The scorching sun heated the thin air, turning Gaius’ armor plates from a protective set to a torment for wear. They landed the ship far enough from the beach they had to partially swim their way to land. Julia remained free of salty water on her clothes. Hopefully, no one saw the Emperor letting her piggyback him to the shore. Was it not for the frost spell he casted upon himself then continuing the march through the sands would be unbearable.

“… Hey,” Julia pushed onto Gaius’ arm. She removed her garments to the bare minimum, her luxurious tunics, and leather armors too much to bear in the roaring sun. Gaius was against her purposeful vulnerability. Were they to be attacked from range, there was little he could do.

“… What?” he replied, glancing at her tired purple eyes, “Want me to spray the frost spell again?”

“Yeah, but… It’s not it…” She put a hand over her belly, “I’m really hungry…”

Gaius sighed, “You could have said so before we left the ship. There is still plenty of food there.”

“I didn’t feel hungry then…” she looked at the basket Gaius carried, “Do we really need that apple for the mission? Can’t I just eat it?”

“You can’t. We need it.”

“Awn…” Julia rolled her eyes, “Can we look go back to the ship then? I promise I will be quick…”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to help the Empire?” Gaius asked, still walking.

“Yes, of course!”

“Then think of all the children, most of which younger than you who are currently suffering of an even worse hunger. Each minute we waste here, their suffering only grows.”

Julia’s head lowered, “I… Sorry, I was being selfish…” her stomach roared, “… Let’s keep going.”

Gaius gestured his hand over her face, casting the frost spell as if a makeshift cool fan in a hot day, “Stay focused, and you might find some fruits in one of these trees. If they aren’t apples, you can have them.”

“Alright!” Julia nodded, “How long until we reach Dis… Err, Lady Discordia?”

“I don’t know.” Gaius shook his head, “It’s possible she isn’t even here anymore. 10 years of isolation is too long to be sure of anything.”

“That’s… Almost as old as me…” Julia scratched her head, “What does Lady Discordia look like? Is she like Minerva?”

“No, not at all.” Gaius affirmed strongly, “Apart from being both immortal women, they are the antithesis of each other. Venus is the same case as well.”

“I see… But, you didn’t really answer my question…”

Gaius considered her request but couldn’t in anyway approve to do so. She would be scared to no end, and only serve to make her anxious, “It’s better not to be too specific on details. She’s a Vampire, and that’s what you need to know.”

“A Vampire… I only know of them from the few books that survived the ages. I thought they were monsters of pure evil…”

“No such thing as pure evil, only beings whose actions are not approved of by others.”

“… I don’t know about that…” Julia looked at Gaius, “You speak like there’s no difference between good and evil…”

“I don’t believe there is. They are completely subjective views, changing from each individual’s perspective.”

“… No, that can’t be right… If that’s true, then what does it make of Lady Discordia?”

“She’s a case apart. You will understand…”

“… Okay. In the meantime, I’ll try to find something to eat.” Julia looked around the shore. They were reaching the forested inwards of the Island. The trees looked devoid of any edible produce. As her eyes scouted the horizon, something caught her attention.

“… Look, there’s something over there!”

Gaius stopped his march, glancing at where she gestured. There was indeed something at the beach, landed against the waves. It was a boat, partially damaged and worn. Footsteps originated from it, several of them. They weren’t human but canine-like.

“… Lupus.” Gaius whispered, “… No surprise they arrived before we did.”

“That ship belongs to them!?” she asked, “Have they gotten to Lady Discordia already?”

“… It’s quite possible.” He sighed, “In case she is no longer loyal… It would be troublesome.”

“Is she in danger? What if those Lupus…”

“Don’t worry.” He patted her head, “Discordia can well take care of herself.”

“… If you say so.”

“Before worrying too much, let’s confirm she’s even around first.” He lifted his hand from her head.

Gaius led the path inward to the forest. The trees were tall, bushes large and everywhere there were insects and small animals abound. Impera’s biome and fauna apart from mythological races were quite like the real one. Was Gaius to believe he was in a new reality, then what was him to make of the big metaphysical questions? Did evolution still apply? What was the origin of all this life? Who or what was responsible for all creation? Could it be his invented religion of Sol Invictus was manifested into existence? As the laws of physics were easily violated with the use of magic, his previous understanding of basic knowledge was shallow at best.

The trees began to change in shape and form the deeper they went. Taller, and older. To his left, there was a banana tree. Gaius used a Manipulation Telekinesis spell, taking the branch to his grasp. The fruits were still rather green, but in good form to be eaten.

