Chapter 292
292.
Brutus was the first to speak in the incredibly awkward atmosphere.
He stepped up beside Philippus and awkwardly patted him on the shoulder.
“Haha... It seems this man has had a bit too much to drink. Have some water and regain your senses.”
“No, not really...”
Philippus glanced around, his eyes darting back and forth.
Words were not always necessary to convey a person's intent.
A look and a demeanor were often enough to reveal exactly what someone was thinking.
No one present was oblivious enough to miss what was going through Philippus's head.
“Anyone can see you are drunk. First, apologize for your rude remarks.”
“What rude remarks? Can a man not even ask a simple question?”
“Really, this man...”
“Honestly, aren't you all curious too? Just who will be the man to take Lady Sophia away? And what qualifications he must possess to do so.”
Philippus was currently married, of course.
However, among the highest echelon of Roman nobility, divorce and remarriage for the sake of political alliances were quite common.
If they could marry Sophia, a significant number of senators would choose to divorce their current wives by any means necessary.
While that was the reality, openly saying such things was proof enough of just how deeply intoxicated Philippus was.
Brutus glanced toward Sophia and Octavian.
He expected the two of them to be furious.
Because even if they did not openly vent their anger, the situation was certainly enough to warrant a clear display of displeasure.
The other guests, who were not close enough to Philippus to intervene, merely watched the situation with a sense of amusement.
Cicero, perhaps with a different intent of observing how Octavian would handle it, also said nothing and just sipped his wine.
In the end, Brutus was the only one fretting.
Octavian was a man who held the legal authority to audit the senators, and Sophia was Caesar's granddaughter and Marcus's daughter.
If she took this as an insult, even if the distant Marcus did not step in, what would Caesar do, given his exceptional love for his granddaughter?
And even if Caesar did nothing, Sophia already possessed vast personal wealth and business rights.
Brutus honestly wondered if Philippus understood any of this before making his advances.
What a fool. Does he actually think he can become the head of the household just by marrying her?
Rome already had a small minority of women whose inheritance and property rights were recognized.
The prime example of this was the retired Vestal Virgins.
Marrying one was one of the highest honors for a Roman noble, so many actively courted them, but things rarely went as smoothly as they thought.
This was somewhat different from a husband struggling to control an arrogant daughter of a top-tier noble family.
The Vestal Virgins commanded immense social respect and possessed clear authority, placing heavy restrictions on their husbands.
Even in retirement, failing to properly honor a former Vestal Virgin would result in severe public backlash.
Moreover, since the wife was not subordinate to the head of the household and held independent authority, the husband found it difficult to handle major and minor affairs as he pleased.
As a result, men who wanted to do everything their own way showed little interest in such marriages.
Of course, many Vestal Virgins also despised the idea of a husband's interference and chose to live unmarried.
If the Vestal Virgins were like this, what about a woman treated as the incarnation of a living goddess?
Brutus felt a sigh rising in his chest at Philippus's utter lack of judgment.
He forcefully sat Philippus down before the man could utter another word, and offered an apology in his stead.
“I apologize for throwing cold water on the pleasant atmosphere. He harbors no ill intentions; he simply had a bit too much to drink. Please do not take his words to heart.”
“He said nothing that I would take to heart. That level of banter is perfectly common at a drinking party.”
Sophia lightly traced the rim of her glass with a finger and flashed a radiant smile.
Not a single trace of displeasure could be found on her face.
Brutus shifted his gaze toward Octavius.
With a faint smile on his lips, it was impossible to discern what the young man was thinking, but he did not appear angry either.
“That is a relief. Such an auspicious occasion should not be ruined by this.”
“Then shall we toss this dull topic aside and discuss something else?”
“Let us do that. Well then...”
Thanks to Brutus's frantic damage control, the banquet was brought back on its normal track.
The honored guests exchanged opinions on foreign affairs, the new facilities rising in Rome, and the upcoming public works projects.
When Philippus fell asleep midway through, overcome by the alcohol, Octavian ordered his servants to courteously escort him home.
Once Philippus was gone from the table, Cicero praised Octavian's mature attitude in not reprimanding him.
“There was nothing to be angry about. Therefore, I had no reason to say anything to him.”
With Octavian answering so casually, the guests relaxed and enjoyed the banquet to the end.
Once all the proceedings successfully concluded and all the guests had departed, only Octavian and Sophia remained in the VIP seating.
Sophia chuckled as she observed Octavian, whose demeanor had turned sharply cold the moment the guests left.
“Oh, you're angry. Very angry.”
“I am not angry. I was merely a little displeased.”
“Why? Are you annoyed because a competitor who doesn't even know his place dared to covet your spot?”
“I know he isn't even worthy of being called competition, so I don't feel that way. It merely gives me a headache to watch such idiotic nobles. If a man so bereft of intellect struts around calling himself a senator, it will only damage the dignity of Rome.”
The smile playing on Sophia's lips deepened.
“You're beating around the bush, but you're basically saying you were annoyed.”
“Be honest. Were you not displeased as well, Sophia? That man Philippus seemed to be ogling you quite explicitly.”
“It certainly couldn't be pleasant, but more than anything, I found his audacity laughable, which made me smile. And besides, watching your reaction was highly entertaining.”
“I believe I controlled my expression perfectly.”
