Near the southwest corner of the Forum.

  This area, used by the Tribunes as their workspace, was usually bustling with people.

  Citizens came here to seek help from the Tribunes, and the gathered crowds naturally mingled and chattered.

  Recently, a new kind of visitor had started showing up: self-employed business owners and merchants.

  They all flocked here to meet with a Tribune.

  And they all wanted the same thing.

  "Tribune, are you listening to me?"

  "Ah, of course. Your name is..."

  "It's Opimius."

  "My apologies. There have been so many people coming to apply for trademarks that I was distracted for a moment."

  Aquilius sighed.

  Backed by Pompey, he was the Tribune who had most actively pushed for the Trademark Law recently.

  When Lucius succeeded in passing the bill against everyone's expectations, the authority to review and approve trademarks was given to the Tribunes.

  But no one, not even Aquilius himself, had anticipated a situation like this.

  "I've been waiting since morning to apply for a trademark, Tribune. Please, handle it quickly."

  "I finished my application two days ago, so when on earth will it be approved? If you want my family's vote in the next election, I strongly advise you to..."

  The trademark committee—three tribunes were buried under a flood of applicants.

  "Alright, alright. Once you submit the application and pay the fee, we will review and approve it as quickly as possible, Otemius."

  "It's Opimius, Tribune."

  The man replied gruffly, but Aquilius didn't even have the energy left to correct him.

  When the bill passed, the first person to register a trademark was Lucius Julius Caesar.

  With the passage of the Trademark Law, the fraudsters selling fake Palmolive vanished from the market, and citizen satisfaction was rising.

  But that was only the beginning.

  Following Lucius's lead, countless merchants and manufacturers flocked to apply for their own trademarks.

  They began engraving special marks on their goods and seeking legal recognition.

  Roman citizens accepted this new concept with surprising speed.

  Among them was Crassus.

  Of course, he didn't come to the Forum to register it himself, but he followed Caesar's example and registered his own name as a trademark.

  "Isn't Crassus trying to jump into Palmolive production too?"

  "He could practically swallow the market whole."

  The news that he was stepping into Palmolive production sent ripples through the market again.

  But the true change lay elsewhere.

  Aside from Crassus, hundreds, even thousands of others were all jumping into Palmolive production.

  "So the manufacturing method the young Caesar revealed was real?"

  "Yeah, I heard from my neighbor next door that if you follow it exactly, you can make the same thing."

  After the Trademark Law commotion, Palmolive spread widely throughout Rome.

  Now, every Roman used Palmolive at the bathhouse, and even used it at home to wash dishes.

  Palmolive wasn't just for cleaning the body; it was a divine liquid that allowed one to directly feel the blessings of the Goddess Vesta.

  It was no surprise that those who witnessed this change firsthand entered into the Palmolive market.

  However, they faced a problem too.

  "The production costs just don't add up. How on earth is Lucius Caesar selling it at that price?"

  Producing Palmolive required a significant amount of labor and time.

  The ingredients themselves were easy to obtain, but the mixture had to be stirred for a long time.

  This inevitably led to an increase in the production cost.

  "It's that water-driven wheel at the Palmolive factory. Isn't he using that?"

  "So he's stirring the ingredients with that!"

  Anyone could tell that the water wheel was the core of Palmolive production.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  But realizing it and building a water wheel were two very different things.

  "No, you're telling me there's not a single technician in Rome who can build that? Does that make any sense?"

  "Then how on earth did Lucius build it?"

  "So the young Caesar built not only the Palmolive but also that device called a water wheel."

  "Then what do we do now? It's not like Lucius is going to release the blueprints for the water wheel too."

  While the Palmolive producers were all falling into confusion and despair, another story was unfolding at the Caesar residence in Subura.

  ***

  "So Julia cried out. 'O Marcus, Marcus! Wherefore art thou Marcus?'"

  I paced around the atrium, speaking in an exaggerated tone.

  "Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath, hath had no power yet upon thy beauty."

  After a few minutes, my one-man play ended, and Julia wiped away tears as she spoke.

  "That is truly a moving story."

  "I didn't know you had a talent for acting, Lucius."

  "Thanks, mother."

  I bowed politely to my audience.

  Well, actually, the script wasn't written by me but by Shakespeare.

  *Romeo and Juliet* was, in itself, an eternal masterpiece.

  Of course, the story of a man and woman continuing their love despite their families' opposition had been popular since ancient Greece.

  But no work could match Shakespeare in dialogue and expression.

  I did it just to kill time, but it was quite fun.

  Come to think of it, between debating Cato and this, I seem to be getting a lot of help from Shakespeare.

  As I was lost in thought, Felix entered the atrium and caught my eye.

  It was a signal that he had something to discuss.

  "Then I will see you again at dinner tonight, my audience."

  I greeted my mother and sister with an exaggerated gesture and left the atrium.

