Chapter 200: Marcus’s Women
Chapter 200: Marcus’s Women
Marcus, who had once again calmed down the loosened Publius, intended to return to Antioch as planned.
There was no reason to hesitate, since he had no reason to keep his family in Alexandria any longer.
But there was one unexpected variable that tripped him up.
“···Pregnant?”
“Yes. Not only me, but both of the Pharaohs seem to have children too.”
Marcus, who had found Julia right after parting with Publius, forgot what to say for a moment at her words.
He blankly moved his gaze to her abdomen, and it was clearly bulging with a faint curve.
“No, wait. Not only you, but Arsinoe and Cleopatra both have children too?”
“Yes. It’s amazing that you got two people pregnant in just one day.”
“No, wait······.”
Marcus’s voice naturally faltered at Julia’s sarcastic tone.
But he secretly felt relieved that Julia had a child.
If only Arsinoe and Cleopatra had been pregnant, Julia’s mood would have been much worse than it was now.
‘But I slept with Julia until I passed out, so I guess that’s understandable, but those two are···what a miracle.’
If he considered it coldly, it was better for both of them to have children than for only one of them.
It was inevitable that the balance of power would tilt heavily toward one side if only one of them gave birth among Arsinoe and Cleopatra.
In that sense, the current situation could be seen as having achieved the best possible outcome.
Julia also seemed to be teasing Marcus with her words, not really feeling bad.
As expected, she only smiled mischievously, not sincerely trying to berate Marcus.
“Are you going to see them now that you’re done with me?”
“I have to see Danae’s face next. I’ll go after that.”
“I agree with that. Danae served you so diligently, so you should make a clear distinction.”
In Julia’s mind, the priority was herself first.
Next came Danae and the two Pharaohs.
When Marcus made this clear, her mood also lightened up.
“But nothing happened while I was gone, right? It doesn’t seem like it, but there was some subtle tension or a blatant quarrel······.”
“Not at all. Actually, I haven’t seen their faces separately. I had a lot of things to do because I had to take care of the Syssitia. But I guess it’s time to see their faces now, so there might be some conflict.”
“You’re not the kind of person who would keep stirring up trouble. If there hasn’t been any clash until now, there won’t be any in the future. You don’t have to worry.”
“Aren’t you overestimating me too much?”
Julia smiled awkwardly and gently stroked her belly.
Marcus also felt various emotions as he watched her.
“The third one···should I say it’s late or early?”
“It’s late. Actually, I felt a bit pressured. We slept together every day when you were in Antioch, but no child came out.”
Rome did not have an extreme obsession with sons to continue the family line like other countries did.
A woman who did not bear a son was not openly ridiculed as someone who did not fulfill her duty in this era, but Rome did not go that far.
It was common for families without sons to adopt relatives with mixed blood as their sons and pass on their family name.
Of course, there were still many people who wanted to pass on their family name to their own sons.
Even if they were not openly ridiculed for not having a son, they would still feel some pressure.
Julia had given birth to a son right away at first, but human affairs were unpredictable.
She naturally wanted a second son for the future of the family.
Even if it wasn’t a son, she wished she had one more child.
That’s why she nagged Marcus so much last time.
She didn’t let him go until he passed out, but that was partly because she wanted to punish her wicked husband.
Anyway, Julia got what she wanted so badly: the third child. She had no complaints now.
But this caused one problem for Marcus’s plan.
“I guess it’s too much to travel long distances to Antioch now that you’ve just entered the stable period?”
“I can’t say there’s no problem. Honestly, I think it would be better to rest here for another month or so.”
She calculated that she was about 12 weeks pregnant now.
In modern medicine, 12 weeks is when you enter the stable period and 16 weeks is when you can relax.
But with the medicine of this era, 12 weeks was still a bit uneasy.
No, even at 16 weeks, it was the same.
It was unthinkable to put a pregnant woman on a ship that shook terribly.
Even if Julia wanted to go, Marcus would have stopped her.
“I think it’s better not to move too much for a month too. I’ll contact Antioch and have them send more people to take care of things. Just think of it as a vacation and rest well.”
“Are you going back to Antioch?”
“I was going to leave today, but I’ll delay it for a few days. I don’t think I can stay for a month, though.”
Julia nodded her head in satisfaction with that alone.
She didn’t throw a tantrum and ask him to stay in Alexandria any longer.
She was smart enough to see through that Marcus was more restless than usual.
She wondered what was making him so agitated now that he had successfully mediated the civil war, but she didn’t pry.
More importantly, now that it was confirmed that she would stay in Alexandria, she needed to settle her relationship with Cleopatra and Arsinoe.
She kissed Marcus’s cheek lightly and began to move to do what she had to do.
※※※
Three days after Marcus returned to Alexandria, Julia hosted a banquet.
Cleopatra, Arsinoe, and Danae sat around a luxurious table and chatted.
The owner of the palace, the Pharaoh, should have naturally sat in the highest seat, but that was not possible this time.
Julia, who naturally sat in the highest seat, presided over the banquet as the hostess.
And Cleopatra and Arsinoe did not express any dissatisfaction with that.
Cleopatra even saw this situation in a positive light.
Julia’s willingness to host a gathering of women I'm plied many meanings.
If Julia had given up the highest seat to Cleopatra and Arsinoe, it would have meant that she would treat them as Pharaohs only.
But by sitting in the highest seat herself, she implicitly meant that she would acknowledge them as Marcus’s women.
