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Chapter 797: 797

Chapter 797: Bet On Him

The first person who showed his face in the arena was the Roman Emperor, Commodus, who also happened to be the gladiatorial show’s main sponsor . He stood on a carriage, wearing a flower crown, and wore his glamorous emperor costume . He walked around the arena, and at the same time, the servants and guards around tossed bread and copper coins at the stands . His generous gesture quickly triggered tsunami-like fanfare from the tens of thousands of spectators .

Commodus’s face was filled with excitement because at this moment, he could intuitively feel that the people were with him, and they supported his rule . So he frequently waved his hands to greet the audience in the stands .

And his wife, Christina, who was at the lower-level stands had her eyes filled with excitement and admiration at the scene . Every woman wanted their man to become a hero that everyone admired, and here, her husband was the emperor of the entire Roman Empire .

On the other hand, Lucilla’s expression in the other box was worth pondering upon .

Although she was smiling, too, the corners of her mouth showed a hint of sarcasm . She then said, “He is quite enjoying the moment, isn’t it?”

“Huh?” With all that noise around, her husband sitting beside her could hardly hear what she said .

Instead of repeating herself, she yawned, “Is the show going to start any time soon? I’ve been waiting for so long . ”

“Oh, should be soon . We have to wait for our emperor to finish with the parade . After that, the gladiators would step into the arena,” said Pompeo Nuss with a smile . He knew his wife’s temper well enough .

Many people admired him for marrying the daughter of Aurelius to become the son-in-law of the previous emperor and the brother-in-law of the current emperor . Lucilla was a famous beauty . Although this was her second marriage, she was still young and beautiful enough to become every men’s dream .

However, Pompeo Nuss knew very well that the bond between the two served the political means . When they were at home, they seemed estranged, rarely talking to each other . Their relationship was more like host and guest . Lucilla inherited her mother’s seductive temperament and charm . Pompeo Nuss, on the other hand, had relationships with other women .

Pompeo Nuss was completely fine with the way they lived right now . A man of his position knew very well what he needed the most . After marrying Lucilla, his position in the political field was further fortified . Hence, he had no complaints about his current circumstance .

“How much did you bring?” Lucilla asked afterward .

“Now? I only have some change, maybe forty or fifty Aureus?” Pompeo Nuss searched his pocket and said .

Aureus was a Roman gold coin . One Aureus was roughly equal to one hundred Sestertius . In other words, Pompeo’s change was equivalent to four or five thousand Sestertius . He paused and asked, “You need more money? If it’s not enough . I can ask the servants to go home and get more . ”

“No . It’s fine . I’ll go and look for a money lender . ” Lucilla waved, and immediately a maid went to look for the moneylender .

Gladiatorial performances were always paired with gambling . Hence, the moneylender was like a shark that scented blood in the arena . One could always count on them showing up .

Soon a moneylender with a mouthful of yellow teeth came over and bowed respectfully, “Is there anything I can do for you, Dear Augusta?”

“I need to borrow money to bet on my favorite gladiators . I can return the money to you after the show is over . How does the interest work?” Lucilla asked .

“How much do you want to borrow?”

“Let’s start with five thousand gold coins first,” Lucilla said lightly .

The money lender’s face changed slightly when he heard the amount . He had been to hundreds of gladiatorial performances and never encountered someone who asked to borrow such a tremendous amount of money . This alone would even exceed what he lent to the entire audience that attended the show .

However, he was relieved when he was reminded of the woman’s identity in front of him . The other party was Augusta, the emperor’s sister . This would be a considerable amount of money to anyone, but for the royalty, it was no more but small change they used for gambling .

“Since you will return it after the performance is over, the interest will be a hundred gold coins . ” the lender said, “But I can’t lend you so much money alone . I have to look for other money lenders to gather five thousand gold coins for you . ”

“Whatever . ” Lucilla waved her hand, “Hurry up and write up a contract for me . Don’t delay me from watching the show . ”

“Yes . ”

The moneylender quickly put together all the gold coins before coming to Lucilla with the contract . At that time, the gladiators had already begun to enter the arena one after another while holding their heads high . And the tens of thousands of spectators were cheering for them .

And from the cheers, one could also tell how famous a gladiator was .

The spectators cheered the loudest, for instance, when Sartonilos appeared on the stage . Habitus, too, enjoyed the screams of many female audiences . As for Zhang Heng and Bach, the cheers were not as much as those famous gladiators . It was totally normal . Take Zhang Heng as an example . He had only completed a couple of performances . No matter how outstanding he was, he could not compare with those veteran gladiators who have accumulated popularity for several years . Bach did even worse than him .

Lucilla’s eyes lit up when she saw Zhang Heng . She then pointed at him and said to the maid beside her, “Bet on him . ”

“How much?”

“Everything . ”

This time, Pompeo Nuss could not help but look at Lucilla . Even for people like them, five thousand gold coins were not a small amount of money . He did not expect Lucilla to bet all of them on one gladiator . He then asked curiously, “Are you confident that he can win?”

“Have you not seen his performance last night?”

“What performance?” Pompeo Nuss was a little lost when he heard what she said . Last night, he was busy talking to a few veterans about the placement of the armies . After all, now that the war between the Roman Empire and the Germanic tribes was over, the Roman Empire’s border was relatively peaceful . After moving the armies away from the border, they needed to think of a place to place them . The final solution was the result of a decision made by multiple parties .

Pompeo Nuss had been busy with this matter recently . The banquet last night was a perfect opportunity for him to look for some partners to work with him and exchanged information . Hence, he did not watch the fight between Zhang Heng and Sartonilos .

“A boring man . All you can think of is politics all day . ” Said Lucilla while holding her chin .

Pompeo Nuss was not bothered by what she said . He just shrugged slightly, “This is who I am . I can’t change it . But I believe in your decision since you think he can win the final championship, then I’ll bet on him too . But not that kind of money . I’m only willing to bet forty-six Aureus . ”

“Don’t blame me if you lose the bet . ” Lucilla stared at him .

“You don’t even care about your five thousand gold coins . My forty-six Aureus is just the amount of money to bet for fun . If you win, I will pay for your interest . ” Pompeo Nuss grinned .

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