“This…
this boy…!”
Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.
Franz Joseph I realized he might have been played.
He had initially only felt a faint sense of unease; Karl had been too quiet these past few days.
He never imagined that intelligence would eventually confirm the boy had actually dared to ignore his warning and left Vienna without permission!
The Emperor was naturally incensed by Karl’s blatant disobedience.
He hadn’t sent anyone to monitor him.
On the contrary, to some extent, he trusted Karl.
Hadn’t the boy long been rumored in Vienna to be a genius, exceptionally intelligent?
Once you spoke with him in person, you’d find his speech and conduct almost indistinguishable from a mature adult.
Because of this, the Emperor thought a verbal reminder would be enough for such a clever child to understand his boundaries.
The current Karl was no longer an ordinary young member of a cadet branch of the imperial family.
He was the second in line to the throne, following Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
As long as he stayed quietly in Vienna, no matter what movies or investments he tinkered with in the palace, the Emperor intended to turn a blind eye or even welcome his success.
He never expected the boy to actually defy orders.
“…It seems His Highness was determined; the action was planned long ago.”
The attendant who had just returned from inquiring at Augarten Palace reported this with a nervous expression.
Fortunately, he wasn’t traveling alone.
He was accompanied by a personal maid and several capable Guards.
This was both slightly reassuring, as his safety was guaranteed, and even more infuriating.
With so many people moving together, logic dictated someone should have informed the Emperor, yet there hadn’t been a single whisper of it!
Everyone at Augarten Palace, from the butler to the common servants, should have known the orders the Emperor had previously issued, yet they still assisted His Highness’s departure.
This was equivalent to showing that at Augarten Palace, they obeyed Archduke Karl’s orders rather than those of His Majesty the Emperor far away at Schönbrunn Palace.
“Karl, that boy, certainly knows how to win over those around him.”
The Emperor snorted, whether in anger or approval.
“When I went to the palace to inquire, the other maids and attendants were hesitant at first, trying to cover up the fact that His Highness had left the palace,” the attendant added.
Indeed, only by achieving such a level of absolute obedience and keeping subordinates tight-lipped could one be qualified to ignore the Emperor’s orders and play a game of their own.
Absurd as it was, somewhere in the Old Emperor’s heart, he regarded this as a test of a future imperial family member’s aptitude.
Individual ability and intelligence were important, but managing people, commanding subordinates, and making those around you serve willingly were equally indispensable talents for the imperial family.
However, appreciation aside, ignoring his orders could not, in the end, be overlooked.
He deserved punishment.
This time, there would be no forgiveness.
How could a crucial heir to the empire be allowed to show his face outside like an ordinary noble youth, placing himself in unpredictable danger?
“Find him and bring him back immediately!
Notify the relevant departments to watch the borders and major transport routes!”
The Emperor made up his mind this time, even deploying the secret police with orders to search for Karl’s whereabouts with all their might.
However, before the Emperor’s secret agents could even leave the city to begin their search—
An urgent telegram from Switzerland and subsequent extras from major European newspapers spread through Vienna like a thunderclap, landing on the Emperor’s desk.
[Breaking News!
Attempted Assassination of Her Majesty Empress Elisabeth of Austria Occurs by Lake Geneva!]
[Her Majesty the Empress was stabbed with a blade, but thanks to timely medical treatment, her condition is stable!
Archduke Karl of Habsburg, who was passing by, stepped forward heroically and took command, saving Her Majesty!]
[The Emperor’s Great-Grandson Becomes a Savior!
A Terrifying Scene in Switzerland!]
…
The Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Russian Empire, the German Empire.
In a country where emperors and monarchs still existed, the mere thought of offending the Emperor was enough to make one shudder.
Commoners could hardly hold their heads up before ordinary nobles, let alone the Emperor at the top of the hierarchy, who wielded nearly absolute power.
But even though the Emperor was truly enraged, when Karl was summoned again and stood in that familiar study at Schönbrunn Palace, he didn’t seem to care in the slightest.
The atmosphere in the study was even more solemn than last time.
The Old Emperor, Franz Joseph I, sat behind his large desk.
Instead of being hunched over his work as usual, he sat with his back straight, hands pressing on the armrests, his grayish-blue eyes fixed on his great-grandson like a hawk.
The pressure radiating from this old man, who had ruled the Austro-Hungarian Empire for nearly half a century, was enough to make any courtier’s legs go weak.
“Do you have anything to say?”
Karl gave a calm bow.
Yes, not afraid at all.
“Does Your Majesty wish to hear the story of my adventure?”
The Emperor’s eyebrow twitched.
