The next morning, Archduchess Sophie barged into my room again without permission.
I had just been about to begin breakfast under Countess Esterházy’s supervision.
She was going to say something again, wasn’t she? Of course I had endured yesterday as I should have, and since we hadn’t consummated the marriage, she had more than enough pretext.
I quietly set down my fork and received the archduchess.
But her first words were entirely different from what I had expected.
A tone that sounded like praise, though it concealed contempt.
“At last, you are having a breakfast befitting an empress.”
As if she had forgotten all about yesterday’s commotion, she surveyed the table with satisfaction.
“Your procession yesterday afternoon was excellent. You silenced those who were whispering that you would collapse. You showed them at least a fragment of the reason my son chose you.”
When she signaled to Countess Esterházy with her eyes, the countess withdrew with all the maids.
Only Archduchess Sophie and I remained in the room.
“But the cheers of the subjects are nothing but a momentary mirage. The true war is waged within this court.”
She sat gracefully in the chair across from me and got to the point.
“This afternoon, you must host a tea party for the ladies of the Hofburg.”
A tea party?
“It is the meeting that was postponed yesterday because of your health. They are the mistresses of the greatest houses in Austria. A single word from their mouths becomes the opinion of the court, and then history.”
Archduchess Sophie’s eyes flashed cold in an instant.
“Moving the subjects and making the mistresses of centuries-old houses take your side are matters on entirely different levels. This will be your first test as empress.”
Archduchess Sophie rose from her seat and lightly placed a hand on my shoulder.
“My son Josef will protect you, of course. But even an emperor cannot stop the contempt that lives in the hearts of noblewomen. You must earn their respect yourself.”
She continued to whisper in my ear.
“By now, rumors that you neglected your duty again last night may already have reached their ears. I wonder if you will be able to pass that test.”
Archduchess Sophie left the room with a satisfied smile.
… Damn it, why does she always have to come before meals and ruin my appetite?
And what country’s etiquette is it to just throw out whatever she wants to say and leave?
After she departed, I finished my meal and called Esterházy.
“Chief lady-in-waiting.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Bring the court physician.”
Ah, and I needed to find out who would be attending the tea party.
“And I would like to know the subjects I must rule.”
While I was reviewing the rest of the documents I had been reading yesterday, Skoda arrived.
“I will conduct your regular examination, Your Majesty.”
Thanks for coming at just the right time.
“There is nothing particularly wrong, but is there anywhere you feel discomfort?”
I hoped Skoda would understand what I was thinking.
“Even though the finest dishes are placed before me, I cannot taste anything. It seems my appetite has disappeared.”
“It is a symptom that sometimes appears while adjusting to a new environment. It does not mean you are ill, so there is no need to worry, Your Majesty.”
No, that isn’t what I want.
When I gazed at him steadily, he opened his mouth.
“… If I may ask, how did you take your meals when you were in Bavaria?”
I don’t know!
I couldn’t remember, but the answer I needed was already decided.
“I ate only with the maids who attended me.”
“I understand, Your Majesty.”
Skoda called Countess Esterházy aside, and their conversation seeped through the crack in the door.
“Countess, Her Majesty the Empress is experiencing an extreme state of tension while adapting to her new environment. Loss of appetite, in particular, is a representative symptom.”
Yes, that’s right. Now all you need to do is say the final, decisive words.
“In my medical opinion, for the sake of Her Majesty’s mental and physical stability, it is absolutely vital that any mental stimulation or important discussions be avoided before and after meals. You must create an environment in which she can focus solely on eating in a peaceful atmosphere. This is my earnest prescription for Her Majesty’s health, and furthermore, for the future of the empire.”
Done! Now even Archduchess Sophie won’t be able to invade my mealtimes.
For now, I’ll slowly start by claiming freedom within my own room.
When their conversation ended, I pretended to focus on the list again.
Esterházy returned to my side and began watching me once more.
The moment I turned over one page of the list, she opened her mouth.
“She is the mistress of the Schwarzenberg family. A symbol of tradition and the conservative faction.”
What is this…?
I turned to the next page.
[Her Grace Duchess Gabriela von Auersperg]
“She was born into the Lobkowicz family, the most distinguished house in Bohemia, and is an important link between Austrian and Bohemian aristocratic society, as well as a traditional noblewoman.”
She’s the archduchess’s person, isn’t she? Why on earth is she giving me this information…
“Your Majesty, you must prepare for the tea party in two hours.”
Ah, right. There’s no time.
[Countess Anna Apponyi]
“She is highly likely to represent the position of the Hungarian great nobles.”
[Countess Rosalie von Lützow]
“She is a noblewoman currently at the center of Viennese society. She would be more than capable of spreading Your Majesty’s intentions widely.”
So she means I should be wary of Countess Rosalie von Lützow. Archduchess Sophie’s slander about me must be spreading from this woman.
