Daily Life

Francis II was in such high spirits today that he nearly jumped for joy.

Thanks to the clever maneuvering of Metternich, the assets of the Esterhazy family within the Austrian Empire had not been funneled into the national treasury, but rather into the personal account of Francis II.

Francis II had once visited the palaces of the Esterhazy family; they could only be described as magnificent. While they did not quite rival the imperial palace, they surpassed any other royal estate.

Although the art pieces within those palaces had been removed, the three thousand barrels of wine in the estate's cellars could not be taken away.

The steward sent to take over the properties selected one hundred barrels to be sent to Vienna, which Francis II then turned around and gifted to the nobles and aristocrats of the city.

Francis II intended to leave the Esterhazy family's wealth to his grandson, Franz Joseph.

After all, he was well aware of the economic state of the Austrian Empire; it was unlikely the empire's debts would be repaid within his lifetime.

He feared that by the time Franz Joseph ascended the throne, those Austrian debts would still remain.

While it is said that a man of stature should never be without power for a single day, a life without money is equally difficult for an emperor.

He hoped that by leaving the Esterhazy family's wealth to Franz Joseph, it could serve as an emergency fund in times of crisis.

At this moment, Francis II held one more item in his hand, though he had not yet decided whether to entrust it to his grandson.

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace, the nursery.

Franz Joseph was wearing a custom-made hussar uniform today, and seeing Francis II enter the room, he was visibly delighted.

Franz Joseph knew the old emperor was eager to share his joy, even though he had already learned from the newspapers that the Zollverein had agreed to admit the Austrian Empire.

However, Franz Joseph intended to pretend he knew nothing; after all, since the Congress of Vienna, Austria had seen almost no diplomatic victories, so he would let the old emperor enjoy his moment.

Upon entering and seeing Franz Joseph in his uniform, Francis II stopped, stood straight, raised his hand in a salute, and said, "Soldier, greetings."

Franz Joseph immediately snapped to attention with a sharp click of his heels and shouted, "Long live the Emperor!"

Francis II scooped up his grandson, and the old man and the young boy dissolved into laughter.

Time spent with his grandson always made the old emperor feel incredibly at ease.

Looking at the young boy before him, he seemed to see the future of the Austrian Empire. Yet, he truly lacked the courage to challenge the rules set by his ancestors, nor did he wish to burden his young grandson with the weight of the entire empire.

"He deserves a happy childhood," Francis II muttered to himself.

Perhaps realizing he had let his guard down, Francis II suddenly offered a mysterious smile.

"Grandson, I have a treasure in my hand. Can you guess what it is? If you guess correctly, it's yours."

In truth, the moment Francis II had entered the room, Franz Joseph had noticed the envelope in his hand.

Given recent events, the envelope likely contained either the good news of their successful entry into the Zollverein or the three million Florin deposit from Prince Esterhazy.

By Franz's estimation, it was more likely to be the deposit certificate.

But what could Franz do with that money now? Buy candy?

And so, he replied, "It is a letter."

Francis II produced the envelope from behind his back, handed it to Franz, and said, "You guessed correctly. Keep this envelope safe, and do not open it until you are grown."

Franz Joseph looked at the envelope with some confusion; it was indeed mailed from the Rothschild Bank, so it was undoubtedly a deposit certificate.

However, Franz did not quite understand why the old emperor would give this money to a child like him.

Still, he knew the old emperor hoped he would keep it safe.

Franz immediately ran to his "treasure chest" with the envelope, tossed it inside, and locked it tight.

Seeing this, Francis II nodded with satisfaction, played with his grandson for a while longer, and then departed.

At the end of the corridor, Francis II began to mutter to himself again.

"Forgive your grandfather for his cowardice and weakness. I hope this money can compensate you."

Franz felt conflicted; he did not know how to handle this sum. Three million Florin seemed sufficient as startup capital, but he had no idea when he would be able to launch his own plans.

Handing this money to Sophie to manage seemed like a decent choice; perhaps he could even earn a respectable return.

But what if Sophie's investments failed? Wouldn't he be the one to suffer?

Perhaps there was another way.

Night, Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

Franz stared at a latest world map, lost in thought.

Central America, South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the vast, wild expanse of Australia—all were territories ripe for expansion.

However, Franz was still too young to participate in state affairs.

On the other hand, the Austrian navy was truly pathetic; even if he had the ambition, he lacked the capability.

Just as Franz was deep in thought, Sophie walked in.

"Franz, stop scribbling all over the map."

After being lectured by Sophie, Franz began his story time for the day.

"It is said that the affairs of the world are destined to unite after a long division, and to divide after a long union. Let us speak of the time Prime Minister Cao entered Wancheng."

An hour later.

Feeling extremely sleepy, Franz glanced at Sophie, who was listening with rapt attention.

I'm so tired, I just want to sleep. Why is Mother so energetic today? Franz sighed inwardly.

Knowing this couldn't go on, Franz had a sudden flash of inspiration. He grabbed the exquisitely bound Bible beside him and slammed it onto the table, shouting, "To know what happens next, tune in for the next installment!"

Sophie looked somewhat unsatisfied and sighed, "Prime Minister Cao is truly a good man."

What is good about him? Franz couldn't help but retort in his mind.

"What a passionate and stirring romance."

Where is the romance? This obsession with power is unacceptable. Mother, your way of thinking is very dangerous, Franz continued to grumble internally.

"Who told you this love story? Was it Thalia? People from Bohemia are always so open-minded," Sophie added. "But you are still so young, and she dares to do this. If you were any older, I shudder to think what that woman might do."

"." Franz felt a bit helpless; it had taken her over half a year of listening to finally realize something was off.

However, it was fortunate that Sophie automatically shifted the blame onto his tutor, Thalia.

At the very least, Franz didn't have to explain anything now.

As for the fact that Thalia would likely have her wages docked, Franz didn't dwell on it, merely nodding in agreement.

Regardless, dumping the blame on this Bohemian was never a mistake.

Due to deep-seated arrogance and prejudice, Thalia, as the daughter of a minor Bohemian noble, had secretly completed her university education behind her family's back.

One must realize that in this era, anyone capable of completing a university degree could already be considered a member of the social elite.

In 1834, the total number of students enrolled in all universities across Austria was only 7,191.

Yet, the result was shocking: Thalia was kicked out of her home by her father.

With nowhere else to turn, she had ended up becoming Franz's tutor through a twist of fate.

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