Bustling out of court after his latest victory in the courts, Alcaeus clutching a file of documents, Tribune Quintus Flaminius Vitulus rushed off to the court presided by Mallius Maximus, to defend Kaeso Obamus. Making his way to his place, Quintus briefly reviewed his notes and consulted with Alcaeus, before rising to his feet and beginning his oration for the defence.

"Gentlemen of the court, I wish to conclude the defence of Kaeso Obamus Jr. And, in keeping with the wishes of our good Iudex, I shall keep my remarks strictly to the point. In any case," he grinned at this point, "it won't take long for me to counter the points made by the prosecution." Vitulus gave a sly look over at his opposite number.

"I shall quickly dispel some myths that the prosecution has sought to tell about this case. First, this is not a case about wills! My client Obamus has not usurped any of the land of Bottius - he is not, in fact, seeking to overturn his father's will. Like some of you, I am crying out, no more on wills!" he implored jokingly to the assembled, some of whom had witnessed his performance in the case of Asinus v. Asinus.

"The case we have before us is, in fact, simple by comparison. It is a clear case of what belongs to Bottius shall stay with Bottius, and what is Obamus's shall stay with Obamus. It is quite clear, also, that Obamus Sr wanted his son to inherit the land that he had farmed all his land. It is quite clear, also, that the real villain of the piece is Bottius himself, for it was Bottius who sought to take advantage of his friend's death by claiming more of the Obamus estate than was rightfully his. And who am I to condemn a man for being an honest farmer and farming our rich Italian soil! But surely," Vitulus spread his arms wide open appealingly at to the court, "that honour of being a good, honest Roman farmer does not extend to taking another's land simply because you have helped in farming it!

"The attorney for the prosecution, Marcus Aemilius Corvus, in fact states the case as being as simple as this - 'merely let Lucius Bottius keep what is his!' he implores. And I agree, I agree! Let him keep his own farm and let the son of Obamus keep his own family's estate. For the situation is as simple as this: Bottius and Obamus Sr were friends, with neighbouring estates. And while Bottius has many sons, Kaeso Obamus Sr had only the one, who went to earn the family money in Rome, and is now a successful man. On his father's death, Kaeso Obamus Jr returned to the farm that was rightfully his, to continue his family's proud tradition of farming the land.

"Did he come to make a 'fast denarius' as the prosecution claim? Did he intend to sell it as soon as it passed into his hands. Why, no, Quirites! Instead, Kaeso Obamus Jr the entrepeneur - who had made his living as a trade agent - decided instead to invest in his estate, adding new buildings. Now, Bottius was jealous of the younger man returning to his family's home. Bottius had farmed part of the Obamus estate on loan to him from Kaeso Obamus Sr and had entertained hopes that this land would pass to him.

"So when Obamus Jr began building on part of this formerly loaned land - but land, let me remind you, belonging to Obamus, as it has always belonged to Obamus. A loan is just that - a loan, to be paid back in due course! But Bottius's greed knew no bounds. Jealous that Obamus Jr was making clear his claim to the full estate that he had inherited, instead of letting his neighbour walk all over him, Bottius brings this spurious court case against Obamus Jr in order to claim land that was never his!

"The essential point is this: anyone can become attached to something loaned to them for many years, but that does not give them to the right to come this court of law and demand it as theirs! I am sure that if Corvus were to loan me his Sardinian estates, I should be very glad of the income. But I should have no recourse in law if, at the end of that loan, he was to start building an even grander version of the Villacorva on land that I had formerly enjoyed myself." A wink at Corvus here, to show Vitulus's lack of ill feeling in this exchange.

"Gentlemen of the court, Kaeso Obamus Jr seeks to farm the land that is his, his by right, and not to allow the greed of Lucius Bottius to be rewarded. Let Obamus run his estate in the way that he sees fit, and do not uphold this preposterous case brought by Lucius Bottius. Indeed, let him keep what is his - and let my client keep what is his!"