[If you let Nero continue to live in such an environment, you know she will definitely become a strange young lady.]
[This is not the future you want to see.]
[You decide you have to do something.]
[And the best and last option right now is to tell Nero's mother, Agrippina, about all this.]
The next day, after lunch.
In a room in the mansion.
Ian, Nero's teacher, was telling Agrippina his thoughts.
"Madam, that's roughly the situation," he said.
"Your current husband... seems to not want to treat Miss Nero as his daughter at all."
"I believe this is an irreversible damage to her growth—so I hope you can find a way to solve this problem as much as possible."
"After all,"
Ian looked at the woman in front of him, who was dressed very elegantly.
"Madam, you don't want your daughter to become a strange young lady one day, do you?"
"When that happens, things will be much harder to handle."
Ian's tone was a bit heavier than usual, which was uncharacteristic of him.
The reason he did this was simple.
He wanted Agrippina to realize that her daughter was suffering greatly.
As a mother, she should act immediately.
However—
To Ian's surprise, after hearing all this, Agrippina not only didn't show any surprise but seemed to be a little secretly pleased.
She looked at the man in front of her and asked a question in return.
"Did you... really hear Nero say that?"
"..."
"Yes," Ian nodded. "Madam, you don't need to doubt—everything just now was told to me by Miss Nero herself."
"She even worried if it was a terrible sin if she didn't like this father of hers."
"Nothing else?" Agrippina continued to ask.
"Did she... say anything more radical?"
"..."
[You didn't want to expose Nero's desire to be emperor so early.]
[But you could feel a rather terrifying anticipation in Agrippina's eyes.]
[She seemed to have long calculated that this day would come and was just waiting for you to reveal the truth.]
[You couldn't be sure if this perception was real—after all, the other party didn't say so explicitly.]
[But for Nero's growth, you felt that you still had to explain things to her as clearly as possible.]
"Madam," Ian said respectfully.
"You're right—Miss Nero said some rather dangerous things to me."
"..."
Hearing Ian's words, Agrippina held up a hand to stop him, then walked to the window, closed it, and pulled all the curtains shut.
As a result, the room became a lot dimmer, and sounds could no longer escape from this place.
"Good, you can talk now," Agrippina said after making sure they had privacy.
"Seneca, what exactly did Nero say to you?"
"..."
[You told Nero's mother, Agrippina, exactly what Nero had said that day.]
[On this basis, you also emphasized the relationship between it and Nero's father's indifference—it was his coldness that led Nero to have this grand desire to become an emperor.]
[This is a solid fact that can't be changed in any way.]
However—
After listening to these words, Agrippina's first reaction was not to sympathize with her daughter.
Instead, she asked Ian another question.
"Then, Teacher Seneca, do you think, based on Nero's talent, is there really a possibility for her to become an emperor?"
"..."
Feeling the clear probing in Agrippina's words, Ian thought for a moment and decided to express his current attitude to this mother in a way that didn't violate his previous statements.
"The talent to become an emperor is not something one possesses from the very beginning—what's more important is the determination to accept challenges and setbacks after becoming an emperor."
"Rome wasn't built in a day, and an emperor isn't made in a day either."
A sharp glint flashed in Agrippina's eyes.
"Then, Teacher Seneca, what you mean is... as long as the opportunities and training are just right, becoming an emperor is a natural progression, is that correct?"
"…Your statement is very accurate, Madam."
"In that case—" Agrippina continued to ask, "if Nero really becomes an emperor, do you think the people who helped her should also have a considerable share of the credit?"
"...That's a matter of course."
"I understand," a hint of a smile appeared on Agrippina's face.
"Then—"
"I'll ask you to instill this idea in Nero."
"Make sure the future she knows that becoming an emperor is by no means her own credit alone."
"..."
[This was a rather terrifying statement, one that arguably should not have come from a mother.]
[But for some reason, you could feel Agrippina's determination to solve the problem.]
[Although—]
[You also felt that this so-called solution might be beyond your expectations.]
[However, seeing things developing in a direction favorable to Nero, you were very willing to be a part of it and provide guidance.]
[You decided to ask Nero what Agrippina was thinking.]
[If she really became an emperor, what would be her attitude towards the people who helped her?]
A few days later, on a certain afternoon.
Little Nero, as usual, clung to her teacher, Ian.
For her, this teacher, who had taught her many things, was already someone she cared about a great deal.
Little Nero was very willing to share everything she saw and her feelings about them with him.
However, for Ian, the situation was not quite the same.
"Nero."
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
"While I don't mind talking in your room, you should at least put on your clothes properly, right?"
Ian looked at little Nero beside him, with a helpless expression.
"If you're like this, and someone finds out, your teacher won't be able to explain it."
Just as Ian was sighing, little Nero, ever since she tasted the sweetness last time, had become much more open in front of him.
The most frequent thing she would do was exactly what she was doing now: dragging him onto the bed and throwing her clothes to the side.
That's right.
In her eyes, this was already a very normal behavior, even though Ian would express his dissatisfaction with it every time.
"Hmm, what's wrong with that?"
Little Nero looked at Ian in confusion, her green eyes filled with obvious grievance.
"This is just a way for me to show my affection to my teacher—why are you so resistant?"
"It's not appropriate, Nero."
