Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.
It wasn't unusual for Prime Minister Metternich to appear here, but the timing was a little strange.
After all, Austria had more pressing matters to deal with at the moment, such as the war in Switzerland and the problem of nationalism at home.
But in fact, Prince Metternich had come precisely for that reason. Franz was no longer completely withdrawn from public life; he had begun appearing regularly at the Regency Council and the imperial government offices.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Prince Metternich got straight to the point.
"Archduke Franz, I don't think our conference should be delayed until April. The Russians and the British are too far away. As long as we reach an agreement with France and the Kingdom of Sardinia, dividing Switzerland won't be a problem.
"The princes of the German Confederation are either too far away to do anything, or they lack ambition and only want to reap the benefits.
"Having strength in numbers is all well and good, but these deadweights are of little use."
Franz understood what Prince Metternich meant.
"You're saying we can set aside the German Confederation, Britain, and Russia, then sign a tripartite agreement—or some secret treaties—with France and the Kingdom of Sardinia."
Secret agreements between countries were nothing unusual in this era. Nearly every country had secret accords with several others at the same time.
For example, Austria had gained control of Kraków through the secret agreement between Austria, Prussia, and Russia in 1835.
Austria still had plenty of secret agreements. Some were intended to prevent France from rising again, uniting with Spain, annexing provinces of the Kingdom of Sardinia, invading Tunisia, or annexing Belgium. Others were meant to prevent the Kingdom of Sardinia from annexing Monaco, or France from linking its colonies on North