Chapter 108: Return to Rome
Chapter 108: Return to Rome
The room fell silent for a moment at Cleopatra’s bombshell declaration that she would go to Rome.
Marcus had not expected her to say that she would follow him to Rome.
If anyone had said that, he would have guessed it was Arsinoe.
Marcus cautiously asked for confirmation in a careful tone.
“Do you mean to say that you want to study in Rome?”
“Yes. I’ve always wanted to visit Rome at least once.”
“Hmm… I didn’t know you had such a thought.”
“Rome is the strongest nation in the world. Ever since I was young, I thought I should study there if I had the chance. I want to understand Rome’s culture.”
Cleopatra smoothly recited the answer she had prepared beforehand.
But Marcus knew that her words were different from the truth.
Historically, Cleopatra visited Rome for the first time after meeting Caesar.
And after Caesar was assassinated, she immediately returned to Egypt.
If Cleopatra really wanted to see Rome at least once, she would have visited before she ascended to the throne as Pharaoh.
Moreover, she had publicly announced her inappropriate relationship with Antonius to the world, which angered the Romans.
This was the decisive cause of Antonius and Cleopatra’s downfall.
If she really understood Rome’s culture, she would have chosen a more wise way.
Marcus was curious about what made Cleopatra change her mind from history.
‘It’s certain that my intervention caused some change in her feelings… but I still don’t know what exactly.’
Considering Cleopatra’s intellectual level, he could naturally imagine various schemes.
It was obvious that she would try to make acquaintances with Rome’s influential people, and possibly create her own supporters in the Senate.
The Ptolemaic dynasty had a lot of wealth.
They could easily attract many nobles who were struggling with huge debts.
If Cleopatra built up her power within Rome, it could cause trouble in the future.
But it was unreasonable to reject a foreign princess who wanted to study in Rome without a proper reason.
“How long do you plan to stay in Rome if you come?”
“At least until I can speak Latin perfectly.”
“That would take several years at least. You’re planning to stay quite long.”
“Yes. Not only the language, but also to understand Rome’s culture deeply, I think I need that much time.”
Strangely enough, Cleopatra had been avoiding Marcus’ gaze and answering evasively since a while ago.
There was no way to see it other than that she had some hidden purpose.
But she was too clumsy at hiding it to be scheming something.
The emotions of an adolescent girl were too complicated and subtle for Marcus to understand.
“Hmm, is that all?”
“…To be honest, there are a few more reasons that are not so impressive. If Berenice goes to Rome alone, what will the Roman nobles think of the Ptolemaic dynasty? Someone has to show them the proper dignity of a royal family.”
It was a reason that seemed absurd but somewhat convincing when he thought of Berenice.
The Ptolemies were proud people.
They wouldn’t tolerate being ignored by the Roman nobles.
It was understandable that they would choose to send another royal family member besides Berenice.
But that wasn’t enough for Cleopatra to volunteer herself.
Just when Marcus was about to probe deeper into Cleopatra’s intentions,
Arsinoe, who had recovered from the shock, shouted out loud.
“What nonsense are you talking about! Why would you go to Rome?”
“Why not? There’s no reason why I can’t go.”
“No… honestly, it’s weird. You never showed any interest in Rome before. You only looked at some records at most, but you never said you wanted to see it for yourself.”
“I just didn’t tell you. I’ve always wanted to go.”
“Anyway, it’s absolutely impossible!”
Arsinoe reacted more sensitively than necessary, and Cleopatra raised her eyebrows and retorted.
“Why are you acting so strange? You have no reason to oppose me so much.”
“Because the person who should go to Rome is not you but me! I’m going!”
“You’re kidding me. You want to study in Rome? Are you sure you’re not talking about tourism?”
“Hmph, I’m serious about learning Latin.”
Arsinoe wrote ‘I want to go to Rome’ in Latin on the spot.
Marcus and Cleopatra, who had never imagined that she could speak Latin, opened their eyes wide.
“You learned Latin?”
“You… since when…?”
Arsinoe straightened her back and smiled, feeling proud of herself by the two’s reactions.
