Chapter 108: Intrigue (4)
Early in the morning, as I was having breakfast with Erenia, Rikius suddenly showed up requesting an audience. I wiped my hands roughly with the cloth she'd handed me and rose from the table.
“What’s this about so early?”
“Yes, sir. We uncovered something suspicious during the investigation.”
“Suspicious?”
As I settled back into my chair and took a sip of cool drink, Rikius handed me a sheet of parchment.
I scanned the contents and frowned deeply.
“This.”
“We sent thieves to rummage through the homes of the suspects and found it there.”
I crumpled the parchment in my fist.
The content itself was nothing special—just a sales contract for a brick factory between a senator and a freed slave. Except that it was so heavily skewed in one party's favor it bordered on the criminal.
“If this contract was honored, the freed slave stands to gain massively. Did the senator actually follow through?”
“I sent men to the oversight office managing the brick factory and confirmed the ownership change. It checked out.”
“The freed slave who took the factory from the senator is named Drassus. What’s his story?”
“He runs a gladiator training ground right now. Big influence in the slums.”
“A freed slave training gladiators.”
I steepled my fingers.
“Shall we grab him for questioning?”
“No. Leave him be for now. Dig into connections between this senator whose name is on here and Drassus. There’ll be someone who completes the picture.”
“Understood.”
I dismissed Rikius and sank into thought.
A freed slave training gladiators.
And a senator from the empire’s uppermost elite.
Taken alone, their only overlap might be the gladiatorial games—if that.
No reason whatsoever to hand over a brick factory—a symbol of wealth itself—for peanuts.
Something’s fishy.
But.
If they lack the confidence to seize the military after ousting me, pulling off a plot like this would be tough.
Even if I stepped down as Praetorian Prefect, the key legion commanders and troops of the Northern Army remained under my sway. The Senate’s old foxes knew one word from me could set them in motion.
If I were in their shoes, I’d keep me in check just enough and negotiate to grab what I could before backing off.
Or maybe some green noble scion without experience got roped in?
My head grew muddled.
On the way to the palace after an unexpected report from Rikius, someone hurled an egg at me.
Furious Praetorians charged after the culprit, dragged him back after beating him bloody, and shoved him at my feet.
I dismounted, wiped my face with my cloak, and eyed the man with conflicted pity.
“Why throw an egg at me?”
“Didn’t you order my house burned?!”
The man bellowed with raw grudge in his voice.
“How dare you! His Excellency’s measures were to halt the plague—do you dare complain?”
“Enough.”
I raised a hand to halt the guards reaching for their scabbards.
“Hypocrite. Pretending to be noble won’t save you!”
“Your Excellency! Let us punish him!”
The guards shouted.
“Release him.”
“But—”
“Let him go.”
At my command, the Praetorians reluctantly freed his arms.
“It’s His Excellency’s mercy. Be gone.”
“Ptooey.”
The citizen spat on the ground and stalked off down the street.
“That bastard?”
The guards clenched their fists but held back, remembering my order.
I rubbed my cheek, still reeking of egg.
Truth be told, there was no reason to go easy. I could’ve ordered a flogging for challenging the Praetorian Prefect’s authority.
But I’d rolled through enough battlefields to know what it meant to lose your home to flames.
I understood the rage of a man whose house burned on my command better than most. An egg was a small price.
“Let’s go.”
I remounted. This time, the guards closed ranks tighter against any more eggs, and no further incidents marred the way.
At least the emperor seems untroubled by the rumors.
I almost wished he was worried. Ignoring even whispers of sedition meant he was that unfamiliar with power.
“General.”
As I finished my routine report and withdrew from the audience chamber, someone called out. I turned to see a stunning blonde girl—the emperor’s sixteen-year-old sister, Princess Euresia.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I bowed with proper decorum.
“I’d like a word.”
A word? What could a teenage girl want to discuss about state affairs? But refusal wasn’t an option. Even as head of the empire-shaping Praetorians, snubbing imperial blood was dicey.
“Of course.”
“Follow me.”
I trailed the princess down the palace corridors. Not blindly, of course—my loyal Praetorians blanketed the palace. One shout, and my safety was assured.
Here?
I caught a whiff of sweet perfume and paused. She’d led me to her chambers.
“Come in.”
“If you’ll excuse the intrusion.”
I hesitated a moment before stepping inside.
Her room was more opulent than expected. Luxurious amber and silks strewn about, jars of rare spices no commoner could dream of.
The sight soured my mood. The empire’s finances in ruins, and this extravagance? I got that royal spending tied to “prestige,” but excess like this was hard to stomach.
“Sit.”
