"..."
Looking at the man who made such a proposal to her, Agrippina's muddy, malicious eyes trembled slightly.
It was clear that she was tempted.
"Make this era a little more crazy?"
"What... do you mean by that?"
"It naturally means to make your daughter Nero's reign chaotic," the man adjusted his tall hat. "And even push her down from the Roman throne."
"Madam, I think this should be what you're hoping for."
"After all—"
The man looked at the cliff in front of Agrippina, and his eyes had a deeper meaning.
If Agrippina had taken one more step forward just now, she would have probably died.
"Isn't the reason you came here because of her oppression?"
"..."
The extremely proud Agrippina did not deny the man's words.
She did have the thought of ending her life just now—but it was just that, only for a moment.
Upon hearing that she could push her daughter Nero down from the Roman throne, the malicious woman no longer hid her true self.
"Are you serious?"
"Do you... really have a way to get my rebellious daughter off the Roman throne?"
"Madam," the man said, neither humble nor overbearing. "I just said it's possible."
"But for you right now, even if you don't get your daughter off the throne, just getting revenge on her should be enough to vent your anger, shouldn't it?"
"After all, you did so much for her, but she betrayed you because of that sage named Seneca, didn't she?"
"..."
The man's words hit Agrippina where it hurt.
That's right.
She had killed three men for this daughter—how dare she defy her, who had sacrificed so much?
The more Agrippina thought about it, the angrier she got. In the end, her hands began to tremble.
However, as a malicious devil who was good at being suspicious of others, she was still a little wary of the man in front of her.
"Why are you helping me?"
"I succeeded in my revenge... but what's in it for you?"
"Of course there is," a strange smile appeared on the man's face. "Madam, I already stated my purpose at the beginning."
"I want to see this era fall into madness—and you are the pioneer who will lead all of this."
"This is essentially a mutual exchange, so Madam, you don't have to worry about me setting up any traps. It's just that simple."
"..."
Agrippina gasped.
She had thought that she was a crazy person, but the man in front of her changed her mind with just a few words.
He was a complete lunatic, a lunatic who wanted to destroy Rome.
But—
No one had ever said that a lunatic couldn't be a partner, right?
"I understand. If it's a trade, then I feel at ease."
"But..."
Agrippina looked at the cliff in front of her, and her tone became heavy.
"If you know the purpose of me coming here—I guess you also know that I have nothing now."
"No, Madam," the man shook his head.
"You're not left with nothing."
"You... still have a piece that can be used and is good enough."
"What?!"
[You had no idea that Lev and Agrippina had completed this meeting on the cliff.]
[Your energy was all focused on the prophecy from the future—that Nero would become a tyrant scorned by history.]
[What exactly is going on?]
"Why would she become a tyrant?"
"Why?"
This was the question Ian had been asking himself recently.
As a teacher who followed the way of benevolence, he was sure that he had never taught Nero anything about tyranny.
Besides, in all fairness, he didn't think his student would do something like that—how could an emperor who was willing to travel through half of Rome with him to find out the situation rule the people with violence?
Where did the problem appear?
Ian racked his brain but couldn't figure out a reason.
He didn't care what happened to his own reputation, but Nero's was a different story.
This was not the kind of grievance she deserved.
Knock knock—
A few knocks on the door pulled Ian out of his thoughts.
"Who is it?"
"It's me," the familiar voice of a guard came from outside the door.
"Lord Seneca, Her Majesty has something important to discuss with you. Please come to her room immediately."
"..."
"Okay, I understand. I'll be right there."
[Following the guard's message, you left your room.]
[After walking through a long corridor, you arrived at the door of Nero's room.]
[She herself was standing there with a serious expression, looking quite unhappy.]
["My dear courtier, you are a little too slow. If you delay a matter of national importance, that would be a great sin."]
[After saying the reproaching words, Nero led you into her room.]
[Everyone thought that you were in big trouble.]
[But only you knew—Nero was showing off her little cleverness again.]
Inside the room.
Nero was no longer serious at all as she had been at the door.
Instead, her face was beaming with joy.
She grabbed the man's hand and asked excitedly, "Teacher, how was my performance? Did I look like I was really angry?"
"..."
Although Ian had somewhat expected this, he still felt a sense of relief.
After all, he was indeed worried that he would make Nero unhappy—even if the possibility was less than one in ten thousand.
"You did very well. You even scared me."
"..."
Nero immediately heard the change in Ian's tone.
She lowered her head and apologized:
"I'm sorry, Teacher."
"I just wanted to see you in the morning, and I didn't expect it to have this kind of psychological effect on you."
"I... won't do it again next time."
"..."
Ian hesitated for a moment, but he still reached out and gently stroked Nero's fair and smooth cheek.
"No, keep doing it next time."
"Although you did scare me, Nero—I also really hope to see you in the morning."
"Hmm?!"
Upon hearing this, Nero's spirit immediately perked up.
"Really?" She puffed out her chest and pushed her teacher against the wall, not wanting to give him a chance to escape.
"Teacher thinks so too?"
"Of course. There's no reason for me to lie to you about something like this, is there?"
"Hmm, that's great~"
"..."
[Looking at Nero's joyous appearance, you became even more unable to understand how she could become a tyrant.]
[She was so cute; she didn't seem like the kind of person who could hurt the people of Rome.]
[Could it be—]
[Was that guy named Lev lying to me?]
[This possibility was quickly denied by you.]
