Year 570
"Did you send for me, magister meus?"
Nobilior entered the room, with a cautious step, addressing the observer through the window.
"Yes, I'm glad you came quickly," he looked back at the newcomer, a triumphant smile on his face.
"The magister knows that I am at his command."
He made a small and quick bow. He fixed his eyes on the man, puzzled by his call. "What am I good for?"
Lino Victorinus, basileus and magister militum, in the early hours of the morning, sent for Cneo Nobilior, one of his most trusted generals.
He became so trustworthy that he gave him the power of four legions, being the normal for a common general, two.
"I just want to ask you a question."
Cneo merely nodded, giving him to understand that he was allowed to put the question to him.
"How much resentment do you have against the Senate?"
He turned, they exchanged glances.
Cnechi twisted his head, he expected any question but that one, everyone he had spoken to was aware that the subject was a sensitive one, especially for Nobilior, and for which reason they avoided talking about it.
However, it was no longer in her right to tell him: I prefer not to answer, he had allowed him to question him, and, to top it off, he was his superior.
"After a long line of senators and high positions, they dismissed the vast majority for having different ideas. Perhaps there remained in me some resentment towards them. But not enough to retaliate."
Lino nodded carefully at those words, listening to them carefully.
"What if he found out, in the hypothetical case, that a plot was being devised against them? What would he do?" A playful smile formed on his face.
Cneo immediately grasped what Linus was trying to tell him.
'I didn't think that idea would cross his mind, or at least not now,' he thought, watching the man's unruly expression closely.
With the hint understood, he bluntly replied:
"I will not engage in any illegal activity indirectly or directly against the Senate. But if others take matters into their own hands, and, if necessary, get good results, I will not refuse a position in a new government."
Circe, southwest of Oriens
Second week of the first month of 576
Cneo Nobilior was sitting on the bed, his back supported by several pillows.
His wife, Laelia, was resting next to him, hugging him, rubbing her cheek on his abdomen gently.
"I don't know what to think.... So much happened in one day."
It was early in the morning, when a messenger arrived in Circe accompanied not only by four complete legions, but also by the orders that Cneo was to take for the defense of the border with Afriki.
"They appointed me magister defensionis moenium without even consulting me," with one hand, he carved one side of the other.
If his job as praefectus was difficult enough, he could not imagine what it would be like to be magister, he feared he would not be able to work successfully.
But there was something that frightened him even more.
On the eve of five hundred and seventy-six, he ceded one of his legions to Arcadio, leaving him with only two. Now, with the orders of the Senate, he had under his command six.
"Without even asking or wishing for it, I have become one of the most powerful men in the whole region."
His uncertainty was provoked by the fear of being killed by the envy of other nearby governors, and, the unfavorable situation in which Oriens found himself: being on the opposite side of the wall, being those of Afriki who had the advantage of height.
"Perhaps they finally recognized your ability," she accompanied her words with a soft kiss on his chest.
Laelia found it hard to comprehend the gravity of the situation that burdened her husband. Anyone would wish to be among the most powerful of all men. Still, she did her best to show her unconditional support.
"I doubt it, Lelina," he called her by her nickname, "even if it sounds a bit arrogant of me, they already were, and are, aware of my skills. But they did not deign to give me any worthy position as far as the military was concerned."
He began to caress her shoulder in an attempt to relax, as if touching her and smelling her exquisite sweat after the act, was for him a tranquilizer.
"And then why did they give you the position of praefectus?" She looked up slightly, her amethyst eyes fixed on him.
Cnechi guffawed at her question.
After a few moments, after noticing Laelia's enraged look, being aware of how dangerous an angry woman could be, he took a deep breath to calm down.
"Ex-Excuse me, I ha-had remembered that this position was given to me to avoid the discontent of the population, and my legions, who hold me in high esteem, before my possible execution. Don't you find it curious that I was sent to govern a city so far away from Raecum?
"Huh?! Why did they wa-want to ki-kill you?" She swallowed spittle, her eyes twitching.
"Apparently, they found my name on a list of people who would work in a new government if there was a successful coup against the Senate."
"Oh!," she opened her mouth and her egg-shaped eyes rolled. "Did you participate in a plot?" Being a beautiful but naïve woman, she could not help but feel gnawed by curiosity, and admired by her husband's bravery.
Cneo was startled by that question. Laelia noticed this, and, putting aside her feelings, apologized.
With that reaction, she supposed that it was a delicate subject, and one that Cnechi preferred not to talk about.
"Calm down... I must admit it was sudden, but I will gladly answer it."
Bending down a little, he placed a kiss on the top of her head.
She blushed, her eyes sparkled, she clung to him, leaning against his bare chest.
"No, I wasn't involved in something like that. However, I had made it clear that I wouldn't refuse a position if it turned out well. I think whoever heard me interpreted it differently, and put my name on that list... I wonder what he'd think if he'd seen the trouble it caused me," Laelia listened carefully.
Curiosity to know who was the man Cneo was talking about invaded her. But she considered that asking that question was already intruding too much on her privacy.
"I think it was Arcadio who recommended me to the Senate to lead the defense."
He felt cursed by the responsibility, but blessed by the consideration the basileus had for him.
"Maybe. After all, he went to the capital to learn how we should act, all of us, against Philipart and Crásico."
Cneo, raised his eyebrows at Laeila's deft way of speaking, which was a strange thing to see, knowing that she was not very knowledgeable in such matters.
-They must be too desperate to have appointed me Magister of Defense. I can just imagine the poor guy who will have to defend the eastern side of Oriens.
That idea amused him, however, the return of the thought that now the job would be much heavier brought him back to reality.
"What will you do now, Cnechi?"
He blushed a little at the nickname, it had been a while since she had called him that.
"At dawn I will send messengers to the prafectus of the cities surrounding the wall, letting them know that they must submit to my power and, attend Circe as soon as possible to discuss the actions we will take."
Having finished his words, silence reigned over them.
"Can I help you in any way?" his wife asked, in an attempt to dissuade the tension that had dominated the atmosphere.
"Shall we do it again?"
"I have no problem."
Laelia lay on her back, closed her eyes, and gave him a pass by spreading her legs.
Cneo, cautious not to hurt her, positioned himself on top of her, careful not to hurt her.
And without haste, with one hand he stroked his wife's white and delicate legs, while with the other he caressed one of her breasts, firm and beautiful.
A vague idea came to his mind to try to contact the Senate to receive more information about the situation, specific and detailed information just for him.
However, his member is erect, and Laelia lay panting, there was something else to worry about.