Russia and the Ottoman Empire were still at war, while Austria was Russia's ally.
In theory, the Austrian Empire was a potential enemy of the Ottomans. The Ottomans could very well detain Maximilian and Ludwig as hostages.
But in reality, the Ottoman Empire would never do such a thing. Not only would they not lay a hand on Maximilian and Ludwig, they would even have people protect them with the utmost care.
If the Ottoman Empire truly dared to strike at the Austrian imperial family, it would be stranger if the Austrian Empire did not enter the war.
Yet that did not mean Maximilian and Ludwig's trip to Constantinople would be smooth sailing. The Ottoman leadership might not dare act against them, but that did not mean other countries or radical factions within the Ottoman Empire would not dare.
When Maximilian invited Ludwig to Naples, Franz merely assumed that the former wanted to show off his future royal capital.
Franz never imagined that Maximilian was dragging Ludwig along to court death. Given the special identities of those two fools, the people in Naples truly did not dare stop them.
Once those two fools had disembarked, even if the Ottomans wanted to stop them, they could no longer do so.
Franz immediately dispatched a fleet to bring the two fools back. He had no desire for complications to sprout from nowhere.
Naturally, only Friedrich, the fleet commander, could go in person. Franz could not go himself, so he could only have this elder take his place.
"Brother, Brother, I want to go out and have fun too!"
Upon hearing that Maximilian and Ludwig had both run off, Franz's younger sister, Maria Anna, could no longer sit still.
Looking at his sister throwing a tantrum, Franz asked helplessly, "Where do you want