Upon receiving the orders of Franz Joseph, the Emperor’s aide, who was invited to Turin, quickly found the Austrian Ambassador stationed there.

With the help of the Austrian Ambassador, the Emperor’s aide arrived near the inn where Jerome Bonaparte and Augusta were staying that afternoon.

Just as the military officer and the Austrian Ambassador were about to enter the inn, two Sardinian soldiers guarding the entrance stopped them.

"Please wait here! This inn is not accepting any new guests for the time being!

If you need accommodation, please look elsewhere," the Sardinian soldiers said firmly to the Emperor’s aide and the Austrian Ambassador.

Blocked outside, the Emperor’s aide and the Austrian Ambassador quickly explained to the Sardinian soldiers, "We are not here to stay! We are here to find someone!"

"To find someone?" The Sardinian soldiers’ eyes became sharp. They scrutinized the Emperor’s aide and the Austrian Ambassador, asking, "Who are you here to find?"

"I heard Jerome Bonaparte and Empress Augusta are staying at this inn!" The Austrian Ambassador replied to the Sardinian soldiers and extended his hand for introduction, "The person beside me is the aide to the Emperor of the Austrian Empire, and he is here on the Emperor’s orders to deliver a message!"

"The aide to the Emperor of the Austrian Empire?" The Sardinian soldiers muttered quietly, their gaze towards the Emperor’s aide mixed with a hint of resentment.

Fearing for the Emperor’s aide being assaulted at the inn entrance, the Austrian Ambassador hurriedly reminded the Sardinian soldiers, "Don’t act recklessly! If the Emperor’s aide gets harmed, it means our relations will be entirely at war! 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

At that time, your King surely won’t spare you!"

"Who are you?" The Sardinian soldiers’ eyes slightly changed, shifting their gaze to the Austrian Ambassador.

The Austrian Ambassador smiled at the corners of his mouth and confidently introduced himself, "I am the Diplomatic Envoy appointed by the Austrian Empire to your country!"

After the Austrian Ambassador’s introduction, the Sardinian soldiers fell silent for a moment and then told the Austrian Ambassador and the Emperor’s aide, "Please wait here for a moment!"

After speaking, one of the soldiers entered the inn, and after a while, a middle-aged man in Sardinian officer attire appeared before the Austrian Ambassador and the Emperor’s aide. He glanced at the Austrian Ambassador and quickly approached him with a respectful demeanor, "Ambassador, you have arrived!"

"Hurry and take us to His Majesty Emperor Jerome Bonaparte!" The Austrian Ambassador, not wanting to waste time, immediately addressed the Sardinian officer.

"What a pity!" The Sardinian officer replied apologetically to the Austrian Ambassador, "Neither His Majesty the Emperor nor Her Majesty the Empress can meet with you now!"

"Why?" The Austrian Ambassador and the Emperor’s aide asked simultaneously, their faces showing astonishment.

"Because His Majesty the Emperor, along with Her Majesty the Empress, went out for a stroll this morning, and they haven’t returned yet!" The Sardinian officer slowly replied to them.

"Is there any way to find them?" The Emperor’s aide asked the Sardinian officer.

The Sardinian officer shook his head, indicating that they also did not know the whereabouts of the Emperor and Empress. He then asked if the Ambassador and the aide would be willing to wait at the inn for some time.

The Emperor’s aide and the Austrian Ambassador exchanged glances, and then the Ambassador asked, "What do you think?"

The Emperor’s aide shrugged and replied to the Austrian Ambassador with a helpless tone, "What else can we do? We can only wait obediently!"

"Please come in!" The Sardinian officer invited the Emperor’s aide and the Austrian Ambassador into the inn with a smile, signaling to the Sardinian soldiers beside him.

After the Emperor’s aide and the Austrian Ambassador entered the inn, the Sardinian soldiers guarding the inn gate quickly went to the Turin Royal Palace to report the arrival of the Emperor’s aide to the Emperor of the Austrian Empire.

Victor Emmanuel II, upon receiving the news, showed a touch of surprise on his face and couldn’t help but mutter to himself, "When did they arrive?"

The soldiers beside Victor Emmanuel II mistakenly thought he was asking them and quickly replied, "Your Majesty, they just arrived!"

"I didn’t mean that!" Victor Emmanuel II furrowed his brows slightly, waved his hand to the soldiers, and replied, "You did well! You can go back now!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The soldier left Victor Emmanuel II’s office.

Alone in his office, Victor Emmanuel II pondered for a long time before deciding to find someone to discuss the matter.

Thus, Victor Emmanuel summoned his Chief Steward, instructing him to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to invite Minister Cavour.

