The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend
The next thing to do after feeling the first stirrings of life was to cancel the afternoon schedule.
"Court ladies, summon the physician."
Not that I'm saying this now, but... there really are too many court ladies. The chief lady-in-waiting position is vacant, the reader is Ida Ferenc, and the rest are all court ladies. Their roles are divided, sure... but they're all officially court ladies. That's why no one steps up.
Swallowing my irritation, I pointed out a specific target.
"Honorary lady-in-waiting, you go."
The daughter of the Belgradt countess curtsied properly and left to fetch the physician. Honorary ladies-in-waiting are all unmarried, and right now, she's the only one. Once I singled her out, refusing would be outright defiance.
Ha, having to play power games like this in my own room, which should be the most comfortable place.
It wasn't long before Schoda arrived. His face showed puzzlement and a touch of concern at the empress's sudden summons.
"Your Majesty, I heard you called for me. Is something troubling you?"
"Everyone out except the physician."
Belgradt, as always, revealed her displeasure in her impeccably formal tone. "Your Majesty, the physician is a man, and we cannot leave you alone with him."
Is that so?
"Then the honorary lady-in-waiting leaves. Only court ladies remain."
"Your Majesty, if it's a proper order, I shall obey, but treating me this way out of suspicion that I'm close to Archduchess Sophie is unbecoming."
Suspicion, my foot. I looked at Schoda. "Physician, you must have guessed why I called you."
Schoda bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty. As you suspected, you've felt the heir in your womb moving and sought me out."
I glanced at Belgradt. The court ladies are married; you're not. Even if an unmarried lady knows about the pregnancy, what can she do to help? The topic of pregnancy and childbirth is taboo for unmarried women under current social norms and etiquette. For unmarried Belgradt to stay would paint her as scandalous.
"What do the court ladies think of an honorary lady-in-waiting who lectures me on etiquette now declaring she'll break it herself?"
As expected... they don't get along. Whether it's family feuds or personal grudges, who knows.
"It seems the conversation from here won't involve the honorary lady-in-waiting."
Lamberg bowed to me and said that.
"Court lady, don't blame the honorary one too much. Isn't it just her loyalty to me overflowing?"
Belgradt left the room quietly, her expression unchanged. Now Sophie will know about the pregnancy too.
Schoda prodded my lower abdomen as I lay in bed, then confirmed it. "God preserve your sacred body. Congratulations on your conception, Your Majesty."
The court ladies, hearing Schoda's words, all performed the Hofknicks in unison.
"God preserve your sacred body."
Archduchess Sophie looked at the daughter of the Belgradt countess.
So she takes after her mother after all.
That thought circled Sophie's mind the entire time she listened to Belgradt's report.
Her sister Ludovica. Kind, obedient, utterly uninterested in politics... She'd spent her life yielding to Sophie. Naturally, Sophie assumed her niece Sisi would be the same. The free-spirited disregard for protocol was just youthful ignorance, not hiding this cunning.
"So."
Sophie's voice held no emotion.
"You were driven out of the empress's room in front of the other ladies, using etiquette as your weapon against the empress."
"I beg your pardon, Your Highness. But Her Majesty brought up pregnancy, and as an unmarried woman, I dared not—"
"Enough."
Sophie cut off Belgradt's excuse. A loss was a loss. What mattered was the method. Sisi hadn't shouted or shown emotion. She'd quietly wielded the court's most powerful weapons: etiquette and rank.
Sophie felt a chill at the tactic so like her own—the very way she'd ruled the Hofburg for decades. She realized her son Joseph hadn't picked up a frightened little bird from the woods, but a young hawk with hidden talons. And today, that hawk had bared them at her for the first time.
"The pregnancy is confirmed."
Sophie changed the subject. Scolding Belgradt now was pointless. The game board had shifted.
"Yes, Your Highness. Physician Schoda has officially confirmed it."
"I see."
Sophie closed her eyes briefly.
From foolish girl to empress bearing the empire's heir.
Now Sisi held an unassailable legitimacy no one could ignore. The emperor would cling to her more, and the court nobles would revere her.
A faint, cruel smile finally touched Sophie's lips.
"Good."
"...Pardon?"
"The empress is finally fulfilling her role. Isn't it commendable?"
She rose.
"Leave me, Belgradt. And summon the physician. I must hear about the empress's condition myself."
