While Marcus was establishing a partnership with Caesar, Verres was preparing for the trial.
He ensured he did what he could without being overconfident about his background.
This is because Hortensius, who was in charge of defense, warned never to look down on Cicero.
Cicero was originally famous for defending but not prosecuting.
The fact that he was prosecuted means that there is definitely something he is aiming for.
Verres was particularly convinced that Pompeius was behind Cicero.
Pompeius was going against the senate's will even more than history.
Naturally, the eyes of the senate were focused on him, and Verres's vigilance was bound to rise even higher.
The butterfly effect that Marcus was worried about happened in an unexpected direction.
Verres met in the mansion with Hortensius, who defended him, and his brother-in-law, Quintus.
Verres, whose eyes have been sunken by a series of stress recently, urged Hortensius.
"Hey, didn't you say you were going to expel Cicero from the prosecution at all? But why did the judges recognize Cicero as a prosecutor?"
"The judges have fallen for Cicero's words. There is also Pompeius's influence, so it didn't work out the way I thought."
Hortensius, a middle-aged man with a profound impression, lightly clicked his tongue.
He didn't think he'd lose on trial.
Still, there is one thing in all.
He failed to grill the judge and change someone other than Cicero to a prosecutor.
Quintus, sitting opposite Verres, opened his mouth with a fishy smile.
"But there was no desired purpose. Obviously, Pompeius is behind this trial. He instigated Cicero to weaken the power of our family."
Verres nodded indignantly.
"That's all I can see. What the hell Pompeius...… on the subject of a sudden rise in the world I guess you're trying to print me out and go to the governor of Sicily and make me popular after stamping me out, but no way. Hortensius, I trust you. Please. My reward is not to be pitied."
"Don't worry about the trial. If you don't lie to me, you can't get sick of it. I ask you again just in case, are you sure that most of what Cicero has indicted is not true?"
"That's right. It's true that I took bribes, but I didn't embezzlement that badly. It's all their slander to impeach me. Right now, Syracuse and Messana, the cities of Sicily, have not joined the prosecution. If I had really embezzled like that, of course these cities would have condemned me together."
In fact, the two did not participate in the prosecution because they shared profits by joining Verres's crimes.
However, Hortensius, who could not know the fact, believed Verres's words straight.
"All right, then let's review our strategy again. First of all, we can't use a policy to expel Cicero from the prosecution. Then the priority is to postpone the trial until next year. It's almost a foregone conclusion that Quintus here and I will be elected consul in this election."
"There, my brother-in-law will be a praetor, so if we stall until next year, we won't lose. But there's no way they wouldn't know this obvious fact. I'm sure he's thinking of starting the trial before the year changes."
"That's what I think. But if you're investigating an area so far from Rome like this one, it'll take at least half a year. There's a clear indication that Cicero is running for Aedile position in this election. That means he have to be in Rome in July. If you force yourself to hold a trial this year, you won't even find proper evidence."
"I have already sent a letter to Lucius, the current governor. If Cicero goes to Sicily and collects evidence, please interrupt him thoroughly. Still, if he forces himself to file a lawsuit, I have no choice but to rely on your skills as the best lawyer in Rome at that time."
Hortensius smiled as if to leave it to him.
"Leave it to me. I don't intend to be pushed back by a lawyer who hasn't served as an aedile yet."
"Hahaha, as expected, the best lawyer and next consul in Rome. I'll trust you."
"Then I'll go back and review my defense strategy."
Hortensius rose from his seat and opened his mouth. He didn't even touch the glass of wine in front of him.
"I will never forget your hard work. I promise to cooperate with the administration of state affairs as much as possible next year."
"Even if you don't tell me, I'll take care of it, but try to avoid anything that could be caught before the trial."
Hortensius walked away across a large garden.
Even after he had disappeared entirely from view, Verres and Quintus sat silent for a while. Soon Verres lifted the glass. The slave waiting behind brought a drink quickly and filled the glass.
"If you leave the defense to Hortensius, you have nothing to worry about."
"But do you think Pompeius will stay still?"
"No way. If he tried to keep me in check with Cicero, wouldn't he do anything?"
"If he, the next governor, exerts his influence, there is a risk that the landholders of Sicily will not listen to Lucius. The name of Pompeius has such weight."
Knowing how badly Verres embezzled, Quintus couldn't hide his nervous look.
The Metellus family shared a portion of his profits in exchange for looking after Verres.
If they lost in the trial, Verres and the Metellus family would suffer significant losses.
"Don't worry, Quintus. I'll leave it to Hortensius, the defense, but I'll take care of the rest myself."
"As for the rest of the works... Do you mean hiding evidence or obstructing the collection of evidence?"
"It would have stopped normally, but shouldn't we do more if Pompeius is behind us? This is his first fight. Even if I respond, it's self-defense."
Verres's eyes glistened with a dangerous light.
Several Sicilian landholders are in trouble if he is captured. On top of that, he once conspired with pirates and assisted in looting when he was governor.
If you get caught, your political life will end right away, but there were many means to mobilize.
In the original history, he was neatly beaten by Cicero because he did not want to take risks, but now he is different.
It was because he recognized his opponent as Pompeius, not Cicero.