"Your Majesty, shouldn’t this matter be notified to the Prime Minister?" The Chief Steward, born in the military, cautiously asked Victor Emmanuel II.

Victor Emmanuel II glanced sideways at the Chief Steward, then after a long pause, he slowly said, "That’s right! Also, notify Prime Minister Lamamor!

Oh, and don’t tell them the reason why they’re being summoned beforehand!"

The Chief Steward, having endured immense pressure, breathed a sigh of relief in his heart and immediately bowed to Victor Emmanuel II, saying, "As you command, Your Majesty!"

After the Chief Steward left, Victor Emmanuel II continued to sit alone in the office, contemplating.

After a long time, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cavour and Prime Minister Lamamor arrived at Victor Emmanuel II’s office.

"Why did you two come together?" Victor Emmanuel II asked Cavour and Lamamor casually. He remembered only sending the Chief Steward over to notify them, and logically, their arrival times should have been different.

"It might be because of the carriage!" Cavour chuckled briefly before swiftly changing the topic and asking, "Your Majesty, is there something you wish to instruct us on by summoning us through the Chief Steward?"

"Your Majesty, do you have any instructions?" Lamamor also asked Victor Emmanuel II.

"You two sit down first!" Victor Emmanuel II invited Cavour and Lamamor to have a seat.

Once they were seated, Victor Emmanuel II informed them of the arrival of the Emperor of Austria’s Aide in Turin.

Upon hearing the news, Lamamor and Cavour both showed expressions of surprise, apparently neither of them had received any information about the Emperor’s Aide’s arrival.

Recovering from the brief shock, Cavour quickly asked, "Your Majesty, has the Emperor of the Austrian Empire’s Aide already visited you?"

Victor Emmanuel II shook his head, saying to Cavour, "No! I also learned of the Emperor’s Aide’s arrival through the soldiers protecting Jerome Bonaparte and Augusta!"

"From this, it seems the purpose of the Emperor’s Aide’s visit is solely to call on His Majesty Jerome Bonaparte!" Cavour concluded.

"Humph! This aide is truly arrogant!" Lamamor snorted coldly, "He is only concerned with visiting His Majesty Emperor Jerome Bonaparte and has forgotten to call on you, Your Majesty!"

Victor Emmanuel II’s eyes also flashed with a tinge of irritation; Franz Joseph’s aide’s arrogant attitude indeed displeased him.

"Your Majesty, I suspect that this time, the Aide has come to inform His Majesty Jerome Bonaparte of their Emperor Franz Joseph’s arrival in Milan!

And to invite His Majesty Jerome Bonaparte to Milan for talks!" Cavour continued to analyze seriously.

Cavour’s analysis coincided with Victor Emmanuel II’s thoughts, and he immediately asked Cavour, "Cavour, what do you think our next step should be?"

"Your Majesty, what do you wish to do?" Cavour asked Victor Emmanuel II earnestly.

"What I mean is, do we have any chance to join that negotiation?" Victor Emmanuel II straightforwardly asked Cavour.

Cavour shook his head, smiling bitterly as he responded to Victor Emmanuel II, "Your Majesty, it’s very difficult for us to join that dialogue!"

"Is there truly no possibility at all?" Victor Emmanuel II asked Cavour unwillingly.

Although Victor Emmanuel II already knew it was unlikely, he still wanted to try, because no monarch likes to place his country’s fate in another country’s hands.

"Your Majesty, unless the Kingdom of Sardinia can defeat the Austrian Empire, otherwise we have no hope at all!" Cavour responded to Victor Emmanuel II, "At present, we can only hope that His Majesty Jerome Bonaparte can quickly represent us to reach an agreement with the Austrian Empire!"

"Then Savoy and Nice..." Victor Emmanuel II asked Cavour yet again.

Cavour suddenly felt a sense of speechlessness, seeing that Emperor Jerome Bonaparte was determined to completely take Savoy and Nice, yet their monarch still wanted to snatch these two territories from the jaws of the French Empire’s tiger.

Cavour didn’t really know whether to say Victor Emmanuel II was dense or simply miserly.

"Your Majesty, when we agreed with the French Empire to resolve this crisis, the price paid was Savoy and Nice!" Cavour reminded Victor Emmanuel II.

"The price France paid and the benefits it gained are simply disproportionate! I even suspect this was nothing more than a self-scripted farce between the French Empire and the Austrian Empire!" Victor Emmanuel II lamented.

Upon hearing this, Cavour and Lamamor were shocked; they exclaimed in unison to Victor Emmanuel II, "Your Majesty, it’s best not to make random speculations without substantial evidence!"