Marie Louise remained near the carriage, guarded but attentive. Elisabeth stepped down beside her, gaze fixed on the lanes ahead.
"Are they going to hold a military parade?" Marie Louise asked.
"I believe they are going to test a weapon or something, Your Majesty," Elisabeth replied.
"Call me Marie, you will be my daughter-in-law after all," Marie said.
"No, that would be improper…"
"No, that would be improper…" Elisabeth said, lowering her gaze slightly.
Marie Louise smiled, not unkindly.
"Improper," she repeated. "Perhaps. But you are family now, whether the courts have finished arguing about it or not."
Elisabeth hesitated, then nodded once.
"…Marie," she said quietly.
The Empress seemed satisfied.
Ahead of them, activity began to shift.
