Seeing that her husband seemed to have fallen into a daze, the First Lady added with another smile.
"Darling, this isn't a war you're fighting alone, or even a war being fought by the Commonwealth alone. 'Many people' have high hopes for our Commonwealth, and 'many people' can't accept the war ending. You're the legitimate head of the Blue Star Commonwealth. They won't recognize anyone but you."
Yes. They won't recognize anyone but me. President Nishita's smugness lasted less than half a minute before giving way to a look of helplessness.
So who, exactly, were these "many people"? The president very much wanted to ask.
Of course he knew the answer. That was precisely what made the irony work. But just as he was about to speak, he met Mrs. Melari's smile and found he couldn't even manage a little sarcasm.
He knew even better that the reason the Commonwealth had fought so desperately was that "many people" had sold out the people of Earth. They only knew how to appease the enemy and didn't dare get personally involved. They had halted all military aid, withdrawn most of their officially appointed military advisers and technical personnel, and called off their volunteer forces as organized units.
A tiny handful of advisers with mercenary status remained, but they were less advisers than spies gathering combat records on the ground.
They had even been wishy-washy in their choice of words when they merely talked big at the Galactic Civilization Council, denouncing the Empire's aggressors.
And that was it? That was all it took for them to call themselves a superpower on par with the Empire?
And that was it? They still dared order me to fight the Empire to the death?
Had they forgotten that I was the head of the Blue Star