"Mamila, you can do it."
The girl muttered, hands clenched tight.
Mamila.
She had just turned twelve and was the youngest among the Vestal Virgins.
Two years earlier, she had become a priestess. The memories of that time still came to mind vividly.
Her family's heartfelt congratulations—and even a banquet in her honor.
Being chosen as a priestess greatly elevated the status of one's family.
As such, Mamila always took pride in the fact that she was a priestess.
"Priestess, we will arrive at the spring soon."
She was currently heading to Rome's sacred spring, the Egeria Spring.
This sacred spring was near the Capena Gate, and coming here to draw water was one of the tasks Vestal Virgins performed every morning.
The Vestal Virgins used this sacred spring water to clean the temple and perform various rituals.
But today, she was entrusted with one more unique task.
Mamila recalled what the Chief Priestess had told her.
In her hand was an amphora. The amphora was engraved with a wheel and an eagle emblem.
The order given by Chief Priestess Miria was simple.
'Draw water as usual, but use this olive oil to wash your hands in front of people.'
Washing hands with olive oil.
It wasn't a very difficult task.
But that didn't mean she wasn't nervous.
Staring intently at the amphora in her hand, she sighed.
This must have been requested by the young Caesar.
She recalled the boy who had come to the temple with this amphora yesterday.
Lucius Julius Caesar.
The son of the Pontifex Maximus and the man who created 'insurance', which had recently become popular.
Before meeting him in person, she had never imagined he would be so young.
'He didn't look much older than me...'
Young Caesar left the temple after having a private conversation with the Chief Priestess.
Although Mamila was young, she could tell that some kind of promise had been exchanged between the two.
After all, this Palmolive was also brought by him.
Did he make this himself too?
Just then, the carriage stopped with a rattling sound.
After shaking for a moment, the carriage came to a complete stop a few seconds later.
The attendant looked at her and said.
"We have arrived at the spring, Priestess."
"Alright. Then bring the jars and follow me."
"Yes, Priestess."
Mamila caught her breath once more and stood up from the cushion she was sitting on.
Holding the Palmolive in one hand, she got off the carriage with the help of a slave.
There were several other springs next to the Egeria Spring.
Thanks to that, this area was bustling with Roman citizens who came to draw water.
Feeling the warm morning sunlight on her face, Mamila headed to the spring.
A slave carrying two silver jars followed behind her.
"The priestess is coming over there."
"What are you doing, you rascal? Bow your head quickly!"
"She looks younger than me for a priestess?"
"How dare you say such blasphemous things!"
"Ouch! Why did you suddenly hit my head, Mom!"
Citizens who spotted Mamila bowed their heads slightly to pay their respects.
Children who followed their parents looked at her with curious eyes.
Mamila walked toward the spring, trying not to notice the crowd's stares.
Arriving in front of the spring, she first knelt and recited a short prayer.
It was a prayer dedicated to the nymph Egeria, the owner of the spring.
The cold touch of the grass tickled her knees.
"I pray to the owner of the sacred spring. Please purify Rome with sacred water and in the future..."
She recited the prayer without stumbling.
After the prayer ended, she dipped the silver jars received from the slave deep into the spring.
After a few minutes, both silver jars were filled with spring water.
Now the moment she had been worried about approached.
Steeling herself for the last time, she lifted the amphora containing Palmolive and tilted it slightly over her hand.
Then, a faint golden liquid flowed out and wet her hand.
At the cold touch, Mamila flinched without thinking. But she soon calmly rubbed her hands together.
As soon as the water touched it, white foam formed on her hands.
And when she washed off the foam, her hands came away perfectly clean.
It was a sight Mamila had never seen before in her life.
"Mom, the priestess is doing something."
"What nonsense are you talking about now..."
"It looks like she's applying something?"
People began to whisper one by one at her unusual behavior.
Feeling the people's intense gazes, Mamila poured water on her hands coated with Palmolive.
"Foam is coming out of the priestess's hands!"
"Foam?"
"It really is foam?"
People murmured, looking at her.
Her heart pounded. She could hear it in her ears.
"Wow..."
The first ones to approach her side were the children.
Before their parents could stop them, the children flocked to her side.
"Serius! Get back here right now!"
Flustered parents shouted at their children.
But they too were soon forced to shut their mouths.
Because the Vestal Virgin, Mamila, smiled and offered her hand to the children.
"Do you want to try it too?"
"Yes, Priestess!"
A child sniffled and answered.
Only then did the tension leave her shoulders.
When she actually used it herself, it was nothing special.
Rather, it smelled good and her hands really felt cleaner.
Mamila poured a little Palmolive onto the hands of the children who were almost her age.
The order she received was just to wash her hands in front of people.
Since she was never told not to do this, it should be fine, right? She thought to herself.
The children chatted happily while applying Palmolive to their hands.
"Wow! It really foams!"
"Me too! Me too!"
Speechless, the adults stared stared blankly at the scene.
"They say Goddess Venus was born from foam, right?..."
"No, this is a blessing from Goddess Vesta..."
