The Small Cabinet

By evening, a manor on the outskirts of Vienna was ablaze with lights. Under the cover of a cocktail party, Ledes quietly entered a secret chamber.

"Now that everyone is here, let's begin!"

The speaker was Count Wites, currently the Deputy Director of Austria's Treasury Department—a major figure whose power ranked among the top thirty in the Vienna Government.

The others in the room were naturally no ordinary people either. Aside from Sir Ledes, who handled outside contacts, the rest were all senior government officials.

Anyone familiar with Austrian politics would have recognized that the room contained high-ranking officials from six critical government departments: the Ministry of Finance, the Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Tax Bureau, the Police Department, the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

It was practically a miniature replica of the Cabinet. If this were exposed, the Vienna Government would be hit by a magnitude-twelve political earthquake tomorrow.

Yet at this moment, these great figures all sat stiffly upright, their expressions uneasy, as though the sky were about to collapse.

Paul Bodis, Director of Internal Affairs at the Anti-Corruption Bureau, spoke first. "The situation is extremely grave. His Majesty is deeply dissatisfied with the current state of affairs and has ordered a full investigation to the very end.

"The Anti-Corruption Bureau, the Commission Against Corruption, and the Police Department have all become involved. Even the Intelligence Bureau may intervene.

"Director Gnero has already sensed that there is a problem within the organization. He directly ordered the heads of every investigative team to answer to him alone.

"Now, as Director of Internal Affairs, I can only access part of the investigation materials. It is still impossible to determine how far the investigation has progressed."

After saying that, Paul Bodis's spirits sank.

Deep down, he already regretted