Why was he so interested in hair?
I turned my head and looked at Joseph, who was toying with my hair.
“Joseph, what do you think of Bohemia?”
“Bohemia….”
Joseph looked deep in thought.
“I realized I’ve never actually traveled to Bohemia.”
We had visited Hungary in the early days of our marriage, and this time we had gone all through Italy as well.
“Prague is a beautiful place. I’m sure you would like it.”
Did he really have no particular thoughts about it…?
“Come to think of it, you’ve only ever worn the imperial crown of Austria, haven’t you?”
Joseph answered, looking somewhat puzzled.
“Well, I am the Emperor of Austria. In Hungary, the embers of rebellion have yet to die out….”
Though I approached the people under other titles, including Apostolic Queen of Hungary, we had not yet held a coronation.
“As for Bohemia… well, they have always remained where they are. I wonder if there’s any need to stir up trouble.”
So he didn’t dislike them as much as Hungary?
Hungary was a place that had aimed for Joseph’s life, so I could understand that.
They say you give one more rice cake to the child you dislike….
But that only applies when you’ve also taken care of the child you favor.
“A good child is even more frightening once they go astray. So I’m saying we should go and at least pat them on the head.”
“Sisi.”
“And above all… I hear Prague’s beer rivals Bavaria’s.”
Joseph laughed as if he found it absurd.
“So that was what this was about in the end?”
I braced myself against the bed and raised my upper body.
“No? Of course it’s for the peace of the empire! The beer is just a bonus.”
“Very well. It has been delayed because I’ve had to mind Hungary, but I will look into a visit to Bohemia.”
“You promise?”
“An emperor’s words are always true.”
I traced my fingertips over the place where his beard had been.
“Liar. You even forgot the promise we made with our fingers hooked last time.”
Joseph took my finger and brought it to his lips.
“This time, I will not forget. I will show you that a husband’s oath carries more weight than an emperor’s word.”
He kissed the place where my ring rested and whispered.
“We’ll see.”
With laughter, we drew each other into another embrace.
***
Joseph felt a headache coming on.
‘I did promise Sisi, but….’
Going to Bohemia itself was not difficult.
All he had to do was review the troops and hold a banquet at Prague Castle.
But patting them on the head, as Sisi had put it, and wearing the Crown of Saint Wenceslas they desired were an entirely different matter.
‘Mother would faint if she found out.’
The German nobles of Vienna treated the Bohemians as nothing more than second-class subjects who worked for the empire.
Even so, going empty-handed felt far too uncomfortable.
‘I don’t want to become a husband who breaks his promise.’
Hungary was also a problem.
The moment Joseph entered Prague, it was obvious the Hungarian nobles would sharpen their blades again, claiming that the tyrant of Vienna had conspired with Bohemia.
Joseph pressed hard against his temple.
‘For now, I suppose I can simply go, have a conversation, and return.’
***
Autumn, the season when the sky is high and horses grow fat.
Inside the carriage bound for Prague, I was reading a fairy tale to the children.
“And so Cinderella lived happily ever after with the prince!”
“Was that how the story originally went?”
“Is it strange?”
Joseph shook his head.
“It isn’t as though I grew up listening to fairy tales, but I thought it was a little different. I’m certain the older sisters, to make their feet fit into the shoes—”
I hurriedly covered Sophie’s ears.
“Joseph!”
I glared at him with wide eyes.
How could he pick out only the things that were bad for childcare?
“This is a children’s fairy tale book.”
Joseph looked as though he had no idea what I meant.
“Isn’t the other version, with its clear reward for virtue and punishment for evil, more instructive?”
“What sort of lesson is that…?”
Sophie asked with round eyes.
“Papa, if you do bad things, do they cut off your toes?”
“No, Sophie. If you do bad things, you are punished, but nothing like that will happen.”
If Gisela and Rudolf had joined in too, I would not have been able to handle it.
The two of them were still of an age that needed a nurse, so I was glad they had come in a different carriage.
To divert Sophie’s attention, I opened the window.
“Sophie, this is Prague.”
Countless spires could be seen outside the window.
“Prague?”
Prague, nicknamed the city of a hundred towers.
Beyond the Moldau River, Prague Castle had a charm different from the Hofburg.
“So many uncles!”
“That’s right. There are many uncles.”
When we stepped down from the carriage, a man in a splendid uniform approached us courteously.
Was it Karl von Mecsery?
“Welcome to Prague, Your Majesties.”
Behind Mecsery, the officials lined up in formation bowed all at once.
As if there were any doubt they were people Bach had planted.
Just as Joseph was about to give a formal reply, someone pushed through the solemn ranks and burst out, shattering the atmosphere.
“Joseph! Who’s that beside you?”
“Uncle?”
The former emperor and the current master of Prague Castle. Ferdinand I.
He approached us, smiling as brightly as a child.
“You’ve worked hard coming all this way! When I heard my nephew was coming, you wouldn’t believe how much Marillenknödel I had them prepare! You won’t get that taste in Vienna!”
