[ ah. yep. there it is. she notices, rearing back slightly and glancing between the man now moving and the painted figure behind him. once it's clear that... that's passed... she falls into step. from the way he talks about it he's not a heroic spirit. perhaps he just died before being brought here? ]

It was a difficult place, often a cruel one, but... beautiful. Far more colorful than you've likely imagined, as well. Ah, the marble buildings painted with brilliant reds and blues, the gilding atop it all...! [ she's briefly swept up, thinking of her own theater in particular. ]

... Still, no one reigns innocently, as the saying goes. Perhaps the old Senate families least of all. The idea of Rome, what it represented, that beacon to the world... I hold that dear, and shall never let it go. But empire is unpleasant business.