[As the most direct testament to their love, Claudius and Messalina had a son, Britannicus.]
[He was the one who truly inherited the bloodline of the Roman Empire.]
[So even though he was four years younger than Nero, Agrippina still put him on the list of competitors.]
[But this time, you had a different opinion than her.]
Late at night, in the Roman palace.
A pair of figures walked along a corridor, surrounded by a mysterious magic—this would make others temporarily ignore their presence.
And these two people were not nobodies; they were Ian and Agrippina.
"Madam... I don't think it's necessary to be so ruthless towards Britannicus," the man said to the woman beside him.
"Hmm? Is that so?"
Agrippina stood up and looked at her daughter's teacher.
Her deep, muddy eyes now held an indescribable sharpness.
"Then, Seneca, tell me... why shouldn't I do it?"
"..."
Realizing that Agrippina might have been swayed by his words, Ian quickly explained his thoughts.
"Madam, what I'm about to say might make you angry."
"No matter," Agrippina was calm.
"I'm not someone who acts on impulse."
"That's good." Ian turned around and looked at the sea of flowers under the moonlight.
"Please imagine a scenario, Madam... If you were a Roman citizen and saw the emperor marrying his niece, how would you feel?"
"..."
Agrippina frowned. It was clear that she was very sensitive about this question.
But this woman was indeed as she said, not someone who acted on impulse, so she quickly replied.
"Of course, I would be surprised and dissatisfied."
"After all—"
"This is an act that goes against common sense. At the same time, it would also make people feel that their emperor is foolish and incompetent, wouldn't it?"
"And that woman would most likely be seen by the public as a scourge who bewitched the emperor."
"You're very right, Madam," Ian nodded. "Then, on top of that, if the emperor's son dies not long after he marries his niece, what do you think would happen?"
"..."
Agrippina did not respond to Ian's words.
But even if she chose to remain silent, the result was already self-evident.
This would definitely be seen as a sign of disaster, and she might even be given negative titles like "witch."
Agrippina was a smart person. Ian didn't think she would not have thought of this.
However—
Facing this tricky question, the wife who had killed two husbands in a row laughed at that moment.
"Seneca, you've also realized this."
"You're right—! You're very right," Agrippina reached over the railing, picked a flower, and gently smelled it.
"If Britannicus dies less than a month into the new marriage, it will indeed make people have a lot of bad thoughts."
"So—"
The woman turned around, put the flower she had picked into Ian's hand, and then smiled slightly.
"This is something that should be left to you to do."
"Me?" The flower in Ian's hand fell to the ground. "Madam... I'm afraid I can't do this for you."
"You have to know that Britannicus is still the emperor's biological son, after all—he's not someone who can be easily dealt with."
"But for Nero's sake, you can definitely do it."
Agrippina picked up the flower, put it back into Ian's hand, and then said in a tone that left no room for discussion:
"Seneca, I'll give you three days."
"In three days, if you haven't thought of a better solution, I'll have no choice but to use this method—as for what kind of fate Nero will have to bear because of it, that's not for me to decide."
"..."
Ian's throat moved slightly, and he finally nodded.
The Agrippina in front of him really knew how to use her daughter. This person's heart was far from as simple as it seemed.
"I understand."
"Madam, please wait for my news."
"Very well. Then, good night to you, and good night to my daughter."
Agrippina said this, then removed the magic surrounding the two of them, turned around, and walked into the darkness.
[Britannicus was indeed a very troublesome obstacle on Nero's path to becoming emperor.]
[Although he was younger than Nero, he had a much purer bloodline than she did.]
[If Claudius was clear-headed enough, or if this crown prince performed well enough, he would indeed very likely become the heir to the Roman throne.]
[This was a very disadvantageous situation for you, Agrippina, and Nero.]
[That being said, you were not without a solution in your heart.]
[It's just that if you were to do it that way...]
[With complicated thoughts, you returned to your room—as Nero's teacher, you were also specially allowed to have your own place in the palace.]
[Of course, you knew this was definitely not because of Claudius's kindness, but something that Agrippina had fought for.]
[She needed a deep-seated helper like you.]
Thud.
Ian pushed open his room door.
He sighed, then closed the door and walked towards his bed.
The moment he lifted the blanket, Ian was not surprised to see his student Nero.
At this moment, she was like a kitten, pressing her chest down and cutely lying there, revealing a sweet smile.
This was already a common sight—Nero would sneak in like this every night and have some inappropriate contact with Ian.
And the man also found that this seemed to be the only time he was happy.
"Hmm, Teacher!" Nero pretended to be angry. "You've been acting weird lately!"
"You haven't been waiting for me here for several nights—have you grown tired of your cutest student?"
"No," Ian forced a smile. "I just haven't finished what I'm supposed to do."
"Nero, you know that our status is now different from usual."
"..."
After all, Nero had already snuck into her teacher's bed so many times like this, and she quickly noticed the strangeness in Ian's words.
The young woman grabbed the man's hand and said very seriously:
"Teacher—!"
"Tell me! Did something happen tonight?!"
"No," Ian shook his head.
"Something definitely did!" Nero leaned her whole body toward the man, not caring that she would be touched in a place that would make even an adult woman feel inferior.
"Teacher, you're not usually like this—so something must have happened tonight."
