Hofburg Palace, Vienna
March 27th, 1836
The chamber did not change after the ambassador finished speaking.
The document remained on the table, open, its contents already known to every man present. No one reached for it again. No one needed to. The terms had settled into the room and stayed there, heavier than the silence that followed.
Emperor Ferdinand remained seated, his gaze resting on the paper without truly reading it. His fingers pressed lightly against the armrest, then relaxed, then pressed again, as if he were trying to find a steady rhythm in something that would not settle.
Archduke Louis stood near the table, upright, controlled. Metternich remained by the window, hands behind his back. Kolowrat did not move from his position near the door.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Ferdinand broke the silence.
"If we sign this," he said slowly, "we give up Lombardy and Venetia. Just like that."
No one answered immediately.
