She changed Europe

Page 18

“Your Highness, Rita will always love you, just as she has for the past ten years. If I could, I would like to stay with you forever… I am your maid forever…” Rita’s words made Gisela’s thoughts wander. She admitted that she had supported her own maid and tried to use her privileges to find opportunities to do some lewd things, but that was only a thought.

Besides, it's a little embarrassing to admit, but as a man, I've never received a girl's confession in my past life. After all, I was raised with the idea that boys should take the initiative. As the saying goes, "It's like climbing a mountain for a man to pursue a woman, but like piercing a thin veil for a woman to pursue a man." But today...

This should have been a happy occasion, but why do I feel a strange sense of regret, if only I were a prince instead of a princess...?

Rita was unaware of Gisela's complex inner thoughts, and without giving Gisela a chance to say anything, she pulled Gisela into her arms.

In one smooth motion, a fragrant scent wafted over her face. At this moment, Rita felt a mix of emotions, including guilt for deceiving His Highness. The torment she had been suppressing for so long was real. Feeling the softness and warmth against her chest, Gisela blinked, a nervous blush creeping onto her cheeks.

Wait a minute, does that mean my maid "wife" really wants to be my wife? This was another of the most shocking strange thoughts in Gisela's head.

“Rita, I…” But after the initial surprise, Gisela fell into a new dilemma. He had just heard Rita say that she loved him, a declaration of love for the past ten years. But as an outsider, he had only been with Rita for a few months. To let her steal the feelings that truly belonged to Gisela seemed despicable and shameless.

“Your Highness, let’s go home first.” Fortunately, Rita wasn’t the kind of woman who would pester Gisela. She didn’t wait for Gisela’s response and steered the conversation to other matters.

Lia, who had witnessed everything, remained silent. She stopped paying attention to the master and servant and instead walked slowly to the body of the deceased Andrei. She closed his eyes, opened his suit, and took out the last fragment.

Memories flooded her mind, and Leah seemed to see the three people who made their vows to the setting sun in Milan, and the young man she nestled against in the quaint little church in St. Gallen.

Since the choice has been made, there's no point in regretting it; that's what that person once told me. Why switch identities? Because Lyra wasn't prepared to kill the dead young man before her; handing him over to her sister was perhaps her only option at the time.

Leah gently wiped away her tears, which she couldn't see, and then walked towards Gisela, never looking back.

The Iron Crown still belongs to the Habsburg family. The Italians have failed. Everything at the Academy was just a diversionary tactic. Their only goal from beginning to end was to uncover the secret of the hidden Iron Crown in Caravaggio's painting. Gisela's actions were merely following a pre-arranged plan by the "nobles," who used Gisela and the Iron Crown as bait to completely eradicate Italian influence in Vienna.

Gisela hadn't forgotten that day when she emerged from the ruins wearing the Iron Crown, amidst the lightning and torrential rain, and the black-haired woman. Her eyes held satisfaction and pride in Gisela, but also a barely perceptible arrogance—an aura that clearly shouldn't belong to Gisela…

At that moment, Gisela realized that she still had a long way to go and that even greater challenges awaited her in the future.

Time division line —

The torrential rain in Vienna has lasted for three whole days, but judging from the density of the dark clouds in the sky, there is no sign of it abating. According to the predictions of trained meteorologists in the newspapers, the heavy rain will continue for nearly a week.

At this moment, a middle-aged man dressed in a black suit and wearing a flat black hat stood on the windowsill of the hotel lobby, calmly admiring the street outside the hotel, humming a little tune and looking very content.

“Schubert’s ‘The Trout’ is a very relaxing tune. What you just hummed was probably the third movement of the quintet.” A melodious voice came from behind the middle-aged man. He turned around and saw a “gentleman” wearing a black suit, but who was smaller than the average man, speaking to him.

The "man" had delicate features, and his light blue eyes were particularly captivating. If he were a woman, the person in front of him would be the most hopeless type he had ever seen.

"May I ask who you are?" the middle-aged man asked, looking puzzled.

"Please forgive me, sir, but I cannot remove my hat due to special circumstances. I am Gisela, and it is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Werner von Siemens." Gisela removed her black gloves and extended her right hand, taking the lead in expressing goodwill to the middle-aged man in front of her.

“Hello, sir…?” Although it seemed strange for a man to call a woman by her name, Werner’s habit, honed over years of business negotiations, made him subconsciously extend his hand to shake hands with the “man” in front of him out of personal etiquette and upbringing.

But after a brief moment of thought, he remembered the person named Gisela, that was...

“You are the Duke…” Werner’s astonishment was written all over his face. He was about to say something, but Gisela stopped him with a shushing gesture.

It's no wonder Mr. Werner reacted this way. He knew that the person who invited him to Vienna was a noble Austrian princess, but as an ordinary small businessman and commoner, he couldn't understand why the princess would invite him, even if he racked his brains, and thought it was a trick by a con artist.

