[You knew this day would come sooner or later.]
[After all, Nero's reforms were not in favor of the nobles—this was something that no emperor before her had ever attempted.]
[But as Nero's teacher, you knew this was a decision she had made after careful consideration.]
[No matter what, you had to stand by her side.]
[With this thought, you went to Agrippina's room.]
As Nero's biological mother, her status also rose after her daughter became the youngest emperor in Roman history, becoming a regent in a sense.
And thanks to this identity, Agrippina's behavior became more and more arrogant.
The way she spoke to others on a regular basis could be said to be extremely rude. From the inside out, she exuded an indescribable arrogance.
At this moment, Agrippina, who was sitting in her room, was shaking a glass of red wine, and she spoke in a questioning tone:
"Seneca, you should know that Nero has issued a series of policies recently, right?"
"Yes, Madam," Ian nodded. "After all, Her Majesty has many whimsical ideas—if they're not verified one by one, she'll never stop."
"But some of the plans are obviously not right, are they?"
Agrippina looked at Ian, and her muddy-like eyes revealed a hint of malice.
"It's one thing if Nero doesn't know—but as her teacher, can't you tell?"
"..."
[You were not stupid.]
[When Agrippina said these words, you realized that she was targeting the starting point of Nero's policies.]
[The emperor of Rome should favor the interests of the nobles, not consider the common people.]
[But this was exactly what you intended to bring up today.]
"Madam, I did notice that Her Majesty's policies were a little different."
Ian met Agrippina's chilling gaze.
"But I don't think Her Majesty's approach is wrong—at least not so far."
"..."
Agrippina sneered.
"Seneca, what makes you think so? Just because Nero is someone you like, is everything she does right?"
"..."
"If that's what you think, Madam, I can't change your mind," Ian replied, neither humble nor overbearing. "But in reality, the people of Rome are very supportive of Her Majesty's policies, aren't they?"
This was not a fact that Ian had fabricated to refute Agrippina.
In fact, in the past month since Nero issued the new policies, the people's favorability towards her had skyrocketed as if she had stepped on the gas pedal.
Poems and articles praising her were often passed around the city of Rome and then recorded.
This was a treatment that her father, Claudius, had never received, but now it was blooming on the land of the city of Rome like a damask rose.
"What's the use of their support!" Agrippina said in a harsh voice. "Seneca, don't you forget who the foundation of Rome is?! If this continues... there will definitely be problems!"
"Madam, are you questioning Her Majesty's choices?" Ian asked back.
"So what if I am?"
Agrippina drank the red wine in her glass.
"Seneca, don't forget—Nero is only seventeen years old. All of her choices are immature and full of naive ideas."
"If you approve of her, it's equivalent to destroying the country of Rome!"
"No, Madam," Ian shook his head.
"You know too little about Her Majesty—you have no idea how much effort she has put in to be worthy of the title of emperor of Rome."
"What's the use of working hard in the wrong direction?!" Agrippina shouted again.
It was clear that she was very much against Ian's ideas.
But the man remained unmoved.
As someone who loved her, he had witnessed Nero's changes on this journey—she was working hard and seriously!
"No, Madam, I assure you that's not the wrong direction, and I hope you can believe in Her Majesty."
"..."
"..."
Ian and Agrippina looked at each other. The gazes that were gradually diverging spoke of the conflict between them.
"Seneca—will you stand by Nero no matter what?"
"Yes, Madam, no matter what, Her Majesty and I are on the same side."
"Hmph," Agrippina sneered. "Then I hope you have enough luck and ability to handle everything that comes next—and not just your lust."
"Of course."
[You and Agrippina had a very serious disagreement.]
[You knew that a political struggle was inevitable.]
[The backing of a gifted emperor has been obtained: You have become the most powerful supporter of Nero's reforms, and this will change your choices in many moments to come.]
[You realized that this was not something you could resist alone.]
[You wanted to make all of this clear to Nero.]
[You—needed her help.]
Late at night.
Ian and Nero walked hand in hand on the walls of the city of Rome.
No one would come here to disturb them at this time, so it was the best time for a secret meeting.
The bright moonlight scattered into the blue cracks on the city walls, reflecting a ruggedness like that of a lake.
Nero was always good at appreciating this kind of beauty, which made her feel much better.
"Teacher, the moonlight is so beautiful tonight~"
"...Yes."
"Hmm~" The young woman pointed to the moon in the sky. "I wish 'I' could make the moon beautiful like this every night as the emperor—!"
Hearing this simple and unrealistic wish, Ian laughed.
"Nero, that's not very realistic."
"If you could do something like that, you wouldn't be an emperor; you'd be a deity."
"Teacher is finally smiling~"
Nero pulled Ian's hand and began a small lover's rubbing attack with her proud chest.
"'I' thought that this wouldn't be able to make Teacher happy—after all, Teacher has looked so worried recently."
"..."
Ian was stunned for a moment, but he quickly understood.
Just as Nero had said before—because she cared from the bottom of her heart, she could quickly notice even the smallest changes.
Just as Ian was filled with emotion, the young emperor spoke again.
"Teacher... are you hiding something from 'me'?"
"If you can—"
The young woman stopped and looked at the man holding her hand with deep affection. Her eyes were filled with infinite attachment to him.
"Please tell 'me' everything."
"..."
[Nero's request at this moment completely aligned with your thoughts.]
[You no longer hesitated.]
[You told her what her mother, Agrippina, had said.]
"This..."
