The first to be summoned was Duchess Eleonore von Schwarzenberg.
I opened my mouth with a gentle smile.
“Duchess, not long ago, in the court archives, I read records of the loyalty the House of Schwarzenberg offered to Her Majesty Empress Maria Theresa. I was deeply moved by the greatness of a family that upholds the history of the Empire.”
Duchess Schwarzenberg bowed and replied.
“It is the greatest honor that Your Majesty knows the history of our house. The House of Schwarzenberg has always been the Habsburgs’ most faithful sword and shield.”
Her voice was filled with pride in her family.
After that, we continued down according to rank.
Next was the queen of society, Countess Rosalie von Lützow.
“I have heard that the Countess’s salon is like a lighthouse to the artists of Vienna. Are there any new plays or concerts of note these days?”
She was momentarily flustered by my question, but soon began to recite the latest performances in Vienna.
“I did not realize Your Majesty had heard of my humble salon. It is an honor. As it happens, the new opera staged last week at the Kärntnertor Theater is the greatest topic of conversation in Vienna. I am certain Your Majesty would enjoy it as well.”
Please, now just go back and talk about the refined performance we just discussed instead of gossiping about me.
Next was Lady Pauline Sándor.
“I have long heard of the fame of your father, the Devil’s Rider, even when I was in Bavaria. It seems that same passion dwells in your eyes as well.”
“Does Your Majesty enjoy riding, too?”
“Of course. When I was most fond of riding, I would lose all track of time.”
Esterházy seemed to hesitate for a moment, but soon called the final guest.
Would Archduchess Sophie want a Hungarian noble to be ignored here? I do not know.
When Countess Apponyi stood before me with a tense expression… what should I say?
Diplomatically? Culturally? Or… knowledge of the future?
Perhaps they might become the best force to keep Archduchess Sophie in check.
“Jó napot kívánok (Good day).”
The warm, harmonious atmosphere of the salon sank in an instant at my words.
***
From Archduchess Sophie’s perspective, this tea party was less a trap meant simply to test Sisi than a political duty she had no choice but to carry out.
A duty to inform the nobility that the Habsburg empress was not merely sickly.
After returning to her room, Archduchess Sophie recalled the empress’s conduct at the tea party.
‘Was it as Esterházy said?’
She lacks education, but she absorbs quickly. That was the assessment Esterházy had left of Sisi.
The problem, however, was that she had not cast aside her liberal tendencies.
‘The Empire must not collapse.’
Sophie, too, had once believed in liberalism.
She had felt antipathy toward the conservative reactionary system represented by Metternich, and had hoped that when her son Franz Joseph became emperor one day, he would reform the old order and breathe new vitality into the Empire.
But after experiencing the flames of liberalism and nationalism engulfing the entire Austrian Empire, threatening the very existence of the House of Habsburg, she had changed completely.
To Sophie, liberalism was no longer a hope that would advance the Empire, but chaos and destruction that would bring it down.
‘To protect the family and the Empire, authority and order centered on a powerful emperor must be firmly restored.’
***
“Your Majesty, touching Hungary was far too dangerous.”
As soon as I returned to my room after the tea party, Esterházy offered me her counsel.
Dangerous? Of course I know that.
But the Austrian nobles are Archduchess Sophie’s iron fortress. If I clash with them head-on, there won’t be even the slightest gap to squeeze through. In that case, I have no choice but to make forces outside the walls my allies.
Forces like Hungary or Bohemia.
“Let only the chief lady-in-waiting remain. Everyone else, withdraw.”
Once all the maids had left and only the two of us remained in the room, I began to test her.
“Chief lady-in-waiting, the Archduchess has handed over none of the empress’s duties to me. Charitable work, patronage—everything remains in the Archduchess’s hands. Do you think I do not know that the empress’s greatest power lies in distributing vast funds in the empress’s name and planting her own people to secure influence?”
At my point, Esterházy was briefly at a loss for words.
“The same goes for today’s tea party. I was only informed this morning that the tea party was being held. And yet my name was listed as the hostess. Who to invite and who to exclude—all of that authority is held by the Archduchess, is it not?”
“… Her Imperial Highness the Archduchess likely acted so because she believes Your Majesty has not yet fully adapted to the position of empress.”
It was the answer I had expected. So you still have not forgotten your duty as the Archduchess’s watcher.
Unless I’m shooting some kind of hypnosis beam, turning a watcher into an instructor in just three days is already a tremendous achievement. There’s no need to be impatient.
“If her purpose was to educate me, she would have called me aside before the tea party.”
I said only that much and turned away.
A silent signal that it was still too early for a deeper conversation.
Perhaps grasping my intention, Esterházy quickly returned to her original role.
“Your Majesty, such words and behavior as just now are dangerous. I beg you not to speak so before other retainers.”
“What will His Majesty the Emperor think of my defending the Hungarians?”
I had heard that the reason we married was also decided because of an attack by a Hungarian.
Esterházy stepped one pace closer and lowered her voice so that no one else could hear. Her voice was less advice than almost a warning.
“Your Majesty. Have you ever seen the scar left on His Majesty the Emperor’s neck?”
At her chilling question, I was momentarily speechless.
“It was only one year ago. A Hungarian nationalist’s knife was lodged in that very spot.”
Esterházy paused for a moment and stared at the darkness outside the window.
“His Majesty the Emperor ascended the throne by suppressing their rebellion and raising the torn Empire back up again. His Majesty’s rule is, for all intents and purposes, built upon Hungarian blood.”
She looked straight at me once more. There was not the slightest trace of sympathy in her eyes.
