The Mad Tycoon of Rome

Chapter 40: The Opening of the Court

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Lucius reported to Verres what he had heard from the pirates. 

He asked why their leader did not come in person, but he received an answer that he might have stepped on a tail.

As evidence, they brought a piece of cloth cut from the toga that Cicero had worn.

Only the senators of the curia had the privilege of decorating their togas with crimson cloth.

Lucius judged that there was no room for doubt and obediently believed their report.

However, he told them to let Cicero return to Rome by July so that he could participate in the election, as it would cause trouble if he could not run at all.

“Phew, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”

He did not know how much Cicero had investigated in Syracuse and Messana, but it was not enough to win the trial.

Even if he lost, the compensation of 40 million sesterces that Cicero claimed would not be accepted.

The nobles of Rome thought that they could easily receive bribes when they became governors.

To be honest, those who did not receive any were treated as oddities.

One or two pieces of decisive evidence would not move the hearts of the noble jurors.

Lucius was able to stretch his legs and rest comfortably for the first time in a long time.

Thus, Marcus was able to freely roam around Sicily without being caught by the surveillance network.

He did not become complacent because things were going well.

He cautiously and carefully approached the witnesses and secured evidence.

As a result, he was able to finish preparing enough before early June.

Marcus rented a whole ship and secretly loaded all the witnesses and evidence and left Sicily.

When they arrived at the port of Ostia, there was still plenty of time left until the election.

“I owe you a huge debt for this.”

Cicero sincerely thanked the young man who was much younger than him.

“I understand why you are so favored by the two current consuls. If you need any help later, just let me know. I’ll try my best as far as I can.”

“Your words alone are enough to thank me. But I think it would be enough reward for me if you win the trial, Cicero. Please make sure that I can see the justice of the republic stand upright.”

“Yes, yes. Of course. You should also come and watch the trial. Hortensius has a reputation as Rome’s best lawyer, but that’s over now. In fact, objectively speaking, my eloquence skills are much better than his. I’m not trying to brag, but when I was young, parents came to school to listen to my arguments.”

“Oh…is that so? You must have been different from others since you were young, as someone who will become Rome’s best lawyer.”

“Haha, you are very quick to understand unlike other young people these days. You remind me of myself when I was young. By the way, when I was young…”

Cicero had a bit of a strong tendency to praise himself. 

And when Marcus played along with him, he became completely excited.

He endlessly talked about his experiences when he first came up to Rome and when he gave a splendid speech at the senate.

In the end, it was exactly an hour later when Marcus escaped from Cicero’s boasting.

※※※※

The July election proceeded as everyone expected without any surprises.

The election of Rome’s high-ranking officials was called centuriate assembly, which was a bit different from modern methods.

In modern voting, whether it is a tycoon, a student, or an office worker, everyone has an equal one vote.

On the other hand, in Rome, the value of one vote that could be exercised depended on the amount of property.

Rome divided all citizens into 193 groups according to their property surveyed by censors.

The candidate who received more support from more groups among the 193 groups was elected.

It seems similar to the electoral college system in the United States at first glance.

But the problem is that they divided groups according to their property. 

The group of the highest wealthy class consisted of just over ten people. 

On the other hand, the group of poor classes consisted of at least hundreds or more, and in case of propertyless people, thousands were basic.

Each group could exercise one vote fairly, which meant that ten wealthy people had equal rights with thousands of propertyless people.

Out of 193, 98 were composed of nobles and knights, so there was nothing more to say.

Therefore, the candidates who ran for the election actively promoted policies that were favorable to the wealthy class.

The reason why the candidate supported by the senate had an advantage in the election was also because of this electoral system.

However, the tribal assembly that elected the censors and quaestors was a bit more fair.

Here, they did not divide citizens according to their property, but by tribes, and elected candidates by majority vote among those tribes.

Verres was only interested in the election results of the centuriate assembly among the two elections.

Fortunately for him, Hortensius and Quintus were safely elected as praetors.

When Quintus’s brother was also elected as aedile, Verres shook off all the remaining anxiety.

“Hahaha, you all did a great job. Things are going so well that I wonder if this is really happening.”

“It was almost certain that Quintus and I would be elected as praetors from the beginning. And we also took one seat as aedile, so there is no chance of losing if the trial is delayed until next year.”

“It would be the same even if it was held this year. That Cicero bastard must have hardly collected any evidence.”

Verres muttered with a sneer as he checked the election results of the tribal assembly belatedly.

“Did he give up because he knew it was useless to argue? He must be very rational for a brat. I thought he would be furious and come to complain.”