He cannot lose the wealth and power he has been desperately building in this way.
Verres poured a full glass of wine into it at once.
As the body was full of alcohol, the anger that swelled inside became stronger. The eyes of the greedy powerful were shining coldly.
* * *
Marcus kept his promise to Cicero. After saving the fastest ship to Sicily, he boarded the galley with Cicero.
The open-sail galley slowly began to leave the harbor at the captain's signal.
Marcus watched the land moving away from the ship with an expression of emotion.
It was the first voyage experienced in this era.
In fact, he didn't remember riding a ship in his previous life.
This is because there was no time to spare, not to mention money.
Perhaps that's why the feeling of shaking was bearable.
Looking at the open sea over the view, he felt relieved, as if his heart was open.
Spartacus, who had accompanied Marcus to escort him, spoke with a gentle smile.
"You look relieved."
"Yeah. I didn't know the view from the ship would be this wonderful. I even feel a kind of liberation."
"Isn't that because you've literally been freed from your recent hard work?"
"Oh, that's possible."
As Spartacus said, Marcus now felt half as if he were going on vacation.
Although it was a self-introduction, there were so many projects that there was not enough time to sleep recently.
It would be strange not to feel liberated after getting out of such hellish daily life.
Of course, as much as Marcus is missing, the remaining people will be even more desperate.
When he said he would only take Spartacus to Sicily, he received a resentful look from Danae for the first time.
Septimus also responded, "How can you do that?"
He felt truly sorry for both of them.
'When I go back to Rome, I'll give him a vacation so that he can rest well for a while.'
Marcus will be able to handle it on his own, as he will have almost finished his work by then anyway.
And Marcus doesn't just go to Sicily to enjoy his vacation.
There was a clear purpose for helping Cicero and establishing a solid friendship with him.
In addition, he recently heard intelligence that Verres's move was unusual.
Unlike history, if Cicero loses the trial, it is impossible to know what butterfly effect will occur later.
Marcus needed to be next to Cicero to deal with a possible unexpected situation.
And he needed time to take this opportunity to ride the Roman ship himself and organize his future plans.
'I did some research, but as expected, shipbuilding technology is not that great.'
The ancient West used the type of ship called galley in general.
Galley ships use oars as auxiliary power; their hull is long and thin.
The reason for using the oars was that the weather in the Mediterranean, which was a radius of people's activity at the time, was very volatile.
Therefore, people at this time sailed along the coast rather than out to the far sea.
The ship's structure was also optimized and developed for this voyage, so it was impossible to navigate the ocean.
Marcus is faced with a huge limit here.
'As expected, it would be impossible to bring potatoes.'
Potatoes are the food that almost fed the poor in modern Europe, which suffered from population support.
It is the world's most famous oral crop, and history has already proven its effectiveness.
Marcus was the first to think of potatoes as a means to solve Rome's chronic food problem.
It may not be enough to be a staple food, but it is an agricultural revolution enough to fill the stomach of the poor.
But the problem is that the origin of this potato is the Andes Mountains of the New World.
He knew the location, so he thought he might get it if he improved the ship.
However, when he boarded a Roman ship himself, such vain expectations disappeared at once.
The ship violently shook even while sailing along the Mediterranean coast, where the waves were not so severe.
It was a problem caused by the elongated straight-line structure of the galley.
Since the oars have to be mounted there, the number of people required increases, and the loading capacity naturally decreases.
No matter how much such a ship is improved, it is impossible to cross the Atlantic Ocean to the New World. Even if you arrive, it will be impossible to come back because you are so lucky.
'But it doesn't make sense to go to Russia and go over to Alaska...… If we can't rely on arable crops, we have no choice but to improve agricultural technology.'
Steelmaking technology was developing step by step, but agriculture was in a state with no knowledge.
Even if you try to find out anew from now on, the results may not come out as you know, depending on the soil or crops you grow.
As agriculture is the core of Rome, it was a complex problem to touch.
'I have no choice but to secure data through trial and error....'
What broke Marcus' thoughts was Cicero's voice from behind.
"What are you thinking so hard?"
"It's not a big deal. I was just thinking about my future plans."
"But even if you go to Sicily, things won't be that easy. Now that the governor is Verres's brother-in-law, there is a high possibility that he will interfere with us very openly."
Marcus said the future plan was not related to Sicily, but he did not bother to correct Cicero's misunderstanding.
"It's not easy, but you don't have to worry about buying it. We've already arranged the carriage, as well as people who can help us collect evidence there. I also have insurance in case something happens."
Marcus pointed to Spartacus next to him.
Looking back at him, who is famous as Rome's strongest gladiator, Cicero smiled with a reliable expression.
"I'm so reassured that you came with me. But don't let your guard down. The wealth of the Verres and Metellus families is beyond imagination. If they start buying witnesses with their money and hiding evidence, we could be cornered."
"If you come out like that, it would be more comfortable on our side."
Marcus smirked and said the reason for his confidence.
"Even if you add all of the properties of the Verres and Metellus families, our side has many times more."
"Oh..."
Cicero, who had briefly forgotten who was in front of him, nodded with admiration.
"I don't think I've ever heard anything more reliable in my life."
It was a sincere word.
* * *