Type-Moon, Does a Small Cheat Count as a Cheat?

At the age of fifteen, Novia had earned Emperor Claudius's trust and taken charge of the Secretariat, which handled domestic affairs, diplomacy, and military administration; the Treasury, which managed finances; and the Judiciary, which dealt with legal matters. Emperor Claudius not only personally supervised all three offices, but also sought Novia's opinions from time to time. Whenever provincial nobles wished to enter the Senate and become high-ranking officials, the Emperor would ask for Novia's thoughts as well.

In the most literal sense, Novia stood above everyone but the Emperor. On top of that, Christianity, which Novia personally promoted with great vigor, was rapidly growing.

Unlike the previous secretaries, Novia was entirely free of graft and corruption, and did not amass wealth.

All of this filled Seneca with admiration. Of course, Novia was also the reason his exile had ended, so he had naturally been branded as part of Novia's faction. Moreover, Seneca himself was a Christian, albeit one who followed the original Christian doctrine.

As a veteran official who had served three reigns, Seneca had often been met with suspicion because of his talents. Had it not been for various accidents, he would have long since been ordered to die. By Claudius's reign, he had been mercilessly exiled to Corsica for seven years.

At first, Seneca had been greatly shocked by Novia's request that he teach Octavia and Britannicus. After all, barring any surprises, Britannicus would become the next Emperor in the future. Yet Novia had entrusted him with the honor and power of serving as the Emperor's teacher...

Still, although Novia had entrusted their education to Seneca, Novia personally taught the two of them his own innovative Christian doctrine every day.

"Yes, my lord."

The old man and the youth took a sip of the water on the table, then a second sip.

The breeze whispered softly by his ears. What had Lord Novia come specifically to see him for?

Seneca vaguely pondered this as he took a third sip.

"I heard Agrippina came to see you today."

The youth did not look up. Smiling, he spoke as he drank his water.

Upon hearing that, the old man's bleary eyes had not even fully opened before he abruptly straightened in his chair.

"No, no, no, my lord, please do not misunderstand. That woman only wanted me to become her child's teacher. I did not agree—"

"It's fine. I was merely asking." Novia reached out, patted the old man's shoulder, and said, "Her child? What do you think of her?"

Agrippina's child was Nero, who would ascend to Rome's throne six years later according to the course of history.

According to Novia's memories, Type-Moon's Seneca had been forced to commit suicide by Nero. Before dying, he had said this to his disciple Nero—

A tiny jewel that had once shone with spirit had now become an ominous star. The disasters pouring down like meteors had become flames that burned everything to ashes. I, who discovered your talent, also bore responsibility.

Perhaps due to some concern, Seneca merely told Novia that Agrippina's child was less talented than Octavia and Britannicus.

"Oh, right. Agrippina also said in the end, 'Please give Lord Novia my regards.'"

"I see." Novia narrowed his eyes and headed into the palace. "Thank you for your trouble, Seneca. Go rest."

"My lord, you are...?"

"Since she has already had you convey her greetings to me, I should naturally meet this Agrippina."

Somewhere within the Roman palace.

A woman seemed to be intently pondering something. Petals drifted lightly from the branches. She merely gave them a fleeting glance before quietly closing her eyes again. The sunlight was faint and warm, soothing to the heart.

"Mother, my head hurts so much."

Perhaps because of the tender voice of the young girl in the woman's arms, she suddenly opened her azure eyes. The scenery around her had not changed much, yet the woman looked from side to side as though searching for someone.

"Something very important to our future will happen today, so endure it a little longer, Domitius."

Those words from a mother were somewhat heartless. The blonde girl trembled faintly like a small animal, turned to look at the ground, and after a while softly replied, "Okay." She looked slightly dejected.

Domitius was Nero's original name. She would only be renamed Nero after her mother married Emperor Claudius I. Her father had died when she was three, and her mother Agrippina had also been exiled, so she had been raised by her aunt's Lepida family throughout her childhood.

Agrippina was also anxious. The main reason she had dared to bring her child to meet Seneca today was not to say those things. It was to make Novia, who currently held immense power in Rome, meet her. Ever since the previous Empress had died, Agrippina had sought ways to meet that fifteen-year-old youth, but nothing had gone smoothly. Thus, she had no choice but to resort to this plan.

Time slowly passed, making Agrippina increasingly restless. If she still could not meet Novia today, how could she enter the palace as the Emperor's niece and assist with household affairs...

"You must be Agrippina. I am Novia."

At the sudden voice, Agrippina's mood finally improved somewhat. Her gaze settled on the silver-haired youth walking toward her.

