Marcus decides to hold a festival in honor of the goddess Ceres after Maius (March).
The rationale was that farmers would come from all over Italia, so giving them plenty of time would be a good idea, but the reality was a little different.
Even with the adoption of four-field rotation agriculture, there is no way to develop subsistence farming without land.
There is a need for a system that can support innovative farming methods.
But Marcus, who is only an aedile, is not yet in a position to draft such a bill.
That's why the existence of the Triumvirate was necessary.
Marcus needed to foster subsistence farming for the future of Rome.
Pompeius was in a situation where he had to distribute state land to veterans.
As consul, Caesar was obligated to represent the best interests of the whole Triumvirate.
Rather than deal with these two issues separately, the Triumvirate decided to tackle them together.
He decided to reform the land laws to benefit both the soldiers who had fought under Pompeius and the farmers who needed land.
Because it was such a vast amount of bills, it was not completely organized yet.
Still, Caesar said he could submit the bill sometime in Maius.
This is why Marcus decided to organize an event after Maius.
The Land Code had a complex set of vested interests that prevented it from being passed in the usual way.
Indeed, since the reforms of the Gracchus brothers, there has been bloodshed in Roman politics whenever land laws have been discussed.
So Marcus and Caesar decided to use all the means at their disposal to make sure the law passed.
With farmers from all over Italia and Pompeius' veterans, even the Senate would be powerless to oppose.
They decided not to use force against each other, but it wasn't out of the question that an angry mob would rise up.
There was still time before the event, so Marcus stepped up his hygiene efforts.
Most things were done immediately under the authority of the aedile, but sometimes the consent of the Senate was required.
Of course, the Senate fully supported Marcus.
When something costs money, Marcus pays for it out of his own pocket, and when it proves effective, he puts in the budget.
With this consensus in place, much of the project passed with ease.
"It's dangerous to use the human waste that comes through the sewer as manure. We need to make a law to compost the human waste. I will build the facilities, but we need a law on composting. I request that the consul consider this and enact a law."
The consul in charge of the new year's affairs was Caesar, and he asked curiously.
"Is using uncomposted human waste harmful to the body?"
"Yes. I have that documented as well. People who eat grain that comes from uncomposted human waste suffer from stomach aches more often than those who don't. That's because the bad toxins that are left in the human waste are leaching into the grain, so you need to compost it for a long time to get rid of them."
Originally, the real reason was parasitism rather than toxicity, but it would be more confusing to explain it that way.
In fact, the majority of the senators nodded in agreement with Marcus' easy-to-understand explanation.
Caesar didn't object.
"So all we need to do is enact a law about composting human waste?"
"No. While we're at it, we also need to overhaul the laws that control sanitation on the streets. When I go to Suburra, I often see people throwing all sorts of filth out of their windows in Insula. It's not just aesthetically pleasing, it's not good for actual sanitation."
It was a familiar sight to Caesar, who had lived in Suburra for many years.
"Yeah. It's not a new sight to throw away filth in a high-rise building. In fact, it was the bill that needed to be done somehow."
"Yes. If we just ban it, most people will choose to sneakily dump it. We need to work together to make it more convenient for people living in Insula's upper floors to dispose of their wastewater and waste."
"You have a point. I'll give it some thought and write a bill."
Caesar had an exceptional understanding of the lives of the plebeians, despite being a prestigious aristocrat. Several solutions immediately came to his mind.
He looked around the room and asked.
"Is there anyone else who wishes to add to the motion called for by Marcus? If not, we'll go straight to a vote."
Metellus Scipio raised his hand and asked to speak.
Having been given the floor, he rose from his seat.
"Not that I'm against it, but storing and managing human waste for long periods of time obviously requires additional budget. Even if the Crassus family does it once, what are you going to do after that?"
Before Marcus could open his mouth to explain, Caesar hit him first.
"If you look at the tax revenues we have right now, we have enough to budget for. The tax reform that we did last year really boosted tax revenues last year."
"Oh...."
"We've made tax revenues transparent and reduced the burden realistically, so it's no wonder we're getting more tax revenues, but I think that's the answer anyway."
Overlooking the obvious, Metellus blushed and sat back down on the road.
The tax reforms proposed by Marcus resulted in a significant one-time increase in Roman tax revenues.
When the senators first received the results, they were in disbelief and had to double-check several times.
