Semua Bab LOVE AND HONOR: The Mad Emperor (BL): Bab 11 - Bab 20

The time was very late, the night stretching long and still, like a canvas of blackness waiting to be filled.The air was cool, yet heavy, thick with the scent of moist earth after rain.It clung to Agrippina’s whole being, like a damp shroud, mingling with the distant tang of the Tiber river.The river’s gentle flow was a reminder of the city’s lifeblood, its soft gurgling seeming to breathe secrets of its own, concealing the tension in the air.The moon, now a crescent in the dark sky, indicated that the rain would not fall for the rest of the night, despite being in season.It cast an eerie glow over the Roman streets, its pale light twisting silhouettes into living things.Agrippina’s footsteps broke the silence, her heels tapping rhythmically on the rough cobblestones.The flickering flames of the torches cast ghostly outlines along the walls, and every whisper of the wind seemed to echo with the city’s unspoken secrets.She felt like an intrusion into the quiet, dark world of Rom

The Year is 23 AD August 17 two weeks before Caligula's 12 BirthdateCaligula, a young boy of eleven, closed his eyes as he slept, his chest rising and falling in a measured rhythm...And then, he dreamed..In this state of unreality, he found himself in a plain, gray world.Monochromatic.It's been his world as far as he can remember, even in reality—after waking up from an intense fever years ago. He remembered bawling his eyes out, trying to shake it off in his eyes.It's uncomfortable.But he learned to accept it as his new reality—slowly and overtime. He learned to adapt. Because he realized that, he was powerless to fight such an enigma.It's a force of nature.And even if he could fight it, he wouldn't know how.He's only a kid.Incapable of anything.Caligula closed his eyes and readied himself for the intrusion of the bright light coming from the sun, a habit he developed to protect his defective vision.As he shut his eyes, his other senses seemed to be heightened.The wind b

Vipsania Julia Agrippina.Regal.Commanding.A colossus.Sounds of her footsteps echoing at the mosaic floor.The air itself seemed to crackle around her as she stopped and stood just a few steps away from the doorway. The scent of her expensive perfume, sharp and floral—filling the tutor's chamber.Her expression was a carefully crafted mask of fury.Agrippina's presence overwhelmed the room in an instant, as she surveyed the state of the room's disarray. Her face gradually twisted in displeasure.Julia sprang up from her seat first."Mother!" She rushed towards her mother without hesitation, grasping the hem of her white palla, which covered her black stola, and hid behind Agrippina.Caligula followed suit.His steps were slower, more unsure—while his eyes searched for his mother's face.He can only make out her almost white hair that seems to shine from the brightness of the morning sun that's coming from the wide open window.Caligula knew she was blond.But he hasn't seen any colo

"Lepidus..." the boy parroted his name, the sound lingering in the air, a soft echo against the hum of the forum. "Lepidus..."A strange smile played on Caligula's lips, a curve that didn't quite reach his eyes, leaving them cold and distant. "Hmmm... So, Lepidus... do you know me?"The question hung in the air, a subtle challenge.Lepidus suddenly felt a strange compulsion to explain himself, to justify his presence.But he remained stupefied, his tongue heavy, held captive by the boy's blue eyes that were trained on him.Now that he was closer, and a sense of ease began to settle over him, he found something oddly disconcerting.That even though the boy's gaze was fixed on him, there was a strange lack of focus, a sense of his attention drifting, like a phantom limb.But when Caligula's attention shifted to the drawings, he noticed a subtle change.The small circles in his eyes, the pupils, dilated and contracted, reflecting a flicker of genuine interest, a spark of life that was ab

Meanwhile, on the other side of Palatine Hill... "Ohh... ohhh..." A hot, wet moan filled the dimly lit cubiculum. "Aahhh... Mmmnn..." A woman's bare back was reflected in the speculum, moving up and down on the bed. Like a cavalryman riding his horse. Racing to war. Her hair tossed wildly with each movement, the air thick with an overpowering floral scent and sex. "Ahhhh, Sejanus!..." Her voice rose to a crescendo. "Ahh... ahh... ah..." Then she stilled for a moment. Her body quivered. Perspiration glistened on her back. Her head tilted up, basking in her high. Then came sweaty breathing, a rustling of sheets, and a gentle thud. A brief, satisfied silence followed—just the sound of labored breaths in the stillness of the night. ...... Sejanus broke the quiet first. A sound of swishing sheets and creaking wood. Without a word, he sat up on the edge of the massive bed, nonchalantly slipping into his red tunica militaris. His movements—careless—as though he had done this a tho