The old prime minister was silent for a long time, he took a deep breath, and then looked at Alexander, the new emperor of the empire, his new lord, and said: "Your Majesty, I am not speaking for anyone, I am just guarding my bottom line. ”

Alexander did not speak, still staring coldly at the old prime minister.

And Prime Minister Pitt didn't care about Alexander's eyes, and said calmly: "I firmly believe that it is immoral to hurt innocent children who have no power to resist, and the glory of the Gyan family will be dusted by this, and the glory of the empire will be disgraced by this." As the emperor of the empire and the head of the state, you will not be able to gain the trust of your subjects by acting like this. ”

Alexander stared at Prime Minister Pitt for a long time, and the old Prime Minister couldn't help but think of the late Emperor Nicholas I. However, Alexander was not his father after all, and after staring at it for a while, he voluntarily withdrew his gaze.

"Since you say so, let's put this matter aside for now. However, now that the throne has been consolidated, it is time to purge those chaotic parties, and these people must be severely punished, you should have no opinion, right?"

Prime Minister Pitt breathed a sigh of relief and nodded busily. "Naturally, there will be no opinion, these people dare to raise the flag against the Empire, naturally they should be punished, and they must not be tolerated. ”

"Right now, Guderian and Jericho...... Viscount Jericho is recovering from his injuries, and the Royal Guard and the Imperial Capital Garrison have also suffered heavy casualties in the civil war. ”

"Do you hand it over to the Munster?" Prime Minister Pitt felt a little surprised, this kind of thing, the most suitable thing is naturally the Imperial Capital Garrison, even if Ernest is injured, but the command system of the Imperial Capital Garrison is still there, there is no need to fake others.

However, Prime Minister Pitt thought about it and immediately understood what Alexander meant. In any case, the Imperial Capital Garrison has always been a force within the establishment of the Ministry of the Interior, and unlike the Munster Army, their relationship with the Ministry of the Interior is much more complicated. Perhaps, it was with this in mind that Alexander avoided the imperial capital garrison and asked Baron O'Brien to search for and purge the rebels, who were outsiders and could do some things without concern.

"I see, I'll arrange it later. Having figured out Alexander's intentions, Prime Minister Pitt immediately replied. However, he still couldn't help but sigh in his heart that this war, or the situation of more than a month, had changed Alexander's greatness. Now Alexander is no longer the crown prince who was frightened by his father's majesty, but an emperor who really knows how to use power and majesty.

"Jericho is in charge of the intelligence work," Alexander continued, "and since O'Brien and Jericho have worked together in the Western Suburbs, they should be able to do this if they work together again, right?"

"Jericho and O'Brien?" Prime Minister Pitt had an ominous feeling in his heart, if it was said that Baron O'Brien was allowed to preside over this purge operation because the other party had gone to Lands Town to welcome Alexander back to Germany, and expressed his obedience to Alexander, so as to repay the favor and give him a chance to make meritorious contributions, then it would be a little strange to appoint Jerichale - Alexander was still unforgiving of Swain's bad deeds just now!

However, Prime Minister Pitt still did not say much, he could not change Alexander's decision, and besides, he had said enough good things for Swain tonight, and the old Prime Minister was very skeptical that if he continued to question Alexander's decision again and again, he would follow in the footsteps of the Marquis de Metternich.

Accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger——

——————————————

The dinner was still going on, and the grand banquet was based on an all-night carnival, and although the guests were not allowed to go back early, it was likely to leave a faceless impression on the new emperor if they did.

Swain was out of the crowd, in the corner, alone with his glass and drinking to himself. And his expressionless face also made most visitors uninterested in approaching him, after all, he seemed to be so unavoidable. Many even pointed fingers and whispered to Swain, presumably speculating about his identity and why he dared to be so maverick at the Emperor's banquet.

However, although those who didn't know Swain didn't dare to approach Swain, and he didn't know most of the people in the hall, that didn't mean that no one could talk to Swain - after a few months in the imperial capital, Swain still got to know some people.

An old man he hadn't seen in a long time came into Swain's sight.

"Marquis Wood. Swain stopped Wood, who was in a hurry, "Long time no see." ”

Wood, who was suddenly stopped, as if he was thinking about something, did not react for a moment, and it was not until Swain called a second time that he turned his head and saw the young man who had impressed him very much from the first meeting.

"Sven?" he narrowed, looking at the other man carefully, "Ah, you......"

Wood's words suddenly seemed to be cut off, and he didn't know what to say. The last time he met with Swain was at Metternich's house, and at that time, the Marquis of Metternich had the Interior Department arrest Swain in front of him, although he later worked hard and begged Prime Minister Pitt to exonerate Swain, but Wood still felt that people like Swain were likely to suspect that the Marquis of Metternich was colluding with him at that time, in order to send Swain to Beria's prison, so as to create a chance for Ernest to obtain the title of Count of Midnight.

Now that the Marquis of Metternich had died in that damned rebellion, Wood just wanted to blame him, and he didn't have the heart to do so. And seeing Swain, the old man who was ridiculed by the Marquis of Metternich and Nicholas I with the word "honesty", could not help but feel very embarrassed.

