Lisbon
Carmona, the man who truly held power in the Portuguese Republic, was deep in worry. The news the finance minister had brought back kept him awake through the night.
Whether to help Manuel II reclaim the throne was the gravest test before him.
Whether he agreed or refused, Portugal would face far-reaching consequences.
To a certain extent, both he and Manuel II were enemies of the Republicans—but the enemy of one's enemy was not necessarily a friend.
On the road to power, no one could afford to yield. He did not represent merely himself, but also the whole gang of underlings who had thrown in their lot with him.
Once Manuel II successfully returned to the throne, the monarchists' influence would inevitably surge. Even if they could not shake Carmona's ruling position, they would still claim a share of the new political order.
Refusing would be even more troublesome. Heaven only knew what had gotten into Manuel II's head—he had actually invited foreign powers to intervene. Wasn't that letting the wolf into the house?
No matter what Manuel II thought, once they refused, they would become enemies.
With the United Kingdom and Bulgaria threatening from without, and royalists acting as guides for the enemy within, could he withstand it?
And the Republicans he had suppressed were watching like tigers eyeing their prey, ready at any moment to overthrow his rule.
With so many troubles piled together, Carmona could not help but wonder whether their path had been wrong.
The world's mainstream systems were constitutional monarchy and republicanism. Military dictatorship was undoubtedly as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns—and there had not even been a successful example.
There was a reason the royalists' strength had endured for so long. The world's major powers were now all constitutional monarchies, while