Perhaps it is because Victor Emmanuel II himself does not believe that the Austrian Empire will spare the Sardinian Kingdom, that this time he does not lose composure like before, and instead discusses the united investigation very seriously.

"Ambassador, does the Austrian Empire suspect that our Sardinian Kingdom is harboring criminals?" Victor Emmanuel II said to the Austrian Ambassador in a calm tone.

"Your esteemed Majesty!" The Austrian Ambassador responded with a slight smile to Victor Emmanuel II, feigning sincerity, "Although I am very willing to believe that your country will not deceive us on this issue, your country still needs to conduct further inspections!

This is all for the security of the Apennine Peninsula, and I hope you can understand our actions!"

"In that case!" Victor Emmanuel II discussed seriously, "Why not expand the scope of the united investigation further, and include more countries in this investigation?"

Victor Emmanuel II’s suggestion made the Austrian Ambassador somewhat unsure of his intentions, "Your Majesty, I am a bit unclear about your meaning!"

"My meaning is simple!" Victor Emmanuel II said sternly to the Austrian Ambassador, "Since we are preventing Italian nationalism from assassinating the monarchy, why not further broaden the scope of the investigation!

The Duchy of Modena, the Duchy of Tuscany, the Pope State, and the Kingdom of Naples all should be subjects of investigation!

Only by doing so can we thoroughly eliminate the extreme forces on the Apennine Peninsula!

Moreover, the countries involved in the united investigation should not just be Sardinia and the Austrian Empire; we should convene more countries to maintain the peace of the Apennine.

I believe that the French Empire and the Kingdom of Britain should also participate, along with the Austrian Empire and the Sardinian Kingdom, to maintain harmony on the Apennine Peninsula!!"

The Austrian Ambassador frowned as Victor Emmanuel II finished speaking.

Although Victor Emmanuel II’s words made some sense, it was evident that the Austrian Empire has no genuine intention to help the Sardinian Kingdom resolve the extreme forces.

The Austrian Empire’s true aim is to battle with the Sardinian Kingdom, and the alleged removal of extreme forces is just an excuse.

However, this is an excuse the Austrian Empire cannot forgo, as even a pretense is far better than no excuse at all.

Therefore, upon Victor Emmanuel II making this suggestion, it placed the Austrian Ambassador in a dilemma!

"Well..." The Austrian Ambassador hesitated for a long time before responding to Victor Emmanuel II, "For this issue, I need to consult with my country first!"

Success!

Victor Emmanuel II couldn’t help but clench his fist; for the Sardinian Kingdom, the later the Austrian Empire invades, the more advantageous it is for Sardinia.

"Of course, Ambassador!" Victor Emmanuel II answered the Austrian Ambassador with a smile, then tentatively asked, "About the ultimatum between our two countries..."

"I will report to the Austrian Empire as soon as possible!" The Austrian Ambassador replied to Victor Emmanuel II, "It won’t take much time!"

"Then I leave it in your hands!" Victor Emmanuel II politely responded to the Austrian Ambassador.

After the Austrian Ambassador left, Victor Emmanuel II clenched his fist and made a victory gesture.

Now that Victor Emmanuel II has managed to possibly delay the Austrian Empire’s aggression, what remains is to see if the Sardinian Kingdom can secure a final substantial ally.

Thus, Victor Emmanuel II placed his hopes on Cavour, far away in Paris.

[PS: Victor Emmanuel II did not know that Jerome Bonaparte and his wife were not in Paris, nor did he know Cavour was also not in Paris.]

However, Victor Emmanuel II did not know that Cavour, whom he longed for, was facing a similar predicament.

Despite having found the Emperor and Empress, Cavour still couldn’t gain an opportunity to meet with the Emperor.

The cold shoulder Cavour received was, of course, due to Empress Augusta.

According to the information Cavour obtained (actually deliberately leaked by Jerome Bonaparte and Augusta), the Emperor was unwilling to meet him due to the influence of the Empress.

The Empress’s reluctance to let the Emperor meet Cavour was naturally related to the previous assassination attempt by Orsini on the Emperor.

It is said that after that assassination attempt, the Empress became extremely averse towards the Sardinian Kingdom. She believed the Emperor was attacked entirely because Sardinia failed to manage the Sardinians properly.

Hence, Empress Augusta barred Cavour’s audience and was unwilling to let the Emperor meet with him.

