After the Austrian court physicians rushed to treat him, Viscount Stratford was found to be in no serious danger. Maratin did not need treatment, but letting the state letter slip from his hands in a daze had already been a grave loss of face.
In the end, the two ambassadors could only leave Vienna in disgrace. What they did not know was that everything that had happened there would soon spread across Europe.
The Hall of Mirrors had been in chaos, but the photographers and reporters had kept their heads. They had captured many crucial moments.
With a little careful retouching, the photographs soon appeared on the front pages of important newspapers across Europe. Alongside them ran the so-called peace proposal championed by Britain and France.
The letter, which the British and French governments had considered beyond reproach, soon crumbled under the scrutiny of the public.
First of all, most British people could not understand what the Emperor of Austria had to do with the fiend threatening world peace.
With his round head and chubby, harmless look, he hardly seemed like a threat. The leaders of Britain and France, by contrast, had sharp eyes and the menacing gaze of wolves and eagles; they looked downright vicious.
Considering the British Government's usual behavior, it was easy for the British public to conclude that it was once again bullying an honest man.
Besides, how could the British Empire, which was always touted as the greatest power in the world, be afraid of two supposed dimwits?
The contents of the peace declaration clearly contradicted the British Government's usual propaganda.
If Austria really was a rotten, incompetent country ruled by fools, why would the mighty British Empire need to join forces with its longtime enemy France—and even ally with heathens, namely the Ottoman Empire?