While Marcellus was in Gaul negotiating with the Suebi to obtain their allegiance. His Frumentarii were in the middle of a clandestine operation deep behind enemy lines. In the slavers market of Constantinople There was a particularly beautiful Numidian woman who was topless, with only a loincloth and a collar to call clothes.

A western Roman merchant from the diocese of Africae stood in front of her, and a group of other slaves as he boldly proclaimed the value of his latest goods to the wealthy patricians of the eastern Roman capital. Currently, the merchant was hawking his goods and attracting his customers with one particular target in sight.

Aulus Pontidius Frugi was the current magister militum of the eastern roman empire. This meant he was the supreme commander of the eastern Roman army. He held significant strategic importance to the eastern roman empire. Unknowingly to him and his masters, he had been marked for death by the western Roman Frumentarii. The reason behind this was simple retaliation.

The roman general was currently walking through the slave markets on his way to the Royal Palace while flanked by his guard when he was approached by the north African merchant. The slaver had a shameless smile on his face as he hawked his goods to what was obviously the man with the most visible wealth on display. After all, Frugi’s armor was extensively gilded, while his tunic was made of purple silk, imported from the far east.

“Sir, you seem like a man of refined taste. Might I suggest to you this Numidian beauty that I have recently obtained from the diocese of Africae? I can assure you that not only is she a beauty of the highest quality, but her virtue is still intact, making her a unique commodity here in Constantinople. I’ll tell you what, since you are clearly a man of such high standing, I will give you a discount, only ten solidii and you can call this beauty your own!_.

If you’re not into that kind of thing, you can always take her as a domestic slave, as she is well versed in the art of cooking, cleaning, and caring for little young ones. What do you say? I assure you, if you do not jump at this offer now, someone else will!”

In truth, the slaver had already received several offers to buy the woman throughout the day, but there was only one man he was interested in selling her to. Obviously, nobody knew this, and he simply said it was a matter of the price being wrong when he denied their requests.

The man’s arrogance visibly irritated Frugi. Who did this fool think he was? How dare he approach the magister militum in the middle of the street as if they were long-time friends? However, when Frugi gazed upon the naked bust of Kahina, it was as if he had fallen in love at first sight.

This woman was definitely the general’s type. She had long jet black hair, dark brown eyes, a curvy body, and dark tan skin that, when oiled, would drive any man insane with lust. He had struggled to swallow the saliva that had pooled up in his mouth as he gazed at the exotic beauty, who had a pouting expression on her pretty face.

In his eyes, this expression only made the woman more attractive, and thus he quickly handed out a coin pouch without even thinking of the consequences. There was easily over fifty solidii in this pouch, but that did not matter to Frugi, who just wanted a taste of the slave girl in front of him.

“Here, take it, you damned vulture! Now get the hell out of my face!”

The merchant forced himself to remain calm after being insulted during his transaction and wore a false smile as he nodded his head before bowing towards the eastern roman general.

“A wise man, I am sure you will enjoy her service…”

There was a hidden venom in the words he spoke, which went unnoticed by Frugi and his men. The slaver quickly whistled, and the collared Numidian woman quickly stepped forward, where she was handed off to the eastern Roman General. The woman continued to pout as her new “master” greeted her.

“Hello my darling, my name is Aulus Pontidius Frugi. What is yours?”

Kahina looked to the side, unwilling to meet the gaze of a such a lecherous old man as she muttered a false identity beneath her breath.

“Dihya…”

The elderly roman man smiled as he nodded his head and repeated the name.

“Dihya, that’s a pretty name. From this day forward, I am your dominus. Come with me girl, I look forward to breaking you in…”

Kahina rolled her eyes when she heard this, which again went unnoticed by the eastern Roman general and his guards. She looked off towards the slaver, who wore a sinister grin as the two of them silently nodded to one another. After this exchange of glances was made, Frugi dragged Kahina off to his personal villa within the city’s limits.

Though the Regent had summoned the magister milium for some urgent matter regarding his rivals in the east, he could pound sand. Frugi had acquired himself a new toy, and he would be damned if he was forced to listen to that old bastard’s words, instead of getting his dick wet.

Frugi led Kahina to his home, where he wasted no time. He commanded his soldiers to keep watch outside his room as he forced the girl into his bedchamber. The man was not kind, and immediately shoved Kahina onto the bed, where he impatiently tore at her loincloth, desperate to see the prize he had paid such a high price for.

Unbeknownst to the eastern general, there was a small knife that was strapped to the woman’s upper thigh, concealed by this loincloth. Thus, the moment he tried to remove it, Kahina pulled the blade from its sheath and buried it straight into the man’s neck. The three-inch iron blade immediately pierced through the man’s carotid artery, causing his blood to rush out of the wound like a fountain.

Before he could scream for help, the slave he had just purchased and intended to abuse had covered his mouth with her soft and dainty hands. She wore a devilish grin on her pretty face as she whispered the following words to the man while he slowly bleed out on his bed.

“Titus Claudius Marcellus sends his regards!”

These were the last words that Aulus points Frugi heard before the reaper claimed his soul. The man’s death was so sudden and silent that nobody would ever expect it. However, Kahina had no time to relax. She had at most half an hour before the guards came knocking to retrieve him for his meeting with the Empress Regent. Thus, she immediately cleaned the man’s blood off of her pristine body before pulling the sheets from the bed and tying them into a makeshift rope, where she tossed them out the window.

Without the slightest sound, the woman climbed out of the window and absconded from the vicinity of the villa. The guards who were tasked to protect the magister militum were not any the wiser, as they had not believed anyone would dare attack the man in his own home. After killing the eastern Roman General, Kahina skilfully made her way back to her partner in crime, who was the slaver that had sold her to Frugi to begin with.

This dynamic duo were members of the Frumentarii, and had just engaged in an act of retaliation as a response to the eastern Roman empire’s previous attack on Marcellus’ life. They would quickly flee the city and head back to Ravenna to await their further orders. By the time Yazdegerd and his agents learned of Frugi’s demise, they were already long gone.