Gallienus had no reply to that.

Cassius waited.

Gallienus remained silent.

“So be it,” Cass said on a sigh. “You face tribunal in two weeks.”

“I demand to be held in Carleigh Manor during my confinement,” Gallienus declared.

“Father, I feel I have failed to impress upon you that you are in no position to make demands,” Cassius said.

“This,” he moved to the table in the room and slapped his hand on it, “is not to be borne.”

“This is not for you to decide.”

Hate filled Gallienus’s face as he stared at his son.

“When I am victorious—” he began.

“You will never be victorious,” Cassius said quietly. “You will never again be free. And the only thing I find troubling about that is that I have no feelings on the matter. Not desolation my father will live out the rest of his life as such, not jubilation that you will be treated to something akin, but nowhere near as monstrous, as how you treated your wives and the women who are your citizens who were also yours to protect. Including and especially my mother.”

And with that, Cassius said no more.

He left the room.

I, and the rest of our party, followed.

“Issue one?” I asked, laying nude atop an equally nude Cassius in our bed much later that night, asking questions at the same time tracing the ink on his face with my eyes.

“Minor offenses or the first of some less minor ones. Such as disturbing the peace. Brawling.”

“And issue two?” I prompted.

“Destruction of property. Unpaid debts. Petty theft. Issuing threats. Forgery. Minor assaults.” He aimed a small grin up at me. “And before you ask, issue three is kidnapping, assault, robbery, arson, embezzling. Four is battery or repeat offenders of any of issues two and three. And five is murder.”

“Ah,” I murmured.

“Violence against women will start at four. Rape will start at five,” he declared, and I felt my eyes round.

“Five? Really?”

He nodded before he explained.

“I have thought on this. And what I have thought is that many years ago, when Mars was in training here in Firenze, Trajan targeted him. The scars on Mars’s face were delivered by Trajan and his mates. They would have done worse to him if Mac had not seen them attack, and he, I and my mates intervened. And the worse they would do was their intent to rape him.”

“Oh, my goddess,” I whispered, shocked to know Mars’s scars were delivered by Trajan, and even more shocked at all the rest.

“I shudder to think of the man he might have become if that had not been stopped. He might have had the strength of will to persevere and be who he is now. Or the man we know might be as good as dead. Which is a form of murder. The killing of the life someone could have had if they had not been forced to endure such. And so, I have decided, as this is the way, any rape will be treated as such.”