Just as the brothers Franz and Ferdinand were exchanging "warm concern and brotherly respect," Franz's luck that day seemed impossible to explain—another uninvited guest came calling.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, Prince Ernst has come again," the maid announced.
Under normal circumstances, servants and guards would let Ernst through without question. He came to Schönbrunn Palace so often that Franz had granted him that privilege. But with Ferdinand present today, the maid chose to report it first.
"Hmm!" Franz and Ferdinand glanced at each other at the same time. What a coincidence. Ferdinand, Ernst's future father-in-law, had never actually met Ernst before. Princess Charlotte—Empress Carlota—had met him once, but she had been too eager to reunite with Ferdinand then to speak much with Ernst.
"Shall we let him in?" Franz asked his younger brother.
With ill intentions, Franz very much wanted to see Ernst's reaction upon meeting Ferdinand. The faint upward curl of his lips had already betrayed what he was thinking.
"Hmph! Bring that boy in. I want to see whether he is worthy of my Karina."
Franz waved a hand, and the maid immediately understood. "Yes, Your Majesty!"
Why was today different from usual? Ernst stood outside the palace gates, waiting. Normally, he could simply walk in openly, but now he had been stopped. Did Franz have some urgent matter, or was he meeting some important figure? But he had heard nothing about any great personage coming to Austria!
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became. Ernst felt as though he had somehow turned into prey. What was going on? Ever since awakening the memories of his previous life, he had never felt such a sense of danger.
His instincts told him that perhaps he should just go home today. The matter he had