[This was shocking news.]
[No one had expected Claudius to fall ill in the second month of his new marriage.]
[But you had a keen sense of what was happening—it definitely had something to do with Agrippina.]
[Before things spiraled completely out of control, you secretly contacted her.]
After a court session in the Roman palace.
Ian took advantage of a moment when no one was around and successfully met with Agrippina.
"Madam... did you use some method again?"
Agrippina smiled calmly and nodded directly—she no longer intended to hide it.
"Seneca, you guessed right."
"..."
Ian's heart sank, but he was not surprised at all.
The reason was simple: this wasn't the first time Agrippina had done something like this.
How could she have any compassion for her husband when she could even use her own daughter?
"Madam... aren't you afraid of something going wrong?"
"You just married him not long ago, didn't you?"
"That's true." Agrippina seemed very calm, as if she were just a bystander and none of this had anything to do with her.
"So, Seneca, what do you plan to do?"
"Will you cut all ties with me, or will you publicly announce what I've done?"
"..."
Agrippina was asking a question she already knew the answer to.
Because of Nero, there was no way Ian could break off with this evil woman.
The man also understood this, so he quickly replied:
"Of course, that's impossible."
"But since you chose to do this, Madam, you must have your own reasons—I want to know what that reason is."
"It's very simple."
Agrippina's attitude was still arrogant. The consecutive successful murders of her husbands had made this sorceress very conceited.
"Since Claudius has already made Nero his heir—he should just die quickly."
"Otherwise, what's the point of this proclamation?"
"..."
It was a ruthless statement, as expected, but it completely fit Agrippina's personality.
"But Madam, the problem we face hasn't changed—if he just dies like this, you'll be the first person they suspect."
"Of course, I know that, Seneca."
Agrippina reached out and gently hooked Ian's chin.
"So I won't let Claudius die just like that—it will be a long, painful process."
"..."
Ian was silent for a moment, then spoke.
"Are you going to torture him?"
"No," Agrippina smiled slightly. "I've never done anything to torture people—it's been the same for all my husbands."
"But someone will do it for me."
"..."
Ian pondered for a moment and found that he already had the answer in his heart.
"Madam, you're not referring to Locusta, are you?"
"You've figured it out, as expected." Agrippina retracted her finger, revealing an approving look.
Although she knew that the man in front of her had an intimate relationship with her daughter, this evil woman showed no anger. Instead, she seemed to be very appreciative.
"It's so pleasant to work with a smart person like you."
"That's right—Locusta will kill Claudius for me, with those dirty mushrooms she collected from some sewer."
Agrippina showed obvious displeasure as she said this.
Perhaps as a fellow poisoner, she felt that Locusta's methods were not "orthodox," and she was only forced to use such a person for her own purposes.
After Agrippina finished explaining, Ian was able to guess what her next move would be.
She would hand over the poisoning to Locusta and, during that time, play the role of a loyal wife at Claudius's bedside, spreading this reputation throughout Rome.
Although the method was surprisingly simple, it was undeniably a very effective way to reduce her own suspicion.
But this led to a new problem.
Agrippina's suspicion was indeed cleared, but Nero's suspicion would rise sharply.
After all, she was the biggest beneficiary of Claudius's death.
And what was even more deadly was that the previous meeting had already proved that Locusta was a fanatical follower of Nero. If they were to follow this lead... it might really involve Nero.
Thinking of this, Ian looked at Agrippina and found that her gaze had never left him.
Clearly, she had also thought about the things he had just considered.
There was no other way. Ian could only bite the bullet and speak directly:
"Madam... you should know that doing this could very likely get Nero involved, right?"
"Hmm," Agrippina nodded. "Of course, I know."
"But you'll prevent all of this from happening, won't you?"
"I believe you have that ability, Seneca—show me your skills as a teacher."
"..."
[With almost the same reason, Agrippina seemed to have no concern about the predicament her daughter would be in.]
[Whatever she decided had to be done, no matter what.]
[In this regard, she was surprisingly similar to Nero—but only in this one aspect.]
[You realized that Agrippina might one day become an enemy of you and Nero.]
[Perhaps... you need to prepare for that in advance.]
[But for now, the task was to find a way to keep Nero safe from this turmoil.]
[But you found that things were not as simple as you had imagined.]
[How could you make her avoid such a danger?]
Late at night.
Ian, with a heavy heart, came to Nero's room—this had already become an unspoken agreement between the two of them.
Only during these secret meetings could they act like lovers and not maintain their usual respectful relationship.
Nero's personality was indeed very innocent, even a bit indescribably naive.
But when facing her teacher Ian, this innocence would quickly turn into a strong desire to conquer him alone.
The most prominent example of this was Nero's very specific request.
She liked to take the absolute lead in their relationship—as she said, this was what an emperor did.
In addition, Nero would also "provoke" Ian. She would lightly draw a line on his chest with her finger and then complain.
"Teacher, you're so terrible~"
Of course, after saying such unrestrained words, there was only one outcome for Nero—that was to admit her complete defeat.
But this was what she wanted.
