The Mad Tycoon of Rome

Chapter 38: The Trial of Verres 

──────────────── 

From Ostia to Sicily.

It was a longer journey than he had expected.

The romance of sailing faded after a day and was replaced by boredom and irritation.

The two-decked Liburnian galley rocked terribly, even though the waves were not that strong.

Marcus had to lie down in a corner and soothe the aftereffects of seasickness.

As soon as they arrived at the port, he ran off the ship without looking back.

Strangely enough, his head stopped spinning as soon as he set foot on land.

“Ah… damn, I feel alive again.”

“I didn’t know you were so prone to seasickness, sir.”

“It was my first time on a ship.”

I’ll be more used to it next time.”

“I hope so.”

Spartacus gave him a bitter smile and gently patted his back.

Meanwhile, Cicero contacted the client he had arranged to meet beforehand.

He was Hicetas, one of the most influential representatives of Sicily.

Cicero had known him since he served as a quaestor in Sicily.

Hicetas was a diligent and upright man who deeply respected Cicero.

“I want to express my infinite gratitude for coming here. Please let me know if you need anything, senator.”

“Thank you. I’m glad to have you here. I have some carriages and staff waiting for me, so you can help me with contacting the witnesses.”

“Yes.But we need to talk a little bit about the prosecution fee.I understand that it is customary to pay high fees with artworks for such cases.”

“That’s right.”

It was almost a rule among Roman lawyers not to deal with cash.

According to Roman law, lawyers could receive gifts but not fees.

This was a principle established 200 years ago.

It was based on the social notion that lawyers who dealt with the law should not chase money, lest justice be distorted.

But of course, skilled lawyers received fees disguised as gifts and accumulated wealth.

They did not want to get caught by the censors for taking illegal fees, so they avoided doing anything too obvious.

That’s why artworks were the preferred form of payment for lawyers.

They were easy to cash in, and their value did not change much even if they were stored for a long time.

The origin of money laundering with artworks went back to the distant ancient times.

Hicetas scratched his head with a troubled expression.

“I know we should pay you for your troubles, but… we don’t have many artworks left. They all went into Verres’ pockets…”

“He really took them greedily, didn’t he? I guess all those exquisite artworks in his mansion were stolen during his governorship.”

Cicero recalled Verres’ luxurious mansion and clicked his tongue.

He wondered if he had such an artistic spirit that he decorated his mansion like an antique shop, but it was shocking to learn that they were all stolen goods.

“Senator, since the situation is like this, I’ll try to find something else of value instead of artworks. If that doesn’t work, I’ll find a way to pay you in cash without getting caught by the censors…”

“No, no need for that. I’ve already discussed with my companions how to receive the fee on the way here.”

Cicero glanced at Marcus, who was looking a bit better, and spoke cheerfully.

“As you know, I’m aiming for the position of aedile in the election in July. Half of the aediles are plebeians, so my election is almost certain. But the problem is that I’m not in a position to spend money like other nobles after I get elected.”

The aediles were permanent praetor who oversaw roads, buildings, public works, etc.

But they were not just ordinary administrators.

Their jurisdiction also included festivals and public entertainment.

The peculiar thing was that they often paid for the maintenance of buildings and the holding of festivals out of their own pockets.

This was because they needed to gain as much popularity as possible in order to be elected as praetors or consuls later.

But Cicero did not have enough wealth to back him up yet.

He could borrow money, but he was reluctant to incur a large debt as a man of law.

Here, Marcus reminded Cicero that food supply was also part of the aedile’s duties.

That alone made Cicero see how he should receive his fee.

“So I’ll take my fee in grain. Since I’m not receiving it directly, it’s more like a gift than a fee. If I lower the price of grain that I sell to Rome next year when I work as an aedile, that should be enough.”

“That’s definitely possible. Is that really all you want?

“Of course. You may not know this since you live in Sicily, which is rich in grain, but Rome is very sensitive to the price of wheat. No matter how many festivals I hold, it’s meaningless if I can’t control the price of grain.”

“But even if we didn’t pay you as a fee, we would have lowered the supply price of grain as a token of gratitude.”

“Then just lower it a little more than what you originally thought.”

Hicetas immediately drafted a contract on the spot.

Even if he lowered the price of wheat, it was not a loss if he got compensation from Verres.

The amount and artworks that Verres had plundered were enormous.

“Where are you going to start the investigation? I think Panormus or Lilybaeum would be suitable.”

