Caesar's assault was made public, and because the dictator was well-liked by the people, they were devastated that he died as a result of his wounds. Jack's first aid was effective, allowing the doctor to arrive, and he appeared to be able to survive at first; however, a high fever, most likely caused by an infection, struck Caesar a few days later, and he died shortly after.

"Depressing won't bring him back," Yuto said, his gaze drawn to Jack's gloomy expression.

Jack sat on a stool, her head bowed, her gaze fixed on her knees. "Jack is depressed. He was not saved by Jack."

Yuto sighed tiredly. She wouldn't care about what happened to anyone other than her master at first. No, she was unconcerned about the people she despised. She had even murdered her master immediately after summoning her.

Yuto sat down in front of her and looked her in the eyes. "Are you sad because Caesar is dead or because you feel your skills are not up to my expectations?"

"Is there a difference?" Jack tilted her head slightly.

Yuto nodded and explained that Caesar's death was necessary to begin a new chapter in Roman history. Octavius, Caesar's adopted son, would have led Rome into imperialism.

"But you're wrong if you think your skills don't live up to my expectations," Yuto assured her, gently grabbing her hands and smiling. "As long as you use those skills for good, they will always live up to my expectations."

He laughed, thinking he was a completely different person before. And, despite his nearly identical ways, he knew the difference between good and evil, which he had tried to teach Jack.

"But Jack is afraid that Daddy will get hurt and won't be able to protect you," Jack stated, externalising her real concern.

Yuto made an expression that he had never made before. It was a mix of happiness and concern. He was afraid that Jack would do something that Yuto didn't want to think about.

"You don't need to be concerned. "I've faced many dangerous opponents in the past, and I'm still alive," Yuto said, pushing Jack towards him. "But if you want to be able to protect me, you can always become stronger."

"How?" Jack inquired.

"Children learn what they don't know as they grow up. You can, too. After all, no one is ever too old to learn something new," Yuto said.

A servant was a Heroic Spirit summoned with the appearance and abilities of their golden age. Their abilities and noble phantasms were based on the legends, anecdotes, and testimonies they left behind. This, however, was not a limitation because they could still grow stronger through learning.

"Learn, experiment, fail, and try again until you succeed," Yuto said. "You were born as a wraith. Now you must overcome your nature and become human. I am sure you will be a fine woman and a hero... my hero."

"But Jack..."

"Don't worry, Jack. I'm not going to do anything stupid until then. I swear to you," he promised.

His life had drastically changed. He had immediately summoned Jack after his release and she had quickly become his family. He hadn't had one in a long time, and his last real family was Rin, to whom he owed everything.

[Toc. Toc.]

Yuto walked away from Jack and went to see who was at the door.

"Are you the owner of the forge?"

There were two city guards. He knew why they had knocked on his door and had already planned how to act.

"Yes," Yuto said, nodding. "What can I do for you?"

"Come along with us. Gaius Octavius wishes to speak with you," one of them said.

"Okay. Please allow me to close the forge," Yuto requested.

Gaius Octavius Thurinus was the man who would become Caesar Augustus, Rome's first Emperor. But for the time being, he was only Julius Caesar's adopted son. As a result, his name had changed to Gaius Iulius Caesar Octavianus.

Octavianus was a twenty-year-old man with clear and sharp eyes, small and poorly kept teeth, light golden brown hair that was slightly curly and kept short, not too large ears, and a straight nose that was slightly aquiline. He wasn't particularly tall, but he had a well-proportioned body.

"Do you know why you're here?" Octavianus inquired, his gaze fixed on the epigraphic document he was working on.

"I work as a blacksmith. I assume you want me to make or repair something," Yuto answered.

He and Archer were not the same person. He was Rome's best blacksmith, while Archer was a dangerous assassin who killed anyone who threatened Rome.

Octavianus cleaned the pen tip and set it on the table. Then he took a cloth and unrolled it, revealing one of Yuto's knives.

"Shit, that's mine," Yuto exclaimed immediately. "Don't tell me one of my creations was used in the attempt?"

"So did you know?" Octavianus thinned his brow and became suspicious.

"The death of Gaius Julius Caesar is public knowledge and I have forged knives like those in the past," I replied. "Recently I have forged a big order of that."

Yuto activated the magic circuits.

Unlike modern days, the few people who could use magecraft did so in broad daylight.

"I'm a freedman. When I opened my own lab, I decided to create an accounting system," Yuto explained, pulling his ledger from his separate dimension. "I always bring contracts and sales records with me to protect myself and my patron in case of trouble."

Octavianus took the documents and started to read them.

The future emperor admitted that they were extremely detailed. In addition to the contractors' names, there were family seals or a firm if the buyer was a commoner.