“I’ve been secretly learning it because I wanted to talk to Marcus in Latin someday. See, you have to admit that I have more qualifications to go to Rome than you.”
“Pfft, that’s all? You barely wrote one sentence. Considering my language learning ability, I can surpass your level in a few weeks if I learn Latin. So, based on efficiency, I should go to Rome.”
“If you’re so smart, you can study by yourself here. You scorpion!”
“What did you say? You ugly toad!”
Marcus watched the sisters who were having a childish argument with his arms crossed.
Fortunately, they didn’t resort to physical violence, but if left alone, it seemed like a waste of time.
Marcus sighed lightly and separated the two who were growling at each other.
“Princesses, this is not something worth fighting over, is it? Why don’t you both come with me if you wish? The Crassus family will gladly welcome you as guests.”
“Both of us?”
“Can we do that?”
“That depends on the Pharaoh’s permission, I suppose. But if you both say you want to come, I have no reason to refuse.”
In fact, Marcus had already decided to take them both with him.
As long as Cleopatra was determined, she would find a way to come to Rome no matter what.
Then it was better to bring Arsinoe along and keep her by Cleopatra’s side.
Arsinoe was unconditionally fond of Marcus.
If he kept her next to him, Cleopatra would be restrained in her actions no matter what she was thinking.
From the perspective of Auletes, the decision-maker, there was no reason to reject either.
It would be a bit absurd that all three of his daughters would go to Rome, but it was a good opportunity to strengthen the friendship between the Crassus family and the Ptolemaic dynasty.
Auletes had no choice but to rely on Rome for his politics in the future.
He desperately needed Marcus’ help.
Arsinoe accepted the mediation for now, but she glared at Cleopatra with a puffed up cheek.
Cleopatra also looked at Arsinoe with a disdainful eye.
Actually, going to Rome together was not the solution they wanted.
Arsinoe wanted to push Cleopatra away from Marcus’ side, and Cleopatra felt the same way about her sister for half of it.
But they couldn’t refuse since Marcus suggested it.
Marcus changed the topic casually to ease the awkward atmosphere.
“By the way, I saw that the library of Alexandria was very magnificent, but I haven’t seen the inside properly. I only glanced at it briefly when I came last time. Can I ask for a tour?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the two princesses raised their voices at the same time as if they had made a promise.
“I’ll show you around!”
“I appreciate your kindness.”
Before they started arguing again, Marcus took the initiative.
The two princesses looked at each other for a moment and then turned their heads away with a snort.
The next day, Marcus toured the library of Alexandria with Arsinoe and Cleopatra as guides.
Unlike before, he looked around the inside in detail and was amazed by the size of the library.
The museum and library of Alexandria in this era were truly the cradle of world learning.
Cleopatra’s voice also revealed an undeniable pride as she guided him through the facilities.
“There are more than 100 scholars currently studying in the museum. Most of them teach and find research materials in Bruchium, which is the first library. This first library is where all the knowledge of the world is gathered.”
“It’s called a library, but it’s actually more like a huge academic institution.”
The first library had a structure that reminded Marcus of a modern university campus in his memory.
There were professors who received salaries from the Egyptian royal family who gave lectures regularly, and there were gardens, meeting rooms, and even public restaurants inside the library.
Cleopatra seemed very familiar with the library as she walked around and explained interesting facts.
“The first library is mainly used by nobles and scholars, but the second library is open to anyone. The number of books may be less than the first library, but it’s still second or third in the world.”
“How do you manage so many books?”
“We have people who specialize in managing and classifying books. And we regularly copy books and make copies. Papyrus is good, but it’s not very durable.”
“That’s systematic. There’s also a huge library in Pergamon in Asia Minor, but it’s not this big. Come to think of it, there’s no public library in Rome. I’ll have to talk to other senators about this when I get back.”
Cicero or Cato would probably raise both hands and agree if he suggested building a library.
They could copy books from Alexandria and Pergamon and bring them over.
If they used paper and printing technology, they could operate facilities more efficiently than Alexandria’s library that used papyrus.
To Marcus’ eyes, Alexandria’s library was great but had many insecure aspects.
