Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

The girl's footsteps were rhythmic, tap-tap-tap.

"left already?"

A few seconds later, Xia Li returned from the reporting room. Looking at the inexplicably sad dean, she expressionlessly took another small bite of the food in her palm.

"Never mind, I'll just return it to him next time I have the chance, after all, it's not mine."

014: Roman Court Incident

"The messenger of the gods has resolved the matter of Alexandria and should be richly rewarded."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Novia's life outside Rome thereafter was essentially predetermined.

Before dawn, I would gaze at the trees not far away from the window. After noon, I would take a walk around and preach my doctrines. I would return here before the setting sun enveloped everything. At night, I would train in places where no one else was around, swinging my sword at the leaves falling from the trees to keep my arms from getting sluggish.

If Novia's guess is correct, the reason for Claudius's sudden and drastic change in attitude towards him is probably that the current Empress Messalina whispered something in the emperor's ear while he was away.

However, despite this, Claudius's promise to Novia to grant some preferential treatment to Christians within the empire was still fulfilled, so Novia didn't really care. After all, things had to be done step by step. When she had time to return to the Anatolian province, she would see if she could persuade Paul and others to accept the ideas she was spreading and help her.

The Roman Empire was too vast; it was impossible for Novia alone to successfully bring Christianity to full coverage before Claudius's death.

Furthermore, Novia speculated that Claudius's death in 54 was almost inevitable, leaving her with less than six years. In those six years, she needed to find a plausible reason to wipe out the Judaism in Jerusalem, while Lucius unearthed the remains of the Albion dragon and used alchemy to recreate it...

Each task takes a long time.

After Claudie's death, Nero, the famous and beloved 'tyrant' in Type-Moon history, ascended to the throne.

Novia couldn't guarantee that she would be able to succeed as smoothly as she was now. But if it weren't for her mother Agrippina's help, she probably wouldn't have been able to become emperor. But it's hard to say, because the inevitable events of Type-Moon cannot be rewritten. So Novia felt that if she were to rewrite this history, it would be difficult to predict what would happen.

Novia is currently being secretly suppressed, as is Nero's mother, Agrippina, who is related to the royal family.

To ensure her son's future succession to the throne, Queen Messalina ruthlessly suppressed members of the royal family who had a chance of inheriting the throne. She even had Claudius kill his own secretary. It would be an exaggeration to say that under the indulgence of Emperor Claudius I, she held absolute power.

However, Novia didn't care at all. After all, he knew what would happen next, and he just had to wait.

"Your Excellency Novia."

Hearing the sound, Novia looked up and saw a fifty-year-old man limping towards her from a corridor with no windows leading outside.

"I have met His Majesty."

Perhaps out of concern for 'God', Emperor Claudius would talk to Novia every few days. Although Novia wanted to persuade him to become a Christian, the old fox always dodged the question.

Although Novia considered using the drop of water obtained from the Atlas Institute to cure Claudius's illness, she thought it would be a bad deal and abandoned the idea, instead giving it to Lucius.

After all, Novia had promised Lucius to heal his biting pain, and Lucius hadn't asked too many questions during the year he'd been with her. It was only right and proper that she alleviate his pain first.

Novia's current plan is basically to control the Praetorian Guard in charge of Rome, to allow Christianity, led by himself, to sweep across Europe, and to find someone to be in charge of political affairs for the Roman emperor... Novia has already decided on this person and is just waiting for the right time.

"No need for formalities. It was my fault that I made you stay outside the city."

“Your Majesty, this is a necessary courtesy, and it is also permitted by the gods.”

Novia maintained her usual smile, but inwardly clicked her tongue. Claudie, you can say those polite things yourself; do you really think I believe you?

"Haha, well, there's nothing we can do about it then." Claudie opened the large, ancient book that Novia had placed on the table. It looked like a book containing many religious ideas. He stopped after flipping through a few pages. "But every time I came here, I saw you reading a book about faith, Novia."

"This is necessary for us. By the way, Your Majesty, could you please forgive me for something?"

"Oh? What is it?"

"The rains a few days ago caused the nearby river to overflow, making the bridge leading to the harbor impassable..."

"There's enough food stored here to last through the winter, so you should be fine on your own."

Claudie asked the question while purely contemplating it, and Novia gave an apologetic smile.

"No, it's not about food. A traveler who came here by chance because he couldn't cross the bridge asked me for help. He asked if I could stay here until the rain stopped. Thinking that I couldn't let a lost person lose his shelter, I agreed. But this is a place that Your Majesty has given me, a place that belongs to me alone."