“I’m going to Syracuse and Messana first.”

Marcus interjected into the conversation.

Hicetas tilted his head and answered.

“Really? Those are cities that are in league with Verres. It would be hard to find evidence of plunder there.”

“But it would be easy to find traces of collusion. And no matter how much the city is allied with Verres, not everyone can get an equal share of the benefits. There will be people who didn’t get enough profit, and they will have a lot of resentment. Then they will open their mouths easily if you give them a little reward.”

“Oh… that makes sense.”

“And don’t forget that Verres’ brother-in-law Lucius is the current governor of Sicily. He must have anticipated our arrival and prepared for it. We need to move in a way that they don’t expect.”

Sicily was large.

No matter how much Lucius was the governor, he couldn’t control all the regions in a short time.

He had to focus on the areas where there were more people who agreed with Cicero.

Marcus was thinking of poking holes in this common sense.

He told Hicetas to gather as many witnesses as possible in Lilybaeum.

If he moved noisily, Lucius’ attention would naturally be drawn there.

That would give Marcus and Cicero more freedom to move.

Marcus got on a carriage that he had prepared beforehand and headed to Syracuse with Cicero.

Just in case, he ordered the escorts who followed him to keep some distance so they wouldn’t stand out.

The only person next to him was Spartacus.

He put him in shabby clothes and smeared his face with charcoal, in case someone recognized him.

He looked like an ordinary noble’s son traveling with a sturdy slave.

Cicero, who was sitting across from him, opened his mouth suddenly.

“I’m glad you came with me. I was a bit anxious because I expected Verres’ resistance to be much stronger.”

“He must be very conscious of Pompey. I wish he had been a little careless, but I guess I can’t hope for such luck. But your opinions are really helpful. Like the one about taking the fee in grain.”

“You would have thought of that yourself sooner or later, Cicero.”

In fact, the decline in wheat prices was a huge benefit for both Cicero and Marcus.

If they won the trial against Verres, the supply of wheat from Sicily would be cheap next year.

That coincided exactly with the time when Marcus wanted to buy a large amount of wheat.

Cicero would gain popularity among the citizens, and Marcus would make a huge profit.

It was the best outcome for both of them.

Of course, Marcus didn’t show any sign of that.

He wasn’t the one who was hoarding wheat, it was Tadius.

He was helping Cicero out of a sense of justice for the future of the republic.

Cicero, who didn’t know any of that, saw Marcus as a reliable pillar to lead the republic.

※※※※

When Marcus arrived in Syracuse, he went straight to Dion, a Greek administrator he had investigated beforehand.

The reason he chose him was simple.

He was the one whose wealth had increased the least among the many administrators.

“Are you Dion, the administrator of Syracuse?”

He was wearing a pallium, a modified version of the traditional Greek garment called himation.

“What do you want from me? I have a lot of work to do, so just tell me your business.”

He was consistently annoyed until he saw the silver coin that Marcus handed him.

“We are an investigation team from Rome. We have some questions about the former governor and we wonder if you can answer them. Of course, we will pay you well.”

His eyes gleamed with greed as he saw the silver purse shaking in front of him.

“Um… but that’s not something I can decide on my own.”

“No one else will know what you said to us. We will keep it a secret where the evidence came from until the trial. And if you suffer any disadvantage from this trial, we will compensate you financially.”

“Oh… is that true?”

“We can write a contract for you right here. Don’t you think your compensation was too low compared to your efforts so far? You should get a fair reward for your work.”

Since we’re here, why don’t you have a drink and relax tonight?”

Marcus added a few more silver coins to Dion’s palm.

Dion, who was trying to suppress his loosening mouth, coughed.

“Ahem! Ahem, well… thank you for this. You must be from a rich family.”

“Well, I have enough to not envy anyone.”

“I see. If you make a contract that says you will compensate me for any damage, I might be able to open my mouth. To be honest, I also think the former governor’s tyranny was serious. But what can I do as a mere administrator? I have to do what I’m told from above.”

He was using the rhetoric that he was not responsible because he had no choice but to follow orders.

Cicero’s eyebrows twitched, but Marcus gestured him to leave it to him.

They had to implicate Verres, not these petty administrators.

There was no need to waste emotions on unnecessary things.

“It’s understandable that anyone would have no choice but to do what the governor ordered. But it seems like he didn’t pay you properly for doing such things. Don’t you think it’s too much?”