First of all, its location was close to the lake and the Mediterranean Sea, so it was very humid.
Papyrus, which was more vulnerable to moisture than ordinary paper, couldn’t last a few years in this environment.
That’s why they had to constantly copy them with many people.
They were managing somehow now, but it wouldn’t be easy after a large fire or earthquake.
In fact, the first library of Alexandria was destroyed by a huge fire about 10 years from now.
The second library also failed to recover from successive fires and destruction and eventually disappeared from history.
Marcus felt sorry that this great cultural heritage would also be lost in the flow of time.
Especially the lighthouse of Pharos and the library of Alexandria did not even leave proper ruins in modern times.
It was in contrast to the Colosseum and the Forum Romanum of Rome, which remained as ruins even after thousands of years.
Marcus gave some advice to preserve this dazzling legacy of humanity for a little longer.
“Everything is good as I look around, but there is one thing I regret about the facility management.”
“Yes? What is that?”
“Libraries are inherently vulnerable to fire. So you need to have professional firefighters who can immediately extinguish a large fire. But this place seems to have firefighters quite far from the facility.”
“They were far away from the facility. I suggest you consider having firefighters stationed near the first library.”
“Hmm… that’s a reasonable suggestion. There have been a few fires before, but none of them were that large. But just because it hasn’t happened before doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future. I’ll have to propose this to my father before I leave for Rome.”
“Oh, and there’s one more thing I want to ask you. I heard that the scholars here receive salaries from Egypt. Does that mean they are dependent on the Egyptian royal family? If they want to go somewhere else, can they leave here anytime?”
Cleopatra chuckled and immediately answered.
“They can leave. But once a scholar starts researching here, they don’t usually leave on their own. Unless they want to retire and go back to their hometown, they wouldn’t want to leave this place, which is the best environment for scholars.”
“I see. So there’s no restriction, basically.”
Marcus smiled triumphantly.
He needed some knowledgeable people who were proficient in astronomy.
He was planning to overhaul the existing Roman calendar system.
The current Roman calendar system was very inaccurate.
To put it simply, it was a complete mess.
The Roman calendar basically set one year as 355 days.
That was ten days less than the actual year.
They used various methods to correct this error, but they were not practical.
At the time of Marcus, the difference between the actual season and the calendar season was more than two months, which was very serious.
The introduction of an accurate calendar would reduce confusion and maximize efficiency in all areas of administration, military, and agriculture.
He couldn’t try it until now because of the lack of skilled astronomers, but it would be different if he had competent scholars from Alexandria.
In fact, in history, Caesar introduced the Julian calendar to Rome with the help of Alexandria astronomers exactly 10 years from now.
The Julian calendar calculated one year as 365.25 days and added a leap year every four years to match the date.
The basic structure was no different from the Gregorian calendar, which is used as the standard system in modern times.
The difference between the Julian calendar and the Gregorian calendar was the accuracy of calculation.
The Julian calendar underestimated the period of Earth’s orbit around the sun by about 11 minutes and 15 seconds due to the limitations of ancient astronomy.
It was only 11 minutes and 15 seconds difference, but it accumulated and caused a one-day error between the calendar and the actual date after 128 years.
Marcus planned to introduce the Gregorian calendar to Rome with a major revision of this minor difference.
If Alexandria’s astronomers set up a theoretical framework, he only had to make some minor modifications.
‘In history, there will be only the name of Licinius calendar, not Julian or Gregorian.’
He felt a little guilty, but it was something that someone had to do anyway.
Given the current situation, it was unlikely that Caesar would exert a strong influence on Egypt as in history.
So he had a duty to introduce a more accurate calendar to Rome instead.
The sooner he made a new calendar, the better.
There was no problem with hiring scholars as long as it didn’t violate the law.
Marcus obtained information about reputable astronomers with Arsinoe’s help and started contacting them right away.
※※※※
The chaotic political situation in Egypt quickly stabilized.
The nobles who had seized power with Berenice at their head were all beheaded.
The ruler of Alexandria was now Auletes, and behind him was Rome.
Cleopatra and Arsinoe’s study abroad was also smoothly decided.
