Chapter 136: Imperial Assassin

"What... what exactly are you talking about?" Flavius stammered in disbelief. "A traitor who harbors Syndicate ideology? This is a absurd fabrication!"

"Fabrication or not, Consul Valerian will draw his own bloody conclusions in Rome," Marcus raised his voice, a vicious sneer twisting his features. "Just because you managed to deceive our late father with your ledgers, it does not mean you can deceive the Imperial Inquisition! Soon, the entire Senate will know exactly what you truly are. You belong on a cross!"

"Did you fabricate this entire coup yourself?" Flavius’s tone suddenly dropped. "Or did Valerian’s spies put you up to this? I strongly calculate the latter is true. After all, father chose me for the title because you were useless at managing the iron estates."

"Shut your mouth!"

Aurelia, hidden in the ceiling rafters, heard a sickening crack as a Praetorian slammed the pommel of his *gladius* directly into the Prefect’s jaw.

Flavius groaned, collapsing to his knees in pain.

"That is enough. Drag him to the fortress garrison for extreme questioning," a voice commanded from the back of the shield wall. "However, he is still a Roman Patrician until the Consul formally strips his title, so maintain your military etiquette. Do not cripple him."

As Prefect Flavius was dragged out of the study by his collar, the Praetorian Guards filed out right behind him in strict formation.

Soon, there were only two individuals left standing in the ruined room...

Aurelia remained perfectly still in the deep shadows, observing the men below.

She could easily tell that one of the voices belonged to Marcus, the treacherous younger brother who had just usurped the title of Lord.

The second man, the one issuing commands, wore the crested helmet and crimson cloak of a Praetorian Tribune.

"You executed the ambush flawlessly, Tribune Severus; perhaps I shall formally address you as Legate going forward."

"Is that a fact, Prefect Marcus?" Severus replied. "I can truly inherit the absolute control of the iron monopolies and become the undisputed Lord of Noricum?"

"Of course. As long as you strictly abide by our financial agreement, the Senate may even promote you further," Marcus eagerly replied.

Marcus laughed, his eyes darting around the luxurious study. "Can I immediately occupy my brother’s private quarters? He will not be leaving the subterranean cells, correct?"

"Prefect Flavius will soon be crucified in the central plaza as a Syndicate traitor, strictly adhering to the terms of our cooperation." The Tribune hesitated for a brief second before continuing, "As for your immediate actions, I suggest you quickly distribute the profits of this coup. Relay this ’treasonous incident’ to all the local magistrates, knights, and mining overseers, and divide your brother’s financial rights among them."

"Do... do I genuinely have to surrender that much gold?"

"If every single magistrate in Noricum benefits from this coup, your usurped position will be infinitely more secure, which will help Valerian’s future military plans proceed smoothly," Severus stated. "If you are still confused regarding the political logistics, I can always assign a Senatorial liaison to you. He is proficient at managing bureaucratic affairs and can advise you on any administrative issues you encounter."

"Yes, that would be acceptable," Marcus replied, clearly blind to the fact that he was being turned into a puppet.

"It will be incredibly helpful for the Senate if you can peacefully maintain the iron quotas, so the Inquisition is more than happy to manage these minor details." Severus’s dark laughter filled the ruined study.

After the two corrupt Romans finally exited the room, Aurelia dropped from the ceiling rafters, instantly stepping to the window where Camilla and Silas were holding position on the ridge.

"We are in an incredibly complex situation," Aurelia stared at the two operatives, her breath frosting in the air. "How exactly did a Praetorian execution squad arrive at the exact time and place of our diplomatic meeting?"

"I thought they explicitly stated his younger brother discovered his Syndicate sympathies and revealed it to the Inquisition," Camilla said. "Now we have a valid excuse to slaughter them."

"Why didn’t Marcus betray him earlier? Why right this exact evening? The logistics are too convenient. Something is wrong here," Aurelia frowned.

