Jerome Bonaparte, under the accompaniment of Victor Emmanuel II, simply made acquaintance with the high officials of the Sardinian Kingdom attending the banquet. The dinner commenced solemnly within the Sardinian Kingdom.

Jerome Bonaparte and Victor Emmanuel II, the protagonists of the banquet, walked in the first row of the procession, followed by the young ones of the household of Victor Emmanuel II. They were arranged from left to right according to height, each prince/princess held their heads high with a proud air between their brows that kept others at a distance, a gift from nearly a thousand years of lineage.

Behind the proud princes/princesses were Chief of Staff Nie’er of the French Empire and the Prime Minister and Marshal of the Sardinian Kingdom, Lamamor, walking side by side. His gaze was fixed ahead, and his pace adjusted to match those in front.

As for the other guests originally in the Sardinian Kingdom, some continued to follow Nie’er and Lamamor’s steps forward, while others were led to different dining rooms by the butlers of the Turin Royal Palace.

After all, with so many guests arriving at Turin Royal Palace today, it was impossible for one table to accommodate all of them. The palace’s butler had to carefully classify guests by their status, allowing only those meeting both noble and official criteria to sit at the same table with Jerome Bonaparte and Victor Emmanuel II.

Thus, Jerome Bonaparte and Victor Emmanuel II continued on their way and finally reached the corridor leading to the dining room entrance.

Servants standing on both sides of the dining room spotted the two monarchs from afar. Each grabbed a door handle, and with force, opened the large doors, revealing the lavish decor inside the dining room and a long table facing the entrance.

Upon entering the dining room, Jerome Bonaparte realized that this white table could accommodate about 60 people for dining, second in length only to the banquet table of the Austrian Empire he had witnessed. The total surface area of the entire dining hall was roughly 1.2—1.3 times larger than that of the Tuileries Palace.

"How do you find this dining hall?" Victor Emmanuel II asked Jerome Bonaparte with a hint of pride in his tone.

"Indeed, it’s quite large!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded in response to Victor Emmanuel II.

Subsequently, at the invitation of Victor Emmanuel II, Jerome Bonaparte sat with him at the principal seats of the long table, while the others took their places according to the name tags set on the table.

Once everyone was seated, the servants holding red wine entered the dining room in two columns, then spread out behind each guest.

The servant behind Jerome Bonaparte and Victor Emmanuel II first used a corkscrew to open the wine bottle and poured the scarlet wine into Jerome Bonaparte’s and Victor Emmanuel’s glasses.

The remaining servants similarly filled the glasses of the guests they were serving. When everyone had their glasses brimming with wine, Prime Minister Lamamor promptly addressed the crowd, "Ladies and gentlemen, let us toast to the friendship between the French Empire and Sardinia Wangting!"

"Cheers!" exclaimed everyone present, including Victor Emmanuel II and Jerome Bonaparte, raising their glasses for a toast.

After downing a glass, the servants refilled Jerome Bonaparte and others’ glasses.

At the same time, another group of servants appeared, entering the dining room from outside, each carrying an aluminum serving tray, with an aluminum lid covering the tray’s contents.

Besides Victor Emmanuel II, no one knew what food was contained in the trays, thus each guest was curious about it.

Under everyone’s gaze, the servants placed a tray at each seat and then simultaneously opened the lids.

The enticing aroma wafted into every guest’s nostrils, and Jerome Bonaparte noticed that the trays contained steak drizzled with black sauce.

"Please enjoy your meal, everyone!" Victor Emmanuel II elegantly picked up his knife and fork, addressing the crowd.

Everyone at the banquet picked up their knives and forks and began cutting the steak.

After a while, everyone’s face exhibited expressions of enjoyment, Victor Emmanuel II again gestured to the servant beside him.

The servant promptly signaled to the food-bearing servants, who orderly exited the scene.

Victor Emmanuel II turned to inquire of Jerome Bonaparte, "Jerome, how do you find this dish?"

Having just savored the first bite, Jerome Bonaparte swallowed the chewed steak, gently used a folded white silk cloth to wipe his mouth, and praised Victor Emmanuel II, "Victor, it’s excellent! I haven’t tasted such deliciousness in a long time!"

