Closing the door, I leave it and the detectives behind and I look at the door handle once my hand drops off. I've been to a washroom since the murder but it seems I am too incompetent to clean my hands fully of the innocent blood that soaked them. Frowning initially, I look away as clearly marked men guide some of those I came in here with. The royal guard escorting them on top of that for what I had to pull off to get to...
"I don't understand..." I lie quietly as I walk off in full armour, unlike my men who were arrested shortly after The Lady Bosphama was clamped in torturous, magic-sealing chains. Following the signs of medical workers and their staff, I arrive back in the part of the palace where it had all happened.
"Alright, that's good, bring that ov-"
"DO NOT DARE TO UNCOVER HIS FACE I TELL YOU!" I roar with all the anger I have in me when one of them tries to uncover the fallen senator's face.
"Lord Burspharosa, please be aware of your circumstances." a royal guard officer clarifies as he comes over to stop me from marching on the frightened nurse, doctor or whatever they are!
"Unhand me! I will not see this man's dignity taken away from him!" I snap with a stretching pull of some of my clothes. One of the guards, clearly understanding my fouled mood moves to fix up what had been done to the fallen man. His bloodied face is hidden beneath his senatorial sash once again and I bitterly sneak off to the edge of the room.
"Lord Burspharosa, perhaps it is wise for you to go somewhere private?" the royal guard officer suggests as a couple of his men come up at his gesture. I know full well they are not here to escort, only keep an eye on me as I am otherwise on the Imperial Palace's list of things to do. I hate myself for thinking like this, but, the murder of one of Eusorochii's senators is of greater concern than a non-bloody break-in. Certainly is a day of all things for my efforts to be the least of their concerns.
"Fine." I grumble as I move to head on out of the room, heading towards another where I know but one of the many private lounges in the Imperial Palace are. Quickly taking the handle, I slam the door shut and let its lock ring with a firm click. Yet, my fingers refuse to unpinch the grip they have on it and the greater door handle shakes and rivets. My fault.
It is my fault an innocent man has lost his life so very memorably recent.
Sighing, I put a hand to my cheek and slide it under, flicking the limp set of digits away as I head into the room proper. Pacing around a sofa, I try to vent my worries into a crushing vice-grip on the hand that held most of Senator Caetusi's weight earlier. It is quite clear to me, how his body went from hot to cold, how the movements steadily vanished from each pore of it. My armour rattles and I come to a stop as my mind settles on older memories.
Unlike others in the Senate, I was never much of a general or admiral, my power came as a man of the mind. Soldiery is a profession I learned by circumstance not profession. But, the concept of death is not new to me, I despise the idea of silently offing my problems but plunging a blade in myself is within reason. Blood of those I care for has been spilt rarely and most often my enemies have had theirs dye my robes and accessories to them.
However, not once has the blood of an innocent man soaked me so thoroughly to the point it clings to my spirit, my mind. Despite the contents of that kill request, I know for a fact that Senator Caetusi is not the one to have ordered such an attack. He doesn't have the resources to track the Bosphama Lady-Heir, much less the knowledge of the Capital like I or others might have. No, someone set him up as a scapegoat knowing what would happen if I became aware of this attack against the daughter of the woman I've been undercutting all this time.
If the Lady-Heir died, this man would see my fall come as all the conjecture would lead to undisprovable assumptions about me. If it fails, which it did, then, I would not be led on a trail back to them, not one I'd be able to prove anyhow. So, Senator Caetusi was taken advantage of in the most prime of moments, right when he was dipping his feet into the waters of the Senate and nobility. Even as it became clearer so blatantly that he was seeking the support of The Lady Bosphama, I discouraged calling him out on it.
Yet, because I didn't, those of Senator Lepiaciai's faction started to move towards him like they had other members of the investigation. My spies told me of the meeting he had with Senator Caetusi, I was aware they were headed out somewhere some time ago and I didn't act. Even with hindsight, I still would not change how I acted... Going after the Lady-Heir with assassins, it's unthinkable.
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Senator Lepiaciai did, though, he went after Einervaene Bosphama for the sole purpose of trying to affect my plans. In doing so, he put up the well and thoroughly-understood to be alone senator as a failsafe. I should've not been so sure of the contents of the orders I retrieved from The Finest Cut. I should've been thorough and now...
"The blood of the innocent soaks my armour for the first time." I repeat to myself with ghastly hollowness to my words as I slowly make my way to a window. Opening it up slowly, I lean out as much as I can into the sky and glance down at the ground. Shaking away the intrusive thoughts that would damn my family, I straighten my back and breathe. Narrowing my gaze at a lengthy painting decorating most of one of the lounge's walls, I take it in.
