"Are you telling me to go out there and help the people of Nova Troy myself? What do you mean by that?"
Cleopatra said, gesturing for her attendants to withdraw.
Both her servants and the tutors responsible for her education withdrew from the tent.
Cleopatra and Pompeia were the only ones left inside.
"What the Pharaoh desires is the friendship of Rome, is it not?" Pompeia asked. "If Rome declares the pharaoh a friend and ally, it will make it far more difficult for anyone else to challenge his throne."
Pompeia looked down at the silent young girl.
Despite her tender age, Cleopatra seemed to understand her father's political predicament with remarkable clarity.
"Yes, that is correct. My father came to Rome precisely to purchase that friendship." Cleopatra crossed her arms as she continued. "Are you claiming we can secure that without spending a single coin?"
Pompeia nodded.
The status itself amounted to little more than words on paper, yet those words carried immense weight.
Kings and chieftains used this status to bolster their legitimacy, and neighboring nations dared not treat them lightly.
Attacking a Friend of Rome was tantamount to attacking Rome itself.
"Until now, the simplest way to attain that status was to bribe enough senators."
"Which is why my father attempted to borrow gold from your husband."
"However, there is another way." Pompeia leaned forward. "Win the support of the Roman citizens, then have the popular assembly pass a law recognizing His Majesty as a friend of the Roman people. Once that happens, the Senate will hardly dare oppose it. You will have both the assembly's formal approval and the Senate's public support."
Pompeia stepped outside the tent for a moment.
Then, she returned accompanied by another woman.
Julia gave a bright smile and dipped her head to the princess.
"Julia and I will assist you, Princess, so that you may win over the Roman citizens."
"You want me to put on an act to win over the Roman public, then. That's what you meant about 'helping' people in Nova Troia."
"It does not necessarily have to be an act."
Julia replied as she approached the young princess.
"Because helping others is a joy in itself."
"My father will not be pleased. He will argue that it compromises the dignity and prestige of the royal house."
"Or it could enhance your royal prestige even further. It all depends on how you carry yourself."
"Winning the friendship of Roman citizens instead of Roman politicians... It sounds worth trying."
Cleopatra murmured.
After a long silence, the young princess spoke again.
"What exactly do you want me to do?"
***
While the Nova Troia festival and the Religious Council were in full swing, a new rumor began circulating through Rome.
"Did you all hear the news?"
"What news?"
"About that princess who came from Egypt. I heard she's been volunteering in the Nova Troia tent village lately."
"Volunteering? What do you mean by that exactly?"
What began as a mere rumor soon spread through pamphlets and heralds until almost everyone accepted it as fact.
"I saw her with my own eyes just this morning! Word is she's tending to the refugees alongside the Vestal Virgins."
"You mean she staged some lavish procession through the tent village?"
"No, I heard she was accompanied by only a few bodyguards and servants."
Ever since arriving in Rome, Cleopatra had visited the tent village with only a small retinue.
She met with the displaced citizens, listened to their grievances, and distributed food and medical supplies.
"Is there anything else you require?"
Woodblock prints depicting Cleopatra walking through the refugee camp alongside priests of Isis and the Vestal Virgins soon circulated throughout Rome.
"Why would the Egyptian royal family come all the way to Rome just to help our refugees? It has nothing to do with them in the first place."
Of course, not every Roman viewed her actions favorably.
Quite a few people sneered cynically at her efforts.
"It's obvious, isn't it? She's just trying to buy our goodwill."
"Yeah, she's just tossing a few coins around to buy herself some goodwill."
Yet the vast majority of citizens responded warmly to the princess's actions.
Above all, the refugees who received her aid welcomed the princess herself with open arms.
"How many foreign royals have ever come all the way to Rome and personally helped its citizens?"
"Usually, they only come to Rome to beg us to restore them to their thrones."
Support for Cleopatra rose even further when news broke that Cleopatra had donated her personal jewelry for the sake of the displaced citizens.
"I saw her in person today, and she wasn't wearing a single piece of gold jewelry. Aside from simple earrings, she was otherwise completely unadorned."
"Is that really true? She even gave away her own jewelry?"
The crowning moment came when a journalist asked Cleopatra a question.
