I, the Villain, Want to Save Myself, But the Yandere Heroines Disagree - Chapter 8

The Imperial Academy, as the name suggests, is an institution established by the Empire itself.

The Empire’s education system is divided into two categories: schools and academies.

Generally speaking, people attend local schools to study basic subjects until they reach adulthood. Once they come of age, those with the means and ambition may enroll in academies for advanced studies.

Academies teach a variety of skills, but combat is, of course, a mandatory subject.

Unlike schools, which are widespread and can be found even in small towns, academies are scarce. Most metropolitan regions have only one academy.

The reason is simple: the Empire sets extremely high standards for academies to maintain teaching quality. This high threshold makes opening an academy a challenging and expensive endeavor, often resulting in financial deficits. Many academies are little more than money-burning machines, sustained only by local treasuries.

Take Lucius, for example. As one of the six Dukes of the Empire, his Antica Duchy has only two academies, and both lack the scale and quality of the Imperial Academy.

Despite the financial burden, lords establish academies primarily for their main purpose: nurturing talent.

Yes, contrary to what many believe, the Empire is not as peaceful as it seems.

A thousand years ago, the Empire’s founding emperor generously distributed titles and land to reward his loyal followers, creating a three-tier administrative hierarchy of counts, dukes, and the emperor.

Counts typically govern a city and its surrounding villages, while dukes oversee multiple cities and exercise suzerain authority over the counts within their domains.

The emperor, in turn, functions as an even larger duke, with direct control over more territories and suzerain authority over all dukes and the counts within their lands.

As the saying goes, “The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal.” The emperor cannot directly command the vassals of the dukes.

This fragmented feudal structure plunged the Empire into chaos after the founding emperor’s death, leading to over a century of civil war. Eventually, five powerful ducal families emerged victorious and have maintained their status to this day.

These families are: the Essenberg family, which governs the Duchy of Prussia; the Florence family, which rules the Duchy of Napoli; the Toulouse family, which controls the Duchy of Orléans; the Lisanus family, which oversees the Duchy of Aragon; and the Petrov family, which governs the Duchy of Lucia.

As for the Antica Duchy ruled by the newly appointed Duke Lucius, it was formed twenty years ago as a reward for his military exploits. After leading the imperial army to countless victories and expanding the Empire’s eastern borders, the emperor carved out a portion of the crown’s direct territory and combined it with the newly conquered eastern lands to create the duchy.

This move disrupted the delicate balance between the emperor and the dukes, prompting the latter to try to win over Lucius.

Lucius, as a shrewd newcomer to the aristocracy, maintained a neutral stance amid these power struggles, skillfully biding his time.

Ultimately, he secured a political marriage with William Essenberg, Duke of Prussia, arranging an engagement between Orson and William’s second daughter, Lianca, when Orson was three years old.

In this intricate web of shifting power dynamics, the Empire’s regional forces naturally sought to bolster their strength by nurturing talent through academies.

Of the dozens of academies in the Empire, only one bears the prestigious title of “Imperial.”

When people mention “the Imperial Academy” in public, they refer to only one institution.

Located in the imperial capital of Saint Roland, its full name is the Charles Imperial Academy of Saint Roland City, often abbreviated to the Imperial Academy.

Bearing the names of both the capital and the founding emperor, the academy’s status is unmatched.

The Imperial Academy is the premier educational institution in the Empire, with a history predating the Empire’s establishment.

Supported by the royal family and staffed by renowned instructors, the Imperial Academy is the dream school for the Empire’s brightest and most talented individuals. Graduates from the academy are often courted by the Empire’s most powerful factions.

Of course, this assumes they can pass the academy’s rigorous evaluation and graduation requirements.

To ensure the quality of its student body, the Imperial Academy employs two admission methods. The first is the noble recommendation system, which allows each count’s domain to nominate one candidate annually.

Given the abundance of nobility within the Empire, many nobles use their recommendation slots to send family members or close allies to the academy. This accounts for 20% of the student body.

The second method, which accounts for the majority of students, is through examination.

During the annual entrance season, the academy conducts a standardized test. Aspiring youths from across the Empire converge on Saint Roland City, and only the top 800 scorers among thousands of examinees are admitted.

However, due to the superior education nobles receive from birth, most successful candidates are still members of the nobility.

With only 800 spots out of tens of thousands of applicants, the exam is naturally highly competitive.

In the original story, despite the protagonist’s halo, Litte had less than a month to prepare for the exam and ultimately failed. He gained admission through Lucius’s recommendation instead.

This led to widespread disdain from his peers at the academy.

Needless to say, the task Lucius had assigned Orson—to prepare Litte for the exam in just a month—was a challenging one.

Orson wasn’t entirely confident that Litte could pass within such a short time frame.

Just then, a maid approached.

Orson recognized her as one of Mary’s attendants.

“Young Master Orson, the Madam requests your presence,” the maid said, bowing.

“Mother is looking for me?” Orson asked in curiosity before nodding. “Alright, lead the way.”

The maid guided Orson to Mary’s study.

As Lucius’s second wife following the death of his first, Mary was only thirty years old.

She was born into the Toulouse family of the Orléans Duchy and married the forty-year-old Lucius at the age of twenty-two, when Orson was ten.

The age gap between Mary and Lucius was even greater than the one between Mary and Orson.

Considering her noble background and the political motivations behind their union, their relationship was cordial but distant.

Mary and Lucius maintained separate bedrooms and studies. They had shared a bed only during the first three years of their marriage, after which they stopped due to various reasons.

Given Lucius’s military background and lackluster administrative skills, he eventually entrusted governance of the duchy to Mary, who proved to be a capable administrator. Under her management, the duchy ran relatively smoothly.

However, despite her effective governance, the personal treasury of the Duke’s estate had not grown, raising some suspicions.

Outside Mary’s study, her trusted retainer Randall stood guard.

Randall was a handsome middle-aged man, around thirty-four or thirty-five years old, and one of the personal attendants Mary had brought from her family.

“Uncle Randall,” Orson greeted politely.

Randall smiled warmly at Orson. “Young Master Orson, the Madam is waiting for you inside.”

“Understood.” Orson returned the smile, then pushed open the door and stepped into the room.