They were deeply convinced that it would create a huge hole in their tax base.
They didn't object because they knew the Crassus family would make up for it.
But the results were there, and there was no choice but to accept them.
From that point on, Marcus' words carried a lot of weight.
The Senate's trust has been deepened.
No one has spoken more since Metellus.
Marcus's law on public health was eventually passed unanimously.
The senators are just about to get up from their seats when they decide the meeting is over.
"We still have an additional agenda to deal with."
Caesar's raspy voice caught the attention of the senators.
Bibulus, ready to veto at any moment, asked bluntly.
"Do you have anything else to say?"
"Yes, my dear Senators. It has been some ten years since I joined the Senate, and in that time I have been moved and enlightened by the speeches of many learned men of great minds, and that has not changed. It would be a shame for the fine eloquence of debaters like Hortensius, Cicero, and Cato to languish and weather in the memories of the people, and so I will be preparing the minutes of the sessions I have conducted in the form of a Consul Compendium and making them available to the public. Of course, the contents of our private meetings will not be made public."
Bibulus, who was about to make an immediate rebuttal, was speechless and shut up again.
This is because no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't find a reason to oppose it.
The public meeting was still taking place with the door wide open.
There were some citizens outside the Curia Hostilia who were camped out to hear the contents of the meeting.
Usually, these people would rush off to the Forum Romanum at the end of the meeting to report what they had heard.
However, it was impossible for anyone to convey this vast meeting without making any mistakes.
It was often distorted and inaccurate.
This is something that Caesar says he intends to improve.
In fact, those senators who had been misquoted on multiple occasions voted with both hands in favor.
Of course, the senators, who have a history of making controversial statements, were uncomfortable.
There were those, like Cato, who saw everything Caesar did as a threat.
Still, Caesar's resolve was firm.
As of this day, by the authority of the consuls, the contents of this meeting are to be recorded by scribes and posted in the Forum Romanum.
At this point, there was nothing Bibulus could do.
It was clear to see how it would look to the public if he were to abolish the Consul Compendium while in charge of state affairs.
This kind of disclosure cannot be reversed more than once.
Unless it was seriously against the cause, Caesar's actions were clearly for the public good.
Bibulus and Cato could only curse Caesar's cleverness and lose count of the minutes.
Of course, the Senate was not undermined by this petty act.
It was just annoying that they'd given Caesar a stroke.
Marcus meaningfully smiled as he watched Cato and Bibulus leave in a huff.
The look on his face was like the smile of a rascal anticipating the ruckus to come.
* * *
While Caesar and the Senate were having a nervous breakdown, Marcus didn't care and continued to do his job.
It's already been a month, even though they said they would do it as quickly as possible.
The one-year term was insufficient time to realize Marcus' ideas.
It was necessary to move as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Fortunately, within a month, the hygiene of people in downtown Rome had improved.
It's still a few years away from reaching the rest of Italia, but the progress has been better than expected.
The biggest success factor was that primitive soap already existed.
He doesn't think the citizens would have adapted as quickly if he had brought in the unknown and explained everything to them.
The soap factories that he had already acquired were selling like hotcakes.
Marcus didn't stop there. He went on to produce luxury soaps using olive oil.
The production technology was not yet good enough, so they were quite expensive, but they sold like hotcakes to wealthy aristocrats.
The significant amount of money he spent as an aedile was quickly replenished.
Furthermore, Marcus used his authority as an aedile to tackle the problem of lead poisoning, which was rampant among the aristocracy.
The Roman upper class used light sugar, obtained by heating wine in lead vessels, primarily as a condiment.
Naturally, the soft sugar was concentrated with lead, and the Romans who ate it gradually accumulated lead in their bodies.
In the long run, he'll need to replace the water line, but he has put that on the side for now because the limey water has coated the line.
Marcus organized a small festival to showcase the sugar he had developed as an alternative to soft sugar.
It was already quite polished, as it had already been tested and refined over the years.
Those who have tasted sugar have been completely captivated by the sweet taste they first felt.
"So you're saying this sugar thing isn't as bad for you because it's like soft sugar?"
Unlike the citizens, who were simply stunned by the sweetness, the reaction of the senators was dramatic.
When a person is exposed to lead for a long period of time, the chance of developing gout increases exponentially.
The pain of gout is unimaginable, with some describing it as feeling like their joint is being ripped apart.
