Just after entering 1856, Franz received good news: the Empress was pregnant. The entire Vienna Court now revolved around Princess Helen, and everyone attached the utmost importance to the House of Habsburg's new heir.
Sometimes, Franz could not help wondering: what if it was a princess? Of course, it was not that he disliked daughters—it was simply that, politically, he needed an heir.
Although the House of Habsburg had precedents of empresses, that did not mean conservative Austria would be willing to accept another empress.
Ever since Princess Helen became pregnant, Empress Dowager Sophie had grown anxious. In this era, a woman walking through pregnancy was like making a trip through the gates of hell; one could not afford the slightest carelessness.
"Franz, now that Helen is pregnant, you must keep a certain distance from her. Being too intimate could affect the child's safety. You know what I mean, don't you?"
An embarrassed Franz could only nod passively. He truly wanted to retort: Do you think I'm someone who doesn't know where the line is?
There was no helping it. In his mother's eyes, he was still a child who had not grown up. Arguing would only earn him a scolding.
Franz changed the subject. "By the way, Mother, how are the preparations for Maximilian's marriage coming along?"
The woman Maximilian was marrying this time was Princess Charlotte, daughter of King Leopold I of Belgium. It was a purely political marriage, without the slightest trace of anything else.
Franz took all of his little tagalong brothers seriously. Under strict militarized management, any sign of their thinking going off the rails would be suppressed immediately.
Empress Dowager Sophie said confidently, "Don't worry, I'll take care of it. But after Maximilian's wedding, how do you plan to arrange his future?"
European royals