"I said nothing happened."
Ian sighed.
"Nero, can you please not torment me like this?"
"Huh..." Nero, who realized her recklessness, lowered her head and apologized in a low voice. "Teacher, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to."
"..."
When Nero was stubborn, Ian wouldn't feel any heartache;
But when she put on that pitiful expression, the man couldn't stand it—he couldn't stand seeing Nero wronged.
"It's nothing."
Ian held Nero in his arms.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Nero."
"But Teacher looks so troubled..." Nero, who was in the man's arms, still couldn't forget the expression he had just shown.
But suddenly, she seemed to have found a solution and shouted.
"That's right—!"
"Teacher, why don't you..." The young woman straightened her chest and deliberately showed it to Ian.
She was still wearing very light clothing tonight.
"Use my chest to vent those uncomfortable feelings?!"
"..."
Ian hesitated for two seconds, and after making sure he hadn't misheard, he asked:
"Nero, what kind of joke is this?"
"I'm not joking." The young woman shook her head very seriously. "Teacher—you're very unhappy right now, right?"
"And when you kiss me, you subconsciously touch my chest."
"Hmm~ that means... in your mind, my chest is something that can make you feel excited. This deduction can't be wrong!"
"How do you know how to make a logical deduction at a time like this?"
"Hmm~"
The young woman took the man's hands, one in each, and placed them on her waist.
"Because Teacher is a very important person to me—I... care about your words and actions, so I accidentally noticed a lot of things."
"Nero, aren't you ashamed to say something like that?"
"I used to be, but not anymore," Nero's fingers gently rubbed the back of the man's hands, as if she were savoring a newly unearthed artifact.
"Because I know Teacher prefers me to be proactive in getting what I want—so I have to do this."
"Hmm... so please don't have any psychological burden when you enjoy my chest."
"Nero..."
Ian wanted to say more, but Nero bumped his head with her own.
"Hmm! Teacher, I've said all this! If you don't accept it, I'll get angry!"
"Nero, are you threatening me?"
"It's not a threat! Hmm, Teacher, you obviously want to touch it yourself, don't you?! Isn't my chest great? This is the chest of a future emperor!"
Listening to Nero's boasting words, Ian laughed.
"...Then I won't be polite."
"Hmm, you should have done that a long time ago!"
[You had a wonderful night.]
[To be precise, you had a wonderful night with Nero's chest.]
[The permission to play with the young woman's fair and supple chest was something that you, as a man, simply could not resist.]
[You could feel that the boundary between you and her had completely blurred.]
[With just one trigger, you would directly step into the abyss of eternal damnation.]
[But this, on the contrary, became an opportunity for you to make up your mind.]
[You had to eliminate Britannicus as a threat to Nero—otherwise, you wouldn't be worthy of her "emperor's chest" that she was so proud of.]
[Because of this, you decided to do something despicable.]
[You found that you had changed because of Nero—but this didn't seem to be something you couldn't accept.]
[In this world, what remains unchanged?]
"Have you heard? That crown prince named Britannicus seems to be the bastard son of the former empress Messalina and her guard."
"Is that so? Who told you?"
"It's being spread all over the streets—!"
"That's too shameful... so after all this, our emperor doesn't even have a biological son?"
"Indeed... otherwise, he wouldn't have married his niece, would he? After all, someone from the family is more trustworthy."
[Your plan was a success.]
[By secretly publicizing Messalina's affair, you not only successfully tarnished Britannicus's identity but also rationalized Agrippina's marriage.]
[But this was not the entirety of your plan.]
[You had one more important thing to do.]
[You used the momentum of the bastard rumor to approach Britannicus and "inform" him of his father Claudius's "displeasure" with him.]
[Feeling his life was in danger, the crown prince panicked. He actually begged you, Nero's teacher, for a way to survive.]
["Run. Run far away and come back when the dust has settled,"]
[You replied.]
[And so—]
[At the height of the bastard rumor, the crown prince actually fled the Roman capital overnight, disappearing without a trace.]
[This, in turn, undoubtedly proved the authenticity of the rumor.]
[You completed the task Agrippina gave you in an extremely clever way, ensuring Nero's status as the sole heir.]
[A few days later, influenced by Agrippina's persuasion, Claudius publicly announced the matter.]
[Sixteen-year-old Nero, as an adopted son, officially replaced Britannicus and became the crown prince.]
[When Claudius dies, she will become the Roman emperor—a dream you and she have had for more than ten years has now become a reality.]
[After the ceremony, an excited Nero found an excuse to cling to you.]
"Teacher."
Nero clasped her hands behind her back and looked at her teacher with a happy expression.
In public, she was still quite restrained and wouldn't cling to Ian like she did in private.
But in a space where only he could hear her, the young woman was still trying her best to show her affection.
"Hmm~ Teacher, I did very well today, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did. You already look like an emperor."
"Then—"
Nero looked left and right. After confirming that no one was watching her and Ian, she continued to ask:
"Teacher, then, logically, shouldn't you give me a good reward?"
"Of course. Tell me what you want, and I'll go buy it right now."
"Hmm, you don't have to buy it."
"I just hope that the place we meet tonight is no longer your room."
"...Then where?"
"Hmm~ My room, of course!"
As Nero said this, a mischievous light flashed in her eyes.