“Here, catch.” Gaius threw the bananas in the air. Julia caught them using the same spell as Gaius.

“I got it!” she lowered it, tearing one off and eating with haste, “… Eww…” She spit the piece out, “…It tastes horrible…”

“It’s either that or an empty stomach.” Gaius reminded her, “We might find something better, or we might not. If I were you, I would take what we can get.” Gaius said, eating a green banana on his own. His face contorted. The taste was god awful, but if he complained too it would be the height of hypocrisy. He finished it, trying to set an example, “… See?” Not that bad.” Julia watched him attentively. With determination, she finished eating with great visible disgust. Gaius shared in her untasteful experience, hiding how much he agreed with her.

The trip to the island went on for longer. It had been an hour since they left the ship. With no signs of life around, Julia raised a tired voice, “…. Gaius, where exactly are we going?”

“To the center of the island, or at least the closest we can get to it.”

“Why the center?” she asked, “Wouldn’t the major cities be on the coast?”

“Normally they would, but this island is largely abandoned.” He raised his hand, invoking a dark essence, “We should have penetrated far enough in for the spell to be effective.”

“What spell?”

“The same one I used to rattle you out.” Gaius glanced back at her, her face blushing, “… However, it won’t be Life Detection, But Death Detection. It will take a lot of magicka and only leave a faint signal to work with, but if Discordia is here, we will find her.”

Concentrating a large amount of magicka, Gaius exponentially expanded the radius of the spell, several kilometers outward. The nature of the magic suppressed any dead microorganisms, trees, and far too small animals to be detected. Only major beings were targeted by it. At his immediate front, nothing was revealed.

“See anything?” Julia asked.

“No… Nothing in that direction.” He looked to his right, “… Nothing there…” then his left, “… Neither there… Or… Wait, I do see something…”

He was forcing the spell far beyond it’s intended limits. What should have been a clear light signal was a blurred image. Never-minding it’s faded looks, it was still a strong one. There was a very powerful undead being over there. Much closer than he would have guessed.

“That must be her.” Gaius said, “I’m getting a lot of smaller signs of dead beings near her too. It must be her servants.”

“Nice! We are almost there!” Julia said with a smile.

“It should only be a few minutes walk from here.” Gaius faced her, “We were lucky to …”

As the spell was still in used, Gaius saw there was something moving through the nearby trees behind Julia. It opened the bushed which separated them, stepping closer. It was a man, an undead one. His face was rotten, old open wounds spread across its body. He wore the uniform of an Imperial Sailor and its eyes glowed darkly.

Julia heard its zombie-like screeches, turning to face it. She screamed, jumping away and into Gaius’ side. It tried to grasp for her arm, but she lifted the shield in time to block it. Gaius acted quickly, grabbing the undead by its neck and forcing it against a tree. Due to being so heavily armored, he had little to fear from its attempts to break out and escape.

“… I got it under control.” Said Gaius, pressing it immobile.

Julia caught back her breath, “… This thing… It almost got me…”

“That is why you should wear armor at all times, regardless of how uncomfortable it is.” He reprehended her.

“… I get it, I’ll never take it off during a mission again…”

Gaius focused his attention o the monsters he caught, “Now then, killing you would be a waste.” Gaius dropped the basket he still carried, a dark essence like the previous one manifesting in his free hand. He cast it on the undead. Slowly, it stopped moving its arms and legs so violently.

“… Good, it worked.” Gaius let go of its neck. He unmade the Undead Detection spell shortly after.

“He’s stopped trying to attack you…” Julia pointed out.

“He’s under my control now.” Gaius stepped away from it, “It’s a simple spell which transits the ownership of an undead servant. Very useful in our case.”

“Useful? How so?”

“With this other spell.” Gaius once again cast Necromancy magic. With is also applied, the undead moved away from the tree and into the forest, “He will now guide us to his previous master. With us at his side, the other undead will refrain from seeing us as hostiles.”

“Ahh… A nice plan!”

“Thank me after it works. There’s still a chance the powerful creature isn’t Discordia, or even worse, that it is indeed her but in a bad mood. Watch yourself.”

Gaius took back the basket and followed his minion, and Julia, after a sigh did the same. The nature of the environment changed once more. The trees were getting sparser. Dirt roads appeared along with abandoned shacks. Walking around was more of the undead. According to his prediction, they did not attack Gaius and Julia on sight. For the favorable situation to remain they got close to the dead sailor. While Gaius was used to dead beings from previous encounters in Impera, Julia was not. The emperor noticed her nervousness, giving a stern look not to let her fear blow their cover.

