Despite being unable to figure out why the Vienna Government had changed its stance, Thomas acted at once.
At this point, if he still did not take the field personally, the moment the conference began, the situation would likely become completely one-sided.
Just because everyone did not want to see the French expand did not mean the nations would naturally stand against France.
This assassination had already put the Kingdom of Sardinia at a disadvantage. What was more, the Sardinian government had yet to make any move against the culprits—the punishment all nations wanted to see.
Perhaps in the Sardinian government's view, the Carbonari were powerful and deeply entangled. This assassination had merely been the independent act of a few edgy youths; there had been no mastermind behind it.
But in the eyes of the various governments, planned or not, once something like this had happened, the Carbonari leadership could not escape blame.
What the Sardinian government ought to have done was arrest the Carbonari's upper ranks first, letting everyone see its determination to strike at this evil organization.
How could Cavour have failed to see that? But as a member of the Carbonari himself, he could not bring the blade down on his own neck.
In the end, the Sardinian government casually arrested a few people in an attempt to muddle through. To outsiders, that was a display of insincerity.
Originally, Thomas had advocated having the Sardinian government wipe out the Carbonari, give the French an explanation, and turn a major matter into a minor one, a minor matter into nothing at all.
After learning about the Kingdom of Sardinia's political structure, however, he abandoned that impractical notion. It had already exceeded the Sardinian government's capabilities. If they did nothing, all was well; once they moved, heaven and earth