"As long as you like it!" Victor Emmanuel II’s face lit up with a satisfied smile.

After a while, the second course was served, and Victor Emmanuel II once again initiated conversation.

Victor Emmanuel II first warmly welcomed Jerome Bonaparte to the Turin Royal Palace, then reaffirmed to the crowd that the friendship between the French Empire and the Sardinian Kingdom was unbreakable, and no one could shake the bond between the two nations.

As soon as Victor Emmanuel II finished speaking, enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience.

Jerome Bonaparte also began to speak, discussing with those present the "friendship" between the French Empire and the Sardinian Kingdom.

He informed the audience that although there may be some turbulence in the friendship between the French Empire and the Sardinian Kingdom under certain circumstances, the overall tone between them would not change due to these turbulences, and the Sardinian Kingdom remains the most friendly partner of the French Empire.

The audience also gave a warm round of applause to Jerome Bonaparte for his words.

Victor Emmanuel II had a hint of relaxation in his eyes; as long as Jerome Bonaparte was unwavering in his support of the Savoy Royal Family, the possibility of the Savoy Royal Family being overthrown was very low.

However, Victor Emmanuel II also knew that support was not without a price; Savoy and Nice were the chips of Victor Emmanuel II.

Once the two monarchs finished speaking, the ministers at the banquet also began to speak. Some shouted about the friendship between France and the Sardinian Kingdom, while others condemned the Austrian Empire for its barbaric invasion of the Sardinian Kingdom.

As the conversation continued, the Sardinian Kingdom’s important ministers at the banquet began to unanimously criticize the barbarism of the Austrian Empire.

"The Austrian Empire is really terrible; a great nation has invaded the Sardinian Kingdom without any excuse!"

"If it weren’t for His Majesty Jerome speaking justly, who knows what kind of actions the Austrian Empire’s military would have taken!" A Sardinian minister said this while subconsciously glancing at Jerome Bonaparte at the head seat. Seeing that Jerome Bonaparte did not express aversion, he continued to speak.

"Isn’t that so!" Another Sardinian Kingdom minister also continued to criticize the Austrian Empire.

...

The voices criticizing the Austrian Empire grew louder over time, and Jerome Bonaparte responded with a smile throughout, without revealing any of his emotions.

In his view, Victor Emmanuel II staged this scene entirely hoping to use this method to lead the French Empire to stand out and confront the Austrian Empire directly.

Seeing no reaction from Jerome Bonaparte, after a while, Victor Emmanuel II stood up and ceremoniously said to those present, "Everyone quiet down, we are at a banquet here, not a criticism assembly!"

The audience ceased upon hearing Victor Emmanuel II’s response.

Jerome Bonaparte took another sip of wine and responded to those present, "I understand your feelings! After all, any patriot when faced with the complete annexation of their homeland will stand up uncontrollably.

But what I want to say is that blind patriotism is not a good thing, especially given the gap between the Sardinian Kingdom and the French Empire.

I believe the best solution is to start multilateral negotiations to resolve existing differences through negotiations!

Of course, the French Empire is also capable of helping you repel the Austrian Empire, but such an act does not benefit the Sardinian Kingdom at all.

The Sardinian Kingdom would gain a permanently hostile Austrian Empire, and the relationship between the French and Austrian Empires would also fall into an irretrievable state, leading to the destruction of great power coordination!

If great power coordination is destroyed, it would be detrimental to the whole of Europe.

However, I can assure you that if the demands of the Austrian Empire are truly unacceptable, the French Empire will stand by the side of the Sardinian Kingdom.

Since 1815, the French Empire and the Sardinian Kingdom have been mutually supportive, helping each other as brother nations.

At this point, Jerome Bonaparte raised his voice and declared righteously to those present, "We will not stand by as the Sardinian Kingdom is bullied!"

The restaurant was once again filled with applause, while Victor Emmanuel II’s face showed a hint of disappointment.

Jerome Bonaparte’s lengthy speech was still repeating what he had said before.

As long as the Austrian Empire does not actually invade the Sardinian Kingdom, the French Empire will still unhesitatingly mediate.

And Sardinia must pay the price for this negotiation, the price being Savoy and Nice.