Murmurs swept through the spring. That morning, a rumor spread that Goddess Vesta had bestowed sacred olive oil at the Egeria Spring.
***
"Welcome, everyone."
"Lady Cornelia. I am truly sorry to visit so suddenly without an appointment. My husband just brought a wonderful ornament from the East, and I really wanted to give it to you as a gift."
"We also brought a few gifts to greet Lady Cornelia."
The mistress of the Caesar household, Cornelia looked flustered as she watched the guests flocking in.
It was rare for women from high-ranking Roman families to rush in like this, competing with each other.
"I haven't prepared anything, but if you don't mind, please come inside. I'll have drinks and food brought out."
"You are truly kind."
Women in stolas poured into the mansion.
All of them were women from prestigious families representing Rome.
They glanced at each other as if waiting for something.
"You must be truly proud, Lady Cornelia, seeing how splendidly young Caesar has grown up."
"Ah, yes."
Just as Cornelia was looking for words to reply, the women continued speaking one after another.
"First insurance, and now Palmolive. It's truly amazing—that's all I can say."
"There are rumors that the Vestal Virgins also use Palmolive."
The women stared intently at Cornelia.
Their eyes were trying to tell her exactly what they wanted.
Only then did Cornelia realize why they had personally visited all the way here.
"Right, since I received gifts, I should give you something in return. As it happens, Lucius set aside some Palmolive separately."
"Oh, Lady Cornelia, really. Saying that makes it sound like we came to find you wanting something in return."
"Of course not. You are all precious people who share friendship with me. It's only proper to return the favor."
"Then it would be rude to keep refusing..."
Cornelia smirked inwardly at the sight of the women gauging the mood.
To have the women of high-ranking Roman families wrapped around his finger with nothing but olive oil.
What on earth has Lucius done?
As she headed to the warehouse with a smile, Julia approached her.
"Did all those people come to get Palmolive?"
"Yes, Julia."
Cornelia replied.
People often say men rule Rome, but women rule the household.
As such, the influence women had on Roman politics was by no means small.
Palmolive, which everyone wants to have.
What if we gain the favor of high-ranking women through it?
It was clear that it would be a great help to the Caesar family as well.
"It seems your brother has done something preposterous again."
***
"Young Master, what on earth have you done this time?!"
"I don't know either!"
The Palmolive factory shook from side to side as if an earthquake had occurred.
"What on earth did you do for half the citizens of Rome to clamor for Palmolive?"
"I really don't know either!"
I gasped for breath and shouted at Felix.
Inside the factory, workers were shouting and running around to make even one more bottle of Palmolive.
"Put the perfume in jar number 1 quickly!"
"Aging is done for jar number 4! Take it outside quickly!"
The heat of boiling Palmolive and the noise of the gathered crowd made me dizzy.
"At this point, didn't you use some kind of magic to bewitch the Roman citizens?"
"I just asked the Vestal Virgins to endorse it!"
"To endorse Palmolive?"
"Yes!"
Finding a chair amidst the chaos, I collapsed into the chair.
I did make a special request to the Vestal Virgins yesterday.
I couldn't tell Romans to use Palmolive to eliminate germs.
But my thought was that if respected priestesses used Palmolive, citizens would naturally follow suit.
Just like influencers in the 21st century and the fans who follow them.
The Vestal Virgin used Palmolive in front of citizens as promised.
"But even so, this is too much!"
Requests from shop owners wanting Palmolive supply were flooding in after just one day.
Furthermore, citizens who couldn't get Palmolive at shops were now coming directly to this factory.
Felix shouted at me, clutching his head.
"Ah, I don't know! This is all your fault, Young Master!"
"I didn't know it would turn out like this either!"
Not wanting to lose, I shouted back with all my might.
As if oblivious to our shouting, the water wheel turned slowly as always, pouring out water.
***
"Everyone must have heard the rumors about Palmolive. That olive oil Caesar newly created."
"Is there anyone in Rome right now who doesn't know about it?"
Several men conversed around a large circular table.
All of them were prominent merchants and artisans representing Rome.
They were powerful men who ran merchant houses and guilds.
"To think he would sell goods in such a way using the Vestal Virgins... I truly never imagined it."
"This is an opportunity for us too."
A pot-bellied man said.
"Where else would there be an easier opportunity to make money than this?"
At his words, everyone else nodded as if in agreement.
The Palmolive trend that suddenly spread like wildfire.
They couldn't let Caesar monopolize all the profits alone.
After all, aren't they the ones who rule this Rome?
No matter how much politicians fight amongst themselves, in the end, money was what lasted.
Gold was power—stronger than anything else. For those who have increased their wealth all their lives, this Palmolive was an opportunity not to be missed.
Regardless of his father's status as Pontifex Maximus, young Caesar was still a greenhorn—not yet twenty. To them, he was easy prey, the kind of upstart they could devour without a second thought.
Talent was one thing. Without experience, he was nothing but a boy with sharp teeth.
"Let's make a plan to use the boy."