Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.
"Prince Metternich has a new mistress!"
Franz had long since grown accustomed to Talia's gossip, but this time, he could not remain composed.
"Prince Metternich is sixty-three years old! Talia, will you never let him be?"
"What do you mean, 'never let him be'! Can you explain why a sixty-three-year-old man is still so keen on finding new mistresses?" Talia retorted.
"Oh? How old is Prince Metternich's mistress?" In truth, Franz was a little curious himself.
"Twenty. Maybe even less than twenty. How could a woman's age be revealed so easily!"
"An old bull eating tender grass, then. But I suppose that isn't anything strange in aristocratic circles!"
"Hehe," Talia said with feigned mystery. "And there's something even more explosive!"
"What?" Franz asked.
"Count Colloredo has also found a mistress," Talia replied.
"I sent you to gather intelligence, yet all you collect is gossip..." Franz said, somewhat helpless.
"Don't be impatient, let me finish."
"Fine." Franz had no choice but to listen with patience.
"Prince Metternich and Count Colloredo's mistress... is the same person," Talia whispered.
"...Aren't they arch-rivals? It seems certain viewpoints are quite consistent."
"My respected Archduke, perhaps you should expand your imagination."
"No, I just think that woman is courting death. Metternich and Colloredo are not easy men to deal with; if you know about this, how could they not?" Franz said with a laugh.
Talia threw up her hands.
"Anyway, right now, this woman is making quite a name for herself in Vienna's high society. She has even triggered several duels."
In truth, Austria was a strange country. Dueling was not permitted within the military; since the time of Joseph II, any soldier caught dueling within the army was to be executed.
However, a bizarre loophole existed: as long as the duel did not take place within the military, it was not illegal. Nobles, commoners, and even Jews and Gypsies had the right to duel.
The culture of dueling in Austria was extremely prevalent. Even the most famous duel occurred between two women—the bare-chested battle between Metternich's granddaughter and the wife of the Governor of Lower Austria.
The rapier had remained the favorite weapon of the Austrians until the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
A Viennese rector once said, "A scholar must never die in a duel." His successors inherited this motto well; before World War II, fencing was a compulsory subject at the University of Vienna.
"She's just a femme fatale, nothing worth noting. Let's talk about something else." Franz was not particularly interested in such matters.
"People say she is the most beautiful woman in Vienna, a masterpiece of Venus, with the face of an angel but the eyes of a devil, capable of stealing one's soul..."
Franz cut Talia off.
"Enough. You just want to see a beauty, don't you? What is her name? If there's an opportunity, I'll have Mother take us to see her."
"Agany."
Talia nodded with satisfaction.
"Any other news?" Franz asked.
"The Polish insurgent army intends to establish a branch in Vienna," Talia replied.
Franz nearly spat out the juice he had just swallowed.
"What! This is Vienna!"
"Yes, this is Vienna, but this was said openly by a Polish exiled noble in a tavern. Now, all of Vienna knows."
"Are the Poles mad? What are the secret police for?"
"I don't know, but it seems Count Colloredo has refused to approve the budget for the secret police. It is said that Metternich's men can no longer afford professional detectives and can only hire vagrants to replace them."
Franz felt a sense of trepidation. He had forgotten that Count Colloredo, a liberal, was staunchly opposed to the secret police system. It seemed he would have to rely on himself; his twenty-man guard seemed insufficient.
"Talia, keep a close eye on this. I think we'll have to handle this ourselves."
"Mhm. There is one more thing recently: the record for the 'Commoner Killer' has been broken again. It has reached 670."
"Commoner Killer?" This was the first time Franz had heard the name, and the number 670 was far too exaggerated. Even the infamous Jack the Ripper was recorded to have killed only five people.
"Oh, it's Doctor Thomas. He is the director of the Vienna General Hospital and an authority on Austrian obstetrics. His mortality rate for deliveries is very low, but that is limited to the nobility. For commoner women, being delivered by him is a matter of life and death. In ten years of practice, 670 commoners have perished at his hands."
In the Europe of this era, medicine was still very primitive. Bloodletting for minor ailments and amputation for major ones were no joke.
At the best maternity hospitals in Europe at the time, the annual maternal mortality rate was around 20%.
To put that in perspective, the maternal mortality rate for pregnant women in modern China is 0.0000016.
The maternal mortality rate in Europe back then was 125,000 times higher than in modern China, and that was assuming they were in the best hospitals in Europe.
In the vast majority of European hospitals, a mortality rate exceeding 30% was common, and reaching 40% was not unusual. The Vienna General Hospital had even recorded the staggering figure of a zero survival rate for mothers within a three-month period.
(Note: At the time, the mortality rate for home births in Europe was around 10%.)
"He doesn't wash his hands, does he?"
One of the most important reasons for the high mortality rate at the time was infection.
The concept of sterile surgery did not yet exist. No doctor washed their hands before surgery, and they often moved from one operation to another immediately, or even performed surgery right after using the restroom.
European doctors of that era believed that water would weaken the functions of human organs; cold water would cause colds and diarrhea, while hot water would open the pores, allowing more harmful germs to be inhaled, leading to serious diseases like tuberculosis... In short, water was seen as the source of all diseases.
There were also religious factors at play. The Church had once canonized individuals who did not bathe for long periods. A certain Mr. Abraham was eventually canonized as a saint precisely because he insisted on not bathing for fifty years, which provided further justification for these doctors to avoid washing their hands or bodies.
Talia replied, "How should I know?"
Franz thought it made sense, but then realized something was wrong: why was the mortality rate so low for nobles and so high for commoners?
"Talia, print several copies of this 'Six-Step Handwashing Method' and deliver them to all the hospitals in Vienna. Tell them to follow these steps before surgery, and say it is a Royal Decree."
Talia had developed the habit of washing her hands while staying by Franz's side. After all, she would sneak bites of Franz's snacks when no one was looking, and Franz did not want to die of inexplicable diarrhea.
"Alright, but what is the purpose of this?"
"To save lives," Franz answered.
Talia picked up the "Six-Step Handwashing Method" that Franz had just written, preparing to make copies. Given Franz's personality, it would start with Vienna, and then move to the entire country.
"Wait," Franz called out to Talia. "You'll ride in my carriage."
"I'll die!" Talia made a throat-slitting gesture, then stuck out her tongue and rolled her eyes.
"Just don't hitch an extra horse!" Franz said.