Chapter 894: The Bewildered Belgium
As he left the royal palace, Prime Minister Terence Bulkin's back was already soaked through. He knew someone had set him up.
A coincidence?
There were no coincidences in politics. Even if it truly was a coincidence, the emperor had to be made to believe it.
There was nothing wrong with persuading the emperor to go to war; that was part of a prime minister's duty and did not count as overstepping his bounds.
But for it to coincide with soldiers being attacked, and for the emperor to mistake it for an attempt to force his hand—that was a serious problem.
After some thought, Terence Bulkin fixed his suspicions on Raphael, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture. Yet he simply could not understand why his own trusted subordinate would stab him in the back.
Raphael had only secured the lucrative post overseeing the farms because Terence Bulkin had personally promoted him. No matter how one looked at it, that was a debt of recognition and patronage.
The bureaucratic establishment also valued personal ties. Traitors were despised wherever they went. Even if someone switched sides, they would wait until Prime Minister Terence Bulkin's power had waned.
Stabbing him in the back at a time like this was simply courting death. With Prime Minister Terence Bulkin's influence, he was fully capable of grinding Raphael into the dust before he himself fell from power.
What had happened had happened. There was no point dwelling on it now.
Perhaps that fool Raphael had been used by someone as well. At the very least, Prime Minister Terence Bulkin did not believe Raphael had the nerve to plan this incident.
Though the surface appeared calm and the Belgians had been made to take the blame, that did not mean the matter was