The Exiled Emperor Returns
Eighteen years ago, Roman Emperor Lucius faked his death and relinquished the throne to protect his wife and daughter, living in obscurity as an ordinary retired soldier. Years later, he willingly became a hostage in place of his rival Cassian to save his family, only to be abandoned and tortured in a mine for three years. Upon his return, he discovers that his wife and daughter never tried to rescue him and have instead been living with Cassian. Heartbroken and disillusioned, Lucius reclaims his military power and makes a triumphant return as emperor. At a banquet where his wife and daughter compete for grain transport privileges, three legions kneel before the man they once dismissed as a nobody, setting the stage for Lucius’s sweeping reckoning with Cassian, the rebels, and all those who betrayed him.