Despite Cavour’s recent attempts to meet Jerome Bonaparte, he only received a verbal promise, "Meet again when the Empress returns to Paris."

With no other recourse, Cavour could only await the fulfillment of that promise, utterly unaware that Sardinia is undergoing tremendous changes.

Of course, Cavour also did not know that the Sardinian Ambassador was heading in his direction.

...

When the Sardinian ambassador’s carriage arrived in the vicinity of where Jerome Bonaparte and Augusta were, he quickly found Cavour.

"What brings you here?" Cavour curiously looked at the Sardinian ambassador and said.

"Prime Minister Cavour... No, Minister Cavour!" The Sardinian ambassador responded to Cavour, out of breath.

"What exactly happened?" An ominous premonition surged in Cavour’s heart. He understood that the Sardinian ambassador had come from afar, surely because of urgent matters.

At this moment, he did not want to hear about the turmoil within the Sardinian Kingdom from the mouth of the Sardinian ambassador.

Unfortunately, things did not go as he wished, and the Sardinian ambassador still reported the recent news to Cavour.

Cavour instinctively pressed his lips when he heard that the Austrian Empire had issued an ultimatum to them.

When he heard that he had been removed from the position of Prime Minister by the King, retaining only the role of Minister of Foreign Affairs, and that Lamamor had been appointed as a liberal, dissolving the Liberal Cabinet and Parliament, his visibly dejected expression emerged.

The reason he had come to Paris in the first place was to hope for a reconciliation with the French Empire on liberal matters.

Now, the French Empire does not need to reach a reconciliation with Sardinia because Sardinia itself has already dissolved its Cabinet and Parliament. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"How dare they! How dare they!" Cavour paced back and forth, mumbling repeatedly.

"Minister Cavour, what should we do now?" the Sardinian ambassador asked Cavour.

After a moment of silence, Cavour gritted his teeth and replied to the Sardinian ambassador, "Wait!"

"But over there in Turin... Aren’t you really worried?" the Sardinian ambassador said with a worried look to Minister Cavour.

Cavour shrugged, and with a bitter smile, answered the Sardinian ambassador, "Worried! How can I not be worried! But what’s the use of saying these things now? We must meet with His Majesty the Emperor as soon as possible!

Only after gaining the protection of the French Empire can we proceed!

Otherwise, even if I return, what good will it do?"

"Minister Cavour, then we should meet with His Majesty Jerome Bonaparte as soon as possible!" the Sardinian ambassador continued.

"Of course, I know we should do it as soon as possible!" Cavour replied to the Sardinian ambassador with a slightly irritated tone, "But such things can’t be solved just because you do them quickly!

His Majesty the Emperor still needs to summon me!"

"What! His Majesty hasn’t summoned you!" The Sardinian ambassador looked at Cavour with seriousness.

"No!" Cavour again showed a bitter smile, "His Majesty told me that only after Her Majesty the Empress leaves! He will meet with me; otherwise, Her Majesty the Empress won’t meet!"

"Why does Her Majesty the Empress disagree?" the Sardinian ambassador looked at Cavour in confusion.

"Isn’t it because of the previous assassination attempt!" Cavour sighed and said with a bitter smile to the Sardinian ambassador, "Orsini’s assassination really got me into trouble!

Her Majesty the Empress believes that I, as the Prime Minister, cannot manage the Sardinian Kingdom, which has led to a series of problems, and therefore will not agree!"

"Minister Cavour, how should I report to Turin!" The Sardinian ambassador asked Minister Cavour once more.

"You just say, I am in communication with His Majesty the Emperor, and it is expected to yield results soon!" Cavour said to the Sardinian ambassador.

He understood that Victor Emmanuel II was also under immense pressure because Cavour did not want to transfer his pressure onto Victor Emmanuel II.

The Sardinian ambassador evidently understood these worldly matters too. He nodded to Cavour and said, "Alright! But you should still meet with His Majesty the Emperor as soon as possible!"

"Of course, I know the sooner, the better, but we must wait until Her Majesty the Empress leaves!" Cavour said to the Sardinian ambassador.

The day after the Sardinian ambassador left, Empress Augusta departed the countryside in her carriage.

Cavour was also able to meet with Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte apologized to Cavour and said, "Mr. Garibaldi, I’m sorry to keep you waiting! Augusta was reluctant to return, so I postponed our meeting until now!"

"It’s alright!" Cavour, of course, could not directly speak ill of Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty took the time to meet with me!

I am truly honored!"