Chương 41: Chapter 1.41: Tools of Deterrence

Like all good conspiracies, they had assembled in a secluded area of an unused building. Caliga closed the door and Favius sniffed the air, looking at the cup she was carrying. She smiled at Brutus.

"Just as you told me. I got a swig of her perfume." Brutus smiled.

"Well done. This is going to sell our story to outsiders." Favius looked between his elder sister and his protector.

"Why the perfume?" Caliga scrunched her nose as first she, then Urania sniffed the liquid.

"Mother told me her father had it made especially for her by a perfumist in Lirene when she reached her second majority. She's been using it ever since. And she has exclusive rights to this one." Favius nodded. He gestured at the two central stacks of letters, as Brutus began applying perfume systematically to one of the stacks.

"So what is the plan?" Without looking up from his work, Brutus began explaining.

"Before Hesnia was married to Marcus, she had a romantic affair with a man in Lirene named Ixander. Her father intervened before it could get more serious, but..." He gestured at a third pile of letters.

"They are still in contact. Those are the letters I stole from her room. And our allies' agents in Lirene procured some letters from his side." He gestured at two other piles.

"We handed them to a forger who produced a set of letters that could plausibly have been sent alongside them in a more secretive manner. And..." He smiled grimly.

"They are quite revealing." Caliga's eyes widened.

"Oh, let me read them." She stretched out her hand, but Brutus slapped it away.

"You are too young to read such letters. All of you." He trailed off as his eyes settled on Favius, and he gave the boy a minuscule grin. Favius rolled his eyes.

"So who is this Ixander? Someone important?" Brutus shook his head.

"He's a nobody. And should this entire thing blow up, nobody will be too offended if Marcus has a minor Chariatii noble in Lirene executed." Favius's eyebrows climbed up his forehead.

"Executed?" he murmured in surprise. But Brutus merely clicked his tongue.

"Yes, boy. What else is a man of standing to do if his lessers are found lusting after his wife?" Favius took a long breath, but finally shook his head.

"Alright, so why are we here?" Brutus looked all of them over.

"We need to discuss what you want out of this. All of you." Urania leaned forward in her seat, making the old stool creak.

"I want to... I want Marius and Lia. I don't want her to hold control over them like this. They are our siblings and she stole them and she's trying to turn them against us." Brutus leaned back, folded his hands behind his head, and gave first Urania, then Favius an assessing stare.

"Before we continue, let me share something with you that your father was fond of saying. Severin believed that once you defeat an opponent, you should either seek an absolute or generous peace."

"An absolute peace?" asked Favius. But Caliga murmured in the background, "So absolute that nothing but salt and ash remains of your enemies." Brutus nodded in grim approval.

"Yes. The issue is that only those two options are going to remove the possibility of vengeance. Only through kindness or death will the hearts of your enemies be prevented from turning against you in the future."

"And given that we cannot defeat her absolutely," ventured Favius. Brutus nodded.

"I recommend you are generous in your peace offering."

"How... how do we know the difference between generosity and an insult?" Brutus laughed.

"That is the golden question all diplomats circle around. But do not worry. I will warn you if you are stepping too far. With this in mind, Favius, what do you say of Urania's suggestion? Taking control of your younger siblings?" Favius narrowed his eyes, then looked at his sister.

"You know, Urania..."

"No." She stood up, the stool scraping over the uneven floor.

"I don't want to see them every third day on Cassian's approval. I want to see them when I want, but..." Caliga took a deep breath behind them as she spoke with a resigned tone.

"Maybe every second day with no conditions? If we remove the kiddos from the table, Hesnia will act unpredictably." Favius nodded along.

"Yes, we should ensure that Cassian no longer has control over that and we are guaranteed to see them every other day." His jaw tensed as he continued saying the words he didn't want to say.

"From what Marius and Lia told us, Hesnia is not unkind as a mother. And with how young the two of them are, they need a mother figure." Urania grumbled and clenched her fists, but then she settled down and let out a breath.