[Lady Pauline Sándor de Slavnicza]
“She is the daughter of Count Moritz Sándor, a great Hungarian noble and a man famous throughout Europe as the Devil’s Rider—Ördöglovas. If Countess Lützow creates reputations among the noblewomen, then she is the rising star of society.”
Every time I read through a name, Esterházy added comments for me.
Should I trust high-quality information given by one of the archduchess’s people? But it doesn’t seem wrong.
For now, let’s trust it once.
***
Esterházy was indeed a close friend of Archduchess Sophie, but she was not her puppet.
She had been ordered to make Sisi into a work called the Empress of the Habsburgs, not to isolate Sisi.
‘If Her Majesty the Empress is ignored by the noblewomen at the tea party and suffers a miserable defeat, it will be my incompetence in failing to educate Her Majesty properly.’
For Countess Esterházy, that was something that could not be allowed.
‘We cannot create another case like Her Imperial Highness Archduchess Maria Antonia in Austria.’
An archduchess of Austria who had ultimately vanished beneath the guillotine.
‘The beginning of that tragedy lay precisely in her failure to win the hearts of the noblewomen in the salons of Versailles.’
Now that the gale of 1848 had swept across Europe, the foundations of the empire were more precarious than ever.
Countess Esterházy judged that, in such times, a foreign empress loved by neither the people nor the nobility could become the greatest source of instability threatening the entire empire.
Before long, the time had come.
“Your Majesty, we will begin preparing for the tea party.”
***
“The tea party hosted by Her Majesty the Empress is not merely an occasion for drinking tea.”
I was informed that it had to be held in one of the several salons included in my official apartments within the Hofburg Palace, the Kaiserappartements.
“The salon Your Majesty will host today is the Grand Salon, which boasts the greatest size and splendor. It is the most suitable place to display Your Majesty’s authority for the first time and overawe the noblewomen.”
Mm, I see.
Since coming here, this was my first time even leaving my room inside the palace.
I heard the sound of gentle music coming from somewhere.
We must be nearly there.
Before the heavy doors of the salon, I held my breath.
“Are you ready, Your Majesty?”
“Yes.”
At precisely the appointed time, the chamberlain bowed deeply and called toward the inside.
“Her Majesty the Empress enters!”
With that cry, the firmly shut doors swung wide open to both sides.
In an instant, every sound inside the salon ceased as if it had been a lie.
The flowing music and the conversations, all of it.
All I could hear was the sound of dozens of noblewomen rising from their seats at once and turning toward me with wary eyes.
The moment I took my first step into the room.
All the finest noblewomen of Austria filling the room bent their knees deeply in unison.
The Duchess of Schwarzenberg, the heart of the empire; Countess Lützow; even Lady Pauline, who had looked so bold.
… So this is power.
They were all offering me the Hofknicks.
I did not need to prove my authority myself. The rules of this empire had made me their master.
Yes.
Even that woman in the seat of highest honor, Archduchess Sophie, was doing so to me.
However, unlike the others, she still had not bowed her head.
Who is the person beside her giving me a slight nod?
Esterházy whispered in a voice barely audible to me.
“It is Her Majesty the Empress Dowager Caroline Augusta.”
… No wonder I didn’t know.
I responded with a light dip of my head and headed toward the seat of highest honor in the room.
Passing by Archduchess Sophie, I went straight to stand before the empress dowager.
“Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, it is the greatest honor that you have graced my humble tea party with your precious presence today.”
When I bowed respectfully to the greatest elder of the empire, a satisfied light passed through the empress dowager’s eyes.
After hearing her brief reply, only then did I turn to Archduchess Sophie beside her.
Archduchess Sophie was smiling. But her eyes felt even colder than before.
Did you think I would just let myself be taken down?
“Thank you as well, Your Imperial Highness, for gracing this occasion with your presence.”
After completing my greetings to both sides, I finally sat gracefully in my own seat, prepared between them—the empress’s chair, the true center of this salon.
With the sound of music resuming and the noblewomen beginning to find their seats, the official tea party began.
I lifted my teacup and merely inhaled its fragrance without saying a word. Becoming anxious and speaking first was not my role.
The circle.
This was a custom originating from the French court of Versailles, in which the monarch stood or sat at the center while subjects approached in order of rank to offer greetings and converse.
However, a subject could never speak to the monarch first.
What mattered at such a time was—
“Whom shall you call first, Your Majesty?”
The role of Esterházy, the chief lady-in-waiting.
“Let us proceed in the traditional order.”
We had already agreed on this.
How was I supposed to know the court hierarchy after a brief lesson?
It was better to just start from the top and work downward.
My eyes met Archduchess Sophie’s.
Your Imperial Highness Archduchess Sophie, isn’t this delightful?
Thank you. For arranging such a gathering for me.