They entered an abandoned city, it’s inhabitants all gone or dead. Many of the houses resembled the ones in Rome, not only in their style but with their deplorable destroyed states. Old blood on the walls and floor painted the grim settlement even darker. Gaius bit his lips. How many more destroyed roman cities could he bear seeing? How many hundreds of thousands, if not tens of millions of people shared in the same deaths as all the citizens here? The previous lands of the empire must have been subject to similar raids.

The undead servant didn’t stop at any of the houses but kept walking forward. Towards a tall fort he moved. It’s high towers and mighty walls could only mean it used to be the bastion of the city. Its gates were torn apart and stone structures demolished. It was a wonder the whole place still stood at all. No guards properly patrolled it, only the occasional zombie crawling around.

“.. It’s here, then?” asked Julia.

“Sure looks like it,” Gaius replied.

They entered the castle proper. Its vast hall was in shambles, yet still operative. Markings of fire and holes through wooden walls were plentiful. The undead began to look stronger, more well equipped. They went from zombies to fully armored skeletal knights. They must have been officers of some sort in the city. Thankfully, Gaius’ spell still triumphed. The passed through the doors they guarded and entered a grand hall where many more of them were present.

A loud laughter echoed from deep inside. It came from a large dinner table at the rooms very center. Turned back to Gaius was her. Discordia Caligulana was seated at the most luxurious of chairs, almost like a throne on itself. She didn’t seem to notice Gaius and Julia’s arrival yet, still lost in her laughter. The other attendants were all skeletons, yet none of them were undead, but simply leftovers of previous lives.

“… And then, I asked him what kind of torture he wanted! He said he didn’t know, and just wanted to die in peace… He asked to be strangled. The fool! That was exactly what I wanted him to ask for!” Then, you know how it goes, I ripped out his entrails, rolled them across his ever-louder mouth and threw him from the cliff! HA! Of all deaths, that’s what he asks for? Civil Wars are such crazy times, I tell you… I love them!”

Her voice was a mix of exoteric screams, full of pauses in tone and sudden increases of volume. She talked moving her body around, her glass full of wine dropping across the table. She continued her babble as Julia’s eyes squinted and Gaius facepalmed.

“… Is… Is that her?” asked Julia in a whisper.

“… Yes, no doubt about it.” He whispered back, freeing his face, “… She hasn’t changed at all…”

"... You weren't kidding..."

“Eh? Who’s there? Who dares enter the Great Hall of The Princes of Chaos uninvited!? You better have good food or good blood!”

As Discordia got off from her table, Julia got behind Gaius. He couldn’t blame her for being fearful of the vampire. She looked like a normal woman but in all details a monster. Her hair was pitch black, contrasting greatly with her dead, pale skin. With yellow, glowing eyes she had a more threating gaze than a Lupus or Dragon itself. Her sadistic smile and unpredictable nature were, by far, the most disconcerting of her qualities. She was an absolute disaster of a creation, but, depending on how you looked at it, a true masterpiece, or even very beautiful depending on one's tastes. Each of his Divine Legionnaires was created based on a Roman God in appearance and a Roman Emperor for personality. Discordia Caligulana’s combination was by far the most unstable one of them.

Her smile transitioned from malicious to a genuine one, “Dad! You came back!” she shouted, running to Gaius and throwing herself into his arms. Gaius gold hold of her, such an action not beyond his expectations.

“Are you here for good, or just visiting? How are the Unconquered Lands? Did you see Uncle Brunus there? Does Sol Invictus have a good sense of humor? Who’s this little girl with you? Ahh, forget all that! You got to hear my stories from the Third Civil War! It’s the best one, I swear!”

While Julia flinched at being mentioned, the Emperor tried to keep his cool, “Hmm… I’m not sure how to answer most of those questions. I’m here now and need your help on…”

“Ahh, where are my manners!” she jumped out of Gaius’ arms, landing with a flip, “Join us in dinner, we have so much to talk about!”

Sounding friendly enough, it would be counter to his mission to not accept her invitation. Truly, by what he could see, his Divine Legionnaire was still the same as he last saw her, an alleged millennium ago.

“… Alright.” Gaius nodded, ordering his controlled servant away, “Hold it.” He said, giving the basket to Julia. He walked to the table, but all chairs were already taken by inanimate skeletons, standing silently for a short moment, “Where shall we seat?”

