Vengeance and Blood

"Are you alright, Nero?" It was the first question Acte asked when she saw Nero hugging her brother, who had just died in front of her.

Behind her, Locusta and Burrus arrived with the trustee praetorians and a plentiful number of assassins that they could gather according to their monarch's instructions.

Hearing Acte's question, Nero said,

"Where is Altrouge?" Nero inquired, having no time to waste on pleasantries or answering Acte's inquiry. 

She needed to act quickly before it became a scandal. She didn't want someone to use this opportunity to frame her for a crime she didn't commit, even if it was her own mother.

"I'm here, sister," Altrouge, who had already arrived, opened the front door of the chamber and replied hurriedly upon hearing her sister's urgent question.

"Why don't I see my mother present?" Nero asked calmly, addressing the people present before her.

"She left, Caesar. We don't know where she went," Burrus apologized.

"Find a pretty girl from a poor family that you can find, I need them to become witnesses of Britanicus's death." 

"Tell her she should admit that she poisoned my brother after spending the night with him." 

"She would confess her crime after our torture. Let her admit that my mother allowed her to do all of this. In exchange, I will let her family live in luxury for the rest of their lives," Nero ordered with ruthless determination.

"To prove the point and make it more real, ask someone from the praetorian guard to sleep with her in Britanicus' chamber. Paint the sheet red."

"Do you understand what I am trying to imply, Burrus?" Nero questioned sternly.

"Yes, Caesar," Burrus nodded, understanding that his monarch wanted the girl to lose her virginity to a praetorian guard in Britanicus' chamber to make it realistic, with the sheet stained red from the escapade.

"Good," Nero said as she handed over her brother's corpse to Burrus, who executed the order faithfully.

"Locusta, can I ask you for a favor?" She asked Locusta pitifully. 

Despite knowing that her friend was acting, Locusta couldn't bear to refuse the request and nodded.

"I don't think Burrus would like the order. Can you kill all the servants who ever witnessed Britanicus enter my chamber? Do the same to the praetorian guards standing in front of the door."

This power move not only ordered the people present but also threatened them. If they ever leaked the news, their fate would be no different from the praetorian guards that she ordered to kill.

Locusta glanced at the assassins under her command and nodded as she executed her monarch's order.

Seeing that everyone had left except Altrouge and Acte, Nero said, "Leave us, Acte. I want to talk to my sister. I will speak with you further after I am done with it. Wait at the front door of the chamber for now."

Acte nodded at the instruction and left them to their privacy. After that, only the two of them were left, silently staring at each other.

"Did Claudia leave too?" Nero broke the silence with a sad sigh escaping her lips.

"She left," Altrouge confirmed.

"Even my wife betrayed me," Nero sighed. 

It was evident that she was betrayed. Why else would she instruct her brother to come to her chamber if Claudia could have conveyed her mother's conspiracy to her directly? 

Claudia should have already known that Britanicus feared her, and pushing him into her chamber in the middle of the night made her suspicious of all of this.

She recently realized it after a moment of silence and instructed Altrouge to check on her wife to see if her suspicions were true.

Why has Claudia gone so far as to be willing to participate in poisoning her own brother? 

She doesn't understand where things went wrong.

As much as she understands that the relationship between Claudia and Britanicus was good, why did she conspire with Agrippina?

Instead of answering her sister's question, Altrouge leaned closer to Nero and kissed her amidst her surprise, her eyes widening in disbelief at Altrouge's initiative.

Her tongue wantonly dominated Nero's, even as she objected. 

In the end, Nero surrendered to pleasure.

She wanted to forget all of it and took the initiative to grip Altrouge's back. 

The betrayal of her wife and her brother's sudden death took a toll on her mind. 

After remembering something, she pushed Altrouge away, ignoring her dissatisfaction.

Though she didn't show it, Nero knew Altrouge was dissatisfied to be pushed away. 

"Not now," she said, not offering further comfort to Altrouge after making her statement, and searched around her wardrobe for her sword, preparing for her second plan.

After that, Altrouge followed behind her as Nero strutted outside of her chamber and found Acte.

She instructed, "How many people in the garrison could we use, Acte?"

"Don't tell me, Nero?" Acte hesitated with the question, knowing where it would lead if everything involved the garrison of Rome. 

Previously, when Vespasian was called, many people died in the civil war between Agrippina and Nero Claudius, with Vespasian's support. It's evident that when it involves the garrison of Rome, it's never peaceful.

"How many?" Nero pressed, having no time for questions.

"We only have 10,000 soldiers that could be used for now," Acte honestly answered. 

Although they have 30,000 defending Rome, who would defend the wall if all of them followed Caesar? 

So, 10,000 should be enough.

"Tell them that their Caesar needs them now; it's time to put an end to the traitors once and for all," Nero commanded.

"Since my mother didn't bring her people and wealth along with her, we will ransack all of her properties and kill all people involved with her, showing no mercy."

"Yes, Caesar."