He was clearly questioning someone about running out of Vienna without permission and defying an imperial order, yet this boy deliberately steered the conversation elsewhere, which naturally displeased him. This chapter is updated first at novelping.com.
“You defied my orders.
You left Vienna without permission.
Defying an imperial order is a grave offense.”
“But I saved the life of my Great-Grandmother, Her Majesty the Empress.”
“That is one thing; this is another.”
“I see.
Since I defied the imperial order, I should be punished.
Please punish me according to the law, Your Majesty.”
As he admitted his mistake and accepted punishment so frankly, the Emperor instead showed a look of slight surprise.
He was naturally shocked that his usually talkative great-grandson had suddenly bowed his head to accept punishment so readily.
Of course, Karl couldn’t possibly let it end there.
“I will accept any punishment.
But I will go and explain everything to Great-Grandmother.
I’ll tell her that although I saved her, Your Majesty still punished me.”
“Wh-What?!”
The Emperor suddenly stood up from his seat.
It was only natural; his love for the Empress bordered on obsession, and he granted almost any request she had.
If the great-grandson who saved the Empress’s life was not only denied a reward but punished because of it, how would the Empress see it?
Not only would he receive no gratitude, but he might also be mocked by the Empress as narrow-minded, or she might even doubt his feelings for her.
You say she might not think so deeply?
Ha, with the Empress’s sensitive and willful personality, it was very likely she would think exactly that!
In short, in this era that placed extreme importance on honor and reputation, being called a ‘cowardly man’ or a ‘cold-hearted monarch’ was a great insult.
Nobles might look down on him for it, and sharp gossip would circulate in the salons of Vienna.
Furthermore, he was Franz, the Emperor who loved the Empress to the extreme.
If his sincerity was doubted by the Empress, the blow would be even greater.
A scene of a certain great-grandson complaining to the Empress instantly flashed through the Emperor’s mind.
He opened his mouth, but in the end, nothing came out; he could only glare at the innocent-looking fellow before him.
In truth, Karl’s rhetoric was quite an exaggeration.
After the Empress had scolded him at the Swiss hotel, the two had hardly spoken a word on the entire journey from Switzerland back to Vienna.
Karl hadn’t mentioned the matter of defying orders at all.
The Emperor, unaware of these details, could only struggle inwardly.
If he insisted on punishing Karl, he would appear petty and cold-hearted toward the ‘great-grandson who saved his wife’s life.’
If he didn’t punish him, where would the dignity of the imperial order remain?
What if other members of the imperial family followed suit in the future?
“You…!” The Emperor’s chest heaved a few times before he finally seemed to deflate, waving his hand somewhat wearily, “…This time, for the sake of your merit in saving the Empress, I shall spare you.”
“And the reward?”
“Since there was a fault, let the merit and the fault cancel each other out.
We shall act as if nothing happened.”
“I feel my merit is greater, and I still hope to receive the reward I deserve.” Karl did not back down, looking at the Emperor with sparkling eyes, “Your Majesty, I did risk my life, and I even brought a doctor.”
“You brat…”
The Emperor felt a headache coming on.
This little rascal was truly pushing his luck.
Sorry, I won’t be backing down this time.
The opportunity was rare.
He had truly taken a risk and invested real money into this.
It was just that, if he were to ask for a reward now, Karl didn’t have anything in particular he wanted.
His goal was just to gain some favor with the Emperor.
He could earn his own money for his private coffers, and as long as the Emperor didn’t deliberately restrict his movements, there weren’t many obstacles.
In this day and age, who would be foolish enough to blatantly hinder the affairs of a favored member of the imperial family?
There were much quicker ways to seek death.
Offending an ordinary noble might result in a sharp slap at most, but offending a member of the imperial family was an unthinkable crime.
So, the reward Karl requested from the Emperor was—
“I want to play the ‘airplane game’.”
“Eh…?” The Emperor was stunned, not understanding.
That’s right, the ‘airplane game’.
Although it wasn’t yet the era of the Wright Brothers’ first powered flight, Karl had to patiently explain to the bewildered Old Emperor what a ‘machine that flies like a bird’ was, and the game of ‘being lifted high to simulate flight.’
If he had the chance in the future, Karl intended to bring the Wright Brothers to Europe for demonstrations.
In a few years, they would be smeared and plagued by patent troubles due to the jealousy of their European counterparts, forced to wander the world looking for sponsors to pitch their invention.
In any case, after listening to Karl’s mixed explanation of ‘flight dreams’ and ‘children’s games,’ the Emperor looked at his great-grandson’s expectant eyes, thought of the hurdle that was the Empress…
He walked up to Karl, grabbed him by the armpits, and laboriously lifted him up.
