In her agitation, Atia's words carried a sharp edge, her voice perhaps a bit too loud.
Fearing they'd attract onlookers, Caesar stood there utterly embarrassed, his face burning hot.
He had just spoken thoughtlessly, and now he'd made a complete fool of himself!
But this was his dear younger sister, with whom he'd always had a good relationship, so, he could only flush with anger, unable to hit or scold her.
His noble upbringing restrained him; he didn't want to argue with a woman here, especially his own sister.
If other peers saw this, what would they think?!
He was about to undergo his coming-of-age ceremony as a Roman man.
A man arguing with a woman, let alone his sister, would look like a shrew shouting in the streets, win or lose, far too damaging to his noble dignity.
So, in the end, Caesar simply shut his mouth, pretending he hadn't said anything.
At this moment, Aurelia Cotta stepped forward. "Enough, no need to get worked up or worry, Atia. I won't marry you off to the Octavius boy.
A somewhat wealthy knight family with a bit of history, before, when I saw his father successfully enter the Senate, with the family's potential for advancement, I did consider the possibility between you two."
If the Octavius boy could make some effort and achieve something, with our family's support, he'd also have a chance to rise to the Senate.
But it's just a possibility. Now that you have a better choice, as your mother, of course I'll support you."
If Night were standing here, hearing Aurelia and the others' conversation, he would surely recognize which insignificant little family this noblewoman was referring to.
The family that later produced the famous Enperor Augustus.
This family has just made the leap from a knight family, with Old Octavius becoming a member of the Senate, raising the status of the family members along with it.
Just like when Aurelia's father became consul, she gained the status to marry into the Julius family.
Both are examples of lower-class citizens rising to high society, though a knight family isn't exactly commoner—it's more like minor nobility.
Aurelia's father's life story is the truly inspiring one.
In history, the young Octavius would marry a woman from the Caesar family, whose daughter later gave birth to a son, the famous Augustus, the founder of the Roman Empire, the true first emperor of Rome, and also the great-nephew of Caesar.
But Caesar adopted him as his son.
A great-nephew, not even a nephew, directly became the same generation as his son.
When Night first learned about the tangled family history of Rome, he could only think it was a mess.
It could rival the chaos of Zeus's family in Greek mythology, at least in terms of sheer disorder.
So, in terms of relationships, in this era, the young Octavius was supposed to marry the descendant of Caesar's sister, Julia Atia, then give birth to the famous Augustus!!
Yes—Julia's descendant is also named Atia, and that's no coincidence.
But for some reason, history has slightly deviated, making Atia replace the historically obscure younger sister, becoming the youngest sibling in Caesar's family.
Following the historical trend, even though the daughter became a sister, the Octavius of this era indeed still has his heart set on Atia, completely devoted to her.
Aurelia didn't realize that her single decision might have completely cut off her son's adopted heir, the birth of an extraordinarily talented grandson, and even the chance for the first emperor of Rome to be born.
Now the family hierarchy is finally aligned.
Even if Atia married into the Octavius family, there wouldn't be the chaotic situation of a grandson becoming a son to his grandfather.
But Atia now looks down on the young Octavius.
The yet-to-be-born Augustus Caesar must be crying in despair.
With her mother's support, Atia nearly jumped with excitement, like a victorious hen.
But her restraint as a young lady and a noble kept her in check, though her face couldn't help but flush with excitement.
At the same time—
This never-before-experienced feeling of rebellion, and succeeding in it, thrilled the young girl.
It even made Night, whom she only had a slight fondness for, weigh much heavier in her heart, as if he truly had become her prince charming.
Something fought for naturally feels the best!!
What chance does a bumpkin from a minor knight family have to steal her away?
Compared to Lista Night, that Octavius has no charm at all...it's far too low-class.
This is the sunk cost fallacy.
Having fought so hard for the chance to interact with Lista Night, even if he were average-looking or moderately talented, in Atia's eyes, he'd still be a hundred times better than Octavius.
A licking dog ..cough simp never ends well...well, that's the truth.
Love that comes too easily is less cherished by others.
At this moment, completely unaware that his goddess has already relegated him to the ranks of loser men and nouveau riche bumpkins, the young Gaius Octavius was also present in this gladiatorial arena.
From the moment the Caesar family entered, Gaius Octavius (to distinguish the three generations, we'll call them Old Octavius, Gaius Octavius, and Augustus Octavius) had spotted his beloved Atia.
It must be said that Gaius Octavius is quite the lo..con.
As the younger sister, Atia is even younger than Caesar, clearly a little one.
But Octavius didn't set his sights on the older sister, who's starting to blossom and develop, and instead fell for the tiny bean.
Although in Rome, young age isn't an issue, with many nobles start having adult experiences at a young age, considering that the historical Atia, whom Gaius Octavius fancied, was supposed to be Julia's daughter, she'd be even younger.
A total old cow wanting to eat tender grass...he's absolutely a ped****.., no mistake.
At this moment, Gaius Octavius hasn't yet realized his head is already green.
Holding a cup of fine wine, he temporarily parted from his friends, preparing to pay a visit to his goddess and her family.
But before he could approach, he saw Little Caesar and the two sisters walking toward him.
!!!
Instantly, Gaius Octavius grew excited.
Were they coming to see him?
Could it be that his sincere heart had finally moved the little princess of the Caesar family?
Seeing his beloved Atia, her face shy and timid, looking toward "his" direction with expectation, anticipation, and curiosity.
Gaius Octavius flashed what he thought was a very handsome, calm, and composed smile.
He stepped forward to approach them, but just as he raised his hand to greet—
They walked right past him, not even sparing a glance.
Gaius Octavius's hand froze mid-air, unsure whether to keep it up or put it down.
The smile on his face stiffened, and for a moment, he didn't know what had happened.
'Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?'
'They completely ignored me and walked right past?!!!'
"Damn it—!! What the hell is going on?"
At this moment, Gaius Octavius could no longer maintain his composure, his face darkening as his heart roared with unparalleled agitation.
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