Neither Antony nor Octavian's ultimatum stopped raising Appis's ransom and freed at most some of the enslaved prisoners of war. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info even, outside the barracks of Cventus, Antony and Octavian's soldiers had begun to build new siege fortifications.

And inside the barracks, Apis had been tortured to the point of dying by Kventus. As long as he doesn't kill people, Kventus uses them all. However, he was not trying to obtain any useful information, but simply for the sake of abuse, and Appis felt a dark despair, old wounds added to new wounds, barely an inch of skin intact on his body.

However, while Kventus is frantically abusing prisoners of war, a mysterious woman sneaks into Brutus' barracks.

"Tertilla! How did you get here? It's dangerous right now! If you let Kventus know you're here, he'll kill you! ”

Brutus was surprised by the sudden arrival of Tertilla, but after a little thought, he knew why Tertilla was here. Because Tertilla was originally the wife of Appis......

"Are you afraid of Kventus?"

As soon as Tertilla entered the tent, Brutus drove away his servants. It was a one-on-one meeting between the two siblings.

"No, I'm not afraid of him, I'm just worried about your safety, my sister, I know what you're here for, but Apis ...... Kventus hated him to the core. ”

Brutus said, looking embarrassed.

"What about you? Do you hate Appis? ”

Teltila said, taking off his thick cloak, revealing that white and innocent face, in fact, after so many changes, Teltila is no longer really so simple. She observed Brutus' face.

"Actually, a little, but not a lot."

Brutus said, picking up a bottle of low-strength wine on the table and handing it to Tertilla. They are like small talk between brothers and sisters, but after too many accidents, they can't talk as easily as they did back then.

"So the decisions you're making now are all based on Kventus' personal emotions? What does he gain? ”

"Why? My sister. ”

"Appis is not that important to you, but possessions are very important to you. My brother, Brutus, I know that you have consumed all your possessions for this war, and even owe usury, and on the way I heard that Octavian and Antony had paid Appis a ransom of 300,000 Sesters, and I think this is enough money for you to pay off your debts. Even if it is not enough, it can alleviate your financial crisis at the moment, and the reason why you don't let Apis go is because you are worried that Kventus will punish you. But Kventus and Apis have a deep hatred, and he will not let Apis go, he will kill Apis. My brother, you and I both know in our hearts that this war has taken away everything we have, that my mother is now almost insane, and that Apis, one of my few remaining relatives, cannot afford to watch him die. I don't want you to fight each other anymore, you know? This war makes me anxious every day. ”

Tertila said, looking sad. And Brutus also empathizes, a few years ago, they were relatives who had nothing to say, but now, they can only meet at the risk of meeting. For a moment, Brutus blamed himself for the murder of Caesar, yes, it was a crime, and it led to the upheaval of Roman society, which led to the subsequent triumph and the outbreak of the war. And Tertilla's words are indeed not unreasonable, Cventus will have a personal vendetta against Appis, and he is now in dire need of property to pay for the previous financial holes.

……

"You're right, Tertilla. We are relatives, there is no need to fight any more, my enemies are Octavian, Antony, not Appis. Perhaps, this is also the reason why Lepida left Greece. I'll let Apis go, stay in Antony's barracks when you get back, and I'll make an agreement with Antony Octavian as soon as possible. By the way, what happened to our mother Seville? ”

After a long silence, Brutus slowly spoke up about his decision. The dark clouds on his face gradually faded, and the unknown confidence rose again in his eyes. For a moment, Tertilla sensed that his lifelong loved one might end up being only Appis. His older brother Brutus, like his mother Sevilla, was fanatical about political violence.

"She's not doing as well as she used to be, because she misses you, our mother is getting thinner, and when she goes crazy, she throws things at home, sometimes she talks to herself, sometimes she cries sadly, and sometimes she thinks about why you haven't come home yet. The servants did not dare to come near, for fear of being scratched by her, and even the strongest manservant did not dare to enter her room again......"

Tertila said sadly. And Brutus was saddened when he heard this description. Like Sevilla, Brutus after the murder of Caesar was often emotionally unstable. One second, he can be as happy as a child, and the next second, he can be as melancholy as a lovelorn youth. However, Tertilla knew that his mother was still very important to Brutus.

"I'll go back, I'll go back with Octavian's corpse, I'll go back with Antony's corpse, they're all sinners of the Republic!"

Brutus hated it for a long time.

……

Two days later, Appis, who had been tortured to the fullest, was secretly sent out of the barracks, Brutus and Octavian, Antony met in a glade, "one hand to pay and the other to deliver", the carriage full of Roman currency and silver products was taken away by Brutus's entourage, and Octavian and Antony also fulfilled their promise and did not send soldiers to ambush and attack. At the scene, Tertila waited anxiously, and it was not until Apis was carried into the carriage that the young woman let go of her hanging heart.

Extremely weak, Apis lay on the bumpy carriage, the sun above his head sparsely through the woods, and through his blurred vision, he saw the face of the woman not Octavia, but the Tertila who had been with him for many years......

At this moment, Appis felt an indescribable emotion, perhaps, more than those vows of loyalty, such practical actions proved that Tertilla was sincere to himself. Physically and physically devastated, but the soul was satisfied, Appis felt that the trip to be captured and tortured seemed to be worth it.