"Why are you bullying Grandpa!" Franz cried as he ran over.
Francis II saw his grandson coming and instinctively pushed Prince Esterhazy aside. He patted his grandson on the head and said,
"What's wrong? Grandpa's the Emperor. No one can bully me."
"Then why were they crowding around you? They were about to grab your arm just now! I saw it! They were trying to bully you!"
"I didn't! I didn't mean to! You little brat, don't make things up!" Accustomed to throwing his weight around, Prince Esterhazy couldn't stand being falsely accused out of the blue. He blurted out the words without thinking.
Prince Esterhazy realized he was in trouble and tried to explain.
Prince Metternich and Count Kolowrat were initially shocked, but they were both old hands who had seen every kind of situation.
"Esterhazy, remember your place! How dare you speak to Archduke Franz like that!" Metternich was implying: Did Esterhazy really think so little of the royal family?
Count Kolowrat was less tactful than Metternich. He roared, "What are you going to do to the Emperor? How dare you!"
Count Kolowrat was the more ruthless of the two. He made it sound as if Prince Esterhazy had intended to harm the Emperor. Archduke Franz wasn't Emperor yet, but who could say he wouldn't be in a few decades?
With two powerful men backing him up, Franz saw that the moment had come. He didn't need to say a word. He only had to do one thing—cry!
Emperor Francis II hadn't paid much attention at first, assuming Prince Esterhazy had simply gotten too worked up. But after the two old schemers stirred things up, a nameless fury rose in the old Emperor's heart. Then Franz suddenly burst into tears, and Francis II finally lost control of his anger. He flung his gold wine cup at Prince Esterhazy.
When bad luck struck, even a sip of water could choke you. Esterhazy instinctively tried to block the cup. By a stroke of terrible luck, it bounced off his arm and struck Francis II squarely in the forehead.
Things had gotten out of hand! Seeing trouble, Esterhazy tried to check whether Francis II was hurt.
But Count Latour, the Minister of War, shouted and charged forward.
"His Majesty is injured! Protect the Emperor!"
Grand Duke Louis, standing beside Francis II, was the Emperor's younger brother and commander of the Imperial Guard. He wasn't very bright, but he was absolutely loyal to Francis II.
The moment the cup struck Francis II, Grand Duke Louis moved to his side. When he heard someone shout, "Protect the Emperor!" he instinctively drew his sword.
The sword in Grand Duke Louis's hand was the only weapon in the entire Hall of Mirrors. The moment he drew it, tension gripped the hall. The Imperial Guard knew that the Grand Duke wasn't very bright, but the nobles and their attendants didn't, and they immediately fell into chaos.
Grand Duke Louis saw Esterhazy charge toward his brother and immediately swung his sword. He only meant to keep the two men apart. Esterhazy dodged in time and wasn't hurt.
But to the people below, the scene looked entirely different.
Because he didn't trust the Germans, all of Esterhazy's attendants on this occasion, except Pietru, spoke only Hungarian.
So when Esterhazy's attendants saw what happened, their blood immediately boiled.
"Kill the Austrian Emperor and seize his throne!" This was a common topic of conversation among Hungarian nobles. The great nobles joked about it, but the lesser nobles who listened didn't take it as a joke.
Besides, as Esterhazy's retainers, they recognized only Prince Esterhazy, not the Austrian Emperor.
Esterhazy's attendants prepared to rush to the throne and finish off the old Emperor.
The Imperial Guard in the Hall of Mirrors might not have been the best fighters, but their loyalty was beyond question.
After all, many of them had served the House of Habsburg for generations—some for ten or even more.
The entire Hall of Mirrors suddenly erupted into motion. Esterhazy's attendants charged toward the Emperor's throne as if they didn't care whether they lived or died.
The Imperial Guard fought desperately to stop them. Some blocked the imperial walkway while others lunged straight at Esterhazy's guards.
The captain of the guard even struck the alarm bell, which hadn't rung in hundreds of years.
Soon, all eight hundred guards stationed throughout the palace received the news and raced toward the Hall of Mirrors.
A purple firework exploded above the palace. Seeing it, the city defense forces and the commander of the Vienna garrison immediately assembled their troops, ready to reinforce the palace.
Inside the Hall of Mirrors, all of Esterhazy's attendants had been subdued. Count Latour took the opportunity to knock Prince Windisch-Graetz down and punch him twice.
Prince Metternich hid behind a pillar and only came out after the chaos had died down.
Count Kolowrat, meanwhile, picked a noble he disliked and beat him black and blue.
Only Baron Bruck, an honest man, went to stop Esterhazy's attendants—and was knocked flat with a single punch.
The doors were kicked open, and a large force of Imperial Guards flooded into the Hall of Mirrors, surrounding everyone.
Esterhazy stared in disbelief at what had happened. He couldn't believe his eyes. How could this have happened?
To be honest, Franz hadn't expected it either. He'd only meant to take Esterhazy, the leader of the opposition, out of play.
He hadn't expected him to be completely finished this time.
Francis II rubbed his head where it had been struck, his heart filled with fear and fury.
"Esterhazy, what do you have to say for yourself?"
"I—I didn't mean to. For God's sake, believe me."
Francis II rose and walked toward Esterhazy, who was sprawled on the floor. He took the sword from Grand Duke Louis's hand.
At the sight, fear engulfed Esterhazy. He kept pushing himself backward across the floor, repeating, "My ancestors served the Empire with distinction. They shed their blood for the Empire..."
Francis II's expression remained blank as he raised the sword.
"I have three million florins deposited at the Vienna bank."
Francis II's sword stopped in front of Esterhazy. Esterhazy felt warmth spreading beneath him. He was probably going to need a change of trousers.
Francis II drew a deep breath. "Esterhazy, you failed to judge character and mistakenly brought assassins into the palace. In consideration of your ancestors' merits, and because you were misled, I hereby strip you of your title and confiscate all your assets in Vienna. You are to return to Hungary immediately and never set foot in Vienna again for the rest of your life."
Francis II turned and walked toward the throne, tossing the sword in his hand to Grand Duke Louis.
Grand Duke Louis sheathed the sword, then waved to the Imperial Guard.
Two guards dragged Prince Esterhazy away. His eyes were vacant, as though he had lost half his life.
The Esterhazy family owned vast tracts of land in Hungary, but most of its wealth had gone toward acquiring property in Vienna. So it wasn't wrong to say he'd lost half his life.
Compared with Prince Esterhazy, his attendants were not so fortunate. Since Pietru had also come with Esterhazy, the guards took him away as well.
Pietru thought he'd probably spend the rest of his life in prison. Then he saw a guard take a garrote out of a bag. He tried to run and shout, but someone stuffed a rag into his mouth.
Pietru felt someone tug him from behind, and the noose slipped around his neck. The guard behind him began twisting the garrote's handle.
The cord wound tighter and tighter. Starved of air, Pietru thrashed violently, clawing at the noose in a desperate attempt to save himself. But the guard was an old hand and gave him no chance. Pietru's feet kicked against the ground twice, then he stopped struggling.
Thirteen bodies in all were loaded onto a specially made carriage. They would be taken out of the palace at dusk.
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