"Quintus...Run quickly, don't look back, don't look back no matter what happens, keep running until you can't run anymore..."
The footsteps coming from outside were getting closer and closer, and the mother hiding in the cellar spoke to Quintus tremblingly.
He was only six years old, and his father and uncles had been drafted two weeks earlier and sent to the northern front.
My grandfather also went to Rome just two days ago in response to the call of the Governor and Augustus.
Quintus stepped on the ladder at the other exit of the cellar, and a few rays of cold moonlight shone on his face through the gaps in the wooden boards.
This was the escape tunnel that my father and uncles had dug just in case.
As long as you go out from here and run a few dozen steps, you can hide in the woods in the mountains.
The moonlight and silence behind the wooden boards seemed like another world.
The life and death of his grandmother and sisters were uncertain. In the end, he and his mother were the only ones left in the huge family who had time to hide in this cellar.
Quintus vaguely knew that something very bad had happened, but he still did not feel the real feeling of losing a loved one.
This disaster is like a dream.
Maybe when he opens his eyes again the next moment, he will still be in bed at home.
"Where are you, mother?"
Quintus asked his mother in confusion.
The footsteps from the outside world could be heard clearly, as if they were right next to them.
Vibrations came from the soil above our heads.
"Is there really a woman here?"
"You will find out if you search further. A woman and a child with a curvy front and back ran in just now. I can see them clearly."
"It's still the old rule, the woman is yours, the child is mine...it's a little boy, right?"
"Otherwise why do you think I would call you?"
The hollow sound of shoe soles hitting wooden boards echoed in the cellar.
"Ha——, found it."
Mother's body trembled more violently.
"It's too late, Quintus, run! Run!"
She stood firmly in front of the cellar entrance and kept urging Quintus.
"There is indeed someone down here, come and help."
"Hahaha, okay."
The two soldiers standing above the cellar opened the wooden door of the cellar, giving a full view of the mother and son in the cellar.
"Run! Quintus!"
Without further urging, Quintus climbed the ladder and ran out through the other exit of the cellar.
"Tsk, that little thing you wanted ran away, hurry up and chase it!"
The mother's continuous wails and screams came from the cellar.
Fully feeling the fear, Quintus ran forward desperately. He had never run so fast before.
But he had no goal, he just instinctively chose a direction towards the woods and kept running.
Quintus only knew that the Governor who gave a speech a while ago appeared from that place.
The Governor was taller than anyone he had ever seen before, not even his father.
Although he couldn't quite understand the Governor's speech, the only part he could understand was enough to encourage the people.
It was precisely because of this that my grandfather, who lost his fingers in the war, set off for Rome again.
The governor, who is in a high position and can communicate with the gods, must be able to find a way to save him and his mother.
It will definitely happen.
In fact, Quintus has been hiding a secret from his mother and grandfather these days.
He actually knows where the Governor is.
It was the day before the Governor's speech. Quintus, who was playing hide-and-seek with his friends in the village, accidentally saw a sneaky traveler from outside.
Out of curiosity, he followed the traveler all the way, and finally saw what the traveler had buried in the woods.
Although Quintus was curious about what was buried in the woods at that time, he was called back by his mother.
But the Governor emerged from the woods the next day, giving Quintus some clues.
Just as the momentary excitement passed, Quintus' whole body fell into fatigue.
Yet he still didn't dare to stop.
It felt like my lungs were about to burst, and my mouth was filled with a rust-like taste.
My legs were as heavy as the lead cups my father often used.
Finally, Quintus ran into the jungle at the foot of the mountain.
He ran close to the place where the traveler buried things in his memory.
With his last hope, Quintus began to dig up the relatively soft soil with his hands.
Unlike the solid soil around it, it must have been dug here.
Encouraged, Quintus dug harder, regardless of whether the gravel buried in the soil scratched his palms.
Panting heavily, Quintus pinned his last hope on the "treasure" buried in the land.
That person, that Governor, that person who can communicate with the gods, must be able to save him and his mother.
Different from the feeling of gravel, a sharp pain suddenly came from the tips of Quintus' fingers.
But he ignored the pain in his fingertips and looked at the things buried under the soil with joy.
Quintus continued to dig excitedly, and a metal cube engraved with black runes appeared in front of him.
This is... this is what the Governor-General has.
That must be the case.
"Your Majesty the Governor! Your Majesty the Governor! Save my mother, my mother and grandmother were both taken away by them!"
Quintus, who was only six years old, could no longer hold back his tears.
"Hurry up and save your mother... Governor, save your mother... help me, save me... please!"
Holding the cube still stained with dirt tightly in his arms, Quintus prayed loudly and cried.
The sound of footsteps not far behind him made Quintus even more frightened.
But his sore limbs and dry, sore throat had long prevented him from taking another step forward.
"Help! Lord Governor! Help!"
Regardless of whether it would attract the attention of the pursuers, the boy's instinctive cry for help became louder and even broke.
The little boy's unique high-pitched voice echoed through the woods.
"Ha...ha...you are running really fast, you better let me catch you."
A voice like a mythical evil spirit sounded behind Quintus.
The overwhelmed Quintus held the cube dug out of the soil tightly and crawled farther away.
"Mr. Governor, please save me! Please save me quickly!"
"It doesn't matter who you are! Come and save me!"
...........
Rome, inside the Senate Palace.
Animusfia, who was telling Nero on the bed how she built the gorgeous Golden Palace, suddenly stopped for a moment.
"What's wrong? Governor? Have you forgotten Yu's story?"
"....No."
"Then what's wrong with you?"
"It's okay to tell you that someone just moved the [satellites] I distributed before."
"Oh? Are those things like iron blocks?"
"Exactly."
"Hmm...if I take it again, I won't pay them any more gold!"
Nero suddenly seemed to realize something.
"The remaining gold is no longer enough! How should we build the Golden Palace if this continues!"
"Don't be impatient, Your Majesty. Even I won't let you squander like this again."
Animusfia comforted Nero.
"It's probably just that some people discovered that it looked like metal and wanted to exchange it for money."
"Isn't that a thief?"
"You can say that, but it's hard for me to use those things anyway. Even if I need to use one less, it doesn't matter. Taking a step back, I can clearly feel their position, and there is no loss. Don’t forget to say it.”
"Well, even so, a thief is a thief. If Yu catches him, Yu will definitely punish him severely."
"Then I thank you for seeking justice for me, Dominus."
"Hmm! Thank you for Yu's imperial government!"
*******
The soldiers casually threw Quintus, who was covered in mud and disheveled, into the pit.
His mother should have been thrown in not long ago.
The soldier was not sure whether Quintus was dead, but his mother was probably dead.
Even if Quintus is not dead, it is probably only a matter of time.
He did so in response to the orders of the great Caesar.
Otherwise, as far as the soldier is concerned, he can play with such an excellent target for at least two days.
But since it was Caesar's order, there must be a reason for it.
As for the prisoners, they were as many as they wanted to follow that Caesar, and he didn't feel any heartache.
Playing with the cube snatched from Quintus' hand, the soldier smiled with satisfaction.
I never thought I could get something like this from a child.
Although I don’t know what kind of metal it is, since the inscription on it is so complicated, it must be worth a lot of money.
With this in mind, he packed the cube into his luggage.
Looking around, the entire seaside village has been razed to the ground.
Under Caesar's command, a Roman-style fortress was rising in its place.
