Investment

Vienna, Royal Garden.

A gentle breeze swept by, carrying the fresh scent of earth.

In the grove nearby, Franz Joseph was swinging.

On the neatly trimmed lawn, Archduke Franz Karl sat drinking gloomily beside a makeshift round table.

"Wine again." Archduke Franz Karl thought.

Of course. Francis II had received three thousand barrels of wine from the Esterhazy family's cellar, and he knew that this son of his loved a drink.

And so Archduke Franz Karl and wine seemed inseparable.

Baron Bruck carried a briefcase across the lawn, stepping carefully for fear of trampling the flowers and spoiling the garden's overall beauty.

Baron Bruck took off his hat and bowed.

"Archduke Franz Karl, you wished to see me."

Archduke Franz Karl glanced at Baron Bruck.

"Sit, sit down."

Baron Bruck had actually arranged to meet several bankers that afternoon to discuss a loan, but he couldn't refuse Archduke Franz Karl's invitation. If this not-so-bright archduke insisted on keeping him there, he'd be in trouble.

"Sit down!" Archduke Franz Karl said more sharply when Baron Bruck remained standing.

Baron Bruck had no choice but to sit. After all, the other man was a member of the royal family.

"Drink." Archduke Franz Karl handed Baron Bruck a glass filled with wine.

Baron Bruck looked at Archduke Franz Karl, then drained the glass in one go.

"Good. I have an... an... investment!"

Archduke Franz Karl rarely used words like that, so he struggled to get them out.

"An investment?" Baron Bruck was a little stunned. He'd just learned that this not-so-bright archduke actually knew something about investing.

Then he wondered if perhaps someone had swindled him.

But on second thought, that didn't seem right.

So he asked,

"Your Highness, what kind of investment is it? I can help you think it through."

"No, no need." As he spoke, Archduke Franz Karl pulled a piece of paper from his coat and slapped it onto the table, sliding it across to him.

Baron Bruck took a monocle from his breast pocket, fitted it over his eye, and studied the note carefully.

It read:

"I have three million florins. Buy land in Chicago and New York. Buy whatever you like, as long as you sell it before Christmas 1836."

A simple contract was attached.

The handwriting was very messy, and the letters looked childish, as if a child had written them.

But Baron Bruck wasn't suspicious. After all, the archduke in front of him could barely speak properly. Being able to write at all was impressive.

"The American real estate market is indeed thriving, and I have acquaintances who deal in property there. But, Archduke Franz Karl, I must warn you: America is a wild land, and those barbarians are not known for keeping their word. Land prices are rising so quickly that sooner or later, something will go wrong."

At the time, Europeans considered Americans barbarians, and Europe's leading bankers all believed that America's rapidly rising land prices would eventually cause trouble. But because everyone believed in a free economy, no one stepped in to stop it.

"I don't care. My son wants to buy it," Archduke Franz Karl said as he drank.

"..." Baron Bruck was speechless. The little archduke was only four, a very cute child, and he was swinging nearby.

"It seems Archduke Franz Karl really has had too much to drink," Baron Bruck thought. Then he asked, "Are you buying it, or is the little archduke? How should I fill out this contract?"

Archduke Franz Karl realized he'd said the wrong thing, so he changed course.

"I'm buying it for my son."

Baron Bruck breathed a sigh of relief. That made sense. Now it all added up.

Baron Bruck busied himself with the contract, tucked the duplicate into his briefcase, then handed the original to Archduke Franz Karl.

At that moment, Thalia snatched up the contract and examined it carefully.

After confirming that Baron Bruck hadn't tampered with it, she put the contract into the box she'd prepared beforehand.

Checking a contract was perfectly normal. Instead, Baron Bruck was impressed by the supposedly dim-witted archduke.

After all, only insiders knew about speculating in American land. For the archduke to spot the trend and invest such a large sum showed real foresight and daring.

"Your Highness, rest assured. With me, Bruck, on the job, you'll get the finest land available. If you have no other instructions, I have an important meeting this afternoon concerning the national finances. As you know, now that we've joined the Zollverein, money is needed everywhere."

Archduke Franz Karl motioned for Baron Bruck to sit, then poured him another glass of wine.

"Drink. Drink, then go."

Baron Bruck rarely drank, especially during work hours, but it was hard to refuse the archduke's kindness. In the end, he drained the glass.

Archduke Franz Karl watched Baron Bruck leave, then gave his temporary drinking companion his appraisal.

"What a good fellow. But he pushes himself too hard."

By then Franz had hopped down from the swing and was clutching the contract, bursting with excitement.

Franz knew that this three-million investment would multiply sixty-fourfold over the next three years.

The money would become one of his greatest assets in the future. Better yet, he could fleece the Americans.

But what pleased him most was that Baron Bruck had proved to be exactly as he'd expected: truly honest and dependable.

Even when faced with the enormous temptation of three million florins, he hadn't tampered with the contract.

"Son, I don't think you're normal," Archduke Franz Karl said first.

"Father, I'm perfectly normal. You're the one who isn't, so you think everyone else is abnormal," Franz replied.

Archduke Franz Karl scratched his bald head, feeling that his son seemed to make a lot of sense.

"Don't overthink it. Let's drink. A toast to you." Franz Joseph raised his glass of juice.

"All right, I won't think about it. I..." Archduke Franz Karl seemed to want to say something, but couldn't figure out how.

Franz Joseph finished the thought for him.

"One drink to drown a thousand sorrows."

"Exactly!"

The two glasses clinked. They said not a word, yet their silence spoke louder than a thousand words.

Thalia had witnessed it all, but she didn't know what to say. Even if she spoke, no one would believe her.

Back then, her family had cast her out, and she had come to Vienna alone.

Thalia had disguised herself as a man to prove that she was no worse than one. She had excelled in the Prime Minister's Office examination for clerks, but then, on a whim, she had taken off her disguise.

She had thought she would amaze everyone. Instead, she had provoked the fury of the men present.

The officials and candidates, feeling humiliated, had prepared to hang her from a tree. Fortunately, Lady Sophie had passed by and ordered the Royal Guards to save her.

After that, she became Franz's tutor. The little archduke and the archduchess were her benefactors, and within the palace, they were her only support.

Thalia knew that if she betrayed the little archduke and the archduchess, she would lose everything. That was exactly what Lady Sophie wanted.

What she hadn't expected was just how extraordinary the little archduke would be. Perhaps this was what an emperor was like.