A duel, a quite famous one if I recall my history correctly.
The Duel of Aeroniiea and Kojkias, often known as the Fight that Settled the War of a Thousand Warlords. So bloody had the period gone on for that the armies of the land simply quit what they were doing for the sake of peace. All that continued to fight were the two generals of the grand armies, Aeroniiea, the King of Atenbhes and the Thunder-Shogun who forsook his oath of solitary prayer and swordsmanship, Kojkias. The war ended with their deaths at the blade of the other and the land roared triumphantly.
Many men had rallied so many more into enacting their will to the point our ancestors were glad to be rid of them, the final two being spat on rather than being honoured. Evil and good blood spilt in equal amounts in that time and for all the famous names in that period, the whiplash of understanding is incredible. The period is so in-depth with records and writing but it all happened in so short a period. A disagreement that should've ended in the halls of feasting nobility.
Nodding my head with a heavy, withheld sigh, I acknowledge what I must do for the sake of our country. Returning my gaze to the view of the world, I look at what I can and stroke my modest amount of facial hair, my time for a shave near. The further intrusive thoughts are shaken away and I walk towards a desk loaded with many classical texts. Though, the room is very much built around an identity and I doubt any of them have felt dust on the inside of the paper.
"Senator Caetusi..." I mutter as I fiddle with one of the books, letting his blood stain one of the pages as I quickly flick through it. The hardcover strikes the ground once and bounces up again for another. My hand covers my eyes and a long breath escapes through my nose. Spotting the means to write and something for it, I settle down by the desk.
My mind comes to life and it all slips out, my plans and what I want done and in a matter of moments I find myself stabbing the quil to the desk. Rising and rolling the paper up, I apply a wax seal and let the foreign magic work its way into the easily solidified substance. Going to the door and heading back out, I rush up to the nearest servant and nearly spook the royal guards in the process. The servant backs up to the wall as my form, stained with the blood of an innocent man towers over them.
"Get this to the Senate, go with my blessing." I tell the servant as they try to take this in.
"Lord Burspharosa, what is the meaning of this?" one of the guards asks as I rise back up after leaning down for the short individual.
"Senator." I correct as I start to walk to who I need to find or someone who can lead me to them. A mother has been deceived and in her uncontrollable rage, she murdered a man who played no part in that which burns her soul so bright. I will be taking the efforts to see that the coward who set him up will pay. A single man comes to mind and I scowl for only one reason despite the frustrations he has given me.
Senator Lepiaciai set up Senator Caetusi to cover his tracks most fully and I will see them avenged. Yet, I am also in a unique position regarding my plans overall with the death of Senator Caetusi. The Lady Bosphama has now been charged with the murder of a senator with the eyes of plentiful, trustworthy gazes having seen the horrific act. She will no doubt be sentenced to death herself for the genuinely unfortunate act.
I can't help but sneer at myself, admittedly, my fury, my heart, it burns on Senator Caetusi's behalf and it goes out to those who relied on him. Those who are relying on what little he was able to make for his plans... And yet, here I am, moving to secure my own long-running goals first before I even dare to go after the man who set up his death. It's not how I planned the affair at all, I was prepared to provoke The Lady Bosphama into a state of paranoia that would've seen her lands stripped away and up for my taking.
But, I will exploit the opening much the same. With the Lady-Heir most certainly not a cause for concern anymore should the word of the investigation be true. Gods above, the fact Senator Caetusi died means that The Lady Bosphama is otherwise unaware of the power she may have. She only understands it as her daughter being attacked and blinded by assassins were it not for the foreigner at her side.
The painting is a lie, somehow, I will need to investigate the maker of it in the future for the sake of my plans in that time. I cannot have false information being fed to me, building up my worries and making me more likely to make mistakes! For the moment, though, I breathe my relief but refuse to smile or smirk over it. The Lady-Heir is not the concern I thought she was and I must make use of that.
I cannot be too comfortable with this, however, I must make the effort to secure my plans against further upsets.
Once I am done handling the work of decades, I will come for him. Senator Lepiaciai, I will come for him and I will see that he dies for the blood of an innocent man. Not just any, a senator. History may not understand me fully but, I pray now to the gods, all of them, let them let the world know that Caetusi, this man of humble origins was a senator of Eusorochii!
A senator of Eusorochii!