The Mad Tycoon of Rome

< 245. The Future of Rome 5 >

The news of the failed assassination attempt on Caesar spread throughout Rome in less than a day.

The atmosphere in the city quickly turned into a volcanic rage.

The citizens who gathered at the Forum Romanum exchanged information and tried to uncover the identities of the assassins.

“The ringleaders were Cassius and Decimus, along with other nobles!”

“Wasn’t Decimus a relative of Caesar? How could he try to kill him?”

“He was blinded by power. He deserves to die!”

“I heard they hid knives in the Senate House, did you know that?”

The information was surprisingly accurate and detailed.

Naturally, the size of the crowds grew larger and larger, and the citizens’ anger engulfed the whole of Rome.

Even one of the knives that an assassin had tried to use was presented as evidence, though no one knew where it came from.

A populist senator, who seemed to have been brought by force, gave a detailed testimony of what had happened.

After learning the full story, the citizens did not stay in the Forum Romanum any longer.

They dispersed throughout Rome, forming groups and shouting slogans filled with bloodlust.

“Kill the assassins!”

“Let them taste what they wanted to do to Caesar!”

“Make them pay for trying to kill the hero of Rome!”

“Kill them! Kill them! Kill them!”

The voices demanding the blood of the assassins echoed endlessly.

The nobles realized the seriousness of the situation and acted quickly.

The citizens were roaming around to kill the assassins, but they were already detained by Caesar.

It was not a wrong decision to lock them up with armed forces.

It was not to prevent them from escaping.

It was to protect them from being killed by the angry mobs.

If it were not for the fully armed legionaries, the mansion where the assassins were held would have been swept away by the waves of furious citizens.

In this situation, the ones who became endangered were the families of the assassins.

The citizens who could not vent their anger on their targets chose the next best thing: the relatives of the assassins.

There was no one who could stop the citizens who had turned into violent thugs.

The families of the assassins had to abandon their homes and flee to their close friends or relatives.

“This is strange, very strange…”

Cicero could not understand the trends of the citizens at all.

“How can they move so quickly? It hasn’t even been a day since the assassination attempt.”

Cicero, who had been hiding in his mansion, felt an ominous vibe and took refuge in Marcus’ mansion.

His bad feeling was right on target.

Sure enough, a rumor that Cicero was also involved in Caesar’s assassination plot popped up in less than half a day.

His luxurious mansion on Palatine Hill was smashed by thugs in less than two hours after that.

“The flow of rumors is too fast. And their accuracy is too high.”

“Does that mean you were really involved in Caesar’s assassination plan, sir?”

Marcus asked as he placed a cup of coffee in front of Cicero, who was engulfed in confusion.

Cicero realized he had made a slip of the tongue and shook his head in surprise.

“No, no, it wasn’t me. To be precise, I was only trying to control them. Don’t you know? How much damage we would suffer if this plan failed. I wanted to rein them in so they wouldn’t ruin us with their clumsy attempt.”

“That doesn’t seem to match with how poorly the plan was executed.”

“…I have no excuse. Maybe you could have controlled them better if you were in my position… But I couldn’t do anything else.”

His hand trembled as he brought the cup of coffee to his mouth.

He had lost his usual intellectual and relaxed demeanor.

“Did you have a backup plan in case the plan failed?”

“There was some talk of fleeing if we failed. The plan was to go down to Brundisium and take a ship to Greece or Syria from there.”

Marcus swallowed a sarcastic laugh.

Only a few people could handle things flawlessly when they did something unfamiliar.

The nobles were no exception.

They had planned an unprecedented conspiracy to kill someone with knives in the Senate House, but their movements were flimsy.

Their escape route was also like that.

It was unrealistic to think that they could safely flee to Brundisium after failing to assassinate Caesar.

If they really had that in mind, they should have arranged everything from chariots to ships in advance.

And they should have left Rome before the citizens’ anger exploded.

‘If I knew they were so sloppy, I wouldn’t have bothered to help them.’

Just as Cicero felt uneasy, the citizens’ rampage was not a coincidence.

It was all part of Octavius’ plan to make the citizens angry and guide their movements.

His goal was obviously to isolate and pressure the assassins completely.

He even seemed to be willing to sacrifice a few of them as an example, depending on the situation, but it turned out that there was no need for that.

Cicero was the only one who could move freely among those involved in the assassination.

Everyone who had dipped their toes in the assassination plot was arrested and deprived of their freedom.

And in this situation, there was nothing Cicero could do, even if he was Cicero.

