Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: Sarajevo
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July 4th in Vienna, eight days after the Sarajevo incident.
Under the dim sky, a massive crowd had gathered for the funeral of Franz Joseph I.
For the funeral of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor, it was far too hasty and modest, but the current state of the Austro-Hungarian Empire allowed for no other option.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Who approaches?!"
A booming voice echoed from inside the Capuchin Church crypt, where Habsburg funerals had been held since the days of the Holy Roman Empire. An old monk with a thick beard shouted as a hammer pounded on the door.
"Franz Joseph Karl von Österreich! Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary and Bohemia, King of Lombardy-Venetia, King of Dalmatia, Croatia-Slavonia, Galicia-Lodomeria, Illyria, and Jerusalem!"
"We know him not!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Who approaches?!"
The monk called out once more.
"Franz Joseph Karl von Habsburg! Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy!"
"We know him not!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Who approaches?!"
"Franz."
The chamberlain who had pounded on the door spoke in a low voice, trembling slightly as if this were truly the final announcement.
"Merely a sinful and pitiable mortal."
"...Then enter."
Creeeak──
After the three exchanges, the crypt door swung open.
Members of the Habsburg family, high-ranking officials, and generals of the Austro-Hungarian Empire watched in silent grief as the coffin bearing Franz Joseph I's body was carried inside. At last, the women of the imperial court broke into the sobs they had held back.
However, Archduke Franz Ferdinand—no, the new Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy, Franz Ferdinand I—merely let out a heavy sigh as he watched the funeral of his uncle, with whom he had shared a love-hate relationship.
'How on earth did things come to this?'
It all felt like a horrific nightmare.
And it had begun on June 28th of the previous year, 1913.
From the moment he faced his uncle's corpse in the coffin.
"What in the world were the security detail doing...?"
"There are no excuses. Kill me, Your Highness!"
As Franz Ferdinand muttered in despair, Oskar Potiorek, the Governor-General of Bosnia and Herzegovina, knelt before him with a face full of guilt.
He was another Franz, but he had failed to prevent the assassination this time as well.
Yet Franz Ferdinand didn't truly want to blame him.
No, he didn't even have the mental capacity for that.
After all, originally, it was supposed to be Franz Ferdinand himself visiting Sarajevo that day, not Franz Joseph I.
Inspired by Hans and Viktoria Luise's wedding, Franz Ferdinand had become even more proactive than in the original history. He especially worked hard to elevate his wife's political standing.
Within the Habsburg court, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, held a position so low it seemed inferior even to that of ordinary maids.
Of course, now that Franz Ferdinand had become the new Emperor, no one would dare treat Sophie lightly.
In any case, every time Franz Ferdinand saw Sophie enduring unwanted humiliation because of him, his heart ached with guilt, and he desperately wanted to improve her status in the court.
And in that sense, the military review in Sarajevo on June 28th was the perfect opportunity.
Moreover, it was the 13th anniversary of Franz Ferdinand and Sophie Duchess's wedding.
For the couple who had overcome great hardships to marry, it was a deeply meaningful day. Thus, with the support of Potiorek—who sought to curry favor with the heir—Franz Ferdinand planned to bring his wife along to Sarajevo.
"I will attend the military review in your stead."
"Pardon? Uncle, but..."
That is, if Franz Joseph I hadn't unilaterally announced the day before the trip that he would go to Sarajevo instead of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
"Hmph, do my words not carry weight?!"
"...No, they do."
Franz Ferdinand bowed his head with a sigh at Franz Joseph's angry tone.
As Franz Ferdinand grew more assertive than in the original history, Franz Joseph—who already disliked him—became even more irritated. Their already strained uncle-nephew relationship deteriorated further.
Then, upon hearing that Franz Ferdinand planned to attend the military review in Sarajevo with that countess he could barely stand, Franz Joseph twisted with displeasure and declared he would go instead.
Of course, Franz Ferdinand must have been dumbfounded.
But did the city of Sarajevo bear some grudge against the name Franz?
Sarajevo refused to let any Habsburg royal leave the city unscathed this time too.
"Die! Franz Ferdinand!!"
Whoosh─
As Franz Joseph arrived in Sarajevo and passed along the Appel Quay, a bomb flew toward him.
It was the work of the Bosnian Serb nationalist group 'Young Bosnia' and the Serbian ultranationalist secret society Black Hand, who had colluded with them.
They had planned to assassinate Franz Ferdinand, the moderate who was taking a more active stance, out of a sense of crisis.
The problem was that Young Bosnia and the Black Hand didn't know the attendee for the military review in Sarajevo had changed from Archduke Ferdinand to Emperor Franz Joseph.
And unlike Ferdinand, who rode in a car, Franz Joseph was in a carriage, so he couldn't dodge the bomb as in the original history.
Kaboom!!!
A powerful explosion rocked the carriage carrying Franz Joseph.
The impact flipped the carriage sideways along with the horses, and Franz Joseph tumbled chaotically inside.
"Urgh..."
Yet even then, Franz Joseph did not die.
Bleeding from his head, he painfully crawled out of the wreckage.
"That's...!"
Among the Black Hand members, a young man even younger than Hans spotted the Emperor, his pristine white uniform stained with blood.
Gavrilo Princip.
The infamous assassin who killed Franz Ferdinand and his wife in the original history didn't even check Franz Joseph's face—fueled by adrenaline surging through him—and reflexively aimed his pistol at the staggering old Emperor, pulling the trigger.
Bang!
