Abandoned Pawn

At Vienna Palace, Franz looked at his high-spirited son and asked with a smile, "Friedrich, you will be representing Austria on a visit to the various European countries this time. Are you prepared?"

"Don't worry, Father. I've memorized all the materials. I guarantee I'll complete the mission." Friedrich answered with complete confidence.

The Habsburg Family had endured for so many years; if there was one thing they did not lack, it was relatives.

Transportation was inconvenient in this era, and in ordinary times, when nothing was happening, people generally had little contact with one another. But once they arrived on someone else's turf, social interactions were still unavoidable.

Having many relatives was one thing. The troublesome part was that they also loved sharing the same names, along with long strings of titles. If one was not familiar enough with them, it was easy to confuse their identities.

That was not merely a matter of being discourteous and making a fool of oneself. Others would also think they had not been taken seriously, and relatives could turn into enemies.

Franz did not like running around everywhere, and one of the biggest reasons was simply that he found it troublesome. As Emperor, he was fairly fortunate—his status was high enough that others came to visit him, and every visitor introduced themselves, so there was no need to worry about making mistakes.

Even when attending banquets, he was the most distinguished person present. Very few people were qualified to speak with him as equals, and most of the time, a smile and nod were enough.

Friedrich was different. Though he was Austria's Crown Prince and of exalted status, there were still many people of comparable standing. This list alone contained several hundred names.

From this perspective, being a noble was not easy either.