Chapter 2
“GOODNESS, LUCIANUS! I MUST BE DREAMING! I CAN’T believe you’re here!” Juliana cried.
She was Lucianus’s cousin, and he had bumped into her when he was walking into the corridor of the round colosseum. How troublesome, Lucianus thought, but he smiled to mask his feelings.
“I didn’t think you’d be here, Juliana,” Lucianus said.
“You detest the colosseum, and yet, here you are!” Juliana replied. “What a curious turn of events!”
“It’s a bit suffocating to keep focusing on my studies. I thought this would be a nice change of pace for me.”
As Lucianus lied through his teeth, he sat down on an open seat. Juliana, who was three years older, plopped down beside him without a second thought. He had wanted to view the battles by himself, but now he was unable to switch seats. Lucianus had to resign himself to his fate.
The impressive Damascus Colosseum could house an audience of fifty thousand people, and almost all the seats were completely filled. The seating areas were divided by rank. The front rows were reserved for nobles, and the rows behind that were for the knights. Behind that were seats for commoners, then chairs for free people who didn’t hold citizenship, and in the very back, in the upper gallery, was standing space for the poor. Even servants weren’t allowed in the space reserved for nobles, and Kaira was likely seated in the back, enjoying the show.
“Are you not with Maltheus?” Lucianus asked.
Maltheus Minoras Kaidu was Juliana’s husband and a young senator. The two married five years ago but hadn’t been blessed with any children. Juliana was just as beautiful as she was before she tied the knot.
“He’s at home, claiming that he’s suffering from a headache,” Juliana replied. “I imagine he’s having fun with a slave he fancies while his wife is away. I wonder what he sees in that ugly woman. All she has are a large bosom and buttocks.”
Maltheus was a fine man, but a womanizer. Lucianus found it wise to swiftly change subjects. “How is my uncle doing?” he asked.
“Bored to tears in D’Aleppo,” Juliana replied. “I received another letter from him complaining that he wants to be relieved of his post as governor and return to Dyna as soon as he can.”
Juliana’s father, Valius Carusso Naulo, was the younger brother of Lucianus’s father. Valius was a man of great caliber who had claimed numerous victories in battle and climbed his way up to general. Three years ago, he had achieved a splendid victory against the massive Urnay, the most powerful nation in the southern continent. This elevated his status to national hero.
Emperor Azerius, on the other hand, didn’t see this so favorably. Valius’s extreme popularity with the people and the military were seen as threats to the emperor’s rule. The emperor gave Valius the title of governor and sent him off to the large nation of D’Aleppo, located in the north. It was a strategic method to get rid of a nuisance. A governor was a government official, making it difficult for Valius to control the army. Essentially stripped of his power, the national hero was spending his days in anguish in a faraway foreign land.
“I’ve been told that the breeze of D’Aleppo is chilly, even in the summer,” Juliana said. “I’m certain that the winters there are horribly cold. I pity my father. Because of the harassment of our narrow-minded emperor, he hasn’t been able to return to Dyna for over two years now.”
She spoke in a low voice, but Lucianus couldn’t help but furrow his brow upon hearing his cousin complain about the emperor so openly. Even the daughter of the famed and legendary General Valius Carusso Naulo wouldn’t be let off easily should rumors of her badmouthing the emperor spread; Juliana and even Valius might receive the brunt of the emperor’s fury. The results would be disastrous.
“Not another word, Juliana,” Lucianus scolded. “You must heed your tongue for your husband and your father’s sake.”
“All right, all right,” Juliana replied casually as she turned away.
She was a strong-minded woman who did as she pleased, which made Lucianus worry about her. When she married, her father, his face red from alcohol, had looked quite pleased.
“I’m sure that my wild stallion of a daughter will calm down now,” he’d said.
But marriage didn’t change her; Juliana couldn’t be tamed. While it was now her husband who struggled to hold her reins instead of her father, she was as wild as ever.