Auletes just gave Marcus a strange look once.
He felt like he was misunderstood somehow, but he didn’t feel like explaining it.
Marcus accepted Auletes’ request and left some soldiers as defenders and boarded a ship heading for Rome.
Berenice, Cleopatra, and Arsinoe also boarded the same ship as Marcus.
Berenice, who had been locked up in her cabin all along while she was in Alexandria, showed her face again for the first time in a long time.
Marcus approached her one last time before arriving in Rome to warn her again.
“Have you calmed down a bit?”
“Sort of.”
“You know your position is different from Arsinoe or Cleopatra, right? They are officially invited guests, and you are a prisoner of war.”
“Hmph, I know that too. I know what you’re trying to say. Don’t mess around and behave yourself, right?”
Her tone was rough but she seemed to be aware of her situation clearly.
Marcus nodded without denying it.
“I’m not a bad person. I promise to treat you as a former king of an allied country without any lack if you listen to me well. The splendor of Rome’s social circles is no less than Alexandria’s, so you won’t have any trouble adapting.”
“…Fine.”
Berenice sighed repeatedly with a subdued spirit.
She was a simple person who couldn’t think of anything complicated.
At first, she was furious when she was driven out of the Pharaoh’s seat.
But she miraculously survived unlike the Egyptian customs, and she was able to accept the fact that she couldn’t be the Pharaoh again.
Father Auletes’ attitude in front of Marcus shattered all of Berenice’s illusions about Pharaoh.
She thought that living a splendid life in Rome, the strongest nation in the world, would be better than the empty throne of Pharaoh.
“But what if… what if I had done well? Would you have pushed me to be Pharaoh?”
“There was a possibility. If you had been ready to offer more than the current Pharaoh. And if you had proven that you could be a useful ruler for Rome, I might have supported you.”
“I see… as expected.”
Berenice sighed bitterly and went inside the ship.
Cleopatra, who had been watching her from behind, approached her and spoke.
“Sister Berenice, you are surprisingly accepting the situation well, aren’t you?”
“She is a very simple person. She doesn’t think too complicatedly, so she often adapts to the current situation easily.”
“Is that so? But I think people can’t change overnight. She may seem normal now because she is subdued, but she is still our sister who can cause trouble at any time. I will keep an eye on her when we go to Rome.”
“Thank you for that.”
They were chatting when the ship approached the port.
The ship rocked as it docked.
Cleopatra lost her balance and swayed, and Marcus grabbed her hand to help her.
Cleopatra realized that Marcus’ body was touching hers and felt her head go blank. She quickly shook off his arm.
“Kyaaak!”
Marcus stepped back in surprise at her violent reaction.
He wondered how scared she must have been to react like that.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I was worried that you might fall, so I unintentionally offended you.”
Cleopatra realized that she had pushed away Marcus’ arm and felt her face turn red. She didn’t know what to do and started to babble.
“Uh, no, it’s not your fault. It’s not that I hate you, it’s just that I was really surprised… so… um…”
She was murmuring incomprehensible words with tears in her eyes.
She then turned around and ran away.
The mind of a teenage girl is harder to understand than a stormy sea.
Marcus shook his head and sighed as the ship slowly anchored.
Berenice and Cleopatra also came back to the deck when they heard that they had arrived on land.
Surprisingly, Julia, who had brought the family servants, was waiting for them at the port of Ostia.
The young children were not with her, probably waiting at home.
“Julia!”
Marcus waved his hand happily at his beloved wife.
Julia also smiled sweetly and waved back at him.
Her eyes then fell on Arsinoe, who was clinging to Marcus’ hand.
And then she noticed Cleopatra and Berenice standing next to him.
Julia’s eyes twitched slightly.
But that was all.
She walked up to Marcus with a relaxed smile and kissed him on the cheek and lips.
Marcus also hugged his wife and kissed her repeatedly on the cheek, showing his joy.
Behind him, Arsinoe was looking around curiously with her bright eyes.
On the other hand, Cleopatra couldn’t take her eyes off Julia since she appeared at the port.
Various emotions were reflected in her intelligent eyes
.