Arthur returned to the annex and found Felix sharpening a knife.

That was not a good sign.

Pavo lay on the folded sacks near the back wall. His breathing was rough but steady. One of his eyes had opened again, barely. Naso had left Marilla beside him with a cup of watered wine and strict instructions to call if the boy woke fully.

Lupo sat by the door with a sling over one arm and a knife in the other hand. He looked proud of being useless in a threatening way.

Felix did not look up when Arthur entered.

"Well?" he asked.

Arthur shut the door behind him. Marcus came in after him. Crispus stayed at the inspection hall with Naso and the records, which felt like leaving a fox to guard chickens from another fox.

"Severus took control of the grain count," Arthur said. "Secundus is under observation. Hadrus is alive. Naso is recalculating the numbers in front of him."

Felix ran the blade once more along the stone.

"And Celsus?"

"Still breathing."

The knife stopped.

Felix looked up.

Arthur held his gaze. "Not cleared. Not arrested."

"That sounds like breathing."

"It is."

Felix stood too fast, and his wound punished him for it. He grabbed the table and hissed through his teeth.

"Sit down," Marcus said.

Felix ignored him. "Pavo is half dead. Brennus is dead. Men came into my annex with knives. And Celsus is still breathing."

"Yes," Arthur said.

Felix stared at him.

Arthur had learned something about angry men. Most did not want comfort. They wanted the world to admit they were right to be angry.

So he gave him that.

"He should be in chains," Arthur said. "He should be bleeding on this floor with the men he sent. But Severus is not moving until he can make the case impossible to bury."

Felix’s mouth twisted. "Imperial men always have reasons to move slowly."

"Sometimes moving slowly keeps the trap from closing on us instead."

Felix looked at Pavo.

The boy shifted in his sleep and made a small sound.

The anger went out of Felix’s face.

Not gone.

Buried.

"Did Severus ask for him?"

"When he can speak."

Felix’s fingers tightened around the knife. "No."

Arthur stepped closer. "He agreed Pavo will not be moved without you present."

Felix barked a humorless laugh. "How generous."

"It matters."

"To whom?"

"To Pavo."

That landed.

Felix looked away first.

Lupo broke the silence. "So now we trust the annona man?"

"No," Arthur said.

"Good. I was worried we had all gone stupid."

Marcus crossed to the back wall and checked the shutters. He did that now without being asked. Arthur noticed. The annex had turned from shelter into position.

That was not progress anyone would celebrate.

Blue light flickered.

Imperial Review Active.

Primary Threats:

Evidence suppression.

Witness intimidation.

Administrative reframing.

Targeted violence.

Recommended Action:

Protect witnesses.

Secure independent record chain.

Establish credibility with regional authority.

Arthur read the list and almost laughed.

Protect witnesses.

As if the system had not noticed the blood.

A knock came at the door.

Everyone moved.

Felix grabbed his stick. Lupo raised his knife. Marcus was already beside the door, blade low.

"Who?" Marcus asked.

"Crispus," came the answer. "And if anyone inside stabs me, I will take it personally."

Marcus opened the door.

Crispus entered with soot on his tunic, dried blood near one sleeve, and an expression that said the day had insulted him one time too many.

Behind him came Naso.

Naso looked worse than before. His injured arm was wrapped properly now, probably by someone in the inspection building. His face had the gray look of a man who had been forced to tell the truth under lamplight.

Marilla ran to him before he had crossed the room.

He dropped to one knee and held her with his good arm.

Arthur let them have the moment.

Crispus did not.

"Severus wants you back before the third bell."

Arthur looked at him. "Why?"

"He has a question."

"I dislike questions today."

"This one has soldiers attached."

Felix looked up. "Soldiers?"

Crispus nodded. "Two from the harbor guard, two from the grain office, and one man who looks like he was carved out of old discipline. Severus is preparing a formal review."

Arthur frowned. "Already?"

"Yes. Which means he either moves faster than most officials or has been waiting for a reason."

Naso released Marilla and stood. "The recalculation is bad."

Arthur turned to him.

Naso swallowed. "The public loss estimate was inflated by nearly half of the remaining usable grain in that store."

The room went still.

"Say that simpler," Felix said.

Crispus answered. "They were about to claim grain burned that did not burn."

"How much?"

"Enough to sell twice," Naso said. "Once as stolen bread, once as ash."

