From the towns where votes had already been counted, it was evident that Oscar Poli still wielded significant influence in Corsica.
After all, his father was the founder of the Corsican Restoration Faction and had managed to drive out the Genoan rulers and even briefly claid independence. After France purchased Corsica, Poli himself led troops against the French Army. Although he was defeated, his fa had spread throughout Corsica.
Thus, the Paoli Faction's mbers of Parliant firmly secured 35% of the votes.
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The Pro-France Faction also erged unexpectedly strong. With Count Butafuoco surprisingly setting aside his prejudices and joining forces with the Liberals, they captured nearly 30% of the votes.
Despite the anti-Paoli Faction's tireless efforts to publicize Poli's embezzlent of organizational funds and his collusion with the French Army, it appeared that few believed them. Consequently, even with substantial financial backing from Chalrs, they only managed to secure 15% of the votes.
The remaining nearly 20% of the votes went to the moderate faction within the Restoration Faction.
It was known that if the Restoration Faction had remained united as before, they could have potentially won over 70% of the seats in Congress, thereby eting the legislative seat requirent.
But now, they were engaged in infighting, to the extent that no one was even bothering about the Pro-France Faction anymore.
Southwest Corsica.
On a hillside outside of Fonza village, two stout n were using binoculars to observe the village nestled in the valley.
The dark-skinned man on the left nodded continuously, "Agosta did a good job, the incendiary devices are very well hidden."
He put down the binoculars and said to the young man beside him, "Alright, Filippo, let's head back to town for now. We'll carry out the operation tomorrow night.
"Oh, you might have already heard, the election didn't go very well."
The latter nodded, "It seems that those loyal to Mr. Poli only got just over a third of the votes. Those traitors should go to hell!"
"Yes, that's why we must complete this mission. It will at least bring Eleric and the others back under Mr. Poli's banner."
"Yes, sir," Filippo gritted his teeth and nodded with difficulty, "I will not disappoint you."
Fonza village was a well-known base for Restoration Faction mbers, and there were over 30 soldiers from the National Self-Defense Force from Fonza, making it very difficult to find soone willing to set the fire there.
Poli's nephew, Cesari, had only reluctantly persuaded his three guards to accept the task after much persuasion.
Filippo was the one responsible for starting the fire.
As the arson trio returned to the nearby town of Qualre and entered the inn, they heard two rchants with thick Southern Italian accents let out sleazy laughs while whispering, "Yes, when the police walked in, that Poli hadn't even dressed yet, just standing there dumbfounded. About a dozen people saw it, ha ha."
"I can't believe the Corsicans worship him like a god, he's really just a lecherous old man."
"And such a lustful brute. He wouldn't even court the lady, he just forced himself on her. Hmm, the unluckiest one is her poor aunt, who just because she cared for her niece, also fell victim to Poli's 'poisonous hands'…"
The two burst into lewd laughter again, "One must say his taste is quite unusual. I heard that... ah, Miss Isabella's aunt is nearly old enough to be a grandmother, yet he still made his move on her."
"Ha ha, Corsicans might just have that kind of taste..."
Philip did not hear everything clearly, but he made out words like "Paul," "lecher," "force." Combined with the lewd expressions on their faces, rage surged within him. He strode over and grabbed one of the n by the collar, bellowing, "How dare you insult Mr. Paul?!"
Agosto also pushed the other rchant forcefully, "You will pay for what you just said!"
The two rchants were startled and hurriedly defended themselves, "What are you doing? I didn't just make this up. Oh, it's in the 'London Gazette.'"
"Yes, that Paul has been arrested for rape. Miss Isabella's father was so angry he almost killed him."
"No, that's impossible!" Philip, who had been a devoted fan of Paul from a young age, shouted about to strike them, "Don't you dare slander Mr. Paul!"
"Wait!" The older rchant clutched his head and gestured towards his suitcase, "There is an edition of 'The Tis' in there as well. I rember it also reported the incident. You can read it for yourselves..."
Philip paused, threw him aside, and turned to open the suitcase, quickly finding a copy of 'The Tis'.
It was last week's newspaper, and indeed on the second page there was a huge headline—"Corsican Political Leader Arrested for Rape".
Trembling, he looked further down to see the news article, which said that Paul had lured a young noblewoman nad Isabella to a cottage in the suburbs and molested her. Isabella's aunt had suspected Paul all along and quietly followed them. Hearing a conflict inside the cottage after her niece entered, she knocked on the door - only to be dragged inside by Paul as well...
The article was filled with nurous detailed descriptions, Philip couldn't bear to read further. Throwing the newspaper aside, he stared at the two rchants, "You're lying to ! This isn't true!"
"Stubborn fellow." The rchant stepped forward to pack up his suitcase while mocking, "There were over a dozen eyewitnesses. Now the whole of England knows about it. What's he to you? I'd advise you to guard your own won."
Philip collapsed into a chair at the inn, feeling as if his head was about to split open. He couldn't believe that Mr. Paul, whom he revered for so long, could have committed such a beastly act...
Of course, all of this was just a trap set by the French Intelligence Bureau.
The only thing that Fouche was sowhat dissatisfied with was that he couldn't find a man who could lure Paul when dressed in a skirt—if Dion de Beaumont had still been young, he surely could have handled this mission.
So he had no choice but to make do, and had Isabella go and seduce Paul. However, adhering to the principle of "quantity over quality," he also arranged for an aunt to be a victim.
As a result, Paul beca a sensation in England.
The next day, a devastated Philip saw the newspaper sent by Ajaccio which had already republished the news from England, with even more detailed content—Bartoloo and the anti-Paul faction's congress mbers naturally would not miss such an opportunity and went all out to promote the affair, even dispatching a reporter to London to cover the story.
Holding a copy of the 'Corsican Morning News,' Philip didn't know how long he had walked when suddenly, he looked up to see the village of Nonza appearing before his eyes.
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[Note 1] Dion de Beaumont (1728-1810), a legendary French spy who excelled at cross-dressing, attracting many nobles with his stunning appearance in won's clothing. Beaumont used his "beauty" to extract a great deal of intelligence from these infatuated nobles, and was awarded many tis by Louis XV.
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