There are two pillars in the Empire.
One is the Emperor’s Palace, which assists the emperor; the other is the Empress’s Palace, which assists the empress.
Until now, there had been no problem.
Archduchess Sophie had, in practice, seized control of both pillars.
Through her son Josef and his close aide Grüne, she hoped the Emperor’s Palace would carry out her will; through the ladies-in-waiting she had appointed herself, she hoped the Empress’s Palace would serve as her eyes.
But because of last night, that structure had begun to crack.
The pillar of the Empress’s Palace had rebelled. Sisi was trying to keep embracing her husband, the emperor, and Esterházy had turned from the archduchess’s eyes into the empress’s lady-in-waiting.
Sophie and Grüne’s Emperor’s Palace, and Sisi and Esterházy’s Empress’s Palace.
“Right now, the Empire’s clock has advanced thirty minutes for no reason.”
The Emperor’s Palace argued that the emperor’s rising was the order of the Empire itself. For the emperor to wake thirty minutes late meant the Empire had fallen into a state of anarchy for thirty minutes.
“Until Their Majesties awaken, the Empire’s clock does not move.”
The Empress’s Palace argued that the order of the Empire did not come from a timetable, but from the well-being and unity of the imperial couple.
The two began walking parallel lines, and at the Hofburg in Vienna, this incident came to be called the Night of Milan.
***
Hadn’t he said he had to wake up at four in the morning?
Because of Sophie, I had fallen into the habit of waking up at five, but Josef was still beside me.
Wondering if perhaps I had woken up early, I looked at the clock, but it was already five-thirty.
“Josef.”
I shook him.
“Josef, wake up.”
He probably had no idea how hard it had been for me to drag him up onto the bed yesterday after he fell asleep on the floor.
How can a person fall asleep the moment his head touches something?
“…Sisi.”
Perhaps he was still half-asleep, because his voice was hoarse.
“It’s half past five.”
Josef started in shock, his eyes widening as though he couldn’t believe it.
He sprang up and checked the clock beside the bed.
5:31.
The emperor’s day should have begun an hour and a half ago.
“Good God…”
He pressed a hand to his forehead and groaned.
“Why did the attendant not wake me?”
Well, because…
“This is my palace…?”
If one had to be precise, it was.
How could an attendant enter here without permission?
Unless it was one of my ladies-in-waiting, like Esterházy.
Come to think of it, Esterházy hadn’t woken me at five either.
I sensed a commotion outside the bedroom door.
“His Majesty has not yet risen!”
Count Grüne’s voice rang out, full of anger, and against him, Esterházy stood firm.
“If you intend to disturb Her Majesty the Empress’s rest, leave this place at once.”
“Wherever His Majesty the Emperor is, that is the Emperor’s Palace.”
“Wherever Her Majesty the Empress is, that is the Empress’s Palace.”
Ordinarily, when a couple shared a bedchamber, it was done in the marital bedroom, and the moment the emperor arrived, the empress’s ladies-in-waiting withdrew.
But since this was my own private domain rather than the marital bedroom, was that why they were arguing?
Josef seemed to grasp the entire situation from that brief exchange.
He got down from the bed, straightened his clothes, and ordered the two outside.
“Lord Chamberlain, Mistress of the Court. Come in.”
The door opened, and I heard the two of them enter the room.
Through the half-closed canopy, I stole a glance at them.
Count Grüne’s face was flushed red with fury, while Esterházy was expressionless as usual.
Though it almost looked like the expression she wore when I had done well as empress.
“Lord Chamberlain. It is true that I am late. But loudly debating the reason before the empress’s bedchamber door is not proper etiquette toward the empress.”
“Your Majesty, however, the order of the Empire—”
When Grüne tried to object, Josef raised a hand to stop him.
“The order of the Empire is determined by me, the emperor, not by the volume of the Lord Chamberlain’s voice.”
At Josef’s rebuke, Grüne’s face stiffened.
“And Mistress of the Court.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Protecting the empress’s well-being is indeed your duty. However, deciding the emperor’s waking time is likewise not within your authority.”
“I will keep that in mind, Your Majesty.”
Esterházy bowed her head to Josef.
“Empress, let us meet again later at the opera.”
Startled, I hid behind the canopy.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After Josef left, only Esterházy and I remained in the room.
…She looks pleased?
“Your Majesty, please stop peeking and begin your preparations.”
I got caught.
Esterházy instructed the ladies-in-waiting outside to prepare the bath, then approached me.
“Your Majesty, surely you did not share the bed last night.”
Why would she think that?
Nothing happened yesterday.
“Your Majesty, during pregnancy, you absolutely must not.”
Flustered, I said,
“I did not.”
“In that case, you have not forgotten etiquette, have you?”
