a mistake, they might have to take responsibility for it, and more importantly, the other party’s background was not so easy.

Cassius was a friend of Marcus, whom Octavius relied on, and Decimus was Caesar’s distant relative.

They were not easy people for a young man of common origin who had just become an adult to deal with, even if they were attempted murderers.

But Octavius handled them cleanly without a bit of hesitation.

It didn’t look like a rash action because he was young.

If anything, the aftermath and public opinion were too smooth.

The evidence was that he felt that Marcus was in charge of the matter, not Octavius.

“How did you handle the aftermath? That’s more important than execution in this kind of thing. You know that this could be a serious problem if you get caught, right?”

“You don’t have to worry about that either. He finished it perfectly without any flaws.”

“How? How did you shut up the soldiers’ mouths?”

“The few soldiers who returned to Rome were already under his control for a long time. And they are going to live a comfortable life in Asia Minor from now on, so it will be hard to find them in Rome.

The rest of the soldiers are already living on land in other regions. Of course, their identities have been completely laundered, so it’s impossible to find them.

And most importantly, the soldiers who returned to Rome except for his confidants don’t even know who paid them for the job. They probably think there are people who have grudges against the Patricians behind them.”

The more he heard the story, the more Caesar coveted the young man named Octavius.

In the original history, Octavius became the de facto ruler of Rome when he was just over thirty years old.

He had no military talent, but his political skills were already considered superior to Caesar’s.

And now, Octavius had grown up under Marcus’s guidance from a young age.

It was inevitable that he would complete his skills faster than in the original history.

“What if you completely crush the Optimates like this? Wouldn’t it be a burden for you? You are known as the leader of the Patricians in the world.”

“I distanced myself from this incident completely. And I’m going to reform the Optimates, who were too authoritarian, using this as an excuse. No one will be able to oppose it, and rather will accept it willingly.

In order to survive, they had no choice but to agree. They had no power left, and no other options.

“True, the citizens probably see you as closer to me than to the Optimates by now… I don’t think there will be any problems. So when are you planning to return to Antioch?”

“I intend to stay here for a while. I have a good excuse now, so I might as well use it.”

Marcus smiled pleasantly and brought the teacup to his lips.

The tea, which had been brewed well, seemed more fragrant than usual today.

“So you never had any intention of going back to Antioch from the start.”

“Of course not. All I would have to look forward to there is endless paperwork. Naturally, I want to delay my return as much as possible.”

Caesar glanced at the huge pile of documents on his side, in response to Marcus’s answer.

Marcus pretended not to notice the bitter smile on Caesar’s face and sipped his tea.

As Caesar had pointed out, Marcus had never intended to go back to Antioch right away.

He had kept pretending that he would go back soon, in order to put pressure on the assassins and make them act.

Fortunately, he had a good excuse that he had to go to Greece to stabilize the situation there, so the assassins took his word for it.

He had already taken care of the Greek side a long time ago, but the assassins had no way of knowing that.

If Octavius had failed to do his job properly, Marcus would have had no choice but to go back to Antioch, but Marcus knew that was unlikely.

And the result was exactly as he expected.

“Lately, I’m more and more convinced that marrying Julia off to you was the best decision I ever made in my life.”

“I think marrying Julia was the greatest fortune of my life.”

“Not only for you and me, but also for Rome. Thanks to that, we can start the reforms without missing the opportunity.”

“Then I’ll leave it to you. The next reforms depend mostly on your role, father-in-law.”

“It’s a task that will lay the foundation for hundreds of years to come… It’s burdensome but also immensely glorious. Just watch. You won’t be disappointed.”

Caesar poured some wine into a new cup and handed it to Marcus.

Marcus raised the cup in the air and said,

“Since we’ve come this far, why don’t you give us a blessing from the highest priest?”

Caesar, who had been lost in thought for a moment, smiled and clinked his cup with Marcus’s.

“For Rome’s future.”

Marcus smiled back and replied,

“For Rome’s future.”

※※※

While Marcus was having an enthusiastic conversation with Caesar about their future plans, Octavius was receiving a guest he had been waiting for.

“I was just thinking it was about time you visited.”

The face of the person who received Octavius’s cool voice did not look like he appreciated the welcome.

The man who sat across from him did not say a word and just kept sighing as if he wished the ground would swallow him up.

“Brutus sir, are you still tormented by guilt?”

“…How can I be at ease?”

“You did what you had to do. What happened afterwards was not your fault, nor your responsibility.”

“I know that. But…the human heart is not so easily divided, is it?”

Unlike Brutus, who was suffering with his head in his hands, Octavius’s expression was calm.

The difference in age and status between them was irrelevant. 

The power balance between them was clearly in Octavius’s favor.

“You said last time you came here that you wouldn’t regret anything no matter what happened.”

“I did. I thought it would end with exile. For Rome’s future…I decided it was unavoidable. That was a sacrifice for the sake of generations. I could accept that. But I never expected such a disaster…”

“It was an unfortunate accident. No, actually it was a tragedy caused by their greed. You don’t need to waste your energy on such things, do you?”

Brutus nodded weakly.

Octavius’s words were always reasonable and objective.

This matter was not Brutus’s responsibility at all.

How could they make such a foolish decision that threw away not only their lives but also their honor?

Brutus could not understand it at all.

“By now I doubt their claim that they raised their swords for the sake of the republic. Maybe they just used Rome and the republic’s future as an excuse for their own wealth and glory? I even have such suspicions.”

“That’s not a suspicion, that’s a fact. Do you really think they acted out of some great conviction?

Of course not. If they did, why did they accept the offer of exile so easily? If they had a firm resolve, they would have resisted with their lives.

In fact, our ancestors and the Greek philosophers did not bend their beliefs even when the sword was at their necks. If you compare them with those great men, it’s obvious. The assassins had no convictions.”

“I still can’t believe it. They were the ones I had so many conversations with…”

“You knew it, didn’t you? That’s why you came to me and confessed your true feelings. That day, you did what you had to do. That was not betrayal. It was a noble decision for Rome’s future.”

Brutus could not look into Octavius’s kind eyes and lowered his head.

The Ides of March.

The shocking truth of that day finally began to spill out of Brutus’s mouth.

< 249. Rome’s Future > End