/
Chapter 66: Seeds of a New Era >
The Senate held emergency meetings day after day upon hearing the news that Pompey’s army had left Asia Minor.
There was not much they could do even after meeting all day.
They continued with their basic strategy of implementing reforms to gain the support of the citizens.
The citizens’ response was better than expected.
The citizens who were about to lose their freedom because they had no way to pay their debts shed tears of gratitude.
The public opinion toward the Senate changed favorably enough to be felt.
Thanks to that, Marcus suffered from hard work without any time to sleep.
He had to prepare for the establishment of a bank, review the implementation plans and bills related to the system, and come up with ways to effectively promote it to the citizens.
Especially, the system related to the bank was creating a completely new concept, so it was impossible to entrust it to other people.
He had no choice but to do it himself, even if he had to reduce his sleep time.
Moreover, he was elected as the first place in the financial officer election by an overwhelming majority, so he had to prepare for the political activities that would start next year.
In this situation, he lacked time even if he had two bodies.
But something happened that completely distracted him from his piled-up tasks.
The first person who noticed the sign was Seline, Spartacus’ wife.
She, who had recently become pregnant, continued to make late-night snacks for him despite Marcus’ dissuasion.
But one day she said something strange.
“Lately, Lady Julia’s behavior seems a little different from usual. She looks a bit uncomfortable. Should I say?”
“Is she sick or something?”
“No. It’s just that she seems a bit similar to what I did in the early stages of pregnancy.”
“What? Pregnant?”
Seline might have noticed it because she was a pregnant woman who had just started to swell her belly slightly.
If it was true, it was not an ordinary thing, so Marcus hastily called a doctor, throwing away the documents.
In this era, there was no way to use ultrasound or pregnancy test kits, so pregnancy tests were usually done by simple interviews first.
A folk method from Egypt was also used usefully.
Fill two bags with wheat and barley and have the woman who wants to determine her pregnancy urinate on the bags.
If the barley or wheat sprouts, the woman who urinated is judged to be pregnant.
This method was surprisingly accurate.
Barley or wheat did not sprout with urine from men or women who were not pregnant.
There were cases where pregnant women did not sprout either, but the probability was less than three out of ten.
Of course, the upper class received an interview from a doctor before using such a method.
The doctor who was called to Crassus’ mansion asked Julia a few questions that indicated a strong sign of pregnancy.
“Have you felt any changes in your sense of smell or taste lately?”
“Well…the faint smell of fish suddenly felt nauseating at times.”
“Are you sure you’re not having your period?”
“Yes. I think it’s been about two months.”
“Do you feel more tired than usual and suddenly crave certain foods?”
“Yes. That’s why I’ve been wanting more fruits with sugar or spicy foods lately.”
The gasols around Julia looked at her with hopeful eyes.
Especially Crassus and Teutoria looked like they wanted to dance almost.
Crassus desperately suppressed his laughter and asked sternly.
“What is your diagnosis?”
The doctor listened to a few more answers and carefully concluded.
“I can’t guarantee unconditionally, but in my opinion, you have a high chance of having a child. And in the early stages of pregnancy, there are many cases of miscarriage, so you have to be especially careful.”
“Of course you have to be careful. Hahaha!”
As soon as the doctor’s diagnosis fell, Crassus couldn’t help but laugh out loud with joy.
Teutoria held Julia’s hand tightly and congratulated her several times.
Seline and Danae also clapped their hands and blessed Julia’s pregnancy.
Spartacus also sent sincere congratulations to Marcus and whispered in his ear.
“You should congratulate Lady Julia too.”
“Huh? Oh…yeah.”
Marcus came up to Julia as he came to his senses at Spartacus’ advice.
His eyes naturally went to her belly without realizing it.
Julia stroked her belly softly with her palm with a bright face full of joy and pride.
Crassus, who came to his side in no time, patted his shoulder.
“We’ll leave you alone, so talk to each other. You need to have some time for yourselves on such a happy day. Julia, I’m really happy and grateful. Take good care of yourself and don’t overdo it from now on.”
“Yes, father. I will never overdo it and rest well.”
“Yes, yes. And if you need anything, just let me know. I’m looking forward to Caesar’s reaction at the Senate tomorrow. Hahaha!”
Crassus was so happy that he didn’t stop laughing until he left the room.
When everyone left and only the two of them remained in the room, Marcus sat down next to Julia awkwardly.
What should I say to her at this time?
Many words like thank you, good job, etc. spun around in his head, but they didn’t come out of his mouth.
“Why do you look so nervous all of a sudden?”
Julia asked jokingly, but Marcus nodded reflexively.
“Nervous…is that it?”
Most men don’t feel real when their wives are confirmed to be pregnant for the first time.
