The Senate was in quite a state. Caligula was dead and Marcus Vinicius and Lucius Annius Vinicianus had begun with pretending to debate returning the government to the rule of the Consuls with the rest of the Senate. Then all pretenses vanished as all the senators were arguing which of them should be the new First Citizen. Claudius then arrived in the company of the Praetorian Guard who had sworn allegiance to him and Herod Agrippa. The Praetorian Guard who had sworn allegiance to Claudius had named Caligula's uncle the new First Citizen.
"I am the uncle of Caligula, brother of Germanicus, nephew of Tiberius, great-nephew and grandson of Augustus and I have the support of the Praetorian Guard." Claudius said, speaking clearly to the Senate. "Whom here among you will recognize me as your First Citizen?"
"No one here will!" Vinicius roared. "You may have some of the Praetorian Guard on your side but their leader Cassius Chaera is on the side of my nephew and I! We shall be the new First Citizens! The reign of the Julio-Claudians is over! The reign of the Vinicii and Annii has begun!"
Then entered Romulus, carrying something wrapped in a cloak. "Marcus Vinicius, you speak prematurely."
"I do not speak prematurely at all, Hibernian!" Vinicius roared, this time taking three steps forward. "Cassius will be here any moment and he and his guards will put an end to all who stand in the way of my nephew and I! There shall be a new dynasty in Rome!"
"Cassius is already here." Romulus said coolly. He let loose the wrapped cloak and out rolled the severed head of Cassius. Vinicius recoiled away in horror with wide eyes while Vinicianus sat down in defeat. "My fellow gladiators and the noble lanista Lucius defeated the Praetorian guards loyal to him after I slew him with his own sword. The two of you have no support, Vinicius. Claudius is your First Citizen now!"
"I will be revenged on you for this, Romulus!" Vinicius uttered. "I don't care how long it takes! I will have my revenge on all the Julio-Claudians for this humiliation!" He never did. Five twelvemonths later, he was killed at the instigation of Claudius' wife Valeria Messalina. His nephew Vinicianus would die a twelvemonth into Claudius' reign following a failed revolt where he committed suicide alongside the would-be usurper Lucius Arruntius Camillus Scribonianus.
When all the official matters were dealt with, Claudius then brought a scroll to Romulus. With his estates returned to Romulus and him once more with his family, Claudius had more happy news for them.
"Romulus, what I have here is the second will of Tiberius." Claudius said, sitting with Romulus, Messalina and their sons in the garden of Romulus' estate in Rome.
"Second will?" Romulus inquired, completely perplexed. "What need had he for two wills?"
"The first related to Gemellus and Caligula. The second relates to you." Claudius answered. "He instructed me to give it to you only after both his heirs were dead." Then did the new First Citizen had the will over to his cousin.
Romulus opened the scroll. It was certainly in Tiberius' handwriting. He had not dictated it to anyone.
Romulus, my son
Now that I am gone, I apologize for all the wrongs I had done you. I may have tried to make up for it later in my life but at the end of it all I failed. My natural son and adoptive sons are all gone and now I am left with the son I never recognized, the one I do not even know the location of. I am sorry. Despite how disastrous my marriage was to your mother I should have recognized you as mine. Only in death do I acknowledge you as my son. You are Romulus Julius Caesar, adoptive son of Tiberius Julius Caesar, adoptive son of the Divine Augustus, adoptive son of the Divine Julius. In Augustus' will he left you an estate in Rome and in Gallia Narbonensis, I leave you and estate in the rest of our Gallic provinces and an estate in Egypt. I know there is nothing that can be done to earn your forgiveness, these probably will do nothing, but I hope in the next life we both may greet each other with open arms.
Tiberius Julius Caesar
Romulus handed the will to Messalina who then read it before passing it to Conn, who then passed it to Julius. Looking Claudius in the eye, Romulus asked: "Have you read it?"
"I have, many times." Claudius answered. "And all those times I was tempted to destroy it. The fact that he posthumously adopted you into the Julian family while I was never adopted period drove me mad."
