I, the Villain, Want to Save Myself, But the Yandere Heroines Disagree-Chapter 27 - Betrayal

The party was in full swing. Lucius took Mary to toast the Emperor.

“Duke Lucius, Lady Mary, it’s truly been hard work for you two managing the Antica Duchy these past years.”

“Your Majesty jests. The Empire’s millennia-unchanged structure... For Your Majesty to grant this old servant land and title, and what you have done for the Stranick family, this old servant will never forget. How can I say it’s been hard work?” Lucius smiled and drained the wine in his cup.

“By the way, speaking of which, what did Young Master Orson go to do this time? Why hasn’t he returned yet?” Odysseus found a topic and asked.

“This, your subject also doesn’t know.” Lucius shook his head.

Just at this moment, Mary suddenly spoke. “By the way, Your Majesty, during this time, Orson and Litte have truly taken excellent care of my husband. They are truly filial.”

Odysseus heard Mary say this and nodded with satisfaction.

“Yes, these two children of Duke Lucius are truly very good.”

And just at this moment, Mary suddenly changed her tone.

“However, Your Majesty, you probably don’t know what these two children are hiding from everyone, do you?”

“Oh? What are they hiding from everyone?” Odysseus said this, looking at Mary in confusion.

And Lucius also looked at his wife beside him in surprise.

He was just about to say something, but unexpectedly, Mary directly let go of him and walked directly to Odysseus’s side.

“To say it, Your Majesty might not believe it, but my husband is currently still seeing you with his illness.”

“And Orson and Litte, in order to scheme to usurp the Master’s authority and seize the power of the duchy, declared that the Master was gravely ill, but did not disclose what specific illness the Master had. They even refused to let me take care of the Master’s daily life, instead entrusting all these matters to their trusted subordinates.”

“Don’t you think it’s very strange? Why didn’t the two of them publicly disclose the Master’s condition, and even refused to inform family members, instead only letting people they trusted handle these matters?”

“So, Lady Mary, what do you mean?” Odysseus heard Mary’s words and couldn’t help but frown.

“I think Orson and Litte are deliberately using some means to worsen the Master’s health for the sake of inheriting the duchy, thereby making it convenient for them to inherit the ducal title early.” Mary said this, pointing at Litte below, and spoke.

Filing a complaint with the Emperor, this was a method that had existed from ancient times to the present. By reporting matters to the highest leader, one could obtain the opinion of the highest leader and achieve their own goals.

This move by Mary was a typical instance of filing a complaint with the Emperor.

Lucius looked at Mary, silent.

“Furthermore, as for the Master’s illness, let me make it public, perhaps it will be a laughingstock for everyone. Before, on one occasion when I happened to have the opportunity to interact with the Master, I found that he mistook me for his former wife, and also mistook the time for when the beastmen invaded eighteen years ago.”

“Although there are few records of this illness, I still found records of similar illnesses in some books. All that is known is that the cause of the onset is unknown, but it can cause intermittent mental disorder, memory confusion, and emotional agitation.”

“Just now downstairs, when Duke Giovanni asked the Master a question, the Master couldn’t answer. That was also because the illness temporarily flared up.”

“I don’t know why the Master has been able to maintain himself without being exposed until now, but I think it’s necessary to tell everyone that the Master now is like a ticking time bomb, which could explode at any moment.”

As Mary’s words fell, Lucius was so angry that he raised his hand and pointed at Mary.

“Mary... you... how dare you!”

“Master, I am protecting you. Orson and Litte, they are coveting your power. Only I, I am doing this to protect you. Please forgive me for making this public.”

And at this moment, Litte also came to Lucius’s side.

At this moment, it was useless for Lucius to have an episode, because Mary had already taken the initiative and given everyone a psychological suggestion, making people believe that any abnormal behavior from Lucius now was entirely due to that strange illness.

Furthermore, Litte also knew that indeed, as Mary said, Lucius did suffer from intermittent memory loss.

“Mother, I don’t know what you mean, but regarding this matter, when Orson told me, he said it was personally arranged by Father when he was conscious.”

“Furthermore, even if Father truly has some problems, according to the laws of inheritance, the heir would simply be one of either me or Orson. What reason would we have to harm Father?”

“Heh, bringing up someone who isn’t present now, of course you can say whatever you want, after all, no one will come out to accuse you of being wrong,” Mary said this, sneering. “Furthermore, you certainly have a reason to harm your father.”

Mary pointed to her belly.

“In my belly is the Master’s child. This child also has the right of inheritance. You are afraid that when the child grows up, they will be more outstanding than you and take away your right of inheritance, so you want to firmly hold the right of inheritance in your hands now!”

At this moment, everyone present also directed their gaze towards Mary.

After all, there was ready-made entertainment. Who wouldn’t enjoy watching?

