Emperor Nero

The Holy Roman Empire was established at the foothills of an unnamed mountain, its terrain rugged and defensible, making it an ideal position for defense.

Although it was called an empire, it was more like a small city occupying less than ten square miles of land. However, due to the insistence of a certain 'tyrant', people gradually got used to this so-called empire name.

Within this city lived tens of thousands of people, most of whom were refugees forced to abandon their homes due to Camelot's persecution and wander here.

Life in the city was far from comfortable.

Whether they were children of seven or eight years old or elderly of fifty or sixty, everyone had to work daily to earn necessary supplies for survival.

In such a place, having a guarantee of safety and worry-free living was already a dream come true for many.

At the very top of the Holy Roman Empire sat a two-story duplex building, the imperial palace.

The upper floor housed the emperor's bedroom, while the lower floor held the emperor's office, where the emperor issued decrees and handled affairs daily.

Sometimes, when the emperor was in a good mood, the office would transform into an opera house. She would grab some innocent servants and conveniently available officials, making them listen to her own angelic voice.

Of course, the emperor was also kind.

After such events, she would give these servants and officials a three-day break, and of course, payment.

In many matters, the emperor appeared domineering.

For example, she once declared in front of the entire nation.

—Since you have entered my territory, you must obey my orders, whether they are reasonable or not! Here, my orders are absolute! Even if you resist, it's futile! That's how it is, umu, umu!

No rebellion allowed, no disobedient behavior tolerated—only submission and obedience were required.

Such was the will of the emperor.

However, despite this, the emperor was not a cruel or whimsical tyrant. She was just, competent, and generous; thus, even though she could be domineering, she enjoyed high popularity among the populace.

Of course, all of this was on the condition that the emperor didn't catch them to listen to her sing.

"You can't be serious, why is there still so much left?!"

Inside the imperial palace, the golden-haired emperor, wearing a red dress, looked at the thick stack of documents before her, a look of despair appearing in her emerald eyes.

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the fifth emperor of the Roman Empire, known by the nickname 'Emperor of Roses', never imagined that even after her death, she would still have to deal with so many complicated affairs.

If she had known earlier, she wouldn't have bothered to establish this so-called Holy Roman Empire in the first place!

After all, she initially just wanted to capture a few people to listen to her sing!

Seeing Nero's face full of tears, a smiling attendant nearby calmed her down.

"You can't rest yet, Your Majesty. These are all the affairs that must be dealt with today. Some of them have been delayed for two or three days, and the officials are getting impatient."

"Then let them wait!" Nero exclaimed, banging the table. "They're all a bunch of fools! If they had a bit of ability, I wouldn't be so tired all the time, umu!"

The attendant's expression remained unchanged, still smiling.

"But, Your Majesty, these are all matters concerning your subjects. If you delay here, they will have to wait longer." 

Upon hearing that, Nero paused, sighed helplessly, and sat back with resignation.

"Alright, alright, I get it... I'll look at them now, umu..."

Watching Nero hastily writing, the attendant sighed quietly in her heart.

Many people said the emperor was domineering, but only she knew that the emperor's domineering nature stemmed from her care for her subjects.

Although she often complained, the emperor never treated matters concerning her subjects lightly. Every decree issued by her hand had never caused any problems. Even if there were occasional mistakes, they were mostly due to the carelessness of the officials below.

The emperor treated her subjects as if they were her own children.

This was something that no one could deny.

"Umu... Senator Fujimaru and Senator Mash still haven't come back, huh?" Nero mumbled, biting the end of her pen and staring at the scroll in her hand, her smooth forehead creased with worry.

The attendant silently calculated the time in her mind before responding.

"It's been three days since they left the empire with the army. Based on their past habits, they should be back in two more days."

"Two more days..." Nero couldn't help but sigh.

The attendant shook her head in resignation.

Unable to bear seeing the emperor so exhausted, the attendant sat in front of the emperor, picking up the scrolls on the table and annotating the ones she could handle herself.

As for those she couldn't, she left them for the emperor.

Having been by the emperor's side for so long, she had developed a decent understanding of the emperor's approach to handling affairs. While not entirely identical, she could mimic it at least seventy to eighty percent accurately.

Her action would be considered a flagrant overstep for any emperor, but Nero didn't mind at all. In truth, she wished for more people to help shoulder these responsibilities with her, which was why she was so eager for Ritsuka and Mash to return as soon as possible.

If it weren't for Da Vinci personally overseeing the construction of important infrastructure like city walls, water wheels, and forges, she would have dragged her into handling things together long ago.

'Ahh, what a tough life, umu...' Nero thought tiredly.

After a morning's worth of time, Nero finally finished annotating nearly eight scrolls. Just as she leaned back in her chair, stretching lazily, thinking about taking a nice relaxing bath later, she noticed a soldier hurrying toward her.

In an instant, Nero sensed trouble in the air. But before she could escape, the soldier had already entered, kneeling on one knee.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, we discovered an anomaly!"

"Speak." Nero responded calmly but sighed inwardly, realizing her bath time would once again be postponed.

"The patrols on the city wall reported that about several tens of kilometers away from the empire, an unidentified giant creature appeared in the sky, accompanied by abnormal weather changes."

Upon hearing that, Nero's expression immediately turned serious.

An unidentified giant creature and abnormal weather changes? No matter how you looked at it, this wasn't something an ordinary creature could cause.

Could it be that Camelot had finally decided to make a move against her empire?

"Any other discoveries?" Nero asked, furrowing her eyebrows tightly.

The soldier shook his head.

"It's too far away; these are the only bits of information we could gather."

After a moment of contemplation, Nero issued a solemn command.

"Temporarily block the news, and notify Senator Da Vinci to prepare for battle. Until I return, do not act rashly."

"Your Majesty, are you going to investigate personally?" The attendant asked with a surprised tone.

"If the situation is as serious as I suspect, then I'm the only one who can investigate. Ordinary people wouldn't even be able to get close, let alone investigate. Even if they did, it would only mean certain death."

The surrounding temperature suddenly rose as crimson flames emerged from nothingness, coalescing into a scarlet longsword known as the Embryonic Flame—Aestus Estus.

"Stay put and wait for my return."

With her sword in hand, Nero strode out of the imperial palace, the fiery red hem of her dress billowing behind her like a blooming rose.