[Because you knew this was an unreasonable thing—if he was really going to lie to you, it would be impossible for him to "grant" you the way to find the true meaning of magic.]
[He must have really seen Nero's future to have said those things.]
[You fell into deep thought.]
"Teacher?"
"Teacher!"
"TEACHER—!!!!"
Nero had to call out several times before she woke Ian from his thoughts about her future.
"What's wrong with you!" The young woman put her hands on her hips and pouted, looking quite unhappy.
"Lately, you've been zoning out like this during our dates!"
"Hmm?! Are there other women outside?!" Nero became vigilant. "If that's the case—I'll kill her!"
"No, there's nothing like that."
Ian reacted quickly.
"How could I look for other women outside? It's impossible in this lifetime—you're all I need, Nero."
"I think my performance in bed recently should prove that, right?"
"..."
"I'll believe you for now," Nero mumbled, recalling the stormy nights. "But Teacher, you must explain to me why you zoned out!"
"I was thinking about how you're going to explain this to the people outside."
Ian looked at the tightly closed door.
"After all, you called me in here on the pretext of a matter of national importance, right?"
"So that's what Teacher was worried about?"
Nero smiled confidently.
"Then Teacher can rest assured—I really do have a very important question I want to ask you."
"Oh?"
Ian was a little surprised.
After all, her behavior just now didn't seem like she had thought of anything.
"What's the question?"
"Magic," Nero replied. "I want to see the magic unit that Teacher has been preparing."
"..."
[It had to be said that this was indeed a good reason.]
[Although you had not publicly announced the principles of learning magic on a large scale, you had indeed formed a unit for Nero that used magic as its primary means of attack.]
[Nero had never questioned you during this process—because you were the person she would always believe in.]
[It was time to let her see it.]
[This magic unit that belonged to Rome alone!]
Somewhere in the city of Rome.
"Your Majesty Nero! Lord Seneca! You're here!"
"I, Locusta—am very happy today. I can't wait to prepare a mushroom feast for the two of you!"
Yes.
The person who came to greet Ian and Nero was none other than Locusta.
As Agrippina's former assassin, she had betrayed the evil woman without hesitation under Ian's promise of "I will let bygones be bygones as long as you help," and became a collaborator, making everything go smoothly.
And this was not a defection without a warning.
Ian had long since realized that Locusta didn't care about Agrippina at all. Her true devotion was to Nero, who had shone brightly in her speech to the Senate.
It was a fervent belief that came from the bottom of her heart, and even the man himself admired it a little.
However, Ian was still a little surprised to find such a small body under that coat.
"Let's put the mushroom feast aside for a bit."
Ian politely declined Locusta's "kind offer."
"Her Majesty wants to see our magic unit today. Is that alright?"
"Of course it is!" Locusta nodded repeatedly. "This way, please, both of you!"
Although Locusta's expertise was poisoning with mushrooms, based on the magic learning theory that he had developed, Ian found that her talent in this area was not bad.
She was always able to learn what he taught her relatively quickly.
Because of this, the man had her in charge of the daily leadership—the reward was that she was allowed to use those who had been sentenced to death by Roman law to experiment with her mushrooms.
Locusta already had a fanatical admiration for Nero. Upon hearing this condition, she was even more delighted and acted with extreme diligence.
Ian was very satisfied with her performance.
"Your Majesty, Lord Seneca," Locusta reported her work progress respectfully. "Right now, I have taught them how to release fireballs."
"Please enjoy the show—!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the people Locusta had arranged began to chant.
A few seconds later, several fireballs appeared in the sky in front of them and then fell to the ground, creating a wave of red heat.
"..."
Nero seemed to have forgotten to even blink. She looked at the sky and said:
"Is this... what they call 'magic'?"
"It's splendid enough. It's worthy of me!"
"Right?!" Locusta, who was praised by Nero, became even more excited. "Your Majesty, I think so too!"
"Only such a wonderful miracle show is worthy of a person of Your Majesty's status!"
But in response to Locusta's words, Nero just nodded and then looked at Ian.
"My dear courtier."
"I remember you said that the essence of magic is to re-enact the common sense of the world—so the things it can do are not just limited to this, right?"
Ian was about to answer this question, but Locusta spoke first again.
As the person who had learned magic the best here besides Ian, she answered Nero's question.
"No, Your Majesty."
"Magic doesn't just have to be used in war—it can also be used in farming, weaving, and medicine."
"Medicine too?"
Nero suddenly thought of something.
She leaned into Locusta's ear, looked at the space between Ian's legs, and her throat moved slightly. Then she asked in a low voice:
"Then—"
"I want to know if magic can be used to make a drug that makes a man become as impulsive as a wild beast when he sees a specific woman?"
"Yes! If Your Majesty needs a drug like that, I will go and research it!"
"I don't want it to be a temporary thing—I want it to last for a long time."
"No problem, Your Majesty. Mushrooms can do that."
"Then I'll have to trouble you."
Nero walked back to Ian's side with satisfaction and whispered to him:
"Teacher, I think I've found a way to use magic to drain you completely."
"Huh?"
Ian was stunned for a moment. After confirming that he had not misheard, he was about to respond.
But before he could speak, a guard rushed in, then knelt on the ground and reported in a hurry.
"Your Majesty, a battle has broken out in the front!"
"Your Majesty's younger brother, Britannicus, has started a rebellion with his troops!"