That’s why the atmosphere of the banquet was quite good.
The four of them filled their stomachs with various delicacies and had a time to share their deep thoughts while pulling their chairs closer together.
“It’s a coincidence that all three of you here are pregnant at almost the same time.”
Julia looked at Arsinoe and Cleopatra alternately with an interested look.
In fact, the two of them had been on good terms with Julia when they were in Rome and Antioch.
But this time they were clearly on the side that caused trouble, so it was not easy to maintain a confident attitude.
Cleopatra managed to control her expression somewhat, but Arsinoe was visibly restless.
When the two of them did not answer anything, Julia spoke in a soft voice as possible.
“I’m not mocking or blaming you. I’m just curious.”
“···I can understand that you must have been upset by this incident. But you still treat us so warmly, so I would like to thank you for that first.”
Cleopatra bowed her head slightly, and Arsinoe’s eyes widened.
She had never seen her act like that since she became Pharaoh.
It was awkward for Julia, who was the ruler of Egypt, to come out like this.
She sighed lightly and gave a bitter smile.
“It’s inevitable because our interests perfectly aligned. I’m not a narrow-minded woman who can’t understand that much. I trust that his love for me and my children will not waver no matter what you do.”
“That’s a wonderful trust relationship. I’ve always thought that Marcus and Julia are an ideal couple. Not only me, but all the people of Rome must think so too. Not only now, but always.”
“That’s very kind of you to say.”
Julia and Cleopatra’s smiles clashed in the air.
Arsinoe, who listened to their conversation, drank grape wine with a smile of embarrassment.
On the other hand, Arsinoe tilted her head and wondered why they were getting along so well.
She didn’t notice the subtle power struggle going on between them.
Julia’s words about their interests being perfectly aligned meant that Marcus taking Arsinoe and Cleopatra was nothing more than a strategic move.
And she also revealed her superiority by saying that she didn’t care what they did because Marcus loved her and her children the most.
And Cleopatra I'm plied that she had no intention of interfering in their marital relationship, so she could relax.
Arsinoe, who was not yet familiar with this kind of subtle fight, blurted out a word while eating a sugar candy.
“By the way, do you two want your child to be a girl or a boy?”
“······?”
Julia and Cleopatra’s incredulous gazes simultaneously pierced Arsinoe.
She looked bewildered by the strange atmosphere and shrugged her shoulders.
“Was it an uncomfortable question?”
“No, it’s not that. You haven’t changed much since you were in Antioch.”
“No, I have changed a lot. He even praised me for having enough knowledge to not be pushed around anywhere.”
“That’s good to hear. I hope you continue to I'm prove.”
“Thank you.”
Arsinoe thanked her sincerely with a bright smile, and Julia couldn’t help but smile sincerely as well.
Arsinoe was not like Cleopatra, who meticulously weighed the balance of power and determined her position based on various interests.
She just thought that Julia was the first and they were the next.
That’s why Julia felt a strange liking for Arsinoe, or rather, she didn’t feel like confronting her much.
“To answer your question from earlier, he likes daughters. I would like to have a son, but he probably wants me to have a daughter.”
“Really? Don’t Romans usually want sons?”
“Usually, yes. That’s why I was a bit surprised when I first got pregnant. He openly sang that he wanted me to have a daughter. At first, I thought he was trying to comfort me in case I couldn’t have a son.”
“But it turned out he was serious?”
Julia chuckled and nodded.
“Yes. We can sense that kind of thing, right? When we actually give birth, we can tell by looking at our husband’s face. Whether he is genuinely happy or just pretending. But what can I say··· when he held his daughter, his face was filled with a happiness that I couldn’t even I'm agine.”
“He did act like he was living with Sophia in Antioch.”
“There are no fathers who die of love for their daughters, but still, in the end, they want a son to continue their family line as a matter of course. But my husband doesn’t care about that at all. He already has a son anyway, so he must sincerely want a second daughter.”
“A daughter······.”
Arsinoe and Cleopatra nodded their heads vertically at Julia’s words.
‘He did seem very weak for his daughter······.’
Marcus had a warm smile on his face when he saw Tranus and Achilles, but it was nothing compared to when Sophia whined or hugged him.
He was shocked when he first saw his silly face.
Marcus would not treat Arsinoe and Cleopatra’s children as legitimate children even if they gave birth.
But if they had daughters instead of sons, he would surely pour out a lot of affection unknowingly.
The Marcus that Julia knew was that soft for his daughters.
As Marcus’s daughter-loving behavior became a topic of conversation, the atmosphere of the conversation became much softer.
At that moment, one of the attendants entered the dining room with quick steps.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your banquet. Marcus has returned to Antioch urgently.”
Silence fell over the room that had been cheerful.
“Why?”
Julia asked with a slightly stiff face.
“He received an urgent message from Antioch. I didn’t hear the details, but the situation seemed serious. He apologized for not being able to see you before he left.”
“I couldn’t even say goodbye······.”
Arsinoe muttered regretfully.
“Don’t worry too much. He’ll come back as soon as he solves the problem.”
Cleopatra agreed with Julia’s words with a smile.
“Actually, I’m used to waiting now. You two should also get used to being Marcus’s women. Our role is to keep the place clean where he will return while he handles his work.”
Julia said calmly and got up with a bottle of wine in her hand.
“So let’s go pray to the gods tomorrow for his health and our children who will soon be born into this world.”