The Ball

Empress Alexandra was quite pleased with Franz. She had been worried the Austrian royal painter might have made him look too handsome, and that Olga would be disappointed when she met him in person.

Fortunately, Franz was even better than Sophie had described. And from what Alexandra had seen of Vienna these past few days, even without understanding politics, she could tell that the country's strength was no longer what it had once been.

Hosting an Archduchess with such ceremony would have made even Nicholas I wince at the expense.

And judging by the guests' behavior, the reception was indeed grand, but not entirely unprecedented. In other words, Vienna often held banquets on this scale.

To Empress Alexandra, the wealth of House of Habsburg meant her daughter wouldn't suffer after marrying into the family, while Austria's strength meant the alliance would hold firm. There'd be no need to fear the two countries taking up arms against each other.

Sophie was pleased as well. She believed an alliance by marriage with Russia was Austria's best option at the moment. The other countries were hardly worth mentioning. The German and Italian princes could no longer raise the Austrian Empire's influence or provide it with political resources.

The only one of strategic value was Prussia, but it didn't seem very interested, so it had to be given lower priority.

As for Spain, it was too far away for Austria, and it had already made plans for a marriage alliance with France. Snatching the prize from their jaws wouldn't be easy.

Brazil and Mexico, empires that weren't even recognized, were out of the question.

All things considered, Sophie was very pleased with the match. Princess Olga looked healthy, after all. As for her personality, she'd seemed like a perfectly normal girl before. The problem