“You what?” Gaius asked, aghast.

I put my hands in the air. “It was… true.” I protested.

“Young!” The senator said, shaking his head. “Truth, you see, is like spices. Best applied with caution, in moderation. Even if it’s common knowledge and in the books, there’s a time for more and for less. You mix a little here, and a little there.”

I blinked. “Like cooking?”

“Yes, exactly like cooking! You must put just enough to give things flavor without ruining the taste!”

“What about the truth?”

He shook his head. “No, no. If you must tell people the truth, make them laugh, or else they kill you. Same for the plebes, same for everyone else. What makes you think they can handle it?”

“But…”

“Enough with the buts, damn it!” Gaius hissed. “You’ll get yourself killed!”

“And I will lose a match for my daughter!” Asinus held his face in his hands. “What am I to do now? The impertator shall never grant me permission unless his mood changes!”

“Of all things which to worry over, pater, I would concern myself with this item the least. The emperor’s mood is like the weather. Fickle, and prone to change. I am sure he shan’t recall a thing by next week.” A voice came from behind us.

I spun around. A small shiver went down my back. Him again.

Lucius was one of those people. Memorable, impossible to miss. He could walk into a room and draw every eye in seconds, all without ever doing anything. I still don’t know how he did it.

Maybe it was the shadows, dancing and wrapping around his black toga as he walked. Maybe it was the way he carried himself. Slow, comfortable, but always with a dangerous edge to it; like a coiled snake, always ready to strike. Or maybe it was his eyes, narrow and cold, glinting with calculation behind the thinnest veneer of friendliness

The hall between the baths and the latrines were quite spacious, half a room long and wide enough for five people to pass through side by side. But they seemed to shrink as he walked forwards, engulfed and overshadowed.

He smiled as he looked at me. An accessing smile, like my mom when she saw something she liked at the store. Only… this one left me far more uneasy. “Lucilla awaits you for dinner, pater.”

“Ah.” The senator said. He turned to me. “A thousand pardons, I must be going. She must have my favorite soup.” He turned to leave, stopping midway. “And you, my son?”

“I have business to attend to, pater. You needn’t wait for me. I have my meal ready.”

I swallowed as his gaze turned to me. “A few words, Fraus.”

He began walking down the hall. I followed, hesitantly.

“I hear that you convinced the imperator to raise you to senatorial rank.” He noted. “I must congratulate you.”

His tone felt a tad too cold to be congratulatory, but I don’t suppose I ought to complain about it. “Thank you.”

“No need. My father was simple enough to convince. You have great enough talent of your own, I needed only nudge him in the right direction.” Another calculating smile.

Wait…

“Convince? Convince of… what?”

He laughed. “Neither of us are fools, Fraus, much as you seem to enjoy pretending. Speak openly with me.”

I heard Gaius gasp from behind me. “He means… Lady Lucilla? That’s why he was so intent on a match?”

Wait… he was the reason the senator wanted me to marry an old hag? Bullcrap! I ought to throttle him!

Lucius turned his gaze to Gaius. A sharp look, lasting only a moment. The question was spoken silently. “Did I ask you to speak?”

Gaius stammered a bit, but then quickly quieted.

“My intent was for you to gain senatorial rank through my sister.”

“Unnecessary.” I said, pausing before adding. “No offense.”

“None taken.” He gave me an appraising nod. “A man must know the value of his gifts, after all. It will be unbecoming to demand a debt of gratitude for a worthless offering.”

Damn. That’s one way to trash talk your sibling.

“Have you put thought into a match of your own?”

I gave him a strange look. Why was he asking? “Yes?” I thought of Tana, swimming around the pool. Wait… was she… still there?

He nodded. “A pleasant surprise. Not often do I see a soldier plan so far ahead. You must be more familiar with politics than I imagined.”

Was I?

I guess I followed the news… sometimes. Some politician or another is screaming at eachother. Shouting matches about the state of the economy or a war somewhere far away or how many times they cheated on their wives. But then it was a sh*show I watched mostly for entertainment at this point.

Well… if you could call Twitter entertainment. Mr.Pinkman called it masochism, and for once I think I agreed with him.

“You have plans for your debut in politics too, I take it?”

That caught me off guard. “Yes? I run… election. Get votes. Support.”

“Not keen to divulge? Very well then, I shall not press. Allow me a gift instead, freely given, as a gesture of goodwill.” He handed me a piece of wood.

I took it, squinting at the text. The wooden tablet had some inscriptions on it, all carefully engraven with letters of gold. It looked quite impressive, and might’ve been more if I could actually read it. Unfortunately, GPT didn’t have an image feature yet, and I wasn’t about to type the whole thing out for translation.