"You're quite wise for a freedman," said Octavianus.

Yuto frowned, unsure how to interpret that statement.

"This order is rather strange," Octavianus said, pointing to the contract Yuto had hoped to find. "Lucius Simplicius Nereus."

"He said they were for his wife, but I'm not sure what a woman would do with eighty hunting knives. Anyway, he requested them, paid me, and I forged them," Yuto explained.

"I understand," Octavianus replied, nodding. "It would confirm what Tiberius Vedius Lupis wrote in the letter."

"What?" Yuto mumbled, puzzled.

Octavianus did not respond. He was lost in thought, attempting to determine the best course of action. According to Marcus Licinius' report, there were two people: Archer, whose appearance he recalls, and Jack, about whom he had forgotten everything.

Yuto adopted a girl named Jack based on the information he received. That name was truly unique, but with only the name, Octavianus couldn't be certain that she was the woman Marcus had seen with Archer.

"Sir, what will happen to me now?" Yuto inquired humbly.

He was afraid of losing his citizenship and, with it, the freedom he had gained.

"Your involvement is minimal, so you won't be persecuted by the Senate," Octavianus replied.

The blacksmith who forged the knives would not be charged until solid evidence of his more direct involvement became available. However, the fact that he was a freedman cast suspicion on his patron, who had been sent to Gaul to quell the riots, according to the Senate.

"You can go," Octavianus said to Yuto.

Octavianus fixed his gaze on Marcus' report. He had a lot of questions, particularly about Archer. His search through the registers had yielded no results. It seemed like he was a ghost, leading Octavianus to believe that Archer was not his true name. However, without a clue, he had no idea where to begin.

"Forget it for now." Octavian sighed tiredly and resumed writing.

Yuto finally breathed a sigh of relief after leaving the palace.

To be honest, he thought the interrogation would be worse. He expected to be tortured until they extracted a confession, whether true or false. Perhaps he was helped by the fact that he brought the documents proving his innocence with him.

That was an excellent lesson. He'd been too greedy. The prospect of a similar gain lured him into a trap.

Jack left her spiritual form. "Daddy, who is Archer?"

Yuto blinked a few times. "A ghost from the past."

It was the simplest and most comprehensive explanation he could give her. He was an alter ego he had created many years ago which he thought he had abandoned. In fact, it had been a long time since he had assumed the identity of Archer, who was inspired by the Archer Class Servant of the Fifth Holy Grail War.

"Have you ever wondered what good and evil really are?" Yuto inquired.

"Good is when good deeds are done while evil is when bad things are done," he replied.

Yuto nodded, though he wasn't entirely convinced by what Jack had said.

"Archer represents their opposition, ensuring good through the accomplishment of evil deeds, consciously accepting this contradiction," Yuto went on to say.

"Then why do we let them live?" Jack tilted her head slightly.

"I aim for a bigger prey, and they will bring me there," Yuto responded.

Right now, Yuto was going to the public baths, a place of relaxation as well as a gathering place for influential people to form alliances. It was the perfect place to discover something shady.

"I see a lot of women. Does anyone know who Jack's mother is?" Jack said, embarrassing Yuto.

The public baths were also the place of promiscuity, frequented by both men and women with no gender separation. They were all completely naked.

"Strike," Yuto muttered as Gaius Valerius spoke to another man. "They must not understand I'm listening. Let us act normally."

Jack nodded and jumped into the water.

Yuto sat on the edge of the tub, keeping his distance from Gaius Valerius but close enough to hear him speak.

/

"The king is not pleased with the result," the mysterious man warned Gaius Valerius. "It was supposed to be an easy job, but you failed, showing your incompetence."

"I apologise. Archer's intervention blew my plan up," Gaius Valerius said humbly.

"There are no justifications. You were only supposed to do one thing, and you failed," the mysterious man said. "Even though Caesar is no longer alive, the dynasty lives on. And Archer, or whoever he is, is aware of your appearance and our existence."

"You speak well, but what did your assassins do?" Gaius Valerius replied, irritated by the mysterious man's tone. "One was split in half and the other committed suicide."

"Their deaths are honourable, while you dared to crawl back," the mysterious man said, harshly criticising his colleague's decision to come back alive and beg for a second chance, rather than committing suicide as the ultimate form of honour. "The king has been merciful, but there will be no third time."

"What should I do?" Gaius Valerius inquired.

"At nightfall, meet me in Villae Estens. I'll tell you what to do," the mysterious man said.

/

Although their history dates back only a hundred years, Villae Estens was the secondary residence of one of Rome's wealthiest nobilitas. They were so wealthy that they owned a gladiator school and were one of the few people who organised gladiatorial fights regularly.

At the very least, he knew what he was going to do that night.

