Chapter 83 Titus Claudius Marcellus Must Die!

Yazdegerd stared at the report in his hands, which trembled with rage. He could hardly believe what he was reading. Previously, he had an agreement with Tasius that would see Placidia safely withdrawn from Ravenna and returned to her family. As far as the Eastern Roman Empire was concerned, the upcoming marriage between the girl and her fiance, Titus Claudius Marcellus, was one of coercion and was thus illegitimate.

Aside from safekeeping Placidia, Hispania was supposed to join the East. It was planned to be the staging point for the Eastern Roman Army for their attack on Marcellus. None of these things had gone as planned, Tasius was dead, and his soldiers had declared Marcellus Emperor. Marcellus was still in the act of returning to Ravenna, but Yazdegerd’s spies had already sailed from Hispania to Constantinople to give him notice of what had transpired in the foothills of the Pyrenees.

Constantine was captured by Marcellus, and what fate awaited him when they arrived in Ravenna was unknown. One thing was certain, the Western Roman Empire had been fully restored, and under Marcellus’ rule, no less. This did not bode well for Yazdegerd, or his young charge, Theodosius II. It was clear by Marcellus’ actions that he intended to fortify his position, strengthen his control, and revitalize his economy.

However, what came next? Was the man truly content ruling over the West alone? Though Yazdegerd was unaware of the entire contents of the speech that was given, his spies seemed to report that he planned to head east in the near future.

While Yazdegerd was confident that he had the means to defend himself from the west, it was disturbing that the western Army had recovered slightly. Though it only had nine legions at its command, and a bunch of Gothic barbarians. It would not be long before Marcellus restored all the old legions. A few years at best and he would have twenty odd some legions at his command. Now that would be a threat to his rule.

With this in mind, Yazdegerd had made contact with the various patricians in the West who were upset with Marcellus’ rule. Naturally, with his rise to power, Marcellus had upset many prominent figures. After all, he followed no laws or traditions, and enacted new policies as he saw fit. In the eyes of many such actions were unbecoming of an Emperor and was more like those of a tyrant.

Yazdegerd forced himself to calm down, before turning around and gazing at the Western Patricians with a smile on his rugged face. He had treated these guests of his with the utmost courtesy as they dined upon the greatest delicacies from both Eastern Rome and the Sassanid Empire. Evidently they were satisfied as the men gathered all had wide smiles on their faces. Thus, Yazdegerd chose the opportune moment to coerce them into becoming his pawns.

“Titus Claudius Marcellus must die! His reign of terror must come to an end if the Western Roman Empire has any hope of survival. He has abolished the senate and butchered its members. He has appropriated your lands for his uses, and he places his military officers in political positions that by right should be yours.

Sure, the man spins a pleasant tale for the common people to buy into. Follow me, and I will restore Rome to its former glory! Yet, he has spit in the face of every Roman law and tradition that dates back centuries. I heard he even erected the old Altar of Victory in the Senate building! He is clearly a godless heathen. As good Christian men, it is your duty to eliminate this threat to your way of life!”

The various men gathered all, lifted their glasses and cheered for the regent, who currently ruled over the Eastern Roman Empire.

“I agree, the man is nothing more than a military dictator, he must be eliminated!”

“Death to tyrants!”

“The Senate must be restored!”

“Unholy heathens must be purged! Only God is the truth and the light!”

Yazdegerd grinned sadistically when he heard these men were so eager to kill Marcellus. Thus, he would use them, and their vast networks of contacts, to get rid of the thorn in his side once and for all. With Marcellus’ death, he could place his charge, Theodosius, as the Emperor of the West and East, uniting the two halves of the Empire once more, with him as its regent. Of course, he would not tell the men gathered that was his goal. Thus, he made the entire meeting about deposing a tyrant.

He had to admit, Marcellus had done him a huge favor. By stabilizing the realm and taking out Constantine, Marcellus had ensured that he could inherit the entire Western Roman Empire with few internal troubles. There was just one little obstacle he had to get rid of, and that was Marcellus himself. It was with this in mind that he stoked the fury of the western Patricians while their emperor was returning from war.

“I have gathered you all here today, because you are men of prominence in the West. I need each one of you to come together, and help met get rid of the man. We will make use of my contacts, and yours, to assassinate the man in the streets when he returns from his campaign in Hispania. In the middle of his little victory parade, an assassin of your choosing will shoot a poison arrow into his body. From the moment it breaks his skin, he will be a dead man!”

The sycophantic patricians clapped like trained seals as they heard this suggestion. It was best to maintain plausible deniability in a situation like this. However, one man in particular sat in the back of the room and observed the conversation with keen insight.

Though he was a Patrician who had lost a family member to Marcellus’ purge of the Senate, and whose family’s influence had declined as a result of Marcellus’ policies, he was a man who was actually secretly supporting Marcellus. He was Frumentarii and had infiltrated the ranks of the conspirators who hid in the shadows.

The man’s name was Octavianus Aedinius Velius, and though initially he was against Marcellus’ rise to power, he quickly changed his tune when he saw the extent that the man had accomplished in such little time. In times past, the Roman Republic would elect a dictator during a time of crisis. This man would assume full authority and save the Republic from its imminent demise. In the end, he would give up his power and return to his status as a normal citizen.

Obviously, the days of the Republic were long past, and the last dictator who was elected was named Julius Caesar, who refused to give up his power. However, after decades of decline and internal strife. Velius was now convinced that a dictator was needed to save the Empire from its collapse. Especially after witnessing what could be achieved when a benevolent man assumed such a position.

Although Marcellus had risen to his position through violent rebellion, he was left with no choice, and ultimately never desired to be emperor in the first place. It was because of this that Velius was convinced that Marcellus would ultimately give up his power when he was no longer needed. Unbeknownst to Yazdegerd I, he had invited one of Marcellus’ spies into his mix, and he took note of every suggestion that was put forward to eliminate the man.

However, he made sure not to catch any unwanted attention, and continued to nod his head and voice his agreement with the rest of the conspirators. Thus, even Yazdegerd’s keen eyes could not spot the rat among them. Yazdegerd I had a vicious smirk on his face as he continued to win over the favor of the conspirators with vile language directed at Marcellus.

“Though I wish I could capture the man alive and have him tortured on end for months. Unfortunately, killing a dictator and capturing one alive are two completely different things. It is likely that our little assassin isn’t going to survive to see his payment. I wouldn’t mind personally digging my blade into the man’s flesh. Alas, I will have to settle for knowing he is dead, and can no longer threaten our Empire!”

Yazdegerd used the words “our empire” despite being from the Sassanid Empire. This was another way he could get the conspirators to feel like he was on their side, and they ate it up. They had no idea that if their assassination attempt failed, he would use these men as a scapegoat.

Velius could hardly prevent himself from sighing at the idiocy of the men surrounding him. If these were the type of men who held power in Rome, then it was no wonder why it had declined to such a state. They were utter fools, blinded by greed and avarice. Only Velius could see what kind of serpent Yazdegerd was, and he made sure to keep his interactions with him to a minimum during the duration of his stay in Constantinople. Velius would dispatch word later that night to Sigefrida about what was discussed in this meeting.