Corsica's future

The sky was getting dark.

Filippo remained seated on the hillside opposite the Nonza Village, with shredded newspapers at his feet. He stared blankly at the distant village, his mind in turmoil.

He knew that the Restoration Movement was facing enormous difficulties, and that only by setting that village ablaze could all the problems be solved, allowing the Restoration Faction to continue their struggle against the France...

However, that would also allow a man who had committed rape and embezzlement to continue as the leader of the Restoration Organization — Filippo had previously believed that Paoli's embezzlement of organization funds was a hoax, but after the London rape case, he now believed it to be true.

But if he doesn't set this fire, the Restoration Organization he has fought for since childhood will fall into disintegration, then lose control of Parliament, and ultimately fail.

Currently, the only person capable of integrating the Restoration Organization is Paoli...

But he was a filthy, shameless beast, a criminal!

So, should we just let our decades-long ideal of restoring our nation vanish like a bubble?

After an unknown amount of time, Filippo wore a bitter smile, shaking his head repeatedly, unable to make a decision.

He suddenly stood up and walked Light Express down the steep slope to the left.

Since we cannot make the decision ourselves, let God decide...

With that thought in mind, he leaped down the almost vertical hillside, his body tumbling rapidly, bouncing several times on the rocks, leaving a trail of bright red blood.

The following day at noon, a villager discovered a man's body at the foot of the mountain and rushed back to the village to inform the parish priest.

Agosta and the Guard hadn't seen Filippo all night, nor had they seen the fire in Nonza Village, so they came to look for him in the vicinity, where they happened to run into the villagers who were on their way to check on the dead...

Although only half a month had passed, Paoli's rape case had lost its heat in London, and he had already posted bail and returned home—it was unlikely that an influential politician like him would be brought down by such a "minor case"—but the matter continued to ferment in Corsica, dominating everyone's conversations and becoming common knowledge.

Of course, this was the result of vigorous propaganda by the Anti-Paoli Faction, with the Pro-France Faction also secretly cooperating, and almost every day's newspaper front page was filled with the Paoli case.

Bartorio even had thousands of copies of the 《The London Gazette》, which contained details of the case, bought and distributed them in various towns for people to read for free.

Under such a media offensive, the Paoli Faction's electoral prospects plummeted. In the subsequent parliamentary elections, they only managed to secure one seat.

The Anti-Paoli Faction emerged as the biggest winners. In particular, those who had previously criticized them and slandered Paoli turned around and voted for them.

Others, due to the disgraceful conduct of Paoli, the leader of the Restoration Faction, also developed a dislike for the Restoration Faction, which led to the Pro-France Faction unexpectedly gaining some votes.

One month later, the Corsica Provincial Legislator elections concluded.

Bartorio's Anti-Paoli Faction secured 35% of the seats. Meanwhile, Girolamo, an inside man with Chamos's support, has begun vying for the Speaker and currently holds a clear advantage.

Earl Buttafuoco led the Pro-France Faction to win 33% of the seats, achieving the best result since France rule began in Corsica.

Although the Paoli Faction suffered a crushing defeat later on, it still managed to secure 18% of the seats in parliament thanks to its huge advantage at the beginning of the election.

The Neutral Faction fared the worst, as they were labeled as Paoli Poly, and thus only secured 14% of the seats—in political struggles, ambiguity in stance is never popular.

In a vineyard on the outskirts of Ajaccio, Girolamo saw a portly Nobility appear at the gate and whispered to Bartorio beside him, "He's here."

The latter straightened his collar, stepped forward to greet him, and without giving the other a chance to bow, said in a curt tone, "Speak, what do you want? Then leave quickly."

"You're so cold-hearted."

The visitor was none other than Earl Buttafuoco. He still insisted on raising his hat before saying, "But you'd better change your attitude. After all, we'll be meeting often after our cooperation begins; wouldn't it be better to maintain a more harmonious atmosphere?"

"Cooperation?" Bartorio sneered. "What cooperation could I possibly have with you?"

Earl Buttafuoco, unperturbed, smiled and said, "Haven't you noticed?"

"Your faction and mine together already hold more than two-thirds of the seats in Parliament."

"You know what this means."

Bartorio frowned. He knew that two-thirds of the seats were enough to pass legislation, but he still asked coldly, "So?"

"We can join forces to push through legislation that will completely bury Paoli and his men."

Bartorio was taken aback.

Although the Anti-Paoli Faction gained an advantage in the Parliament elections, Paoli still wields considerable influence within the Restoration Organization.

If the Paoli Faction can be eliminated through legislation, then their Anti-Paoli will inevitably become the backbone of the Restoration Organization.

He might even be promoted to the new leader of the Restoration Organization.

His mind raced. If he could achieve this goal, it wouldn't be a bad idea to take advantage of the Pro-France Faction.

Bartorio's expression softened, and he gestured for the room to come in. "Please come in and we can talk in detail."

A few hours later, Earl Buttafuoco completed his mission and took his leave.

Inside the vineyard house, Bartorio looked at Girolamo: "What do you think about cooperating with them?"

"This is a good opportunity," the latter said confidently. "It's just a matter of pushing forward one legislative bill, and then we'll cut off all contact with the Pro-France Faction."

Bartorio nodded in agreement.

However, he was only concerned with his immediate interests and ignored the fact that legislative votes in Parliament are conducted in public.

If he joins forces with the Pro-France Faction to suppress the Paoli Faction this time, then in the eyes of the Corsica, he will be a collaborator with the Pro-France Faction from now on.

Once you succeed in political struggles, you can't help but keep using them.

Given that the financial backers of the Bartorio Faction are also "Infernal Affairs," it's foreseeable that it won't be long before they become completely bound to Earl Buttafuoco.

To be honest, these novices in electoral politics seemed as naive as elementary school students to Joseph, who had witnessed various Western Political Conspiracy in later generations...

One week later.

Under the chairmanship of the newly elected Speaker, Girolamo, the Corsican Parliament passed a new bill by a large majority.

The bill stipulated that Paoli was permanently stripped of his Corsica citizenship. No Corsica was allowed to contact Paoli in any way, or he would be charged with treason. All of Paoli's private property was confiscated by the Corsican Parliament to compensate for the funds he had embezzled, and his works were prohibited from being sold in Corsica.

These decrees, seemingly targeting only Paoli himself, actually uprooted the Paoli Faction within the Restoration Organization.