"Maybe you're right," she murmured. They sat silent in the dusty room for a while, but suddenly Caliga snapped her fingers.

"What if we demand she leaves for one of the outer estates and doesn't spend time here anymore? Wouldn't that be a total victory?"

"An interesting idea," said Brutus.

"What do you think? Should we try to push her out of the main estate?" Favius narrowed his eyes.

"It's an appealing thought, but if she's entirely outside our awareness, we might get blindsided." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Caliga sighed.

"Simply getting rid of her was too much to ask for then." But Favius shook his head.

"Maybe... maybe we could arrange it so that she spends more time away from here. To weaken her influence." He looked over at both his siblings.

"With what we are doing in the workshops… We want to keep an eye on her, but we also don't want her to interfere with what we are building." His sisters nodded along and Brutus grinned as he applied perfume to the last of the letters.

"That settles it." He looked over at Favius.

"How do you believe we ought to approach your mother?" He looked from side to side but shook his head.

"I think it should just be the two of us." He addressed his older sister.

"Caliga, you are a sore spot for her and bringing you along might be seen as a provocation." Favius's eye twitched. And with what she did last time…

"Urania…" He swallowed as his younger sister glared at him. I can't trust her not to do anything stupid when it comes to the younger siblings, either.

"It's probably best if you stay with Caliga." Urania scrunched up her nose, but Favius knew he had her in a bind. If Caliga was staying behind, she could hardly argue that as a younger sister she had a right to come along. Soon all affairs were settled and Brutus selected some of the letters, putting them into a scroll case. Favius marched through the estate, and with each step he felt somehow more powerful, more righteous.

He let out a breath and took two breaths in, deliberately letting the pneuma flow free through his body. Feels good knowing that I'm finally gonna get her, that I can finally put a stop to this harassment. They barged into the open courtyard where Hesnia and her followers were spending most of their time. They were greeted with offended murmurs. Hesnia got up off her couch and glared at them, but before she could say anything, Brutus slammed the butt of his battle axe into the marble floor.

Favius felt the tingling and tasted the ozone of spirituality as the Magnicultor unleashed his murderous aura. All conversation died. People gasped and scrambled to cover.

"Announcing the young master, Favius Ovinius Loran, Cultor Bellator." As his protector's influence faded away, Favius studied the gathering they had just disturbed. For the first time he really looked at the women and occasional men surrounding Hesnia and her servants. I never actually figured out what the purpose of this court of hers is. I heard that some of them are relatives, but... He shook his head.

"Mother, I wish to speak with you." Hesnia's angry stare pierced him like a spear. Her voice was cold and controlled, like ice in a hydraulic press.

"And what makes you think I want to speak with you right now? Can't you see I am busy?" She gestured imperiously as she gained steam. Favius gave his mother a wolfish smile.

"I believe it is in both our interests to have this conversation in private."

"In private?" Hesnia said, raising a single eyebrow.

"Why would a mother and son have occasion to speak in private?" Favius suppressed a smirk and ignored the great setup. That's not why I'm here. I shouldn't antagonize her more than necessary. Well, more than necessary to blackmail her into submission. Brutus raised his voice.

"You know, Hesnia, I've recently heard of an old acquaintance of yours, Ixander." Hesnia's eyes widened as her mouth fell open. Within a single heartbeat, her expression narrowed and she let out a suffering breath.

"Very well. Maybe you are right that we should be having this conversation in private." They marched over into a smaller dining room and a heavy silence settled between them.

"It is bold of you to use this name. And foolish. There is nothing untoward between me and Ixander." Favius tsked at her with a playful smile.

"Well, that is what you are saying. Those letters say something entirely different." He gestured at the parchments that Brutus was presenting on the table, turned towards Hesnia but well within his reach. She didn't react at all.

"So you stole some letters I exchanged with a dear friend. Or you may have found some love letters I wrote as a foolish young woman before I was married. There is hardly any harm in that."