He thought he would run around looking for pirates as soon as he returned to Rome, but it was a bit unexpected reaction.

Hortensius tilted his head.

“Argue? About what? About interfering with evidence collection? He probably expected that, so there is no need to waste his emotions by confronting us.”

“Well, you are right in principle. But I still thought he would be very angry. Maybe he resigned himself because he realized that there was no point in arguing.”

“What exactly did you do to interfere with evidence collection… It would be troublesome if you get caught.”

“Don’t worry. There is no evidence that I did it.”

At Verres’s confident words, Hortensius put away his suspicious eyes.

He scanned down the list of people who were elected this year and noticed a familiar name.

“Julius Caesar was elected as quaestor with the most votes. This young man was also quite impressive in his eloquence.”

Hearing Caesar’s name, Verres frowned and asked.

“Do you know him?”

“Not really, but I saw a trial where he acted as a lawyer before. He lost, but his logical argument was quite impressive.”

“Ha, what logic can a damn beggar have?”

“Do you have any grudge against him?”

At Hortensius’s question, Verres answered with an angry voice.

“Don’t you really know? Many of the wives of the senators had affairs with that bastard. Even the wife of Quintus, who will be your colleague praetor next year, must have been close with Caesar last week. There was also a rumor that Lucius’s wife had a relationship with Caesar while her husband was in Sicily.”

“Hehe…I didn’t know that happened.”

“You better watch your wife well. They say he is crazy about cultured married women.”

He did not say it directly because of his pride, but Verres’s wife also cheated on him with Caesar.

He wanted to divorce his wife right away if he could. 

But he could not do that because of the connection with the Metellus family.

All he could do was chew on the brat politician who threw mud everywhere.

Thus, Caesar was only recognized as a debtor beggar by the senators at this point.

Only Marcus knew how dangerous claws he was hiding.

※※※※

When Cicero did not show any movement until the end of July, Verres concluded that he had given up on the trial.

He thought that Cicero would say that he would cancel the prosecution even when he asked for a meeting with the aedile Glabrio.

However, what came out of Cicero’s mouth was the opposite of what he expected.

“I have completed all the preparations to prosecute Gaius Verres. I would like you to set a trial date as soon as possible.”

The senators held their breath and looked at Verres and Cicero alternately.

Verres was momentarily flustered, but he was sure that Cicero was bluffing.

‘Is he trying to get a small fine at least? It’s pitiful how he struggles.’

Verres calmly expressed his willingness to faithfully participate in the trial.

Hortensius also declared that the defense team was fully prepared.

When the opinions of the prosecution and defense teams were agreed, Glabrio decided to hold a trial within a month.

The rumor that the trial was held spread throughout Rome in a few days.

It was said that it would be the trial with the largest compensation in Roman history.

There, the windbags hired by Marcus spread favorable words for Cicero.

“If Verres loses, Cicero, who will be a censor next year, will be able to bring in cheap wheat, right?”

“Yeah. He already promised that with the Sicilian people.”

“Really? But can he win? Verres’s lawyer is Hortensius.”

“That’s why we have to cheer for Cicero. If the citizens stick together and support him, won’t the jurors be influenced a little?”

The crowd was very sensitive to issues that were directly related to their interests.

The interest, which was already high, skyrocketed when they heard that this trial might affect the price of wheat next year.

The structure of a plebeian lawyer struggling against noble families also received a lot of sympathy from many citizens.

Marcus intended to raise the scale of the trial to the highest level ever.

Cicero was inherently thirsty for public attention. 

People like him perform better than their abilities as they receive more attention.

In fact, Cicero enjoyed enthusiastic cheers by deliberately walking around places where citizens were crowded.

Finally, the first trial day arrived.

The area around the court was crowded with huge crowds that there was no room to step on.

Marcus sat comfortably in a chair and looked around the court.

Not only plebeians who wished for Cicero’s victory, but also wealthy knights and nobles gathered in various colors.

It couldn’t be helped because the essence of this case was that the natives accused the former governor of his tyranny.

The way of ruling over the natives would be affected by the result of this trial.

Rather than plebeians, nobles were more keen on watching the outcome of the trial.

They secretly hoped that Verres would win.

Danae, who was standing behind Marcus, felt that atmosphere and stuck out her tongue.

“It’s so heated. What if there is a riot if Cicero loses?”

“It’s okay. That won’t happen.”

“Do you mean there won’t be a riot even if he loses? Or do you mean he won’t lose…?”

“You’ll see. By the way, we have one more friend to watch together.”

There was one man who approached through the crowd.

He wore a splendid toga that showed he had put a lot of effort into it.