For the Romans, gout was something to be feared.
The older and wealthier the aristocrat, the more likely they were to become acquainted with gout patients.
Especially those who had seen family members suffer from gout. They were terrified that it could happen to them at any moment.
So it's no wonder that the aristocrats were interested when Marcus said he could dramatically lower those odds.
Bibulus, the current consul, Scipio of the Metellus family, the former consuls Silanus, Cicero, Afranius, and all sorts of other distinguished people came.
"If I don't use my pension, am I sure I won't get that devilish disease?"
"There are many factors that contribute to gout. Obesity and poor nutrition also play a role, but one thing is for sure: if you eat that type of sugar, your chances of getting gout increase dramatically."
Marcus had Septimus bring a scroll.
It summarized the proportion of aristocrats who enjoyed cooking with sweetened sugar and developed gout compared to Stoic aristocrats who lived frugally.
"As you can see, gout is overwhelmingly less common among those who consume very little soft sugar, but it's so widely used as a condiment that it's hard for people who have already become accustomed to sweetness to give it up overnight, which is why I created this sugar."
Technically, the sweetness of sugar and soft sugar was a little different.
Still, such minor differences were no problem for aristocrats who believed they could be freed from the fear of gout.
Furthermore, sugar was superior to soft sugar in terms of concentrated sweetness.
Aristocrats were already salivating at the prospect of using this sugar in their culinary creations.
As Cicero savored the taste of sugar like the other aristocrats, he suddenly asked a crucial question.
"By the way, Marcus. Is there enough supply of this sugar?"
All eyes of the aristocrats turned to Marcus.
The sugar was priced quite high, but that didn't matter to the aristocrats in attendance.
The real question was whether they would be able to get as much as they needed.
Marcus scratched his head with a vague smile.
"We've been preparing for quite some time, so we've got our production systems in place, but if demand is higher than expected, we may run out of supply. Of course, we'll prioritize supply for those of you who are here."
Marcus was growing sugarcane on a large scale not only in Italia but also in Asia Minor.
One of the duties of his younger brother Publius, who was elected as a quaestor this time and dispatched to the small Asian province, is to manage large-scale cultivated land.
However, most of the sugar produced in Asia Minor did not come to Rome.
This is because it was a critical material for trade with countries to the east.
Sugar helped him make connections, especially with the Parthian aristocracy, who are now his biggest benefactors.
This was a time when the crystallization of sugar was not yet available in its native India.
The Parthian aristocracy was enormously impressed by the sweet-smelling trade goods brought by Roman merchants.
Realizing that they could get sugar by being close to Roman merchants, the aristocrats, without question, tried to make a deal with Thaddeus' men.
They even offered to trade silk for sugar.
Sugar was historically an expensive luxury item until the Industrial Revolution.
The price of sugar in the B.C. era was priceless.
The impact of this sugar rush was more than Marcus could have imagined.
'I knew the status of sugar in ancient times would be huge... but I never thought it would be this big.'
He lived in a time when sugar was commonplace so he may have known it intellectually, but he didn't feel it.
Due to unexpected variables, the plan in the East paid off faster than expected.
The reforms in Rome were also on track, as expected.
The Senate thought they were still in control, but their foundation was already slowly crumbling.
Bibulus spent the first three months of his reign doing almost nothing.
It was only natural because there was no purpose other than to oppose Caesar.
The only thing he did as consul was given Marcus the green light to pass the necessary bills.
Then, in Maius, when Caesar was finally in charge again, the Senate was hit with an unthinkable attack.
It is an incarnation of the conflict that has caused so much bloodshed in Rome.
A challenge in the name of the Land Code was flown in front of the Senate.
Four days before Nonae (the seventh day of Maius), Caesar finalized a key policy of the Triumvirate: the Land Code.
The Senate was horrified to see the first draft of the bill that Caesar brought with him.
This is because the content was so vast and detailed that it exceeded 100 scrolls.
Caesar had someone hand out copies of the bill to the members of the Senate.
Accepting the pile of scrolls, Bibulus smirked.
"Are you kidding me? How long have you been reading this long stuff. I think today's meeting will be over just by reading all of this. I'm against...."
"I knew you would, so I wrote a summary."
On top of the scroll was a piece of parchment that had been stripped down to its essentials.
