The moonlight was casting its glow on the flowers and trees of Schönbrunn park almost as in broad daylight. The embroidery and gold buttons of the jacket of the white uniform he wore that evening shimmered as she slowly unbuttoned them, as much as his continuous kisses on the cheeks, on the neck, on the breasts still trapped under the dress and corset allowed her. She could feel his fingers playing with the laces tightened around her back and the sigh he let out when he had to declare himself defeated by them.

"You are so clumsy tonight, I guess you'll have to settle for this" she whispered to him mischievously, then grabbed his hand to invite him to make his way under her skirt "at least down here there are no insurmountable obstacles."

Rudolf winced when his fingertips touched her. He was feeling way too constricted in his trousers already. The fact that she was fully clothed made it feel like a conquest of a hidden treasure.

"Rose, hurry, I think I'm going crazy" he sighed on her lips, enjoying the moan he caused her by moving his slender fingers. They both had been anticipating that moment since they heard about the ball and his next day off service. If he had not taken the initiative, she wouldn’t have had any problem in dragging him herself to an appropriate place to remove him from the boredom of his duties. But well, there was no need anymore.

Now, unbuttoning his jacket had become an even more difficult task, like untying that knot of the belt that tightened his waist. Since she wouldn’t have undressed, as it would have been quite complex to go through all the layers of her gown in those conditions, she would have liked at least to admire that body she was stripping under the moonlight, abandoned on the grass in that small and intimate garden surrounded by a high hedge. Military service was slowly sculpting that slender figure of his, which, nevertheless, remained so elegant and smooth, comparable to the marble statues that adorned the park.

The grass was already damp with dew, and he would not have wished for his companion to ruin her dress and finely styled hair, so he was the one laying on the lawn, on his cloak, basically naked. He was shivering, but he couldn’t tell if for the cool damp feeling against his back or for the pleasure that she was already arousing in him just by settling on his crotch. She allowed herself being admired as well, in her usual majestic demeanour, before beginning to move slowly, provoking him, hurrying him. He didn't hesitate a second longer to hold her firmly by the thighs and start lifting his hips frantically, letting her understand that yes, he couldn’t restrain himself any longer. As much as they were savouring that exciting new situation, they were already anticipating the escape from that ball and a long night of undisturbed delight wrapped in the countess's silk sheets and without clothes between them, maybe after a warm and soothing bath, perfect after the chill air of that evening spent mainly outside. And to enjoy his company to the fullest, until she was allowed to.

-

She would have sincerely liked to meet this Ester, said Rose out of the blue to Rudolf on one evening he had spent half the time talking about that woman, as if she were a goddess who had descended on earth. For the umpteenth time. Even Miklós, now happily father of a brat who had inherited his same lively eyes, was fed up with his friend's constant flattery about his new flame. Please, just get laid once and for all!

Although she was starting to be annoyed with his continuous unintentional nagging, Rose had to admit that the whole situation only added to the young man's charm. Those eyes of his seemed to shine brighter and brighter every day, not to mention when the countess made that request.

"Would you really like to meet her? Seriously?"

He really did just take after Miklós that way of wagging his whole body like a happy pup.

Definitely, that boy should have get married as soon as possible, have children, being kept occupied with his family life, because apparently he wasn’t busy enough at the moment - or he just had too much energy and not enough sleep - or she would have no longer been able to resist him, and get way too attached.

"But just me and her... a chat between women."

Her tone was so peremptory that Rudolf did not even dare to protest at being excluded.

-

She had suspected it, but now she was almost certain, unfortunately. That girl was not being totally sincere.

While she was saying with that sweet, sometimes shy smile of hers, her delicate voice, that Rudolf was adorable, caring, noble, and that she felt extremely lucky to have got to know him, she was not talking about that lad in his early twenties named Rudolf, who for sure, reflected all those qualities, but was also still deeply insecure and tormented, difficult to read. The girl was instead referring to the perfectly mannered Archduke Rudolf of Habsburg-Lothringen. If she had not yet seen him well for who he truly was, or if he instead had been the one not to show his real self to the young maiden until now, she did not know. And of course, anyone would have felt extremely lucky to receive attention from a person of such a rank. Rose couldn’t fully blame her.

But the reserved and forced shy attitude she was pretending in that moment contrasted with the countless stories she had heard from his lover. When had she ever been that coy with him? If anything, he was the shy one between the two. Something didn't add up.

