I, the Villain, Want to Save Myself, But the Yandere Heroines Disagree - Chapter 97

For almost an entire day, the high-ranking officers of the Saint Roland City Guard were searching for the assassin who launched a surprise attack after Emperor Odysseus’s speech in the square.

However, the other party seemed to know the terrain of Saint Roland City like the back of their hand. After creating distance from the pursuing guards on the rooftop, they darted into a dark alley and disappeared.

Odysseus was escorted back to the Imperial Palace by the remaining guards. Subsequently, he immediately returned to his chambers, not allowing anyone to see him.

And now, the only people accompanying him were his two children.

At this moment, Odysseus stood in the bedroom, with his back to the two of them.

Elsa lowered her head in silence, while Arthas directly knelt on the ground.

“Father, your son knows he was wrong. Your son should not have killed that person earlier…”

After speaking, Arthas lowered his head. He would not get up until Odysseus spoke.

Odysseus stared at the mural on the wall for a long time, then turned back.

His heart gradually calmed down at this moment.

“I know, Arthas, you have always yearned to reach the pinnacle of power. Including Elsa, you too, you two are both exceptional individuals, and neither of you wants to live a mediocre life forever. I understand your aspirations.”

“Although we are the Imperial Family, similarly, we are also a family.”

Odysseus looked at Arthas, came before him, and extended his hand towards him.

“Arthas, get up. What kind of behavior is this!”

“Father, have you forgiven your son?” Arthas looked at Odysseus, asking curiously.

“What’s done is done. Should I throw you in prison?” Odysseus curved his lips into a smile, then helped Arthas up.

Elsa saw the actions of her father and brother and slightly frowned.

Her brother had caused their father quite a bit of trouble during this time, but even so, her father was still willing to trust her brother.

Was this indulgence? Or simply favoritism towards members of the Imperial Family?

If she were the one who had caused her father great trouble, would she also be forgiven by him?

While she was thinking these thoughts, Odysseus beckoned to Elsa.

“Elsa, come here,” Odysseus said this, looking at Elsa.

“Do you feel that, for all these years, you have been the one who was not taken seriously? In the competition for the throne, I gave Arthas the authority to interact with the military, while for you, I was unwilling to fully grant you judicial authority.”

“That is not true, Father,” Elsa quickly shook her head in denial.

Seeing Elsa’s reaction, Odysseus smiled.

“Indeed, you are also a good child.”

Then, he took a step back and looked at his son and daughter.

“From now on, Elsa, in addition to being fully responsible for the Empire’s judiciary, the leadership of the court mages and battlefield mages will also be entirely entrusted to you. At the same time, the governing authority of the thirty-six cities in the eastern part of the Empire will be entirely entrusted to you.”

Odysseus said this, took out the scepter symbolizing Imperial authority, and infused it with magic power. Soon, a golden glowing decree appeared in the air.

After handing the decree to Elsa, the golden light also dissipated.

Elsa and Arthas were both shocked by Odysseus’s reaction.

They did not know what had stimulated Odysseus to choose to relinquish power to his daughter at such a critical moment.

“Father, perhaps you should reconsider?”

At this moment, even Elsa couldn’t help but try to dissuade Odysseus.

“It’s alright. I had already decided this before this assassination attempt.”

“As for you, Arthas.”

Odysseus turned his gaze to Arthas, and spoke again.

“I grant you the position of acting Marshal of the Imperial Army, controlling all regular troops within the Empire except for the mages. At the same time, I bestow upon you the governing authority of the twenty-four cities in the western part of the Empire.”

After handing the decree, also created through the Emperor’s scepter, to Arthas, Odysseus looked as if he had aged ten years.

“In this way, you will have a fair competition. I will be watching your achievements in Saint Roland City.”

He pointed to the scepter in his hand.

“This thing depends on your own abilities. After I die, the appointments in the decrees will become void, and your powers will be withdrawn. As for who will reside here in the future, it is up to you.”

Then, he put away the scepter and looked at the two of them.

“Alright, go now, both of you.”

This time, it seemed both of them had been granted territories, which should have been a joyous occasion for all, but for Arthas, this was not the case.

It was well known that before, the resources Arthas controlled were overwhelmingly superior to Elsa’s. But now, after the distribution of territories and powers, the gap between Arthas and Elsa had been narrowed. In fact, in terms of territory, Elsa’s thirty-six eastern cities were far wealthier than Arthas’s twenty-four western cities.

Furthermore, Elsa was no longer unarmed as she was before.

The court mages and battlefield mages were independent military forces not directly subordinate to the army. A single mage could do very little on the battlefield, but a group of mages was different.

