At his desk, Magnus sat calmly writing a letter. Outside, it had snowed softly overnight, the change in weather happening quickly. Getting up, he walked to the fireplace and threw in another log.
"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!" Cassius threw open the door and stared daggers at Magnus.
"Good morning, cousin." Rubbing his hands to warm up, Magnus didn’t turn to face Cassius and went back to his desk.
"Don’t give that shit." Cassius strode forward and slamd his hands on the desk, "What are you thinking. Inviting Theodosius to the wedding. I thought we had to keep a low profile."
"You have to keep one," Magnus said coldly. "As I have explained ti and again, he will find out that I am marrying my daughter to his bastard. By doing it this way, I can make my intention to the entire Empire clear and make people choose a side. If I’m going to declare war on the Emperor Cassius, I need to at least look confident. Any sign of weakness and no one will support ."
Magnus pointed his pen at Cassius, "That ans family must be united. I need you more than ever. Even in private, we can’t appear at odds. We never know who is listening." Cassius clicked his tongue and turned away.
"I don’t like it. The Emperor is a spiteful man. Attacking him so openly is dangerous." Magnus got up and walked in front of Cassius. Grabbing his cheeks, he forced him to look into his eyes.
"You must trust , cousin. At this mont, only blood can be trusted. No one else. When have I ever put the family in danger without careful planning?" Cassius closed his eyes and nodded. Resting his forehead on Cassius Magnus took a deep breath, "We are playing a dangerous ga. Even the n under your command are not to be trusted. Never let them see you vulnerable."
"I know," Cassius said coldly and only then did Magnus pull away.
"I know you don’t like what I am doing, but we need allies, and the only way we get them is by showing we are confident in taking the throne."
Cassius sat down and looked at Magnus. "What about Felix?" It had beco normal to call Horace by his fake na for them now. Magnus looked out the window and smiled.
"He told he is studying. He’s out of place. So he is going to study our culture, history and language." Cassius smirked and shook his head.
"He could just get away with saying he’s from the west or north."
"If soone who has been to the Empire sees him, they will blow his cover right now. He can get away with it against most of the idiots he will speak to, but there are a lot of snakes within these lands."
"Alright. Back to the matter at hand. The wedding. Whose coming?"
"Our allies in the north and west will be here, as will those in the Midlands. The Eastern nobles won’t have ti to arrive, and the South is staunchly with the Emperor. Those guys coming is a coin toss."
Cassius nodded and went silent. Looking at the snow falling outside, his eyes narrowed as a thought ca to mind. "You want to display power and confidence, right?" Magnus nodded, making Cassius sinisterly smile, "Why don’t we invite Albus and let our western friend help us? After all, it is snowing. A dangerous ti to be riding a carriage."
Magnus turned to look out the window and smiled. "Accidents do happen all the ti. Do you know where he is stationed right now?"
"The Midlands." Magnus frowned. It was harder to stage an accident in the Midlands terrain, but not impossible.
"I’ll have him work on it. For now, we plan the wedding." Cassius nodded and sat down, the two of them quietly discussing the wedding details.
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"That bastard," Theodosius said angrily, his fist curled around a letter.
"Father." A middle-aged man with platinum hair looked at his father in surprise. "What’s happened?"
Theodosius looked at his eldest son, standing proudly and clicked his tongue, "I need you to go to the Maximus territory, Julius. They’re making their move." Looking at the letter in his hand, Theodosius felt his anger rising again. He didn’t expect Magnus to start an offensive like this.
Groaning, he wondered why his ancestors ever allowed the Maximus family to beco a Grand Duchy. But closing his eyes, he realised that it was partly his fault aswell. He was stupid and young at a ti, and because of it, he now had bastards lingering around, whose faces he didn’t even know. He had tried to get rid of them when he realised the threat they posed, but sohow one had managed to return and now aligned itself with his most dangerous enemy.
"I’ll do as you command, Father." Theodosius looked at his son, suppressing his disappointnt. Only Constance had beco a man who could lead. The rest were sheep who could only follow orders, offering no help. They were fine whilst he lived, but once he was gone, he worried about what would happen to his family. He wanted sothing, even if it disagreed with following a single order he gave. It would at least show they thought for themselves.
"Just go to the wedding, Juluis. Leave ." Julius bowed and walked out, leaving Theodosius to fall into his hands and groan.
"They will never understand your will unless you push them harder." The Eunuch, always at Theodosius’ side, ca forward and watched Julius departing.
"Cato." Looking at him, the two stared at one another for a while, "They are failures, and you know it. If only you were related to my family in so way, I could have adopted you as my son."
"You honour ." Cato bowed, but Theodosius shook his head.
"It’s not an honour. You and Constance are the only ones who understand what is required to rule." The Emperor sighed again and watched as his son finally left the throne room.
"Maybe." Cato paused and looked into the Emperor’s eyes. "Maybe you haven’t pushed Constance hard enough. We need to make him realise that if he doesn’t accept your offer, he will lose the Severian Empire as a power that supports the Holy Seat."
"I’ve tried. I threatened the brat with a ten-year delay, and it still didn’t get him to budge."
"Forgive , but your thinking is too narrow. Instead of ten years, we need him to believe it will be indefinite." The two looked at each other with sly eyes as Cato smiled, "It doesn’t have to be true, but we need to make this threat worse than it is."
"Explain?"
"Cut off all aid to the Holy Seat. The Schism has left him reliant on us now. Then, we learn that Magnus’s movents are connected to either Michael or the Ammary’s. Finally, we have to sacrifice so of your children."
Theodosisus’ eyes hardened, hearing the last line. Despite that, he didn’t rage in anger like when he saw the letter, instead falling into deep thought. "What ones?"
Cato looked at the distant door that Juluis left from and sighed in resignation, "The Crown Prince has done nothing wrong, but he is unfit to rule the Empire. If he dies soon after the wedding, we may make Magnus seem like a greater threat than he really is, but we also force Constance to realise the threat being posed against the Holy Seat. After that, kill one more and finally target a third without killing them."
Lowering his head, Theodosisus frowned. He wasn’t above killing his own children; he had already done it to many of his bastards, but this was a major risk. If even this failed to make Constance give up the role of Pope, then it would create a succession crisis.
Cato watched the Emperor run the plan through his mind. He knew it was a dangerous ask, but he existed to give Theodosisu options that he wouldn’t be able to co up with himself. He was only bold enough to make such a plan because of the man he was as Emperor.
"Do it. Get rid of Julius. Wait a few months and then kill my youngest. Spread the news, Magnus was the one behind the two murders. Create a fake leak to Constance after it’s done, stating that the Amrys are working with Magnus." Cato nodded and walked off, his eyes shining with a cruel light.
Theodosius watched the small eunuch and couldn’t help but wonder if he needed to get rid of him at so point. He knew that Cato was working for his interest, but to propose the murder of his children was incredibly bold, even for his most trusted advisor.
But after a while, he got rid of the thought. Cato was too valuable, and if Constance still decided to not give up his place as Pope he needed his next heir to have soone like Cato advising them. That way, even if his child beca a puppet for the Eunuch, it was soone Theodosius trusted in charge, not a random noble of the Empire.
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