Chapter 58 58
Returning to the training ground, Marcus first went to visit the injured brothers.
The one with the arm injury was called Caius. He used to be a sparring partner in Batiatus's training ground, quiet personality but willing to endure hardship.
The one with the forehead injury was called Luca, only nineteen years old, and had a sick mother at home.
Mira had already treated their wounds — Caius's arm was wrapped in clean linen, and Luca had herbal ointment applied to his forehead.
"They'll be fine after resting a few days. No bones were injured."
Mira said, wiping the blood off her hands. "It's just that Luca might be left with a scar."
"Scar is good,"
Luca grinned, though it made him grimace in pain. "With a scar I'll look fiercer. It'll be more convenient when I go out to handle business in the future!"
Marcus patted both men on the shoulders. "Double bonus this month. Rest well."
After dealing with this, he went to see Scarface.
Cell No. 1 used to be for locking up disobedient gladiators. There were still faded bloodstains on the walls.
Scarface was tied to a chair. In addition to the old scar on his face, he now had several new injuries — Octavius hadn't held back, and his right eye socket was bruised black and blue.
Marcus sat down opposite him. Between them was a broken wooden table.
"Speak. Who sent you?"
Marcus got straight to the point.
"No one sent me."
Scarface stiffened his neck. "I just wanted to seize territory! So what?"
"Then why did you 'die' once and come back to life?"
Marcus tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "During the dock robbery case, who was the person who died? He looked quite similar to you."
Scarface's face changed. His eyes began to dodge. "You… how do you know about that?"
"I know more than you imagine."
Marcus leaned forward. "The robbery of Gracchus's goods was the idea of the pirate 'Sea Snake'. You were responsible for carrying it out. Afterwards the pirates wanted to silence you, killed your substitute, and you escaped and hid until now."
"You suddenly jumped out now… someone gave you new courage, right? Or did someone promise you greater benefits?"
Scarface's lips trembled. He said nothing, staring at the ground.
"Let me guess."
Marcus continued. "Is it Gracchus's political enemy? Or… the remnants of Nodus wanting revenge for their old master? Or both?"
Scarface suddenly looked up. A flash of panic appeared in his eyes.
Marcus had a clear idea.
"You don't have to say it."
He stood up, pretending to leave. "Tomorrow I'll hand you over to Gracchus. You robbed his goods, injured his people, and openly provoked him — what do you think he will do to you? Nail you to a cross? Feed you to wild beasts? Or… slowly torture you to death? I heard he's been in a bad mood lately and is short of a punching bag."
Sweat began to appear on Scarface's forehead. That scar looked particularly hideous under the oil lamp light.
"I… if I tell you, can you let me go?"
His voice was dry.
"Depends on how much you say and how truthfully."
Marcus sat down again.
Scarface struggled for a few seconds, his face turning red. Finally he gritted his teeth. "It was Senator Valerius."
Valerius?
Marcus remembered — the arrogant old man he had seen at the Founding Festival in the arena, hair combed meticulously, accompanied by his frivolous daughter Livia.
Gracchus had mentioned him, calling him "old stubborn" and "stumbling block".
"What did he ask you to do?"
Marcus pressed.
"He… he wants to bring down Gracchus."
Scarface took a breath. "The dock tariff proposal — Valerius is the loudest voice among the opposition, but he knows that just opposing it in the Senate is useless. He needs to create chaos for Gracchus at the dock to prove he can't manage it well."
"So he found me and asked me to lead people to cause trouble at the dock and create chaos. He said after it succeeds, he would give me a sum of money and help me leave Capua for Sicily."
"Anything else?"
"And…"
Scarface swallowed. "He said if I could 'accidentally' kill you during the chaos, he would add another hundred denarii. He said if you died, the dock would be even more chaotic and Gracchus would have a harder time cleaning up the mess."
Marcus smiled. There was no warmth in the smile.
So that was it.
Gracchus wanted to raise tariffs to make money. Valerius wanted to stop him, so he attacked from the dock.
And Marcus, became a chess piece — or rather, a target — in the game between the two sides.
Interesting. Really interesting.
"What else do you know?"
Marcus asked. "About Valerius, spill everything."
"He… he has secret dealings with several merchants."
Scarface said. "I don't know the specifics, but I heard it's contraband — maybe weapons, or maybe… slaves."
Slave trade was legal in Rome, but some "special" slave trades — such as kidnapping free citizens for sale, or smuggling prisoners of war who should have been executed — were capital crimes. Being caught meant death.
"Evidence?"
Marcus stared at him.
"I don't have evidence."
Scarface shook his head. "But I know a merchant named Lucius. He often helps Valerius transport goods. He might know."
Lucius…
Marcus felt the name was familiar.
He remembered — Batiatus's kitchen steward, the one responsible for putting drugs in the gladiators' food, was also called Lucius.
A tall, thin man with a slightly crossed left eye and a stutter, especially when nervous.
After Batiatus fell, that guy disappeared without a trace.
Was it the same person?
"What does that Lucius look like?"
"Tall and thin, left eye slightly crossed, tilts his head when looking at people, stutters, especially when nervous."
Scarface described him in detail. "Missing a little finger on his right hand, said it was chopped off when he was young for stealing."
It matched.
It was that Lucius.
"Very good."
Marcus nodded. "The information you provided is valuable. I can choose not to hand you over to Gracchus, but there is one condition."
"What condition?"
Scarface asked nervously.
"Work for me."
Marcus said. "Don't you want to live? Then become my man. I need you to act as an inside agent for Valerius — whatever he asks you to do, you do it, but you must inform me beforehand. Understand?"
"Understood."
Scarface rubbed his wrists.
"Also, find Lucius and figure out the details of Valerius's contraband dealings. I need evidence — account books, witnesses, transaction records, anything."
Scarface nodded hard.
Marcus called Marcus over, had him take Scarface to be cleaned and bandaged, then quietly sent him out of the training ground — through the back door.
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