"Nero told me Shiali left this for me."
Upon returning to Rome from Armageddon, it didn't take long for Novia to receive the gift Shiali had left for him via Lucius. He was now toying with the stone in his hand, gently rubbing its surface.
Unlike their flight to Armageddon, Melusine insisted on taking a ship back. Novia understood her reasoning and simply let her have her way.
"Shiali? That purple-haired human girl?"
Melusine remembered the name clearly—because the first time she met Novia, he had been carrying that fragile-looking girl on his back. It was the only thing that soothed the fury she felt at having her severed head turned into a weapon. After all, she had a soft spot for those who were kind to the weak.
But now, her feelings had undergone a complete 180. The only thing she cared about was—
"Don't tell me... she likes you too?"
"Relax. She's just a friend."
Novia answered naturally and even reached over to pinch her cheek.
"Mmm. I believe you."
Melusine had absolute faith that Novia never lied. He might withhold things, sure, but he'd never fabricate anything. That, she was sure of.
"So what's this rock for?" she asked. "It has a bit of magical energy, but it's minuscule. Is it based on some principle I don't understand?"
"I don't know either. But regardless, it's a gift. That alone is enough. I'll treasure it."
Novia understood it was a gift from Shiali, but no matter how he looked at it, it was just an ordinary stone with a faint magical trace. Maybe it symbolized a blessing of some sort.
What he didn't know was that Shiali had actually embedded a message into the stone. She'd asked Lucius to deliver it, but hadn't mentioned how to use it. Whether she forgot out of embarrassment or simply assumed it was common sense is anyone's guess.
As a result, Novia never heard her words.
"It's getting late, maybe we should—"
Before Novia could finish, Melusine, who had been snuggled against his cheek, suddenly dove into his arms, arms wide open. Her golden eyes blinked like she'd discovered something new and curious. She looked at him longingly, her mouth slightly open in a dazed expression.
She was asking for a kiss—again. It had become a ritual on the voyage back. Every night before bed, Melusine insisted that Novia kiss her. Better yet if he hugged her tightly and even nibbled on her tongue a bit.
Because her physical form was still incomplete, she would cling to him afterward and sleep in his arms until morning, whereupon she'd ask for another kiss to start the day.
And today, of course, was no exception.
---
The next day, since Nero was still in the Greek peninsula and wouldn't be back for a while, Novia—having already processed the contents of the Sibylline Oracle—decided to pay a visit to Nero's mother, Agrippina.
"Lady Agrippina, it's been a while."
"Oh... it's you, Novia."
The last time they met had been during Nero's coronation. Since then, they hadn't spoken, and Nero had explicitly forbidden her mother from participating in state affairs.
Agrippina's residence was shrouded in oppressive darkness. The sunlight streaming through the windows was swallowed by the gloom inside. The pristine white walls reflected nothing, like a coffin tucked away in a remote corner—cold and heavy with despair.
"No matter how I look at you, Novia... you're such a pitiful thing."
The silence lingered—not so much because Novia was ignoring her, but because he was waiting to see what else this woman would say.
"Aaah... because of that child. That doll-like child who is now the master of this glorious empire... my sweet, sweet child, my Nero," Agrippina murmured as she held her face, wearing a deranged smile, her voice lilting like a lullaby to herself. "I truly, truly love her."
"Ever since I returned from exile, I've made up my mind—to make that precious Nero the emperor. For that, I'd do anything. I have done anything. That child always had the desire to consume everything, even from a young age. Such a sweet, sweet little doll…"
Novia watched silently as her expression cycled from gentle to deranged to terrifying, over and over again.
"Regardless... you are her mother."
"Yes, I am her mother. She carries my blood—the blood of Agrippina the Elder, the blood of Julia. And that's why you're the one I pity most, Novia."
Agrippina the Younger burst into a cackling laugh.
"An emperor is meant to rule all things in place of the one above. Everything is within their grasp, nothing is forbidden. A god walking the earth!"
She then cast a mocking gaze at Novia.
"Nero? She can't be changed. Just look around—the empire flourishes under her reign, and that splendor... has summoned her. She's merely confused her madness and desire as affection for you. That's all."
"And I, more than anyone, understand that. Which is why you're the most pitiful of all, Novia. In the end, either she'll kill you... or you'll kill her. I've been waiting—waiting for that day for a long, long time."
Julia, daughter of Augustus, exiled for her promiscuity.
Agrippina the Elder, Julia's daughter, exiled and starved to death for treason and sexual misconduct.
Agrippina the Younger, after the death of her husband, failed to seduce her brother Caligula, attempted to assassinate him, and was exiled. Upon her return to Rome, she seduced the empire's wealthiest man, married him, and he mysteriously died not long after. Her final conquest: Emperor Claudius.
It was clear. One after another, each woman had led a life more licentious than the last.
By that logic, it would follow that Nero—
"You're thinking something smug right now, aren't you?"
A faint smile played on Novia's lips as he spoke.
"Agrippina, it's such a small thing—so small that most people would overlook it. But all Nero ever truly lost... was her smile."
"There was a moment when I nearly believed your claim—that because Nero was your daughter, she was doomed to be like you. But no. She is not Julia. She is not Agrippina the Elder. She is not you. She is Nero. That's all."
"Her life belongs to her. And she will choose her own path. Even if I can't change her past, I will accept it. I will shoulder it."
"Because I am her teacher—and that alone is reason enough."
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