Watching the Old Emperor’s limbs tremble and his old face turn a bit red was truly amusing.
Although Karl was only eleven and on the thin side, he was still a growing boy; his weight was quite a burden for an Old Emperor nearly seventy who spent his days at a desk.
To maintain his military bearing and not be seen as frail, the Old Emperor usually did some simple physical training and kept up with horse riding, but he couldn’t ultimately defy the decline in strength that came with the passage of time.
“Too low, Your Majesty, I can’t take off.”
“Y-You brat…!
Don’t move!”
The Emperor was drenched in sweat, straining his old arms and legs to lift Karl a bit higher to complete someone’s whimsical reward.
Sitting in the study every day reviewing documents really did lead to a lack of upper body strength training.
“You need to exercise more, Your Majesty!
How can you lead the Imperial Army like this?”
Karl was still making sarcastic remarks from above.
And so, the Emperor, who was always diligently at his post, had to use every ounce of strength he had to ‘award the prize’ to his great-grandson, forcing him to leave work early that day.
The sight of him slumped on the study carpet, sweat pouring down, was truly entertaining.
Karl, on the other hand, stood by contentedly, feeling he had once again protected the ‘warm’ relationships within the Habsburg Family.
Isn’t the relationship between a great-grandfather and a great-grandson just this heartwarming ( )?
Furthermore, the matter was wrapped up quite beautifully—no one would ask why he happened to be in Switzerland.
Everything was perfectly logical: a clever young member of the imperial family had gone on a trip out of a momentary act of rebellion, sneaking off to the picturesque Switzerland to relax, and then happened to encounter his Great-Grandmother in danger and bravely stepped forward.
As for the pre-hired doctor, it could be explained as self-care for a wealthy royal feeling unwell after the long voyage back from America.
Everything seemed like a coincidence arranged by fate.
People were more willing to believe such a reasonable explanation than the calculated intervention of an eleven-year-old child.
No one would dwell on it.
Even the Emperor didn’t suspect anything, so who else would make trouble?
In a great mood, Karl took a carriage back to his residence, Augarten Palace.
Sigh, this trip to Switzerland was quite a lot of hard work, and he’d even had a battle of wits with the Emperor; it was time to go home and have a good rest.
But what greeted him was not a soft bed.
In the elegantly decorated small parlor of Augarten Palace, an uninvited guest was sitting in the main seat, leisurely sipping black tea.
“We meet again, how delightful.”
Empress Elisabeth put down her teacup and gave a slight wave to the entering Karl, a mysterious smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
This Empress of the Empire, world-renowned for her peerless beauty and unconventional ways, had always been weary of all court etiquette and traveled the world year-round, yet she was still deeply doted upon by the Emperor.
At this moment, Karl’s mother sat uneasily in a guest seat to the side, while Karl’s father was nowhere to be seen.
Even though Karl’s mother, Archduchess Maria Josepha, also came from the Royal House of Saxony and possessed noble blood, she seemed more than a notch weaker in presence before the Empress of the Empire.
What was going on?
Why was she at Augarten?
“Your Majesty the Empress, why are you here…?”
What on earth was she planning?
“Someone told me that an old woman like me, who can’t help with anything and only causes trouble for others, should find a quiet place to stay.”
Throwing a tantrum because she was nagged a bit by an eleven-year-old child?
“So, I listened to a certain someone’s nagging and decided to stay here for a while.”
Damn!
Why did it have to be Augarten Palace?!
The Empress had Gödöllő Palace in Hungary, gifted by the Emperor, and she also had her own exclusive royal palace and numerous rooms in Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna.
As long as she spoke, the Emperor would offer any palace or villa with both hands.
Why did she have to come and stay at his, her ‘great-grandson’s’, place?
Furthermore, even for a noble Empress, deciding to move into another royal’s residence without a clear invitation was extremely rude by the standards of a court that valued etiquette.
But the problem was that the Empress before him had never been one to follow the rules.
No matter how others criticized or discussed her behind her back, she could travel the world spending the Empire’s money without batting an eye, year after year, for decades.
She didn’t even care about the Emperor’s expression, so why would she care about the eyes of others?
“So, I’ll be in your care from now on, Karl?”
The Empress squinted her eyes, her smile deep and meaningful.
Then, a certain someone, not to be outdone, put back on the smile of a good great-grandson:
“Of course, it is my honor.
Great.
Grand.
Mother.”
But he wasn’t one to give up easily.
Look, the veins on her forehead were already starting to pop.