Felix’s hand closed around the table edge.

Arthur looked at Naso. "Can Severus prove it?"

"With the counts, yes. With the transfer records, maybe. With Hadrus and Pavo, stronger."

"Then why isn’t Celsus chained?"

Naso laughed once. It was a broken sound. "Because Celsus’s name is not on the dirty part."

Crispus nodded. "Vibius. Red Rope. Hadrus. Household marks. Private storage leased through minor names. Celsus stands near everything and touches nothing."

Clean hands.

Always clean hands.

Arthur looked toward the back where Pavo lay.

"Then we make the space around him smaller."

Crispus’s eyebrow rose. "That sounded almost Roman."

"It felt unpleasant."

"Then definitely Roman."

Naso stepped forward. "Severus asked for all witness names connected to the fire, the false statement, and the grain count."

Felix shook his head immediately. "No."

Arthur understood why before Naso explained.

Names had become targets.

Brennus had a name.

Pavo had a name.

Sabinus had a name.

Trust increases effectiveness. Trust also increases exposure.

The system’s warning sat in Arthur’s mind like a nail.

Crispus folded his arms. "If we refuse, Severus thinks we are hiding men."

"If we give names, Celsus knows where to cut," Felix said.

Crispus did not answer.

Because Felix was right.

Arthur looked at Marcus. "What would a Roman commander do?"

Marcus thought about it.

"Separate men. Keep witnesses guarded. Give officer enough to act, not enough to slaughter."

Arthur nodded slowly.

"Then we give Severus grouped witness lists. Not all locations. Not all family names. We offer to present witnesses in controlled order, with Felix’s men and harbor guard present."

Crispus smiled faintly. "You are learning bureaucracy as self-defense."

"I hate that it works."

"It barely works. That is its charm."

Pavo stirred.

Everyone turned.

His good eye opened.

Felix was beside him instantly. "Easy."

Pavo looked confused. Then pain found him, and his face twisted.

"You are back," Felix said.

Pavo’s eye moved to Arthur. "Copy?"

Arthur nodded. "Recovered."

Pavo closed his eye again, not asleep this time. Just relieved.

"Did I say it?" he whispered.

Felix’s face tightened.

"No," Arthur said. "You did not."

Pavo breathed out slowly.

"Good."

Naso’s daughter moved closer to her father.

Pavo’s lips cracked into something almost like a smile.

"Tell Duro," he whispered, "I did not need saving."

Duro, who had been standing outside the rear door and pretending not to listen, leaned in.

"Lie," he said.

Pavo’s smile became real for half a second.

Then he coughed and curled around his ribs.

Felix put a hand on his shoulder, gentle despite the fury still sitting in him.

Arthur looked away.

Some victories were too small to survive being stared at.

The third bell came sooner than he wanted.

They went back to the inspection hall with Marcus, Crispus, Naso, and two of Felix’s men. Felix stayed with Pavo, which cost him more than walking wounded through the streets would have. Duro stayed at the annex door because Arthur wanted the wall back where the wall belonged.

The inspection hall had changed.

It no longer looked like a room trying to understand a fire. It looked like a room preparing to judge men.

The long table had been cleared and reset. Grain counts on one side. Transfer tablets on another. The dolphin-marked shards were placed together. The false statement tablet sat alone in the center, as if even the table did not want to touch it.

Severus stood at the far end.

Celsus stood to his right.

Vibius stood behind him.

Hadrus was tied to a chair near the wall, one eye swollen shut, still alive and no longer smiling.

Two harbor guards stood at the door. Two grain office guards stood near the table. A fifth man stood beside Severus. Older. Scarred. Still as a spear.

Arthur guessed he was the one Crispus had described as carved out of discipline.

Severus looked at Arthur when he entered.

"You brought fewer men than expected."

Arthur stopped before the table. "Names have become dangerous."

Celsus smiled slightly. "Convenient."

Arthur did not look at him.

Severus did. "Do you object to witness protection, Celsus?"

"To protection? No. To selective secrecy? Yes."

"Noted."

That one word shut the exchange down.

Severus looked at Arthur. "Your proposal."

Arthur placed a wax tablet on the table.

"Grouped witness list. Fire witnesses, grain count witnesses, abduction witnesses. Full identities can be presented in controlled order. Not copied freely. Not passed through offices connected to the accused chain."

