The words of the Austria-Hungary's ambassador successfully angered the high officials of the Kingdom of Italy, especially the Sardinian royal family, as he completely denied the legitimacy of the Kingdom of Italy's existence.

Since the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Italian region has been in a state of division for over a thousand years, with its territories mostly ruled by countries like France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire, except for the Pope Country. For instance, Corsica Island belongs to the Italian region but is part of French territory.

Napoleon's sudden rise awakened the national consciousness in the German region and also shaped the national consciousness in Italy. Essentially, it was a solidarity among local feudal nobles because France under Napoleon's rule was considered a relatively progressive force.

Hence, the words of the Austria-Hungary's ambassador were like oil poured on a hot stove, plunging the already strained relationship between the two countries into a state of mortal hostility.

"Your Excellency Christian, will you be responsible for your words? The Kingdom of Italy will never accept your country's humiliation," Emmanuel II spoke.

"Of course, my words represent the Empire's stance. Unless the Kingdom of Italy promises to forever give up its ambition for the independence and autonomy of the Pope Country, our Austria-Hungary Empire will not stand idly by," Christian responded.

"Very well! Our Kingdom of Italy will never compromise; no one can hinder the determination for the Italian national unification."

"We'll wait and see!"

Finding no common ground, the parties left in displeasure. The Kingdom of Italy immediately began preparing for strategic deployments to counter Austria-Hungary's interference, while urgently seeking help from the British embassy.

Florence, British Embassy.

"Ambassador Johnson, this time you must help Italy. If Italy is invaded by the Austria-Hungary Empire, the turbulence in Europe's balance of power won't be good for your country," said the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giuseppe.

Johnson was quite conflicted about this issue and said to Giuseppe, "If your country gives up the demands for the unification of the Pope Country, we Britain can guarantee that the Austria-Hungary Empire will not dare to invade Italy."

As far as Johnson saw it, Italy didn't need to face off against Austria-Hungary over this matter. Now is not the opportune time for Italian unification. Although Britain itself supports Italian unification, it is currently a special period; the Prussia-France War continues, and it appears that both countries are evenly matched. The French are not as invincible as they boasted before the war, and Prussia's strength is quite surprising.

Britain, for the sake of continental balance, needs to focus its main efforts on Prussia and France rather than the lesser region of Italy. Additionally, Austria hasn't been faring well these past years, while the eastern Russia has regained strength under the reforms of Alexandria II. Thus, Britain does not wish for Austria-Hungary to be further weakened.

"Due to the ongoing war between Prussia and France, we cannot spare the effort to support Italy at this time, so your country would do well not to initiate conflict with Austria-Hungary now," Johnson's remarks were unacceptable to Giuseppe. Italy's yearning for Rome is indescribable; an Italy without Rome is incomplete, akin to a France without Paris, a notion Italian nationalists cannot accept.

"Is your country going to stand by and let the Holy Roman Empire reemerge?" Giuseppe questioned.

"Of course not, but as I mentioned, our country neither has the capacity nor plans to intervene in Austria-Hungary's affairs at the moment. Thus, I earnestly warn you again on behalf of Britain – do not act rashly," Johnson stated seriously, regarding the emergence of a reconstituted Holy Roman Empire as sheer nonsense.

If Austria-Hungary genuinely possessed the ability to reinstate the Holy Roman Empire, then Britain would naturally exert effort to curb it. However, this is impossible; since the transformation from the Austrian Empire to Austria-Hungary, Austria has lost its dominance over the German region.

Little Germany, led by Prussia, might be realized, which Britain welcomes. Greater Germany has become a mirage, unless Prussia and Austria unite despite past grievances, but that's impossible. Two tigers cannot coexist on a single mountain, especially when Austria-Hungary contains an autonomous Hungarian Kingdom.

