I, the Villain, Want to Save Myself, But the Yandere Heroines Disagree-Chapter 92 - Side Effects (1/2)

As Virgil watched the masked man clutch his severed arm and flee into the forest, he merely waved his hand, ordering his soldiers not to pursue.

“Let’s escort the couple back first,” Virgil said.

“Commander Virgil, your shoulder wound...” A concerned soldier approached him.

“It’s nothing,” Virgil shook his head, tearing a piece of cloth from one of the fallen black-clad assailants and tying it around his shoulder.

“This will do for now.”

At that moment, Virgil noticed that the black-clad man he had stripped bore a wolf-head tattoo on his left arm.

Intrigued, Virgil ordered his men to inspect the bodies of all the attackers. Without exception, every one of them bore the same wolf-head tattoo on their arms.

Even the severed arm of the masked man had the wolf-head tattoo.

It became clear that this was the mark of a professional mercenary group hired for the mission. Their task had been to abduct Litte’s adoptive parents, though their ultimate goal remained unknown.

Capturing one alive was impossible since these mercenaries had poison capsules hidden in their mouths, which they bit down on as soon as they were incapacitated, taking their own lives.

After ensuring there were no other anomalies on the bodies, Virgil nodded in acknowledgment.

He then lifted the curtain of the carriage, revealing the unconscious forms of Andre and Jennie inside.

“Sigh.” Virgil sighed deeply.

If it weren’t for Litte, the couple would still be leading their simple, rural lives. Though impoverished, they would at least be safe from harm.

“Alright, let’s return them. I’ll speak with them later.”

With that, Virgil mounted his horse, turned it around, and led his soldiers back toward the new district of Antica.

—

Meanwhile, the masked man, now deep in the forest, clenched his teeth to endure the searing pain from his severed arm as he pressed forward.

“Tch, how did they discover our operation? Was there a mole?” he wondered, not daring to look back.

He was a member of the Iron Wolf Mercenary Group. While mercenary groups with “wolf” in their name were countless across the continent, the Iron Wolf Mercenaries stood out due to their possession of Tier 6 fighters, making them one of the most formidable.

And he wasn’t even their leader—just the second-in-command.

The group’s leader was a Tier 7 powerhouse.

However, for this mission, their leader deemed it too trivial to personally oversee, as the task was merely to kidnap two defenseless civilians.

But their client had repeatedly emphasized the mission’s importance, prompting the leader to send him instead.

Initially, he hadn’t thought much of it, but after the client’s constant reminders, he prepared extensively, including scouting the area for a week and planning the best escape routes.

Even so, despite all his precautions, the Duke’s men still discovered them.

The couple was just Litte’s adoptive parents. A monetary settlement from the Duke should have been enough to ensure their safety. Who would have thought the Duke would assign people to protect them?

As a result, not only had he lost many comrades, but he had nearly lost his life.

Now the masked man could only curse himself for not heeding the client’s warnings. Had their plans been more meticulous, had their actions been more cautious, this wouldn’t have happened.

—

The roots of the situation dated back a few days earlier.

At the time, Orson had sought out Virgil.

That day, a memory had suddenly struck Orson—a key factor in Litte’s descent into darkness in the original story.

That factor was Litte’s adoptive parents.

As Litte’s “white moonlight,” her adoptive parents had provided her with unconditional care. Despite their poverty, they had given Litte a childhood filled with warmth and love.

In the original story, Mary had advised Orson to target Litte’s adoptive parents.

Orson had then ordered an assassin organization to murder them.

When Litte returned to visit her adoptive parents during a break, she learned from neighbors that they had been killed and buried long ago.

That event had caused Litte to completely fall into darkness, secretly investigating the culprits behind her parents’ deaths.

In the final battle between Orson and Litte in the original story, Orson, like a typical brainless villain, had casually mentioned the adoptive parents’ names during his villainous monologue. This revelation had enraged Litte, who then unleashed her full power and defeated Orson.

Orson had suddenly realized that, with the changes in this new timeline, there was a possibility that Litte’s adoptive parents might still face danger.

With this in mind, Orson approached Virgil, asking him to monitor the couple’s safety for a while.

It was during this mission that Virgil had stumbled upon the Iron Wolf Mercenaries.

—

Virgil escorted Litte’s adoptive parents back to the new district. After assigning several soldiers to discreetly monitor the area for safety, he went to see Lucius.

“My Lord Duke,” Virgil began, bowing respectfully before Lucius.

“Mm.” Lucius, seated at his desk and absorbed in reviewing military affairs, acknowledged Virgil’s presence without looking up.

“My Lord, I must thank you for lending me your forces,” Virgil said.

The situation along the Empire’s eastern border was tense, with the orcs showing signs of restlessness. A significant portion of the Duke’s forces had been dispatched to the frontlines. Even the elite Black Army, Lucius’s most trusted unit, had largely been relocated. The troops Lucius had sent to aid Virgil were none other than his personal guards.

“It’s nothing,” Lucius said, shaking his head. “Were the individuals you protected unharmed?”

“Yes, Litte’s adoptive parents are safe,” Virgil replied. After a brief hesitation, he continued, “However, I believe it might be safer to bring them to the ducal estate. This is undoubtedly the safest place for them...”

“And if we merely strengthen their security in the city, they may still face danger...”

“Virgil,” Lucius suddenly interrupted, raising his head to look at him. His deep gaze left Virgil unable to decipher his thoughts.

“My Lord, please speak.”

“In your opinion, am I a competent father?”

