The Mad Tycoon of Rome

< 251. Revolution 2 >

“Cato and Cicero, huh…”

Marcus let out a sigh-like remark, and Octavius nodded.

“If you give me permission, Marcus sir, I will take care of them. I already have a plan.”

This time, Marcus could not answer readily.

As the silence dragged on, Octavius, who had been quietly waiting for his reply, opened his mouth in a cold voice.

“Are you still hesitating?”

“To be honest, I’m wondering if there’s another way. I owe them quite a bit for various things.”

“I understand that you were close to them, as they were especially useful among the aristocrats. But I think you know better than anyone that it’s time to clean up the mess.”

Octavius’s words were cold but reasonable.

In the future politics, Cato and Cicero had a high chance of being no help to Marcus.

Octavius calmly continued to explain why he had to get rid of them.

“Cato and Cicero are different from Brutus. Even if you try to persuade them, they will never bend their minds. They are too old to change their minds now, and their convictions are too firm. They have been struggling for decades to create a system based on the Senate, so they will never be captured.”

Marcus looked at Octavius with an interested expression. 

It was fun to see the first emperor of the original history, who calmly expressed his opinion without any change in his expression.

“Hmm… Go on.”

“In my opinion, there will be no situation where we need their power in the future. And crucially, if you want to leave only the shell of the aristocrats, Cato and Cicero’s existence will not help.

As long as they exist, the aristocrats will always pose a potential threat. If you leave them in a vague state, you may need a bigger purge later. Wouldn’t it be better for social stability to achieve maximum efficiency with minimal bloodshed?”

Octavius focused solely on the safety of power.

With the core of the aristocrats gone, there was no one who could hinder the reform for a while.

But there was no possibility that Cato and Cicero would remain silent forever.

If Caesar tried to completely overturn the current republican system, Cato would surely try to stop him even at the cost of his life.

The problem was that Cato was someone who could really throw away his life for his belief, unlike the assassins who had been defeated this time.

In the original history, he killed himself even though he could have been pardoned by Caesar.

And he even left a foolish remark that Caesar had no right to pardon his fellow Romans.

How could such a person watch the reform quietly?

If Cato threw his life away and dragged his feet, Cicero might be influenced by him.

And then, other aristocrats who were just watching might join them one by one.

It was a common phenomenon that crowd psychology spread quickly once someone led the way.

Octavius, who knew human nature well, did not want to leave any seeds of anxiety.

He paused for a moment and looked at Marcus’s expression.

A politician of that caliber would not fail to understand Octavius’s intention.

Yet he did not show any emotion and just listened to him silently.

Octavius resumed his speech.

“I have prepared everything perfectly. Cicero has solid evidence that he conspired with the assassins, so we can arrest him right away. Cato’s case can also be easily fabricated with some evidence.”

There was already a suspicion in Rome that one of Cato or Cicero was involved in this assassination attempt.

Of course, this was a rumor that Octavius had planted beforehand.

If it was announced that Cato and Cicero were involved in the investigation results, everyone would accept it as expected.

All that was left was to quickly dispose of them.

The public opinion was already dominant that there was no need to show mercy to the assassins, so there was no need to worry about the aftermath.

“That’s a meticulous plan indeed.”

Marcus acknowledged Octavius’s skill.

But this approach, which focused only on cost-effectiveness and efficiency, seemed to need some adjustment.

Marcus’s way was to make people follow him without even realizing that they were being used.

Taking away their lives was only the last resort.

He had already killed more than twenty people, so he thought it would be better for the country to avoid additional killings.

If he had to kill them, he would do it without hesitation, but unlike Octavius’s words, he still thought they had some use left.

“Marcus sir, then can I proceed with the plan?”

“Fine. Let’s decide on a policy then. One person is enough to cut off. There’s no need to kill them, but don’t save them either. Just let them rot in a state of limbo. I have a good idea.”

“You still have a place to use them… I see.”

“Yes. So I’ll take care of this myself.”

Octavius bowed his head without any objection.

Marcus didn’t think that he had made a wrong judgment out of simple affection.

Rather, his eyes sparkled with anticipation of what interesting spectacle his master would show him.

※※※

Marcus ordered Octavius to wait and went to find Cicero alone.

“How have you been? I hope you are not feeling unwell.”

Cicero’s appearance was noticeably pale compared to when he saw him a few months ago.

He could easily guess how much he had suffered mentally just by looking at his eyes that were completely lifeless.

Cicero, who was looking around the outside of the mansion, gestured for him to come in quickly.

“I thought it was someone else. Lately, there are so many strange people wandering around the mansion…”

“Is it because of the rumors spreading in the city?”

