You're Old Enough Now

Franz's bedroom door was knocked on. Sophie stormed in, dragging two little troublemakers behind her.

The little "Joan of Arc" from India had been tied up with a few extra loops, while Little Maria beside her looked both angry and timid.

"Franz! Look at the mess they've made!"

Franz glanced at Sophie and saw no stains on her clothes. They had probably smashed some piece of crockery. Colonel Bordeaux, standing nearby, said there was nothing he could do, so Franz could only sigh helplessly.

He put on a stern face and said, "Look at the mess you two have made! Hurry up and apologize so the kind and magnanimous Sophie will forgive you."

"Sorry," the two little girls said timidly. Sophie really was terrifying—at least, she was the scariest person in Schönbrunn Palace.

Archduke Franz Karl was an optimist who occasionally rode horses and played with them. Even when someone got a bump on the head, he never got angry.

Franz was formidable and cunning, but he didn't hold it against children.

Of Franz's three brothers, Maximilian liked teasing girls, but he was so weak in a fight that Lakshmi Bai had beaten him up several times.

The latter refused to admit it, though, and always acted as if he didn't care. In reality, Maria could knock Maximilian over, but she still couldn't bring herself to bully her weak older brother.

Ludwig (the third brother) was a tall, simple-minded lug. A devout believer, he would never get angry with the two little girls either.

Franz's friends who took an interest in Lakshmi Bai had all been beaten up by her, while those who took an interest in Maria had all been beaten up by Franz.

Some, however, never learned their lesson. Take Eduard Taaffe, for instance. He meant no harm