"Why has Your Highness gone to such lengths to help Rome's refugees?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Cleopatra replied in Latin. Her command of the language had improved remarkably in the short time she had spent in Rome.
"Because Egypt and Rome are friends. When a friend's house catches fire, how could one simply look away?"
As her words spread through pamphlets, public support for the Egyptian royal house surged across Rome.
[When a friend's house catches fire, how could one simply look away? ― Princess Cleopatra of Egypt]
Yet as her popularity soared among Roman citizens, something entirely unexpected unfolded.
All sorts of wild rumors and scandals began swirling around her.
She was a mysterious young princess from an exotic kingdom, and the aura surrounding her and the pharaoh was more than enough to set the citizens' imaginations running wild.
One article in particular captured the public's undivided attention.
[King Ptolemy Eyes Brutus as Son-in-Law? Marcus Junius Brutus spotted making repeated visits to the Egyptian Princess's tent.]
***
"Just to be absolutely sure, how much of this article is actually true?"
"You know better than anyone that this is complete and utter slander, Lucius!"
Brutus roared, his face flushed bright red.
"Every single word of it is fabricated from start to finish! I'm taking the man who wrote this straight to court!"
"Calm down. Screaming won't solve the problem."
I raised a hand to placate Brutus.
Well, it wasn't as if Brutus was the type of guy to fall for a ten-year-old girl.
"So you have no idea why an article like this was published?"
"The Pharaoh asked me to tutor the princess in Latin, so I visited her tent a few times. That was all!"
A few times, huh...?
When I stared at him without a word, Brutus hurriedly added.
"There were other tutors and servants in the tent as well! Why on earth would the Pharaoh marry his daughter to a Roman in the first place?!"
"There really is no reason for him to."
The Ptolemaic dynasty had traditionally preserved its bloodline through sibling incest.
Even when they married outside the dynasty, they almost always chose royals from neighboring kingdoms.
"Besides, Romans love this kind of scandal."
I looked down at the pamphlet in my hand.
Nothing fed on scandal quite like the press.
Celebrities, royalty, politicians.
Sometimes, a single baseless rumor could blow up into a massive controversy.
"I need to find the bastard who wrote this piece immediately and..."
"It would be best to leave it alone for now."
"Leave it alone?!"
Brutus glared at me in disbelief.
"This is an insult to me and my family! If we let them get away with spreading blatant fabrications, others will try the exact same stunt! It could even damage diplomatic relations between Egypt and Rome!"
"I'm not saying we should let them get away with it. I will personally find out who wrote this article and make sure they face the legal consequences." I said. If Brutus threw a public fit right now, it would only pour fuel on the fire.
A vehement denial wasn't proof of guilt, but citizens had a habit of treating it as if it were.
"So please, bear with it for a little while. If you ignore it, the citizens will quickly lose interest. The journalists will find something new to write about soon enough. In the meantime, I suggest you avoid visiting the princess's tent."
"If that is what you truly think... fine. I had no intention of going back there anyway."
Brutus let out a long sigh.
Unfortunately, I was proved wrong almost immediately.
The Roman public showed no sign of losing interest in the Brutus-Cleopatra scandal.
To make matters worse, a brand-new scandal began making the rounds.
And standing at the very center of it was none other than me.
"I spent a wild night of debauchery with the Athenian and Spartan delegations at the same time?!""
A wild night of debauchery.
Everyone knew exactly what that implied.
I'd nearly torn my hair out trying to mediate a brutal fistfight between the Athenian and Spartan delegations, and now they had the gall to spread a rumor like this?
Brutus struggled to hold back his laughter. "Lucius, calm down. How many citizens could possibly believe such nonsense anyway?"
"..."
"If you ignore it, this rumor will blow over in no time. I'll quietly track down the printing house that produced the pamphlet."
In the end, I could only let out a heavy sigh.
I supposed that was why people said you had to walk a mile in another man's shoes to truly understand his situation.
"By Jupiter, I'll sue them for defamation and take every last coin they have."
***
"Is she still in her room?"
"She hasn't eaten properly for three days now."
Cornelia replied with a worried nod.
Caesar stole a glance toward his daughter's room.
Julia had shut herself away in her room for days, practically refusing all food and drink.
No matter how much Caesar and Cornelia pleaded with her, she barely showed any reaction.