Whether it was the mass flares that illuminated the sky like daylight during the night attack on the Napoli battlefield before, or the large-scale destructive fire magic used against the beastmen before, all of it proved that mages were still mages.

Moreover, there was a loophole in Arthas’s authority.

That was regular troops. City defense forces, led by militias, were not considered regular troops. In other words, Elsa could easily raise a large number of private soldiers under the pretext of expanding the city defense.

Arthas looked at Odysseus in confusion.

Although he knew that the Emperor’s command was like a mountain, at this moment, he still wanted to try moving the mountain.

“Father, my sister and I are still young. Is it truly appropriate to entrust us with such great power directly?”

“Mm,” Odysseus nodded. “Of course.”

Then, his voice turned cold.

“After all, if I don’t relinquish power soon, some people will be eager for this old man to die.”

After saying this, as if to avoid the two siblings misunderstanding, Odysseus quickly explained:

“Of course, I know it absolutely could not be you. You are my children. I understand you. You are the least likely to do such things.”

“However, your subordinates, it seems, are eager for you to be enthroned as soon as possible so that they can also rise in status.”

Odysseus said this, looking at the two of them with a meaningful gaze.

“Go back and discipline your subordinates properly.”

“Alright, I am a little tired. You may also return.”

After speaking, Odysseus gestured for the two of them to leave.

Elsa nodded.

“In that case, Father, I will take my leave first.” After speaking, Elsa bowed and left the chambers directly.

Arthas stood in place, looking around for a while, seeming to be contemplating something. But seeing Odysseus’s weary expression, he also nodded helplessly, and then took his leave.

For Arthas, the past period could be said to have been a nightmare.

First, he was involved in the case of Francois’s assassination. Subsequently, assassination attempts also occurred.

To be fair, none of these things were truly Arthas’s fault, but his ability to handle matters was simply too poor, which indirectly caused him to take the blame for these things.

This also led to Odysseus’s trust and patience with Arthas being gradually worn away.

Odysseus truly had favored Arthas a little before, but this was also because Arthas was older and more experienced than Elsa.

However, judging by the performance of the two siblings during this time, the younger Elsa, far from causing trouble for Odysseus, had actively helped Odysseus save quite a bit of trouble. This also made Odysseus reconsider whether he should give the two siblings more power.

After much thought, if he were to strip Arthas of his power, it would always feel as if Arthas was not favored. At that time, it would also make it seem like he favored Elsa, and eventually, he chose to bestow rewards upon both siblings, but brought Elsa’s power to almost the same level as Arthas’s. In this way, everyone would only think that he had started to value Elsa again, and it would not have a significant impact on Arthas.

Late at night, Odysseus sat in his chambers, looking at the intelligence reported by the captain of the guard, and sighed helplessly.

In the intelligence was all the information about Trossard, who had attempted to assassinate him today.

Clearly, he was a pawn. The fact that he could say those words proved that he could absolutely not have been sent by Arthas.

Someone capable of framing Arthas with this was definitely from Elsa’s side.

However, it was also not ruled out that Arthas’s side was employing a stratagem to sow discord, intentionally using Odysseus’s reverse psychology to frame Elsa in turn.

But either way, it no longer mattered.

Putting the siblings’ vying for favor through various small means out in the open to be judged would save a lot of trouble.

That was what Odysseus thought.

The struggle for power within the Imperial Family had always been filled with bloodshed. Various conspiracies and schemes emerged endlessly. Even Odysseus’s own ascension to the throne was not smooth sailing. He had been a Prince, and he naturally understood the feelings of his children.

He only hoped that, in the end, he would not die at the hands of his own children, and that his children would not die because of him. That would be enough.

…

“Orson, if these things you’ve done were exposed, what would happen? Have you thought about it?” In the secret base, Franca stood behind the sofa, looking at Orson sitting on the sofa with his back to her, and said with a smile.

“So we cannot afford to lose.”

“I don’t care anyway,” Franca said this, brushing her hair behind her ear, then leaned forward.

Opening her mouth, she revealed her sharp canine teeth.

Subsequently, she was pushed back by Orson, who placed a hand on her head.

“I told you, not here,” Orson said this, exposing his arm.

Franca looked at Orson’s action, and pouted a little defiantly.

“The blood from the neck is clearly the freshest…”

“Big brother~ please, let me have a bite, just one bite~”

She used her cute face to suddenly act spoiled towards Orson.

But Orson was unmoved.

“With your one bite, I will die.”

What a joke. Don’t be fooled by the fact that she looked like a cute little girl. Her actual age was probably old enough to be Orson’s great-great-grandparent.

Seeing that Orson was unmoved, Franca bit down hard on Orson’s arm.