I looked up at Lucius in confusion, but he was already leaving. “A small favor, but I imagine you will find it a welcome one. Do with it as you will.”

I thought I could see a smile at the corner of his mouth. “You are a man who takes bold risks, after all.”

That was news to me, but I didn’t want to talk with this guy anymore. He was giving me weird vibes all around. So I waited until he faded out of earshot.

“So uhh… what did that mean? I think I got like half of it.”

Gaius was gaping. “Dear Jupiter!” He was looking at my hand, his eyes fixed on the tablet. “Do you have any idea what this means?”

I looked at it again. “No?”

“This is a deed, Roland! A senatorial deed.”

I blinked. “He made me a senator?”

“No!” Gaius groaned. “He gave you a senator’s property.”

I had two questions then. The first I asked out loud.

“He can do that?”

The second…

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Wait… does that mean I’m rich?

***

“Holy f*ck.”

I stared at the chest of silver, slack jawed.

Looks like I’m not just rich…

I lifted the chest, my eyes dazzled by the sight of coins. Coins upon coins upon coins.

I’m filthy rich.

So, you’re probably wondering how I got here. Me too.

After Lucius left, I followed Gaius to the address engraved on the tablet. We started off in the outer areas of the Esquiline Hill, and man did stuff look impressive enough already. Picture it: giant, looming statues, paved roads that shined from polish, ornate fountains, spewing water; all with a backdrop of villas stretching on into the distance.

They were some pretty damn nice looking villas too. The garden was the first thing I saw, jutting out from the entrance of the gate like an overflowing, all encompassing lawn. But not the suburban mom variety. No, these were organized gardens, with shrubs forming intricate patterns around well groomed flowerbeds, overlooked by blossoming trees. The doors themselves were no less impressive, coming in so many shapes and sizes that it made suburban homes seem bland in comparison.

Ok, ok, I know. That wasn’t saying a lot. But bear with me.

It wasn’t long before we arrived at another courtyard, though this one was not like the others. The area was still undisturbed. The only hint of movement was the slow rustling of wind across grass. Shrubbery peeked out at odd areas, disrupting the orderliness of the flower formation. Maybe the gardener was on vacation?

I felt myself growing uneasy as I drew closer. The others had people; guards or servants or animals or the like. At the very least, there was some trace of them! A bucket left here and there. A discarded wineskin, a piece of bread… something!

This villa was as quiet as a gravesite. And not much more hospitable. I would’ve nervously turned back, if it weren’t for the giant chest laying on the steps to the front gate.

“Holy…” The silver sparkled in the sunlight, gleaming with a brilliant sheen as I let my eyes drift across. I grabbed the coins, bit one, held it in my hand to feel the smooth, cool texture. “This is… all mine?”

“Looks like it.” Gaius said, no less dazzled. But I noticed he was still keeping a distance. Eyeing the coins like some table that a COVID patient just coughed on.

I found myself slowing my movements. “Hold on…”

Wasn’t there this saying? Something about stuff being too good to be true probably not being true?

“This house belonged to someone.”

Well… duh.

I couldn’t quite laugh it off. Something went cold in my chest. My breathing become uneven. “What happened to them?”

I turned to Gaius. I just realized then that he hadn’t spoken since we came here, nor had he drawn close. Instead, his eyes were frozen, fixed with an unfathomable expression as he looked onwards, towards the villa’s undisturbed entrance. I noticed then that his hands were shaking.

“It was them.” He realized. His eyes were somewhere distant now. Distant and horrified. “I saw them just a few days ago!”

I swallowed. That didn’t sound good. “Who?”

“This was Senator Cornelius’ residence.” Gaius drew in a shaky breath. “So this was the raid the others told me about.” He shook his head in amazement. “And I thought he was safe. He dined with the emperor just a month ago, he was in good graces.”

“What happened?”

“Good question. Officially, he was put onto the list. As for why… well…” Gaius smirked sardonically. “I don’t suppose any good comes from asking why. If I remember correctly though…” A jolt ran through him.

“Oh.”

“Come on, tell me! What is it?” I asked.

Gaius’ face turned grave. “You remember our prefect, Lucius, right?”

“Of course. How could I forget? He was…”

“Terrifying.”

“Yeah.” I agreed.

Gaius clasped his hands. “He controls the list. Big guy has a say, of course, but ultimately? He can write whomever’s name he wants. One second they’re rich and powerful, and the next…” He opened his hands, as if playing peek-a-boo with the air. “Poof. Gone.”

“He has a death note?!”

“A what?”

“Like… he writes someone’s name. They drop dead.”