“You certainly are, my Lord...”

“Then tell me, what kind of father would allow his child to be closer to others than to himself?” Lucius posed this rhetorical question.

Indeed, Litte had grown up in the countryside, living with Andre and Jennie for eighteen years. Naturally, he was closer to them emotionally. Even though he shared a bloodline with Lucius, the bond with his adoptive parents was stronger.

While Lucius was grateful to Andre and Jennie, he was reluctant to have them live at the ducal estate.

It was his selfishness as a biological father.

After all, emotional bonds forged over time could only be eroded by time.

If Litte were allowed to see Andre and Jennie daily, he would continue to regard them as the closest people in his life, leaving Lucius feeling like the outsider.

“My Lord Duke, I apologize for my presumptuousness!” At this moment, Virgil finally understood Lucius’s intentions and then said, “However, my Lord, among the group that targeted Andre and Jennie, there was someone with Tier 6 strength. Although I did my best to hold him off and even severed one of his arms, he still managed to escape…”

“...” Lucius frowned deeply upon hearing this.

“How could a Tier 6 individual appear in my territory without anyone noticing?”

“Regarding that, I am unsure.” Virgil lowered his head. “If you’re unwilling to bring Andre and Jennie to the estate, I recommend bolstering security in their area and assigning skilled personnel to protect them discreetly.”

“Understood.” Lucius nodded. “You may go.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Virgil bowed and retreated toward the door.

“One more thing,” Lucius called out.

“Is there something else, my Lord?”

“Your shoulder wound—are you alright?”

“Thank you for your concern, my Lord. I’m fine.”

“Good.” Lucius nodded. “Once this matter is resolved, take some time to rest. I’ll take care of matters at the Imperial Academy for you.”

“Thank you, my Lord...”

Lucius waved dismissively, smiling slightly to signal Virgil’s departure.

Once Virgil closed the door behind him, Lucius’s smile faded.

Previously, Lucius hadn’t known much about Virgil, other than that he was a close friend of Orson’s. Orson had asked Lucius for several favors on Virgil’s behalf, leading to a few brief encounters between the two.

It was only when Virgil delivered a letter from Orson that Lucius realized Virgil was one of Orson’s personally cultivated retainers.

This revelation made Lucius pay closer attention to Virgil.

After all, as Orson’s retainer, regardless of whether Orson intended to inherit the title or pursue other endeavors in the future, he would undoubtedly become one of Orson’s most trusted aides.

Just like his current steward Albert and his former captain of the personal guard, Marcus.

Having a capable assistant to handle matters always made things much easier.

Previously, Lucius had worried that Orson’s exceptional personal abilities might lead him to shoulder everything himself, potentially overwhelming him.

But now, those concerns seemed unfounded. Orson, it turned out, was willing to entrust others with responsibilities.

Lucius turned back to the map on his desk and resumed handling military affairs.

In contrast to the complex intricacies of governance, Lucius, who had risen through the ranks as a military leader, found military affairs far more intuitive.

His mood, however, remained grim.

The eastern orcs were becoming increasingly numerous. Scouts dispatched by the Duchy of Antica often faced dire consequences, with many never returning.

The fact that the enemy was deliberately targeting his scouts and blocking his intelligence networks was a clear sign that an attack was imminent.

This chapt𝙚r is updated by freeωebnovēl.c૦m.

Eighteen years earlier, the orc invasion had left countless families in ruins, with many losing loved ones. Lucius himself was among those affected.

His wife at the time—Litte’s birth mother—had died during their escape, miscarrying along the way. Though not directly, her death could be attributed to the orcs.

Out of the personal guards who had followed Lucius into battle, fewer than ten percent survived.

His hatred for the orcs was endless.

Though he had since risen to become the Duke of Antica, one of the Empire’s most powerful figures, if given the choice, Lucius would have traded it all for a complete and happy family.

“Sigh.” Lucius opened a desk drawer, revealing a jade bracelet and an old pocket watch brought back by Litte. Opening the pocket watch, he gazed at the portrait inside.

“Margaret, our child has grown up. How I wish you could see him,” Lucius murmured, running his rough fingers over the portrait with a look of longing.

At that moment, the door to his study opened. Lucius quickly closed the pocket watch and returned it to the drawer.

Standing in the doorway was his current wife, Mary.

“Mary...” Lucius’s expression darkened slightly at her failure to knock. “Haven’t I told you to knock before entering when I’m working in the study?”

“Apologies, my lord,” Mary said, her expression apologetic, but she still continued, “I just came to tell you something.”

Mary handed him a document.

“The duchy’s finances are in poor shape. If we continue preparing for war, we’ll soon run out of funds. We’ll have to dip into the family’s treasury, and even then, it won’t last long.”

“Why are our finances so strained?” Lucius asked directly.

“Well... there are many reasons...” Mary hesitated.

“Dear, you’ve forbidden heavy taxation, and commerce has remained stagnant, so...”

“I see.” Lucius nodded, closing the document. He stood, walked over to Mary, and gently held her hands.

“Mary, we’re husband and wife. We should work together. I’ll handle the military; you manage the family and the duchy. That’s what we’ve always done, isn’t it?”

“This time, as well, I’m counting on you. Use whatever means necessary.” Lucius looked into her eyes sincerely.

“I trust you,” he said, before adding, “But if you truly feel overwhelmed, perhaps it’s time to pass the torch.”

With that, Lucius opened the door, gesturing for Mary to leave.

“Understood.” Mary nodded and quietly exited the room.