Governor Mecsery’s face twisted in distress.
“It has been a long time, Uncle.”
Holding back laughter, I bowed my head to Ferdinand.
“Who are you?”
“She is my wife, the Empress.”
“Empress? Ah! The one who collapsed that time!”
He stared at me, then clicked his tongue.
“Viennese cooks are always like that. I knew it.”
He grabbed my hand and led me into the castle.
“You came well. You must eat plenty here.”
Flustered, I looked back at Joseph.
When our eyes met, Joseph merely nodded, took care of Sophie, and followed after us.
“Uncle, please walk slowly. You’ll fall.”
“I won’t fall! I know this castle better than anyone.”
Ferdinand held my hand tightly and would not let go.
“Hurry, let’s go! You have to eat it before it gets cold!”
“Nandi, you mustn’t drag a guest along like that.”
Ferdinand’s steps, which had been as buoyant as his excitement, came to an abrupt halt.
“Anna?”
The former empress and mistress of Prague Castle. Maria Anna of Savoy came walking over with the support of her ladies-in-waiting.
She looked at me apologetically and bowed her head.
“It has been a long time, Elisabeth. My husband was so delighted to see his nephew’s wife that he was rude.”
“Not at all, Aunt. I like Marillenknödel too.”
Anna carefully removed my hand from Ferdinand’s grasp, then straightened her husband’s clothes.
“Your Majesty, the Empress must be tired from the journey. You should give her time to catch her breath.”
“But the Marillenknödel… I’m the emperor, and I want to eat Marillenknödel….”
When Ferdinand looked dejected, she smiled as though soothing a child.
“Let us all have it together at dinner.”
Only then did Ferdinand giggle and nod.
*
The dinner banquet was nothing like the Hoftafel.
There was none of that suffocating etiquette where only the sound of tableware could be heard.
“Now, say ah.”
“Ah—”
Ferdinand cut a piece of the Marillenknödel served to him and put it into Sophie’s mouth.
“Is it good?”
“Mm!”
Sophie chewed with powdered sugar all around her mouth, and Anna’s eyes were full of smiling warmth as she watched.
Even the attendants could not hide their pleased smiles.
“Joscha.”
“Ah, Empress….”
Only one person, Joseph, had failed to adapt to the situation and remained on the outside.
“You should eat too. Uncle boasted especially that it was better than what the Viennese cooks make.”
“Very well.”
Seeing Joseph begin his meal, I picked up my utensils as well.
I put the Marillenknödel on my plate into my mouth.
Wow—
It was delicious.
The sweetness of the apricot, the richness of butter, the sweetness of sugar, and the scent of cinnamon blended together exquisitely.
“Uncle was right. The cooks in Vienna ought to reflect on themselves.”
At my praise, Ferdinand’s shoulders rose sky-high.
“Right? What did I tell you? The chef here is the best!”
He excitedly raised his beer glass high.
“Now, let’s toast! To our adorable nephew’s wife!”
The Bohemian nobles lifted their glasses as though they had been waiting for it.
It was a completely different atmosphere from Vienna.
They seemed to be genuinely enjoying this occasion.
“Joseph, why aren’t you drinking?”
“I do not enjoy alcohol.”
“What a boring fellow. You’re just like your mother.”
Ferdinand pouted, then soon turned his gaze toward me with sparkling eyes.
How nice it would be if only such easy-to-understand people were in the palace.
“What about my nephew’s wife? You can drink, can’t you?”
I could drink extremely well.
As if to prove I was German, I could drink beer instead of water without feeling tipsy.
“Joscha, drink for me.”
I had clearly said we were in public…!
“Ahem.”
Joseph took the glass in my stead and drank.
“Excellent. It compares favorably with the beer of Vienna.”
“Right? What did I tell you!”
At Joseph’s praise, the expressions of the Bohemian nobles brightened visibly.
“It is an honor that His Majesty the Emperor recognizes the pride of this land. In truth, we were worried that His Majesty might pass by without ever knowing this taste.”
This wasn’t simply about beer.
The Bohemian nobles were subtly expressing their dissatisfaction through the beer.
What should I do about this? Joseph did not seem to have made a decision yet.
“Count Clam-Martinitz.”
Anna deliberately set her fork down on her plate with a sound.
“A dinner banquet is not a place to discuss politics or affairs of state, but one created because my nephew and his wife have traveled a long way to visit.”
At her reprimand, Count Clam-Martinitz lowered his head.
“My apologies, Your Majesty. I became carried away by the mood and spoke out of turn.”
Anna smoothed the situation over with a gentle smile, then cut meat onto Ferdinand’s plate.
“Nandi, you too. If you keep proposing toasts in front of the guests, your nephew will be put in an awkward position.”
“Hm? All right. Joseph, I’m sorry. Anna says to stop.”
Though she was a former empress who had stepped away from power, did she still hold as much influence in Bohemia as Archduchess Sophie?
When Ferdinand dejectedly set down his beer glass, the taut tension dissolved completely along with laughter.