"I suggest you read them," Favius said, keeping his voice sweet, unable to suppress the bubbling happiness. This just feels so good. Hesnia leaned forward lazily. Her mouth moved slowly as she read.

"What? This..." she murmured, and her eyes began moving faster.

"He never wrote this letter. This is ridiculous. No one is going to believe it." But Brutus presented another one, this time one that was perfumed. Favius leaned forward and blew on one of the perfumed letters, and Hesnia's eyes widened.

"My perfume? How did you... you broke into my private rooms, not just my study. How?" Suddenly she snapped forward, her hands shooting towards the letters, but Brutus slapped her hand away like that of an unruly child trying to steal candy. Hesnia studied the mosaics in the walls for a short while before her voice grew calm.

"Do you believe that this little charade will do anything?" But something, maybe the brittleness of her voice, made Brutus and soon after Favius laugh. Favius couldn't help himself.

"It is, as you told me, all good training for the art of politics. And you yourself were quite insistent on the importance of ensuring that the behavior of those around you does not reflect poorly on you."

"You insolent little brat," she hissed, and her stool clattered to the floor as she stood up, leaning over the table. Brutus cleared his throat and she took a step backward.

"Are you ready to hear what I want?" he asked her with a smile. She replied, grinding out every word of her answer.

"You do not understand what you are doing, brat. Have you any idea about the politics of my marriage? Of what this might mean?" Favius grinned broadly.

"Well, funny you should ask," he drawled. He was interrupted by a sharp electrical pain on his shoulder. Brutus's aura. He doesn't want me to tell about the political connections because that would escalate this situation. Favius broadened his smile further and spoke with petulant joy.

"Why would I care, Mother? I think it's much more important that you care about the personal implications of this for you and especially for Ixander. We both know what Marcus is going to do should those letters reach him." She ground her teeth.

"You are a dirty little bastard who should have been killed alongside his parents." Favius swallowed at the sheer unadulterated hatred brushing against him. Yet he forced himself to shrug nonchalantly.

"Maybe, maybe not. But the opportunity is gone, isn't it?" Hesnia picked up her chair, smoothed her robes, and settled down.

"What do you want?" Favius shared his demands. About siblings, about oversight, and about her spending time away. About how the current blockade on them seeing the siblings would end now. She nodded dryly, only interjecting at the last point.

"I have duties in this household. I cannot be absent." Favius made a dismissive gesture.

"There are plenty of other estates where you can hold your little court. For example, I knew quite a nice house I grew up in. If you were to return some plundered furniture and wipe my father's bloodstains off the floor, it would make quite the lovely place to spend time in. Trust me, I grew up there." Only at the end did he notice the tightness in his chest and swallow down bile. The image of his father plunging his own sword through his stomach. He shuddered briefly before he continued.

"However, I realize your position, Mother. We will still act properly at the party. I will ensure Caliga is well behaved, and Cassian's performance as a tutor has recently been acceptable." He looked over at Brutus. Is this enough? Is this a generous peace? Or is it merely an insult causing further revenge? The powerful warrior's face remained a stony mask. Finally, Hesnia snorted and stood up.

"If that's what you want, bring your letters to Marcus. I will deny everything. And trust me, even if Ixander dies, I will survive this. And you're going to suffer for the rest of your childhood, never mind seeing your siblings again," she hissed. Favius's eyes widened. Is she really— what? But a few steps from the door, Brutus cleared his throat.

"I'm certain you're aware of the upcoming vote on the dictator's remaining assets in the Senate and what this little scandal could mean for it." Hesnia's eyes widened. She gasped and spun to Brutus.

"You wouldn't dare…" She trailed off and let out a long breath.

"Very well," she said slowly.

"I accept. But don't think you've truly won, boy. There will be consequences for this." She left, slamming the door shut behind her. The taste of sweet victory mixed with ash in Favius's mouth. I couldn't have won this without Brutus. And if I understand the implications of the last exchange correctly... just how bad could the political consequences get?