She gestured to a seat. But I had no desire to lounge and chat.
When I declined, she shrugged, plopped on the bed, and tossed her hair back as she addressed me.
“I’ve heard the rumors flying around.”
“Have you?”
“You really have no such ambitions?”
Her question hardened my expression. If she was probing on the emperor’s behalf, I’d shut it down hard. Arms crossed over my chest, I replied.
“If I did, I wouldn’t have sworn fealty to His Majesty. We eagles live for the pride of defending the empire—not for power.”
“So you’re saying you don’t covet the throne, as the rumors claim.”
“Correct.”
She smiled at my words.
“That’s reassuring. But you never know with the world.”
“What do you mean?”
“Positions make the man—and the greed. I’ve heard it said around the palace.”
I bit my lip at her words.
“Not wrong. But for us soldiers, there’s something more important than power.”
“Honor?”
I shook my head.
“Duty. The living must bear the wishes of the dead. I carry the weight of my fallen comrades for the empire. So I can’t—and won’t—draw steel against His Majesty.”
“A true soldier’s words.”
“I’ve lived rough on the frontiers. Does that answer your question, Your Highness?”
“Somewhat. But...”
A flicker of unease stirred at her trailing words.
Sure enough, she voiced exactly what I dreaded.
“I need assurance.”
“Command the Praetorian legions to renew our oaths before His Majesty, and we’ll do it.”
“Better if you became family. Say, by marrying me.”
She rose from the bed with a coy smile.
Her tunica had slipped off one shoulder, baring smooth white skin up to her arm.
“That won’t do, Your Highness.”
Undeterred, she stepped closer.
“Why not?”
“I have a wife.”
Her pale, soft fingers brushed my chest.
“That barbarian from the rumors?”
“Yes.”
“A woman like that offers you little gain.”
True enough.
If I had political ambitions, I’d cut Erenia loose here and embrace Euresia’s advances. It’d solidify my position and bind me tight to the imperial family.
But once was enough for failing to protect my woman.
I pushed her fingers away.
“I don’t choose women by political calculus.”
Her expression stiffened at the rejection.
“Didn’t you swear loyalty to His Majesty?”
“Of course.”
“Then take me as your wife.”
“No.”
“Wouldn’t it benefit you and the empire if His Majesty trusted you more?”
“You’re right, Your Highness. But this is a matter of humanity before politics. I won’t abandon my woman a second time.”
She withdrew her hand.
Her face soured, tinged with humiliation.
“You’re sure you won’t regret it?”
Her tone offered one last chance.
I met her beautiful face squarely, ignoring the pale curve of her shoulder.
“No regrets. If I’d stooped to that and looked back, the empire’s soldiers wouldn’t trust me with their backs, Your Highness.”
I answered with a soldier’s unyielding pride.
She bit her lip faintly and pulled her tunica back up.
“You really are the type to shame a woman.”
Her body trembled lightly—she was furious. She’d staked her pride as a woman, only to be rejected to her face.
Doubly so for imperial blood. Still, the rudeness was hers, not mine. I replied calmly, as if nothing happened.
“My apologies, Your Highness.”
“Leave.”
“Pardon the intrusion.”
I bowed courteously and turned to go.
A crash of shattering crockery echoed down the hall a short way in. Her pride must’ve stung bad—venting, no doubt.
I clasped my hands behind my back.
Never thought I’d make an enemy of the princess. Troubling.
A bitter taste lingered.
I’d expected the imperial family to seek some tie to me somehow. But the princess herself seducing and testing me? Refusal made her an instant foe.
No way to reject without bruising her ego.
I added Euresia to my mental list of potential adversaries.
As I exited the palace corridors toward my waiting litter, a herald bearing a black flag galloped up the hill.
I signaled the slaves to halt and waited.
Moments later, he reined in before the palace.
“What news do you bring?”
He spotted my cloak and dropped to one knee.
“A monster’s appeared in the harbor, Your Excellency.”
“Monster?”
“Yes, sir. A whale over ten meters long. Came in on the tide and got stuck. The garrison commander ordered me to report it.”
“A whale.”
Handled right, it could boost the emperor’s popularity and salvage our regime’s support.
Such calculations raced through my mind.
Not a mythic beast, but whales are rare sights for imperial citizens. If His Majesty slays it personally...
The boy-emperor’s star would soar.
Plus, offering the “monster” to the gods could feed superstitious hopes of restored national fortune. A prime opportunity for the empire, if played well.
“I’ll see His Majesty.”
“No, I’ll report it to him myself.”
I clapped the herald’s shoulder and turned back toward the palace.
(To be continued)