A predator, that's what she had been able to see in Ester after a while they were chatting, in the amber eyes of hers, almost similar to those of a hawk. She had actively seduced him. Rudolf was certainly a sharp and intelligent young man, that is, if it was a question of rational and material matters. On the other side, he was still quite naïve and inexperienced when real feelings were involved, considering just how, until recently, he had been considering himself a failure unworthy of the friendship even of the people that had been friend to him for years, let’s not even mention love. He had been an easy and attractive prey, this considered, but the audacity that this woman had had to target him! How can we blame her though, in her condition and when such a man laid his eyes upon her.

She decided to calm her concerned spirits by sipping a good melange. Perhaps, she was letting herself be influenced by the inevitable jealousy that she had not been able to totally fight back. She was still a living woman with feelings at the end of the day. And after all, whatever Ester's intentions were, Rudolf was changing for the best thanks to her. He looked happy, deliciously ripe and ready. And regarding herself, Rose, as much as she smelled that that girl had immediately known who Rudolf really was since the first time they had met, and had returned his attentions for that reason, she did not have the certainties and authority to oppose their story. It wouldn’t have been fair and proper. Miklós too was eagerly pushing for them to unite, even though his judgment was worth little to her, as she was sure that he wouldn’t have been able to notice such subtleties. Or was he? Maybe she could have asked him one day. What mattered the most to both of them was Rudolf's well-being, and of one thing at least she was absolutely certain, and she wanted to tell it loud and clear to that b-...my bad, fair maiden let’s say.

"I hope you don’t feel offended," sighed the countess, as she began to adjust her clothes to get up and leave the sober but distinguished café she had chosen for that meeting, "and I hope I don't seem too presumptuous. I have just met you, so maybe I am wrong, but you give me the idea that you still do not understand Rudolf and his heart well. He is complicated, I've known him myself for a few years now and sometimes he still baffles, but also amazes me, unexpectedly."

Ester was sitting all straight, with the hands politely wrapped around the mug, listening in silence. Was she deeply attentive to her words, or was she pretending, confident in her already assured position alongside the Habsburg?

"Sooner or later, he will make you fall madly in love. It will happen naturally, by spending time with him, that's the way he is. I hope you are ready to stand by his side, as the future will not be easy for both of you."

Rudolf was ready to pull out his claws for this young girl, but would she have been able to mend the wounds that he would inevitably suffer? He was already disliked by many at court, he would soon become a real enemy, she feared.

"His smile, please never make it break" she concluded, thanking the maid for her time and wishing to meet again in the future.

-

The scandal was obviously in everyone’s mouth in the blink of an eye, opposite opinions being spoken on the matter, but nothing that could stop the young couple's wedding.

Rudolf had yelled at his old father, his consort, brothers and sisters, chamberlains, everyone, not that he could have changed their minds, but at least in this way he was able to vent his anger against his misfortune’s architects themselves. And after a long day spent like this, he then had to pour all the frustration on his friends Miklós and Rose von Kinsky, of whom he was, as always, a guest. As understanding as she was, and glad to support him, she did not approve of his idea of carrying that weight alone and sparing all those hassles to his future bride, at least for the moment, just because, as he explained, his family was his problem and he had to deal with that on his own. As he was confiding this to her on one evening, he looked so heartbroken and kept on whimpering so much, the countess feared that he was about to give up his name as a Habsburg, or his love, or both. But then he had managed to smile at her with his cheeks still streaked with tears and a runny nose, declaring that he would have surely won that first battle. The first of a lifelong war most likely.

At the moment of reckoning, given that according to the imperial law on succession Rudolf could not be disinherited, except for high treason, clearly not the case here, it was agreed that the bride should never have set foot at court or at any official event for any reason, and that any heir they might have had wouldn’t have been permitted to claim the throne. Rudolf let out a sigh of relief: actually, he couldn't have asked for anything better, as he would have been more than happy to spend time away from that place and save Ester interactions with unpleasant people.

Thus, a nicely intimate ceremony was held, which ended with a sober banquet in the modest but welcoming home that the couple had received as a wedding gift from their closest and wealthiest friends. Rudolf could have never been able to thank enough who stood by his side.

"Become a good ruler when the time comes! That will do!" said Miklós with a great slap on his shoulder that almost knocked the glass of wine on his white robe.

If only some time ago the Habsburg would have protested at such a statement, now he replied with a grin and an equally energetic whack.

"And you will be the first of my ministers!"

This prospect raised a general clamour and Miklós was left alone to assert his now questioned position among his comrades, while Rudolf opted to get his bride back, stealing her from the attentions of his friend's wife, to hold her by his side and kiss her in front of everyone, amidst ovations.

Rose, obviously present, was so happy to see him in that new light that she came home late at night with her cheeks sore from smiling too much.

Even if, once the excitement of the evening wore down, another problem came up: stopping her lower lip from trembling.

It was just extreme happiness, wasn’t it?