Marcus was no different.
He was even careful to touch his wife’s body, which he had hugged and kissed without any problem until yesterday.
Was it because he heard the word miscarriage from the doctor’s mouth?
He wondered if the bed he had recently had had a bad effect on the baby.
“I’ve never seen that look on your face before. You always looked like everything was going as expected.”
“I’m also surprised and confused by something new.”
“Really? I didn’t know that.”
Julia smiled brightly, but did not take her hand off her belly.
He stared at her and muttered to himself.
“A child…”
He didn’t expect it. He had slept with her several times, so he expected that she might have a child.
But when that expectation became reality, he felt indescribable feelings filling his chest.
He was happy but infinitely awkward, and he felt an inexplicable anxiety.
Julia looked happy too, but he didn’t know how she felt inside. After all, she was becoming a mother for the first time.
As she carried a life in her body, she might have felt much more than Marcus.
“They said it would be better to rest for now, so can I leave the work to Danae for a while?”
“It’s not okay, it’s obvious. And let’s refrain from sleeping in the same bed for a while. I’ll bring in a bed tomorrow.”
“Isn’t that too careful?”
“No. At least until you enter the stable period, you have to be careful.”
He vaguely remembered hearing that the stable period of pregnancy started from the fourth or fifth month, but he was not sure.
Marcus decided to look for books on pregnancy and prenatal care starting from tomorrow.
He did not trust the medical knowledge of the ancient times.
Especially since Julia was destined to die from childbirth in the original history, he had to be extra careful.
Julia, who did not know this fact, thought that her husband was too worried, but she also felt happy.
Marcus only showed such excessive caution when it came to Julia.
There was no wife in the world who would not feel good about receiving her husband’s affection.
The two people who had been silently looking at each other for a while uttered their wishes at the same time.
“I hope we have a wise son who resembles you, Marcus.”
“I would have no wish left if we have a daughter who resembles you.”
The two people who said completely opposite wishes widened their eyes and tilted their heads.
Of course, Julia was the one who was more flustered.
It was true that Rome was one of the ancient states with relatively high women’s rights. But that was only compared to the neighboring countries.
Rome was also a patriarchal society, and it was natural to want a son who could inherit the family name as the first child.
Marcus inwardly regretted saying that he wanted a daughter more than a son.
The reason why he wanted a daughter rather than a son was half because of his modern fatherly sentiment, and half because of what would happen later.
Julia, who had an extraordinary reasoning ability, always deeply pondered the meaning behind her husband’s words.
This time too, she tried to figure out his intention and looked at him with a meaningful expression.
“Is it because of the succession issue of the family?”
She almost hit the mark, but Marcus pretended not to know and shook his head. He did not want to worry her about something that was not yet decided.
“No, I just thought how lovely it would be to have a daughter who looks like you. You don’t have to read too much into it.”
“Is that so? But I’m sure your father and mother would want a grandson…”
“That’s why I have to say I want a daughter, so that you can proudly announce whether you give birth to a daughter or a son. Oh, I almost forgot, don’t we have to go to your father’s house once? You have to be careful with your body, so should I ask him to come here instead?”
“No, I’ll be fine since I’ll ride a carriage anyway. Besides, it’s almost time for the Bona Dea festival. I’ll go to my father’s residence and stay there. I can spend some time with him before the festival starts.”
“…I see. I totally forgot about that. It’s almost time for the Bona Dea festival, right?”
He had been busy dealing with the establishment of the bank and the consultations with the senators for Pompey’s return, so he had no time to spare for the festival.
And with Julia’s pregnancy on top of that, he completely erased the festival from his mind.
The Bona Dea festival was literally a festival to honor the goddess Bona Dea.
Bona Dea was a goddess who only served women and presided over childbirth.
The festival was held twice a year in May and December, but May was open to women of all classes.
On the other hand, the December festival was a sacred ceremony that only noble women could participate in.
Both festivals were only for women, so men were absolutely forbidden from entering.
Even the highest priest of Rome, who was responsible for the religious affairs, was no exception.
The event itself usually took place at the residence of the highest priest, but he had to stay at someone else’s house during the festival.
Instead, the Vestal Virgins, who received the greatest respect in Rome, presided over the festival.
And if there were any women in the family of the highest priest, they also helped prepare for the ceremony by assisting the Vestal Virgins.
Julia was Caesar’s daughter, so she seemed to think that she had to help with the preparation of the festival as well.
Of course, Marcus did not want her to move around so much with a child in her womb.
“You don’t have to do that since you are already married out. You are not alone either, so it would be better if you just rest.”