“To His Majesty the Emperor, Hungary is not an object of forgiveness and harmony. It is a symbol of treason that threatens the order of the Empire and directly challenges His Majesty’s authority.”
Finally, she bowed deeply.
“If Your Majesty the Empress appears to defend such Hungarians… to His Majesty the Emperor, it will come as a wound and sense of betrayal deeper than any political opposition. I beg you, please take this into account, Your Majesty.”
I could unite the forces opposed to Archduchess Sophie, but that would mean isolation within the imperial palace.
Well….
“I have no intention of taking part in politics anyway.”
Why would I do something so exhausting? It’s not as if I’m a masochist.
“But they are still the subjects I must rule, are they not? From now on, during my dressing hours, I would like to find teachers, including one for Bohemian.”
A child raised under strict parents can never speak their own mind.
At the very least, they need somewhere to relieve their stress.
“If His Majesty has decided to be a stern father, then I wish to become a benevolent mother to the subjects. To do that, we will need to be able to speak to one another.”
To be honest, the name Austrian-Hungarian Empire is more familiar to me than Habsburg or Austrian Empire.
If they truly cannot break the Hungarians’ will to resist… then even if they rise up again, the damage must be kept to a minimum.
“Chief lady-in-waiting, it is not as though I am saying I will reform the military or change the imperial budget.”
Only then did Esterházy bow.
“I shall obey your command, Your Majesty. I will immediately find teachers proficient in languages.”
I held her hand with a bright smile.
“Thank you.”
“Your Majesty. You must not violate etiquette.”
Ah, so we hadn’t become that close yet.
*
I have to somehow make that mama’s boy completely take my side. How should I do it?
If I recall the musical, he’s portrayed as the kind of man who loves me even if I merely breathe… but people’s hearts are not necessarily like that.
For now, one thing is certain: there must be a reason I was chosen instead of my older sister Nene.
“Chief lady-in-waiting. A good phrase has come to mind.”
Esterházy immediately prepared paper and a quill pen for me.
Esterházy really is impressive. It cannot be easy to see through hidden meanings like that.
“Your Majesty, your emotions must not show on your face.”
… Come to think of it, I don’t think I learned the etiquette for writing.
Well, if there’s a problem, Esterházy will stop me on her own.
I slowly wrote down the first words.
Naturally, writing something meant a record would remain, and if others discovered it, it could become a weakness.
“Heart-Pounding Kaiser Maker”
Esterházy tilted her head when she saw my writing.
Perhaps it was because she thought I might write in messy handwriting or jot down dangerous ideas, but what were the chances that she knew Hangul?
“Your Majesty, if you wish to draw, I shall order paints and drawing paper to be brought.”
“It is fine. It is only my own secret diary.”
I am sixteen years old.
Given Esterházy’s personality, she would not keep pressuring me after I had returned from official duties, and to others, I am an empress of just the age to want to keep a secret diary.
No matter how much power the Archduchess holds, there is an inviolable line called privacy.
If she were caught peeking at the empress’s diary?
… I wish she would.
Then I would become a little freer.
“Junior maid, go and bring the diary Her Majesty the Empress will use.”
They’re giving me a diary too?
Then did I write this for nothing?
A short while later, Esterházy handed me a book stamped with the double-headed eagle crest.
The edges of the paper were gilded, and the cover was finished in smooth velvet.
“After you write down what you need, you may lock it like this using the clasp.”
Oh, it really is a secret diary.
I copied over exactly what I had written before.
1. The Archduchess’s power comes from her control over Joseph.
→ The only person who can break that control is his wife, Sisi.
2. What is the difference between my older sister Nene and Sisi?
→ Nene must have been an extension of his mother. Perhaps a longing to escape from the mother and court order that oppress him?
3. What is it that only I can give?
→ Freedom, passion, rest, love.
Hm, is that it? For now, that is all that comes to mind.
Number 3… I do not know about freedom and rest, but love? Passion?
This is far too difficult a task….
Fine, strike while the iron is hot.
“… Chief lady-in-waiting. I would like to change the aperitif for tonight’s dinner.”
“Your Majesty, if you express it so directly—”
I know. What was it? You want to say it’s vulgar, don’t you?
“Everyone, leave us.”
Once only Esterházy and I remained, I asked her.
“Chief lady-in-waiting, my mother told me that at first, it hurts.”
“Ah.”
… This is the first time I’ve seen the chief lady-in-waiting collapse like this.
Esterházy immediately collected herself and bowed.
“I shall have the aperitif changed, Your Majesty.”
***
Joseph had finished his day’s work, but his head still ached.
The words Sisi, the empress, had spoken at the tea party that afternoon had already spread widely through the court.
‘How am I supposed to settle this chaos?’
The Hungarian nobles had gained expectations, while the Austrian nobles had been enraged.
Joseph knew that the title of empress did not conceal her age.
‘It hasn’t even been a week yet. She couldn’t have done it on purpose.’
“His Majesty the Emperor enters!”
Before the door opened and he stepped inside, Joseph made a firm resolve.
‘I must speak first if I am to protect her from Mother and the nobles.’
Joseph, too, did not want to see Sisi make a sad expression.
Joseph entered the room and looked around, but only Sisi was there, drinking strong liquor alone. The maids were nowhere in sight.
“Empress, where have the maids gone—”
The fact that she had not held the coucher did not even occur to him.
He merely turned around toward the place her slender arm pointed.
And saw that the maids were already in the corridor, paying their respects to him.
Thud.
Before he could say anything, the door closed.
“Your Majesty….”
Sisi slowly headed toward the bed.
“You must finish what remains.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Sisi opened both arms toward Joseph.
At the sight of her, Joseph was no longer an emperor.