“Etiquette?”
I have been keeping it properly.
“You must keep your back straight.”
…Ah. My back hurt from dragging Josef up with such difficulty.
I want to get into the bathwater and rest as soon as possible.
“Last night was very difficult.”
It wasn’t as if I could tell her the emperor had slept on the floor.
Esterházy let out a deep sigh and looked at the lady-in-waiting carrying away the bedsheets.
No, I’m telling you, we really didn’t!
*
After my bath, my dressing began under Esterházy’s direction.
“Your Majesty will attend the opera at La Scala today. The purpose is to display the dignity of the Empire and improve relations with the local nobility.”
With the nobles of Milan? Hmmm…
“It is true that they insulted Your Majesty, but once they learn that Your Majesty’s relationship with His Majesty the Emperor has improved, such a thing will not happen again.”
“I look forward to it.”
I answered briefly.
I don’t look forward to it at all.
But contrary to Esterházy’s hopes, the news brought by the attendant was nothing of the sort.
“Your Majesty the Empress, I am told that urgent affairs of state have arisen for His Majesty the Emperor, and that he instructed you to depart first. He said he would follow as quickly as possible.”
I did not miss the way Esterházy’s face visibly stiffened.
…Ominous from the very start.
Esterházy tried hard to maintain her composure as she said,
“Your Majesty, His Majesty the Emperor must have had unavoidable circumstances. Please do not worry and go on ahead. We will attend upon Your Majesty perfectly.”
Grüne’s influence is greater than I thought.
*
In the end, I climbed into the imperial carriage alone.
No sound from outside could be heard at all.
How could I free Josef from Archduchess Sophie’s influence?
No matter how hard I tried as empress, I had no other means beyond adjusting the personnel of the Empress’s Palace.
Which meant I had to wait for Josef himself to seize control of the Emperor’s Palace…
The turning point that would awaken Josef was the defeat in the Austro-Prussian War and the Austro-Hungarian Compromise.
But the problem was that by then, Italy would already have been lost, and even Austria’s influence within Germany would have vanished.
Only after losing everything would he escape his mother’s hand.
“Your Majesty, we have arrived.”
…This place is interesting too.
The theater entrance was still crowded with people, but there was a certain inexplicable doubt on their faces.
Every moment as I entered the theater was filled with whispers and blatant curiosity.
I forced myself to raise my chin and walked as I had practiced.
The inside of the theater is also packed with people.
Only when I finally entered the imperial box could I relax.
From my seat, I lifted my opera glasses and was about to look around to observe the nobles when my breath stopped.
“…Chief lady-in-waiting.”
“Yes, Your Majesty…”
“When His Majesty the Emperor arrives, guide him separately to where I am.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
The ordinary seats below were filled with people.
But the seats in the best positions—the seats of Milan’s most prestigious noble families, facing the imperial box or right beside it—were empty, as though by prior arrangement.
The Risorgimento is not far off.
With trembling hands, I lowered the opera glasses.
I could feel the gazes of nameless nobles and foreign envoys seated in the lower audience sweeping back and forth between me in the imperial box and those empty seats.
Pity, mockery, curiosity, contempt… those gazes were mixed with every emotion.
“Your Majesty, where are you going…”
Without answering Esterházy, I stepped out into the corridor.
I heard the laughter of the Italians as they watched me storm out of my seat.
All the lights in the theater went out, and the overture began to resound.
The curtain rose over the stage, and the opera began, but the murmuring only grew louder.
Nobles of Milan, I’ll give you a gift too.
“Empress?”
Josef spoke to me, his voice mixed with apology and anxiety.
Josef, there you are.
“Follow me, Your Majesty.”
Instead of leading him toward the imperial box, I took him toward the stairs descending to the lower audience seats.
“Empress, where are we going? We must go upstairs.”
I simply tightened my grip on his arm and led him into the first-floor aisle, where the eyes of countless spectators gathered upon us.
The attendants who suddenly saw us appear on the first floor opened the doors in confusion, and the subjects of Milan looked at us with bewildered eyes.
As if deliberately acting, I spoke in a loud voice.
“I did not know Your Majesty wished to observe the subjects of Milan from such close quarters.”
The Risorgimento has to fight against republican forces too, doesn’t it?
I quietly whispered so that only Josef could hear.
“Empress…”
“Your Majesty, reconciliation with the Milanese nobles is already impossible. Instead, turn the imperial family into one that values its subjects, and strip the nobles of their privileges.”
“…Like Versailles?”
I nodded carefully.
“What revolutionaries fear is not reactionaries, but reformers. Divide and rule.”
Divide them and rule.
Ignoring the opera singer whose stage had already been ruined by us, we waved to the audience members one by one.