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

At the palace magician's residence, at this moment, the court magicians who were originally loyal to the royal family were concentrating fully.

They have been confronting the imperial guards outside for two days.

Ever since that night when Elsa entered the palace magician's residence, they had been prepared to turn against Arthas.

Odysseus' death was too sudden and too strange. During the whole process, the court magician only saw Odysseus once, when he just fell into a coma. After that, he was obstructed for various reasons. So the commander-in-chief of the court magicians, the eighth-level magician Vals, guessed the possibility of a coup.

The court magicians, like the imperial guards, are part of the royal guard and are supposed to be loyal to the emperor. However, up to now, Vals has twice refused Arthas's order to hand over Elsa.

In the room of the residence, Elsa looked at Vals beside her with a grateful expression.

"I'll have to trouble you, Grandpa Vals, these days."

Beside her, the old man with a white beard shook his head.

"It's okay, Elsa. I've watched you grow up, and I taught you magic. I know you can't do anything to murder His Majesty."

Even though Arthas had ascended the throne according to the will and called himself emperor, Vals still addressed Odysseus as His Majesty.

He did not recognize the legitimacy of Alsace.

Yes, the reason why Elsa came to the court magician's residence as soon as possible, in addition to fighting for this elite force, there was another reason, that is, Vals could guarantee her safety.

Elsa and Arthas have taken different paths since childhood. Arthas practiced swordsmanship, while Elsa practiced magic.

As a result, Arthas naturally came into contact with many military officers in the army and became the backbone of the new generation of military leadership, while Elsa came into contact with a large number of magicians.

Throughout the empire, the number of magicians is not large compared to that of warriors, especially among the middle-level combat forces from levels four to six, where the proportion of magicians is even smaller.

Therefore, although magicians play a very important role in war, their overall strength is not as high as that of normal armies.

But even so, it is quite difficult to break through the defensive magic circle prepared in advance by the heavily guarded palace magician guards.

That is why Arthas has not resorted to a forceful attack until now.

Talking about Odysseus again, Elsa is clearly in a low mood.

Of course she knew that her father liked both her and her brother, but there could only be one heir to the empire. It was normal for him to favor his brother at first and then gradually turn to support her. She didn't think her father had done anything wrong.

But it was precisely because they did nothing wrong and did not want to let anyone down that led to this tragedy.

If one of them is chosen at the beginning and not changed afterwards, even if it is unfair to the other person, the current political chaos can be avoided.

Vals on the side obviously noticed that Elsa was not in a good mood, so he changed the topic.

"By the way, Elsa, I heard that during your previous training, you worked together with the current Duke of Naples, Orson, right?"

"Yeah." Elsa nodded, then asked in confusion:

"Grandpa Vals, why did you suddenly mention him?"

"That young man named Orson looks pretty good to me. Did anything interesting happen when you were working together?"

Vals said with a smile.

Seeing that Vals was still saying these frivolous words at his age, Elsa blushed and said angrily:

"Grandpa Vals, you are an old man, why are you still saying such things?"

"Well, isn't that how people are? The older you are, the better your attitude becomes. The better your attitude becomes, the younger you become, right?"

Vals smiled and waved his hand.

"So, do you and Orson have that kind of relationship? Or... do you two have any feelings for each other..."

As he said this, he winked at Elsa.

"No!" Elsa shook her head quickly.

"Besides, Grandpa Vals, don't you know that Orson and Olivia, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Prussia, are engaged?"

"I know that, but you are a princess. Isn't your status much higher than that of a duke's daughter?"

"No matter how old you are, you can't steal my love!"

Seeing that the atmosphere had become more lively due to his creation, Vals was satisfied.

"Okay, okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's not talk about this anymore."

Unexpectedly, Vals was not prepared to continue the conversation, but Elsa brought up Orson again.

"But, speaking of which... before I came to see you this time, I heard that Orsen was taken to the police station by my brother again."

"again?"

Upon hearing this, Vals frowned.

The palace magician's residence was blocked during this period, and no information was leaked in. In addition, this was the first time Elsa mentioned it, so it was normal for him to be a little confused.

"Yeah." Elsa nodded slightly.

"It seems that Arthas has really offended a big shot this time."

Unexpectedly, Vals relaxed his brows after a moment and then laughed.

It seemed as if this incident was almost certain to happen.

Seeing this, Elsa asked in confusion:

"Grandpa Vals, you seem to be becoming...more at ease?"

"Well, they wanted to capture Orson, but they didn't dare to touch him. If Orson died in the police station, the entire empire would cut Arthas into pieces. Who wouldn't wholeheartedly welcome you to the throne then?"

Saying this, Vals patted Elsa's shoulder.

"Our little queen, it's time to start planning how to govern the country in the future."

Seeing Vals so optimistic, Elsa's mood also improved.

However, a magician suddenly broke in from outside.

He hurried to the hall, looked at the two people chatting, and then said:

"Master Grand Magician, Her Royal Highness, the situation is not good. The imperial guards outside have just given us the last minute. If we don't hand over Her Royal Highness within two hours, they will attack."

"Humph."

Upon hearing this, Vals snorted coldly.

"I'll give Arthas ten chances to try, but I'll see if he dares!"

……

On the other side, inside the palace.

Odysseus' funeral was held in a hurry. Due to the tight time schedule and the fact that the entire government was busy with various things, the preparations for the funeral of the late emperor were quite inadequate.

