Lavalette hurriedly added, "Your Highness, this unrest is different from the previous ones."
Joseph looked up at him. "Oh? Please explain in detail."
"Broadly speaking, it is better organized, more thoroughly mobilized, and its logistical preparations have improved enormously compared with before. Captain Savien's report says this unrest may even deal a severe blow to the Holy See."
Savien was the Security Bureau's intelligence chief in Rome.
Joseph nodded again. "We can give it a moderate push. You will be responsible for the specifics. Oh, and find out exactly what happened with Muzarelli's murder."
Lavalette did not immediately accept the order. Instead, he lowered his head and stepped forward. "Your Highness, the Romans have obtained more than 1,500 guns this time, most of them Percussion Cap Guns. At least four Field Cannons have even been smuggled into the city.
"And Captain Savien mentioned that these weapons most likely came from Ravenna..."
Joseph frowned. "Officers selling weapons privately?"
"Th-that..." Lavalette did not answer, instead bringing up another matter. "I asked the officials in Ravenna. They said Prince Charles left on a trip over a month ago, and no one knows where he is.
"And the Free Rome Party, which organized the unrest in Rome, recently received funding worth tens of thousands of Francs. It is said to have come from a young gentleman named Charlie.
"Mr. Charlie has also served as the Free Rome Party's military adviser. Oh, he definitely is not from Rome. We could find no trace of his connections in Rome, and he has always spoken only French..."
The calm in Joseph's eyes vanished in an instant. He sprang to his feet. "You are saying Charles is involved in the unrest in Rome?"
"For now, it is only a suspicion, Your Highness," Lavalette said. "My people have difficulty