Bibulus grimaced and shut his mouth.
Cato and Cicero listened to Caesar as they read the bill at breakneck speed.
"I know there are many members of the Senate who are worried because the Land Code has been submitted, so I want to make sure I put the nail in the coffin before I explain the bill. The bill contains nothing to provoke or irritate the Senate, and I can promise you that on my honor. I am confident that we have crafted an extremely reasonable, fair bill. But that's just my opinion, and many of you may disagree. That's why I want a constructive debate. For those who disagree, I want to hear the reasons for their opposition and make the bill more complete."
Metellus Scipio raised his hand and rose to his feet.
When Caesar allowed him to speak, he pointed to the stack of scrolls with a look of incredulity.
"Consul, look at this. The bill is too long and complicated, to say the least. There's a summary, but it doesn't even go into the specifics of the bill. Why does a bill have to be so detailed and long?"
"Any bill that deals with land has to be as careful and cover all the bases. The old Gracchus brothers' land law was too radical, but at the same time it was too general. That leaves room for arbitrary interpretation of the law. I have tried and worked hard to leave no room for that, and this lengthy document is the result of that."
The members of the Optimates faction exchanged glances with each other and failed to speak up.
This is because every word was being recorded, thanks to a decree passed by Caesar some time ago.
If you disagreed, you had to make a good argument, or you'd be laughed at.
When no one else spoke up, Caesar cleared his throat, his voice rising in intensity.
"The current population of Rome is expected to surpass 1 million soon. That's a lot of people living in one city. You won't find another city like Rome anywhere else in the world, but sadly, there are so many poor people in this population who live on the Cura Annonae and barely make ends meet. One million people in Rome is synonymous with a lot of land in Italy being underutilized. Putting them back on the land would mean fewer free grain handouts, which would also save the budget."
Cato was reading the bill and was the first to be asked to speak.
He stood up and asked in a sharp voice.
"So you're saying, consul, that the purpose of this bill you've enacted is to reduce poverty and thereby increase Rome's tax revenues?"
"Beyond that, we want to make sure we have a stronger social safety net - do you know how many veterans of our glorious city of Rome are wandering around, unable to settle down?"
"How would I know that?"
"Does anyone know?"
Caesar looked around the audience, but no one was willing to answer.
Marcus sighed and held up his hand as the aristocrats looked confused.
"I know it's closer to half a million."
"Exactly. Glad to see there's at least one other person who's been paying attention to this."
As Caesar's confirmation fell, a murmur of panic erupted from around the room.
"Half a million?"
"That many?"
"If a man is a veteran and can't find a place, he's more like a beggar, and that number is half a million?"
Caesar deliberately left the raucous atmosphere in the Senate unchecked.
It was meant to give them a sense of the gravity of the situation.
When the commotion subsided, he spoke again in a tone of satisfaction.
"Now, I'm sure there are some of you who see the need for this bill. Again, this is not the law of the Gracchus brothers. I have no intention of infringing on the private property of the Senate, for it is a fundamental Roman idea that private property must be protected in any case. The basic idea of this bill is to distribute the public commons, and for those of you who wish to see the details, I invite you to look at the ninth scroll."
The sound of shuffling and unrolling scrolls filled the room for a moment.
"This is where the rationality of my bill is demonstrated. I have decided to exclude from this distribution the Campania Province, Rome's most fertile land, even though it is state-owned; it is already leased from family to family, as if it were de facto private property, and to forcibly distribute it would be a violation of the rights of Roman citizens."
Some senators who read the bill breathed a sigh of relief.
True to Caesar's word, the province of Campania was effectively a province controlled by the Senate.
They had taken over state-owned land in this fertile region as if it were private property and were running huge farms.
In the past, the Gracchus brothers have attempted a complete confiscation of state-owned land in the Campania region.
For the Senate, it felt like property was being taken from them.
Caesar was careful not to provoke the Senate in this way.
"We want to make leasehold rights on state-owned land transferable on a limited basis. In the past, the Gracchus brothers stipulated that this should not be possible at all, but this is unrealistic. If you've been farming for 20 years, it would make more sense to have the right to transfer it to someone else. The cap on the amount of state land an entire family can hold is 1,000 iūgerum (250 hectares), which is by no means insufficient to run a latifundium. Any agricultural land in excess of this limit will be reclaimed and distributed by the state for due payment. There will be no attempt to undercut the price of the land; as proof of this, the quaestors of the Senate will be in charge of determining the purchase price of the land; this year's officers will be the intelligent and thoughtful Curio and Cassius."
