The Austrian ambassador to Britain, Count Buol, was conversing with Disraeli.
“So, Your Excellency, you are saying that Prussia is a militaristic state?”
‘Not I, but Her Majesty the Empress sees it that way.’
“Did you not see what Prussia presented at this Expo, sir? Contrary to what we think of as absolute monarchy, recall the works of art they exhibited.”
The star of the London Expo was, without question, Krupp’s steel cannon.
While Prussia’s exhibits—steam engines, precision machinery, chemical products, and the like—were focused on practicality, efficiency, and “power,” Austria mainly displayed jewels incorporating Viennese craftsmanship, splendid glasswork, fine furniture, musical instruments, and so on, concentrating on “culture.”
“Look at the Bohemian glassware our Austria presented. It is a delicate art that could not be maintained for even a single second without peace.”
But to put those words another way—
‘Austria has judged that it cannot currently defeat Prussia.’
That was how it could be interpreted.
“Would it not, in fact, be strategically advantageous for a powerful Prussian army to keep France and Russia in check in the heart of the European continent?”
Disraeli’s opinion was reasonable.
“Sir, what efforts would Austria have to make in order to invade the British mainland?”
“…We would have to attack Gibraltar.”
“Is that realistic?”
A coastal navy that could not even leave the Mediterranean without Britain’s permission.
“If we support nationalism as the Whigs say, then that means they intend to place Schleswig-Holstein in Prussia’s arms.”
Buol was indirectly saying that Prussia’s warships would then be able to attack London directly through the North Sea.
“Denmark is the homeland of Alexandra, Princess of Wales. Her Majesty the Queen will not simply stand by.”
Though only the engagement had taken place so far, Disraeli pointed that out.
“Is the British Empire not a place where war cannot be declared without the consent of Parliament? And that Parliament is now occupied by nationalists.”
“But even if they take Schleswig—”
Disraeli was about to say that nothing would change, but changed his mind.
Militarism inevitably leads to imperialism.
If a nation was expanding, one could say that was practically guaranteed.
‘If they dig a canal large enough for warships to pass through.’
The Suez Canal was under construction.
That meant Prussia, too, could construct a great canal.
‘A fleet entering the North Sea without Danish interference, and then clashing with Prussian warships plated with steel cannons?’
Count Buol, who had gone all in on the Sisi coin in order to survive, was sowing seeds of distrust exactly as she wished.
***
“Your Majesty, a letter has arrived from the island of Torcello.”
Only now?
“Surely… it isn’t menopause?”
Considering her age, it could be.
It might be the sound of the last hope of the Bourbons, growing old without a child, going out—or it might be a miracle bestowed by God.
After all, the Count of Chambord’s nickname had been the Child of Miracle.
The moment I broke the seal myself and opened the letter, I sensed it.
She’s pregnant.
If this thickness were filled with curses, that would be even scarier.
Sure enough, when I turned over the first page, the stationery was filled with handwriting trembling from excitement and emotion.
Gratitude to the Lord, a miracle, quickening, blessings, anxiety…
A quantity of letters no less than what was addressed to God was meant for me.
Henri V, once called the Child of Miracle, had brought forth another miracle.
It was material that would send the French Catholic faction and the legitimist royalists into a frenzy.
“This story must not leak to anyone. Keep it secret until the birth.”
If the child turned out to be a princess, the backlash would be severe as well.
“Tell the Count of Chambord’s retainers, those bastards, that they are absolutely not to enter.”
They would no doubt interfere in every little matter.
At a time when even giving the expectant mother peace would not be enough, they were the sort of men who would insist on offering thanks to God.
The most important thing was that this was a royal house that existed in shell only.
It was obvious that those fanatics would drag the mother around to church without even letting her sleep, saying they had to pray, or use some bizarre folk remedy to make her bear a son.
Now, if only I could do something about the army, things might be all right.
If I try to collect more taxes here, public sentiment will turn against us, and it makes no sense for Josef and me to pay for it out of our own pockets.
If history had gone the way it originally did, you people would have lost your entire Black Sea Fleet and become international pushovers! I stepped in and at least held it to a draw for you.
There really isn’t a single false word in the saying that when you save a drowning man, he demands your bundle.
Using the excuse that we had joined the war late, Russia was shifting the blame for its own incompetence onto us.
Isn’t this the same with Hungary?
Hundreds of years ago, when they trembled in fear of the Ottoman Janissaries, did they not hide beneath the skirts of the Habsburgs and beg to be protected?
Yet now that the Ottomans had become the sick man of Europe, they called us oppressors, started revolutions, and made a great fuss.
This is why they say you should never take in a black-haired beast.
Of course, it was not that I disliked Hungarians themselves, like Hunyadi or Ferenczy.
It was the Magyar nobles above them and the citizens who followed them that I hated.
Internally, things were better, but externally, it was the same.
We had defended Lombardy, and thanks to the indemnity received from Sardinia for our losses in the Crimean War, we had some capital to spare, but the moment the diplomatic situation failed to improve… we would end up the same.
“Esterházy, what is the situation in Europe these days?”
