Episode 83. Praetorian Prefect (2)
I woke up in the morning to a commotion all around me. Stepping out of the bedroom the mayor had provided and onto the terrace, I saw hundreds of people gathered, shouting up at me.
"This is unjust!"
"It's unjust, Your Excellency!"
Word must have spread somehow, because the crowd had swarmed to pour out their grievances to me. I felt a pang of bewilderment at the scene.
I'd read stories of emperors from the Golden Age spending weeks hearing petitions right there on the spot, but experiencing it firsthand, it was no joke.
Gods above.
My head throbbed. Hearing them out wasn't the hard part. But I wasn't the emperor.
Resolving every petition like this was tantamount to challenging the emperor's authority.
I'd be undermining the very emperor I'd helped install.
It wasn't a politically savvy move.
Especially since I was being summoned to the capital right now. Earning Marius's suspicion here wouldn't do me any favors.
"Rikius!"
I quickly stepped back from the terrace and called for him. Fortunately, he was nearby.
"Yes, Your Excellency."
"Disperse the crowd."
Rikius saluted with his arm across his chest and left the room.
I peered out at the terrace beyond with a troubled expression.
"Is something wrong?"
Erenia asked.
"Yeah."
"Just grant what they want."
"That's the emperor's job."
"You did it yesterday."
"Once is fine—it's the whim of a magnanimous ruler, something that happens now and then. But I can't grant every request."
Her green eyes sparkled as she placed a hand on my shoulder at my words.
"Then you shouldn't have set the precedent from the start."
"You're right about that."
I admitted it readily. My unresolved feelings for Rica, the guilt over not being able to do more for her—it had driven me to help the woman.
A momentary choice without political calculation had tangled everything up like this.
"What do you plan to do now?"
"Disperse them and leave."
She leaned in close to my ear and whispered at that.
"You can't do that."
"Why not?"
"They'll hate you for it."
I turned to look at her.
"You want me to worry about popularity? I'm not hung up on that sort of thing. I'm a soldier."
"Of course. But you're no ordinary soldier anymore. You're the man who enthroned an emperor and wields immense influence over the empire. Isn't that right?"
"That's true."
"Then shouldn't you manage your popularity with care?"
Erenia spoke as if she'd studied the empire's political structure, insisting I needed to manage my public image.
She wasn't wrong. In the empire, a politician's popularity could be a vital asset, powerful enough to challenge the throne itself.
"But managing that isn't part of my duties."
"It is. Take this summons—you were called to the capital against your will, weren't you?"
Yeah. Fair point.
"So you need the people's support, something no one can touch. With that, you can stand firm inside and fulfill your duty to defend the empire."
She packaged her true intentions neatly for me.
By her words alone, managing popularity sounded essential for me.
But it was tantamount to acting like a politician. And that could look like a dangerous challenge to the emperor—a confrontation between a military powerhouse and the throne.
In the end, Erenia wanted me to aim for the throne.
But I had no designs on the imperial crown.
I only wanted our world to endure another day. Nothing more—I'd never wished for it, and I didn't now.
I pushed her hand away and stated clearly.
"There's merit in what you say. But I have zero interest in chasing popularity. It's not something the empire's golden eagle should concern itself with, nor something worth concerning myself over. Don't whisper dangerous thoughts in my ear, Erenia."
I flung my cloak back and strode off.
With Rikius and the guards' help, I pushed through the crowd in front of city hall and left the city.
At first, the petitioners jeered in disappointment as I grew distant. Even so, I couldn't indulge their demands.
As an individual, I'd gladly help. But as a power holder, I couldn't act so lightly.
We departed the city for the capital. Minor incidents cropped up nonstop on the journey, but nothing memorable.
After about two weeks, I stood once more before the capital I'd left in haste.
"I'll go ahead and inform His Majesty and the Senate of Commander Your Excellency's arrival."
"Do that."
I sent Rikius into the capital first. We waited silently outside until the emperor sent someone.
After nearly an hour, Rikius returned with splendidly attired Praetorian Guards.
"Your Excellency. His Majesty is coming out."
"Is he?"
I dismounted.
Soon, the emperor in his purple cloak approached with two consuls, surrounded by Praetorian Guards.
I confirmed Emperor Marius's face and dropped to one knee.
"Northern Army Commander Ain reports that he has fulfilled his mission to subjugate the barbarians and restore the empire's borders, and returns to His Imperial Majesty."
"Rise."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
I straightened my knee.
The emperor, now accustomed to his throne, exuded the natural dignity of supreme power.
"I've read your commander's report thoroughly. Without you, how could we have punished the traitor Heigirt or subdued those savage barbarians so easily? It's all your achievement."
"It's the achievement of the soldiers who fought bearing the empire's golden eagle."