“Is that what Pluto uses to kill people?” Gaius sounded more intrigued than surprised. “Well… close enough, I suppose. The list is any senator’s nightmare. Wealth, respect, prestige… it isn’t worth a copper ass, at the end of the day. One wrong word to the prefect, and…” Gaius drew a line across his neck.

I felt cold sweat beading at the back of my neck. “The guy… what did he say?”

“It must’ve been that comment about his sister. Lady Lucilla.” Gaius’ eyes swung around, as if even the mice might be spying on us. “Look…” He took in a shaky breath. “This must be confidential, between the two of us. If he finds out…”

“I understand.” I said, solemn.

And come on, I wasn’t stupid! If this got out…

“Ok. So.” Gaius voice took on a conspiratorial tone. “I heard this from the barmaid, who heard it from her cousin, who heard it from her brother, who claimed to have heard it from Lavina the dancer while she was entertaining the senator Publius.

Hold on…

“It was an unforgivable transgression. The most foul of accusations. An irredeemable, vile mark on a woman’s soul.”

Gaius’ voice was low now, appalled. “He called her… a dominatrix.”

“Come again?”

“A dominatrix! Disobedient or even dominant of her husband, not subject to any control… she… good Juno, she might even argue with him!”

I scratched my head. “Um.” That described a lot of relationships I knew. Most of them, in fact. When was the last time Mom and Dad weren’t arguing?

“The thought of it… a woman seeking to master her husband? Scandalous! Even more than she is already. Almost a decade past marriageable age, and with such rumors? Why, she’ll never find a husband, even with a whole estate as dowry.”

“Hold on… is it… that bad?”

I knew a lot of people who’d have no problems with an older lady stepping on them. And well, a good chunk of girls I knew swore they’d never be getting married.

“Bad? It’s excruciating. Just imagine. Would you want a woman who would give you a piece of her mind every time you got home? Fight with you over chores? Ask you to take care of the children?”

“Well…”

Isn’t that part of the deal?

“Someone who will speak her mind. Be independent. Dare to challenge your authority instead of mindlessly obeying like a good wife? Demand your attention and affection?”

Um. Yes?

“Well…”

“Or… dear Jupiter, hold you down and have her way with you? What failure of a man would desire such a thing?”

About that… no comment.

Ok, ok, I get it. I plead the fifth okay! Asking– I mean, thinking, ahem, thinking for a friend.

I couldn’t quite prevent the image of Tana smiling mischievously from entering my mind.

Gaius was still going. “Think of the stain on their family honor. Such a loss of dignitas. A family hasn’t been shamed so since Julia disgraced Augustus with her adulteries. To think, she’s been engaged twice and it fell through both times. I understand Lucius, honestly. To think if my family were ever in such a disgraceful position…”

I stared at him blankly. “What is… so bad about it?”

“Dignitas, Roland! Do you not have the concept in Olympus? A woman is supposed to be submissive. Get married and take care of her children. Listen to her husband. If Lady Lucilla’s rumors are true…” He shook his head vigorously. “Scandalous! So scandalous.”

“What happens… if no dignitas?”

“Why, they’d be laughingstock. A miserly fate. Worse than death! To think… an aristocratic family of such ancient blood becoming no better than a commoner. As if they were equal.”

“They’re not?”

“Oh come now, Roland! This is Rome. We are a civilized nation. Civilization understands certain things, like how women should raise children and some people are inherently better than others! Don’t they teach you this in Olympus’ schools.”

“Well… no?”

“They don’t?” He sounded shocked. “But…” He sputtered, staring at me as if I just told them the sun didn’t exist.

“You don’t mean to say…” He covered his mouth. “That everyone is equal?”

“Yes?”

“Inconceivable.” Gaius put his hand on his forehead. “Do you… not have social discord?”

“Well…”

“Do your laws not favor the rich and the powerful over the plebes?”

“Well…”

“Do you not have a system where a tiny minority of citizens hold all the power?”

“Well…”

“Do your people not hate each other for petty reasons?”

My throat was getting dry. “Well…”

“Do you not remember your leaders for their scandals?”

“Well…”

“Don’t just say ‘well’, ‘well’, respond!”

“Yes?”

“See! You do have dignitas! Perhaps you just think of it differently.”

“I guess.”

He eyed the chest of silver again. “But I’m curious. If the people of Olympus think so differently, would they place less value on worldly goods such as gold and silver? Suppose I were to take-”

I put my hand on the chest. “Absolutely not.”

“Oh, so you do care about money.”

I nodded vigorously. “Who doesn’t! Now, I can share, but… mine.” I hugged the chest like it was my firstborn child.

Gaius laughed. “I guess we aren’t so different after all.”