Palmerston had begun to sympathize with his American counterpart. After all, even the cleverest housewife could not cook without rice; he himself had nearly been driven to collapse by the dire circumstances before.
Now, at last, he could sleep soundly.
"No matter who comes, do not wake me! I'm going to get a proper night's sleep."
"Yes, my lord."
The staff at the British embassy finally let out a long breath as well. It was not only the higher-ups who were under pressure—the pressure at the bottom was no less severe, since pressure was usually passed down level by level.
Meanwhile, after spending two days drinking in taverns, the American envoy in Vienna returned to the Hofburg Palace.
America now had no way back. Although he had yet to receive definite instructions from home, he could more or less confirm that they had to win over the Austrian Empire at any cost.
Even if it meant signing a humiliating treaty that forfeited their sovereignty, it was still worth it. Compared with losing the war, having vast territories annexed by Britain, or even becoming part of Britain once more—
The words "forfeiting sovereignty and humiliating the nation" no longer seemed so grave. At the very least, they would retain their independence.
But if the British won, then America might no longer be an America belonging to Americans.
The American envoy, Helt, did not have the ability to guess what the White House was thinking, but he knew what the Austrian Empire wanted.
In truth, Helt had not spent those days entirely drowned in alcohol. He had been using America's connections to investigate exactly what the Austrian Empire needed.
Helt's actions successfully deceived the British spies, but his connections were limited, and he had failed to probe the Austrian Empire's bottom line.