Chapter 235

“Many Romans lost their lives in this war. But there were some who, like the son of this noblewoman, bravely sacrificed themselves for their country, only to receive mockery instead of praise. Some of their families even had to leave Rome because they could not bear the harsh criticism.”

Marcus gestured to the back, and a young woman walked out timidly.

Many people recognized her and widened their eyes.

She was the sister of Sextus and the only survivor of the Pompey family.

Pompeia Magna, who had almost been driven out of Rome by the citizens and fled to Greece.

She was still young and beautiful, but her face was filled with grief that she could not shake off unlike before.

Her eldest brother had been defeated and exiled in the civil war, and her second brother had died in the war.

On top of that, her husband had also died on the battlefield with his brother.

It was a tragic life enough with just that.

But even though she had lost her brother and husband at once, what came back to her was one-sided blame and contempt.

Her mansion had been turned into a mess by thugs, and she had even been robbed of her property by those who boldly entered inside.

She left for Greece not because she was mentally exhausted, but because she felt a threat to her life.

But now, thanks to the victory in the war, the anger of the citizens had subsided a lot.

Some of the cultured citizens felt guilty that they had reacted too harshly at that time.

“The number of Roman soldiers who died in Greece is 150,000. This is excluding the soldiers of the allied nations. There is no distinction between nobles or commoners, rich or poor among them. They all fought hard for Rome’s victory, but they had to taste the bitter defeat due to lack of tactics and skills. But do you think their deaths were really meaningless?”

Marcus shouted loudly and looked around.

Some shook their heads vigorously, and some others turned their heads away without meeting his eyes.

Pompeia, who remembered her hardships, wiped her bloodshot eyes and sniffed.

“The lives of the sacrificed soldiers were not meaningless at all! Thanks to them desperately buying time, we were able to form legions to intercept the Huns in Dalmatia and Asia Minor.

And Sextus, the commander, gave up his own life to buy time for saving the troops defending Athens. His appropriate judgment led to all the fleets in Greece being transferred to me, and this fleet played a decisive role in cutting off the Huns’ lifeline.”

A citizen among the crowd raised his hand shakily.

“My brother fought and died in Greece. Others mocked them as incompetent soldiers who brought defeat to Rome, but... I think differently. My brother must have fought bravely until he died.”

“Yes. And that brave will was inherited by us who are alive. This is the same as when our ancestors won against Hannibal long ago.

Rome never won against Hannibal and continued to lose. But our ancestors did not fear and willingly threw their lives for the victory that would come someday. And Scipio Africanus, who inherited their will, finally brought down Hannibal and stabbed a dagger into Carthage’s neck.”

The citizens were immersed in Marcus’s speech without realizing it.

There was no one who did not know the story of Hannibal and Scipio among the Roman citizens.

The scale of the war was incomparable to the Hunnic War that happened this time, but the situation itself was similar.

Rome, which was only pushed back one-sidedly, turned to counterattack at some point, and finally achieved a decisive victory in the enemy’s territory and ended the war.

If you look at this process alone, it was almost identical.

“I was able to win against the Huns in battle because I analyzed carefully the defeats that Rome suffered in Greece and read the enemy’s tactics. It was a very disappointing and suffocating defeat, but it was not something that deserved finger-pointing. So I ask you on this occasion.

Please send condolences instead of reproach to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for their homeland Rome. Please offer comfort instead of ridicule to the bereaved families who are in sorrow.”

Strictly speaking, if Sextus had made a proper judgment, he could have won the war against the Huns more easily.

That was a fact.

But Marcus did not want to blame him now.

Anyway, he had won the war, and ultimately it was the best situation for Marcus because he gained enormous benefits from Sextus’s death.

He did not wish for this to happen, but he could not deny that he had benefited greatly from his death.

So he wanted to at least restore the honor of Pompey’s family.

And he wanted to help Pompeia, who had become a widow unfortunately, to enjoy a comfortable life again, both materially and mentally.

Marcus did not hide this fact and publicly proclaimed it in front of people.

Brutus laughed along with Marcus’s cheerful reaction.

He noticed Marcus’s answer that his heart was still the same as then.

The days when they gathered with pure hearts to protect the republic.

He felt reassured once again that Marcus’s conviction had not changed since then.

“I saw you leading Pompey and giving a speech earlier.”

“Yeah? How did it look to you?”

“It was great. I think you did what you had to do.”

“Thank you for saying that. But why did you come all this way? You didn’t come here just to tell me your impressions of the speech.”

Brutus silently drank his diluted wine and watched Marcus’s reaction.

Marcus sensed that he was going to bring up an unpleasant topic and quietly waited for him to open his mouth.

Brutus soon emptied three glasses of wine in a row and leaned his upper body toward the table.

“Have you talked to Caesar?”

“What kind of talk do you mean?”

“About the future of the republic.”

“The future of the republic?”

Marcus pretended not to know and asked back.

Brutus looked embarrassed for a moment.

He wondered how to explain it.

If he was wrong, he might be seen as accusing someone of treason for no reason.

“Well... I mean... Have you ever discussed how Rome’s future will unfold? Something like that...”

“Things will change inevitably. You may not realize it, but Rome will be very different from what you know in the future. Socially, culturally, and technologically, there will be tremendous progress.”

“Yes, I know that intellectually.”

“No, no one in Rome really understands the changes that are coming. To put it simply, the progress that will be made in the next twenty years will be much greater than the progress that Rome has made in hundreds of years. Can you imagine how much change will happen?”

Brutus unconsciously opened his mouth and slowly shook his head.

“Then... what about the republic... What will happen to the republic?”

“What do you think should happen?”

“The republic is the foundation of Rome. No matter how much progress and change continue, if we lose our roots, we will inevitably decline. Just like a tree that grows magnificently but has weak roots will rot away.”

“That’s a reasonable argument. So you still think that the republic led by the Senate is the only system that Rome should maintain in the future.”

“Of course. What do you think, Marcus? Am I being too naive about reality?”

“Well...”

Marcus paused for a moment.

And slowly.

“They say there is a saying in the far east. A tree with strong roots does not sway in the wind.”

Very slowly, he continued.

“No matter how important it is to sprout and bear fruit, we should not neglect taking care of our roots.”

Brutus’s face brightened when he heard the answer he wanted.

But his expression turned dark at the last remark.

“Of course, some people seem to think differently.”

End