Holy Roman Empire

It was another Christmas, and this year’s celebration was particularly lively due to the return of Jerusalem. The whole of Austria was immersed in joy and laughter.

Merchants seized the opportunity to hold promotions, with discount signs filling the streets. Some shops even gave away free candies and sunflower seeds to attract customers.

Standing on the rooftop, Franz took up his binoculars and gazed at the bustling street below, feeling a twinge of longing.

The joy of an ordinary person strolling through the streets was something Franz could not experience. The life of commoners was not suitable for an emperor. That was the price of holding such a high position.

Sneaking out would be irresponsible. The emperor represents not just himself but also the country.

If something unexpected were to happen, Austria could be thrown into chaos. Despite the apparent stability in Austria, Franz was well aware that there were many hidden dangers within the empire, merely masked by surface prosperity.

It is not frightening for a country to have hidden dangers as solving them is what matters. What is truly frightening is knowing that dangers exist yet turning a blind eye and recklessly pursuing disaster, which could lead to severe consequences.

Franz understood that there were many people dissatisfied with the government—those who lost in power struggles and those whose interests were harmed by reforms...

He could completely understand the resentment harbored by these individuals. Understanding or not, those who needed to be suppressed still had to be suppressed.

Even if there was discontent, since these individuals had not revolted, time could wash away everything. Franz also did not resort to extreme measures.

There is a prerequisite for this: opportunities must not be given to them. The rest is simply a matter of biding time, gradually wearing down their fighting spirit with the mundane struggles of daily life.

Just like the Hungarian independence movement of the past, after enduring societal hardships, the once passionate revolutionaries were defeated by reality.

Deep down, Franz constantly reminded himself not to be reckless. In another ten or twenty years, once he had raised his son and passed on the throne, he would be free.

“What’s so interesting about this? It’s freezing cold, yet you’re up here.”

A familiar voice interrupted him. Franz lowered his binoculars and turned to see who it was, smiling as he did so.

“It’s Christmas, and I wanted to see how the people are celebrating.”

His seemingly relaxed response was filled with resignation. People often reminisce only after they have lost something.

Empress Helene took the binoculars from Franz and looked in the direction he had been observing, then frowned.

“Well, there are a lot of people on the street, but they’ve made Santa Claus look quite ugly—there’s no sense of artistic taste at all.”

Franz couldn’t help but chuckle. The concept of “artistic taste” was something he barely understood as an emperor. How could ordinary people who struggled daily for their basic needs grasp it?

His laughter irritated Empress Helene, who shot him a sharp glare and said, “You’re mocking me, aren’t you?”

Although her question was calm, her eyes conveyed to Franz that he better provide a reasonable explanation. Otherwise, this Christmas would not go smoothly for him.

Thinking quickly, Franz found an excuse, “No, I just found the Santa Claus outside a bit funny. If you look closely, doesn’t he seem to be missing an arm or a leg? If Santa Claus looks like that and has to go around spreading cheer, that would be quite a challenge for him.”

Seeing that Empress Helene continued to look through the binoculars, Franz quickly changed the subject, “By the way, what brings you up here? Don’t tell me it’s just for leisure. I remember you’re always busy during Christmas.”

This was true. The royal family also had to hold celebrations for Christmas, and these activities were managed by the empress. This included preparing Christmas gifts for friends and family and inviting guests for banquets.

As if recalling something, Empress Helene’s expression changed, “Oh no, I have so much to do. You enjoy yourself. I have to go.”

After saying this, she handed the binoculars back to Franz and turned to leave. However, she added, “Frederick is almost 20 years old now. As his father, you should show some concern for his future.

Don’t forget, we have many sons, but there are only a limited number of suitable princesses in Europe of the same age. If we don’t settle this in advance, you’ll have something to worry about later!”

After this small exchange, Franz lost interest in watching the festivities. He hadn’t really paid attention to the fact that European royal families were experiencing a surplus of men compared to women.

This was a consequence of the butterfly effect. The Habsburg family had a notably high birth rate for males, especially since Franz had four sons, disrupting the gender balance among European royals.

However, Franz quickly pushed this issue out of his mind.