“Marcus, can’t you do anything with your influence?”

“Well… If you had told me beforehand, maybe I could have helped. But in this situation, it’s hard for me to step in. He’s not just anyone, he’s my father-in-law. I can’t openly side with the assassins, can I?”

“That’s true… Then is there really no way out?”

“Well, the best I can do is to make sure they get a trial. Do you want to defend them, sir?”

Cicero slowly shook his head.

What difference would it make to have a trial in this situation?

It would be a trial that attracted the attention of all Rome, so it would surely be held at the Forum Romanum.

If a defense lawyer tried to advocate for the assassins, he might be beaten by the angry crowds and his life might be endangered.

Besides, Cicero was also suspected of being an accomplice of the assassins.

Even if he was Cicero, he had no confidence that he could make a proper argument in this situation.

“I don’t think a trial is a good idea. The punishment they will receive is obvious anyway. The citizens will demand nothing but death. And the consul will perfectly meet their expectations.

As Roman citizens, they could choose exile instead of death, but I don’t expect that principle to be applied properly. The prosecution will probably ask for the senatus consultum ultimum. And Caesar will surely accept it as if he couldn’t resist. The only thing left for the defendants is to die without even choosing exile.”

“That makes sense. But we can’t secretly release them either. That would cause a real riot.”

“I know that. So the only possible way is… for Caesar himself to end it with exile at most. If the victim himself settles it like that, the citizens won’t complain either.

It wouldn’t be a political loss for Caesar either, since he would show his magnanimity that he emphasizes so much. The problem is that he must be angry as a human being… You have to persuade him.”

“So you’re asking me to beg him for mercy, in plain words.”

Cicero nodded.

In his view, exile was the lightest punishment that the assassins could receive at this point.

Of course, they would lose all their property and be banished forever, but at least they wouldn’t die.

Even if they were exiled forever, the political landscape could change at any time and they could return to Rome.

There were more than a dozen people who had done that.

Even if not, Antioch and Greece were Marcus’ territories.

If they were exiled there, they could live comfortably and plot their comeback.

Marcus smiled wryly and got up from his seat.

“Don’t worry. That shouldn’t be too hard.”

※※※

“…and he asked me to beg you for mercy.”

Caesar listened to Marcus’ words quietly and a bitter smile appeared on his lips.

“How convenient. They try to kill me and then ask the victim for mercy.”

“That’s the charm of the nobility.”

“A fatal charm indeed.”

Caesar, who had lightly brought the coffee cup to his mouth, tilted his head.

“This tastes a bit different from the last time, doesn’t it?”

“I used milk instead of water for the coffee. I thought people who are not used to the bitterness would prefer this.”

“This is pretty good too. It’s definitely a taste that women would like. Are you going to sell this at that hotel or whatever it is? You’ll make a lot of money.”

“For now, I’ll start with the nobles’ luxury goods, but I’ll stabilize the supply with sugar within ten years. Then the citizens will be able to enjoy it easily.”

The current price of coffee was not at a level that the citizens could enjoy.

The price of coffee itself was only slightly cheaper than Chinese tea.

That was because the production volume was not that high yet.

The problem was that they had to add sugar to it as well.

The less familiar they were with coffee, the more sugar they had to add, so the price had to be high.

Therefore, for now, they had to leave it as an exclusive item for the nobility and the knight class.

Caesar, who had been enjoying the aroma of coffee in silence for a while, slowly put down his cup and nodded.

“Fine. Do as you please. You planned this from the beginning to the end, so I should follow your will.”

“Thank you. Then I’ll have to meet with them first.”

“Do you have anything more to say to them?”

“I have to give them a choice. Whether they will accept their execution calmly or choose exile. If they choose the former, I’m willing to respect their wishes.”

Caesar laughed.

“Choose death? Do you think there will be anyone who would do that?”

“Of course not.”

If Cato had participated in the assassination, it might have been possible, but there was no one among the assassins who had such conviction.

No, if they had that much conviction in the first place, they wouldn’t have participated in the assassination.

“I guarantee you. They will all choose exile without exception. But they still have some pride, so they might pretend to hesitate. You’ll need to push them a little.”

“If they want to hear me say that it’s better to live and plot for another day, I’ll do as they wish.”

“So you’re really going to end it with exile? I don’t care, but I thought you would prefer a more certain method. You’re surprisingly lenient.”

“I’m not that cold-blooded.”

Marcus added in a strange tone.

“At least I’m not.”

< 245. The Future of Rome 5 > End