CHAPTER 586: CHAPTER 577: PRO-FRENCH SENTIMENT SHOULD START WITH THE YOUTH

"What about you?" Elizabeth looked at Jerome Bonaparte curiously.

"Didn’t I just say that!" As the melody gradually reached its climax, Jerome Bonaparte quickened the pace of the dance and said to Elizabeth with a serious expression, "I cherish everyone I love and everyone who loves me! I respect them, just as they respect me!

Qianqian, you must remember that the most difficult thing in this world is mutual respect!"

"Why do you say that?" Elizabeth blinked in confusion, "I think it should be very simple!"

"Qianqian, let me ask you!" Jerome Bonaparte said solemnly to Elizabeth, "Are you really willing to lower yourself to listen to the voices from the bottom? Can you endure staying in a dark and damp environment, communicating with a pauper who emanates a foul smell?"

Upon hearing Jerome Bonaparte’s words, an instinctive look of disgust appeared on Elizabeth’s face.

Although Elizabeth herself did not despise the poor, the inherent perception of the poor in her class subtly influenced her perception.

In this world, there are far too many people who stand exalted, and far too few willing to lower themselves to listen to the voices from below.

"See that!" Jerome Bonaparte chuckled lightly, "People simply cannot achieve mutual respect! Nobles and commoners, the rich and the poor, men and women... all the same!"

"That’s... that’s not true!" Elizabeth, feeling guilty about her previous behavior, blushed slightly and refuted, "You’re twisting the argument!"

"How am I twisting the argument?" Jerome Bonaparte maintained his dance steps and asked Elizabeth, "Qianqian, are you truly willing to become the Empress of the Austrian Empire?"

Elizabeth was speechless. She herself definitely did not volunteer to become the Empress of the Habsburg family. The one who was supposed to become the Habsburg Empress was her sister, but because the Emperor did not like her sister, she was forced to take her sister’s place as the future Empress of the Habsburgs.

From the moment she was told she would become the Emperor’s fiancée until now, not a single decision was made of her own volition; everything was decided by her mother and Empress Dowager Sophie.

From start to finish, Elizabeth had no right to regret.

As for calling off the engagement, that was even more impossible. Not just her, even the Bavarian Wittelsbach Royal Family could not bear the cost of breaking off the engagement with the Habsburgs.

At this thought, Elizabeth couldn’t help but feel a wave of sorrow for her future. This is the fate that a royal must face.

Elizabeth’s dance steps also became increasingly disordered along with her inner turmoil, so much so that Jerome Bonaparte had to follow her steps to adjust his movements.

A few seconds later, when Elizabeth regained her senses, she realized her mistake and hastily apologized to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, I’m sorry!"

"It’s nothing!" Jerome Bonaparte shook his head and replied to Elizabeth, "In fact, your future husband loves you dearly! However, you must be careful of Empress Dowager Sophie!"

"Why?" Elizabeth asked Jerome Bonaparte, still in confusion, "I think Empress Dowager Sophie is quite..." Elizabeth suddenly thought of Empress Dowager Sophie’s previous attitude and reluctantly praised, "Quite a nice person!"

"That’s because you haven’t married into the Habsburgs yet!" Jerome Bonaparte advised Princess Sisi in the tone of someone with experience, "The vast majority of mothers-in-law hold hostility towards their daughters-in-law!"

"Why would there be hostility?" Elizabeth asked.

"Think about it! After nurturing your precious child for more than twenty years, suddenly one day an unfamiliar woman comes to compete with you for him, what would you do?" Jerome Bonaparte tried to explain to Princess Sisi in simple terms.

"But sons are people, not possessions!" Elizabeth argued with Jerome Bonaparte.

"To a woman with a strong desire for control, there’s no difference between a son and a possession!" Jerome Bonaparte responded sharply to Elizabeth, "Empress Dowager Sophie was able to convince her husband to abdicate the throne, allowing your husband to inherit it! This shows she loves her son far more than her husband! Your presence makes her feel her position is challenged!"

"Why me?" Elizabeth asked in confusion.

"Because you are more willful than your sister!" Jerome Bonaparte responded to Elizabeth.

Historically, the reason Empress Dowager Sophie disliked Princess Sisi was because Princess Sisi was inherently different from her sister Helen, making her more difficult to control.

"I refuse to be like my sister!" Elizabeth pouted and responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

"To an old woman with overpowering desire for control, your existence is an unstable factor!" Jerome Bonaparte continued, "I conclude that after you marry Franz Joseph, Empress Dowager Sophie will certainly go to great lengths to trouble you! Your husband... allow me to say something irresponsible!"

