Chapter 71: The End of the Plot (1)
The capital fell in a single night. The resistance within the city was weaker than I'd anticipated, so most of the capital's citizens didn't even realize we'd entered. But the fact remained: we had conquered the heart of the empire.
The legion marched in perfect order along the capital's central avenue before surrounding the mansions of the great noble families on the seven hills, the Senate, and the imperial palace.
The Praetorian Guards offered token resistance, but the moment our soldiers raised their shields and bellowed once, they scattered like chaff.
I strode through the triumphal arch—where emperors had passed in glory—its stones still caked in mud, and took my stand in the capital square. From there, I read a brief proclamation.
"From this hour, all remaining senators, the capital mayor, consuls, and other holders of vital state offices are ordered to report to the Senate assembly hall. Noncompliance will mark you as accomplices to the usurper emperor Velius, subject to severe punishment."
My orders were relayed across the capital by the soldiers at once. The old senators, roused from sleep by the early morning clamor, rubbing their eyes, must have panicked upon realizing the world had upended overnight.
Now they faced two choices: obey and come to the assembly hall, or be branded traitors' accomplices and lose their heads.
Of course, senators who cherished their necks were unlikely to defy me.
Less than four hours after the edict, hundreds of the nation's leaders swarmed the Senate assembly hall. The very men who had smugly condemned me as a traitor from their cushioned seats now peered at me with obsequious faces, desperate for any hint of my mood.
How hollow.
I'd known the empire was rotten, corrupt to the core. I'd known its power brokers prized their own hides and ambitions above all.
Still, shouldn't one of them stake his life on a shred of pride?
I wore a bitter expression.
"To positions."
At Rikius's shout, five hundred soldiers deployed inside and around the Senate under the centurions' command. Precautions against any senator smuggling in a blade for an assassination attempt.
Not that I expected anyone with the spine for it—but ifs have a way of happening.
Seeing the soldiers take up positions, the senators couldn't mask their unease.
They feared I'd slaughter them all on the spot. Fair enough—they'd meant to condemn and execute me as the empire's foe, after all.
No wonder they say a guilty conscience makes cowards of us all.
With a flourish of my cloak, I entered the assembly hall flanked by my officers. Boruman, lingering behind, issued a cold command.
"All enter!"
The senators, consuls, and empire's top brass obeyed a mere captain's order without a whimper, shuffling in like docile sheep.
No one dared bluster, "Who do you think you are?" The instant we'd breached the capital, they'd internalized that their throats lay at our sword's mercy.
The sovereign Senate, representing the citizens.
Even that exalted body was helpless before raw force.
I claimed the chairman's seat—reserved for the emperor alone. Onlookers flinched, but none dared protest.
I traced the armrest with my fingers. Fine wood, smooth and costly.
As they sat one by one, stealing glances, the soldiers sealed the hall's doors with a resounding bam. Everyone jumped again.
Then silence. Deathly silence, broken only by my fingers drumming the armrest.
"Hmm."
I steepled my hands; many senators gulped audibly.
"All present, Your Excellency."
Boruman approached and saluted crisply. I nodded and rose.
"With the esteemed national senators assembled, let's formally submit the indictment. The accused: Velius, Praetorian commander who sold legions to barbarians and orchestrated the shameless assassination of the previous emperor."
"Ahem."
A few coughed awkwardly.
"That craven fled the battlefield—abandoning our legion to cross the river in retreat, shirking his duty to subdue the barbarians. Because of him, we fought to the death on the front lines. Fitting conduct for an imperial commander?"
The senators stayed mute. Even those with retorts knew better than to voice them here.
I slammed the armrest with my fist.
"Because of him, thousands of soldiers perished fighting barbarians, bones buried far from home. Yet we claimed honorable victory for the empire—and survived.
"And upon our hard-won return, the capital sent word: he'd crowned himself emperor and branded me the empire's enemy. Outrageous."
I swept a chill gaze over them. They bowed heads, dodging my eyes.
"Of course, I believe the Senate never truly meant to condemn me or acclaim him. You feared his blades and spears. Isn't that so?"
"Y-yes, Governor."
"Precisely as Your Excellency says."
A few chimed in hastily.
"I've considered Velius a traitor from the start."
The capital mayor jumped in with flattery.
"Thus, I wish to hear the true will of the Senate and state officials now. Traitor or loyal servant? Rikius!"
"Yes, Excellency!"
"Fetch the voting urn."
