As it happened, although the Alliance secretary of state ranked third in the Alliance's administration, his main duties involved diplomatic work—balancing competing interests and keeping things running smoothly. And Mr. Blarred certainly looked the part: a handsome, elegant, middle-aged gentleman, gracious and refined.
Unlike Grand Commander Tatos, who had been born into a commoner's family, Secretary of State Blarred came from one of the Alliance's most prominent political dynasties. His great-grandfather had served as grand commander, his grandfather as assistant secretary of state and senator, and his father as a sector administrator. As for his elder brother, more than a decade his senior, he had served as a cabinet minister for several terms.
In short, having been born into such a family, Mr. Blarred had cultivated his image as an elite to perfection. Though he was no longer young, he still had something of the refined, princely charm of a gentleman born to privilege.
Compared with the vigorous but gaunt Count Valpolaris, the Empire's chancellor, who looked more like a reserved scholar, the Alliance's secretary of state seemed more like a true aristocrat—the kind whose ancestors had all been sages for ten generations. Come to think of it, the Blarreds hailed from the Xia Ming Allied Kingdom of the Alliance, and the secretary of state himself really did hold the title of count.
Well, the chancellor was a count, and so was he. That should keep him from looking out of his depth.
In any case, the tall, graceful secretary of state stood at the edge of the terrace like a pine tree, as though he belonged to an entirely different world from the throng around him. Wearing a charming, flawless smile, he addressed the crowd in a resonant, compelling voice. "We have done our duty. We have brought peace