“Which is exactly why I could guess your inner thoughts. How many years do you think we've been together?”
The fact that he had perfectly concealed his emotions from showing on the surface was, conversely, proof that he had felt profound displeasure. Hearing such bizarre logic, a wry, almost scoffing smile touched Octavian's face for the first time.
“Then you must also know exactly what I am going to do next.”
“Poor Philippus. To have provoked the most terrifying man in Rome... I cannot help but pity him. Will you make an example of him?”
“No. Stepping forward myself would not leave a very good impression on the Senate. If I send a prestigious noble to his doom right after declaring I would not wield my audit authority as a weapon, would it not give the impression that I am a man whose words and actions differ?”
“That is certainly true. And as a bonus, it makes you look petty. If there is even the slightest hint of your involvement, it will only backfire.”
Octavian closed his eyes for a moment, silently maintaining an unfathomable expression.
When he finally opened them again, he flashed a remarkably bright smile.
“Very well. Then I shall use this opportunity to tie together all the problems I have been meaning to deal with. Thankfully, Philippus will serve as an excellent test subject.”
*
Several months passed after Octavian seized the audit authority, yet no crisis ever struck the Senate.
A few senators had been investigated for corruption, but each case only resulted in them being cleared of all charges.
The nobles became utterly convinced that Octavian was firmly on their side.
It was then that a problem erupted.
As was always the case with social issues erupting in Rome, a prominent family stood at the center, and the main figure was Philippus.
The ambitious young head of the prestigious family had been expanding his wealth through various means, and allegations surfaced that he had abused the Gauls in the process.
Octavian did not even investigate.
This was because before he could even move, Vercingetorix, the representative of Gaul, had openly denounced Philippus before the Senate.
Philippus naturally assumed the Senate would back him, an influential Roman noble.
But the reality was the exact opposite.
The senators unilaterally threw their support behind Vercingetorix, Caesar's right-hand man.
There were two main reasons for this.
The first was to demonstrate their loyalty to Caesar, the true wielder of power.
The second was to plant a good impression of themselves in Gaul, a region currently undergoing development at a staggering pace.
It was confirmed that the more land they reclaimed in Gaul, the more it possessed a soil so fertile it made the Romans salivate.
Because Marcus had restricted the latifundium system, they could no longer run massive farming operations using slaves, but there were countless other ways to make money without obsessing over latifundia.
To the merchants and nobles of Rome, Gaul was practically a goose that would lay golden eggs in just a few years.
Therefore, it was natural to judge that turning Philippus into a scapegoat to boost their own stock was a profitable trade.
But strangely enough, the problem they initially believed would be contained to Philippus slowly began to balloon in scale.
Out of nowhere, the past transgressions of Aemilius Sextius—the husband of Philippus's sister—were dragged onto the chopping block as well.
He had once served as the governor of one of the provinces Marcus had permitted the Senate to control, and during his tenure, he had erected a statue of himself.
He had simply been inspired by seeing Marcus's statues in the East and had imitated the practice, but in Rome, this was considered a grave offense.
The law explicitly stated that a Roman's statue must never exceed life size.
The only exceptions applied to Caesar and Marcus.
Aemilius was immediately sent to trial and received the dishonorable sentence of being stripped of his senatorial seat.
Philippus faced the exact same punishment and was ousted from the Senate.
“It seems the Senate must exercise far greater caution when appointing provincial governors,” Octavian remarked.
No one could raise a single objection to Octavian's words as he calmly read aloud from the investigation reports.
“Using this incident as an opportunity, I dispatched investigators to Rome's provinces to conduct a fact-finding audit. The results have only just returned, and the situation is quite a bit more severe than anticipated. A sheer avalanche of complaints has poured in, particularly from the provinces where former consuls were appointed.”
It was only natural.
The men dispatched as provincial governors were former praetors and former consuls, but former consuls had no higher office left to attain.
Former praetors, on the other hand, tended to avoid leaving behind any major flaws so they could become consuls later on.
“For this reason, I intend to adjust the provinces assigned to former consuls and praetors. Furthermore, I believe it is necessary to draft a bill requiring these provincial governors to undergo regular audits. For reference, the provinces under the direct jurisdiction of Lord Caesar and Lord Marcus generated an exceptionally low number of such complaints. If we compare the ratios, the difference is nearly tenfold.”
Octavian's tone was resolute, exuding a clear intent that he would allow no counterarguments.
When someone who was normally so moderate took such an uncompromising stance, it naturally gave the impression that he had good reason to do so.
Caesar feigned a moment of contemplation before deciding to accept Octavian's proposal.
It was decided that the governors of the senatorial provinces would be audited in the name of the Senate at the midpoint and conclusion of their tenures.
Of course, this was merely in the name of the Senate; in reality, the men holding the auditing power were Caesar, Marcus, and Octavian, meaning the governors would be under their control.
With clear statistics laid out before them, refuting the motion was not easy.
Just as he had in his original history, Octavian used Caesar's supporters to push through a bill strikingly similar to the one that barred prestigious nobles from securing governorships in the most lucrative regions.
They had clawed back the portion of power they had previously returned to the Senate.
In the end, all the provinces of Rome were once again reorganized under the control of Caesar and Marcus.
And this time, unlike the temporary measures enacted around the end of the Xiongnu War, it was a permanent shift in power.