(???'s POV)
With pin-drop silence, everyone had their eyes stuck on my existence who just yelled rudely in a royal court.
Amidst the silence, someone pushed me forward, and I stumbled to the center of the room.
Then the cute girl with blond hair spoke to me for the first time, "You there! State your name!"
Unlike before, I could see nothing but anger on her face. However, her aggression looked different. It was like you fought with your wife, so to escape from her, you went to work to cool off your head, and someone pissed you at the office too.
Even if her voice sounded childish, I shook with fear for a second before collecting myself and opening my mouth, "My name is… My name…"
'Wait, do I have to state my real name? Come to think of it, why can I recall these new memories?
I realized I wasn't just dreaming about this new reality but also possessing a body with new memories. Had I not questioned the bizarre situation, I wouldn't have noticed these newfound memories.
Seeing me confused, a man with a humble face standing beside Nero spoke for me.
"Forgive the young one's rudeness, your majesty. He is Tacitus, my disciple and foster son."
The anger on Nero's face dulled down hearing my name and relation to this man.
"Is that so…? Well, I forgive him since he is your foster son, Seneca. Umu~!" Nero said and nodded cutely.
'Wait on a second…' Hearing her, 'Umu,' I recalled she was the Nasuverse Nero. She is, like many historical figures, a gender-bend servant in games.
That's why she has tits. Well, she was a perfect knockoff and bait for another cute king in Fate/Extra.
Anyway, putting her identity aside for a moment, I realized I was a person named Tacitus, and I was the foster son of Seneca.
'Seneca the younger,' I know him from history books. He was the advisor to Emperor Nero, who committed suicide after a revolt.
Now that I looked around, I found another beautiful woman standing on the other side of Nero's throne.
Unlike Nero, she was tall and wore a beautiful white dress, just like her husband/wife, Nero. She also had a tired look but was still carrying a fake smile.
'She must be Octavia.'
Claudia Octavia is another person who would die by suicide. According to legends, Nero divorced and then banished Octavia when his mistress Poppaea Sabina became pregnant with Nero's child. However, when this led to a public outcry, Nero had Octavia executed.
Now that Nero is a girl, I don't think such drama would occur here… or it would after taking Fuuta Artoria into account.
Nero glared at me again and spoke, "However, it doesn't state why just to forgive him. You there, state your profession."
"Oh, I am…."
Right, this body of mine does have some skills.
"I am a practicing herbalist and a writer of a sort."
Hearing it, Nero smiled, "Good, good! Since you are Seneca's son, I expect some good literacy!"
'Wait, I think she is mistaking a writer for a poet!'
With my troubled face, I looked at my foster father, Seneca, for help.
Seneca also had a troubled face and gestured like saying, 'I can't help you now. Just deal with it.'
"Have you gone dead? Hurry up and entertain us with some poetry!!"
'Arg, why is she so loud?!'
Unlike in the game, Nero was loud and rude. No wonder she was called a tyrant even in Nasuverse. Well, it was somewhat believable since she was an actual human instead of a Waifu Servant that the creator made to get publicity from horny degenerates.
However, the real challenge now was to entertain this gender-bend tyrant.
Let's go with some internet jokes.
"Umm… Roses are red, and Violets are blue, so what if you are silly? The Emperor has tits too…."
Shit, I ruined it again. I regret laughing at internet jokes.
However, opposite to my expectations, Nero praised it.
"…Umu~! I liked it!" Suddenly, Nero nodded and smiled.
'wait, what…'
"Wow, I didn't know this young boy to be so good at poetry."
"Yeah, I don't know what 'tits' are, but it definitely sounds like Emperor's majesty."
"He is good."
"Yeah."
Seriously?!! It was not even a poem! It was a freaking dirty joke from the internet!
'Let's test them to see if these people are idiots.' I decided to play a little dirty.
"Oh, I have more. What can fill a room but takes up no space?" I smirked and asked.
However, for this riddle, everyone fell into critical thought. Are they for real?
"Is it light?"
"It must be air, right?"
"Hmm, maybe it is Rome's brilliance."
Everyone around me started to answer, looking at me to choose the right one, but I waited for Nero.
"Hmm, Tacitus, you shall answer in my stead, Umu!"
'What a freaking narcissist?! I am the one who asked the riddle, you idiot?!!'
I shook my head and answered, "It is a fart."
"Oh wow, I didn't even consider it."