Aside from his eldest son, who needed to consider political alliances and should marry someone of equal status, the other sons could marry someone of lower status or wait a few more years if suitable matches were not available.

In Franz’s view, this was not a problem at all. As long as he lowered the standards for potential brides by one tier, he could at least increase the number of candidates by double digits.

...

It seemed that God wanted to enhance the festive atmosphere. As night fell, snowflakes quietly began to fall.

The cold wind did not dispel the holiday spirit. Every household hung wreaths on their doors and built snowmen, while Christmas trees adorned the interiors.

After a busy day, Rennes returned to his small bedroom, picked up the prepared materials, and began to make his own Christmas tree.

Starting preparations now was a bit late, but what could Rennes do? He was poor.

Rennes was not a local. He had only come to Vienna this summer to make a living. With little savings in his pocket, this small room of less than ten square meters was one he had reluctantly rented.

There was no other choice. Although Vienna claimed to be the city with the highest per capita income in the world, the problem lay in the “per capita” aspect. As someone at the bottom of society, Rennes was undoubtedly one of those averaged out.

In Vienna, aside from working in high-income sectors like finance, research, education, and healthcare, there were also poor people engaged in service industries.

According to legal regulations, Christmas must be a holiday, with the service industry being the only exception. If businesses closed on Christmas, how would anyone celebrate?

Considering the overtime pay, Rennes decisively chose to work extra hours. He knew that during such holidays, even the stingiest bosses would give their overtime employees a Christmas gift.

Rennes was fortunate as his boss at the grocery store was a devout believer. This year, with Jerusalem’s return bringing him good spirits, he gave Ryan a bag of flour weighing fifty pounds.

This was the best Christmas gift Rennes had ever received. With that bag of flour, he had secured his food supply for the next month, which was far more practical than candy or sunflower seeds.

In a good mood, Rennes completed the Christmas tree in the shortest time possible. It may have looked a bit ugly, but that did not hinder his pursuit of a better life.

The choir from the church had begun to sing Christmas carols in front of each parishioner’s door, and Rennes felt very excited.

He had never experienced this. Although there were churches back in his hometown, there was only one priest, and choirs were something only cathedrals had.

After watching the choir leave, Rennes fell silent. Alone in a strange city, without friends or family nearby, he didn’t know how to spend the time ahead.

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Looking at the prepared Christmas gifts, Rennes smiled bitterly. The city was different from his hometown. Everyone was quite guarded, and many people put on masks.

When he first moved in, Rennes had tried to get to know his neighbors. However, the tenants living here were all at the bottom of society, struggling daily for their livelihoods and having no energy to entertain more people or matters.

Though they spoke politely, their tone conveyed a sense of distance that made Rennes abandon any further attempts at friendship. He didn’t have time for that, anyway.

Vienna was a city that never slept, which meant that those working in service industries had it tough. Although Austria’s Labor Protection Law stipulated an eight-hour workday, this existed only in theory.

An eight-hour wage might allow one to survive in Vienna, but if you wanted to save money, you had better be prepared to work overtime!

Like most service industries, the grocery store where Rennes worked operated on a two-shift system, remaining open 24 hours a day except for Christmas Eve when it closed.

With the daily shift schedule, the busy hours totaled up to 14 each day. And that was on a good day. Every three days, the grocery store would restock. The boss would never hire extra staff for that, so employees had to work an additional 3 to 5 hours. Considering the overtime pay, Rennes decisively chose to work extra hours.

He only had two days off each month, so he had no choice but to prepare for some much-needed sleep! This was the daily life of an ordinary service worker in Vienna.

Rennes never complained. The conditions in most factories were often worse. While the working hours might not be as long, the labor environment was certainly not comparable.

In the store, at least here there was hope. He interacted with different people and experiences every day, which broadened his horizons. If he paid close attention, he could learn a lot.

If he were to enter a factory, he would need to quickly learn a trade! If he couldn’t overcome that hurdle, his life would remain stagnant.

Holding back tears, Rennes took out half a roasted goose he had bought on the way home and heated it by the stove, flipping over some potatoes that were nearly cooked. This was his lavish Christmas dinner.

As night deepened, the Christmas bells began to ring.