"There's nothing inappropriate about it." Little Nero held Ian's hand, not minding her state of being completely exposed to him at all.
"Hmm, teacher, when you meet other girls, don't you also perform a hand-kissing gesture with them?"
"I'm just doing it differently now, so why can't you accept it?"
"Hmm, is it because it doesn't have a name yet! Then I've decided—I'll call it the Nero Special Teacher-Student Ceremony!"
"Your ability to argue in such a strange way is truly unmatched by ordinary people," Ian said helplessly.
"Hmm~" Little Nero seemed to be encouraged.
"It's not bad~ If it weren't for a good teacher, how could I be so good now?"
Ian wanted to lecture her a bit more, but little Nero stopped him with her hand.
"Alright!"
"Don't talk about this anymore. No matter how many times you emphasize it, Teacher, I will never change!"
"So, hurry up and get to the point!"
"..."
Feeling that he really couldn't persuade little Nero, Ian could only ignore her behavior and get to the point.
"Nero, you said before that you want to be an emperor, right?"
"Yes!" Little Nero nodded without hesitation.
"If I can become an emperor—I'll get respect from everyone!"
"It's good to have such a desire," Ian nodded, affirming little Nero's statement.
"Then I'll ask you—"
"If someone plans to help you achieve this goal—how will you treat them after you become emperor?"
"Why would you even ask?"
Little Nero still answered without thinking.
"I'd definitely give them lots and lots of rewards, and then raise their status, so they can get respect with me!"
"..."
A very reasonable answer.
It made Ian feel that little Nero had indeed thought about this issue.
But this feeling only lasted for less than a second before it was completely shattered by her next sentence.
"But if it's my teacher—"
"Then it can't be handled that way."
"Hmm?" Ian looked at little Nero, confused by her words.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Hmm, I don't mean anything~" Little Nero smiled sweetly. "I'll tell you when I become emperor, Teacher!"
"You're being mysterious with me now."
"Hmm, this is not a mystery—it's a very necessary secret!"
"..."
[Although Nero kept some secrets about you.]
[This was enough for you to understand her attitude towards this matter—she would actively reward those who helped her become emperor.]
[You told these things to Agrippina.]
[And the latter, upon hearing them, showed a strange smile.]
[You could only feel an unspeakable cunning in it, but also a hint of unstated anticipation for her child.]
[This was a very complex expression, and you couldn't figure out what Agrippina's mentality was towards this matter.]
[However—]
[This confusion didn't last for too long.]
[Because you soon received a completely unexpected answer.]
[That was the death of Nero's wealthy father a few days later.]
[This was a very suspicious death. No one had been in contact with this greedy father that day, and no one had even seen him.]
[He seemed to have committed suicide, collapsing in his room until his body turned cold before being discovered by others.]
[But you felt that this was not a coincidence—because you sensed the existence of magic.]
[It was a thing like a miracle, rarely recorded in the vast ocean of Roman books.]
[Combined with what happened before, you realized that Agrippina had orchestrated all this.]
[She dealt with the difficulties Nero was facing in a ruthless way.]
[However, the subsequent development of events did not go in a very good direction either.]
It was a rainy night.
Ian took Nero to her father's funeral.
However—
She wasn't too sad at the moment, and her tone was more of confusion.
"Teacher, I heard that on the day I was born... my mother had a difficult labor, right?"
"Yes, that's true," Ian didn't intend to hide the facts. "But that's all in the past."
"But—"
Little Nero looked at the man next to her, and her green eyes finally showed a bit of sadness.
"Teacher, aren't you afraid because of this?"
"Afraid?" Ian frowned slightly. "What am I afraid of?"
"Afraid that I will affect you..." Little Nero held Ian's hand tightly.
"Two people have already... died, haven't they?"
"..."
Ian knew that little Nero was talking about her two fathers.
And looking at this incident, he felt there was a good reason to suspect that the previous one was also done by Agrippina.
But little Nero saw all this as her own fault.
However—
Now was clearly not the right time to explain things to her.
Ian squatted down, hugged Nero tightly, and whispered in her ear.
"It's okay."
"Your teacher won't be affected by you—I still have to teach you how to be an emperor."
"Huh—?!" Little Nero realized that her teacher had agreed.
"Then it's a deal!"
"Yeah, it's a deal."
"Pinky promise!"
"Yeah, pinky promise."
Their little fingers hooked together.
Little Nero's face bloomed into a smile again, just like the rain clearing up at this moment.
[The death of the rich man became an unsolved case.]
[Since no one could find the real killer, all of his property could only be taken by his wife, Agrippina, in full.]
[But you didn't have any opinion on this—after all, everything was now developing in a direction that was beneficial to Nero.]
[And Agrippina was not idle either.]
[After learning about her daughter's desire to be emperor, she began to get busy, not at all like a wife who had just lost her husband.]
[You realized that she probably had no feelings for the rich man at all—this was a business between them, and now someone had just become a part of that business.]
[But that had nothing to do with you.]
[What you had to do now was only one thing: to teach Nero the knowledge an emperor should learn.]
[Seven years passed in a flash, and Nero had grown into a beautiful young woman.]
[And on this day, she ushered in the most important turning point in her life, also fought for by her mother, Agrippina.]
[That was to give her speech at the Senate!]