Lucianus had been rather fond of his beautiful, noble, and down-to-earth cousin ever since he was young. In fact, when he was a child, he’d planned on marrying her when he became older. However, when he was twelve, she’d done something that made him swear that he could never be with her.
Juliana had visited his house to play, and Lucianus decided to muster up the courage to confess his feelings.
“If you wish, I don’t mind taking you in as my wife,” he’d said, his face red.
Juliana didn’t seem to be against that idea. “Then why don’t you kiss me?”
It was his first kiss, and his heart pounded out of his chest as he placed his lips over hers. Suddenly, he was violently pushed away. Lucianus fell to the ground in utter confusion, and he locked eyes with a fierce Juliana.
“You are a horrible kisser!” she spat.
Lucianus was hurt by those words. Even to this day, it made him sad to think about it.
It was later revealed that Juliana didn’t like how haughty he sounded as he pompously declared to take her in as his wife. Her words were her act of retaliation. Young Lucianus was dense when it came to understanding a woman’s heart. He believed that she’d be happy to hear that the eldest son of the main branch of the household was willing to marry her. There had been no doubt in his mind. Now, decades later, Lucianus was truly glad that he didn’t marry Juliana; he knew that he couldn’t handle someone as ill-tempered as her.
“Is there a gladiator that you’ve got your eyes on?” she asked.
“None at all,” Lucianus replied instantly.
“No one? How very boring. I’m rooting for a gladiator named Simon. He’s very handsome and popular among women.”
“What about Dominatus? I’ve heard he’s rather popular as well.”
“Dominatus? Well, he certainly is, but I think Simon is exponentially more wonderful. He’s young, beautiful, and has a perfect physique. There can’t possibly be anyone better, don’t you think?”
Lucianus couldn’t understand women one bit. Why did they try to rank gladiators based purely on attractiveness?
“You seem well-informed, so let me ask you: what kind of person is Dominatus?” Lucianus inquired.
“He’s surrounded by many rumors,” Juliana replied. “There’s no end to the legends that swirl around him. Some claim that he may be the illegitimate child of a noble, or perhaps he’s the prince of a foreign nation. Others say that he could be the illegitimate child of the previous emperor. Though I imagine that these stories are all made up. In terms of raw strength, Dominatus is at the top, but if you want to talk about toughness, Grucos might be the one you’re looking for. No matter how cornered he is, he always comes out on top somehow.”
“Grucos? What kind of gladiator is he?”
“He was sentenced to death after committing a crime when he was in the military. He became a gladiator to avoid the death penalty, and because he’s undefeated, he’s still alive to this day. There has been much discussion as of late about who would win in a match of Dominatus versus Grucos.”
“Have the two ever fought against each other?” If the two men were so immensely popular, everyone would want to see their match.
“People have requested for the two to fight, and these pleas are only increasing by the day,” Juliana answered. “But they’ve never fought against each other. Grucos is the emperor’s favorite gladiator, you see. Nobles hosting the colosseum matches have made a silent pact to never let Grucos fight against Dominatus as there’s a chance that the former could lose. Ah, I’m so bored! I wish they’d just end these matches between third-rate gladiators and get on with it.”
Juliana voiced her complaints as the so-called third-rate gladiators were fighting for their lives in the center of the arena. While a few people were cheering, many of them were watching on coldly, hardly giving much of a reaction. These fighters were more of an opening act, and it was only natural that people weren’t eagerly rooting for them.
The colosseum had a schedule. In the mornings, wild beasts would fight against each other, or hunters would chase down animals set free in the arena. At around noon, criminals would be publicly executed. After all that was done, the main draw, the gladiator matches, would begin. Third-rate gladiators or those new to the scene would kick off this event, and the popular fighters would appear at the end. As Dominatus’s match would surely be at the end due to his popularity, Lucianus had planned on going later in the afternoon, but Kaira warned that seats would be filled if they didn’t get there earlier. And so, Lucianus showed up at the colosseum while the sun was still rather high in the sky.
After much agonizing, Lucianus had finally declared that he would go to the colosseum.