"At the end of the day, I am now a Julius Caesar and you are the First Citizen." Romulus said. "Augustus never adopted me into my family and he loved me as if he and Livia had been my parents."
"I remember speaking with Livia." Messalina said, a nostalgic look in her eye. "It was not long after Augustus died and you had come down with your fever. She told me they never adopted you into the family because it did not matter to them. You were Julia's son, that was enough for them."
"Be that as it may…" Claudius continued. "It is as your husband has said, Messalina. He is now a Julius Caesar and I am First Citizen. Now I must ask him, will you stay on as senator, Romulus? You have always believed the Senate comprised of corrupt men. Do not leave me alone to over rule them all, let me hear the voice of one honest man among them."
"I will do so." Romulus said, standing up to pick a pear from a nearby tree. It was exquisite, just like the kind Augustus and Livia would grow. "For how Germanicus truly was, somewhat inconsistent of our belief that he intended to use me as a soldier due to my 'barbarian blood' in my opinion, I do wish to have his name stricken from public memory. As for Tiberius, I'd like to have him deified. He was a complicated man but after Augustus, he was like my father and I would do him honor now that he is gone."
"With how my brother truly was toward you, I do not blame you for wanting him stricken from public memory, Romulus." Claudius said. "But deify Tiberius? As you said, he was a complicated man. Perhaps someone less deified."
"I want him deified, Claudius." Romulus still kept his eye on the pear, not looking at Claudius.
"Yes, well, omit my brother from your own personal histories and deify Tiberius in your house alone, I will have no part of this. I have bigger things in mind."
"Oh, yes?" Romulus inquired with raised eyebrow. "And just would these things be?"
"The conquest of Britannia, of course!" Claudius exclaimed, standing up and raising his arms dramatically.
"Well, that is an idea best discarded." Romulus commented.
"Excuse me?" Claudius asked, an incredulous expression upon his countenance.
"Augustus always warned us against anymore expansion of our borders, Claudius." Romulus replied. "Besides, at your age I doubt you'll live to see it completed."
"It will be completed! The conquest will be complete by the time I am eight and seventy!" Claudius uttered enthusiastically.
"None of us expect you to live that long!" Messalina exclaimed. "Your age and health are not a good combination for long campaigns."
Claudius stared at Romulus' wife with a look of surprise. He then looked at Romulus, who just gave a grave nod. A look of anger spread across Claudius' face and as he stood up, he said: "I see how it is! A family of naysayers! Cynics! I'll show you all! I will go down in history as the First Citizen who conquered Britannia!"
The conquest of Britannia would not begin until two twelvemonths later. Claudius did manage to get a foothold on Britannia, enough to establish Britannia as a province, but all he had done was begin a conquest.
Claudius' wife Valeria Messalina gave birth to a son and he came to be known as Britannicus. As for Valeria Messalina herself, she would die in the seventh twelvemonth of Claudius' reign. She proved unfaithful and married the senator Gaius Silius, a man Romulus had spent the last seventh twelvemonths telling Claudius to beware of, in Claudius' absence. They had a costly wedding banquet in Claudius absence and made the drunken mistake of inviting Romulus, at the time fifty. Romulus ordered the freedman Narcissus to inform Claudius while he himself would go about undermining the machinations of Valeria Messalina and Gaius Silius. He succeeded in preventing a usurpation completely, had Gaius Silius arrested and personally stripped him of his position of senator. When Claudius returned, he intended to talk to his wife personally the next morning while leaving the execution of Gaius Silius to be overseen by Romulus. Alas, Narcissus went behind Claudius' back and pretended to act on an order from Claudius to have the Praetorian Guard execute Valeria Messalina. When Claudius was informed, he merely asked for more wine.
Claudius went on to marry Agrippina Minor, the daughter of his brother Germanicus. Romulus objected to the marriage on the grounds that it was incestuous and that Agrippina was a loathsome individual who could not be trusted. Alas, Claudius ignored his cousin and the marriage made her son Lucius Domitius the stepson of Claudius and he'd forever more be known as "Nero."