“Shouldn’t I go because I have a child? It’s a festival for the goddess who presides over childbirth. Besides, my father will feel more relieved if I stay by my grandmother’s side. My stepmother is…how should I say it…not very reliable in these matters.”
Julia had lost her mother Cornelia while Marcus was away to fight the pirates.
It was about two years later than the original history.
Caesar remarried Pompeia, the granddaughter of Sulla, after his wife’s funeral.
Pompeia was a beautiful and well-born woman, but she lacked intelligence.
Perhaps because of that, she felt a bit out of place in Caesar’s family, which boasted the highest intellect in Rome.
Caesar’s mother Aurelia suffered from headaches whenever she saw her daughter-in-law’s shallow words and deeds.
Especially when she had to prepare for an important festival like the Bona Dea festival, she felt more so.
It was not unreasonable for Julia to think that she had to help her grandmother.
But Marcus still did not want Julia to participate in the festival.
It was not just because he was worried that it would be physically hard for her.
It was because he knew that she would be distressed by the huge commotion that would happen at the festival.
“If you really think that way, how about you just help with the preparation and come back home on the day of the festival? The festival will be very heated once it starts, and I heard that it can have a negative impact on the early stages of pregnancy.”
“Really? But it’s a ceremony for the goddess who oversees childbirth…”
“Bona Dea will appreciate the contribution of those who prepared for the festival more than those who participated in it. I just want you to avoid any hardship as much as possible.”
Marcus, who was a modern person, naturally regarded the religious events of Rome as superstitions.
He wanted to tell her that nothing would happen even if she did not attend such things.
However, that was only Marcus’s perspective and the common Romans had a different view.
In this era, even the wisest people had some faith in the gods.
That’s why they could not show any sign of denying the religious rituals themselves.
Instead, they tried to persuade the goddesses that they had done their best with their sincerity.
Julia, who did not have as much devotion as the priestess, eventually wavered.
She thought it was not right to insist on her own way when her husband wanted her to rest so much.
“Alright. Then I’ll go to my father’s mansion tomorrow and help with the preparations for the ceremony. Anyway, he has to leave the mansion on the day of the event, so I’ll come back here with him. Is that okay?”
“Of course. Thank you for listening to my stubbornness.”
Marcus cautiously wrapped his arm around Julia’s waist and kissed her.
Julia also wrapped her arm around Marcus’s neck and accepted his kiss.
The two people who agreed to sleep in the same bed only until today soon went to bed.
Marcus kept looking at Julia, who fell asleep snoring next to him, until late at night.
‘Will I be a father next year…?’
He felt somewhat realistic now, but he still felt uneasy.
‘Can I be a good parent?’
He smiled bitterly without realizing it.
He suddenly remembered Spartacus’s reaction when Seline was pregnant.
He had shed tears and thanked his wife several times.
Marcus could understand how he felt. But he couldn’t react the same way.
He felt a bit ridiculous that he thought about the gender of the child as soon as he accepted the fact that she was pregnant.
He didn’t think of using the child who hadn’t been born yet.
Strictly speaking, it was more like worrying about the child’s future.
He hoped that the child would live happily.
That was definitely a sincere and honest wish.
As a parent, he would do everything he could to give his child a happy future.
‘To do that, I need to know for sure whether it’s a boy or a girl.’
The future plan would change completely depending on the gender of the child who would be born.
In ancient society, creating a stable political landscape was essential to ensure the happiness of one’s children.
In that regard, it was easier to plan ahead if it was a daughter as he told Julia.
On the contrary, if he had a son, there would be many things to consider.
‘If he is born next year, will he/she be one year older than him…?’
The face of a baby boy who had just been born came to Marcus’s mind as he closed his eyes.
Last year, when Catilina was elected as consul, the Senate held emergency meetings almost every day.
The senators who felt a sense of crisis attended the meetings at a fixed time every day and discussed countermeasures.
Because of the tense social atmosphere, people didn’t care about trivial matters.
On September 23rd, Caesar announced that his niece Atia Balba Caesonia had given birth to a son.
Most of the senators reacted indifferently and congratulated him briefly.
Atia had married a commoner knight and according to Roman law, the child born followed his father’s status.
For the senators, there was no reason to care about a commoner boy who was not Caesar’s son but a distant relative.
But Marcus was different.
He congratulated Atia on her childbirth by giving her a villa in the outskirts of Rome.
Atia and Caesar were both very happy with this favor.
Caesar thought that Marcus had prepared such a big gift for him because he knew his face.
There was no such reason, but Marcus had another reason why he paid special attention.
All his nerves were focused on the young commoner boy who no one else cared about.
The name of the child born by Atia, Caesar’s niece, was Gaius Octavius.
He was the greatest politician and the first emperor of Rome who made history.