A week passed quickly.
The news of the defeat of the Admiral of Campania reached Capua, causing shock among the upper class and the population of the city.
The city of Capua was engulfed in a brief generalized panic, with nobles and merchants fleeing the city, causing congestion on the roads near the city gates.
The population in Capua did not want to become entangled in a civil struggle.
The council of Capua sent an emergency message to Rome requesting help and informing of the situation of the battle; they also forced all Roman citizens between 16 and 30 years old to become part of the garrison.
The bakery and other businesses of Septimus that were known were confiscated by the city council, which took over the administration of the city of Capua after the death of the prefect.
Septimus already knew the consequences, so he withdrew the clones in charge and sent another group of clones to serve as spies and lurking informants within the city.
All movements within the city were known by Septimus instantly.
Septimus found it amusing that most of his clones were mistaken for vagabonds and forcibly recruited to serve as the city garrison, managing to infiltrate clones within the garrison of Capua without even trying.
Septimus also increased his number of clones; if it were not for the limitation of weapons and armor, he could form two more legions. As a last resort, he could only maintain two legions as a reserve.
Without the limitations of Roman laws, Septimus, with sufficient labor and using wood, stone, and earth, began to reinforce the perimeter wall, starting with foundations capable of supporting a wall 30 meters high.
Septimus did not have the materials to build the wall he imagined and could only begin with the foundations.
Granaries were also built, along with quarters and military barracks within the territory of the villa to accommodate the troops.
The grain accumulated by commercial means or harvested from Septimus's villa was barely enough to feed the thousands of clones for only three months.
The region of Campania was an important agricultural source for Rome; Septimus planned to loot food from nearby villas if the situation with Rome could not be resolved.
On the other hand, far away in Rome,
the noble lady Cornelia Minor, exhausted from the long journey from Naples, was resting in her parents' house in Rome, preparing herself with dresses brought from Egypt and recovering her strength to present the request to her uncle, Senator Scipio Nasica.
The branch of the Scipio family was connected with many distant and close relatives; although the father of Lady Cornelia Minor was also a senator, his influence was not comparable to that of Senator Scipio Nasica, who had the resources of the entire family.
While Lady Cornelia Minor recovered from her fatigue, she also thought about how to convince her uncle. If necessary, she could sacrifice her body.
As a noble lady, Cornelia Minor could not tolerate the idea of losing her status as the wife of the Admiral of Campania within the circle of the upper class.
She was not the only woman in the Scipio family branch, and her family only had a distant relationship with the Scipio family branch.
"Prepare the carriage; I will go to the residence of my uncle Scipio Nasica," said Cornelia Minor to a slave.
After 30 minutes, the carriage moved through the streets of the city of Rome.
The city of Rome, as the capital of the entire Republic and the seat of the Roman Senate, had a population exceeding half a million inhabitants, being an overpopulated city for its time.
The security of the city was questionable, and all high-class ladies only went out with guards protecting them; Lady Cornelia Minor was heading to a hill within the city where the residence of Senator Scipio Nasica was located.
The hills in the city of Rome represented high status, and only families who controlled power or immense wealth, including temples, could live on a hill; the father of Lady Cornelia Minor also lived on a hill that was somewhat smaller, along with other senators of the family.
Upon approaching the residence, the guards who guarded the gate informed Senator Scipio Nasica of the arrival of his distant relative, leaving him somewhat confused about the reason for her visit.
On other occasions, Senator Scipio Nasica was not interested in meeting with a distant niece, but the situation changed if the unexpected guest turned out to be a beautiful woman.
"Very well, bring her to the resting area," said Scipio Nasica calmly to the slave.
As a family patriarch and member of the neutral faction in Rome, his authority should not be underestimated.
After 10 minutes, Senator Scipio Nasica and Lady Cornelia Minor met in the resting area, first speaking about trivial matters while enjoying wine and exquisite fruits offered by slaves.
Observing the relaxed atmosphere, Lady Cornelia Minor began to recount the misfortune of her husband with feigned sadness and melancholy over his unpromising future.
Scipio Nasica frowned as he listened to the story of Lady Cornelia Minor; he was not a naive young man easy to manipulate who would fall into the trap of a beautiful woman crying and beating her chest to make promises without weighing the consequences. He was a mature politician with years of experience.
The situation of Lady Cornelia Minor's husband was delicate if resolved poorly, and the gain was also tempting, but for a recognized family in Rome, the problem could be resolved; the question was whether it was worth resolving.
"Tell me about this young man named Septimus," said Scipio Nasica seriously.
Lady Cornelia Minor spoke about all the information she knew about Septimus, pointing out that he was not involved with Sila.
"I understand the situation. Sila is facing King Mithridates VI of Pontus and does not have enough troops to intervene in Rome, and even if he had them, it would be better to support Pompey," said Scipio Nasica, analyzing the situation.
Scipio Nasica concluded that Sila would not support an unknown young man.
The conflict with the prefect was obvious to the interested parties; anyone would feel greed for the formula of white sugar.
After taking time to think, Senator Scipio Nasica found enough importance to intervene; that young man had gathered soldiers to confront Roman troops, which meant he had sufficient money, charisma, and military talent to convince and command troops on the battlefield when facing Rome.
And Scipio Nasica also thought about the age of that young man; with his talent, he had risen in social class from a Roman citizen to becoming a Roman elite. If he could marry Septimus to a young woman of the family branch, he could obtain this talent to serve the family.
"The Scipio family branch maintains neutrality, but we have collateral members who support Cinna and Marius who can help," said Scipio Nasica while thinking.
Lady Cornelia Minor remained silent while listening and was happy inside.
"I accept that young man's offer; in return, he must marry a woman from the family," said Scipio Nasica, finally deciding after thinking.
Upon hearing the answer, Lady Cornelia Minor could not hide her joy; in her opinion, for a young lady to marry Septimus was a blessing from heaven, and her husband would be able to maintain his position as Admiral of Campania.
"Very well, now that we have settled matters, I would like to ask in a more private place what the situation in Naples is," said Scipio Nasica, smiling while gently holding Lady Cornelia Minor's hand.
Lady Cornelia Minor understood the meaning, and with a seductive smile, taking Scipio Nasica's hand, they headed toward the room.