Vibius shifted.

Good.

Severus picked up the tablet.

"Accused chain," he repeated.

Arthur nodded. "Vibius prepared or delivered the premature correction through Titus Nerius. Hadrus says the false statement came through Red Rope after instruction from Vibius. The private store near Vulcan’s temple links to the Aemilius household through tags and marks. Celsus’s authority touches the categories that made the movement possible."

Celsus’s voice came cold. "Touches. A careful word."

Arthur finally looked at him.

"Your clean hands forced me to learn careful words."

Crispus made a small sound that might have been approval.

Severus did not smile.

"Enough," he said.

The room obeyed.

He turned to Naso. "You recalculated the count."

Naso stepped forward, pale but upright. "Yes."

"Speak."

Naso swallowed. His eyes moved once to Celsus, then away.

"The east horreum fire damaged a portion of stored grain, but the preliminary loss estimate claimed far more than visible damage, recovered sacks, and pre-fire tallies support. Before the fire, grain had been marked for temporary transfer to private holding near Vulcan’s temple. That transfer reduced the store. The later fire estimate appears to count that same missing grain as burned."

Severus said nothing.

Naso continued, voice gaining steadiness because numbers were easier than courage.

"The result would conceal the transfer and justify shortage claims."

"Who benefits?" Severus asked.

Naso’s mouth went dry.

Arthur saw him fight the answer.

"Anyone controlling private holding," Naso said. "Anyone able to sell or redirect grain outside the public count. Anyone able to blame the loss on the fire."

Severus looked at Celsus.

Celsus spread his hands slightly. Clean. Empty.

"This assumes fraud where disorder is simpler. Fires create confusion. Frightened clerks copy badly. Dockworkers steal. Merchants exploit shortage. Minor officials panic. Must every error be made into conspiracy because one resurrected clerk enjoys drama?"

Arthur felt the room react to that word.

Resurrected.

Celsus had not used it before in public.

Severus’s eyes moved to Arthur. "Resurrected?"

Celsus’s smile was soft. "A local nickname. Gaius Valerius was thought dead by some. His sudden energy has caused comment."

Arthur kept his face still.

Inside, his pulse changed.

Danger.

Not the legal kind.

The wrong-century kind.

The body-that-should-be-dead kind.

Celsus was testing the edge of that secret without knowing the full blade.

Or maybe he knew more than Arthur wanted.

Severus watched Arthur for one breath too long.

Then returned to the tablets.

"People are often thought dead in Rome," Severus said. "Some are merely misplaced by clerks."

Celsus’s smile faded by a fraction.

Arthur breathed again.

Severus turned to Hadrus.

"You were found at the old net house."

Hadrus looked at the floor.

Severus’s voice did not rise. "You will answer."

Hadrus licked blood from his lip. "Yes."

"You held Pavo of Felix’s crew."

"Yes."

"You attempted to force a statement."

Hadrus’s eyes moved to Celsus.

Celsus did not move.

"Yes," Hadrus said.

"Who paid you?"

"Red Rope."

"Who carried the instruction?"

Hadrus hesitated.

The older disciplined man beside Severus moved one step.

Only one.

Hadrus answered.

"Vibius."

Vibius made a small sound.

Celsus turned his head slightly, just enough to look at him.

That look was worse than shouting.

Severus looked at Vibius. "Step forward."

Vibius did not.

The disciplined man took another step.

Vibius stepped forward.

"You delivered instruction to Red Rope?" Severus asked.

"No."

"You prepared the fire correction?"

"No."

"You know Titus Nerius?"

"I know many clerks."

Severus nodded. "That was not an answer."

Vibius swallowed.

Arthur watched Celsus.

Celsus was still calm.

Too calm.

Then Arthur understood.

Vibius was another layer.

Sacrificable.

If Severus pressed hard, Vibius would fall. Celsus would remain near but untouched.

Arthur’s jaw tightened.

Severus saw the same thing. Arthur could tell by the way he did not rush.

"Vibius is confined," Severus said.

Celsus looked at him. "On whose accusation?"

"Mine."

The room chilled.

Vibius stared. "Representative—"

Severus did not look at him. "Confined. Not condemned. Yet."

The disciplined man placed a hand on Vibius’s shoulder.

Vibius went gray.

