Chapter 1446: Undercurrents in Vienna
Joseph finally nodded and said, "Tell me, what have you heard?"
Lavalette replied, "It is believed that His Highness Charles is currently involved in an affair with an older lady in Berlin. Furthermore, her status is reportedly quite high."
Joseph frowned, though he wasn't particularly surprised. After all, Charles had grown up in the Palace of Versailles; it was hardly unexpected for him to have picked up the "refined habits" of the French nobility.
He sighed. "No wonder he mentioned going to Esens a couple of days ago to oversee the armaments. It seems he intends to linger in Northern Germany for a while."
He then asked Lavalette, "Do we know her identity?"
"That is not yet clear, Your Highness. However, Baron Mosten hinted that she holds considerable power within the City Palace."
Joseph nodded with a touch of helplessness. "Very well. Take advantage of the time Charles is in Esens to investigate this matter as quickly as possible."
He paused before adding another instruction. "Additionally, you must first determine the state of that woman's health. If she has contracted certain diseases, bring Charles back to me immediately."
Fortunately, France now possessed penicillin. Even if Charles were unfortunate enough to contract syphilis, it wouldn't be a major issue as long as it was treated early.
Vienna, Austria. The Kärntnertor Theatre.
Seated in the middle of the first floor, a girl with fine ringlets and a pale green gown clenched her fists tightly. Her large blue eyes were filled with fury as she gritted her teeth and whispered, "These devils, they all deserve to go to hell! What will become of poor Tristan..."
On stage, the latest masterpiece by the French playwright Pierre LeBlanc, "Quiet Summer Night," was being performed.
The play told the story of a wretched young man named Tristan who, under the persecution of the town's tax farmer, lost his left arm yet was still forced to work sixteen hours a day to repay his debts. Even his employer eventually went bankrupt and committed suicide because the tax farmer had arbitrarily altered the tax rates.
Of course, the girl had not yet seen the ending—where the King implemented tax system reform and abolished the tax farming system. With the help of a righteous mayor, Tristan bravely exposed the tax farmer's crimes. Ultimately, the tax farmer was forced to forfeit all his property and fled to America to become a beggar.
Lukas looked at the girl's flushed face and gently patted her back with affection to comfort her. "He is a strong man; he will surely find a way out."
The girl turned to look at him and nodded emphatically. "It is fortunate that there are people like you, working tirelessly to fight for all the suffering Austrians."
Lukas found himself unable to meet her gaze, for he had long since abandoned the "fight" she spoke of.
In truth, as early as the end of this summer, a disheartened Lukas had been preparing to return to Paris. But on the very afternoon he planned to leave, he had unexpectedly encountered Gloria—the girl beside him—and fell hopelessly in love.
Consequently, he remained in Vienna and quickly entered a passionate romance with her.
Now, he only occasionally participated in the activities of the Stieler Society and translated some meaningful articles from French newspapers.
However, to his surprise, although Gloria came from an aristocratic family, she was a fervent supporter of reforms regarding human rights and a parliament. After meeting him, she had even joined the Stieler Society.
Currently, the Stieler Society had fewer than thirty members left. Even Lukas only continued to promote freedom and human rights out of habit, whereas Gloria was full of drive, becoming the most active person in the society.
Finally, Tristan began his counterattack on stage, and cheers erupted throughout the theater.
The moment the evil tax farmer fled into the night onto a ship bound for America, Gloria leaped up in excitement. "Wonderful! The devil has finally been defeated!"
The curtain slowly fell. Gloria took Lukas's arm and walked out of the theater. Curses against tax farmers could still be heard echoing around them.
"That was truly the most magnificent play I have ever seen!" she praised. "It truly lives up to its reputation as a work by a French master. If only we could see French plays more often."
Since the last drama festival, France had become the center of theatrical export for all of Europe.
Lukas sighed. "You know that the Press and Publication Administration will spare no effort to ban French plays from appearing here."
"Quiet Summer Night" was only allowed to be performed in Austria because it aligned perfectly with Metternich's tax system reform. As for other French works, even their titles were forbidden from appearing in Austrian newspapers.
Gloria waved a fist. "Freedom, we must have freedom..."
Lukas hurriedly pulled her back and looked around warily. Only after confirming that no one was paying attention did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The city was crawling with secret police. The sentence the girl had just uttered was enough to have her arrested.
As Lukas and his girlfriend left the theater, a man in his thirties wearing a lavish blue coat with his face powdered sat in a VIP box on the second floor, glaring venomously at the stage now hidden by the curtain.
The plot he had just witnessed had left him nearly unable to breathe.
'What did Froelich do wrong? He collected taxes for the King for decades, only to end up penniless and begging for a living.'
Froelich was the tax farmer in the play.
And he, as it happened, was also a tax farmer—he had contracted the taxes for all tobacco, wine, salt, and long-term shops in Vienna's South District.
Although he possessed a fortune of several million Florins, the play had made it clear to him: if he lost his tax farming rights, he would sooner or later end up a beggar just like Froelich.
He wasn't afraid of death; years ago, his grandfather had dared to lead men to kill a competitor over a few hundred Florins. But he was terrified of poverty. To him, that was an ordeal more painful than losing his life.
The voice of a manservant came from behind him. "Master, it is almost five o'clock. If we don't leave now, we might miss the gathering."
The man nodded and walked out of the box with a dark expression.
Elsewhere, Gloria shared a parting kiss with Lukas. Once his silhouette disappeared at the end of the street, she returned to her carriage and carefully went over their "alibi" with her maid.
The carriage took several detours before finally stopping in front of a brick-red villa in the middle of Landstrasse.
"Miss, why are you only returning now?" The maid who met her helped check her makeup before letting her through the door, speaking anxiously. "It's a good thing there is a party at home today; otherwise, I wouldn't have known how to cover for you."
In the hall on the east side of Gloria's home, her father, Count Ulfeldt, was speaking in low tones with the man in the blue coat from the theater.
"Mr. Holtz, I must warn you. Regarding the case of Tax Official Federer, the secret police have already set their sights on you."
Holtz, however, smiled nonchalantly. "Please rest assured, my people did a very clean job."
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