"Um, sorry, are you Yuto?"

Yuto turned to face the person who had called him. Yuto was familiar with her.

"Mrs Lavinia, I find you beautiful as usual," Yuto said, lifting his right arm slightly.

Lavinia Lupis was Lucius' wife and the mother of Lavinia Minor and Alexander Lucius Lupis. The blond and curly hair was pulled back in a bun, revealing a gentle and sensual smile.

"I didn't see you coming, or else I would have greeted you properly," Yuto said, slightly bowing his head.

"It's all right," Lavinia reassured with a smile. "I noticed you thinking. Something is bothering you."

"There's nothing to be concerned about," Yuto said solemnly. "I just had some problems with a client."

"You're talking about the attempt to Gaius Julius Caesar." Lavinia laughed in response to Yuto's surprised expression. "You are not to blame. My husband informed me that you offered to save him."

"I just wanted to protect the man who was kind to me and his whole family," Yuto said.
And Tiberius, as well as she and her entire family, were grateful to him.

Tiberius saw Yuto's potential and wanted to adopt him into his family. He first proposed adoption to him, then marriage to Lavinia Minor, both of which were rejected. Tiberius, on the other hand, had not given up on the idea of having him in the family.

"Have you received any news from him?" Yuto inquired.

"I received a parcel just this morning and everything was going well," she said.

Yuto let out a sigh of relief.

"You genuinely care about my husband. It's this loyalty he's looking for," Lavinia stated. "A loyal man is very difficult to find."

"I'm not loyal, but I don't feel like I've done enough to repay him," Yuto said as he gazed up at the roof. "I am perfectly aware that he did not release me out of altruism. He wants something from me, most likely a grandson who can be a magus."

Yuto observed the Tohsaka's magic crests.

"Maybe I should accept his offer to marry your daughter, but..." Yuto paused for a moment, sighing wearily. "You better find a better husband."

"Hmm..." Lavinia thought about something her husband had said to her the night before he left for Gaul. "Do you believe you are unsuitable?" Or is it the other one that concerns you?"

"What?" Yuto gasped.

Lavinia's lips curled, pleased with Yuto's response.

"The story of Archer is passed down in my family and my husband's," Lavinia said as she sat on the edge of the tub next to Yuto. "It said he is the dark ruler of Rome."

"…"

Lavinia caught a glimpse of Yuto out of the corner of her eye, her smile veiled before Yuto's silence, which confirmed Tiberius' theory of Yuto's other identity.

"Since when did you know?" Yuto inquired.

"You saved him, do you remember?" Lavinia responded with irony.

"Are you going to blackmail me?" Yuto asked, becoming defensive.

"No, I am not," Lavinia replied quickly.

"So what do you want?" Yuto was becoming increasingly suspicious.

"I want to form an alliance with you," Lavinia responded.

"By marrying your daughter?"

"It's just one way," Lavinia shrugged.

"What would I gain?" Yuto inquired.

"The alliance will allow you to strengthen Archer's control over the aristocracy, while you can begin to climb the pyramid," Lavinia said in response.

"What about Jack?" Yuto inquired.

"She's your daughter, isn't she?" Lavinia stared at Jack who was making other women uncomfortable in search of 'her mum'. "When Tiberius proposed this to me, he granted me the opportunity to welcome her too."

"Hmm..." Yuto turned around, wide-eyed, to see Jack asking all the women if they were her mother, clearly humiliating and bothering them. "Hey Jack, stop it now or you will be adopted!"

"Nooo! "Jack refuses to be adopted!" Jack burst out laughing.

Yuto laughed with delight.

"What do you want in return?" Yuto inquired.

Even though he was ready to refuse, it wasn't a bad idea to keep listening until the end.

"Archer's name must become synonymous with terror for all those who intend to threaten Rome."

"Do you want me to become the guarantor of peace through the fear?" What Yuto didn't realise was how much money the Lupis family would make from him acting as Rome's guarantor.

Archer, as he had told Jack, represented the conflict between good and evil, but he did not want to divert him until he became a mass murderer or, worse, a tyrant.

"I'm not asking you to change your ways, but I just want you to put pressure on the Senate," she said. "Those old senile will begin to work for Rome and its people if they are threatened."

How many useless statues and palaces have been constructed with war booty? That money could be put to better use. For example, it could be used to fortify the Republic's borders or reform the army to put an end to the Parties in the east. Tiberius had this thought.

"Did Tiberius agree?" Yuto asked.

Lavinia gave a nod.

Yuto sighed as he observed Jack, who appeared to have understood the speech. "Before making a decision, I would like permission to talk to your daughter."

A/N: for those who had not read the prologue or had not understood it, this first part takes place in 44 BC.