George Villiers was quite pleased with his own speech. What pleased him even more was the reaction of the man before him; he was ninety percent—perhaps even fully certain—that he had convinced him.
It was a pity he could not meet the Austrian Emperor in person. Otherwise, he was certain he could have talked him around with his glib tongue.
Prince Schwarzenberg, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief. The other man had finally gotten to the point. To be honest, he was not particularly skilled at putting on an act, and this sort of assignment was truly exhausting for him.
Franz and Nicholas I's verbal agreement remained a secret to other nations. For the Austrian Empire, that was an advantage—and an advantage had to be exploited.
Britain surely hoped that the Austrian Empire would remain neutral to a certain extent, so Franz would grant them that wish.
But the proposal could not come from the Austrian Empire itself. Otherwise, it would only set off another endless cycle of suspicion and nesting dolls within nesting dolls.
Fortunately, everything had unfolded just as Franz had anticipated. The British Government was not confident of defeating the Holy Alliance, so they could only start from within it.
Prince Schwarzenberg put on a troubled expression and said, "Villiers, you should know the relationship between Russia and Austria. The Empire's Empress comes from the House of Romanov."
George Villiers frowned slightly. He could not tell what medicine the other man was selling from his gourd, but he decided to follow his lead.
"Your country's Empress is indeed from Russia, but you are Austria's Prime Minister. Naturally, the Austrian Empire should come first.
"How can you set aside public duty for private concerns?
"I believe His Majesty the Emperor must think the same