"Don't come unharmed. Wood stiffened his face and said hello awkwardly.

Swain looked at Wood's sallow face and heavy bags under his eyes, and could tell that Wood didn't seem to be doing well during this time, both physically and mentally.

Swain remembered his second son, Herbert.

"Thank you for your concern, Sophia and I are fine. Swain took a glass of wine from the table to the side and handed it to Wood, "It's you, long time no see, and you look a lot haggard." ”

"Well—" Wood sighed and took a sip of his glass, "Sven, since you took the initiative to speak to me, I don't think you should blame me, what happened last time." ”

Swain, of course, knew what Wood was referring to, and he waved his hand, as expressionless as ever. "There is nothing to blame you, even the Marquis of Metternich can understand his intentions even a little, even if he sent me to the prison of Beria. Besides, he's dead now - I heard, not even a body has been found?"

Wood nodded, his expression even more mournful. "Oliver, this guy has always been like this, stubborn like a cow, never willing to be submissive, when he was the foreign secretary, when he was belittled by the emperor, he was like this, I didn't expect that this old thing was like this when he died, he actually died with explosives and the enemy, and the result, the result was ......."

As he spoke, Wood couldn't hold back his emotions, tears streaming down his wrinkled eyes. "There wasn't even a body, it was all buried in the rubble of his mansion. His sons had no way to bury him, so they took the painting in the hall as him and buried it in a coffin in the cemetery. ”

Swain was silent, no matter what, the Marquis of Metternich was an admirable person, even if Swain couldn't feel anything in his heart, but in front of Wood, he had to show something.

"Forget it, let's not talk about the old guy. Wood wiped away his tears and looked at Swain with red eyes, "What about you, how are you doing during the time the rebels occupy Germany?"

"Sophia and I are safe. Swain calmly looked at Wood, "You forgot, our mansion was destroyed during the attack on Pritown, when His Majesty Alexander granted me and Sophia to live at Karin Castle in order to reward me for rescuing Her Highness Caterina in Pritown, so we were not in Germany when Beria rebelled. ”

Swain said that, and Wood remembered it. "Ah, yes, yes, yes, you are ...... at Karin Castle," Wood was stunned for a moment, and then remembered something else, "isn't Karin Castle the main battlefield in the western suburbs? ”

"Actually," Swain shook his head, "the place of the battle was some distance from Karin Castle, but the people from the Home Office did come for Karin Castle, because Princess Celestia was there at the time. ”

"Oh, oh, that's it, it's ......," Wood understood, reminded by Swain.

"Marquis Wood, don't you matter?" Swain stared at Wood's face, and from the beginning, Wood seemed rather absent-minded, "You seem to have something on your mind, and your face is not good-looking. ”

"Ah, ah, yes, yes?" Wood was stunned for a moment, then sighed, and seemed to relax, "Is it all on his face?"

"If you have any troubles, maybe I can help, after all, you have done so much for me and the Jericho family, I think it is my right to do something for you. ”

Wood glanced at Swain in surprise, he had never noticed that Swain was such a warm-hearted person. After hesitating for a while, although he was a little worried about Ernest's feelings, Wood understood that this matter might not be suitable for Ernest to interfere in at the moment, and he had also heard that Swain might be appointed as the acting director of Section 13, and perhaps it would be a better choice to entrust this matter to him.

"Then I'll get straight to the point. Wood sighed again, not hiding the worry on his face, and said to Swain worriedly, "Actually, my second son, Herbert, has not been home all this time, and we have lost news of him since before the Home Office rebellion, and Ellen and I are worried...... I also asked a lot of people, but now that the imperial capital is in ruins, and the Ministry of the Interior has been abolished, it is too difficult to find someone. ”

"I see. Swain nodded, a glint of understanding flashing in his eyes, "I'll help find Mr. Herbert." ”

"Then please—" Wood let out a sigh of relief, "if there's any news...... Especially the bad news, please be sure to tell me, I mean tell me someone, I don't want to upset Ellen. ”

"Yes, I will. Sven raised his glass slightly, "I don't think you're in very good shape, so let's go back and rest early." Even if Your Majesty asks, you will understand. ”

Wood glanced around at the Don Juan's décor and the jubilant crowd, and seemed to be quite emotional. "Actually, I didn't like this kind of occasion before, where people would always be unconsciously self-absorbed and leave all their worries behind. But what's the use of that? Even if you forget the pain for a while, the scars on your body still can't be removed, and when you wake up, it will be even more painful. ”

Swain was silent, perhaps most people would not agree with Wood's words, especially the nobles who were having fun in the Hall of Glory now, but I have to say that Wood's words did make sense, but they were too honest.

"Do you want me to drop you off?" said Sven, "the night road in Deweide has not been very safe lately. ”

"No need. Wood smiled wryly and waved his hand, a few strands of gray hair hanging down from his forehead, "I'm not old enough yet. ”

Swain watched Wood leave the Hall of Glory, but his mind turned to another place.