Both of them were young men who were categorized as pro-Senate.
"Finally, let me tell you succinctly what effects we can expect if this land law is passed. First of all, distributing existing state-owned land can send more than 30,000 poor people to farmland. On top of that, purchasing and distributing farmland that exceeds the upper limit can give 50,000 additional veterans who have served on the battlefield the rewards they deserve. With the recent sharp increase in taxes and the bounty that Pompeius brought back to the treasury from the East, we can afford it."
Bibulus gritted his teeth and clicked his tongue as he tried to refuse, using the budget as an excuse.
Annoyingly, Caesar's bill didn't have much room for attack.
He wished they had come up with a more radical bill, but it was too moderate and on a common sense level.
Cato was asked about how to organize a committee to monitor the land distribution process.
He was sure that Caesar would have gotten away with it.
Unfortunately, this was not what Cato expected.
It was stated that those in charge of distributing land would be chosen from the Senate and the equites and that authority would rest with the Senate.
However, as leaders of the equites, the Crassus family have a reserved right to participate.
This was actually a good thing for the Senate.
The Crassus family were representatives of the equites and key members of the Optimates faction of the Senate.
Cicero interpreted even this point as Caesar's consideration of the Senate.
In all of this, there was also a clause that said Gaius Julius Caesar was excluded.
Caesar, in a neat little trick, closed off a thousand ways in which he could be criticized.
For one thing, Cicero, Rome's top lawyer, concluded that the Land Code was not materially flawed.
Cato felt the same way, frantically scanning through summaries and bills to find something to attack.
But there was no way he was going to let this bill pass.
He nervously asked for the floor and then opened his mouth.
"Consul, I see your point, but the implications of this bill are so profound that I don't think we can make a judgment on it in one day, so I think we should postpone the discussion until later."
"You have a point. I am in no way inclined to use force to get this bill passed, because I sincerely believe that it should be passed for the future of Rome. I will schedule our next meeting for a week from now so that you can fully familiarize yourself with the contents of the bill, and I look forward to a constructive discussion at that time."
Caesar looked with satisfaction at his scribe, who was recording his every word, and then dismissed the meeting.
He passed Crassus and Pompeius, made a ceremonial bow, and left the Curia Hostilia.
In contrast, none of the aristocrats left when the meeting ended.
Cato and Bibulus gathered all of their colleagues together and went into a strategy meeting.
Cicero was not categorized as part of the core of the aristocracy, but he was present at this meeting.
The Senate had a sense of urgency about the bill.
Metellus Scipio shook his head and opened his mouth.
"But at first glance, it was a reasonable bill, but do you have to oppose it that much?"
"Of course I'm against it!"
Cato growled with indignation.
"I'm sure there are some senators who are feeling as confused as Metellus right now, and that's exactly what Caesar is trying to do. He's trying to win people over with a trick that seems perfectly reasonable, and then choke them off without anyone noticing. We should never play into that kind of shallow game."
Marcus listened to Cato carefully.
"I think so, too. Caesar would not have proposed such a bill without any aim, just for the sake of Rome's national interests. Even if it was really in the national interest of Rome, it would also include a trick that would undermine the authority of the Senate. He has the ability to do so."
"That's exactly what I'm saying! Marcus, I'm glad you're keeping your head on straight. Gentlemen, Marcus is right. Caesar is obviously attacking us on the pretext of being in Rome's national interest. We need to come up with measures. Bibulus, why don't you veto it?"
"I don't think it's going to be easy.... Caesar is not formally introducing the bill now. He is asking us to clarify the contents of the bill and make up for the shortcomings with discussions. If you exercise your veto recklessly here, it will seem like you're just holding your ankle."
Cato shook his head and clicked his tongue at Bibulus' answer.
"Then let's find out what doesn't make sense in this bill first. You can use it as an excuse to vote against it."
"You want me to read all of these ridiculous bills?"
"You can't just read it, you have to read it through, every single sentence, every single word. Caesar is only human, so there must be a mistake somewhere, and if we find it, we can easily neutralize this bill without losing our argument."
Metellus, who seemed rather unsure, asked him in a somber voice.
