“Indeed, I shall take the task!!!” the blonde servant boasted, her bright red outfit daring you to deny her and her endless optimism.
Dr Roman didn’t know if this decision was a migraine in the making, or such an insane idea that it just might work.
Nero, the Emperor of Roses, was……..an astounding force of chaos within Chaldea.
No two people had the same opinions of her. Some saw her as a beacon of hope spreading love of life wherever she went, others dreaded her presence since the chaos that followed her mood swings almost always tripled their workloads, and some were just quietly amused by the stark difference this blonde haired Saber brought.
Because while the staff adored Artoria and her ‘twin’, both of them were also Kings who expected obedience in the work of Chaldea, and they also kept a very clear divide between themselves and the Chaldea staff.
Yet this Rosy Emperor mingled whenever she got the chance, and had a bad habit of making chances to do so, especially since Ritsuka was once again away on a mission, and the Emperor was easily bored.
“…you do realize that, due to him being a Berserker whose legend is tied directly to Artoria, that you specifically are probably the worst choice, appearance wise?” he asked, more to ease his conscience than to get an easily understandable answer.
How this Saber wasn’t a Berserker was beyond him, since her leaps of logic made less sense than the garbled noises most of the male Berserkers made.
“Nonsense. Any similarities between me and the beautiful Artoria are minor at most.” Nero said, ignoring the incredulous look the staff in the command rooms were obviously giving her.
If it weren’t for the fact that Dr Da Vinci had been monitoring Nero’s Summoning and knew for a fact this was indeed Nero, and matched the individual Ritsuka and Mash had met in the Roman Singularity, Dr Roman would’ve sworn a third Artoria had graced Chaldea.
They were practically twins.
Nero’s red to Artoria’s blue.
Artoria’s order to Nero’s chaos.
Nero’s audacity to Artoria’s reservedness.
“Also, if this Mad Knight really has such a reaction to the lovely blue Saber, we should get him used to seeing similar face that has none of the baggage, so it will become easier for him to get used to the idea of tolerating our beautiful King. Indeed!!!”
============================
He knew Arthur was here. He had caught her scent, and wanted nothing more than to show just how much he hated his King.
But a strange young woman with a shield had stood in his way, and despite his rage, he had stopped and just stared at the young woman.
He sensed something familiar about her, but he was aware enough that he didn’t know her.
As she had slowly walked towards him, he had been unconsciously moved a step back each time, until he’d been pushed back into an intersection.
A brief flash of his King’s visage had been down one corridor, and the strange young woman was banished from his mind as he charged at the form, who ducked into a nearby room.
But as he went to relieve his King of her burden by taking her crowned head, he finally got a good look at the woman before him.
A crown was still atop her head, but instead of the typical European style crown, a Roman laurel hung atop the bun of hair.
Instead of the Sword of Promised Victory, a strange jagged red blade was pointed towards the crown.
And he knew his King was a rather modest person, yet this Not-Arthur showed off what would be considered a scandalous amount of skin.
So he froze, for an instant.
And for that instant, he passed the Not-Arthur and drove his attack into a pseudo-servant that had been about to strike the Not-Arthur.
“Such strength! Truly worth of one of the Knights who serve the Blue Saber!” The red Not-Arthur praised the Mad Knight, as he raged in the training room, always striking close but never quite hitting the red Not-Arthur.
————
Nero watched the supposed Mad Knight rage around her, and wished she could add to his symphony of destruction.
She knew this madness well, for it sang in her own veins.
But until the shadowed servant was willing to listen, she refused to move from where she planted herself, both to show she was not scared of him, and because the Knight’s confusion about her appearance was ensuring he left her no space to move but what space she already occupied.
Dr Roman was in charge of the training program, and he was making the pseudo-servant programs focus on her.
Yet the supposed Mad Knight refused to let the fake servants touch her, turning his confusion into the rage.
Rage he apparently wanted to direct towards the lovely Arturia, but between his reaction to her, and how the beautiful young shield maiden and placed herself in the door way, the Mad Knight was trapped.
“What amazing stamina! No wonder you are considered one of the best of Arturia’s Knights!” She proclaimed, both praising the destruction he wreaked while further provoking him.
“AAARRRTTTHHHUUUURRRR!!!!” The Mad Knight roared, before launching his blade at the viewing screen that Roman was watching from, before quickly following.
But when he struck the screen at the same time as his blade, the rage and power were gone, and the blackened Knight quickly leapt back to the floor.
“……….not………Arrrr……thurrrr….????” The confused rage growled its question.
Nero beamed brightly.
She had him now.
=================
“Miss Nero, I must say that I’m impressed. Not many people can claim to have tamed a Berserker.”
Mash was surprised at how clam the previously raging Lancelot was behaving.
While he wasn’t exactly being friendly towards Nero, he also wasn’t attacking her.
He also seemed to be avoiding Mash’s gaze, and she wasn’t quite sure why.
She felt like she knew why, but the strange sense of pity she felt confused her enough that she wasn’t going to dwell on it for the moment.
“Indeed! But I haven’t tamed him, for he is no beast. Just an angry man who has lost all sense of reason, and while my exceptional beauty is without peer, apparently it reminded him of his old king.”
Nero posed confidently with her arms on her hips, before adding “And as you saw in the combat chamber, he was quick to realise this when he saw how I acted.”
The proud Roman stepped forward and gently placed a hand on the blackened chest piece of Lancelot.
“I know not what caused such fearsome rage within you, but know that I won’t let it define you. So long as you follow me, I will be there for you.”
The Mad Dog cocked his head, before bending at the knee, presenting the top of his helmeted head towards the Red Saber.
Always quick to take an opportunity, Nero seized the moment and petted the black knight on his helmet.
Mash noticed the tentacle-like chains on his back wiggled back and worth almost imperceptibly.
“Now, no attacking the marvelous Blue Saber! If you want to fight, either go join our Master, or help Da Vinci with physical labor!” Nero admonished with a smile.