Danae opened her eyes wide for a moment and then bowed her head politely and greeted him.

“Did you come, Caesar? It’s been a long time. Congratulations on being elected as quaestor.”

“Thank you. How have you been? You look more beautiful every time I see you.”

“Huh? Th-thank you.”

“Weren’t you a freed slave too? You could probably form a legion of men who want to court you by now.”

“Ah…um…that’s too kind of you.”

Danae was flustered by his compliment, and Marcus, who was watching them, chuckled and joined the conversation.

“Are you trying to seduce the creditor’s servant as soon as you arrive?”

“Seduce? What are you talking about? It’s just a sincere praise. And don’t worry, I’m not interested in her right now. Maybe in 15 years or so.”

“Oh, right. I forgot about your taste, Caesar. Danae doesn’t have a husband yet, after all.”

Caesar shrugged off Marcus’s sharp remark with a light laugh and sat down next to him.

“What do you think of the outcome of this trial?”

“I think it will be very interesting. I’m also scheduled to testify as a witness on the last day of the first trial.”

“A witness? Did one of your clients in Sicily get robbed by Verres?”

“No. It’s something much more intriguing than that.”

Before Caesar could ask anything more, Cicero stepped onto the stage with a confident stride.

The procedure of the first trial was to start with the speech of the prosecutor and then the rebuttal of the defense team.

Then, there was another round of lengthy speeches by the secondary prosecutor and the secondary defense lawyers.

After all the speeches were over, the witness examination selected by the prosecution team began.

And every time a witness changed, the prosecution and defense teams engaged in heated debates.

Because of this complicated procedure, the first trial with many witnesses could last more than ten days.

Of course, the trial was not over when the first trial ended.

After a few days of recess, the second trial followed, which was almost similar in structure to the first trial.

In other words, the first day of the trial did not have much significance.

If there were many secondary defense lawyers, it could end with just listening to their speeches until sunset.

The prosecution team consisted of only Cicero, but Verres had a lot of lawyers hired with money on his side.

Cicero decided to throw a gambit here.

His eloquent voice echoed from his mouth as he stood in front of the praetor.

“Honorable judge Glabrio. I think this trial needs to be conducted in a different way from the usual. There are clear evidence and rational reasons for this.”

Hearing Cicero’s words, Hortensius hurriedly came forward to the front of the stage.

“What are you talking about! This trial must follow the existing procedure. I will not accept anything that works against Verres!”

“I’m not suggesting anything that is unfavorable to Verres. I just want to make the trial more concise and dense. Judge, will you hear me out on how I devised this method?”

“Let’s do that. However, I will make it clear in advance that I cannot accept a trial method that favors one side over the other.”

Glabrio nodded casually. 

He did not like Verres, but he was a fair man.

He wanted to conduct the trial reasonably, without taking anyone’s side.

That was enough for Cicero.

“First of all, I would like to postpone all unnecessary speeches by both prosecution and defense teams to the second trial. The debates and speeches that take place every time a witness changes only interrupt the flow of the trial. The reason why this should be done is because there are too many witnesses and evidence that I will summon this time. If we follow the existing procedure, there is a risk that the first trial will not end even after a month.”

“That would be troublesome indeed.”

“Yes. And unlike the defense team, I am the only one in the prosecution team. In this situation, do we really need to keep listening to both sides’ long speeches? And this is also good news for the defense team. If they hear our speeches for the first time in the second trial, they will be more fresh and enjoyable for the jurors.”

“Indeed, there are too many charges against Verres. Postponing the speeches will allow us to focus more clearly on each charge. What do you think, defense team?”

“Wait a moment, please.”

Hortensius frowned and pondered over Cicero’s proposal.

Objectively speaking, it made sense.

And strictly speaking, it was not a bad offer for him either.

The prosecution team had only Cicero, while the defense team had quite a few more besides Hortensius.

In this situation, the defense team would be almost unilaterally making speeches. If they were not careful, they could give the impression of being boring to the jurors.

The most important thing in the trial was the final argument of the second trial anyway.

If he could capture the attention of the jurors there, this method would work more favorably for Hortensius.

Besides, the jurors and the judge did not like the trial to be unnecessarily long.

He did not limit the right of speech of the defense lawyer, so if he refused, it could have a negative impact on his image.

“It doesn’t seem to be a disadvantageous way for the defense. Then I have no objection.”

“Since both the defense and prosecution teams have agreed, this trial will proceed as proposed by the prosecution. Prosecutor, explain the charges against Gaius Verres.”

Cicero took a deep breath and deliberately paused for a moment.

He felt that the jurors’ attention was fully focused on him and slowly opened his mouth.