Meanwhile, inside the Royal Palace in the City of a Thousand Joys, the Sasha Alliance presented an entirely different scene.
"Your Majesty! The Empire has practically taken control of the entire City of a Thousand Joys! If you don't act now, the Sasha Alliance will be swallowed up completely!"
Conrad looked at Franz I, his face full of frustration, as he spoke.
Several days had passed since the Empire's army entered the City of a Thousand Joys. During that time, under the pretext of investigating the embassy attack, the Empire had methodically replaced the personnel at every important post in the city! Now even the supplies and salaries of the Sasha Alliance's soldiers were subject to their orders!
Was this the Empire or the Sasha Alliance?!
What irritated Conrad even more was that he had actually had to pass through an Imperial checkpoint to reach the Royal Palace today! They had only let him through after checking him!
Although it had only been a routine inspection, without any actual search, it still infuriated Conrad.
This was Sasha Alliance territory! Since when did the Empire have the right to inspect him?!
Whose Royal Palace was this, anyway?!
What unsettled Conrad even more was the considerable shift in public sentiment he had noticed lately!
When the Empire first entered the City of a Thousand Joys, many people had been unhappy about it. But the Empire had brought plenty of supplies to stabilize prices, and it had confiscated the property of the city's Ite People and expelled them in one sweeping operation, winning considerable goodwill. Later, people discovered that the Empire did not harass the citizens after taking control of the city. At most, it stopped them for checkpoint inspections, so more and more people lowered their guard.
Those in the Surrender Faction