Even her brother, Lucius, had failed to lift her spirits.
"Julia has never been like this before. Seeing her in such pain tears me apart."
Caesar waved away the wine goblet brought by his servants.
"I can't even concentrate during the council sessions because I'm so worried about her."
There was only one reason Julia had fallen into such deep despair.
"Letters from Brutus keep piling up, but she won't read a single one. She hasn't been going to the school she loved, either. The other noblewomen are already starting to worry."
"All this over a single pamphlet full of baseless nonsense."
Caesar let out a heavy sigh.
"I knew Brutus and Julia had always been playful with each other, but I had no idea their affection ran this deep."
"We should have arranged Julia's betrothal earlier. This happened because we kept putting it off."
"I was the one who put it off. As head of the family, I should have settled the matter long ago. Deep down, I suppose I simply couldn't bear the thought of letting Julia go."
Caesar stepped toward his wife and embraced her gently.
"I must settle this once and for all now."
"What do you mean?"
"If rumors spread that Julia is starving herself, the citizens will all wonder why," Caesar said. "The daughter of the Pontifex Maximus must be above suspicion. She cannot be dragged into scandalous gossip."
He added in a tender, playful tone.
"Especially when she is Caesar's daughter."
***
"Sing, O goddess, the destructive wrath of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless woes upon the Achaeans and sent many brave souls hurrying down to Hades..."
Julia murmured. Her fingers drifted gently over the sheets of paper spread across the table.
The pieces she and Brutus had written together for the Nova Troia literary contest lay scattered across the table.
"Why am I acting like this?"
She whispered to herself. All because of that ridiculous rumor about the pharaoh wanting Brutus as his son-in-law.
She knew better than anyone that it was nothing more than a baseless fabrication.
Yet ever since the rumor spread, she had barely been able to bring herself to leave her bedchamber.
All the jokes and words that only the two of them could understand.
All the letters they had exchanged over the months.
What was the point of any of it?
It was never her place to choose her marriage partner. No noblewoman in Rome had the luxury of marrying for love.
Marriage was a contract connecting two great houses; it was a political alliance.
Hadn't her own brother married Pompey's daughter for that very reason?
And yet she had selfishly allowed herself to dream of something more.
If their relationship were ever brought to light, it would erupt into a massive scandal.
It could place her father—the Pontifex Maximus—along with her brother and the rest of the family in an impossible position.
"I've only ever thought about myself," she muttered, lifting a sheet of paper.
It was common knowledge that Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus were bound together in a political alliance.
If Caesar and Pompey were already bound by marriage, Crassus was the only member of the alliance not yet tied to their family by blood.
Her father was surely considering that option as well.
As she stared blankly at the page, a soft knock came at the door.
"May I come in?"
"Of course, Father."
The door opened, and Caesar stepped inside with a tender smile.
"I heard you didn't touch your breakfast today either, Julia. No matter how unwell you feel, you must at least have some soup. Starving yourself will only weaken both your body and your spirit."
"I'm sorry."
"There is nothing for you to be sorry for."
He sat down on the edge of the bed and gestured for his daughter to sit beside him.
Julia sat beside him and rested her head against his broad shoulder.
"Why does Venus always make our mortal hearts ache so?"
"Venus merely helps us listen to what our hearts truly desire."
"And what if what my heart wants can never be?" Julia asked. "I am no longer a little girl, Father. I know very well whom I must marry for the sake of our family..."
"You are part of our family too, Julia. My precious daughter," Caesar interrupted gently. "And I am Caesar, consul of Rome and Pontifex Maximus. I can decide whom my daughter marries. I am not so desperate that I need to barter away my daughter's happiness for a political alliance."
"Does that mean..."
"Servilia has been bringing up the topic of a betrothal lately. Brutus is an exceptional young man in many ways. I think the two of you would make an excellent match, and your marriage would unite two old and distinguished families."
For a moment, Caesar could say no more. As Cornelia watched from the doorway with a gentle smile, he wrapped his arms tightly around his daughter, who had finally broken into soft, trembling sobs.
"No matter whom you marry, you will always be my daughter, and I will always be proud of you, Julia. Never forget that."
Caesar paused, then smiled.
"You were the one who stopped Clodius's gang in the Forum. Never think that this family owes you nothing, Julia."