  "What's going on?"

  "I brought the information you asked for."

  I examined the papyri Felix handed me.

  I’d given him a simple task: find out how many businesses had jumped into the Palmolive market.

  "A lot of people started producing the Palmolive, but... as expected, Crassus is overwhelming the competitors."

  Crassus imitated me and put forward his own brand.

  Crassus Palmolive.

  I thought it wouldn't be easy for him since he had the notoriety of buying burning houses at dirt-cheap prices.

  Crassus came up with a surprisingly fresh pitch.

  'I will supply Palmolive at the lowest possible price for the citizens of Rome!'

  True to that promise, Crassus was selling Palmolive at a ridiculously low price.

  Almost half the price of the Palmolive I was selling.

  "I can't believe it. To offer this price even without a water wheel sounds..."

  "It's possible because he has so many slaves," Felix said.

  "Crassus has enough slaves to fill several legions. Effectively, he's just throwing them a bit of bread while working them to the bone."

  "And he packages that as his own sacrifice for the Roman citizens."

  It was a decent way to improve his bad image.

  Then Felix asked in a worried tone.

  "At this rate, won't our Palmolive get pushed out? Perhaps we should also consider switching to slave labor."

  "No, we don't need to change."

  I shook my head.

  I had already established a firm position in the Palmolive market.

  Coca-Cola doesn't really care no matter how low the price of other sodas goes.

  There are hardly any sodas that can beat the brand image Coca-Cola has built over decades.

  "Instead, we should emphasize that our factory provides jobs for Roman citizens."

  "So you intend to use the exact opposite strategy from Crassus."

  "What the Caesar family needs for survival is the support of the citizens. Not more slaves."

  Saying that, I continued to examine the papyrus.

  Besides him, I saw a few other notable names.

  "Aren't these the businessmen who lent me money?"

  They were the publicani who’d made massive profits distributing fake Palmolive.

  In the end, though, they had to hand over all that money to me.

  "Are they trying to make money with real Palmolive now? It won't be easy."

  I lowered production costs using the water wheel, and Crassus used massive slave labor.

  But for other businessmen, neither of these was easy.

  Without a water wheel, they had to hire workers or buy many slaves.

  "They won't be much of a threat. In the end, only Crassus and I will probably survive."

  Wait.

  There might be a way to use them.

  An interesting idea popped into my head.

  "What is it, Young Master?"

  "Send letters to these people. Tell them I’d like to meet—face to face."

  Saying that, I pointed to the names on the list.

  The individuals who distributed fake Palmolive.

  " I should have a friendly chat with them over some wine."

  ***

  "Why did Lucius call us?"

  "Isn't he trying to pressure us to get out of the Palmolive business?"

  Men in togas spoke anxiously.

  This was the first time they’d gathered at the Caesar residence like this since they were forced to lend him money.

  Of course, Lucius phrased it as borrowing money, but effectively, it was no different from threatening them to take it.

  They all wanted revenge on Lucius, but with huge sums of their capital in his hands, they couldn't act rashly.

  At least Lucius was paying back the principal little by little as he'd promised.

  If Lucius were to go bankrupt, they would inevitably lose the money they lent him.

  "Even he cannot make such a demand of us."

  One man spoke sharply.

  "Aren't we all suffering massive losses right now with Crassus jumping into the competition?"

  At his words, everyone else nodded.

  The Palmolive business, which they rushed into expecting massive profits, was faltering before it even properly started.

  Knowing the manufacturing method and knowing the efficient production process were two completely different stories.

  As they were having a heated conversation, Lucius finally appeared.

  The cruel boy who passed the Trademark Law and even extorted money by threatening them.

  The men all looked at Lucius warily.

  "Thank you all for coming despite your busy schedules. Have you been well, Mr. Aulus?"

  Aulus nodded with a gloomy expression.

  Lucius had a grasp on the weaknesses of every attendee here.

  "We lent you a massive amount of funds, Lucius Julius Caesar."

  Aulus continued, sweating profusely.

  "But if you think we will go along with everything you do because of that, you are greatly mistaken."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "Didn't you call us to tell us to get out of the Palmolive business?"

  "That’s strange."

  Lucius shrugged.

  "I invited you today for a different reason. Why did you think I’d get in your way?"

  "Well, naturally, since you are in the Palmolive business..."

  Aulus trailed off.

  Is Lucius lying?

  If not to make them quit Palmolive, why on earth did he call them all to one place?

  "What I want to propose to you today is something else entirely."

  Saying that, Lucius smiled.

  "Rather, it is the opposite."

  "The opposite?"

  "I invited you here to help you with your Palmolive business."

  At Lucius's words, the men all looked at each other.

  "What on earth do you mean by that?"

  patreon

  It’s getting cold in Seoul today even though it’s March. I don’t know why the weather has been so weird in Korea lately, lol.

  Anyway, have a great day, everyone!