I, the Villain, Want to Save Myself, But the Yandere Heroines Disagree
Chapter 72 - Francois Assassinated

Although the Imperial Academy appeared peaceful and quiet, in reality, the topics the students discussed every day had changed from daily life to the war in the south.

“I heard that Duke Giovanni of Napoli seems to be a member of that society that intends to plot the resurrection of demons. Wasn’t there a rumor outside Saint Roland City before that traces of demons had appeared? I heard it was Giovanni who did it.” In the academy square, several students were sitting together at this moment, discussing these matters.

The members of the newspaper club were the busiest these days. They needed to obtain firsthand information from the newspaper offices in Saint Roland City and publish it at the first opportunity.

“Eh? Is that really the case? Then I always feel that the soldiers on the front line will be very dangerous. What if demons appear...”

“You can rest assured about that. If creatures like demons truly appear on the front line, Giovanni’s subordinates will be the first to resist him.”

“Right now, he should have given his subordinates a heads-up, telling them that all of this is just rumors. However, it is estimated that after more and more people know about this matter, he will eventually be abandoned by everyone.”

“Let’s hope so...”

A snow-white figure passed through the square. Hearing the students’ descriptions, she paused imperceptibly, then continued walking forward.

“Orson.” As soon as Olivia walked into the Student Council office, she told Orson about the discussion among a few students in the square just now.

“Giovanni’s true strength is probably not what is currently being shown. Are you really not worried about the front line?” Saying this, a hint of worry was revealed in her eyes.

Although Litte was also a genius, after all, his experience was too limited. Letting Litte go to the front line to command an army alone was simply too risky.

If Giovanni truly intended to fight to the death and destroy everything, Litte would truly be in danger, wouldn’t he?

As for Litte, putting aside the complicated feelings towards Orson, she herself was still very fond of him.

It wasn’t the kind of affection one has for the opposite sex, but rather the care and admiration an elder has for a junior.

“It’s alright. Didn’t I say? I have already laid such a good foundation for Litte. The rest is just meeting force with force and adapting to the situation.”

“If he can’t even win a battle with favorable conditions, then what is there to say?” Orson said this, smiling.

“Furthermore, Giovanni is not the only one with a trump card.”

Litte is the true Child of Destiny. Orson arranging for her to do this this time was also to test if she could truly turn misfortune into blessing by relying on her destiny, just like in the original plot.

He naturally knew Giovanni was very dangerous, capable of turning people into demons. Although they were only heterozygous demons with extremely thin bloodlines, they were still not to be underestimated.

Mudrick back then had caused Lion, who was also Tier 7, quite a bit of trouble.

For Litte, this was a test, to see if she had truly grown to the extent of no longer needing Orson’s protection.

And Orson staying in Saint Roland City was also not just as he said. He also had things he needed to do.

“Then let’s talk about something else.” Olivia said this, looking at Orson. “Because Duke Lucius and Litte are both on the front line, the conference held at noon today might be preparing to have you represent the Stranick family. My father asked me to inform you in advance. What do you say?”

“I have no problem.” Orson nodded.

After all, they were both gone, and only Orson could represent the Antica region.

Furthermore, with Orson’s ability and qualifications, he was indeed qualified to attend this conference.

He had solved the beastman problem that had troubled the Empire for a thousand years, and also expanded a large area of land to the east. In the past, this would have required the granting of fiefdoms and titles.

Subsequently, noon arrived. Orson, as the representative of the Stranick family and also the Antica Duchy, attended the internal court conference.

There were a total of three factions attending this conference.

The Imperial Family, the Dukes, and the military and commercial representatives.

Among the military and commercial representatives, Orson saw familiar faces.

Celineina and Scaloni.

Every time the Empire encountered a major event, it would choose to convene a grand conference, gathering the various interest groups of the Empire to consult together.

This was not democracy; it was merely a negotiation among people representing different interests.

In this incident, each faction had its own demands. For example, the Imperial Family’s greatest objective was naturally to annex the entire Napoli Duchy. The dukes, however, would clearly not allow the Imperial Family to do this. Both sides would repeatedly contend over this issue, eventually compromising on a solution acceptable to all.

The same applied to the military and commercial representatives. The military hoped to establish a military district in the Napoli region, demarcating a territory belonging to the army, and raising the status of the army.

And the commercial representatives were preparing to take charge of the post-war reconstruction affairs in the Napoli region.

Napoli had not yet fallen. It even still held seventy percent of its land, yet it had already reached the point of being divided up by everyone at the negotiating table.

After all, as things stood, no one believed the Napoli Duchy still had the strength to launch a counterattack.

And the mistakes he had made were indeed to an irreparable extent.

The conference deliberated for an entire day, but in the end, no suitable result was reached.

Several dukes jointly proposed that if the Imperial Family were to annex the Napoli Duchy, then the system of electing the Emperor would need to be implemented. Otherwise, an overly powerful central government would only suppress the local regions.

And the system of electing the Emperor had always been the Imperial Family’s bottom line. It was impossible to accept. The problem was deadlocked here.

Continuing like this, the conference would not yield any results.

Thus, on the evening of the next day, astonishing news spread throughout the entire Saint Roland City.

Duke Francois of Orleans assassinated.

Yes, after the conference ended and they were returning to their residence, over a dozen assassins suddenly appeared on both sides of the road, surrounding the Duke of Orleans’ carriage convoy. In the end, Francois’s guard was almost completely wiped out.

Orson also arrived at the scene of Francois’s assassination almost the instant he heard the news.

At this moment, the surrounding area had been completely sealed off by the Imperial army.

And the person in charge of the guard duty was none other than Prince Arthas.

With such a significant event occurring, as a representative of the army and also a Prince of the Empire, he naturally had to step forward.

A Duke being assassinated in the Imperial City could be said to be a quite significant political crisis.

“Your Highness Arthas, may I take a look?” Orson came to Arthas’s side, asking softly.

“Mm.” Arthas nodded, then led Orson to the vicinity of the carriage.

At this moment, the two horses pulling the carriage had been startled, broken free from their reins, and fled. Only the carriage frame remained.

Before even getting close, Orson smelled a strong scent of blood.

Pushing aside the carriage curtain, the scene before his eyes was even more horrific.

The noble and exquisite log carriage interior was now splattered with blood everywhere. Francois was staring intently at the carriage entrance. From his chest to his abdomen, a huge wound over twenty centimeters long revealed his cause of death.

Looking at his face, Orson could vaguely recall the person at the banquet that night who had ignored Mary’s plea for help, then turned around and blamed her, kicking her away.

“Sigh.” The complex emotions ultimately turned into a sigh.

It was just that it was unclear for whom he sighed.

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