Giuseppe returned disappointed. Despite failing to garner British support, the Kingdom of Italy resolved to act independently. The opportunities to seize the Pope Country might truly be lost in the future. The Pope Country's geographical position, located at the center of Italy's north and south, is a place the Kingdom of Italy cannot relinquish.

On August 23rd, seeing the Pope Country disregard the Kingdom of Italy's demands, Italy formally declared war on the Pope Country. Subsequently, Austria-Hungary also declared war on Italy alongside the Pope Country.

Instantly, public opinion in Europe erupted. The excitement from the Prussia-France War hadn't subsided yet, and now Austria-Hungary and Italy were at war. Truly stimulating.

The most bewildered were the Russians. Alexandria II urgently convened a meeting to discuss the shifting situation in Europe.

"Why did Austria-Hungary suddenly declare war on Italy? Aren't their troops positioned eastward to defend against us and Prussia?" Alexandria II asked his subordinates in bewilderment.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs stated, "Essentially, Austria-Hungary cannot tolerate a fully unified Italy. Italian unification poses a significant threat to Austria-Hungary's security, so the conflict between the two countries is irreconcilable."

The Minister of the Army also added, "We haven't observed any large-scale military changes in Austria-Hungary's border areas, nor has their troop number significantly altered. Perhaps Austria-Hungary believes that dealing with an opponent like Italy doesn't require the deployment of main forces."

"Is that so? What a pity!" Alexandria II remarked in sighs.

The absence of movement in Austria-Hungary's border forces implies that Russia has limited chances to intervene in the conflict between Italy and Austria-Hungary, as Austria-Hungary clearly guards against the Russians.

No change at all? Naturally, this is implausible; preparations were completed months ago. After all, both Prussia and Russia wouldn't believe Austria-Hungary anticipated the Prussia-France war's developments before its outbreak and prepared to act against the Kingdom of Italy.

Currently, at the borders of Prussia, Russia, and Austria, both Prussia and Austria have significantly diminished their forces. Prussia has directly relocated some troops, whereas Austria-Hungary exchanged elite forces with regular units, hence why Austria-Hungary's troop numbers remain unchanged.

"Even so, it is still beneficial for us. I cannot believe Austria-Hungary could easily defeat Italy without exerting full effort. It's best if Italy drags Austria-Hungary into a war quagmire. At that point, if Austria-Hungary cannot resolve the Italian issue, it certainly will compromise with us," suggested the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

As for supporting Italy, forget it. Both Russia and Italy are notorious for being impoverished countries, especially now when the Russian government still has substantial debts unpaid. The emancipation reform was, in essence, the government handing out money, purchasing worthless lands from local nobles and landlords to allocate to peasant slaves. Although the results seem lackluster in the later stages, the government debts continue to increase. The expectation that the land-acquiring peasantry could pay off debts was futile. In joint maneuvers by Russian local bureaucrats and landlords, many of these "farmers" went bankrupt directly. The money was seized by the local officials, and the peasants remained largely unchanged in existence while the only contribution was to stimulate industrial and urban development.

Moreover, if Russia did intend to act, they wouldn't choose Austria-Hungary as their troublesome opponent. The neighboring Ottoman Empire is Russia's primary target, similar to how East Africa refrains from taking action against Mozambique. There is still a vast amount of Land of No Master inland, and no need to engage in conflicts with other colonizers.

The fiscal condition of Russia is widely known, which is also why the Kingdom of Italy sought British assistance. The British obviously wouldn't directly dispatch troops; at first, the Kingdom of Italy approached for funding, but Italy already owed a significant amount of debt to Britain. This time, the war brought no strategic profit to Britain, thus leading to Italy's ideas being unmet.

With Prussia and France focused on warfare, and Britain and Russia indifferent, the onset of the Italy-Austria war followed the convention of the Prussia-France war. Most countries opted for temporary neutrality. A difference was that Austria-Hungary played the role of pre-war France, equally refusing to allow the enemy to achieve unification and similarly issuing threats before war, likewise a great power against a smaller nation.