Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1560 After the Gift
Alexander. The same place, the same two familiar guards.

"Please wait a moment, this is the border of the Roman Empire! Please show me, Your Majesty! I didn't know you were me!"

Victoria, who was walking at the front, didn't say anything; she just waved her hand, as if passing through a gate.

Only at times like these can Shangluo realize the habits of a magician she has developed in a magical society—Roman magic often creates intelligent beings, which they then discard as worthless, because that's how the Romans treated slaves.

Of course, the Romans were nearing their end, and Shangluo no longer wanted to offer any moral guidance to Rome regarding their actions. Persimmons cause phlegm, so you can't eat too many, but since the person was about to die, a little bit was fine; it didn't matter.

But Victoria was different, because she didn't actually die that quickly.

"Come here." Shang Luo reached out and led Victoria to the guard. "Tell me, thank you for your hard work."

"No."

"Why not?"

Would you thank your microwave?

"But this is a person."

"This isn't human. Look, it doesn't react at all when we talk to it like this."

“When he looks like a person, I think we should all treat him as a person. Aren’t slaves people too? Slaves aren’t furniture either. We should treat the Heavenly Nobleman, who doesn’t look like a person at all, as a child—a friend, just a little child.”

"Huh? You're teaching me how to do things?"

"Yes, that's what I'm teaching you. That's how proper things are in our family."

"I'm going to tell my dad! You...you bullied me!"

"We're here to see your father. Go on."

"Dad, he bullied me."

"Ah."

"He bullied me, aren't you going to say something for me?"

“Agatha was there. She didn’t say anything, so I knew there was no problem.”

"Aren't you going to ask me anything? Ask me why?"

Emperor Agassiz sat behind his desk. He was busier than before since Victoria left. Victoria had previously enjoyed meetings and taking charge of directing work.

These tasks were essential, which raises the question—why did Roman emperors always prefer to reside in Constantinople? The answer is: whoever resided in Constantinople was the true Roman emperor. The one with the strongest army and the most powerful forces was the Roman emperor; this was an ancient rule.

Although the Palaiologos-Issua dynasty had ruled for centuries and the emperor faced an increasingly smaller threat of military coups, maintaining this contact was still an essential part of the Roman emperor's life. This was because, theoretically, the Roman emperor was not an "emperor" in the traditional sense; his existing imperial position was even solidified by aligning himself with the Ming emperor.

Before this, it was difficult to find a specific title corresponding to the term "Roman Emperor." This is because titles for Roman emperors included First Citizen, Chief Senator, Supreme (Augustus), Triumphal General (Imperatae), High Priest, Father of the Nation, and Monarch (Basilius), along with a long list of achievements such as the number of triumphs, the number of years in public office, the number of times he served as consul, and the regions he conquered.

In the early modern period of the Roman Empire, the title of emperor was fixed as a combination of three titles—Augustus, Imperata, and Basilius—which had to be used simultaneously to represent the Roman emperor.

The Romans also realized that while the titles of First Citizen and Chief Senator aligned with Roman tradition, they were not suitable for a monarchy. This was because both shared the characteristic of being "first among equals," a point worth considering. Because everyone will have their own thoughts on what constitutes true equality, and once those thoughts begin, they are difficult to stop.

Including, regarding absolute monarchy, some have attempted to separate Augustus, Imbrium, and Basilius.

Therefore, the current Roman Empire used only the unique title "Basilius," corresponding to "Son of Heaven." This is a Greek word that has been used to refer to Greek monarchs since Alexander the Great. Using this title, instead of the Latin title, was also to ensure Constantinople's absolute centrality and prevent a Latin rebellion within the Roman Empire.

Latins were already ostracized, and slaves were treated even less than human. After all, compared to magicians, mortals were indeed lagging behind in every aspect.

Should this be changed? At least Shangluo thought that if it were changed sooner, Rome might have survived a little longer. But for Rome, such a short extra lifespan was completely insignificant—they were going to be executed the next day, so eating persimmons and producing phlegm today didn't matter, and even eating ginseng to replenish their qi wouldn't heal the scar the size of a bowl.

Agassiz thought the same thing. If making changes could save Rome, he would certainly make those changes. However, when he took over Rome, the empire was already terminally ill, and at that point, trying to improve it with supplements wouldn't be of much use.

"So Dad, look at him, he's started talking to me about this and that now."

“As I said, if Agatha has no objections, I have no objections either.” He glanced at his sister and nodded in acknowledgment, a small token of gratitude for her years of service. Agatha had helped him raise a worthy heir, and no amount of repayment was too much for him. However, she was, after all, his sister, and he was also one of the masters of the empire; discussing treatment at this point would be too formal.

"Dad, why?"

"Why? Because that's not our home. In Rome, we act like Romans. And in China, we act like Romans."

"But I"

"Before we get to the point, put down what you're holding. What's that in your hand?"

"Oh, it's a gift from Shangluo."

She placed the gift from Shangluo on Agassiz's desk, directly onto the document he was halfway through reading, almost spilling the ink.

He wanted to say something, but he held back.

"You want me to open it myself?" He looked up at his daughter, who responded and, after showing the seal on the offering, opened the packaging and took out the pine box inside.

Inside the box were neatly folded and flat pieces of Goryeo tribute paper, with a handwritten message from Shangluo on them.

"Paper?" He compared the paper with the other documents used below. "Not bad, I'm very satisfied."

He closed the lid: "Remember, give a gift like this next time."

"How was it?"

“Give him a useful gift. Don’t give him something useless—put the box on that shelf over there, and then take out a piece of paper; I’ll write him a reply.”

"By the way, Father, what do you think of him as a person?"