Although what Mary said was unreasonable, that didn’t stop her from speaking loudly. freewёbnoνel.com

“Litte, is what Lady Mary said true, regarding Duke Lucius’... the problem here?” Odysseus said this, subtly pointing to his head. “Also, the matter of Lady Mary’s pregnancy.”

“It is indeed partially as Mother said, but this is not the whole story,” Litte said this, explaining. From her perspective, she spoke everything she knew.

Afterward, the nobles below the platform all began to whisper among themselves.

They say it’s hard for an honest official to settle family disputes. If no concrete evidence was presented, this incident could at most be considered a disagreement within the Stranick family and could not involve other matters.

And coincidentally, at this moment, a sound of footsteps came from the entrance.

“Young Master Orson?” Vivian was the first to notice Orson, who was covered in dust from travel, appearing at the entrance.

Subsequently, everyone looked towards the entrance.

Orson appeared at the entrance of the house with a person wearing a cloak. Judging by height, the person’s stature was two heads shorter than Orson’s.

“Oh? It seems the protagonist of the banquet is about to arrive,” Giovanni had now reached the corner of the hall, quietly appreciating this family drama.

Actually, within the administrative system of the Empire, Dukes possessed independent local power. It was just that the Imperial directly administered territories were more prosperous. Whether from the legal basis of founding the nation or the existing strength, the Imperial Family was undoubtedly the foremost.

But this did not mean that the Emperor could interfere with everything within the duchy’s territory.

At the very least, if the Duke himself had not done anything outrageous and abhorrent to both gods and men, the Emperor had no reason to take action against the Duke.

After all, once action was taken, it would be a violation of the agreement from that year. Other Dukes would certainly be dissatisfied with the Emperor. At that time, the consequences would not be a simple civil war, and could even lead to a change of dynasty for the thousand-year-old Imperial Family.

Therefore, throughout these thousand years, the Imperial Family had handled its relationship with the local powers quite cautiously.

But the Antica Duchy was different. Lucius, as the Duke of Antica, was Odysseus’s capable subordinate when Odysseus ascended the throne. After becoming Duke, out of previous habit, the superior-subordinate relationship between the two was still very evident. This was also why some Dukes looked down on Lucius.

You’ve reached the position of Duke, yet you are still so polite to the Emperor on your own territory. That is somewhat losing face.

However, it could also be understood. After all, in Lucius’s view, he was the first generation of the duchy. His territory was granted by the Emperor. Being this way towards the Emperor was perfectly justifiable.

As for the other Dukes, their titles had been passed down for many generations. They had long been deeply ingrained with the belief that the land under their feet was theirs, and it wouldn’t matter even if the Emperor came.

Orson held Laina’s hand and brought her to the banquet.

To prevent Laina’s demi-human identity from causing panic among the nobles, Orson draped his cloak over Laina.

Fortunately, the difference in height between himself and Laina was large enough that the cloak could cover Laina’s large ears and tail.

But it would still make Laina appear very strange. Therefore, Orson only had Laina find a seat and sit down, before he himself came to Lucius’s side.

“Father, I am late,” Saying this, Orson showed a apologetic expression. “And Litte, for these past few days, you have worked hard managing the household affairs.”

Orson said this, and stroked Litte’s head.

And Lucius just shook his head and pointed at Mary.

“I understand,” Orson understood Lucius’s meaning, turned around, and looked at Mary.

“Mother, please allow me to still address you by this title for now.”

“What do you mean?” Mary heard Orson’s words and was somewhat puzzled.

She and Lucius were not divorced. Why would Orson say something like that?

“Although I don’t know what kind of intentions you have in deliberately stirring up family conflicts, Mother, are you really that clean?”

“Orson, you...” Mary heard this, and her heart immediately panicked. “What exactly do you mean by saying all this?”

“Toulouse family,” Orson said this. Duke François of Orleans, who was quietly drinking soup on the side, paused.

“The Toulouse family, who rule the Orleans Duchy, that is, your relatives, Mother. During the many years you have served as the Duchess and controlled the duchy’s finances, through various means, you have embezzled almost two-thirds of the duchy’s annual financial surplus into personal assets, and then transferred it to the Toulouse family. This is why the Antica Duchy, although it has developed well over the years, has always had very tight finances.”

Saying this, Orson took out the account statement in his hand and handed it to the Emperor.

After glancing over it, Odysseus turned and looked at Mary.

“Lady Mary, if this account statement is true, then your actions as the Duchess can be said to be quite terrible,” Saying this, he glanced at François.

“Duke François, you too. Your own sister is married off, and you still expect her to provide assistance to your duchy?”

“Your Majesty’s reprimand is well deserved,” François nodded. “But all of this was done by my sister personally. Although I have advised her over the years, it was completely useless, so I could only accept it like this.”

Mary heard her brother say this, looked at him in surprise, her eyes filled with the anger of being betrayed.