The imperial palace in Trier hummed with a new, urgent energy under its young Augustus. Gone was the euphoria of the city's quick fall; now came the relentless grind of securing a province. Constantine drove himself and his nascent administration hard. He immediately put Claudius Mamertinus, the acting prefect, to work. The older man knew Gaul's administration inside out, a vital asset. Constantine spared him no rest, pressing for quick reports and faster results as he began reshaping the province's governance to his own design.
From Trier, Constantine's first commands aimed at immediate control and stability. The roads, he knew, were the arteries of the province; orders flew to make them secure for merchants and his legions alike. He then turned his attention to the cities that had accepted his rule, taking measures to ensure their markets had steady grain at fair prices – a powerful display of an emperor's care. Provincial administrators also received a clear, uncompromising message: those caught enriching themselves through dishonest means would discover his justice to be absolute and final. He spent his hours not in celebration, but hunched over maps, treasury reports, and troop rosters, his mind, honed by a lifetime of such analysis in another world, untangling the complexities of this Gallic power base.
The legions of Gaul – primarily the XXII Primigenia and detachments of the VIII Augusta headquartered in or near Trier – were formally paraded and swore new oaths of fealty. Constantine looked hard at the Gallic officers as he spoke. These were experienced men, their faces set, wary. He spoke plainly of duty and the rewards for loyalty. Gradually, he saw the doubt in some eyes lessen, replaced by a hard-won respect. This young emperor, barely a man, had acted with a swiftness that commanded attention; his quiet words now promised a firm hand. He began the careful process of integrating their command structures with his loyal Britannic forces, promoting competent Gallic officers who displayed genuine loyalty, while quietly sidelining those whose allegiances seemed uncertain.
Valerius, now effectively his chief of internal security and intelligence, was tasked with expanding his network of informants. "I need to know what Severus does before he does it, Valerius," Constantine had instructed. "And Galerius – his silence since my envoy departed is… loud. Understand why. And Rome… watch Rome. The city is a viper's nest even in stable times."
Helena, meanwhile, had found her own purpose in Trier. She moved through the city with a quiet dignity, visiting temples – both pagan and the small, discreet meeting places of the Christians that Constantine's memories knew his father had largely tolerated. She distributed alms, spoke with local women of influence, and began to cultivate a reputation for piety and compassion. Constantine observed her activities with a detached interest. Her growing popularity could be a useful asset, softening his own colder image, building bridges he might later need.
His own thoughts were increasingly consumed by the larger strategic map. Severus, backed by Galerius, was the most immediate military threat. Constantine's memories of Severus painted him as a capable but uninspired general, more loyal than brilliant. He will follow Galerius's orders, Constantine mused, studying a map depicting the Alpine passes into Italy. And Galerius will order him to crush me.
But it was the silence from Rome itself that pricked at his awareness. Constantine knew, with the chilling foresight of a man who had studied history's breaking points, that the Tetrarchy was an inherently unstable construct. Diocletian's abdication had removed its linchpin. His father's death had fractured it further. The elevation of an eighteen-year-old by a frontier army, however popular, was a profound defiance of Galerius's authority. Such instability rarely remained localized. Power vacuums, he knew, were invariably filled, often violently. Rome, with its proud, resentful Senate and its volatile Praetorian Guard, was a tinderbox.
The news, when it came, arrived not via an official dispatch, but through one of Valerius's newly established couriers – a swift rider, his horse lathered, his face grim. He brought whispers, rumors gathered from merchants and travelers on the southern roads, stories from Italia that had filtered through the Alpine passes. "Augustus," Valerius reported, his voice low as they met in Constantine's private study, the maps still spread across the table. "The reports are fragmented, but consistent. There is great unrest in Rome."
Constantine's gaze sharpened. "Unrest? What kind?"
"The populace is angered by new taxes imposed by Galerius, enforced by Severus's officials. The Praetorian Guard… they are openly resentful. Their numbers were reduced, their privileges curtailed under Diocletian's reforms, and Severus has done nothing to restore them." Valerius paused. "And there is a name being spoken in the barracks and the wine shops, Augustus. Maxentius."
Maxentius. Son of the former Augustus Maximian. Brother of Fausta, the woman Constantine's own father had once considered as a potential bride for him to cement alliances, a thought that now seemed a lifetime ago. Constantine's memories of Maxentius were of an arrogant, entitled young man, chafing under his exclusion from the Tetrarchy. "He is in Rome?" Constantine asked, his voice flat.
"He is, Augustus. And the whispers say he speaks of restoring Rome's honor, of championing the Praetorians, of his father's legacy." Valerius met Constantine's eyes. "They say he is preparing to claim the purple himself."
Constantine remained silent for a long moment, his mind racing, processing the implications. Maxentius. A new player, a new usurper, right in the heart of Italy. This was not a distant threat like Galerius, nor a predictable one like Severus. This was a direct challenge to imperial authority in Rome itself, a move that would throw the entire Western Empire into chaos. A cold, almost predatory light glinted in Constantine's eyes. Chaos, for a mind like his, was not just a threat. It was also a ladder.