The Emperor’s Decision

Chapter 3: The Emperor’s Decision

POV: Decimus

Even during the height of summer, the Trajan palace’s war room was cold. The thick stone walls were intended to keep the heat out, but they also kept the light out, leaving the chamber lit only by the flickering glow of oil lamps and the pale morning sun streaming through a single high window.

I stood at the head of the massive oak table, my hands flat against the continental map. The weight of the gold laurel wreath on my brow felt heavier than normal. At twenty-eight, I had already spent a decade proving to the world, and the nobles who continued to whisper about my youth, that I was not a boy pretending to be emperor. I had won battles, suppressed rebellions, and expanded the Trajan Empire’s borders. I had earned my crown in blood and iron.

But today, it wasn’t the scheming senators or the threat of foreign legions that concerned me. It was the report sitting on the table before me.

I picked up the parchment, my jaw tightening as I read my chief scout’s words for the third time.

Your Majesty,

King Maximus has ignored your warning. He burned your letter in front of his court. He has directed his generals to prepare for another campaign against the eastern territories, and our spies report that new shipments of captured women and children are being transported through his kingdom as we speak.

He also boasts that the Trajan Empire is a toothless lion, and that you lack the courage to fight a real war.

I set the parchment down slowly, the room’s silence growing thin. Around the table were my most trusted commanders and ministers. General Cassius, a grizzled veteran who had previously served my father, shifted his weight uncomfortably.

“Your Majesty,” Cassius said, his voice rough. “A war with Maximus would be expensive. His kingdom is well-defended, and our legions are already spread thin on the eastern front. Maybe we should take a different approach. Sanctions, perhaps—“

“Sanctions?” I interrupted, my voice quiet but sharp enough to cut through the thick air. I looked up at him with cold eyes. “Maximus sells children to brothels, Cassius. He is kidnapping women and killing innocent farmers. He’s a rabid dog, and rabid dogs don’t respond to harsh words or trade embargoes. “It responds to a blade.”

Minister Aurelius, who had served three emperors and always preferred diplomacy, cleared his throat. “Your Majesty, while the reports are disturbing, we must consider the lives of our own soldiers. Is the suffering of a neighboring kingdom truly worth the blood of Trajan’s men?”

I kept my gaze fixed on him. I had long since learned that in order to rule, one needed to be more than just a strategist. Someone had to be a judge. A protector.

“I am not a conqueror for the sake of conquest,” I declared, my voice echoing throughout the chamber. “I do not want an unnecessary war, Aurelius. But I refuse to sit on my throne while a tyrant enriches himself by destroying innocent lives. If the Trajan Empire does nothing, we are equally complicit in his crimes. We are the world’s most powerful force. If we don’t use that power to protect the vulnerable, we’re no better than the monsters we fight.”

I shifted my gaze to Cassius. “Send word to the Fourth and Seventh Legion. I want them mobilized within a week. The cavalry will go ahead and secure the mountain passes. “We will march through the northern gap and attack the capital before Maximus can dig in.”

“What about the Empress, Your Majesty?” my personal advisor, Marcus, asked from the back.

I stiffened slightly at the mention of Flavia. My wife. Our marriage had been a political arrangement, one intended to secure the loyalty of the empire’s most powerful senatorial family. Flavia was stunning, sharp-tongued, and incredibly ambitious. She had provided me with some stability on the court, but we did not get along well. Simply a cold, calculated partnership.

“The Empress will remain here to oversee the court in my absence,” I stated unequivocally. “She is fully capable of managing the palace’s affairs.”

I returned to the map, tracing the borders of Maximus’ kingdom. For a brief moment, my thoughts turned to the rumors I’d heard—that Maximus had once hidden a secret son away from the public eye, a boy whispered to be gentle and intelligent, in stark contrast to his cruel father. If the boy exists, I reasoned grimly, he is probably as twisted as his father, or he has died by now.

I pushed the thought away. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t marching to rescue a hidden prince. I was marching to defeat a monster.

“General Cassius,” I said, standing tall and casting my gaze over the men before me. “You have received your orders. Prepare the legions. “We march at dawn.”

Cassius bowed deeply, replacing his hesitation with the disciplined obedience of a soldier. “As You Command, Your Majesty.”

As the men filed out of the war room to put the plan into action, I stood by the table, my hands resting on the cold metal of the map. I could already feel the weight of the impending conflict bearing down on my shoulders. I was about to deploy thousands of young men into the fires of war. Some of them would not return.

But I knew with absolute certainty that I was making the right decision. I was Decimus Trajan V, the Emperor of the Trajan Empire. And I would never tolerate a tyrant who preys on the innocent.

I turned away from the map and walked toward the door, my boots echoing on the stone floor. My blood was running hot, and my mind was already preoccupied with the impending battle.

By the time the sun set the next day, the Trajan army would be on the move.