“That’s what I’m saying. We were the ones who did the actual work, but the rewards were only shared by the big shots. Hieron, that bastard, bought land in the south as a reward for tampering with the books, but all I got was a few silver coins.”

“That’s outrageous. That’s where I’m different from Verres. If you give me the evidence you have, I’ll give you a reward that matches its value.”

After hesitating for a while, Dion left a word to wait and disappeared somewhere.

Cicero looked at Marcus with a suspicious expression.

“Do you think he’ll fall for it?”

“Of course. I didn’t just bribe him with money, I also scratched his accumulated resentment. How dirty would he feel if he got involved in a dirty business and didn’t get a proper compensation?”

The typical pattern of powerful people who are blinded by greed getting caught is that it starts with an internal accusation.

In those cases, the problem always erupts because they don’t treat the internal accusers properly.

In modern times, there were many cases where people who made billions of won went to jail because they were reluctant to give even millions of won to their subordinates.

Verres was no different from them.

As Marcus expected, Dion came back with documents and wax tablets containing various evidence.

“This is what I have from the work I did myself. But don’t get me wrong, can we write a contract first? I think that would help us to have a conversation with trust on both sides.”

“Of course.”

Marcus pushed the evidence he received from Dion to one corner and took out a contract.

“Here, stamp your seal here. This is a contract that says I will compensate you for any damage you may suffer from this testimony.”

“Oh, thank you. You are a person who knows how to do things right. Let me see…”

Dion looked over the contract with a pleased expression.

The content of the contract was exactly as Marcus had said.

“If the witness suffers any damage from this testimony, Marcus Licinius Crassus will take responsibility and compensate for any kind of loss…”

Dion looked back and forth between the contract and Marcus’s face with his mouth open.

Soon his face turned pale and he licked his lips nervously.

“Ma, Marcus Licinius Crassus II?

You… ah, no, sir, are you by any chance…”

“Oh, did I not tell you? I’m Marcus Licinius Crassus II.”

“Crassus as in the Roman consul…”

“Yes. His son.”

Dion, who realized who he had been talking to so carelessly, knelt down and bowed his head.

Even if he was an administrator working in Sicily, he couldn’t be ignorant of the prestige of Crassus, the current consul and the richest man in Rome.

He had heard rumors that Pompey was behind Cicero, but he never imagined that Crassus’s name would come up too.

“I’m sorry!I was so rude in front of you… By the way, who is the person next to you?”

“This is the person who will prosecute Verres. He is a lawyer and a current senator, Cicero. He also served as a quaestor in Sicily before.”

“Gasp!”

Dion, who thought he was just a member of a simple investigation team, trembled.

“I, I only did what Verres told me to do. Please have mercy on me…”

“Oh, don’t worry. We won’t arrest someone who provided us with valuable evidence.”

“Yes, yes. Thank you.”

“Then let’s continue the conversation. About this evidence…”

While Marcus was talking to Dion, Cicero looked over the evidence piled up in front of him.

“One administrator gave us this much evidence… it’s more than I imagined. I would believe it if he said he wanted to ruin Sicily with his plundering.”

According to the evidence list, none of the accounting books that Verres reported were correct.

Almost all the numbers were manipulated, and he even embezzled the funds of the treasury committee.

The worst part was that he colluded with pirates and split the profits with them.

This was something that Hicetas had never heard of either.

Not all greedy people were the same.

He had a different level of thinking.

At this point, he felt amazed by his skill to rob a region so thoroughly in three years.

Dion kept spilling out facts that Marcus didn’t even ask for.

He thought Verres’ downfall was inevitable since Cicero had Pompey and Crassus behind him.

“So the current governor Lucius has already ordered the surrounding cities to hide the evidence.”

Dion nodded vigorously.

“Of course. But there are many people like me who are dissatisfied because they didn’t get paid properly. I’ll write down their names for you. If you need it, I can also write a letter of introduction for you.”

“Oh, thank you for that. Since I don’t plan to reveal my identity and act openly yet, this will be a great help.”

“Yes, yes. And if you give me a day, I can find out more details about the orders that Governor Lucius gave. For now, let me tell you more about what I know…”

Dion’s story went on for a long time.

Cicero and Marcus listened carefully.

The orders and sabotage plans that Lucius had given were delivered to them one by one.

It was the moment when the collusion between Verres and Syracuse was exposed in a hundred days.