Chapter 141: Prime Minister

Prime Minister Fox had believed his plan was perfect.

If Noah Willard died, the Lunoa Kingdom would lose both a celebrated hero and the man whose trading company supported much of its war effort. The alliance with Wa might collapse, Lunoa’s resource shortages would worsen, and the war could end early.

That result suited the Orline Empire’s neutral faction.

The Rosha Empire had already been weakened by repeated defeats. If the Friez Kingdom emerged as the strongest power, it would still be far from Orline’s borders. More importantly, Orline would gain time to modernize while its old rival, Rosha, continued to decline.

“Those military fools are far too eager to spill blood.”

Fox sighed in his office.

General Tokel and the pro-war faction had ruined the first plan by rescuing Noah and Second Princess Emma.

“Major General Willard’s death was essential,” Fox said. “Without it, an early end to the war is unlikely.”

“What will we do now, Your Excellency?” asked one of his officials.

“Use the second plan. Stop the supplies needed to repair the battleships. If the repairs can’t be completed, Lunoa’s hero will remain trapped in our country.”

The neutral faction had also begun laying the groundwork for closer relations with the Friez Kingdom, although persuading Friez to abandon its alliance with Rosha wouldn’t be easy.

Cooperation with the Rosha Empire remained another possibility, but Fox considered it a last resort.

“We require time,” he said. “Time for our country to grow stronger while Rosha grows weaker.”

He was even willing to let Lunoa’s alliance with Wa succeed if it placed enough pressure on Rosha to force a surrender. The neutral faction could still interfere with the people assigned to manage that relationship.

“What’s Major General Willard doing now?” Fox asked.

“He spends nearly every day at the dock where the two battleships are being repaired.”

“The dock?”

“We don’t know what he’s doing there.”

“It doesn’t matter. Without materials, even a hero can’t repair two battleships. This is the Orline Empire. He can’t act as freely as he does in his own country.”

Fox returned to his plans with complete confidence.

He didn’t yet realize that the people around him were already preparing to remove the ground from beneath his feet.