"Regardless of the political conspiracy, we are not going to sit here and watch them crucify the only man who knows how to forge permanent magnets." Camilla held her chin up, glaring at the distant garrison. "We must extract him and annihilate the Praetorians!"

"Annihilate the butchers." Silas grunted in agreement over the sniper scope.

"The confidence of you two has inflated since we slaughtered the phalanxes at Arausio. This is not a good sign." Aurelia shook her head. "We cannot defeat a heavily fortified Praetorian garrison right now. They undoubtedly outnumber us thirty to one, and they possess segmented armor and *scuta* walls. It is insanely risky to attempt routing a full cohort in a pitched battle. I will infiltrate the garrison first and perform a stealth reconnaissance to understand their exact layout."

There was one concern that Aurelia chose not to vocalize...

Flavius was paranoid, and if the situation was not explained with clarity, he might conclude that Lucius was the one who framed him to force a defection.

That specific misunderstanding, Aurelia knew, had to be avoided at all absolute costs.

...

The primary Praetorian garrison of Noricum was fortified on the outer edge of the city.

It was a brutal structure consisting of a central training yard, an armory, and a three-story keep surrounded by a high perimeter wall with only a single guarded portcullis.

None of these archaic Roman obstacles posed a serious problem for the Director of the *Umbrae*.

She had memorized the patrol routes and blind spots of the entire compound by the time the midnight watch initiated their shift.

Although there were vastly more armed guards here than in the palace, Aurelia still managed to navigate the shadows with ease.

There was a concentration of torches placed in the central corridors to stifle any stealth infiltration, and the same held true for the primary stairwells.

However, relying on the advanced geometry Lucius had taught her, she simply utilized the exterior stonework and the ventilation shafts to bypass the light entirely...

Aurelia located the subterranean cell where Prefect Flavius was imprisoned.

She finalized her calculation to execute the extraction precisely during the shift change in the middle of the night.

After backtracking to the perimeter wall to share her extraction timetable with Silas and Camilla via encrypted hand signals, Aurelia slipped back into the keep.

She ascended to the top floor and concealed herself in the shadows of the most luxurious administrative office.

When the fortress bell struck the second hour of the night, the door swung open.

Aurelia stealthily drew her blackened dagger.

She judged from the irregular rhythm of the footsteps that two individuals had entered the room.

"What an incredibly unexpected joy!" said an educated woman’s voice. "Little did the Senate know that Prefect Flavius was already harboring Syndicate spies in his study. It appears that we need to alter our execution plan."

"Uh... Lady Envoy," Severus answered with a shockingly respectful, submissive tone, "isn’t it significantly more politically convincing if we crucify him here as a traitor?"

"The landscape is different from last month. According to the will of Consul Valerian, any high-ranking Patrician discovered harboring industrial sympathies shall be transported alive to Rome for a public triumph," the woman stated. "As for the local execution, we will not crucify Flavius. We will mask a condemned slave with a similar physical build and nail him to the cross in the plaza."

"Understood," Severus answered. "But why did the Consul suddenly approve such an arduous order... transporting the traitors all that way to the capital?"

"I have no idea, but according to my superiors within the Inquisition, it is simply a return to Roman tradition," she replied dismissively.

"Returning to... tradition?"

"You do not possess the clearance to know the details. Just execute the matter at hand. I will have to depart immediately for Mediolanum once the extraction is finalized here."

"Understood, Envoy," Severus answered.

Aurelia couldn’t help but slowly shift her weight, peering out from the shadows of the curtains to identify the woman...

The envoy was not wearing the Praetorians, but rather a leather tunic, tailored to perfection to allow for the utmost freedom of movement.

As Aurelia observed her posture, she realized the woman moved with a absolute silence that defied Roman military training.

*She is an elite imperial assassin!*

"Who is breathing?" The Envoy snapped her head toward the curtains in an instant, and a dazzling flash of silver steel shot toward Aurelia’s throat!