Heir of Aurelian

Chapter 99 Dispelling Rumors

With the Western Roman Empire now under Marcellus’ control, and his legions being deployed to the frontier in an attempt to expel the barbarians from the borders. The Empire now found itself in a newfound state of security. So much so that despite Marcellus’ previous march of terror, the common people were beginning to flock to his side in support.

The most controversial piece of factual propaganda spun against him was that during his rebellion he butchered a town who refused to hand over their supplies, and used the fear generated from that event to compel the others to do the same.

As for the rest of the propaganda wielded against him by the patricians, it was mostly lies and slander. However, surprisingly, in recent days, the rumors regarding his alleged mistreatment of Placidia were being countered by an unknown force.

Marcellus was not one to care what others thought of him, and because of this he had not expended too much effort dispelling the rumors that surrounded him. However, that did not mean that his secret supporters felt the same.

Deep within the underbelly of the city of Ravenna, was the same noodle maker that Placidia frequently visited. He was meeting with a group of individuals in a dimly lit tavern as they discussed the ongoing events in the Empire.

One man was a particularly ugly old bastard, who was missing many of his teeth, and smelled something foul. Despite these poor attributes of his appearance and hygiene, there were several men gathered around him, listening to his opinion.

“Can you believe this Marcellus bastard? The man rebels against the crown, butchers the senate, murders an entire village, and still has the gall to sit on the throne afterward! He’s not just a blood-thirsty tyrant but a rapist and a child abuser._.

You have heard what he’s done to that poor girl, Placidia, right? The former Emperor’s sister? I hear he ties her up at night and rapes her bloody, all while beating the living piss out of her. You know nobody has seen her since Marcellus rose to power? The Poor girl should be put out of her misery, better to die than be put through that pagan bastard’s cruelty!”

The old man who ran the noodle shop scoffed when he heard the accusations labeled against Marcellus before responding to these claims.

“So what if Marcellus is a pagan? Christianity has only been the Empire’s official religion for what, a hundred years? Less? I don’t give two shits what god he worships. What I care about is the results he gets. Say what you want about the man. However, you can’t deny that after Marcellus deposed that bastard Honorius, we have reclaimed our lost territory and have expelled barbarians from our lands in massive numbers.

Sure, he’s invited a few of them to stay, but from what I hear, Pannoniarum is secure these days. Under the rule of Alaric, the Goths have completely put the troublemakers of the region to the sword. Forget about the Frontier! As we speak, Marcellus’ legions patrol Italia and are on the verge of wiping out those pesky Bagaudae once and for all.

All I know is that the roads in the Empire are safe to travel on for the first time in decades. I can tell you this, it certainly makes running a business a hell of a lot easier! Besides, I’ve done some digging into what the opposition has to say about the man, and it seems to be mostly lies and slander.”

The fat, ugly bastard scoffed when he heard this before commenting on the noodle maker’s claims.

“Oh, and I suppose the upcoming marriage between him and Placidia is one of pure love, and the girl completely accepts it? Give me a break. Everyone knows the new emperor is an abusive fuck!”

In response to this, the noodle maker chuckled before asking a question of his own.

“How much are they paying you to spread those lies, Trogus?”

The men gathered at the table were immediately taken aback as they gazed upon the man named Trogus with a hint of fury in their eyes. Several of the men were ready to grab their knives and end the bastard’s miserable life if what the noodle maker said was true. Naturally, the ugly troll tried to defend himself, but he stammered as he did so.

“Y.. You… You can’t go around saying things like that Archarius. If the people in this tavern thought I was on the patrician’s payroll, they’d cut my throat in a heartbeat?”

Archarius grinned when he heard this, before sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms. With a smug smile on his face, he revealed the truth then and there.

“You know, I used to believe the lies you peddle. Then the damndest thing happened. This girl you say nobody has seen since Marcellus took the throne. She just so happened to stop and eat at my noodle shop every day since I opened it. I didn’t even realize her identity until she revealed what she thought about our new emperor.

You know what she had to say about her relationship with Marcellus? She was afraid he didn’t really lover her, and was only marrying her out of convenience. She wanted him to love her as much as she loves him. Curious, ain’t it?

Naturally, I did a little digging around after our little chat. Did you know that she grew up with him as if he were her elder brother? They had the same foster father, after all. A man named Flavius Stilicho. I’m sure you have heard of him?

The truth is, Galla Placidia is not being forced into this marriage. It’s everything she has ever wanted. You know what else? There wasn’t a scratch on her! So I’ll ask again, how much are they paying you, Trogus? Because out of everyone here in this tavern, you appear to be the only one spreading rumors that Marcellus is a monster!”

The man named Trogus fell back out of his seat in fear as the men at the table pulled out their knives and surrounded him. This tavern was filled with disgruntled plebeians, men who had endured the cruelty of the Patricians. In fact, many of them desired to outright overthrow the Patrician class. The fact that Trogus was being paid to lie to them on behalf of the Patricians was a grave sin.

The truth was, none of these men really cared about Marcellus. He was just another patrician cunt in their eyes. However, what Trogus had done was unforgiveable, and thus they repeatedly shoved their blades through the man’s fat torso until he was nothing but a bloody mess.  Archarius gazed at the corpse of the fool and shook his head before commenting on his death.

“What a fucking idiot…”

The remainder of the men sat back down on the table, as if they had not just ruthlessly stabbed a man to death. A man with a bandanna gazed over at Archarius and questioned him about his actions.

“Why are you standing up for Marcellus? He’s just another one of them. There’s nothing different about him.”

Archarius took a sip from the cup in his hands before responding to this man’s question.

“That’s where you’re wrong. Though the man was born to a family of wealthy cunts, he has lived his entire life as a soldier. I heard he even wasted his family’s fortune buying new equipment for his soldiers.

Did you know there are plebeians acting as Imperial Legates across the Empire? That man, Ordius, for example. The guy who is in charge of Southern Gaul. There’s not a single patrician in his family tree, yet because of his merit, he now rules half of Gaul under Marcellus’ command.

Marcellus doesn’t give two shits about Roman traditions, and he certainly doesn’t care for the social class that someone was born into. Why the hell do you think so many Patricians want him dead? For the first time in a long time, we have soldier sitting on the throne, and if you ask me, that’s the best thing we as plebeians could have asked for.”

The man with the bandanna thought about Archarius’ words for a few moments before commenting on them.

“What about his infamous march of terror, a lot of plebeians died because of that bastard!”

In response to this, Archarius merely scoffed before revealing the truth of the matter, like he had done earlier to Trogus’ lies.

“You see, I looked into that as well. It turns out that bastard Honorius kidnapped the man’s mother, and threated to kill her if Marcellus did not present his head to him. Marcellus initially planned to wait until spring to launch his rebellion, so that he could stockpile proper supplies.

However, in the end, he was forced into marching on Ravenna early, and in order to feed his troops, he resorted to drastic measures. The deaths of those people were because one of them attacked a fucking Goth. What kind of stupid cunt do you have to be to attack a barbarian like that? Before Marcellus could even react, the thirty thousand or so Goths under his command had slaughtered the village.

The truth behind that massacre is not so black and white. I’m not saying the man is perfect, but in our current crisis, he’s the best man for the job. So yeah, I’ve spent some time correcting the lies and slander that follows the man. Hopefully, with Trogus’ death, the people can hear the truth for once.”

The man with the bandanna scoffed before taking a sip from his drink. He was not convinced of Archarius’ words, but at least the man’s reason for helping a patrician was understandable. It’s not like he was doing anything other than correcting lies and slander. Because of that, the people in this tavern could tolerate his actions, even if they didn’t like them.