Doubts
Leo rested against the marble pillar of Caesar's villa, the faint hum of voices around him drowned out by the whirlwind of thoughts running inside his head. His face was cast in the glint of firelight like some flickering candle, and shadows across his face danced like the untidy uncertainties in his chest. Caesar had spoken definitely-Brutus, then Cassius, and there were others-branded to his mind as enemies of the City. Yet, within himself, Leo couldn't stop the nagging uncertainty: not everything was how it seemed.
Brutus. The name echoed in his head like a loose piece that fitted not one whit with the others.
He recalled their brief conversation before Senate session days ago. Brutus came to him with an unusual caution, his voice low, strained.
"Cassius is a man of many plans," Brutus had murmured, his tone tinged with something close to regret. "He's ambitious in ways that often cloud his judgment. Be wary of him, Leo. Not everything he says is meant to be trusted."
At the time, Leo had dismissed it as politicking—an attempt to distance himself from the machinations of his ally. But now, with the conspiracy completely revealed, that moment replayed in his mind like an echo he couldn't silence.
Why would Brutus warn me? Leo asked the question aloud, tracing, with his fingers, intricate runes etched into the blade. If he totally committed to this act of treachery, why instill seeds of doubt that Cassius was wrong?
"You are too quiet, Leo. And that look in your eyes is as if you are solving some riddle nobody asked you to solve." Antony broke his thoughts.
Leo straightened, turning to the man who has been his unexpected ally throughout this tangled web of power and history. "Maybe Brutus isn't completely into it.".
An arched brow, a curve of skeptical lips Antony raised at Marcus. "The man breaks his bread and wine with Cassius would still stand by and give loyalty to Caesar?" That is a dangerous play, my friend.
"I am not saying he is loyal," Leo said, his head shaking. "I am saying.....he is hesitant. Perhaps conflicted. Something in him feels different from the others. Cassius is ambition-driven, hate-filled to Caesar's power. Brutus, however. there is something holding him back. Perhaps it's guilt, or perhaps.".
"Perhaps it is a mask," Antony said, his voice dropping into dark undertones. "Do not confuse reluctance with virtue, Leo. Men like Brutus are the deadliest. They do not act out of lust or rage but out of a mistaken sense of honor. And that is the most dangerous."
Leo sighed, raking through his hair. "You're not wrong, but I just can't ignore it. If there's any chance that Brutus might be influenced—"
"—then you'll lose everything trying to convert him," Antony interjected, his eyes probing. "Leo, I respect your idealism, but this is not your planet. In Rome, when men are hesitant, that doesn't mean they lack conviction—it means they're weak. And weakness cannot alter a man's destiny. It seals it."
The room fell into uneasy silence as Antony's words hung on the air.
Later that Night-
It would take the shape of a storm within the mind, for outside was the storm. Lightning crept across the sky, illuminating all of Rome in flashes of brilliant light. The winds howled through the villa, rattling the windows and almost as if the gods were distressed at themselves.
Calpurnia's soft voice came from the room next, pleading with Caesar to heed her visions. The omens, she cried, her words tumbling out in tears; all were manifest. Undismayed, Caesar waved aside her warnings as the storm within his world and at court raged unabated.
Leo sat in the corner of the main hall, staring out at the glowing runes on his blade. The system wasn't exactly giving him a leg up this time; it sent him off to paddle around alone in the muck of trust and betrayal.
Suddenly, a faint notification flickered in the corner of his vision.
System Notice-
Insight Unlocked: Broken Allegiance
Observations have found a conflict within Marcus Brutus. He is not completely loyal to the conspirators.
Analyze the reasons behind this to find an ally or a threat in him. Leo exhaled slowly, at least some of his suspicions were vindicated.
But how to confront Brutus without compromising himself? The man's reluctance was a crack in the armor of conspiracy, but that wasn't enough to assure him of safety. Antony again re-enters the hall, as forceful in presence as ever. "Thinking still of Brutus, aren't you? Leo nodded. "He is the key, Antony.
If there's the smallest sliver of doubt in him, we can bank on that. But if we continue to push him too much, it may swing in our face.
The man may fully commit to Cassius for spite against us.". Antony's face softened, in a rare flicker of understanding crossing it.
"Do what you must, Leo, but tread with care. The city is unforgiving, and here, even loyalty is a thing broken like glass and betrayal the pointiest sword." Leo tightened his hold around his sword. Tomorrow held more storms, more shadows, and more choices. And as Ides of March drew nigh, each choice he made brought him closer to an uncertain destiny.