"Greetings, my lord. I am Agrippina, Augustus's granddaughter, Caligula's sister, and His Majesty Claudius's niece."

Novia would not be intimidated so easily. He turned his azure gaze toward Agrippina. Even though he was smiling, his expression remained impossible to read.

"Agrippina," the silver-haired youth said. His tone was calm yet respectful as he spoke the woman's name. "Those external things are meaningless. Under God, all are equal."

"I see. Forgive me, I was only introducing my family to you, my lord. I meant nothing else by it..."

"Ah."

Domitius suddenly let out a soft cry, then fell silent again. As though afraid of being noticed, she covered her mouth with one hand. She had something she wanted to say, but quickly realized it would be meaningless, so she said nothing.

There were times when she could not suppress the headaches with her self-control. Situations like this occasionally occurred.

"Hehe, this child has suffered from headaches since she was little. I am truly sorry. I heard that Lord Novia is God's messenger. Could you perhaps ease this child's pain?"

At the same time, Agrippina deliberately pinched the child in her arms, signaling her to say something.

"L-Lord Novia, I—"

Just as Domitius was about to say something, Novia directly interrupted her. The silver-haired youth spoke with an ambiguous smile.

"There is no need. As her mother, surely you know this condition far better than I do."

"...?"

The blonde girl looked back and forth between Novia and her mother in confusion, unable to understand what that meant.

Agrippina's expression only darkened, but she immediately put on a deeply apologetic face and gently stroked the head of the child in her arms.

Novia knew well how controlling the woman before him was. The source of Nero's chronic headaches since childhood was that Agrippina had continuously fed her poison. Even after Nero became the Beast of Sodom, she had struggled to escape it. It was poison etched into her Saint Graph.

In short, Agrippina had never regarded her daughter Nero as a person. At most, she saw her as a doll.

"You are right, my lord. This is my failing as a mother." As she spoke, Agrippina met the youth's calm gaze with eyes that seemed about to weep. "If I had taken better care of her when she was young, perhaps she would not have ended up like this. It will never happen again."

"If that is the case, then that is wonderful, Lady Agrippina."

Novia smiled at that. He knew Agrippina would not reveal herself so easily. In Type-Moon's story, even after Agrippina was purged, she had smiled as she watched the hysterical Nero die before her. She was a complete madwoman.

After that, neither spoke. Silence passed between them. Rather than having nothing to say, it was more like they were waiting to see who would lose patience first.

Novia did not care in the slightest. Agrippina was the one asking for something now. Without his permission, she could not even approach Emperor Claudius, much less become Empress within a year and make her own child the next Emperor.

Sure enough, as night fell, Agrippina became increasingly agitated. In the end, she stopped beating around the bush—

"Lord Novia, as His Majesty's niece, I deeply feel the burden of His Majesty's endless toil over state affairs. Could you perhaps convey a word to His Majesty on my behalf?"

At the same time, the woman licked her lips, revealing a double-pointed canine in the upper right side of her mouth. With a gaze she had long mastered, she gazed at Novia in seductive flattery.

"Lady Agrippina, the God I believe in is still watching over this world."

Novia remained unmoved. His azure eyes were always as tranquil as the sea in deep winter, as if one were looking upward from the depths of an abyssal ocean. They were enough to make Agrippina calm down in an instant.

"I see."

At that moment, Domitius noticed that her mother's expression looked less calm than dissatisfied. But Domitius no longer cared about that. She only wanted to leave quickly, because her head truly hurt too much.

"But what will happen to my child in the future? This suffering..."

The woman lowered her gaze, seemingly planning something.

"I believe there is no need to say more. Farewell, Lady Agrippina."

Under the cloud-covered night sky, Novia rose and prepared to walk back to his residence, his footsteps ringing sharply against the ground.

"...Wait, my lord."

This was a voice stripped of emotion. The woman's cold eyes fixed on Novia as he turned around. This time, she had truly made some kind of decision. Novia could clearly feel it.

"I am willing to submit to Christianity. Furthermore, my child Domitius has believed in God for many days. I beg you, my lord, to baptize her."

In theory, becoming a Christian required nothing more than believing that one was justified by faith.

For Jesus Christ had said, "I came not to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many."

Novia could naturally see that Agrippina could not possibly truly believe at this moment. She was merely expressing her position. Once he accepted, Agrippina would naturally announce it publicly. But to Novia, what mattered most was Agrippina's child Domitius—the future Nero.

If she, who had been called a tyrant for suppressing Christianity in the original history, were brought into the faith... what kind of development would follow?

