My villain wants to save himself, but the yandere heroine disagrees

Most counts owned a city and its surrounding villages and towns, while dukes directly governed several cities and exercised suzerain power over the counts within their de jure territories.

The emperor himself is similar to a larger duke. In addition to having more direct territories, the emperor exercises suzerain power over the duke and the counts within the territory.

In line with the sentence, "My vassal's vassal is not my vassal", the emperor cannot directly order the duke's vassal.

Because of the chaotic enfeoffment order, the empire fell into a hundred-year-long melee after the death of the founding emperor. In the end, five grand dukes were determined, and these five grand dukes and their families still exist today.

They are the Eisenberg family that controls the Duke of Prussia, the Florence family that controls the Duke of Naples, the Tullous family that controls the Duke of Orleans, and the Leigh family that controls the Duke of Aragon. The Sanus family and the Petrov family, which controls the Duchy of Lucia.

As the territory of the new Duke Lucius, the Duchy of Antica was because he led the imperial army to conquer all directions twenty years ago and expanded countless territories to the east. The emperor of the empire set aside part of the territory that was originally directly under the royal family. Together with the newly conquered eastern territories, the duchy was pieced together.

This move broke the delicate balance that had been maintained between the emperor and the dukes. For a time, several dukes began to win over Lucius.

As a new aristocrat, Lucius wisely remained neutral in the open and covert struggles and waited for a price.

In the end, he and William Eisenberg, Duke of Prussia, arranged a child marriage, and when Orson was three years old, he was engaged to William's second daughter Lianka.

In this turbulent situation, in order to strengthen themselves, the major local forces in the empire will of course cultivate talents and recruit talents through academies.

Among the dozens of colleges in the empire, there is only one that can be named "Empire".

If people refer to "Imperial College" in public, there is only one.

Located in the city of Saint-Laurent, the capital of the empire, its full name is the Imperial College of Saint-Laurent Charles, and its abbreviation is Imperial College.

The fact that the college is named after both the capital and the founding emperor shows its high status.

The Imperial Academy is the highest-level academic institution in the empire. Its predecessor existed before the establishment of the empire.

Because it is supported by the royal family and many famous teachers teach in the college, Imperial College has always been the most ideal institution for people in the empire. Students who graduate from Imperial College will also receive olive branches from major forces.

Of course, the premise is that you can successfully graduate under the strict evaluation system and screening system.

In order to ensure the quality of students, the Imperial College adopts two admission systems. One is the noble recommendation system. Each earldom can recommend one person for admission every year.

Because there are a lot of nobles in the empire, many nobles will use the recommended quota to send their family members or close relatives to study in the Imperial College, because the proportion of students recommended to enter the college has reached 20%.

Another way, which is also the admission channel for most students of Imperial College, is to pass the examination.

Every year during the admission season of Imperial College, a unified test will be conducted. At that time, aspiring young people from all over the country will gather in Saint Laurent City. In the end, the top 800 students who take the exam will be admitted to Imperial College.

Of course, because nobles receive the best education from birth, most of the people who can actually pass the test are nobles.

An exam that can only select 800 candidates from tens of thousands of candidates will naturally not be easy to take.

In the original work, although Leeteuk had the aura of the protagonist, he was left with less than a month to prepare. He failed to pass the exam, and finally succeeded in enrolling by relying on Lucius's recommendation.

Because of this, he suffered from the cold eyes of others in the academy.

I have to say that the task Lucius gave him was quite difficult.

He was not sure whether Li Teuk could pass the exam within a month.

Just then, a maid came over.

Orson had some impression of her, and she seemed to be Mary's maid.

"Master Orson, Madam is looking for you." The maid said this and bowed to Orson.

"Mother, are you looking for me?" Orson looked at her doubtfully, then nodded. "Okay, you lead the way."

Then the maid led Orson towards Mary's study.

Since Mary was the second child of Lucius after he was widowed, Mary was only thirty years old this year.

she was born

Born in the Tullous family of the Duke of Orleans, when Orson was ten years old, she married the forty-year-old Lucius at the age of twenty-two.

The age gap between her and Lucius was wider than the age gap between her and Orson.

Considering her family background and the actual intention behind their marriage, although the relationship between the two can be said to be respectful, Orson always felt that there was still a vague sense of distance between them.

The two of them each had a bedroom and study room at home. Only in the first three years of marriage did Mary share a bed with Lucius. After that, due to various reasons, Mary rarely lived in the same room with Lucius.

Because Lucius was born as a warrior and had average ability to manage the territory, and Mary happened to have the skills to manage the territory, Lucius later simply handed over the decision-making power in the management of the territory to Mary. Mary lived up to Lucius's expectations and the territory The management is pretty good.

Of course, although the territory is well managed, the private treasury of the Duke's residence has not increased, which is always doubtful.

Walking to Mary's study, the servant Randall was guarding the door.

He is a handsome middle-aged man, about thirty-four or five years old. He is one of the several personal servants that Mary brought over from the family.

"Uncle Randall." Orson greeted him politely.

Randall looked at Orson with a smile, and then said: "Master Orson, my wife is waiting for you inside."

"Yeah." Orson smiled, then opened the door and walked into the room.

Chapter 9: I hope you understand

Walking into the study room, Mary had already changed out of the dress she wore at today's banquet and put on a long red dress. With her long brown hair and exceptionally well-maintained skin, she looked like she was twenty-four. The same goes for five-year-old females.

A little less girlish and a little more mature and charming.

"The master just asked you to go to his study?" Mary seemed to be dealing with official documents at first. When she saw Orson coming in, she immediately put down what she was doing, looked up at Orson, smiled, and then said.

