Published at 3rd of August 2023 7:16 am

Chapter 817: A Clumsy Assassination

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“Offer a sacrifice to the gods?! Which god?!” The young man asked urgently.

“It is those plebeians…” As soon as she spoke, she immediately realised that her husband was also a plebeian. So she quickly softened her tone and said, “It's those gods you often worship, Diana, Vesta, Caelus, Liber and Libera.”

Lying on his back in bed, the young man trembled in silence as his mind was busy contemplating.

Konya was born to a family of great Roman nobility and grew up without experiencing hardships. When her father wanted to marry her to Gaius Licinius Stolo, she was still reluctant even though the young man had some fame in Rome at that time because she would become the first noblewoman to marry a plebeian and was frightened to become the joke among the Roman nobilities. But after getting married, her dissatisfaction gradually dissipated with her husband's appearance, talent and understanding of him, making their marriage increasingly harmonious.

So when she saw her husband's expression turning unsightly, she quickly asked, “Stolo, what's wrong?”

Stolo solemnly said, “The Theonians are doing everything to win over the plebeians. I am worried…they would get deceived by the Theonians into giving up…Rome.”

In fact, he was already shocked after learning the content of the king of Theonia's speech from the mouth of the man who had come to report to him privately. It was because the promise made by King Davos was exactly what the Roman plebeians had been tirelessly pursuing, making him realise the intentions of the Theonians. Now, without regard for his noble status, the king of Theonia had gone to pray to the gods believed in by the Roman plebeians to win them over. With them going to such an extent to win over the Roman plebeians, Stolo was worried that the plebeians, who were already in great conflict with the nobles, would all join Theonia, thus seriously weakening their strength and leading to Rome's defeat in this war…

Despite his worries, he couldn't help but feel a slight sense of pleasure as he pondered these thoughts, prompting him to blurt them out, “I was thinking that if the senators and nobles on Mons Capitolinus knew what the Theonians were doing now, they would definitely regret their harsh treatment on the plebeians…”

Unable to comprehend her husband's meaning, Konya felt a mixture of puzzlement and frustration. This was one of Stolo's shortcomings, occasionally speaking in profound terms that she struggled to grasp, much like her father, Ambustus.

She couldn't help but remember another incident. When she visited her sister, her brother-in-law, Servius Sulpicius, was a nobleman who had just become a military tribune and returned late. Seeing the entrance of his residence wasn't open in time, he unexpectedly used his legion's token to make his men knock on the gate loudly. When she saw this and got frightened, her sister ridiculed her, saying she lacked exposure to such a situation.

She was naturally upset that she left her sister's house in anger. Later, she told her father about it, and Ambustus could only comfort her, “One day, you will have your own house and shock your sister.”

So far, she hasn't figured out what would shock her sister in her home…

After remembering those, she began to miss her parents and sister's family, who had fled to Mons Capitolinus, filling her heart with sadness.

Meanwhile, Stolo looked out the window and suddenly thought of something, ‘We might finally get a good opportunity now that the king of Theonia left the heavily guarded Roman Forum and headed for the crowded Collis Aventinus. But can those people seize this opportunity?!’

Despite ordering the Romans to stay at their home as much as possible, with the Theonians subjecting anyone wandering the streets to rigorous questioning, Stolo, who had some hope in his heart, still decided to send his servants out to learn about the situation.

Not long after his servant left, the Theonian army drove him back because they had already imposed martial law on the main streets.

.............

But in the southern area of the city of Rome, Davos still didn't prohibit the Romans from going out and watching. Instead, he had only sent the soldiers from the Fourth and Fifth legions to set up a deterrent line along the streets.

For safety reasons, Davos also prohibited his son Crotokatax from accompanying him and had him stay in the Roman Senate.

The Romans rushed to the side of the road, behind the legionaries, where they could see the King of Theonia, who once wore a gorgeous military uniform on the Roman Forum and was now dressed in plain chiton, which the Romans wore when going to the temple to pray with ten men in the same clothing accompanying him, followed by hundreds of palace guards…they climb Collis Aventinus under the gaze of thousands of Romans.

The largest temple on Collis Aventinus was the Temple of Diana, founded during the reign of King Servius. With its long history and many believers, Davos designated it as the first temple he would pray at.

