Property Autonomy

Chapter 5: Financial Autonomy

Socializing outside the palace was an expensive endeavor. Aristocratic life in Austria was notoriously decadent, and Franz had yet to achieve financial independence.

Currently, Franz's income was extremely limited, consisting primarily of allowances from his parents—or, to be precise, pocket money from his mother.

Because his father took no interest in administrative affairs, the family's financial power had fallen into the hands of Lady Sophie, and Franz had yet to take possession of the property under his own name.

Of course, given his status, acquiring money would be easy, but Franz cherished his reputation; he certainly could not engage in extortion or predatory acquisition.

The current climate in Europe was also ill-suited for industrial investment. In little more than a year, the February Revolution would erupt in France and rapidly spread across the entire European Continent; every nation except Russia would be plagued by the unrest.

Historically, even Vienna had fallen into the hands of rebel forces. If he were unlucky enough to have his factories burned to the ground by insurgents, where would he go to cry?

There were many ways to make exorbitant profits—arms dealing, narcotics, counterfeit currency, or lotteries—but Franz felt that mining or salvaging sunken treasure were the options best suited to him.

After weighing his options, Franz had to abandon these tempting schemes for a very simple reason: he was the heir to the Austrian Empire, not an ordinary capitalist.

The conservatives would never wish to see a "capitalist emperor," and with the Vienna revolution looming, Franz could not afford to lose the support of the conservatives.

"Franz, are you studying again? Young people should be more active. You are too dull; why not come hunting with me?"

The man speaking was his father, Archduke Franz Karl, a man of extremely unstable temperament whose greatest hobby seemed to be hunting, and whose second greatest hobby was taking his sons along to hunt.

As a member of the Regency Council, Archduke Franz Karl was the least presentable figure; due to congenital deficiencies, his intellect was quite low, and involving him in politics was asking too much of him.

If not for his high status, the Austrian Regency Council would never have allowed him to join.

"Father, you should go on your own. I have to visit Archduke Louis today; I don't have time for hunting!" Franz hurriedly declined.

This was a side effect of being too young. Even though Franz acted with great maturity, in the eyes of many, he was still just a child.

When Archduke Franz Karl was in a normal state, he was a good father who cared for him deeply, but Franz found this kind of concern somewhat stifling.

"Mother, you know that my expenses have been quite high lately..."

Before Franz could finish his sentence, Lady Sophie spoke up: "So, you want to take back the property under your own name, is that it?"

As an Archduke of Austria, how could he possibly have no assets?

Because his father and uncle were both somewhat lacking in mental capacity, his grandfather had been overjoyed to confirm that the eldest son of the third generation was of sound mind, and had promptly titled him an Archduke.

However, Franz's title of Archduke was still somewhat hollow; his fiefdom did not appear to be under Austrian control, so he could not count on any revenue from it.

The Habsburg Family held many such empty titles, such as King of Jerusalem; if one day Austria were to recapture Jerusalem, then the title would finally be meaningful.

Having a good grandfather made all the difference. Although the title was merely honorary, as the most favored eldest grandson, he had inherited a substantial legacy.

As far as Franz knew, this included five manors, two mines, several small workshops, and tens of thousands of Rhenish Guilders in cash.

(A Rhenish Guilder gold coin weighed 8 grams; its gold content depended on the integrity of the minter, as there was no unified standard.)

In this era, this was a massive sum of money, and it would be more than enough to cover Franz's personal expenses.

"Yes, Mother! You know that I have reached Adulthood and am capable of managing my own property!" Franz replied decisively.

European cultural traditions differed from those of the East; the property of parents and the property of children were clearly delineated.

In Eastern society, if anyone dared to suggest such a thing, they would be met with a sound thrashing, but in the West, Franz's request was entirely normal.

As guardians, parents could no longer control their children's property once they reached Adulthood; Franz was entitled to audit the accounts regarding the income and expenditures of these manors.

"Very well, it is your right! However, considering your age, I will not relinquish my maternal right of supervision for the next year. You must report any large expenditures to me!" Lady Sophie said after some thought.

"No problem!" Franz replied without hesitation.

These were minor issues. As long as he could regain control over the management of his property, he didn't mind the reporting; he could spend his own money as he pleased anyway.

"Hmm, then bring your financial staff to settle accounts with me, Franz. After deducting your expenses over the years and my management fees for your assets, I will transfer the remaining property to you," Lady Sophie said calmly.

Even between mother and son, accounts must be settled clearly to avoid damaging their relationship over money; Lady Sophie had been prepared for this for a long time.

"Mother, I don't think we need to settle accounts. I trust your character!" Franz said, trying to curry favor.

For Franz, money was a trivial matter; as long as he had enough to spend now, he would find ways to acquire plenty more in the future, and there was no need to dwell on these details.

Of course, this only applied to his mother; based on his understanding of Lady Sophie, Franz did not believe she would cheat her own son out of money.

"Franz, this is your right. If you give it up, do not regret it later. I will only settle accounts with you once!" Lady Sophie said seriously.

"Of course, Mother. I know exactly what I am doing!" Franz replied without hesitation.

By the end of 1846, Franz had successfully completed the transfer of his property. The workshops from years past no longer existed; the Industrial Age had arrived, and workshop-style production had long since fallen behind the times.

However, the manors and mines remained, and their current performance was quite good, generating a net profit of nearly ten thousand Rhenish Guilders per year.

High income meant high expenses. Franz looked over the ledger and found that his spending was even higher than he had anticipated. If nothing else, the dozen or so private tutors alone were a significant cost.

Then there were the servants, maids, guards, tailors, coachmen...

Franz covered all these expenses himself. As for the issue of parental support obligations—well, it was better not to bring that up; he had his own money and no need to sponge off his parents.

In short, he hadn't saved much money over the years. All his cash combined amounted to just over sixty thousand Rhenish Guilders, which included the cash from his inheritance.

It was truly an aristocratic style: so much cash had just been sitting there, and not a single cent had been invested to generate more wealth. Franz couldn't even be bothered to complain.

This was the current state of the Austrian nobility. They had yet to complete the transition from great aristocrats to the grand bourgeoisie, and everyone remained inclined toward conservatism in their investments.