"What would you do if you didn't find that part? Because of his Consul Compendium, if you unconditionally shout against it, all votes will run away from us."
"Caesar clearly implemented the Consul Compendium with this farmland law in mind. As you can see from that, the author's mind is deeper than you can imagine. Some behaviors are necessarily linked to other behaviors in addition to that. So this land law must be stopped at all costs. We don't know what other legislation this is going to tie to and strangle us."
Following Cato's impassioned speech, Bibulus was equally determined.
"I will veto it at the end even if the matter goes unexpectedly. I won't care if I get cursed at by citizens or if I'll never be able to enter government office again. We must protect the future of the Senate!"
As the senators of the Optimates faction chattered about how Caesar should be stopped, Marcus hung his head in shame.
"I apologize that I have not been able to assist you in your efforts to defend the honor of the Senate. I have so much work on my plate that it is difficult to find the time...."
"What are you talking about! Everyone knows you're working hard for the Senate!"
Cato waved his hand in the air and shouted. He walked over to Marcus, placed a hand on his shoulder, then looked back at the aristocrats and asked.
"Does anyone else feel that Marcus is lacking in his level of commitment to the Senate right now?"
Bibulus smirked.
"If so, then he has a terrible hole in his conscience, and I am rather ashamed of myself as a consul, for here is a young man who is so diligently performing the duties of an aedile, and I am so consumed with the schemes of the Caesar that I am unable to keep my head above ground...."
"Now, Marcus. As you've heard, there's no one to blame but you. Technically, we're supposed to be leading you, not the other way around, so don't put any pressure on yourself, just do a good job as an aedile. It will come back to you in the form of support for the Senate."
"I'll keep that in mind. I will work harder than now so that I can be praised as the best aedile of all time."
The senators all smiled with approval at the sound of Marcus's trustworthy voice.
Having someone they can trust when they're in trouble with Caesar is nice.
It was like being on a big boat, and it gave them a sense of security.
No one in the faction yet knew which way the great ship was headed.
* * *
Marcus' fatigue almost reached its limit when his duties as an aedile overlapped with the Senate meeting.
If he hadn't been greeted by Julia and the twins when he got home, he might have passed out. The sight of his daughter and son crawling around made the exhaustion melt away like snow.
"How was the meeting today?"
Julia, who had just picked up the hem of Marcus's toga, asked with a smile.
After giving birth to two children, her attitude toward Marcus changed noticeably.
She no longer addressed him as 'Mr. Marcus' and even her smallest actions and words conveyed a deeper sense of affection and trust than before.
"Same old, same old. It's just like fighting over my father in law's land bill."
"I saw the draft, and it didn't look flawless.... You still would have voted against it, right?"
"Of course. They asked for time to read the bill, but they just wanted to buy time to find a reason to oppose it. I'm actually kind of looking forward to it, because I'm curious to see what outlandish reason they'll come up with to oppose it. In fact, they have to. Otherwise, Cato will try to stop the proceedings with another long-winded argument."
"Is his speech really that boring?"
"Imagine if you had to sit through eight hours of non-stop listening to a story that you had no interest in. That's just hell, and I don't want to go through that again."
Marcus shuddered when he remembered what had happened a year ago.
Julia burst into laughter at the sight of her husband for the first time.
Even though she had two children, she smiled more beautifully.
Marcus felt that even the remaining fatigue was washed away.
"But Marcus, I can see the reasoning behind the bill, but this was a bit risky, and if I were in the Senate, I wouldn't have hesitated to pass it."
"It's all right. There's no one like you in the Senate."
"You know Cicero is here."
"If he was a member of the Optimates, me and my father-in-law would have used a different tactic, but he wasn't, and I put a little extra flavor into it by telling him that there was something up his sleeve and that he should refuse."
"You are being careful."
"I'll take it as a compliment."
Marcus smiled in satisfaction and flopped down on the bed.
When he closed his eyes slightly, everything that had happened today flashed through his head like a kaleidoscope.
As Julia says, Caesar and Marcus had no intention of passing this land law.
They made it reasonable not to grab the pod because they knew it wouldn't pass.
Just before he fainted with fatigue, Marcus murmured softly to himself.
"Yeah. We're in trouble if this passes."
He hasn't even started this game yet.
The faint smile at the corner of Marcus' mouth seemed to say so.