With one gunshot, a hole pierced Franz Joseph's forehead, and he died on the spot.
The moment the archduke's killer evolved into the Emperor's assassin.
Potiorek, suppressing the terrorists with soldiers, had no time to intervene as Franz Joseph collapsed. Gavrilo Princip's lips twisted into a grotesque grin of triumph.
But Gavrilo Princip did not know.
That by pulling the trigger, he had set in motion the destruction of his homeland, Serbia.
And that countless innocent lives would meet horrific deaths, forgotten by all, under the name of the World War.
"He should have passed peacefully in the palace. Even to the end, Uncle brings me trials."
Finishing his reminiscence, Franz Ferdinand covered his face with his hand, exhausted.
All his efforts for the Empire's peace had been undone by a single bullet.
But now, he was the Emperor who had to lead the Austro-Hungarian Empire forward.
And the Empire demanded he make a decision.
"Your Majesty. Have you made your decision?"
"...Berchtold."
Franz Ferdinand sighed heavily at the words of Foreign Minister Leopold Berchtold, who had approached silently behind him.
Conrad von Hötzendorf, who had returned as Chief of the General Staff last year after Ehrenberg's death amid conflicts, stood beside him, silently pressuring the new Emperor while awaiting orders.
"Is war truly the only answer?"
"Your Majesty, voices calling for revenge against Serbia grow louder by the day across the Empire. You know full well what would happen if you went against them."
Franz Ferdinand closed his eyes at Berchtold's words.
He was not a man who desired war.
His past actions—treating Serbia with moderation and striving to untangle the Empire's complex ethnic conflicts—proved it.
'Moreover, win or lose, the Austro-Hungarian Empire won't emerge intact!'
Defeat meant the Empire's end. Victory would bring Serbian territories and Slavs as spoils, shattering the fragile political balance between Austria and Hungary.
Either way, the sudden upheaval would bring grave harm to the Empire.
Yet the situation spiraled to extremes.
Conrad von Hötzendorf, the Empire's leading hardliner against Serbia, led the calls for war more fiercely than anyone. Berchtold, confirming the Black Hand—Serbia's notorious secret society—behind the Emperor's assassination, shed his caution and backed Hötzendorf.
But their actions paled compared to the fury of the Austro-Hungarian people.
They burned hotter than in the original history over Archduke Franz Ferdinand's death, demanding revenge and annihilation against the Balkan madmen of Serbia who slew their revered Emperor.
For Franz Ferdinand I, whose legitimacy was shaky as merely the presumed heir of Franz Joseph I rather than the official crown prince, quelling the public outrage—on the verge of turning to ashes—was impossible.
'Even the Hungarians, who opposed war most vehemently, are backing down.'
No one in the Empire could anymore bear the Emperor's death and the people's fury for blood vengeance.
Thus, Franz Ferdinand had no choice but to decide.
The die had been cast long ago, whether he willed it or not.
"...Berchtold, issue an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia and request support from the German Empire."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Franz Ferdinand closed his eyes, making the irreversible choice.
His answer was war.
"...For these reasons, we of the Austro-Hungarian Empire request the support and aid of our blood ally, the German Empire."
"Is the Austro-Hungarian Empire aware that a declaration of war on Serbia could lead to war with Russia?"
"Indeed. And that is precisely why we desperately need Germany's help."
"Sigh... We've received your message clearly. We'll convey Germany's response as swiftly as possible, so please return for today."
"Yes. We entrust this to you, Marquis Choi."
After the audience with the Austro-Hungarian ambassador, I returned to the New Palace with a heavy sigh.
I had anticipated the World War might erupt sooner.
Just not a full year earlier.
Up to this point, it was within expectations, but...
"How the hell does Franz Joseph end up dead instead of Archduke Franz Ferdinand?!"
Yes, a Franz died, but the wrong one?
Damn, what kind of childish wordplay is this?
I didn't particularly like Franz Joseph—having suffered his shade myself—but this felt like the Earth author's prank to mock people, and it infuriated me.
"Whew, calm down. Let's stay cool."
No use crying injustice; nothing changes.
Franz Joseph's body had already cooled and been placed in the coffin.
Take a deep breath and sort out what to do next.
First, though the process changed—Franz Joseph's death and Archduke Franz Ferdinand's survival—the Sarajevo incident's outcome remained the same, if not worse.
'The original uproar was over the heir's death; this time, the Emperor himself died.'
Not just any Emperor, but Franz Joseph I, who had reigned for over 60 years as the symbol of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The people's rage and thirst for revenge against Serbia could only intensify, not weaken, compared to the archduke couple's deaths.
Proving it, unlike the original history's drawn-out process, Austria-Hungary had already begun war preparations.
"Even if the new Emperor Franz Ferdinand is a moderate peace advocate, opposing war after the Emperor's assassination is tough."
Moreover, Franz Ferdinand was not the crown prince but merely Franz Joseph I's presumed heir.
Like his nephew and the Empire's last Emperor, Karl I, his legitimacy was weak. His morganatic marriage left his court position precarious too.
Opposing war given his past moderation toward Serbia would shake the Emperor's authority itself.
In Austria-Hungary, the Emperor's authority crumbling meant the Empire's collapse.
The nation was upheld solely by the Emperor's prestige.
"In the end, my task remains unchanged."
With Austria-Hungary deciding on war with Serbia, Europe could no longer avoid a great war.
The World War was upon us.
"Make the German Empire victorious in World War I."
That's what I'd pursued until now, and the time to see it through had come.