“Take the place of Marius and Paulinus, they are both cunts anyway!” She shot a lightning strike on the two skeletons, turning them into dust.

Gaius sat down, clearing the particles of electrified bones off with Julia hesitantly copying him. The table’s contents were all bananas. Every single plate had them, most of which rotten with flies over them. Julia looked to almost vomit.

"Hope ya'll didn't find getting here too hard. Did my servants attack you? They probably did. I set them to attack all invaders on sight. Can't have those Sirens trying anything funny, can we now?

"It wasn't too problematic." said Gaius, "Am I to conclude the entire population of Cilia is indeed gone?"

"Yup! Those sea whores didn't hold back at all here. It was a mess when I arrived, had to revive thousands on corpses in a single day! Hunting the sirens down was the best fun I had in years!"

It was as Minerva reported, and as Gaius feared. Without a population to farm the land there was much less food they could count on. However, due to the reduced size of the city it could be enough for a few months, sufficient time to permanently settle the Lupus issue for good. They won't have to rely on the island, but until then it was all Gaius could expect.

“… Well then, we must discuss serious matters, so I would appreciate if…”

Discordia yawned, “Serious… What now? I’ll tell you what’s serious, the fact the only thing we can eat around here are fucking bananas! Every day, in and out it’s all my servants collect. I don’t care I haven’t got to eat, but I don’t want to lose my sense of taste. It’s working since these dammed green devils always taste like shit!”

“… Disregarding that, we must discuss…”

“It was those sea bitches, those sirens that did this… Once I got here they had already destroyed much of the vegetation. We couldn’t grow anything but this! It’s enough to drive a Divine Legionnaire quite… mad….”

She continued, on and on about this or that irrelevant minor issue. Gaius’ patience was already cut short by outside factors, but now it was scrapping the bottom of the barrel. He shut his fists and looked directly into her yellow eyes.

“Discordia Caligulana!” Shouted Gaius, “Lives are at stake! Pay attention!” he hit the table, shaking it. Julia gasped at his anger, a side she never saw in him. In truth, Gaius was far angrier at himself than Discordia. His past self was at fault, but there was little he could change about what was already done. Using Discordia’s silence, Gaius sighed deeply, “… I’m glad to see you again. I wish we could chat, but there’s no time.” He removed his fist from the table, “Rome is in dire need of food. Even if it’s just banana’s, we need to secure a shipment of them to the capital.”

Discordia stared Gaius, her eyes wide, “… Huh, why didn’t you say so sooner? Let’s get to it!”

“… Thank you.” Gaius spoke sincerely, resting his back.

“If we are going to talk about all that boring stuff, then we need the most boring man in the world with us! It’s only fitting!” Discordia leaned over the table, hitting the head of the skeleton in front of her, “Wake up Apollo! The Princeps needs ya!”

“… Apollo?”

The skeleton in front of Discordia was fully armored in a rusty set. When he first looked at it Gaius assumed it was just one of many. As it caught his eyes for longer he learned who it belonged to.

“… Is that really Apollo?” asked Gaius.

“Yeah!” shouted Discordia, “He’s such a lazy one… He never wakes up until I force him to.” Her hand was consumed by a dark essence. She was about to cast a strong necromancy spell, “WAKE UP!” She screamed, hitting his helmet even harder.

The armored skeleton’s body began to move. It’s eyes filled with a yellow light, equal to his summoner’s. It twisted it’s neck, moving the arms about, “… Ugh… Sister, you called me?” he asked, scratching his head.

“Look over there, ya dunce! Dad’s visiting!”

“… Dad?” he asked, “Do you mean…”

Glancing at Gaius, Apollo gasped, throwing himself into the floor and bowing deeply, “D-Dad… No, I-I mean most esteemed Princeps! You honor us with your return…”

Discordia laughed at Apollo, “Geez… Why the formalities? Trying to copy Minerva, are you?”

“You are the one being too informal… You should bow too… I think…”

Gaius starred at Apollo, astonished it was really him. He already had come to terms most of his Divine Legionnaires were dead, but an exception beyond the three sisters presented itself. Apollo Claudius, Minerva’s assistant in the old days was beside him. It was an overflow of emotions for the emperor, somewhere between finding out his son didn't die, and finding an old twenty dollar note in his pocket, although with each passing day it leaned towards the former. As a way back to the real world couldn't be found, settling for this one was a necessity. NPCs were people, by all practical terms. It was heartbreaking then to see one of them in such a deplorable form.

