Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

Antonio said without doubt, "Speaking impartially, do you think the tensions between The Federated Provinces and the Archipelago are greater, or are the tensions between us and the Archipelago greater? Who do you think can offer a better deal to the Archipelago, The Federated Provinces or us?"

"The Archipelago Confederation is too loose a political entity, negotiating with the Confederation is like shouting at a hundred ducks at once. If we try to win over each island one by one, Tanilia will sooner or later become the eighth province of The Federated Provinces Republic. It's not that Sea Blue wants the Archipelago, it's that Sea Blue does not want The Federated Provinces to get the Archipelago, thus the means must be somewhat drastic."

After hearing Antonio's words, although it was the height of summer, Winters felt a chill from within: "Tell me the truth, the Victory Arsenal wasn't burned down by someone from the Throne, was it?"

"What are you thinking?" Antonio scolded Winters, "The struggle over Tanilia between The Federated Provinces and Sea Blue is merely internal competition within the Alliance. The United Provincials may not get along with us, but we're still brother allies, not enemies. The Victory Arsenal is an important equipment procurement site for the Sea Blue Army, why would we burn down the Victory Arsenal?"

"That's a relief, that's a relief." Winters let out a sigh of relief, for a moment he really worried that the tension between the various republics had escalated to the point of breaking out into a fight the next second.

Antonio earnestly advised Winters, "I'm telling you all this so you can go beyond the limitations of a pawn and see what the chessboard looks like. Taking this assassination case from customs is just the war faction trying to make a issue out of it, to pressure the executive committee, to involve public opinion, to advocate for war. These little tricks aren't meaningful, don't learn from them. Because whether the assassin is Venetian or a pirate, it won't affect the decisions of the executive committee." Your journey continues on empire

"So, are you a war hawk or a peace advocate?"

"I'm neither for nor against war, I have only one principle, and that is to prioritize Veneta's interests. Remember that, you're a soldier of Veneta, your duty is to protect the interests of Veneta, and not to be hostile for the sake of party allegiances," Antonio said with great emphasis.

Winters nodded solemnly, "But I still don't understand, why was this case handed over to the military police?"

"Whoever investigates this case has only two paths to follow. Either to thoroughly solve this headless case; or to follow the war faction's wishes and pin the blame on pirates. The latter is simple to close, but if it's not a ironclad case, the consequences could be severe should it be overturned later on," Antonio laughed heartily, "Field is too reckless, and lacks tact, he recently offended some people and there's a lot of resentment against him. Handing the case to Field is purely to annoy him."

Antonio added, "But you don't need to worry, you're just an intern at the military police, even if the case is overturned in the future it won't implicate you, but that boy Field will have to go work at the office for War History."

Winters remembered the "impressive figure" of Colonel Field at the internship orientation meeting, guessing it was then he had managed to offend all the senior officers present.

As soon as the case was mentioned, Winters suddenly remembered the coachman, and he hurriedly said to his uncle, "I think it's best to replace our family coachman."

"Why?"

Winters explained in detail his discovery that the family's coachman appeared to be involved in some secret society.

Antonio didn't take it seriously, "It's just a secret society, right? There are plenty of those in Sea Blue City, not just among coachmen, even the porters at the docks are in secret societies, and they belong to several."

Nevertheless, Winters still insisted on changing the coachman, as the ones who rode in the carriage most were not the two men, but the two ladies of the house, and he felt the coachman had to be someone dependable.

In the end, Antonio agreed with his nephew's opinion, and the two concurred that Antonio would have someone talk to the coachman, and if there were no issues, they would give him severance pay to dismiss him. Then they'd hire two honest ex-soldiers from the Third Legion to take up the posts of coachman and groom.

————cut————

A hundred beeswax candles illuminated the side hall of the Navarre residence, and the faint aroma produced by the burning beeswax permeated the room, adding a private ambiance to the already elegant sitting room.

This was a small reception, not many people. The main hall was too large, it might have made the guests feel isolated. Navarre's lady, of course, would not make such a basic error.

There was no dance floor in the side hall, but at this moment, Navarre's lady was the most graceful of dancers.

She flitted between each small group of guests, wherever there was the hint of a dispute, Navarre's lady would cleverly use a witty pun to diffuse the tension. If she noticed a guest feeling uneasy, Navarre's lady would skillfully guide them to a conversation circle better suited to them.

The men in the living room dominated the conversation, talking endlessly. They craved an audience, eager to attract the attention of others, while Navarre's lady did not seek to have everyone listen to her.

With a look, a smile, a glass of wine, a word of wit, she made each guest feel welcomed, comfortably maintaining the pleasant atmosphere of the evening.

Though the men occupied the stage, the person who truly orchestrated the order here was the considerate hostess.