“I don’t need your consent at all!” Claudie stood up from his seat and patted Novia on the shoulder with righteous indignation. “You did a great job. Everyone in my empire should strongly support this kind of thing.”

"I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's approval."

Novia did all this and spoke to Emperor Claudius in order to make Claudius subconsciously believe that the actions of the Christianity he promoted were reasonable. In this way, it would be natural for Christianity to take in the homeless and care for neighbors infected with diseases regardless of their status or religious beliefs within the empire.

"His Majesty."

The sound of other people came from outside; they must be the people in charge of managing and guarding Emperor Claudius's travels.

"What's the matter?"

"The situation is urgent, please allow me to inform Your Majesty in person."

"come in."

Novia originally wanted to make room, but Claudie shook his head silently, indicating that it was fine to stay.

Soon, the guards entered and whispered something in Emperor Claudius's ear without hesitation.

"Your Majesty, please make a decision soon."

After hearing the report, Emperor Claudius I's eyes flashed with anger, and Novia seemed to sense something from this change.

"Everyone, follow me and return to Rome immediately!"

From the morning onwards, it was a dark, overcast day with white clouds mixed in. As the sun set, rain pounded on the ground and thunder roared, and the bad weather seemed to shake even the window frames.

This was the court event that Novia had been waiting for—

Queen Messalina married her lover.

015: Please commit suicide, for the sake of your child.

There is a saying, "All roads lead to Rome," in which "Rome" symbolizes all good things in the eyes of many.

Of course, this statement also uses "Rome" to give people hope and expectation. In many ancient histories, people can only think of the great civilization itself, but they do not know the unpleasant things hidden behind these seemingly great civilizations.

Since the Second Punic War, Rome had acquired enormous wealth, with slaves and grain being continuously transported to the empire via the Mediterranean.

Corruption and debauchery are often inseparable, and corruption is inseparable from wealth. Moreover, the aristocratic atmosphere and moral values ​​of the ancient Roman Empire made adultery among noblewomen commonplace, and there was no such thing as unforgivable adultery within marriage.

During the early days of the Big Three, Caesar slept with the wives of the other two, and the other two knew about it, so it didn't stop the brothers from drinking.

Even one's own sister or mother can still be considered one's woman, which has led to a lack of strong moral values ​​regarding human relationships in this country, both domestically and internationally.

Novia was well aware of this, and the most important reason why Emperor Claudius I was so furious was not because Queen Messalina was marrying her lover, but because he feared that it would threaten his own position.

This man, who became emperor at the age of fifty, did not have a prepared team of talented people to govern. Therefore, he relied heavily on freed slaves from his family to serve as secretaries. Over time, the power of these people expanded rapidly during his reign.

The same was true of Queen Messalina, and as time went on until 48 AD, she ordered Claudius to kill most of these secretaries.

According to Claudius's intelligence, many elders, high-ranking officials, and military officers attended the wedding of Queen Messalina and her lover.

Claudius knew perfectly well how he had obtained the throne, and therefore was extremely worried about this move. In other words, if Messalina hadn't refused to invite so many people, Claudius might not have been so angry.

However, the emperor's long-dormant anger had already reached the city of Rome through the magicians.

"Bruce, I appoint you as the new commander of the Praetorian Guard. Lead the Praetorian Guard into Rome as soon as possible."

As Claudius sat in the carriage returning to Rome, he pondered whether to treat Messalina as a public offense or to resolve it as a family matter.

Since Novia was sitting inside Claudie's carriage, it was clear that Claudie seemed quite hesitant.

It was probably because her young daughter and son had written letters as instructed by their mother, begging their father to spare her life, or at least give Messalina a chance to defend herself.

Although Novia hadn't known Claudius for long, she understood him quite well. In the first fifty years of his life, he had never been respected by others, so he didn't know what it meant to be treated with reverence. In other words, the word "reverence" simply didn't exist in his mind. This was why he had previously only cared about the benefits that Roman and Christian faith could bring.

Click, click. The wind rattled against the windowpane, howling fiercely.

Claudie's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the letter, and he placed it on the table with a sigh.

"Novia, I beg you to summon that unfortunate woman to the palace tomorrow morning and give me a proper explanation."

"Yes."

Novia knew that when Claudius called Messalina 'the unfortunate woman,' it seemed he was about to let her off the hook.

This is not an ideal development for Novia, but it is still acceptable.

Because the one who goes to deliver the message will give the Empress a friendly and 'decent' impression.