“… Apollo, what happened to you?” Asked Gaius.

“W-What do you mean? Is there something wrong with my conduct?”

“You are an undead…” Gaius said reluctantly.

“Oh… That…” He got back up and returned to his chair, “I’ve been like this for a while… Got used to it...”

“Minerva told me you were gone, a casualty of the Civil Wars... Along with most of your siblings.”

“Yes, that is correct.” He nodded, “I died on this island many years ago. A meaningless battle that ended up costing so much...”

His regret was palpable to the emperor. No conflict is worse than a Civil War, and brother fights against brother. Where all involved lose some way or the other. Gaius did not wish to ask for details on all of the conflicts involving his dynasty, but one day it would be a necessity to do so. One can only run from the past for so long.

“Since when are you like this?” Gaius asked.

Discordia leaned on the table once more, “Oh! It’s a great story!” she said, “After I got here and killed those sea whores, I found this old tomb in the city. I thought sure, I’ll open it, maybe there’s still blood in the cadaver. Turns out it was Apollo! He was buried there by some legionnaires, I don’t know I didn’t bother reading all those scriptures. Thing is, using my strongest Necromancy spell I can revive him with all his strength and mind! It’s great stuff, ain’t it? Sure, there wasn’t any blood in that skeleton of his, but what you gonna do?” she shrugged.

“… I understand. As I remember, you are a master of both Obliteration and Necromancy.”

“Thanks for making me like that by the way! You are the best dad ever!”

Gaius didn’t know what to say. He didn’t make Discordia that powerful at no cost. When creating NPCs one must distribute a similar number of stats between each. In her case, he took a lot of stats from intelligence and mental fortitude towards magical power. The result was her chaotic madness, which deserved the name derived from Caligula. Was Gaius to be made like that, he would be extremally angry to be a sick joke, but it wasn’t the case for her. Being by ignorance or happiness, she liked being herself. He cracked up a smile, overtaken by recalling to the task at hand.

“When we arrived here, Julia helped me locate a leftover boat who looked to belong to the Lupus. Have you received them in here?”

“So, her name is Julia? THE Julia!?” Discordia glanced at the little girl, “Wow, last time we met you were about this size!” she gestured with her hands, dropping even more blood from her glass, They grow up so quickly… Wish I had a childhood… Err, no, not really.”

Julia remained quiet, unsure of what to say. Growing the will to involve herself in the flow of the conversation, she asked: "You knew my father?"

"Of course I did!" she exclaimed, "He killed the fun of the last Civil War, but all parties end eventually I guess. He was the one who sent me here, ya know!"

“… Lupus?” asked Apollo to Gaius, “There are Lupus on the island?”

“Yeah, you missed it!” said Discordia, “They came barging into the castle wanting to see me. They were talking some nonsense about an alliance against the empire. An Alliance! Can you believe it? It would be really nice to prank Minerva, but I am in charge of pissing her off! No one interferes with it, especially not some dogs walking on two legs!”

“You declined them, then?” asked Gaius.

“Even better!” Discordia clapped her hands, “Come on, ya filthy beasts, I haven’t got an eternity… Oh, wait…”

The was dark, so he didn’t see it until then. As they approached the table and the few candles providing illuminance Gaius could make sense of her words. Five undead Lupus revealed themselves, the same necromancy magic in them as in Apollo and all other servants of Discordia.

“I see. You killed them.”

“Serves them right!” shouted Discordia.

“You are too cruel, sister…” Apollo remarked, “Why not let them return to inform their leaders? It would be in your best interest, as they would refrain from sending another party here.”

“If you are gonna ask me something, bring an offering first! If you don’t, your blood and body will have to do!”

“You shouldn’t have done this.” Said Gaius, “One thing is killing soldiers in the battlefield, another one is murdering diplomats. This will strengthen the Lupus resolve against the empire and might mean even worse news for us.”

“Don’t worry about it!” Discordia waved her hand in a dismissive fashion, “They will never pose a direct threat to Rome!”

“That’s wrong.” Corrected Gaius, “They have already partially sacked Rome, and was I not there when it happened the city would be completely gone.”

“… Really now?” asked Apollo, “This is news to me… Discordia, did you know of this?”

“Huh… Who would have thought? I guess Minerva really does need me over there, after all… It’s up to the little sis to save the elder! Can't have even a decade of vacation...”

