Chessboard of Mortal and God

When Nero woke up, she found herself naked alongside Altrouge. 

Her movement woke Altrouge as they stared at each other awkwardly. 

Nero had no emotional foundation when she slept with Altrouge, only acting in the heat of the moment and caught in the turmoil of her own emotions. She didn't know what to say at this moment.

Unlike Nero, Altrouge was totally into it and always waited for this opportunity, not hesitating to seize it as she greedily kissed Nero. 

Caught off guard by her own sister, Nero wanted to push her away and tell her to forget that night. 

Unfortunately, Altrouge didn't want to listen as she pushed her down and intensified her kiss. 

She hugged Nero tighter and refused to let go. 

Even when pushed, she would force her tongue into Nero's mouth.

In the end, Nero bit hers, causing her to stop and stare at Nero in disbelief. 

"Why?" Altrouge questioned. 

"Let's stop all of this, Altrouge," Nero said. "You should already be aware that you are no match in front of your father. Our end is only death if we continue this further." 

"You are not hers," Altrouge stated bluntly. 

"So, you already know that I was your father's lover? Then, why did you do all of this?" Nero frowned. 

"What if I snatch you from her?" Altrouge challenged. "I know you never loved her. And never will. You were forced against your will."

It's true, though she didn't have any feelings for Crimson Moon. 

Although she appreciated her beauty, that's all. 

Who is human that doesn't appreciate others' attractiveness? 

Moreover, no one is willing to be forced. 

Her feelings were just dislike rather than hatred, since Crimson Moon didn't push her to make her hate her or force her to have sex with her after forming a relationship, but played slowly. 

She doesn't have anything against her anymore, only neutral feelings, neither like nor dislike.

Anyway, she didn't plan to become her lover in the first place. That applies to Altrouge too. 

When her plan comes to an end, she would isolate herself in Avalon. 

She has the plan and capabilities to make Vivian (Morgan le Fay's clone) agree to her terms and let her rest in Avalon. 

There is nothing they could do to stop her. 

Even Sefar, who has the capabilities to exterminate Gods, couldn't stop the output of the Holy Sword when she was put to an end by it, and Avalon's grade and capabilities are the same as the Holy Sword.

From the beginning to the end, she has already made calculations for her retirement plan without being bothered by anyone or anything that stands in her way. 

As long as she isn't dead or signs a contract with Alaya, no one could bother her eternal sleep and retirement plan. 

Unlike others who are obsessed with eternal life or afraid of losing their powers, she is easily bored to the point of suicidal. The world is just a game for her. When she feels no fun in it, she would throw away everything without hesitation and disappear completely from the eyes of the world, even those people who are her loved ones.

She did it in her previous life once, so why couldn't she do it a second time? 

That's why she never bothered to build genuine connections with others because in the end, it would only hurt both sides. 

Despite her inward thinking, outwardly, her face was masked with cold indifference. 

She then stated assertively to Altrouge, "Our conversation ends here, Altrouge. Don't make me hate you." 

"Even if I'm not hers, I'm not yours either. Farewell," she stood up from her chamber, began to dress herself, and left, leaving Altrouge staring at her back blankly.

Her gaze became terrifyingly dark, and no one knew what she was thinking.

...

After she gave a stern warning to Altrouge, she met with Locusta at the dining table. She was accompanied by two black-haired petite girls behind her, each carrying a weapon known as an Imperial Arm, the artifact weapon and ace of the Roman Empire, maintaining their hegemony until now in a world where strength reigns supreme, much like the Type-Moon world.

She glanced at them briefly, then sat down with a serious look on her face and stared at Locusta, deciding to talk to her and get straight to business.

"It's time to end them, Locusta. I'm done playing games. I need Vespasian to strike Vindex's force, take his head, and occupy Gaul forcefully."

If it were the old her, she would have enjoyed playing mind games and defeating her opponent through pure intelligence alone rather than force. 

But now, she was purely annoyed by her mother's tricks. 

It was time to solve all internal problems that should have been solved long ago, once and for all. 

Vindex was already on his way to Rome, meaning his forces would meet with Vespasian in the middle of the road, spelling his end.

"But you invited him as a guest, Nero. If you were to attack him, what would the world think?" Locusta asked, her worry not unfounded. 