Celsus inclined his head slowly. "Of course. I trust imperial review will distinguish between guilt and panic."

"That is why it exists," Severus said.

Arthur almost believed him.

Almost.

Blue light flickered.

Imperial Review Progress:

Evidence accepted for formal examination.

Hostile Agent Confined:

Vibius.

Primary Actor:

Decimus Celsus remains unexposed.

Recommended Action:

Identify controlling authority behind private grain movement.

Arthur read the last line.

Behind.

Always behind.

Severus dismissed the room in pieces.

Hadrus was taken away. Vibius too. Secundus remained to copy orders under supervision. Naso was told to stay available. Crispus was told, very specifically, not to leave Ostia without permission.

Crispus bowed. "I am flattered to be considered mobile."

Severus ignored him.

Arthur was almost at the door when the annona man spoke.

"Gaius Valerius."

Arthur stopped again.

He was starting to hate hearing that name from dangerous men.

Severus stood alone at the table now, one hand resting on the grouped witness list.

"You understand systems," he said.

Arthur said nothing.

"Most clerks understand forms. Most merchants understand profit. Most soldiers understand force. You keep speaking as if forms, profit, force, hunger, and fear are parts of the same machine."

Arthur chose his answer carefully.

"They are."

Severus studied him.

"Who taught you that?"

A cold line ran down Arthur’s back.

Books.

Centuries.

Ruins.

The fall of empires.

"The records did," Arthur said.

Severus did not believe that fully.

Arthur could see it.

But the answer was good enough to stand.

For now.

Severus stepped closer. "Celsus is not your only problem."

"I know."

"No," Severus said. "You suspect. You do not know."

Arthur waited.

Severus looked toward the sealed grain counts.

"Grain does not disappear upward by accident. If this reaches the wrong ears before I finish the count, it will become a rivalry between offices. If it becomes a rivalry between offices, truth will matter less than jurisdiction. If jurisdiction wins, men like Celsus survive by belonging to everyone and no one."

That was the most honest thing Arthur had heard from an official since waking in Rome.

It did not comfort him.

"What do you want from me?" Arthur asked.

"For now? Keep your witnesses alive."

Arthur almost laughed.

"We are trying."

"Try harder."

Severus handed him a small sealed token.

Arthur looked at it. A grain measure stamped into wax.

"This gives you authority to bring named witnesses to this hall under annona protection until sunset."

Arthur looked up.

"Why?"

"Because if they die before I hear them, I will have only numbers. Numbers are useful. Blood is persuasive."

Arthur closed his hand around the token.

"Is this protection or a leash?"

Severus’s mouth moved slightly.

This time, it might actually have been a smile.

"Both."

Arthur nodded. "That sounds Roman."

"It is."

Outside, the sun had begun to drop toward afternoon. The port moved as if nothing had changed. Men loaded sacks. Boys ran messages. Merchants argued over weights. Somewhere, bread was being baked from grain that had nearly vanished on paper.

Marcus waited at the steps.

"What did he give you?" he asked.

Arthur opened his palm.

"Protection."

Marcus looked at the token.

Then at the guards around the building.

"No," he said. "Permission to be hunted in a smaller field."

Arthur closed his hand.

"Yes."

They started back toward the annex.

Halfway down the street, bells rang from the harbor tower.

Not the hour.

Alarm.

A runner came hard around the corner, nearly falling when he saw Marcus. He was one of Felix’s younger boys. Barefoot. Terrified.

"Annex!" he gasped.

Arthur’s stomach dropped.

"What happened?"

The boy bent double, trying to breathe.

"Not the annex. The girl."

Arthur went cold.

"Marilla?"

The boy nodded, eyes wide.

"She’s gone."

The street seemed to lose sound.

Marcus’s hand went to his sword.

Arthur looked toward the annex, then toward the inspection hall, then at the annona token in his palm.

Keep your witnesses alive.

Celsus had understood faster than he had.

Naso was a witness.

Pavo was a witness.

But Marilla was leverage.

Blue light flashed hard.

Emergency Objective Generated.

Target:

Marilla.

Status:

Abducted.

Likely Purpose:

Witness coercion.

Naso compliance.

Evidence chain collapse.

Time Sensitivity:

Critical.

Arthur’s hand closed around the token until the wax cracked.

The system added one more line.

Imperial Protection Insufficient.

Arthur started running.