The 1916 Rome Talks

Location: Royal Palace, Rome
Date: April 6, 1916
Attendees:

King Joseph I of the City of Saints

German Envoy General Otto von Haller

Austrian Diplomat Count Maximilian von Preysing

Several senior advisors from all parties

King Joseph I: (seated at the head of the marble-paneled council chamber, with the white-and-gold banner of the Kingdom fluttering behind him)
"Gentlemen. You stand in Rome, the heart of my kingdom. Before we begin, I ask plainly—what is the meaning of this visit?"

General Otto von Haller (Germany): (rising with a respectful bow)
"Your Majesty, we come on behalf of the German Empire and our allies. The war in Europe grows ever more demanding. We seek to offer you a path—one of strength, honor, and reward. We invite the Kingdom of the City of Saints to join the Central Powers."

King Joseph I: (eyebrow raised, tone sharp but measured)
"And why, exactly, would we do that?"

General von Haller: (smiling slightly, unfolding a velvet-lined document with maps and letters of intent)
"Should you stand with us, Your Majesty, we offer you significant territorial gains at the expense of the Kingdom of Italy. Sardinia would be yours. Genoa, perhaps even portions of Tuscany. Furthermore, the German Empire guarantees a bilateral trading partnership with your kingdom for the next forty years—industrial cooperation, naval access, gold-backed loans. The City of Saints would become a central pillar in the postwar order."

King Joseph I: (standing now, voice rising with contempt)
"You dare walk into my homeland… my country… my kingdom… and expect me to betray the Italians?!"

(Gasps echo around the table. A moment of stunned silence.)

King Joseph I: (cold and unwavering)
"Have you forgotten the Treaty of Florence? The ink may have dried in 1901, but its meaning has not. We may be monarchs, gentlemen, but we are not whores to war. I will not sell my honor for Sardinia and Genoa and a stack of treaties you’ll shred in twenty years' time."

Count Maximilian von Preysing (Austria): (exploding with rage, slamming his hand on the table)
"Honor?! You speak of honor, you peacock king of a holy circus! Your kingdom is a sideshow of relics! A walking corpse of papal dust! You parade around in robes and pretend you're Rome reborn—you're a farce! Your crown is held up by incense and nostalgia!"

General von Haller: (visibly tense, trying to interject)
"Maximilian, enough! This is not—"

Count von Preysing: (ignoring him)
"Your people eat history like bread and bleed sanctimony like wine. Your so-called culture is nothing more than a museum display with delusions of power! And you—King Joseph—I would sooner kneel to a corpse in the Vatican than call you ally!"

(The Germans fall silent, appalled. One aide buries his face in his hand. Another glances nervously at the King. The room is tense. Unmoving. The King has not spoken since the outburst.)

(King Joseph I remains perfectly still, hands clasped behind his back, his face unreadable.)

(A long pause. The Austrians begin to calm, though red-faced and seething.)

King Joseph I: (voice soft, but cutting through the tension like a blade)
"At least my soul is going upwards."

(The silence that follows is almost holy.)

King Joseph I: (turning slowly toward the door)
"Now get out of my kingdom."

(He walks out of the chamber. The sound of his boots on the marble echoes until the door closes behind him.)

The 1916 Rome Talks would become legendary. King Joseph I's line—"At least my soul is going upwards"—was etched into marble plaques across the capital within weeks. It became a phrase of defiance, moral strength, and anti-imperial resolve, passed down in history books and whispered in cathedrals. The Austrians never fully recovered from the international humiliation.