“It is in an uproar over the Schleswig-Holstein question.”
Whew.
The only thing I possessed, in the end, was knowledge of the future.
“Let us return to Vienna.”
“How much luggage shall we pack?”
“I’m going alone.”
The wet nurses were filled with my people as well.
Unless they were in Vienna, it would be difficult for Mother to immediately change the children’s education.
Besides, the city was in the middle of redevelopment, so it would not be good for the children’s health either.
I had to go to Vienna and thoroughly search through the original London Protocol of 1852, which was the result of settling the First Schleswig War of 1848, as well as the diplomatic documents of the time.
Do not be hasty. Put it together one piece at a time, like a puzzle.
They said on Yeokjeon Dabang that Schleswig-Holstein was the debut stage of Bismarck’s diplomacy and the prelude to Austria’s downfall.
It was not as though I had studied politics, nor had I majored in history, but I had the answer sheet in my hands.
The Russian problem had been unexpected, though.
I still have a long way to go.
“We have arrived, Your Majesty.”
Vienna, the capital of the empire and the imperial city of residence.
As I rode in the carriage, I slightly drew back the curtain and looked outside.
The walls that had blocked the front of the Hofburg Palace had disappeared, and the Ringstrasse was slowly taking shape.
Now it’s finally starting to resemble the Vienna I know.
“A park…”
“Your Majesty.”
I know.
I had wanted to take a walk in the park with the children.
“What is that hideous box?”
“They say it is the site of the new opera house.”
That’s supposed to be the opera house? It just looks like a box sunk in water.
Since theaters usually serve as city landmarks, the lower part would normally be designed to stand high.
“Shall I summon the architect?”
“No, there must be a reason they designed it that way.”
Even if I knew about architecture, how much could I possibly know?
I should ask Josef to install a fountain at the entrance or something.
I did not know much about architecture, but it was true that it looked too plain for a landmark.
When the carriage arrived at the inner courtyard, soldiers in white uniforms stood in razor-sharp formation amid the disciplined performance of the military band.
The carriage stopped, and the door opened. Naturally, I waited for Josef’s firm hand to take mine.
But among the crowd that had come out to greet me, Josef was nowhere to be seen.
“Your Majesty, welcome to Vienna.”
I opened my fan to cover my face and looked around beyond my parasol, but there was no sign anywhere of the Emperor in military uniform.
This had never happened before.
There was no way Josef would not come to see me.
Of course, I knew that in May he would be busy with military exercises or administrative work.
Still, it was not as if I had come without warning. I had sent a messenger ahead to say I would arrive in Vienna, and yet he had not even come to greet me.
I hid my anxiety and hurt behind my fan and returned to the Empress’s apartments.
“Your Majesty, would you like to bathe first?”
First, I should wash, then meet Hübner.
“Yes.”
When I headed to the bathroom, traces of Josef were there.
Gleaming copper water pipes and faucets.
The result of the plumbing work he had carried out at enormous expense for the sole reason that I liked bathing.
“Ida, bring me a book.”
The maids preparing the bath withdrew, and I turned the faucet.
As I submerged myself in the steaming water, its warmth wrapped around me.
“Have I gone mad?”
We were often apart even normally.
It was not as though I had left Josef for just a day or two.
I hugged my knees and rested my chin on them.
When I thought about it, it was strange.
Franz Josef was a Sisi addict before he was an emperor.
Whenever I left, he would send me letters every day, saying he missed me at every opportunity.
He was a man who had asked after my well-being even on the battlefield.
And yet I had returned of my own accord, to Vienna no less, and he had not even shown the tip of his nose?
“Could he be… sulking?”
Because I stayed in Venice too long? Or because he was jealous that I seemed close to Ludwig?
No. When he was jealous, he would try even harder to stick by my side; he was not the kind of man who would keep ignoring me like this.
Then there was only one possibility left.
A period of ennui?
No! An unobserved mistress must not exist.
But still, perhaps…?
Had I been too complacent?
Since the wedding, Josef had looked only at me, so I had excluded from the start even the possibility that he might look elsewhere.
But while I was enjoying my freedom in Venice, what if Josef, left alone in Vienna, had felt lonely?
What if someone had slipped into that opening?
He was the Emperor.
What was more, he was not the old Josef now, but a man in his prime.
“Ha…”
I wiped my face with my wet hand.
How ridiculous.
Since when had I ever been so anxious over Josef’s love?
What had Eugénie said again? That once, there had been a woman who wore a see-through dress and openly tried to seduce the Emperor in the banquet hall, and another woman who openly insulted her?
Yes, Napoleon had many mistresses, and Eugénie had been furious, but merely bearing the name of Empress gave her immense influence.
I am an Empress who has borne five children. Naturally, I can only be stronger than Eugénie.
It’s noisy outside.
Holding in a deep breath, I slowly sank beneath the water.
‘It is better like this, when I can hear nothing at all.’
It was then.
Someone’s hand pulled me forcefully up above the surface.
“Puhah!”
“Sisi!”
I pushed my wet hair back from my face.
“Josef?”
Why are you making that face?