Chapter 105: The New Game
The silence that followed Senator Glabrio's proposal was thick and heavy. The senator stood there, his face a mask of smug sincerity, confident that he had backed the young Emperor into an inescapable political corner. Sabina's expression was grim, her mind already calculating the disastrous consequences of either accepting or refusing. Even Perennis seemed to shrink in on himself, recognizing a move of such high-level political treachery that it was beyond his own shadowy arts. Only Rufus seemed oblivious to the subtext, his honest face showing only approval for the idea of honoring a worthy man like Pertinax.
Alex sat on his imperial chair, his face a mask of calm consideration. The old Alex, the terrified project manager from the 21st century, would have panicked. He would have turned to Lyra, desperately asking for a probabilistic analysis, for an optimal path out of the trap. But the man who had returned from the Armenian mountains was different. He had faced down an alien god-king, commanded demigods in battle, and looked into the abyss of his own mortality. The political machinations of a few ambitious senators seemed almost trivial by comparison.
He had learned from his enemies. The Silent King had tried to unmake him with a grand, cosmic threat. Pertinax's allies were trying to unmake him with a subtle, political one. The principle was the same. He would not play their game. He would change the board.
"An excellent suggestion, Senator Glabrio," Alex said finally, his voice smooth and agreeable. A warm smile touched his lips, a smile that immediately put every shrewd political operator in the room on high alert. "Lord Pertinax has served the state with unparalleled diligence. He is a true hero of Rome. Of course he must be honored."
Glabrio's own smile widened. He had won. The Emperor had capitulated.
"He shall have his Triumph," Alex continued, leaning forward, his voice taking on a new, creative energy. "But a shared Triumph is... insufficient. A man of his stature deserves an honor unique to him. We will give him his own parade. And we will give him more." He paused, letting the suspense build. "We will give him Parthia."
The statement landed with the force of a physical shock. Sabina stared at him, her eyes wide with disbelief. Rufus looked utterly baffled.
Alex rose from his chair and walked to the great map of the world that now dominated his study. "The war is won," he declared, his hand sweeping across the vast expanse of the East. "The legions have sacked Ctesiphon. The Parthian king is here, in Rome, a prisoner in chains. The traditional Roman way would be to annex this vast territory. To make it a new province. To bleed it dry with taxes and garrison it with tens of thousands of our soldiers for centuries to come, fighting an endless cycle of rebellions and border wars. A costly, bloody, and ultimately foolish endeavor. We will not repeat the mistakes of our ancestors."
He was speaking with a new, profound authority, the authority of a man who had seen a larger picture.
"Instead," he said, turning back to his stunned audience, "we will play a new game. The captured king, Vologases, will be a centerpiece of my Triumph. He will be paraded through the streets in his chains, a symbol of our absolute victory." He paused. "But then, in a grand ceremony at the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, I will do something unexpected. I will show the world the supreme confidence and magnanimity of Rome. I will break his chains. I will 'forgive' him. And I will restore him to his throne."
"Caesar, that is madness!" Rufus finally burst out, his sense of Roman tradition horrified. "To release a defeated enemy?"