“Yes. The angry crowds come every day and shout for me to reveal the truth, and my clients also demand an explanation with anxiety. I’m going crazy.”

“I see. You must have a lot of trouble.”

Cicero offered Marcus a seat and looked at him with a hopeful expression.

He clearly hoped that he would improve this gloomy situation.

“What did you talk about when you visited Caesar? I heard you went to see him.”

“We exchanged various opinions about this matter. The unfortunate accident of the convoy sinking is the hottest topic in Rome right now.”

“I still can’t believe it. Cassius definitely came to me and asked me to help them with their rescue activities, saying that he would stay quiet in Arabia. How could he suddenly try to seize the convoy by bribing the soldiers? I think we should first thoroughly investigate the witnesses who testified and find out the truth.”

“I’m sorry, but the investigation is already over. Caesar and I took turns interrogating them and agreed that there was no doubt in their statements. Besides, there is clear evidence, so it would be more backfired if we spread conspiracy theories.”

The evidence and testimony were all manipulated by Octavius, but there was no one in Rome who could verify their authenticity.

Even if Cicero or Cato personally investigated, they would not be able to get closer to the truth.

Crucially, Cicero believed that this incident was Caesar’s self-made drama.

But in reality, Caesar didn’t even expect such a thing to happen until he received the report.

So even if they dug into Caesar’s side a hundred times, they wouldn’t find any suspicious circumstances.

Cicero’s expression became more and more miserable.

Marcus didn’t loosen the reins here and delivered the final blow.

“By the way, Caesar said something unbelievable.”

“Huh? Unbelievable? What did he say again…”

“He said that the rumor that you were involved in his assassination attempt was true. He said he had secured all the evidence and witnesses.”

“What! That’s absurd…”

Cicero, who reflexively tried to deny it at first, swallowed his saliva at the word evidence.

He thought that someone like Caesar wouldn’t say such a thing without any confirmation.

In fact, the reason why Cicero wasn’t punished with the assassins was simply because he didn’t directly wield a weapon and participate in the attack.

Depending on the situation, he could have been accused of being a traitor by the assassins and had nothing to say.

The assassins didn’t say that Cicero was an accomplice because they thought it was better to have one more influential senator on their side.

Of course, Cicero’s insistence on doing so beforehand also had a big influence.

In this process, information might have leaked to Caesar.

‘Or maybe Brutus really spilled everything.’

In the latter case, there was no way out even if he tried to evade it.

Caesar didn’t have to bother using public power.

He just had to ask a suitable official to give a speech at Porro Romano.

That Cicero was colluding with the assassins while cowardly escaping alone and deceiving people with lies.

That one word would end the situation.

Cicero would be dragged out to the street by angry crowds and die from being hit by stones.

He had already experienced once how terrifying it was when citizens lost their reason and ran wild.

The vivid fear he felt then came back to life in his chest.

“Did… Caesar show you the evidence?”

“He said he had secured reliable witnesses and that he would let me meet them if I wanted. I thought it would be better to hear your words first, so I came here.”

“If… if Caesar announces that, can you protect me?”

Marcus hesitated for a moment and slowly shook his head.

“That would be impossible. At least in Rome, I can’t protect you.”

“That means you can do it somewhere other than Rome.”

“Yes. Maybe in Egypt. Egypt is nominally not a subject of Rome, but an ally, so it has more room for maneuver. If you stay there, I can take care of you so that Rome’s eyes don’t reach you.”

“Egypt…”

Cicero got up and walked around the reception room, frowning.

This reaction alone was tantamount to confessing his crime.

But no matter how hard he racked his brains, there was no other choice but to flee.

In fact, even fleeing would be hard to succeed without Marcus’s help.

“I have no choice… Can you find me a ship instead? And can you ask the Pharaohs to look after me?”

“That’s not hard. You’ll be able to live a rich life as good as any local noble. It’s a blessing in disguise.”

“That’s what you say. But…”

He scratched his head and sighed as if the ground was collapsing, then asked with a resentful voice.

“Is there any way to know who pushed me into this situation? I don’t have any intention of revenge. It’s useless to say anything anyway, it will only make my situation worse. I just want to know who made me like this. Was it Brutus?”

Marcus frowned slightly at Cicero’s question.

He hesitated for a moment and finally answered with an embarrassed voice.

“You might find it hard to believe, but according to Caesar… it was Cato.”

Cicero’s eyes widened at the name he never imagined.

And a moment later, a lament filled with despair echoed in the reception room.

“Cato… Cato did… haha…”

< 251. Revolution 2 > End