After Belgradt left, Sophie stood by the window, gazing at the darkening garden.
Yes, Elisabeth. Your cleverness is fine. Better than a stupid empress.
But her thoughts turned elsewhere.
Your role ends there. Bear the child. Raising that child as a true Habsburg emperor is, as ever, my duty alone.
She wrote letters to the Belgradt count and to Joseph. Letters promising marriage between the Belgradt countess's daughter and Joseph's adjutant, Alfred von Königseck-Aurendorf, the palace interior minister, and appointing her court minister—the next chief lady-in-waiting.
I sat in the rocking chair Joseph had gifted me.
"Countess Esterházy-Lichtenstein."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Who is the highest authority in the empress's palace?"
"Your Majesty, the empress."
"Even if Archduchess Sophie holds it in practice, shouldn't she at least inform me?"
"You are right, Your Majesty."
"The physician says a familiar face is better for stability."
"...Your Majesty."
"I cannot approve a resignation without my signature."
The news of the marriage between the Belgradt countess's family and the Königseck countess's family spread through the palace like wildfire. It screamed of controlling Joseph and me through one family. I couldn't just take it lying down. Until I fully seized the empress's palace, I had to maintain the status quo.
"I won't make an issue of the chief lady-in-waiting abandoning the empress to leave on her own whim."
"Thank you for your boundless mercy, Your Majesty."
When Belgradt, back from her wedding, saw Esterházy-Lichtenstein, she caught a glimpse of the woman's mask cracking, if only for a moment.
"Lady Belgradt—no, now Countess Königseck. Congratulations."
"Thank you for your kind attention, Your Majesty."
Yes, Sophie favors you over Lamberg. Let's exploit that rift.
"Twenty-four, in the flower of youth—still young for marriage. I married young myself, so I can somewhat understand a court lady's feelings."
Lamberg struggled to hide her expression. Twenty-four is young? The empire's marriageable age is 18 to 22. Even in haste, openly pushing a 24-year-old for court minister? How galling for seniors like Lamberg countess, passed over for a much younger lady. The unfavored always seek new patrons. And the old guard court ladies like Lamberg...
"Your Majesty, I wish to inform you of His Majesty's afternoon schedule."
They wouldn't miss me, nursing a grudge against Sophie. I caught Lamberg's overture and dismissed everyone else.
"Court lady, the emperor's schedule isn't your duty."
Lamberg met my gaze steadily. Decades of palace survival etched her face with shrewdness.
"Before Your Majesty's condition grows heavy, we believe rectifying the empress's palace discipline is our long-standing duty."
Yes, hierarchy matters, and a young upstart suddenly reserves the court minister post.
"So you'll help me?"
"Not help."
Lamberg bowed her head.
"We serve Your Majesty. Archduchess Sophie is busy with the empire; we handle the palace's minutiae to ease your burdens."
Sophie tends the empire, and we serve you as mistress here... The former empress dowager ignored politics, and other noblewomen had been crushed under Sophie's power for decades. Their jealousy and ambition found an outlet in me.
"I'm glad experienced empress palace ladies will support me. The newlywed Countess Königseck needs time to enjoy her honeymoon aiding her husband, not the heavy court minister role."
For instance, simple tasks like managing my wardrobe or visitor schedules to her, the rest to chief Esterházy and senior court ladies.
"Thank you for your wise consideration, Your Majesty."
"Now, His Majesty's afternoon schedule. I'll visit his office myself later."
I added, "Tell Archduchess Sophie I must rest, politely declining visits for now. It's the physician's advice; a court lady can convey it well."
"Of course, Your Majesty. Preserving your sacred body is the court's top duty."
I glanced at the clock. "It's five o'clock."
They drew the curtains against the sunlight and withdrew quietly. "We take our leave."
Alone, I parted the curtains slightly and watched the ladies outside. Old guard, new blood, even Hungarians.
"This is a little empire."
Such swift high-family unions meant Joseph's approval too. How did Sophie sway him? Empire's stability? Rational administration? Doesn't matter. Joseph hates change and won't cast out Countess Esterházy.
The cold war between the empress and the archduchess continued. Joseph, caught between son and husband—wait, no, between wife and mother—could neither side fully, waving the white flag with "women's affairs." And as the year passed, March 4th.
"Your Majesty, you need to breathe."