"Of course, the troops' merits are great. But I believe the empire couldn't have been saved from crisis without you, Imperator Ain."
"I am deeply honored."
The emperor approached and placed an arm on my back.
I walked beside him through the ranks of Praetorian Guards. They knelt in unison to honor me. We entered the capital's gates on foot.
Inside the gates, ranks of Praetorian Guards and crowds awaited. Citizens clutching bread baskets shouted toward those weaving between the guards.
Triumphal processions weren't often about seeing a "great hero"—that was rare.
Mostly after battles, or like today, when someone returned abruptly from a distant frontier, people turned out for the bread handed out by the emperor and Senate.
"Toss some over here too!"
The crowd bellowed.
Walking beside the emperor, I joked lightly.
"Judging by the turnout, the bread bill must be hefty today, Your Majesty."
"Of course—for welcoming a general, sparing a few gold coins is nothing. The Senate donated generously."
Having received a "favor" from both me and the emperor, the Senate couldn't just sit idle during the triumph.
From the street crowds, it looked like they'd spent more than a coin or two. At least a thousand solitus, I'd wager.
At the capital's forum, a chariot prepared by the emperor awaited me.
I boarded beside him and passed through the Triumphal Gate once trod by past triumphant generals, heading to the Colosseum.
The Colosseum could hold over fifty thousand citizens—perfect to cap the triumph.
As our chariot rolled toward it, bread wagons trailing us showered loaves on the people.
When the chariot entered, the pre-seated crowd rose.
At the emperor's gesture to stand, I rose from the chariot and raised a hand.
"Ain! Ain! Ain!"
The spectators chanted my name as if they knew who the star of the day was.
I waved lightly in response. It was a strange thrill, different from answering tens of thousands of troops on the frontier.
As I sat, the emperor grinned.
"How's it feel? The gaze of the capital's citizens upon you?"
"Not bad, but the cost weighs on me."
"You're always fretting over money. Right attitude for a defense commander, of course. But set it aside for today."
Fair enough. Worrying about funds at my own triumph was a bit much.
I sat in the Colosseum's VIP seats beside the emperor, watching the "triumphal commemorative" gladiator games, and exercised my privilege to bestow charity in my name.
As the event ended and we descended the Colosseum steps, he tossed out a casual remark.
"By the way, about why I summoned you this time."
I could guess the reason—fears my legions might turn into private armies. I thought I understood his concerns fully.
But his next words were utterly unexpected.
"I intend to appoint you as Praetorian Prefect."
I stopped in my tracks at that.
Praetorian Prefect.
Its prestige had fallen, but it was the post traditionally held by the empire's number two. The emperor's closest confidant sat there.
Offering it to me? Wasn't this meant to check me?
I felt a haze of confusion.
Losing Northern Army Commander wouldn't change my stature much.
I'd lose the title, but my loyalists in the northern legions remained, and as Praetorian Prefect, I could command anytime.
The power stayed intact.
Plus, commanding the Praetorian Guard with its massive camp near the capital meant even greater real power than before.
What was Marius thinking?
I probed cautiously.
"May I ask why you've decided on this?"
The emperor halted.
"You remember Velius, surely?"
"Of course."
"What kind of man was he?"
"A royal backed by the Senate. Ah."
I understood why Marius wanted me as Praetorian Prefect. The Senate was "spared" for stability's sake, but they'd fundamentally opposed us.
So the emperor couldn't help feeling uneasy.
To break the impasse, he had to rebuild the Praetorian Guard swiftly—but there was no one he could trust with it.
Most candidates were entangled with the Senate; one slip, and it could hand the Guard to our enemies.
Thus, placing me—whom he trusted absolutely—as Prefect to oversee the reorganization was his bold play.
But it wasn't an unassailable choice.
My ascension meant my military influence ballooned further.
Me—a frontier fighter—taking the de facto top military post proxying for the emperor? What would other commanders think?
Eastern Army Commander, with twice my experience facing a major power and always fielding an army, might envy or resent it. No guarantee.
And one more thing.
Praetorian Prefect was a soldier's role, but it demanded a politician's instincts.
Representing the emperor's might, every action and word required political calculus.
For a born warrior like me, that was exceedingly difficult.
"That's why I called you."
I understood his intent but wanted to say choosing me was a mistake.
But emperor or close ally, he was supreme power. I couldn't call his personnel pick a blunder.
I smiled wryly and saluted.
"If it's Your Majesty's wish, I'll gladly serve in the capital."
I resolved to take the Praetorian Prefect post as he desired.
"Thank you."
He placed a hand on my shoulder.
This was the moment I—a lifelong field soldier— was officially recognized as the empire's number two.
(To be continued in the next episode)