CASSIUS—THE MOMENT I HESITATED
Tullius's words sat heavy in my mind, lodged like a blade that would not pull free.
I had been ready for Livia’s disapproval.
Ready for Augustus’s silent judgment.
Ready for Valeria’s sharp, knowing smirk as she chose to stand beside me instead.
But Tullius?
Tullius had always been the one who laughed at danger.
The one who thrived in chaos, thrived in war, thrived in destruction.
If even he thought I had gone too far—
Had I?
"Tullius, I did not order their deaths."
My voice was steady.
But even as I spoke, I felt the first crack of doubt creep into my mind.
"I don’t have the power to make such orders."
"Not directly."
Tullius was watching me carefully.
Like he was trying to see past the Cassius standing before him.
Trying to find the Cassius he had known before.
"But you didn’t need to order it, did you?"
His words were slow.
Measured.
A rare thing for him.
"You didn’t tell them to kill. But you created the world where they would."
I exhaled sharply, shaking my head.
"It was a consequence."
"A consequence?"
He scoffed, rubbing a hand over his face, pacing once before stopping, fixing me with a stare that was not mocking. Not playful. Not cruel.
Just disappointed.
"Cassia, a consequence is when you drink too much wine and wake up with a headache."
He stepped closer.
"A consequence is when you gamble away your coin and go hungry for a night."
His voice lowered.
"A consequence is not the streets running red because of whispers you placed in the right ears."
I opened my mouth—to deny it, to argue—
But the words did not come.
Because the moment he had spoken them—
I knew they were true.
TULLIUS—THE MOMENT I SAW HIM FALTER
Cassius never faltered anymore.
Not in battle.
Not in politics.
Not in strategy.
But now?...
"I was trying to save Rome. If I hadn't done this, it would have been doomed, Tullius. The bankers need to be crushed. Every last one of them..." I said, going back and forth in my own mind. As I spoke, Osiris lazily walked over and climbed onto my lap... Oh no...
VeliusCASSIUS—THE MOMENT OF UNCERTAINTY (AND BETRAYAL)
"I was trying to save Rome."
The words left my mouth, but even as I said them, they felt hollow.
Because now?
Now, I wasn’t sure if Rome had been saved... or if I had simply shattered it into something unrecognizable.
Tullius said nothing.
He just watched me.
Waiting.
Letting me wrestle with the ghosts I had created.
"If I hadn't done this, it would have been doomed, Tullius. The bankers need to be crushed. Every last one of them..."
I ran my hands over my face, feeling the weight of it all pressing down on me.
The blood spilled.
The power shifting.
The chaos growing beyond my reach.
And then—
Osiris.
Casually, unbothered by the weight of history or the existential crisis in my mind, my treacherous little bastard of a cat sauntered into my lap.
"No, no, not now—"
I tried to push him off, but it was too late.
• • •TULLIUS—THE MOMENT I LOST IT
At first, I had been serious.
At first, I had been ready to argue, to press him, to demand he take a fucking breath and see what he had done.
But then.
Then Osiris happened.
The gods had a sense of humor.
Because in the middle of Cassius’s greatest moment of doubt—
In the middle of his internal war—
The little beast climbed onto his lap and immediately began… kneading.
Cassius froze.
And then—
Then the worst possible thing happened.
Osiris, in all his glory, flopped onto his side…
And began aggressively licking himself.
And that?
That was the final blow.
I completely lost it.
I mean, fully, violently laughing.
Falling back against the couch, wheezing, clutching my ribs.
"OH—OH FUCK, NOT AGAIN—"
Cassius shoved Osiris off his lap, groaning.
"NO, FUCK THIS, HE WAS JUST WALKING AROUND—"
I was gone.
I could barely breathe.
"NOT THE SPEECH, CASSIA! NOT DURING THE SPEECH—"
Cassius buried his face in his hands.
"I HATE THIS FUCKING CAT!"
Osiris, completely unbothered, stretched luxuriously and flicked his tail.
And I?
I laughed until I could not breathe.
• • •CASSIUS—THE FINAL HUMILIATION
"You’re a horrible person, Tullius."
I said it flatly, still rubbing my temples as Tullius wiped tears from his eyes.
"Oh, but Cassia—Cassia, no—"
"SHUT UP—"
"The best part—"
"DON'T—"
"—is that he KNEW. He KNEW it was the WORST POSSIBLE TIME, and he did it ANYWAY!"
Tullius was wheezing again, half-falling off the couch.
And just when I thought it was over—
Livia walked in.
Saw me.
Saw Tullius dying of laughter.
Saw Osiris stretching smugly.
And her expression?
Flat.
Unimpressed.
Completely done.
"I see it has happened again."
I groaned, throwing myself back against the couch.
"I HATE ALL OF YOU."...
VERDICT: The error was glorious. The memory was selective. The roast was perfect.
Entry sealed. The Codex remembers.