"Sure enough...Florence was also burned by Governor Ru, right..."
Nero looked at the half-collapsed ruins where the beams had been burned out, and he said in a disappointed and heavy tone.
"...Did Lord Seneca tell you?"
"No...."
Nero paused, then shook his head and said:
"Teacher, he didn't say anything. Even if Yu took the initiative to bring it up, he would always take the topic elsewhere——————"
She looked up at Animusfia.
"Just like you, Governor."
The good news is that Seneca still chose to side with Animusfia.
"It would be fine if it was just like that, but you and the teacher were too abnormal. They just settled the refugees. But Yu never even went to see the refugees once, and you never mentioned what happened in Florence again."
The bad news is that Nero didn't intend to fall into Animusfia's trap.
"Then why do you think I did everything?"
Animusfia asked with a frown.
"Yu has always had a premonition that you, the governor, would do that kind of thing. Although you have always been by Yu's side, Caesar...grandfather has always seemed to have fought hard with you. After a while, this hunch became even more obvious after I learned that you can control two bodies at the same time."
Nero stepped aside a little, and Animusfia saw an arm buried under the rubble with only half of its palm exposed, feebly stretching toward the sky.
This house was destroyed in the city when Spartacus went crazy just now, but when and why this body died, Animusfia had no way of knowing.
"I guessed that you might sacrifice the lives of some soldiers, but I didn't expect that you would directly burn down a city. So I have always trusted you, Governor."
Treating the soldiers in the legions as outcasts, Nero could barely accept Animusfia's doing so. But she will still feel sorry for the soldiers who died.
Because although they were prepared to die and did die on the battlefield in a dignified manner, it was more like being sent into a brazier by their own hands.
But since he was a soldier, Nero said nothing more.
"Unforgivable, unforgivable... Why, Governor——, why do you allow them to burn, kill and plunder? The citizens of Masselia are innocent, right——"
But why would Animusphia's weapons be directed at Rome's own city?
Even if it was temporarily occupied by the enemy, the citizens there were and still are her subjects.
"Sorry, Your Majesty."
"What I want to hear is not an apology, but your reasons!"
This was the first time Nero had been so tough on Animusfia.
"This Masseria is one of the important cities on the frontline of the 'United Empire'. There are also many people supporting the rebels of the 'United Empire'. It is difficult to guarantee whether there are enemies mixed among the civilians—————— ——”
Animusfia suddenly realized that even he himself would not believe the words coming out of his mouth.
"No, Your Majesty. The soldiers wanted to do it, that's all."
"Is it just for this reason? Just because you want to kill, you start killing, or you want to rob, so you start robbing? They are Roman legions, not unscrupulous robbers!"
"...Then, what do you think the Roman legions should do?"
"Of course it's to protect Rome!"
Nero said without thinking.
"So just for that meager military salary, will the soldiers willingly give their lives? Your Majesty, any one of them may die in the next second. Are those military salaries really worth it?"
“Then I can give you more————————”
"Life is worthless, Your Majesty. I used all the gods' lies and magic to get them to voluntarily join the army. Even so, they still have materialistic pursuits and a desire to plunder. I use all these Everything made them think it was 'worth dying', and every soldier who would die on the battlefield later had something to do with me."
Animusfia stared at Nero.
Nero was speechless for a moment.
After a long time, Nero said slowly:
"Are the people the same? Can you, the Governor, condone all this with peace of mind?"
"Everyone has right and wrong in their hearts, Your Majesty. Of course I can't condone everything with peace of mind, but that doesn't mean I will prevent it from happening."
Reality is cruel. Even if Animusfia thinks he has a free soul, the force majeure in reality is enough to make him make many choices against his will.
His left hand is the best example. No matter how much Animusfiya doesn't want to lose his left hand, the fact is that he can't change it.
Just like Nadasdi when he died of illness in the city of Chakhetis.
In the end, the only thing that may not be defeated is the will.
It is not advisable to forcibly restrain the current legion. No matter how much he does not want to harm innocent people, the only feasible option left for Animusfia is this.
"Compared to the citizens who just live in peace here, I will choose to side with the soldiers who are willing to die for me and you."
Animusfia sighed.
"If you want to find someone to blame, please come to me, Your Majesty."
"How could something like that be possible——"
Nero was a little confused.
Even though she had been Augustus for several years, what Animusphia said today was something Nero had never realized before.
She just wants to give a good singing performance and become a beloved Augustus, someone who can be praised by every citizen.
As for wars and other matters, Nero used to leave them to his governors, and she would not interfere in the slightest.
It also directly led to the fact that Nero did not know the whole story of Boudicca's rebellion until after the rebellion.
She had no understanding of military affairs at all, otherwise official history would not have thought that the rebels had reached Rome and abandoned the city and fled.
I thought that the palace was already dark enough, but I didn't expect that the military camp was filled with all kinds of misdeeds and atrocities, and they were not even covered up at all.
"Your Majesty, if this Masseria belongs to the barbarians, would you be able to plunder it without any doubts?"
"Even if they are not Rome, killing innocent people indiscriminately is————"
Actually you can, and that's what Rome has always done.
"Syracuse in Sicily, Carthage in North Africa, Macedonia in Greece, the capitals in Asia Minor, and even the many Celts in Britannia and Gaul, they all became the blazing flame of Rome. Firewood, even if they don’t volunteer.”
Animusfia looked at Nero.
"The rise of a great power must be accompanied by a certain price. The destruction of countries other than Rome is the price; the civilians who died in Masseria today, the people who died in Florence yesterday, and the soldiers who died on the battlefield tomorrow are also the price."
"...Can you also become firewood, Governor?"
"I already am, Your Majesty."
Animusfia said meaningfully.
After hearing Animusfia's reply, Nero clenched his fists reluctantly.
"Governor, do you think that's right?"
She asked Animusfia with her last hope.
Nero yearned for recognition from Animusfia's reply. She hoped that Animusfia could be in the same position as her and do the same thing she wanted to do.
In that case, Nero can continue to rely on Animusfia, and there will be no differences between her and him, and there will be no possibility of parting ways.
However, Animusfia did not answer her directly:
"The hands of a monarch must be stained with blood, Your Majesty. You do not belong to Rome, but Rome belongs to you. Since you want to be a monarch, you must put yourself as the true center and be able to give up everything for yourself without hesitation. That is the qualified monarch, the qualified [Master] (Dominus)."
Animusfia said nothing more after leaving such words, leaving Nero to think alone and walk not far away.
Of course he saw that Nero was craving for his own affirmation, but Animusfia also had her own considerations.
As Augustus of Rome, Nero had to figure out what role she wanted to play.
Even if Animusfia is not here, she should still be a qualified emperor.