The honor guard, the funeral procession composed of relatives and officials, the burial route and various ceremonies were all prepared in a hurry, resulting in Odysseus' funeral becoming the simplest and most deserted funeral in the empire in several generations.

There were zero dukes who came to attend. It was not that no dukes were willing to come, but time was tight and the funeral started before the dukes arrived.

The number of officials present was also quite small, as most of them were completing the new tasks assigned to them by Alsace.

The ceremonial guard responsible for escorting the coffin was insufficient in number and momentum, because a large number of elite soldiers and imperial guards were withdrawn to deal with the enemies of Alsace.

Even the eulogy prepared by the pastor and the orchestra were hastily produced, as if everything was done just to save time.

If Odysseus' spirit in heaven saw his funeral being treated like this, he would probably be filled with sorrow.

Even if it were just that, Arthas also received a letter signed by several dukes, asking him to postpone the funeral until everything was ready. Seeing this blatant act of flattering him, Arthas could only ignore it.

He already has enough things to take care of now, so as long as it doesn't cause him any trouble, it doesn't matter.

Until noon, Odysseus' coffin remained in the Imperial Cathedral. According to convention, the Pope would pray for Odysseus again, and then it would stay in the church for half a day, until dusk when it would be carried out of the city and buried in the royal cemetery.

And while staying at the Imperial Cathedral, another thing happened.

Many people in Saint Laurent spontaneously took to the streets and gathered in front of the Imperial Cathedral. Each of them held a bouquet of flowers in their hands, expressing their intention to present it to the late emperor.

In addition, many citizens were dissatisfied with Arthas's hasty burial of Odysseus. Coupled with the deliberate conspiracy theories carried out by some people, a large number of remarks that "Arthas murdered his father and privately fabricated a will to usurp the throne" were rampant.

The crowd of citizens blocked the funeral procession's way, and Arthas had no way to suppress them by force. He could only ask Pope Levi to persuade the citizens to go home. However, Pope Levi said he was powerless.

At this point, Arthas also saw the attitude of the church.

The church only wants to remain neutral in this matter, and there is even a possibility that it will sit on the fence and side with Elsa's faction.

However, at this time, the legacy issues of the empire's history came up again.

The church has its own Papal Guard. Although their number is small, their eliteness is even comparable to that of the Imperial Guard. In this case, it is obviously unwise and unfeasible to try to control the church by force.

The Pope also has the power to excommunicate secular rulers, just as he had excommunicated Giovanni before.

Although there is no precedent in history of excommunicating an emperor, it does not mean that the Pope cannot do so.

When he thought of this possibility, cold sweat broke out on Arthas's back again.

Back in the palace, Arthas was not in a good mood.

Rosalin came up and gently massaged Arthas' shoulders.

"You have worked hard."

She said this in a gentle tone.

Arthas also felt a rare sense of warmth.

Ever since he decided to fight for the throne, he has never felt the warmth from his family.

And now, after his father's death and his complete break with his sister, he once again felt the long-lost warmth in Rosaline.

Perhaps it was because of the excessive pressure from the outside world and he just wanted to find a safe haven here, so he naturally regarded Rosaline as that person.

But no matter what, my current mood is real, and that is enough.

Thinking of this, Arthas stood up and hugged Rosaline with love for the first time in his life.

Rosalin's eyes widened in surprise, but then her body softened and she hugged Arthas back.

"You must be tired. Next, should I help you go to bed?"

"Ah."

Arthas nodded.

……

On the other hand, Orson was taken to the Imperial Court for trial. The trial lasted two days. The first day was the opening of the court to determine the guilt, and the second day was the trial of the guilt.

On the first day of the trial, Orson was convicted of treason for his involvement in the murders of Francis, Duke of Orleans, and Odysseus, Emperor of the Empire, and then deliberately framing Alsace in an attempt to overthrow the rule of the empire.

If Orson were to be tried for these crimes, any one of them would be enough to get him beheaded.

However, Orson just smiled in court and did not refute any of the charges.

Everything waited until the next day when there was enough material to start the trial based on the material and evidence.

Orson's life seemed to have come to an end.

At night, high-ranking knight Owen knocked on Orson's door, then pushed it open and walked into the room.

Orson was lying on the bed at this moment, still looking very comfortable.

"Orson, tomorrow is the final accusation. Can you still sleep now?"

"Yeah." Orson nodded. "I have a clear conscience, so why can't I sleep?"

"As for you guys, I haven't seen Sherlock these days. Has she been arrested by you as well?"

"I don't know." Owen shook his head. "I don't know what your majesty did."

"I suggest you stop calling him His Majesty for now, otherwise you will feel awkward when you change your name later."

Owen heard what Orson said. Although he felt a little unhappy, he didn't say much.

After all, he also knew that there was something fishy about Arthas's coming to power. If he sent someone to investigate, he probably wouldn't be able to withstand the investigation.

"But I have to give you a piece of advice, Sir Owen."

Orson said this, closed the book in his hand, put it on the bedside table, and then looked at Owen.

"I suggest you keep an eye on the raven these days, otherwise, he could easily run away."

Having said this, Orson turned off the bedside lamp.

"I'm going to rest now. I hope I can be like a raven when I wake up tomorrow morning."

Upon hearing this, Owen immediately left the room, closed Orson's door, and then came to the cell where Raven was being held.