Heir of Aurelian

Unlike the Eastern Roman Empire, who failed to assassinate Marcellus, the Western Roman Empire was more covert in their actions. Currently, Sigefrida met with a bunch of female slaves. These women came from various regions of the Western Roman Empire and, like herself, were sold into slavery at a young age. She had a stern expression on her face as she pulled out a small key from her bosom and began to unlock the collars on the women's necks one by one.

"I am freeing each of you from the bondage that you have endured since your youth for a single purpose. It has come to my attention that our enemies in the east have a weak spot for beautiful foreign women. I intend to take advantage of this. With your freedom comes a condition that you will serve in the Frumentarii for five years. Afterward you will be eligible for retirement, and given a proper wage through your tenure as an agent.

I expect each and every one of you to fulfill your orders to the letter. Once you have completed the terms of our little arrangement, I will release you, and you will be free to travel the Empire as free women, or you can return to your homelands assuming they still exist. Are there any questions?

A beautiful vandal woman by the name of Guitifrida raised her hand meekly as she asked the question on her mind.

"What is the Frumentarii?"

Sigefrida had forgotten that the existence of the organization was a secret, and naturally these slave women would not be familiar with it. She sighed heavily before revealing the truth behind the order.

"To put it simply, your job will be to act as agents of espionage, sabotage, and assassination deep behind enemy lines. For the next few months, you will undergo the proper training to become a competent agent. From there, you will be dispatched to different regions and will be assigned different tasks.

I won't lie to you. The veteran members of the Frumentarii will not be happy with women being employed in their ranks. Because of this, you will be assigned your own quarters during the duration of your training. After you have completed your training, you will be operating independently and because of that, you will not have to put up with the bullshit of the other agents, as you will answer directly to me. Are there any other questions?"

A Numidian woman by the name of Kahina was the next to raise her hand. She was unnerved by the idea of acting as an assassin and was quick to ask for clarification.

"You're saying we will have to kill people?"

Sigefrida gazed at the woman with a hint of pity in her eyes before nodding her head in agreement.

"That is correct."

Kahina bit her lip in displeasure. Though she detested the idea of taking another living being's life, she ultimately persuaded herself into it. After all, killing others was better than living her life as a slave. The sheer abuse that a beauty like her had to go through at the hands of her Roman masters was unspeakable. She had been sold to a particularly sinister master and was only acquired by Sigefrida because the man was a conspirator who had been taken out by her Frumentarii.

Upon seeing that the woman had accepted her lot in life, Sigefrida sighed before trying to comfort her, she herself was suddenly thrust into a position where she was responsible for the lives of others. Something she was still adjusting to, thus she could empathize with the woman.

"I know it won't be easy, but sometimes there are wicked deeds that need to be undertaken in order for the Empire to survive. By the time your training is over, you should be over the internal disgust that comes with the act."

Kahina nodded her head. Though she lamented the idea of killing others, it was still necessary to gain her freedom. With her agreement, there were no other questions, and thus, Sigefrida sent the women off to their training. Afterward she was all alone, as Marcellus was currently being monopolized by Placidia, who had become increasingly hostile to her as the days passed.

The two women used to have a good relationship when they had to deal with Aeliana. However, after the woman's death, their fragile alliance crumbled, and they became bitter rivals fighting for Marcellus' affection. Sigefrida bit her lip before deciding to covertly spy on the couple's actions.

Currently Marcellus was caught by Placidia, who latched onto his arm with a warm smile on her pretty face. The two of them were testing a cake recipe that Marcellus had thought up of recently. In truth, this was just a preparation for the upcoming wedding that Marcellus had planned. Though Marcellus desired a traditional pagan wedding, it was still too early for him to publically announce his hidden faith. The Nicene Church held significant influence over the Roman Empire, and it would not be easy to breakaway from such a stubborn faith so easily.

As a result, Marcellus was forced to endure the Christian rights of marriage, which he personally found distasteful. To him, Christianity was a foreign Semitic religion which had replaced the gods of his ancestors. He looked down upon Constantine the Great for his edit of Milan, and even more so on Theodosius I for making it the official religion of the Empire.

Still, the marriage between him and Placidia needed to happen as soon as the girl turned of age, and because of this, he was planning months in advance. He did not have the time to wait to marry the girl until a time where he could restore the Empire back to its religious roots.

Interestingly enough, he had recently had another dream, from his past life as Frank. By now Marcellus had come to accept the possibility that these were likely not visions from the gods, but perhaps memories from another life. Truthfully, he did not care, as the more memories he had, the more he began to meld with his other identity.

In preparation for this marriage, Marcellus had personally sought after a jeweler and requested a ring made of gold and emerald be manufactured. He had waited weeks for this accessory to be constructed, and now it was finally in his hands. He just needed to find the perfect moment to gift the ring to his fiancee. A tradition he had seen in his memories from his other life.

Placidia and Marcellus were currently engorging themselves with cake while sitting on the balcony under the warm spring air. This was not an ancient roman honey cake and was instead a new invention Marcellus had derived from that aforementioned dream. It was essentially a cannoli cake, but without the chocolate, instead it made use of almonds in their place.

Placidia dined on the dish, with a wide smile on her face. She had never tasted a cake that was so delicious before. Marcellus saw this pleasant smile and decided now was the opportune moment to gift this woman with her engagement ring. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small cloth which held the ring inside. He then unfurled the present to reveal the gift.

The young woman did not expect Marcellus to be gifting her such expensive jewelry, but she had a wide smile on her face, as he placed the ring on the appropriate finger, or at least the one he remembered from his dream. He looked into the girl's eyes and smiled, forcing himself to say the romantic words he had thought up for this occasion.

"Placidia, this ring is a promise to you that I will make sure to take care of and love you until the day I die. You have always been a part of my family in my mind, and soon you will be my lawful wife. I just wanted to gift this to you, as a form of my appreciation for sticking by me until now. Even after what happened to your brother, you continue to prove your loyalty to me, and I appreciate that."

Placidia was caught up in the moment, and stared at the beauty of the ring on her finger. Though she had heard what Marcellus had said, she was too enamored with the gift to properly respond. Upon seeing the girl was happy, Marcellus smiled.

Though he still did not have any romantic interest in the girl, as she was too much like a sister to him, he still cared for Placidia and her happiness. If she would be happy by being with him, then he could endure the relationship, even if it meant that one day they would have to become physically intimate.  Eventually Placidia snapped back to reality and hugged Marcellus tightly before saying the words in her heart.

"Thank you, I will treasure this ring from this day until my last!"

Marcellus could only stroke the girl's dyed blonde hair and nod his head. He stared into the distance as he did so to witness Sigefrida spying on them. Upon seeing this, he could only sigh in his heart. Marcellus knew that Sigefrida did not exactly enjoy seeing the man she loved with another woman, but there was nothing he could do about it. Placidia needed to become his wife, if not solely to secure his reign as legitimate.

If only Sigefrida had been born the daughter of a wealthy patrician, perhaps then he would have married her. However, life was cruel, and nobody lived in their ideal world. Thus, he could only apologize to the woman later. He knew Sigefrida understood his actions, but the pain it caused her to see him act so romantically with Placidia obviously needed to be mended.