After a night of intense activity, Cornelia, with her voluptuous figure uncovered, was in Septimus' arms while enjoying the sensation of pleasure. On the other hand, Atilia was on the other side of the bed, with her young body covered by a thin silk blanket, her eyes closed as she slept.
"My husband wants your support to become prefect of the city of Capua," Cornelia said while her fingers made circles on Septimus' chest.
Septimus understood the purpose of these two women in visiting him after hearing Cornelia's request.
The influence of Cornelia's husband as an important member of the council of Capua is considerable; if he wishes to obtain the position of prefect of Capua, the only variable is Rome. Septimus knew that the Scipio family also coveted that position and assumed that he would help them because of family ties.
Now Septimus found himself in a dilemma about whether to help the Scipio family or help Cornelia's husband, because honestly Septimus did not care who held the position of administrator of Capua as long as they did not dare to provoke him.
Cornelia carefully observed Septimus' young face while thinking with slight fascination and felt somewhat tempted. She had offered her body and that of her daughter in exchange for financial support to become the wife of the prefect. If the request failed, she was still willing to be the mistress of this attractive young man.
After making a determination, Cornelia's hand moved slowly down Septimus' chest and gently grasped his flesh rod while her voluptuous body pressed completely against him.
Septimus felt the changes in the woman's body and easily lost concentration, taking the initiative to embrace Cornelia's soft naked body and seat her astride him.
The bed began to creak again. Atilia woke up from the movement, but without the effects of alcohol she was embarrassed enough and could only pretend to be asleep. Of course, Septimus realized that Atilia was pretending, and with his free arm he began to touch every part of her naked body.
The atmosphere in the room heated quickly; after almost two hours, with a loud moan, an exhausted Cornelia was on top of Septimus with her white naked body exposed. Septimus embraced her with one arm while his hand touched her white buttocks, without forgetting to use his other hand to grope Atilia.
"Alright, I will support your husband with money so that he can obtain the position of prefect," Septimus said while feeling Cornelia's voluptuous body on top of him and rubbing the woman's soft white buttocks.
Cornelia briefly forgot her fatigue and kissed Septimus forcefully for a long time; she was completely happy to obtain the support her husband needed and to be the mistress of a promising young man.
"I only have one condition, and I hope you come more often to the villa; I also want Atilia to stay in the villa," Septimus said after separating his mouth from Cornelia's lips.
Atilia slightly opened her eyes in surprise upon hearing Septimus' words; she had mixed feelings about his proposal, and although the Roman upper class was libertine, for a woman to live in a man's house without being his wife would attract much gossip within the upper class.
"Alright, there is no problem," Cornelia said without thinking much; for Atilia to become Septimus' mistress was within her expectations.
Cornelia believed that her daughter would gain much affection as Septimus' mistress, and with the increase of her husband's influence in the future, she could become the principal wife. Also, from Septimus' attitude toward Fausta, she could conclude that the woman from the Scipio family was not very loved by Septimus.
For two consecutive days, Cornelia and Atilia had sexual relations with Septimus in which different positions were used. Septimus became somewhat addicted to these two women, who were mother and daughter, and enjoyed every part of their bodies.
On the third day, Cornelia, with dark circles under her eyes and sleeping deeply inside the carriage, returned with her retinue to Capua.
Septimus arranged one of the main rooms for Atilia to inhabit, thus obtaining a new toy.
In fact, the position of prefect of the city of Capua was basically rotated among several noble families and elites of the city. If it had not been for the influence of the Scipio family, it would have been practically impossible for the position of prefect to be occupied by nobility that was not from Capua.
Septimus did not know that the Scipio family's attitude toward obtaining the position of prefect of Capua was not very strong; with the imminent death of Marius, all of Rome maintained discretion and limited their actions to avoid being noticed by an irascible Cinna or Carbo.
The upper class of all Rome feared Marius more; in their eyes he was a tyrant who murdered many nobles and elites, completely ignoring Roman law. Never before in the history of Rome had there been a massacre of nobles and elites on such a scale. He not only killed his enemies but even his own relatives, the Caesar family. Fortunately, Marius was on the verge of death, but his allies remained alive. Cinna and Carbo were also true tyrants.
After Cornelia left the villa, Septimus began to think about another source of income; his various expenses were pressing him. Unfortunately, beetroot is not cultivated all year round, so without it, the income from white sugar could not expand, not to mention that only the upper class has enough money to buy it. Septimus also resented the greedy farmers who increased the price of beetroot in the market.
If he could kill all the farmers, he would do it, but now was not the time; sooner or later he would take revenge.
The constant production of weapons and armor, the continuous consumption of construction materials, food, and the purchase of land: all of this was rapidly draining Septimus' wealth, preventing him from growing much.
The solution Septimus devised was to produce alcohol. In ancient times, due to technological limitations, wine could not be stored for long. Brandy was created because people feared that wine would spoil, and as a result, wine was distilled, resulting in brandy by accident.
The clones were organized to purchase three wineries that produced wine and mead. Each had 1500 iugera of vineyards (a iugerum is the amount of land that a cow can plow in one day, approximately 14 hectares).
Septimus also organized the clones to purchase another 800 iugera of land in scattered plots, including 500 iugera of private land and 300 iugera of leased state land, 20 of which would be used to plant sugar beet.
As for how to deal with wine and mead, Septimus already had a plan: to take advantage of the opportunity to study distillation techniques. Wine, once distilled, becomes brandy; mead, once distilled, becomes rum.
On the other hand, the progress of the villa's construction was constant, with large quantities of stone piled outside the gate, and in some areas the foundations had already been laid. Numerous clones synchronized as they carried stones to the exterior of the earthen walls and began to build them.
Due to the large number of people, construction advanced very quickly.
All the wooden barracks were built, and inside there were many training fields and stables.
Some clones carried out various training exercises in groups of ten, but the place seemed a bit small and was already somewhat overcrowded to accommodate so many people. Septimus had an ability that could help him accumulate combat experience, but he could not allow his clones to remain inactive or they would gradually lose their physical strength.
Inside the residence of the villa.
At a valuable round table made of nanmu wood in the center of the hall, surrounded by two long couches with bronze legs, Septimus was with Atilia. The Romans liked to eat or converse reclining on these couches. A beautiful slave wearing a linen tunic and short black hair was in charge of serving Septimus.
Before Cornelia left the villa, she gave Septimus an invitation to a banquet in the city of Capua with the aim of demonstrating to the entire upper class support for Marcus as prefect of the city.
Throughout Rome, it was perfectly normal for nobles to hold banquets; they were their formal social events, usually held every few days. If the situation in the city of Rome were not tense due to the imminent death of Marius, they would also be holding constant banquets.
Septimus accepted without thinking much. Would there be naked women dancing as in movies or series? Would there be all kinds of decadent lifestyles? Just thinking about it was exciting.