The Neighbor's Daughter

To be honest, it was impossible for a young man in the prime of life and without any physical disabilities not to have thought about such things.

But considering his circumstances, the most important event of his life was less a marriage than a transaction between equals.

Perhaps he had spent too long in this world, or perhaps he had grown up. Franz had begun, without quite realizing it, to agree with some of the nobles' views.

It was cruel, but damn, it was true.

To make this transaction more worthwhile, Franz had actually looked into the princesses of various countries in detail. But there weren't many who were a good match for the House of Habsburg, and even fewer whose countries' interests aligned with those of the Austrian Empire.

Then again, marriage concerned the next generation, after all. So they couldn't be too closely related, the bride had to be healthy, and of course she couldn't be too ugly.

After eliminating the obvious candidates, that left Russia, Prussia, Denmark, Saxony, Spain, Portugal, and Brazil—a total of seven countries.

Among them was one choice that could kill two birds with one stone: the youngest daughter of Pedro I, the former "dual monarch" of Brazil and Portugal.

Maria Amalia had once been engaged to Franz's second-youngest brother, Maximilian. Unfortunately, a year before the wedding, the princess first caught scarlet fever, then tuberculosis, and died soon afterward.

Franz wasn't capable of treating either disease, but he could at least keep her away from the sources of infection.

Maria Amalia's scarlet fever was largely her mother's fault. She had left Munich, where she had lived for years, and suddenly returned to Portugal, where scarlet fever was raging.

Even without catching scarlet fever, someone who had lived inland for so long could easily fall