48 Hours a Day

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.