I summoned a massive jar. The senators swallowed hard. Secret sherd voting—names inscribed on pottery fragments.
Anonymous or not, they couldn't freely name me traitor. No need to imagine the fallout.
They eyed the urn, throats bobbing.
Chosen soldiers distributed shards.
Senators, consuls, mayor, officials stared at the fragments before their eyes, squeezing them shut.
Then, with trembling hands, they scrawled names. A vote for the state traitor!
One by one, they approached and dropped shards into the urn.
I locked eyes with each as they voted. They forced smiles, signaling they'd named Velius.
Voting concluded; Rikius emptied the urn.
"Velius! Velius! Velius!"
Unanimous, as expected—Velius the traitor.
"Then, with the throne vacant, Consul, proclaim the enemy of the state."
I singled him out; Consul Colkissus rose with evident reluctance.
The consul shuffled unhappily to the podium. I'd feel the same. Forced votes were one thing; officially damning Velius by name made them mortal enemies.
Victory unconfirmed, picking sides risked everything.
Yet he couldn't refuse me.
Colkissus hefted the golden gavel.
"By this, the Senate—as sovereign representing the citizens—declares traitor Velius enemy of the state. All his records shall be erased; his name stricken from history."
I inclined my head lightly in acknowledgment of his effort.
Colkissus delivered the brief words and trudged back, utterly drained.
"And esteemed senators, one more item on the agenda."
"Speak, Belgorod Governor."
"Electing a new emperor."
Murmurs rippled briefly. All agreed the vacancy must be filled—hence their hasty acclaim of Velius after Baccus's death.
"But the new emperor—"
"Of course, I harbor no designs on the throne."
Tension eased visibly. They knew full well the perils of a soldier-emperor.
Velius counted as one in the broad sense, but he'd started as Praetorian chief and imperial kin—beyond frontier soldiers' reach.
"Then whom does the Governor nominate?"
"Someone capable of steady governance, unlikely to provoke the frontier legions."
Senators exchanged glances. Plenty qualified—thirty or so, by my count.
But my choice was set from the outset.
"What of absent Senator Tersio?"
"Traitor who acclaimed Velius Praetorian."
One phrase dismissed the Senate's largest faction head. Minds reeled.
Each nomination I rebuffed with excuses. None dared retort, "What nonsense is this?"
At last, one candidate remained.
Senators caught on.
"Senator Marius. Have you no desire for the throne?"
He looked pained.
"I loathe office—quit consul midway to join the Senate. To shoulder the empire now? Too much."
"Yet the empire needs your leadership. Within, traitor Velius covets the capital; without, Heigirt's hordes ravage the frontiers.
"In such times, without one to unite us and secure the legions' backing, the empire cannot promise tomorrow."
"Governor Ain."
"Yes, Senator."
"Frankly: who rules the empire now?"
"A power vacuum."
"No. The empire's highest power is you, Governor Ain."
Silence blanketed the hall.
"Perhaps for now. But I'm a soldier, not one to covet the throne. Ascend it, revive the empire, and my legions will pledge loyalty before you—then return to the frontiers and fight."
"Surrender all seized power?"
"We never sought it. We only wished to bar the traitor who betrayed our legions, slew the emperor, and mocked the empire."
"If that's truly your will, Governor, I accept."
Senator Marius declared.
I dropped to one knee and cried out.
"To our supreme commander, recipient of the legions' loyalty, first citizen, guardian of faith and order, guide of the empire—His Imperial Majesty the Emperor! On behalf of the 16th Legion, Belgorod Governor Ain pledges eternal fealty. Long live the Emperor!"
Soldiers and officers in the hall knelt as one.
"Long live the Emperor! We pledge to the golden eagle!"
Marius flinched at our oath.
Senators, stunned, scrambled to kneel.
"The Senate has awaited Senator Marius as new emperor. Long live His new Imperial Majesty!"
As elders knelt, youths and elders followed. Consul Colkissus, the mayor, all key officials knelt.
Marius hesitated, then approached the podium slowly. I proffered my drawn sword with deference as he ascended.
"To the new emperor, my blade—as proof of the legions' loyalty."
Marius accepted it and took the seat. At my glance, Rikius hurried forward with the emperor's purple cloak and draped it over him.
As Marius donned it, all acclaimed the birth of "Emperor Marius the New."
That day, backed by force of arms, I enthroned a new emperor and branded Velius enemy of the state.
(To be continued)