"What should we do?", Lucius asked.
"You need to do two things. First, prepare for the wedding. Pretend to be happy. After all, you are getting married to Domitia. You need to keep it a secret from everyone. I mean everyone. Keep it in your mind.", Flavia replied.
"Second?", Lucius questioned.
"Give me Domitia.", Flavia answered while pointing toward Domitia.
"What? Why?", Lucius asked.
"Let's just say your reliability is...under review. We can't afford for things to spiral out of control. I need a guarantee that you will never betray me again.", Flavia answered.
"You don't trust me.", Lucius inquired.
"There is no reason to trust you at all.", Flavia responded.
"I'll go with Domina Flavia. Her wishes are my priority.", Domitia announced.
"Then it's decided. We are leaving. Have a good day, My Ex.", Flavia said.
Domitia left with them. Lucius was left alone.
"Where did you learn this word 'Ex'?', Quintus asked.
"From her.", Flavia replied while pointing toward Juli.
Juli hadn't noticed that she was picking the flowers. Domitia was also helping her.
"Those two are close already.", Flavia said.
"What do you want to do next?", Quintus asked.
"You already know what I'm going to do.", Flavia responded.
Quintus was busy and farewelled them. Flavia ordered the girls to follow her.
Domitia and Juli silently followed her along. They went to giant white buildings with the statues.
"It is the temple of Venus and Roma. Venus is the goddess of love, beauty, desire, fertility, prosperity, and victory. Roma is the divine protector and guardian.", Flavia explained to them.
"Thanks for the information but why are we here?", Juli asked.
"For Domitia's wedding.", Flavia casually responded.
"Really, that's cool.", Juli said. Domitia was silent.
Flavia called a priest, and he took them to a room. She ordered the priest to leave them alone.
Flavia took a goblet and asked Domitia to drink from it. Flavia also handed a handwritten manual to her. She had already prepared a to-do list for her.
Domitia didn't ask a single question and carried out the instructions flawlessly. Flavia and Juli left her alone and went to the garden. Flavia had already instructed someone to bring the drinks and snacks. It was already lunchtime.
Juli had realized that there was no sign of tea and coffee here.
"Don't you guys have tea or coffee here?", Juli involuntarily asked. She was not very interested in this question, but she had still asked about it.
"What is that?", Flavia inquired.
"Maybe tea or coffee is not found here. That is the reason for the absence of the cafes and restaurants.", Juli said.
"I don't know about tea or coffee. But we have restaurants and bakeries here only for workers and travelers. Everybody prefers to eat homemade with their family. It is a way to appreciate and show gratitude to the household workers of the nobles and wives of the commoners.", Flavia explained.
"Hmmm…. I see.", Juli responded. She saw Domitia holding a knife and going to the next room.
"Hey, what is she doing here?", Juli almost shouted.
'She is going to offer sacrifice to the goddesses. It is a sacrificial ceremony before ducatio. It is performed by every bride.", Flavia answered.
"But what is this 'ducatio' and 'domina'?", Juli asked casually.
"Ducatio means procession. It is part of the Dies Nuptiarum or wedding ceremony. You will learn about it after watching it.", Flavia answered again.
"I can't believe that Lucius had left you for someone else. I don't know who good Domitia is. But still, it is unfair.", Juli said while sighing. She had no attention to say it aloud. She was only going to think about it.
Juli heard someone laughing. Flavia was laughing so hard.
"I was wrong when I thought that you were smart. But you are also a kid like Livia, who believes in fairy tales.", Flavia said.
"What do you mean by that? Didn't Lucius cheat on you? Don't you like him?", Juli asked.
"Like him… He was never even eligible to be my partner. I'm not saying he is a bad person. We are not made for each other. Do you really think that men cheat on women and women don't know about it? It's all bullshit. We are masters of our own lives. That's a shame, Lucius got trapped and returned.", Flavia replied.
"You are telling me you already knew that Lucius never wanted to come back.", Juli said. Juli was already used to seeing Flavia cursing others.
"Yeah, you got it. You are not that bad.", Flavia responded.
"How did you know?"
"Lucius always has two guards with him. One is my spy, and the other is the emperor's. I also have bribed him successfully. He knows what to report. But he is loyal to Uncle. He may report about Lucius' plan to run away.", Flavia told her.
"Is Lucius not aware of it?", Juli inquired.
"That's the reason, we are not made for each other. He knows nothing about politics. He deserves a good and loyal girl like Domitia. She is a perfect match for him.", Flavia announced.
"Wow, you are a great person.", Juli complimented.
"But something is off.", Juli said. She had realized that there was a problem.
"What is the problem, Juli?", Flavia asked with a grin.
"The problem is no matter how hard I try to shut my mouth. It keeps running. It is happening from this morning.", Juli muttered.
"Not from this morning. It's from yesterday morning.", Flavia responded.
"What are you saying Flavia?", Juli questioned.
"What do you think could be the reason?", Flavia's posture was radiating a threatening aura.
"I don't know.", Juli answered.
"I'm answering all your questions and I have also believed your story. You know why?", Flavia said while laughing. The way she cackled with laughter was more unsettling than scary.
"That's something I've never considered before.", Juli responded.
"Then think about it. You are sharp.", Flavia said.
"From yesterday. I had breakfast with you guys, and we met Lucius. I told you about myself…", Juli said with a recollection of the events.
"You told me about yourself. Why did you do this? Did you feel pity for me? Were we very close? Did you really need to tell me this?", Flavia asked with a threatening voice.