“Indeed.” Affirmed Gaius, “Without any further delay, we must begin shipping supplies to the capital immediately. The bananas will do for now until we can reestablish full agricultural production in the island.”

“There are also some leftover grain stockpiles around we could use.” Said Apollo, “The problem, however, lies with getting them to the city. The sirens attack any ship that dares sail in these waters…”

“Not anymore. I made sure to deliver a strong warning to the sirens. They won’t attack any of our sailors, till they risk the destruction of their kingdom.”

“HA! You threatened them, didn’t ya?” asked Discordia, “What was it that made them shit the bed? A Fireball? Frostbite waves? OH! I KNOW! It was the Wrath of a Thousand Thunders, wasn’t it?”

“… Regardless of how I did it, you can rest assured establishing a secure trading link to Rome won’t be too problematic.”

“Understood, Princeps.” Apollo saluted, “We shall use what is left of the Imperial Fleet to transport it all.”

“Another thing.” Gaius eyed Apollo, “You are still capable of Medical Spells, are you not?”

“I am.” He nodded, “There are also many of Discordia’s servants capable of healing as well.”

“That is very good to hear. Rome is suffering from a plague as well. I’ll have you in charge of leading the effort in curing the citizens.”

“It will be an honor, Princeps. We will see to your wishes immediately.”

“That’s not all.” Gaius put his hand on the table, “Discordia, you will formally return to the jurisdiction of the empire, along with the island of Cilia.”

“EH!?” shouted Discordia, “You mean I have to go back to following sis Minerva’s boring orders!?”

“That is part of it, yes.”

“… No! I don’t want to!” she crossed her arms, “I can’t stand Minerva! She kept sending me letters to go back before the sea whores blocked contact. It's aways direct orders and commands, i can't bare anymore of it!”

“… Really?” Gaius sighed, “You shouldn’t let your sibling rivalries get in the way of your duties.”

Discordia looked the other way, "... I don't want to."

"... That's a bit strange. Minerva told me you didn't recognize her authority since she wasn't the emperor. Now that I'm here, shouldn't you fall back in line?"

She didn't answer, crossing her arms ever tighter. It was crucial to try any methods he could before resorting to his main plan, or even worse, to open violence. The right words said at the right time make all the difference, but Gaius couldn't which to use. He might have designed her mind, but it didn't mean he understood it completely. How can one fully predict the inner machinations of a madwoman?

“He’s right, sister.” Apollo added, “It’s not very polite to…”

Discordia knocked his helmet for the third time, “Shut it Apollo! Don’t make me send you to sleep again!”

“Ugh…” Apollo held onto his head. It would seem not even death can save you from pain. With a second sigh, Gaius glanced at Julia, “It’s time. Hand it to her.”

Julia nodded, “Okay.” She grasped under the vail of the basket, pulling the apple out. Discordia smelled it immediately, her attention shifting to Julia.

“You… That’s… An apple! It's been so many years!”

She snatched it away from her grasp. Befalling on the fruit mercilessly, she ate it all in a matter of seconds. As Gaius watched the spectacle of what looked like a man deprived of food for weeks eating a turkey, he knew his plan had worked. An advantage of being their designer was to know such peculiarities.

"So good..." she repeated, chewing on the red fruit.

“Is that enough of an offering?” Gaius asked sarcasticly.

“Yeah!” she replied, her mouth full, “You know how much I love apples! Thank you so much for bringing it here!”

“No problem.” He said, resting his head on a hand, “Will you then…”

Discordia finished her apple, throwing the rest away. She got up from her chair, saluting. Her minions followed suit, all honoring the emperor.

“I hereby re-proclaim my allegiance to the rightful emperor of the world, Princeps Gaius! The island of Cilia and all those who dwell in it are at your service!”

It was easier than Gaius imagined. She didn't look bothered it was only a single apple, nor that it was bitten already. Was he stuck eating bananas for a decade he would not be picky when an alternative showed itself either.

"I will inform our undead troops outside," said Apollo, getting off the table.

"We did it!" shouted Julia, "My first mission for the empire!"

Gaius got up, “Finally… This issue is resolved...” With the island back under his control and the food shortage to be addressed, the Empire’s position would go from the edge of a precipice to a stable stagnation. Far from ideal, but better than before. The first step of his plan was accomplished, and he returned to see things in the big picture. A heavy consideration flew into his mind.

"What's the problem?" asked Julia, paying attention to his aura of doubt.

"It's nothing..." Gaius looked up, "I'm just wondering how Minerva is doing with Venus…”