It was raining outside, and the wind was biting cold. The sky, the houses, and the group of people were all shrouded in a gloomy gray. Novia held up the umbrella that symbolized Claudius, listened to the pattering of the rain, and watched the white breath she exhaled as she headed toward the garden of her lover where the Queen was staying.

In the Roman night, the magnificent courtyards are adorned with splendid paintings, illuminated by magical lights on both sides, and filled with Greek-style statues—a breathtaking display of luxury.

Novia, representing Claudius, was almost unstoppable and quickly arrived at the master's room in the garden.

"My lord, my lord, spare me! Please let me explain to His Majesty, I didn't—"

The queen's lover was a senator and had even been elected consul for the following year, but his pleas for mercy did not elicit any hesitation from Novia, who beheaded him with a single sword stroke.

"You're that Novia? Never mind, take me to Claudie. This was just an accident. I'm his wife, and our child is the future ruler of the empire—"

However, Novia calmly spoke to Queen Messalina, who remained fearless, as she fiddled with the longsword in her hand.

“Valeria Messalina, please commit suicide, for the sake of your children, Octavia and the future of Britannicus.”

The silver-haired boy's tone was exactly like hers; that was the only thing that mattered to Messalina at that moment.

“This is…” Messalina’s face turned ashen upon hearing this, and she tremblingly took the sword from Novia’s hand. “Claudie… what does he mean?”

Novia nodded in agreement.

“Octavia and Britannicus... my children...”

Messalina kept her eyes tightly closed, her lips moving incessantly, her steps unsteady, and finally, tears streamed down her face, yet she still could not bring herself to plunge the sword into her chest.

"If only I had known this would happen," Novia thought. This 23-year-old queen was incredibly unpopular. She had previously driven her rival to suicide in order to steal a famous actor as her lover. She had also driven a Roman consul to his death, wanting a garden in his possession that was said to be the most beautiful in Rome.

Furthermore, every night she would sneak out of the palace and go to the red-light district under the stands of the Grand Arena, using the alias "Lisisca" to work the night shift as a prostitute.

"It's almost time for the performance to end."

Novia grabbed the sword and, in the next second, plunged it deep into Messalina's chest, killing her instantly. Then, the silver-haired boy pulled out the blood-soaked sword and threw it to the ground.

After stepping outside, he said to the people in the garden—

Valeria Messalina, knowing her sins were too grave to face the people of the empire, went to beg for God's forgiveness.

Subsequently, Messalina's statue was dismantled and destroyed by those who were dissatisfied with her without attracting attention. After her cremation without the participation of her family, Messalina's ashes were not buried in the "Emperor's Temple".

Upon learning of his wife's suicide, Claudie, without suspicion, seemed to have lost all feelings of grief, anger, and so on.

He no longer had the energy to care for his young children who had lost their mother. His wife had done something to betray him, and this sixty-year-old man could only devote all his energy to government affairs.

“Ahem, Novia, you told me before that Seneca was a rare talent, right? I granted your permission to come back from Corsica.”

Inside the Roman palace, which was filled with blooming flowers, the vast land stretched out before them. The old man, who had aged considerably, held Novia's hand tightly. This was probably what it was like when a person grew old and lost their spiritual support.

"Your Majesty is wise. May you enjoy good health under the protection of the gods."

The silver-haired boy spoke calmly. His azure eyes, no matter the time, were always as serene as the sea in deep winter, as if he were looking up from the deep seabed.

"And Octavia and Britannicus, please go and guide them onto the right path..."

"Yes."

016: That will burn everything, the tender ominous star.

Seneca, who had just finished his exile, was walking through the magnificent Roman palace, which consisted of white marble palaces and fluttering red flags, as he completed his tasks for the day.

Rome looks quite different in the sunlight, doesn't it?

Upon hearing this, Seneca turned around and bowed respectfully.

A silver-haired boy dressed in a simple white robe sat on a large, protruding rock behind him, bathed in the warm afternoon light, his skin glowing rosy in the sun.

"Greetings, Lord Novia."

"Seneca, how are your studies, Your Highnesses?"

"outstanding."

"Thanks a lot."

Novia nodded in satisfaction and sat down on a chair to the side, and Seneca followed suit.

"Prince Britannicus is only 7 years old, and Princess Octavia is only 9 years old. They are both very young, so you will need to take good care of their studies."

Seneca nodded silently. The fifty-year-old had been surprised... or rather, admiring, ever since he saw the young man before him.