"What I think is not important at all."

"It's very important, isn't it? After all, if you don't like him..."

"If I don't like it, does that mean you won't like it either? So, I won't comment."

"Ugh!!!" Victoria's temper flared up instantly. "I need your opinion."

"Why?" "I'm your daughter. Don't you care about something this important? I'm your daughter, I'm your radish!"

Agatha added, "She meant cabbage. It's a Chinese proverb that means you can't let your precious daughter, whom you've raised with so much care, be snatched away by some random guy."

"Oh. There's such a saying, but you're the emperor, aren't you? You're the monarch. You have the power to make your own decisions."

"But Father, don't you really care about how I choose people?"

"..." Agassiz paused for a moment, then said, "I don't care."

"You only have me as your daughter, right?"

"."

"Wait, are you even hesitating about this?! So the reason we never saw you when we were kids was because you had another daughter?!"

"."

"Speak to me, Dad!"

That's enough for today. I'm tired.

"So that's the crux of the problem! Father, I previously said that Shangluo needed to deal with some family issues, but I think it's our problems that need to be addressed. Are you really that busy? We're in the same palace, we're not in two separate places. Why have I only been able to see you half the time since I was little? Where do you spend the other half of your time?"

“Elizabeth,” Agassiz suddenly uttered the name.

"what?"

"Her name is Elizabeth. She's your older sister."

"where is she?"

"In Constantinople. In the Brechner Palace."

"So she lived with us?! Then why have I never seen her before?"

“She lives in the Royal Palace of Brechner, but she doesn’t live with you—she lives in another palace.”

"Wait...wait! Could it be the one I've been dreaming about since I was little?"

"Yes. That's it. She lives in the Brecchina Palace in another world, as the emperor of another Roman Empire."

"Another... Roman Empire?"

Suddenly, Agatha walked up to the two of them: "That's enough for today, let's stop here."

“She insists on hearing it, so I’ll tell her. I think it’s time to tell her now.”

"What are you trying to tell me? Haven't you finished yet?"

Agassiz nodded: “History never has just one choice. In many past events, history has been greatly transformed by small changes. For example, in 1453, Constantinople may have fallen because a soldier forgot to close the gate. In 1631, the Ming Dynasty may have been brought to its knees by laying off a courier. The Roman Empire was a transdimensional nation that existed simultaneously in multiple parallel universes, and I was the de facto ruler of three Roman Empires. In one of these empires, I was the emperor, and in the other two, I was a co-emperor.”

"So...so you're not just my father?"

"So, don't worry. I know some people around you have some suspicions, but I absolutely did not make you the Roman Emperor because I wanted you to suffer some kind of curse—not because of a curse, but because I was simply too busy. I have a wonderful daughter, so I can delegate a large part of the work to her. You are my proud child, so I want you to make your own decisions about your life. Whatever you decide, I will support you."

He was too busy; he had one full-time job and two part-time jobs, making him a single father working three jobs. Therefore, he had to rely on his sister to take care of his daughter.

"So, Father, the Roman Empire wasn't actually split into six parts, but there were more?"

"It's rare in the entire history of our country to be split like this."

"So how many parallel worlds are there exactly?"

"You've read too many novels. Those aren't parallel worlds, because parallel worlds don't intersect. Those were all part of the Roman Empire, and I ruled them. What's happening here is [multiple histories]."

Is what you know all there is?

"I won't talk about those worlds that are truly unrelated to us. There are four Roman empires that are truly related to us, making a total of five—they have historically intersected with our world. As for the worlds that diverged from them, they have nothing to do with us."

"Then... in other worlds, are there other versions of me?"

“No,” Agassiz replied directly. “I told you before—the Roman emperor is sacred and unique. There is only one me in the five histories, because I am the emperor. You are also an emperor, so there is only one of you. I am the emperor of one of the Roman empires, and I am the co-emperor of two other empires. You haven’t met the other two because their emperors were also sacred and unique, and there is no corresponding figure for them here. However, those two are not doing so well lately.”

"What happened to them?"

“Nuclear war, world war, or complete annihilation. The year I just mentioned, 1453, is a historical year in which the Roman Empire ceased to exist. Not all five histories are glorious—but you, my proud daughter, the Roman Empire you ruled was the most glorious of all five histories.”

"But wasn't the Roman Empire already on the verge of collapse?"

"Unfortunately, this is already the most glorious period; at least we are still the world's hegemon. In Elizabeth's world, magic is much less prevalent. Rome there exists as a political entity, threatened by the Second Industrial Revolution and world wars. And 'Aurora' there is not as friendly as we are here. So rejoice, my daughter, you are lucky."

"Could I...could I go see her?"

"You can't. Her world has nothing to do with you."

Agatha suddenly spoke up: "I told you before Shangluo came—Buddha sees 84,000 insects in a bowl of water. Just don't observe the reality you can't save. Because if you don't observe it, it's none of your business. And it's inherently none of your business, isn't it?"

"But I already know."

"Knowing these things and facing your own life takes courage. We are not the only ones bearing such burdens. In some abyss of the Pacific, an underwater civilization under the Pacific bore the same heavy burden, only they preferred to view the fivefold history in a more fluid way, and were much more at ease than we are. You, my daughter, what are you thinking about now?"

"Is Shangluo mentioned in other histories?"

“No, he is a rare creature, one of only five in history. He came to us, not to Elizabeth’s side. So, their history is incredibly bleak, far less radiant than your empire. My daughter, your empire is about to enter the infinite universe within the nutshell, a great ascension.”

"Then I won't go anywhere else. Home is still the best."

“Very good. My letter is finished too, please take it to him for me.”

(End of this chapter)