Free Web NovelChapter 6: The Woman at the Records Office
Arthur was still examining the damaged wax tablet when voices sounded in the corridor outside.
At first, he paid little attention.
The administrative building had been busy all day. Clerks moved constantly between offices, carrying documents from one room to another. Conversations drifted through the halls from morning until sunset.
This time, however, Marcus reacted immediately.
The soldier looked toward the door.
A moment later, a woman entered the office.
She carried several tablets beneath one arm and appeared to be in her mid-twenties. Her dark hair was tied back, and her expression suggested she had little patience for incompetence.
She stopped the moment she saw Arthur.
The tablets nearly slipped from her hands.
For a brief second, genuine shock crossed her face.
Then it vanished.
Arthur noticed it anyway.
So did Marcus.
The room fell silent.
The woman stared at Arthur.
Arthur stared back.
Neither seemed willing to look away first.
Finally, she spoke.
The words came quickly.
Too quickly.
Arthur only understood fragments.
Marcus answered before he could.
The exchange continued for nearly a minute.
Whatever they were discussing, the woman seemed increasingly irritated.
Eventually she pointed directly at Arthur.
Then she said a single word.
"Gaius."
Arthur was beginning to hear that name far more often than he would have liked.
The woman stepped closer.
Her eyes narrowed.
She examined his face as though searching for something.
A lie.
A scar.
A secret.
Arthur had no idea.
After several uncomfortable seconds, she turned toward Marcus and spoke again.
This time the soldier’s answer was shorter.
The woman did not look convinced.
Not even slightly.
Arthur could hardly blame her.
From her perspective, a dead colleague had apparently returned to work.
That would raise questions.
Many questions.
The conversation continued.
Arthur understood almost nothing, but body language required no translation.
The woman was suspicious.
Marcus was defensive.
Neither appeared willing to back down.
Finally, the woman released a frustrated sigh and placed her tablets on the desk.
She pulled out a chair and sat down.
Then she pointed at herself. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
"Livia."
Arthur blinked.
At last.
A name.
He pointed at her.
"Livia."
The woman nodded. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Then he pointed at himself.
"Arthur."
Livia frowned.
Marcus immediately closed his eyes.
Arthur suspected he had made this mistake before.
Livia pointed at him.
"Gaius."
Arthur sighed.
"Yes, apparently."
Neither Roman understood a word.
It still felt good to complain.
For the first time, however, Arthur noticed something unexpected.
Livia wasn’t afraid.
Marcus had been shocked.
The workers in the warehouse district had been nervous.
Livia was neither.
She looked annoyed.
As though Gaius’s return had created additional paperwork.
The thought was strangely reassuring.
The woman stood and walked toward one of the shelves.
After a moment, she removed a document and returned.
She placed it on the desk between them.
Then she tapped a specific section.
Arthur leaned forward.
The writing was difficult to read, but one thing stood out immediately.
His eyes found the name almost at once.
Gaius.
Several lines below it appeared another entry.
A recent assignment.
One connected to the warehouse district.
Arthur looked up.
Livia was watching him carefully.
Whatever Gaius had been investigating before his death, she knew about it.
And judging by her expression, she had no intention of letting the matter disappear.