Nero never expected her mother to have such a low opinion of her in private.
"Teacher, you're not joking, are you?"
"Does 'my' decision seem like a child's game to her?"
"Nero, I also wish I could tell you this is fake," Ian sighed, suppressing the indignation in his heart.
"But unfortunately—"
"It's all true."
"Your mother has a considerable amount of dissatisfaction with what you've done during this time."
"..."
Nero was silent at first. It was clear that she was quite sad about her mother's denial.
But soon, she let out a long breath and perked up.
"Whatever—'I' don't care."
"You don't care?"
"That's right," Nero raised her head to meet her teacher's gaze, and her eyes were filled with a completely different kind of confidence.
"The only opinion 'I' care about is Teacher's."
"The rest of them, even my mother, don't matter—'I' don't intend to consider their feelings. It's meaningless to 'me'."
"'I'... am the emperor of Rome. 'I' don't need to report what 'I' do to them!"
"..."
Ian had thought that Nero would be depressed for a while because of what her mother had done, but he never expected that she would resolve the conflict in her heart so quickly.
"Nero, you're really becoming more and more like an emperor."
"Teacher, you can't say that!" The young woman showed a confident smile. "'I' am not 'like' one, 'I' am the emperor of Rome!"
"You have a point."
Ian gently stroked Nero's head with a hint of joy.
"This time, I was wrong."
"Hmm~ It's good that you know!"
Nero pulled Ian to the edge of the city wall. The pale moonlight fell on the two of them, like a silver veil.
"'I' really want to sing a song tonight—!"
"Then sing," Ian encouraged. "You haven't sung for a while, have you?"
"Hmm, that's right! 'I' will sing loudly tonight!"
It was still a physically painful singing voice that tore at the heart.
Ian felt as if his head was about to be shattered—but seeing Nero's cute and serious expression while singing, it didn't seem so unbearable anymore.
"Hmm! How was it?!" The young woman's question rang out again. "Was 'my' singing as beautiful as ever?"
"...Probably."
"Then Teacher will listen to 'me' sing for the rest of 'my' life, right?"
"Yes, I will."
[You and Nero kissed under the moonlight.]
[At this moment, you became people on the "same side."]
[You will face the pressure that comes at you like a tidal wave together.]
[Although the situation was much more dangerous than before—after all, this time you were really going to go against Agrippina.]
[But you found that you felt much more at ease than before.]
[Thinking about it carefully, you felt that it was probably because you had completely understood Nero's determination and realized that she had become a person you could rely on.]
Agrippina's threat was not a joke.
As Nero's mother and the former emperor's wife, she had gathered a considerable amount of influence in Rome through various means.
And the nobles, who already had a lot of complaints about Nero's policies, naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity to use Agrippina's power to eliminate Nero.
For a time, voices against Nero's pro-commoner policies emerged from every corner of the Senate, blowing fiercely towards the young emperor like a gale.
However—
Nero, who had received her teacher Ian's approval, showed a resilience like a flame.
Her damask rose-like words were like thorns, fighting back against the puppets of interests driven by her mother.
"Your Majesty, you should ensure that our wealth is not encroached upon by those commoners."
"'I' will do that—but on the condition that everyone's interests are guaranteed. Only when the citizens are prosperous can the nobles have a future."
"Your Majesty, if the former emperor were to see you protecting those lowly ones... he would definitely regret handing the Roman Empire over to you."
"'I' never worry about things like that—because the people of Rome will convince my father for 'me'."
[No matter what kind of verbal attacks she faced, Nero used the "people" as a solid foundation to fight back.]
[As a skilled debater, she knew this was an unassailable starting point—no noble would dare to stand up and deny this, because it would mean going against tens of thousands of Roman citizens.]
[For a time, the internal situation of the Roman capital was in a stalemate.]
[Nero could be said to have temporarily held off her mother Agrippina's "attack" all by herself.]
[And at the same time, you were not idle.]
[During this time when neither side could find more reasons to attack the other, you recruited citizens who swore loyalty to Nero in the Roman capital.]
[Although the power of each individual's support was small, their numbers were enough.]
[After a month of debate, the momentum began to shift in Nero's favor.]
[It seemed like you had won—but you knew that the real trouble was still to come.]
[Agrippina would absolutely not allow things to develop in her daughter's favor.]
[As the evil woman who had killed three of her husbands in a row and was skilled in the "magic" that was like a miracle, she definitely had a bigger move.]
[You realized that you had to prepare for something in advance.]
But—
It was easy to think about, but when you actually tried to act, you would find that you had no idea where to start.
"Magic" was an extremely rare thing in this era. Otherwise, Agrippina wouldn't have been able to kill two husbands in a row without anyone noticing that something was wrong.
And if you really wanted to fight against "magic," you had to master "magic" yourself.
But the question was—
Where could you learn it?
Even in the Roman palace, not many people knew about the existence of "magic." So who could help you learn it?
Ian was in a predicament.
He was worried that once he truly angered Agrippina, she might do something very detrimental to her daughter, regardless of the cost.
In this anxiety, three more days passed.
A non-ordinary destiny, at this moment, brought Ian an unprecedented path.
Boom—
Boom—
It was a rainy night with thunder and lightning.
Ian, who had just been intimate with Nero, saw a scene from the window that he had never imagined in his life.
A white light fell vertically from the sky, striking the city wall not far away.
After the light faded, a man in a green coat and a tall green hat appeared there.
And in his hand, there was a glittering golden cup!