Chapter 131: Lucius: I'm Actually Quite Clever!
Is Quintus foolish?
He is not. If he were truly stupid, he would never have risen to the position of First Seat in the Senate.
However, his family has been part of the Senate for generations, and as a noble, it is inevitable that he lacks understanding of many things.
For instance, he knows nothing about warfare, and having lived a life of privilege, he has no grasp of what winter truly means on the battlefield.
This directly led to his current decision—and because he has held the position of First Seat in the Senate for many years, coupled with Lucius being the kind of emperor he is, his position is as solid as an iron fortress.
When he insists on doing things this way, even those below who understand it is not the best course of action dare not speak up and can only comply.
Moreover, there is another issue.
The assassins were terrified by Noah, so their attention was largely focused on him, while those who did not encounter Noah were killed by Vivian.
This directly resulted in Rome being completely unaware, even now, of the true situation between Britain and Rome and how they compare.
As a result, even those who truly understand warfare tend to look down on Britain.
Mobilizing troops and stockpiling supplies now—in the eyes of those who truly understand warfare, since the Senate holds such power, they might as well endure it!
As for stationing troops...
If Rome can crush Britain even while fighting on two fronts, it is not entirely a bad idea.
Thus, Quintus's arrangements were carried out without anyone stopping him.
But Quintus is not foolish. Aside from being misled by Manaka Sajyou here, he has been diligently working in other areas.
For example, sealing off ports, searching for Lucius, and deploying the emperor's exclusive intelligence units to prevent any information from flowing from Rome to Britain.
These orders of his were also effectively implemented.
Only after completing these tasks did Quintus finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"The troops are arranged, the supplies are in place, the orders have been issued, and the intelligence situation is well under control... Britain and the Huns—hmph, let's settle this in one go."
Rome's control over intelligence is formidable.
Otherwise, even with her Clairvoyance, Mary would have been completely unaware that Manaka Sajyou was hiding in the Roman palace.
While this was partly due to Manaka Sajyou blocking Mary's Clairvoyance, if Rome's intelligence management had been poor, Mary could still have gleaned clues from other traces.
Thus, after Quintus's arrangements, Rome first prevented intelligence from spreading too widely, then sealed off all ports and began embedding intelligence agents at the grassroots level.
This level of control directly resulted in even Morgan's intelligence agents in Rome receiving almost no information about Rome's movements.
Because in Rome at this moment, social strata were separated. Genuine information circulated only in secure channels, while those with partial knowledge were assigned tasks, centralized, and placed under special management.
The average Roman citizen did not even know that Britain had declared war on Rome.
Although Morgan's intelligence agents were aware of the impending war, they had no knowledge of Rome's arrangements and no means to obtain such information.
In contrast, Lucius learned of it quickly.
While Quintus was making these arrangements, she was hiding in a tree within the palace grounds, eating a banana.
Thus, she overheard Quintus's plans, though she paid little attention to them. She waited until Quintus had dispatched the search parties for her and deployed the intelligence agents before slipping out of the palace and seeking out Morgan's agents.
This way, at least the first wave of search personnel Quintus had arranged became useless.
They were rendered ineffective both in searching for Lucius and in uncovering the traitor within Britain.
"You are from Britain, aren't you?"
This was the first thing Lucius said upon finding Morgan's intelligence agents.
Upon hearing such a question, the agents initially intended to take action, but upon seeing that it was Lucius, they abandoned the idea.
Although they did not know that the person disguised with Magecraft before them was the current emperor of Rome, they were well aware of the formidable strength of the Maiden of the Battlefield.
Thus, they refrained from acting, instead offering a wry smile.
"Miss Lucia, please don't scare us... We are merely black-market merchants. Rather than saying we are from Britain, it would be more accurate to say we come from the sea."
As he spoke, the agent opened his cargo bag and took out its contents.
"Look, these items come from various places—some from Britain, some from Rome, and others from elsewhere..."
This was not a lie; it was the truth.
These goods were taken by Morgan from Camelot's treasury before dispatching the agents.
Some were collected by nobles in earlier years, while others were looted by the Saxon Barbarians during their raids. Thus, using these goods as proof of identity was entirely plausible in the eyes of reasonable people...
Lucius, under the alias Lucia, did not recognize these items.
However, she did not doubt them, merely raising an eyebrow in mild curiosity.
"Is that so? I was hoping to ask if you had a way to get to Britain, as I wanted to visit. Since you are not from Britain, never mind."
Hearing this, the agents were momentarily stunned, then exchanged glances.
They were not all of Morgan's intelligence agents stationed in Rome.
Even if they were discovered, others would remain hidden.
Given this... they were willing to take a gamble.
Rather than remaining stuck in their current position, they preferred to gather information through the Maiden of the Battlefield.
"Wait."
The lead agent called out to Lucius, and under her puzzled gaze, he lowered his voice and shared their information.
"Miss Lucia, although we are not from Britain, if you insist on going there, we do have a way. But in return, what can you offer?"
What to offer...
Lucius thought of Quintus's arrangements, and then her eyes lit up.
"I don't have much in the way of wealth, but I've heard that Rome is blockading its entire territory because of Britain's declaration of war, not allowing any intelligence to flow out. They've also set up numerous defenses in the sea between Britain and Rome... Since you're black market merchants, if you're stuck in Rome for a long time due to the war, you'll surely lose money, and it might not even be safe."
"So how about this: you find a way to secure a ship that can take me to Britain. I'll point out the defensive positions Rome has set up at sea, and while you're stuck in Rome, I'll arrange a safe refuge for you—that way, you can sail out to do business and escape to safety. All I need is for you to take me to Britain. How about it?"
Lucius watched the hesitant yet clearly tempted expressions of these 'black market merchants' before her, feeling quite pleased with herself.
In her view, this was almost like getting these merchants to help her without giving up anything at all.
It was like winning twice!
She had already won completely!
Thinking this, Lucius recalled how Quintus would often get so angry that he'd say she was like a monkey—good at fighting but completely incapable of using her head...
Who says I can't use my head? I'm pretty clever, aren't I?