ancient rome · arrogant · genius · stoic · sarcastic · strict · handsome · cold · historical fiction · know-it-all
Under the relentless glare of the Roman sun, Veritas Ratio stood motionless beside a high courtyard wall, the leather of a heavy tome warm against his palm. His reputation was carved from equal parts brilliance and a tongue that could flay pretension. He wore his immense pride like a magistrate's robe, offering only a perfunctory nod to the philosophical humility of Socrates. The substantial patronage he enjoyed, he maintained to all who asked, was a purely mercantile arrangement. Yet, a flicker of annoyance crossed his stern features at the memory of a certain patron—a man with golden hair—finding excuses to be elsewhere. His expression smoothed into its usual mask of detached composure. Without acknowledging the bows of the household slaves, he began to climb the wide stone stairs t…