"Your Majesty, please speak!" Elizabeth responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte said calmly, "Your husband might not be able to handle your conflict with Empress Dowager Sophie at all. He is likely to attempt to ease your conflict by staying neutral, but this seemingly neutral stance is actually unfriendly to you! As someone new to the Habsburg Court, you simply do not have the capability to counter the Empress Faction that has been cultivating in the court for decades."

History unfolded just as Jerome Bonaparte predicted. From the time Princess Sisi married into the Habsburg family until the end of the Franco-Austrian War, the powerless Princess Sisi was consistently suppressed by Empress Dowager Sophie’s Bohemian Party, to the point where she had to escape to Hungary to find solace. During this period, she made many Hungarian friends, and the Hungarian Faction surrounding Princess Sisi began to form.

However, because of the empire’s suppression of Hungary, the Hungarian Faction became significantly reduced.

After the end of the Franco-Austrian War, in order to alleviate domestic conflicts, particularly those with Hungary, Franz Joseph issued the October Edict. The long-oppressed Hungarian nobility not only received amnesty, but the properties confiscated by the empire in Hungary were also returned to the Hungarian nobility.

Many Hungarian nobles returned to the Austrian Empire and rallied around Princess Sisi.

Only then did Princess Sisi’s influence become sufficient to counter Empress Dowager Sophie. From the time of the Franco-Austrian War to the Prussia and Austria period, Princess Sisi even acted as Hungary’s spokesperson in Vienna.

After the war between Prussia and Austria ended, the famed Austro-Hungarian Compromise officially began, marking the complete victory of the Hungarian Faction led by Princess Sisi over the Bohemian Party.

From that time on, Empress Dowager Sophie no longer engaged in politics.

In this timeline, the Franco-Austrian War will not occur, which means that Princess Sisi cannot leverage Hungary’s power.

If Jerome Bonaparte is unwilling to help, her fate may be even more tragic than in history.

However, the monopoly of the Bohemian Party led by Empress Dowager Sophie is also not in Jerome Bonaparte’s best interest.

"What should I do then?" Elizabeth’s face turned pale; she could already foresee her future fate.

"To oppose Empress Dowager Sophie, you must have a force that supports you!" Jerome Bonaparte advised patiently, "The court is like a battlefield; a single misstep could lead to a complete loss!"

"Who can be my support?" Elizabeth asked Jerome Bonaparte.

"In the Habsburg Court, anyone with even a little influence will choose to side with Empress Dowager Sophie! You must choose those who are politically frustrated!" Jerome Bonaparte advised Elizabeth, "For example: Prince Metternich!"

"Prince Metternich? Would he be willing to help me?" Elizabeth hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Qianqian, remember this: there is no deal in this world that cannot be made! The success of a deal depends on your bargaining chips!" Jerome Bonaparte confidently said to Princess Sisi, "Currently, Prince Metternich is an elderly man who longs to return to the political arena!"

"But he is so old already!" Elizabeth responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

"A politician never cares about their age; what matters is whether they can continually hold power!" Jerome Bonaparte explained to Elizabeth, "Moreover, the relationship between Prince Metternich and Empress Dowager Sophie isn’t too good! If you are willing to win them over, they would gladly join the Empress Faction!"

After Emperor Franz, the first Emperor of the Austrian Empire and last Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, passed away, a Regency Council was established to help the intellectually disabled Emperor Ferdinand I (literally an invalid) establish his rule, and it was within this council where Prince Metternich’s conflicts with Empress Dowager Sophie gradually accumulated.

"How should I win them over?" Elizabeth asked Jerome Bonaparte for methods.

"Prince Metternich has a daughter!" Jerome Bonaparte said, while standing still and watching Elizabeth twirl around him holding his hand, "You can apply to your husband to have Prince Metternich’s daughter teach you etiquette. This way, you can gauge Prince Metternich’s attitude!"

After twirling around Jerome Bonaparte once, Elizabeth again placed her other hand in Jerome Bonaparte’s hand, curiously asking, "Your Majesty, why do you want to help me?"

"Think of it as compensation!" Jerome Bonaparte vaguely replied.

"Compensation? But you haven’t done anything to me!" Elizabeth looked at Jerome Bonaparte quizzically.

"You can see it as me not being able to bear seeing a young girl being bullied alone in the court!"

The dance ended, Jerome Bonaparte gently took Elizabeth’s hand, kissed it, and then turned and left.