Sure, what Nero did at the banquet later could be considered unethical and dishonorable, yet she already had a perfect scapegoat and plan. 

Although the plan was ruined when her mother escaped, there had to be a better way.

"It's not me who did it, Locusta. It's Vespasian who did it without authorization," Nero blinked.

Hearing Nero's statement, Locusta's eyes widened. 

This was so dirty.

"I understand, Nero. I will tell Vespasian, and Vespasian alone, your secret order," Locusta finally nodded after calming down for a while.

"How about Governor Galba and Vitellius, Nero? Do you want to send them along with Vindex?"

"Will do," Nero nodded in satisfaction as Locusta finally got it. 

She glanced at Akame and Kurome at the same time; they should already be competent and skilled enough to get rid of Galba and Vitellius for her.

As she said from the beginning, she was done with playing games. 

Now she would go all out to get rid of all internal problems once and for all. 

Although this move was predictable and made her a little bored, what her mother did had already crossed the line. 

Now it was time to catch her and eliminate all of her sources of confidence.

After that, she would replace the Governor of Spain with Burrus, while the German border would be guarded by someone she could trust. 

As for who, she didn't know; she would leave this problem to her future self.

"So, how is your investigation of Claudia, Locusta?" Nero asked, pretending to be nonchalant about it.

However, deep down, she knew that her suspicion about Claudia betraying her was wrong, and she asked just to confirm it for herself.

Unfortunately, Locusta didn't give her a positive answer.

"Unfortunately, we don't, Nero," Locusta shook her head in regret.

"We have mobilized all the spies available in Rome, but the result is that they see no abnormality in Claudia. She was just like her usual self, and in the report, she never communicated or met with your mother secretly. She was only seen at the dining table and in greetings; that's all we found so far."

"What about meetings with others?" Nero pressed the issue further.

"No, she never met with others secretly or communicated with them in such a manner. That's what makes it weird," Locusta replied calmly.

"Probably we need the help of magi or divination for this. Do you want me to introduce you to the Mage Association?"

"We found one of their members who was deeply rooted in an ancient house of the Roman Empire since Augustus took the reign."

"No, I don't want to owe them a favor. I will find my own way," Nero refused.

"Let Akame and Kurome accompany you if you want to go out, Nero. It's a dangerous period; many nobles want to assassinate you because your actions last night greatly offended them," Locusta advised.

Hearing Locusta's advice, Nero just lowered her head as she continued to eat her food.

Claudia was just like her, a victim of her mother's scapegoat. Sure, everything seemed to indicate that she was betraying her, but after her mind cleared enough, she saw that Claudia was just like her. 

There was no reason for Claudia to betray her, just as there was no reason for Nero to murder Britannicus.

Firstly, Nero didn't believe that a woman like Claudia, who loved her family and bro-con, would be cruel enough to kill her own brother. 

It was impossible for her to do such a thing unless she was forced to. 

No, Nero didn't even believe she would do it if she were forced.

Nero had to admit that her mother was vicious to use Claudia like this, and she was temporarily deceived by the idea that Claudia was betraying her. 

There was only one reason why Claudia wasn't here or found.

She was dead.

Dead under her watch.

Someone probably used her face or skin when deceiving Britannicus. 

It was either a magus or someone skilled enough in transformation spells.

Nero believed her mother was just a pawn in someone else's game. She wasn't capable enough to mobilize magi or hire someone from the other side of the world. They were not foolish enough to provoke her, especially when she had already been declared as Crimson Moon's lover in the other side of the world and had a True Ancestor on her side capable of unleashing power with the same output as a nuclear bomb.

Moreover, her alliance with Alaya would not go unnoticed by them.

There was only one answer: the one who helped her mother either had the same capability as Crimson Moon or surpassed her.

One person had the motivation and capabilities to do that.

It was Gaia.

Her rivalry with Alaya and her supposed plan to tie the True Ancestor and Type-Moon to her side were ruined by her.

There was no individual with more motivation and reason than her.

Nero continued to eat her meal before it went cold.

...

Note: It took me a long time to update this fic. Yeah, I was struggling with the ending plan for it. You see, this story is almost coming to an end. It's short indeed, but I never planned to write a long fanfic. Moreover, it's not a proper fanfic in the first place but a love letter, if you catch my drift.