Initially, the Theonians prohibited the Romans from moving around after they occupied the city of Rome, including this temple. But Davos lifted the ban today, so many Romans went to the temple's courtyard. However, legionaries blocked the road in the centre.

When Davos entered the courtyard, he received the same attention from the Romans. On the other hand, the priests and attendants of the Temple of Diana were already standing at the temple's entrance.

After bowing and greeting Davos, the white-haired and amiable-looking old priest of Diana frowned at the group of attendants behind Davos and said in embarrassment, “According to the oracle, the temple only allows King Davos to enter and pray alone.”

After listening to Emilius' translation, Davos immediately asked loudly, “Isn't everyone allowed to enter the temple and pray? I am not the only one who wishes to pray to the goddess today, but also them!”

Davos then pointed to the people around him and exclaimed with a hint of mockery, “When did the Temple of Diana, which treats everyone equally, start copying the Temples of the Greeks and is only open to a select few?!”

An uproar erupted when Davos' words reached the ears of the Romans in the courtyard.

In most Greek temples, the main hall was usually not open to the public and was only for the priests. The people could only pray at the sacred altar in the courtyard or ask the priests for divination in the back hall, and only during major ceremonies or in times of danger of the city-state could the archons or strategoi enter the main hall and face the gods to pray for protection. Meanwhile, the Roman temples are unlike the Greeks in that they allow the people to enter the main hall to pray to the gods, even allowing a limited number of people to pray in the temples on Mons Capitolinus, which may be related to the Romans' emphasis on utilitarianism and practicality. In this regard, Theonia is somewhat similar to Rome as they also allowed the believers to enter the temple.

Listening to Emilius' loud translation, the priest began showing a hint of panic in his eyes. Because he had always enjoyed the respect of the Romans after serving as a priest for so many years and was rarely questioned, he didn't know how to refute him for a moment. Thus he could only lower his head and say, “This is the oracle of Diana!”

“So, when did you receive the oracle?” Kaldeas suddenly asked loudly.

“…this morning.”

“What time is it in the morning?”

“Uh…at breakfast.”

“It was only after breakfast that King Davos decided to come to pray. And I am afraid you got notified long after breakfast!”

“…goddess Diana….knows everything…”

“Then how did you obtain the oracle?”

“Through livestock…no, bird divination.”

“From what I know about Rome, you can only use bird divination to predict good or bad omen. So when did you start using it to determine how many people can enter the temple?!”

“This…this is the ability exclusive to our Roman priests, and you Greeks do not understand it.”

“As far as I know, Roman priests have never used the bird divination to determine how many people can enter the temple to pray. If you say I am wrong, we can ask the people in the courtyard and even ask the people outside.”

“Who the hell are you?!”

“I am also a priest, so I would love to learn from you how to divine so accurately that you even know how many people the goddess Diana allows to enter the temple to pray! If I could do that, I would be the best prophetic priest in all of Greece! Then you must be the best priest in the whole of Latium, right?!”

“This…This…”

“Also…I would like to ask, since it is such an important divination, then it is necessary to have assistants and witnesses. So who would they be? Do they even have the qualifications?”

“…”

The continuous question of Kaldeas made the priest of the Temple of Diana turn pale and begin sweating; he began stuttering but still couldn't say anything in the end.

Since Emilius intentionally spoke Latin loudly, the people in the courtyard saw that the situation became somewhat wrong.

“King of Theonia, are you here to sincerely pray to the goddess in good faith or not?! Do you still want to go in?!” One of the attendants beside the priest loudly interjected.

Davos turned his head quickly and looked straight at him, frightening the attendant into lowering his head.

Martius, closely monitoring these anxious temple attendants, suddenly whispered something in Emilius' ear.

Emilius glared at them and shouted, “You dare carry a sword with you?!”

His shout was like lightning striking the ground, frightening the priests, attendants and the people in the courtyard. They were taken aback because carrying weapons inside the temples was strictly prohibited, as it was deemed disrespectful to the gods, let alone the priests and attendants closest to the gods.

One of the temple attendants simply shouted, thinking their conspiracy had been exposed, “Diana’s order is to kill the enemies who invaded Rome!”

After saying that, he pulled out the short sword hidden under his white chiton and charged towards Davos.

Then several other attendants also drew out their weapons and rushed forward closely.

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