In front of Mei Quan Palace Square, Adorno's chest pressed against a stranger's back, while his own back leaned on the slender shoulder of a young boy.
Nearly twenty thousand people had gathered around—the number was mentioned by several officers conversing at the palace gates.
This made Adorno feel empowered, a strength that dared him to challenge fate.
The people around seemed exhausted from shouting and fell into silence, but in the crowded square, this quiet was more unsettling than any roar.
Adorno glanced at the lead-gray clouds in the sky, then looked towards the balcony on the second floor of the Schonbrunn Palace.
Four court guards stood there, but the figure he wanted to see was absent.
In fact, the twenty thousand people in the square were all staring at that balcony.
They were twenty thousand waiting for a verdict, and twenty thousand participating in it.
