Chapter 348 Unwelcome Invitations

At the banquet, the dignitaries toasted Luca and Aetius one after another. The silver cups clinked, and all they heard were flattering words that they knew by heart. Not only Luca, but even Aetius was a little annoyed by them.

Luka kept thinking, although everyone in the scene was enjoying themselves, it was just like the cartoon Luka had seen before, everyone was wearing a mask. Luka had no idea what kind of soul was underneath these smiling faces.

"There is no love without reason, and there is no hate without reason." Luca said secretly to himself in his heart. He could not relax himself because he knew what kind of responsibility was behind the title of outstanding person.

If he failed to take the provinces south of Hadrian's Wall, Luca would probably have only two choices: one was to die in Britannia, and the other was to die on the gallows in Rome where Luca had executed the two Bagauda rebel leaders. At least neither was a good choice, not to mention that Valentinian must not have known that his Ninth Legion had run away. In Luca's opinion, he had to find a way to strengthen himself, at least to restore the damn Ninth Legion to its previous size, otherwise Luca could only choose to die in Britannia.

"Your Mightiness."

While Luca was hesitating, he heard a call from the side. It turned out to be a waiter. He was very respectful and well-educated. After paying his respects to Luca, he said to him, "Sir, Augustus wants you to go with Aetius."

"Me, Aetius?" Luca was a little confused, but since it was Augusta's request, he could only obey.

During the journey, he was wondering what exactly was going on with Pracitia? She was paying so much attention to him and Aetius. What did she want to express or what did she want to do to them? Because this must involve some secret issues, Luca and Aetius were brought by the waiter to the inner part of the palace. It was quite far away from the hustle and bustle outside, so it was relatively quiet.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw Augusta Placidia lying on her ornately decorated bed. She was no longer wearing festive attire, but a relatively simple robe similar to pajamas. What surprised Luca was that Augusta Placidia was not the only one here, but also the new Augusta Licinia. What was different from the past was that Licinia was holding a baby in her arms, about one year old.

"Why is she here?" Luca glanced at Liginia, who was also looking at Luca. Her eyes met Luca's, shining. She was so eager, eager for Luca, who had been away for a long time, to look at her a few more times. Luca naturally didn't dare to do so. He was afraid that Pracitia would see something about the mysterious baby in Liginia's hand.

In short, the whole scene was very heavy, and Luca was almost breathless. He was very nervous, wondering why Augusta Placidia had asked him to come here, and Aetius, and especially because of Licinia. What was going on? Luca gritted his teeth secretly, thinking, just listen to what she said first.

"Augusta," Aetius said, and bowed to Placidia and Licinia respectively. Luca hurriedly followed, finishing the ceremony in a hurry, waiting for what instructions Augusta Placidia would give.

"Very good, it seems that the two pillars of the empire are not distracted by wine and flattery at this time." The corners of Prasidia's mouth slightly raised, revealing a faint smile, looming, and then quickly restrained. Next, it was time to get down to business. Prasidia slowly sat up and looked at Aetius and Luca not far away.

"It's very simple. I mainly talked about two things." Praxiteles looked at the two of them and said slowly, "I and Augustus have certainly seen the indelible contributions you two have made to the empire. I know that simply awarding you two the title of outstanding is not enough to compare your achievements."

At this point, Luca was wondering whether he should give in, after all, humility is a virtue. However, he glanced at Aetius beside him, who was puffing out his chest with a smug look on his face. This made Luca come back to his senses again and think carefully. Humility would not work here.

Placidia continued, "The new consul of the year will be appointed soon. This position has been vacant for a long time and needs someone to take it up." Placidia looked at Aetius and then at Luca, and said seriously, "I want to make you two consuls for a period of one year, so that it matches your achievements."

"God bless you, my Augusta." As soon as Placidia finished speaking, Aetius began to bow and offer his blessing. He did not even consider whether he was qualified for such a position, but accepted Augusta's canonization. "Your decision is extremely wise, and I swear to God that I will not let you down."

"What are you thinking about, Mr. Luca?" Augusta Placitia turned around and looked at Luca, who was still in a daze at the moment and finally came back to his senses.

"Oh, oh, thank you, thank you Augusta." Luca hurriedly saluted, as if accepting such an appointment. However, such a rash behavior did not seem to be pleasing to Pracitia. Augusta sighed deeply, as if secretly forgave the young general in his heart.

"The second thing." Augusta Placidia turned to Liginia, who was sitting next to her. The child in her arms was so cute that the elderly woman couldn't help but touch the tender little face. This made Luca take a deep breath. He tried hard to guess what Placidia was thinking. This baby with a suspicious identity made Luca sweat in his hands.

"Gaiseric, the king of the Vandals." Placidia's words made Luca breathe a sigh of relief, and Augusta continued, "His son Huneric came here as a hostage because of the war. Of course, the elders in the Senate unanimously agreed that in order for the empire to live in peace with the Vandals and form a firm alliance, they all agreed that we should betroth Eudolia, who is only one year old, to Huneric."

"Is this what the senators mean?" asked Aetius.

Pracitia nodded slightly, and Aetius said no more, as if he agreed with the authority of the Senate.

At this point, Praxiteas couldn't help but sighed and said in a heavy tone: "This is certainly unfair to a baby who knows nothing, but we are the Purple Chamber after all, the rulers of this empire. It is only natural that our family should dedicate everything we have to this country."

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Even though Pracitia spoke earnestly, Licinia kept looking at Luca while holding the child. She bit her lip and looked at Luca eagerly, as if she wanted him to stand up, even if it was to say no, or raise objections, but Luca stood there like a fool, without answering.

(End of this chapter)