Feeling Ian's most sincere love was more comforting than any knowledge.
It was another night of mutual understanding. Nero lay beside Ian, as docile as a kitten.
The man stroked her head, feeling the smooth touch, and he relaxed a bit—this was one of his rare moments of joy.
"Hmm~ I'm so happy..."
"I really want to write a song about what just happened—it would definitely be beautiful, right?"
Listening to Nero describe her feelings of their mutual affection with a shy but very serious expression, Ian didn't stop her.
Admittedly, according to aristocratic etiquette, this was a shameless thing to do.
But Ian knew that Nero was also under pressure—after all, she was now the true heir to the Roman Empire.
He wasn't here to make her feel more uncomfortable.
"Hmm!" Nero grabbed Ian's arm and began to act spoiled.
"Teacher, why aren't you saying anything—am I the only one who remembers all these details? Does Teacher not remember anything?"
"How could I not remember?"
"Then tell me!" Nero pouted. It was clear that she really cared about this and was eager to know his thoughts.
"I want to know your opinion!"
"Otherwise, if I'm the only one talking—it's like you're torturing me!"
"..."
Looking at Nero, who was pestering him for a review, Ian smiled slightly and then spoke to the young woman:
"We're already like this now—do you think I still need to give you a review?"
"Huh?" Nero's face turned even redder, but she didn't deny what Ian was saying. Instead, she showed an attitude of agreement.
"Hmm... since Teacher said that, it seems that I did do a good job tonight."
"Of course—" Ian smiled calmly. "The emperor of Rome must be the best at this, right?"
"Hmm~ that's right!"
"..."
"..."
"Teacher... want to kiss again?"
"Of course."
A young woman Nero's age had a natural clinginess towards her partner. After a simple kiss, she reluctantly let go of her teacher's lips.
"Hmm... I wish we could meet like this in the morning, too. That would be a very happy thing, right?"
"Teacher, what do you think?!"
Facing Nero's hopeful gaze, Ian didn't want to dampen her spirits. He replied in a more subtle way.
"Teacher wants to do that, too."
"But Nero, the emperor of Rome has a lot of things to do. If you spend your time on this, you'll be neglecting your duties."
"..."
Nero pursed her lips and thought for a while, and then she suddenly had an idea.
"Hmm! Then as long as I get things done ahead of time, I won't have to worry about it affecting my duties as emperor, right?"
"...That's true in theory, but in reality, it's very difficult."
"It's fine!" Nero patted her chest. "I'm going to be the greatest emperor in the history of the Roman Empire! I can do something like this easily!"
"But speaking of which—"
The young woman looked up at the man beside her, and her green eyes were filled with a different kind of sharpness.
"Teacher, there's something I want to do."
"What is it?"
"You see... aren't the people in the city panicking because of Father's illness? I was thinking of holding some celebrations or something to ease their worries."
"..."
Ian suddenly realized something. He grabbed Nero's shoulders.
"Besides that? Do you have any other ideas?"
It was the first time Nero had seen her teacher so excited, but she didn't mind. She quickly replied:
"Some small competitions—I see they do that a lot in Greece, don't they? We can use that as an example and hold them in Father's name..."
Nero was stopped by Ian before she could finish.
"No, Nero."
"Don't hold it in Father's name."
"Then in whose name?"
"In yours!"
[You found a way to keep Nero safe from this turmoil.]
[It was to follow suit—if Agrippina could play the role of a devoted wife, Nero could also play the role of a devoted daughter!]
[This was essentially the same choice, but the two of them used different methods.]
[Agrippina chose to care for him at his sickbed, while Nero chose to publicize it on the streets.]
[You discussed it with her and then started the plan.]
[You held multiple gatherings and performances in the city of Rome in Nero's name, and you publicly announced that Claudius was only suffering from a minor illness and would recover soon.]
[As for those who were discussing Claudius's illness or related news, you had people secretly deal with them.]
[You realized that you were gradually becoming ruthless—but for Nero, this was all an acceptable price to pay.]
[And Agrippina, who noticed your method, also deliberately controlled the speed of Locusta's poisoning—this allowed Claudius to appear in front of the public from time to time.]
[The public's interest in discussing Claudius's illness gradually faded.]
[Everyone believed that their emperor was still very healthy and that a temporary illness would not defeat him, the symbol of the will of Rome.]
[Six months later, Agrippina's plan came into full effect—Locusta's poisoned mushroom successfully took Claudius's life in his sleep.]
[The city of Rome was plunged into sadness.]
[But more than that, you were more concerned about whether Nero's reputation had been affected.]
[But just as you had predicted, the gatherings and performances held in Nero's name had already cleared her of suspicion in the minds of the people.]
["She was working so hard to prove her father's health back then~"]
["How could a daughter like that harm her own father?"]
[With a nearly unanimous opinion, Claudius's death passed without a ripple.]
[You breathed a sigh of relief—and Nero was still unaware of all this.]
[Another six months later, as Claudius's burial was completed, the Roman Empire's power began to shift.]
[On Nero's seventeenth birthday.]
[She was crowned as the youngest successor to the Roman Empire!]