"Yes, fart sounds nice. My wife always fills the room with her fart. I loved it."
"My wife does that too, but I don't like when my male wife does that."
"Fart sounds legitimate answer."
God, I wanted to bleach my eyes and ears so much. What the hell was wrong with these people?!
"Umu, my answer was also fart. I was thinking the same!" Nero also spoke, earning a tired gesture from me. Okay, she was a narcissist.
And these people are idiots, aren't they?
[People in early ages don't have the same sense of humor as those of the modern era.]
"Good, good! Tacitus, you are indeed a brilliant poet, as expected from the foster son of Seneca." Nero stood and raised her hand.
Though Nero was short and had a childish voice, the majestic aura around her was surreal. Even I was overwhelmed by her presence.
"I didn't do much…" Seneca, my foster father and Nero's advisor spoke humbly.
'Hmm, it doesn't seem like Nero hates Seneca.'
In legends, Nero hated many people, leaving a trail of suicides. It includes Seneca, the advisor; Octavia, the queen; and Julia Augusta Agrippina, Nero's mother.
However, seeing this version of Nero praising Seneca between her lines and also smiling at her wife, Octavia, I don't know if legends will follow the same.
The only one missing here is Agrippina, the true mastermind behind Nero's road to the throne.
"Tacitus, come forward and receive the gift from this humble emperor!" Nero called me out with a somewhat smug yet childish smile.
When she stated the word 'humble emperor,' the people from the senate had their faces disfigured with disgust. It seemed like the senate didn't like this version of Nero too. Though people at my side were genuinely smiling, meaning that Nero was still humble to her ordinary people.
I nodded and came forward. Nero smiled again and gave me a bag full of jewels and gold coins.
I widened my eyes, seeing glimmering stones and gold that I could only watch in stores.
If Rin was in my position, she would probably start drooling at these jewels.
"Thank you, your majesty." I smiled and bowed my head in her honor. It seemed like this body knew his manners around loyalty.
"Tacitus, you have good manners. It explains that you are, if not more, as talented as Seneca. Say, do you want a position in the royal court?"
When Nero asked this, the senate and Seneca were equally shocked. I was an orphan with an unknown background, so seeing Nero admitting a person to the royal court would depict favoritism.
However, for me, it was my chance to get close to Nero for the sake of my mission.
"I…"
I was about to say something when another figure entered the court through the main gate.
It was a beautiful woman with two muscular guards on her both sides.
She had green eyes, just like Nero, and blond hair with a bob cut from the center. She was tall, dressed elegantly, and man; her breasts jiggled with each step she took.
I have never seen real-life watermelons jiggling like a schoolgirl from ecchi anime. In Nasuverse, only Sakura and Luvia have such big jugs, but they also don't jiggle like this lady. It might be because of the absence of a bra. Still, I couldn't lift my eyes from her boobs.
And that earned me a punch.
"Where are you looking at?!"
One guard beside the woman saw my stare and smacked my face, sending me flying a meter or two before I landed and rolled.
"Ugghh…" I groaned with pain. That punch would have almost killed me if not for my sturdy Roman body. Though, it cut my cheek inside.
"HOW DARE YOU?!"
As I heard Nero's voice, I lifted my head and saw Nero taking a dagger from her sleeve and slicing the guard's neck clean. His head flew in the air before landing and rolling towards my direction.
'Whoa!'
I didn't expect Nero to stand up for me and kill a loyal guard publicly.
"Nero, my child, what is the meaning of this?" The woman spoke, looking at Nero with disdain.
"GET LOST, YOU C*NT! YOU ARE NOT MY MOTHER!!" Nero roared; her voice echoed loudly in the room.
So, the woman was Nero's mother, Julia Augusta Agrippina.
"Nero, mind your language. You are present in the royal court." Agrippina said with a smirk. It was evident that she wanted to incite Nero, taking advantage of Nero's anger and rage.
"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I ASKED YOU NOT TO APPEAR IN FRONT OF ME? YOU ARE THE BRITANNICUS'S KILLER!" Nero didn't listen and continued to yell.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, my child."
"YOU!!!"
And they continued to bicker for the next 10 minutes.
"Hmm…"
On the other hand, I rubbed my cheek, ticking with pain, and stared at the lifeless head of the guard. His dead eyes were looking directly at me as if blaming me for his death.
'What have I got myself into…?'