I, the Villain, Want to Save Myself, But the Yandere Heroines Disagree
Chapter 65 - Your Partner

Since the establishment of the Human Empire a thousand years ago, a delicate balance has been maintained between the central government and the local regions. The Emperor does not interfere with affairs within the duchies, and the dukes also express their support for the Emperor through tributes and regular reporting of duties.

As for the reason, part of it is attributed to the good relationship between the Emperor and the dukes. After all, when the land was divided and titles were granted, the dukes were often those who had the best relationship with the Emperor, which allowed them to obtain large amounts of land.

Of course, as time passes, the friendship between one generation might be passed down for three or four generations, but after that, it will gradually fade.

The key to truly maintaining this relationship is the relative balance of power between the different regions.

The Imperial directly administered territory is undoubtedly the wealthiest and most powerful territory, but this does not mean that the Imperial directly administered territory can sweep away the other major duchies with an overwhelming advantage.

In reality, if the overall strength of each region is converted into a numerical value, the overall strength of the Imperial directly administered territory accounts for approximately one-third of the Empire, while the remaining two-thirds are composed of the other six duchies.

If the Prussia Duchy and the Napoli Duchy cooperate, their combined strength can also reach approximately one-third.

In this situation, if the Empire continues to develop steadily, without any one power gaining an absolute advantage over the sum of the other powers, it will continue to maintain relative peace.

So, the conflict between the central government and the local regions is relatively deadlocked due to the balance of power. What about the relationship between the local regions?

Will there be no conflict between dukes and dukes?

Not so.

Historically, the Lucian Duchy once had a resourceful and ambitious duke named Peter. During this duke’s reign, the Lucian Duchy developed rapidly, and thus, his ambition also expanded.

In his later years, he allied with the Orleans Duchy, launching a pincer attack from both sides on the Prussia Duchy. The Emperor at the time was happy to see the Prussia Duchy being suppressed, so he did not choose to provide support. Meanwhile, the distant Aragon Duchy and Napoli Duchy, due to their territories not bordering Prussia, could basically not help the Prussia Duchy.

Of course, they would also not stand by and let the Prussia Duchy be annexed just like that. After all, one’s loss is another’s gain. So they secretly provided covert support to Prussia.

Fortunately, the ruler of Prussia at that time was also not incompetent. Adopting a strategy of West first, East later, after repelling the Orleans Duchy, he focused all his efforts on dealing with the Lucian Duchy, defeating the then arrogant Grand Duke Peter, and seizing a large amount of Lucian territory. If it weren’t for the Imperial Family at the time not wanting to upset the balance and being forced to intervene, Lucian might have already been annexed.

Even though Prussia later returned a considerable amount of land, the plunder during the war and the reparations after the war still established the Prussia Duchy as the strongest.

And in the laws of the Empire, the relationship between the ruler and the subjects is clearly defined, but between relationships of the same level, there is no strict law to deal with the conflicts that arise. These conflicts will ultimately escalate and turn into war.

Major wars between dukes were relatively rare in the Empire’s history. After all, once such a war occurs, it involves the entire Empire. However, wars between counts occurred quite frequently.

Often, counts would clash fiercely over tax issues concerning a few villages. Although the winning side might not gain land, they could plunder large amounts of wealth from the other party’s territory, or obtain considerable war reparations and hostage ransoms.

The frequency of such wars is related to the ruler’s ability.

If the ruler is firm and decisive, and the nobles under him are willing to proactively mediate conflicts that arise, and the ruler himself also possesses enough military strength to deter all vassals, then wars will decrease. Otherwise, they will increase.

And at this moment, a war is also about to erupt between the Duke of Napoli and the Duke of Antica.

Along the borders between the duchies, both sides have independently mobilized armies exceeding one hundred thousand soldiers, confronting each other at the border.

Just waiting for a suitable pretext to appear.

...

Saint Roland City, within the Imperial Court.

Elsa was looking at the documents on her desk with a worried frown.

This was about the investigation into the Mudrick incident last time.

All information was completely traced back to a person named Lodi, and this person was hidden away somewhere unknown.

Therefore, during this period, the verdicts given by the court and the police station were consistent.

Because the person simply could not be found, the police station decided to classify this incident as the personal act of Mudrick, while the court recommended temporarily shelving it until Lodi reappears or other rumors about demons are discovered, then combining the two cases for investigation.

And now, Elsa needed to choose one of the two documents and sign her name on it.

At this moment, the side effects of power emerged.

Signing the police station’s document, while it could quickly close the case, the final result would not satisfy everyone. It could only be called an unsolved mystery.

And signing the court’s document would inevitably make Odysseus question her ability.

Just as she was still frowning with worry, the office door was suddenly pushed open.

“Your Highness Elsa!”

The person who entered was her attendant Aphro.

“What happened?”

“Outside the court, there is a person claiming to be Lodi who wants to see you, Your Highness the Princess.”

“Lodi!?”

Elsa heard this name, instantly became spirited, then quickly got up and walked out with Aphro.

A few minutes later, in the interrogation room, Lodi sat properly on the chair, looking at Elsa before him, and the interrogator beside him, without expression.

“Lodi, I heard that Mudrick’s mercenary group had cooperated with you multiple times before. Is that true?”

“Mm.”

“According to my master’s command, I engaged in quite a few collaborations with the Iron Wolf mercenary group. I was responsible for conveying my master’s intentions, and they were responsible for the actions.”

“Then, during the time the Mudrick case was being investigated, we did not find you. Where did you go?”

...

Lodi heard this, was startled, then said, “Apologies, Interrogator. I only wish to tell this matter to Your Highness the Princess. Is that alright?”

The interrogator frowned.

This matter, logically speaking, did not conform to the rules. After all, the princess was just observing. But she was the princess. He couldn’t truly disregard her wishes, could he?

Helplessly, he turned his gaze to Elsa beside him.

“Your Highness the Princess, I am worried that this person might be harmful to you...”

“It’s alright. You can go out first.”

Elsa said this, shaking her head, indicating it was fine.

“Then... alright.”

The interrogator heard that Elsa had said so, and could not say anything more. He just got up and left. Before leaving, he also handed the notebook containing the confession to Elsa.

“Alright, now that the person has left, you can tell me alone, right?”

Elsa looked at Lodi before her and spoke.

“Mm.”

Lodi nodded. “During the time I was absent, it was your partner who hid me away.”

Hearing the words “partner,” Elsa’s eyes widened.

“He... why did he do that?”

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