Moreover, she herself was exceptionally special. According to the setting of the Beast of Sodom, she became a calamity only after defecting following her fated death...

As Novia pondered, Domitius's pupils flickered with unease. Her breathing was likely already unsteady.

"..."

The blonde girl looked at him as if waking from a dream.

Then, with an absent expression, she nodded and said, "That's right."

She nodded once, then, for some reason, over ten seconds later, nodded again and said, "Please baptize me, my lord."

Baptism was not merely a ritual. It was a testimony, a public declaration before the world that one would obey instruction and follow an example. At the same time, it was a covenant of commitment.

"Very well." Novia faced the woman's delighted gaze. "And her chronic illness should end. It should be handed over to me as well."

Those words froze Agrippina's body. She could guarantee that no one but herself knew she used poison to control her child, yet she could not understand why this silver-haired youth knew and was demanding that she hand it over... In the end, however, the woman silently nodded.

Before leaving, Novia saw Agrippina holding the blonde girl's head in her hands and endlessly murmuring.

"I love you. This is for your sake, Domitius. I love you. I love you deeply."

A mother professing love for her child—it was an incredibly warm scene. The only thing that sent chills down one's spine was the mother's gaze, a gaze like black mud that wished to devour everything.

The night was deep and the dew cold. The sky was vast and beautiful, and the scenery spoke of a day's end. Yet one day was not the same as another.

The next day, Agrippina was appointed as the Emperor's secretary.

On the third day, at Novia's residence within the city of Rome.

"Lord Bishop..."

"Tell me."

Novia poured a bottle of water over the blonde girl's head. Domitius did not even frown, nor did she show any surprise. She merely listened quietly. Novia then handed her the remaining half-bottle and instructed her to drink it.

That barely counted as baptism, since a normal baptism required immersing the baptized person's entire body or half their body in water.

"What should you do?"

In truth, Novia naturally knew what Domitius was about to say, because he had already recited it to the girl himself.

Speaking of which, Novia had kept these words hidden for a long time. Domitius was the first to hear them, but when the opportunity came in the future, they should also be widely promoted.

"People have had ideals, and they have had fantasies. People have received comfort, and they have received humiliation. People have stopped believing in others, and stopped believing in themselves."

"Only as the years pass do we learn the value of truth. Though reality can sometimes be embarrassing, a nation that faces reality is a mature nation, and people who face reality are strong people."

"Nothing can easily move people except the horn of justice."

The blonde girl recited, word by word, words utterly different from the Christian books she had received at home. Though she was confused, she did not ask.

"When you face the wronged and helpless weak, when you face arrogant and domineering evil, when you face injustice capable of affecting a person's entire life, you must understand how much price justice requires, how much courage justice requires."

"At such times, we may have no words, only blessings: let the powerless gain strength, let the pessimistic move forward, let those walking onward continue onward, let happy people become happier; and we must continue striving without cease."

For some reason, the more the girl recited, the more joyful she became. At the same time, a sense of admiration for Novia arose within her.

"There is always a power that brings tears to our eyes. There is always a power that lifts our spirits. There is always a power that drives us to keep seeking justice, love, and conscience."

"This power comes from me, and it also comes from every living person in this world."

"Today, we will study the Twelve Tables."

The morning sunlight passed through the exceedingly plain curtains and shone upon his hair, making it glitter in the blonde girl's hazy vision.

That light was like moonlight, or the gleam upon ears of grain. Seen at different moments, it constantly changed.

It was as though this person was the unfathomable embodiment of mystery. Thus began Domitius's day.

Since Novia had already baptized her, both out of duty and personal selfishness, he intended to tip the balance in Domitius's heart—the future Nero—as much as possible toward himself before Agrippina ascended to the position of Empress. That would make it easier to swiftly execute Agrippina after Claudius died.

Although Agrippina had previously displayed every sign of humility, Novia had never underestimated the woman's schemes. Once she approached Claudius, becoming Empress was inevitable. It was not because sixty-year-old Claudius lusted after beauty or enjoyed marriage between uncle and niece. Rather, he rationally needed Agrippina's bloodline and background as tools to stabilize his legitimate rule.

Claudius had been pushed onto the throne after Caligula's assassination. No previous Emperor had formally designated him as an adopted son or heir according to procedure. Before that, he had not even served as consul. By blood, Claudius had no descent from Augustus. His connection to the Julian family came through his grandmother, the younger Octavia, meaning he was merely a collateral branch, a lesser line. Agrippina possessed both overwhelming advantages that he lacked.