Looking at Mary in front of him, Orson felt a little complicated.

It is said that a slap cannot make a difference. In the original novel, it was Orson and Mary who teamed up to frame Lee Teuk.

If she didn't have this idea now, Mary probably wouldn't continue to persecute Leeteuk.

"Back to mother, I was indeed called to the study by my father just now." Orson nodded.

"Yeah." Mary nodded and continued to ask, "What are you talking about? About Li Te?"

"I can't hide it from my mother, it's true." Orson smiled.

"Orson, what do you think about inheritance?" Mary said, sat up from the chair, walked over to Orson, and helped him straighten his clothes.

She is a head shorter than Orson and has a younger face. She doesn't seem to feel any pressure from her mother, but more like her peers.

More like a sister, or...

As soon as Orson thought about that aspect, the memory of the original work came to his mind again, and the charming thoughts that had just risen in his mind disappeared in an instant.

After all, Mary is also your stepmother, and she is a villain in the original work!

"The matter of inheritance rights..." Orson watched Mary continue to tidy up his clothes, thought for a while, and then said: "I completely listen to my father. In my opinion, it is very difficult for my father to raise a son like me who has no blood relationship." For eight years, I have been exposed to the best education, and I am already very grateful to my father.”

"Whether he wants me to inherit or Li Teuk, I will support my father's decision. I even said..."

After a pause, Orson continued: "Li Te has lived in the country for eighteen years due to an accident. If our identities were reversed during these eighteen years, Li Te would have lived a better life, and he would not This is what it looks like now.”

"So, if possible, I would prefer Leeteuk to succeed his father."

After hearing Orson's words, Mary's movements stopped for a moment, then she smiled and looked up at Orson.

"Orson, I always thought you and I were the same person."

"The same kind of people? Me and you, Mother? Then, Mother, what kind of people do you think we are?"

"You have a far-sighted vision and high aspirations. For the sake of your goals, you can give up some unimportant things, right?"

Mary said this, stood on tiptoes, and whispered beside Orson.

"Think about it, you have achieved such high achievements at such a young age, don't you want to go further?"

"With your ability, the position of Duke is not the end, right?"

"Have you ever visited the city of Saint Laurent? It's much more majestic than Antica. I don't think that's where you can show off your skills."

Where is the talent? "

After saying that, Mary took a few steps back and looked at Orson with a smile.

There is a bit of girlish charm in her movements.

Orson was stunned for a moment, the expression on his face changed again and again, and finally showed a relieved smile.

Mary has not changed, at least, her intention to persecute Leeteuk has not changed in the original novel.

In this case, she and herself are already opposites.

“The city of Saint Laurent is beautiful, but it’s more comfortable at home.”

"Besides, family must be one of the most important things, isn't it?"

"Haha, it seems that there is something different between what you thought and what I thought." Mary smiled. "Orson, you are more powerful than I thought."

"Mother, what do you mean?"

"Nothing." After Mary finished laughing, she shook her head. "Then, I believe you can do something you won't regret."

"Maybe."

"Okay, it's getting late. You can go back to your room and rest." Mary said this, sat back on the chair, and waved to Orson.

"I understand, mother, please go to bed early." Orson said, turned and left Mary's study.

After walking out of the study, Orson realized that a thin line of cold sweat had broken out on his neck.

After all, it was a conversation related to his own destiny, and he really did not dare to take it lightly.

"Master Orson, walk slowly." At the door, Randall bowed to Orson.

"Um."

…

Returning to the door of the room, Vivian was still standing here.

Seeing Orson coming over, she hurriedly bowed.

"Okay, Vivian, go back and rest, it's getting late." Orson said, preparing to open the door.

"Well, Master Orson, Master Li Te is still in the room. His room is ready. Do you want to wake him up..."

"I'll do it myself." Orson smiled at Vivian, who stopped breathing and bowed hurriedly.

"Okay, Master, I'll go back first!"

Orson watched Vivian trot downstairs, and only when she disappeared from his sight did he push open the door and walk into the room.

According to the original book, the only confidant and the one who is 100% trustworthy in his family should be the maid Vivian.

Both his mother Mary and his father Lucius are not easy to deal with.

After entering the room, Orson saw Lit lying on the bed at first sight.

Lit now looks like he is sleeping soundly, his face is relaxed, and he looks much cuter than when he was tense during the day.

He went to bed without even taking off his clothes. Doesn't this kid feel uncomfortable...

Orson saw that Lit didn't even take off his dress, shook his head, and was about to help him take off his clothes.

But when he got close to Lit, he suddenly felt that he was a pervert.

Litt had long hair and looked like a girl. If it weren't for his plain chest and knowing that Litt was indeed a man in the original book, Orson would have thought that Litt was a girl.

But even so, seeing Litt with a feminine appearance, Orson couldn't do it.

He always felt like he was doing something bad.

And seeing that the other person was sleeping so comfortably, it didn't seem good to wake him up.

Orson thought about it and sat at the desk to read a book.

Another hour passed, and seeing that Litt hadn't woken up yet, Orson was a little tired.

He looked at his bed.

The bed was the size of a standard double bed, and Litt was originally thin and small, and his sleeping posture was also good, so he only occupied a small space on one side.

Anyway, they were all brothers, so it shouldn't be a problem to squeeze into one bed today.

Maybe he could take the opportunity to get closer.

Orson thought so, yawned, took off his coat, put on pajamas, and lay down on the bed.

"This kid, I can't see that you will become the protagonist in the future." Orson sighed and then closed his eyes.

Chapter 10: Waking up in a bad mood