A Night Visit
Night. Lucilla's residence.
Ever since her father had become Roman Emperor, Lucilla had lived in the imperial palace. Later, she married her first husband, Lucius, who, along with his father, was co-emperor of the Roman Empire. Naturally, Lucilla had been able to remain in the palace.
But after Lucius died, Lucilla's father married her off to her second husband, Pompeianus, and she had no choice but to move out of the palace. Fortunately, to compensate her, her father had the Senate grant her the title of Augusta. And although Pompeianus did not hold as exalted a position as her first husband, his treatment of her was beyond reproach. Though the two were not passionately in love like other newlyweds, they got along reasonably well.
Pompeianus spent most of his time at the military camp and hardly ever interfered with Lucilla's private life.
Thus, in the eyes of others, Lucilla possessed a marriage that the vast majority of women envied.
Her domus held banquets almost every night, with endless wine and all manner of handsome men. Yet tonight, neither could make her happy.
In fact, even before the banquet began, Lucilla had seemed somewhat absent-minded, even distraught. None of her usual languor or pride remained. Yet when her maid asked whether she wished to cancel tonight's banquet, Lucilla merely said that everything should proceed as usual.
But afterward, when those handsome men invited her to dance, she rejected every one of them. Then Lucilla rose and left her seat. She told her maid that she was going back to change clothes, but after returning to her room and removing her dress, she did not go to the wardrobe for a fresh one.
Instead, she simply stood before the bronze mirror, motionlessly staring at her reflection, seemingly entranced by