But seeing the stamp on the invitation forced him to take the matter seriously. In order not to embarrass himself at court, Werner had not forgotten to read various books on social etiquette during his travels these past few days. He had also bought this suit on the day he arrived in Vienna.

“Mr. Werner, please just call me Gisela. This is a purely private meeting. There are no courtly formalities here, nor any barriers between nobles and commoners. Here, there is only you, as an owner of Siemens, and me, who wants to cooperate with you.” Gisela’s lips curled slightly, and perhaps because of her beautiful face, her smile was particularly charming, causing Mr. Werner to be momentarily dazed.

"Cooperation?" As a qualified entrepreneur, Mr. Werner could immediately deduce the various implications of this word. Because cooperation could refer to both an investment and a merger, it could be a moral or an unethical act, and it could be associated with any form of capital.

“Yes, cooperation.” Gisela pushed out his chair and gestured for the middle-aged man in front of him to sit down.

Gisela raised her right hand and snapped her fingers twice. A waitress nodded in understanding and soon brought over two cups of coffee.

PS1: My family keeps pressuring me to go on blind dates lately, but I have absolutely no desire to get married. It feels like they're just pushing me to complete a task.

Chapter 63 Princess Starting from Zero: Gisela's Little Weakness (Seeking votes and collections)

"I don't know if you like coffee, sir, but I still hope you will try this coffee from the New World. Because of the transportation costs, I believe it's something that's rarely available even in our German region." Gisela deliberately mentioned the German region rather than just Prussia or Austria-Hungary, because in her future plans, this divided land would eventually be unified.

“Thank you for your hospitality, Miss… Madam…” Werner naturally couldn’t refuse Gisela’s kindness, so he smiled somewhat reservedly.

"I heard you invented something called a generator?" Based on Gisela's observation, she judged that Mr. Siemens was a pragmatic person. For pragmatic people, beating around the bush was obviously a big mistake. According to her judgment, getting straight to the point was probably the best choice.

“Yes, you are absolutely right.” In Werner’s view, it would be very easy for a big shot to find out your secrets. Even though the girl in front of him was just a young princess, she was still someone who could not be underestimated.

“Madam, if you want me to transfer the technology, then I’m sorry, this is something I’ve spent my entire life creating. I don’t want it to become a toy for the powerful and wealthy; I want to use it to benefit all mankind.” Mr. Werner had his own principles when it came to his invention. Although his company was not doing well, it hadn’t fallen to the point where it needed to transfer technology to survive. Moreover, he believed that as long as he further improved the generator, his invention would definitely attract the attention of the Prussian authorities.

Although Werner had no inherent prejudice against Gisela, his rationality and the limitations of his status made it impossible for him to fathom what the young princess could do with her inventions other than indulging in them as toys.

"I don't want your technology. I just hope that your Siemens company can build a factory in our Austro-Hungarian Empire to expand your business in Central and Eastern Europe, and incidentally promote your generators." Gisela was not annoyed by Mr. Werner's reaction at all, because she knew that the person in front of her was a talented person, and the rewards he would bring her in the future would far exceed her current efforts.

"You value our company so much, do you really think we can bring you great value?" Werner was a straightforward person; like most people in the tech industry, he said whatever came to mind.

"Yes, I believe you." Gisela's tone was firm, showing no hesitation whatsoever.

"So what do we need to give up?" Business negotiations are about exchanging bargaining chips and achieving mutual benefit. Even if Mr. Werner is somewhat lacking in business acumen, he is still very familiar with these common sense principles.

"I want to invest my own capital and influence in Siemens. Of course, I will not interfere with your operations. On the surface, the management rights of the company will still belong to you. I will provide you with access to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, from investing in and building factories to managing relationships with local nobles and officials. Siemens will have access to a green channel within the Empire that no other company can have."

Although Gisela was just a princess with little real power, the Habsburg name she carried was her greatest political asset. No one would refuse to do Gisela a favor by giving a company the green light, since it really wasn't a big deal.

Of course, Siemens is just her first step. Daimler, Karl Benz, Marconi, Tesla... In the future, she will use her understanding of the original history to gather these 19th-century most brilliant scientists under her wing and help them realize their ideals. If the hardship of their material lives is the shackle that binds these great men from moving forward, then it will be her job to break those shackles.

“Since you’ve said that, I really have no reason to refuse your kindness.” Mr. Werner picked up his coffee cup and began to savor the coffee.

Gisela looked out the window at the still torrential rain and the gloomy sky, but her mood was incredibly pleasant, as if she had finally gotten rid of another trivial matter.

"Why don't you Siemens build your factory in Prague, Bohemia, instead of Vienna?" Why not Vienna? Because Vienna is a place of fierce political struggles with various factions, and Gisela didn't want to spend so much time dealing with those pedantic nobles, while her father was constantly receiving reports from those factions.

Prague was different. As the former capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and the industrial and economic center of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Prague was much more capitalized than Vienna. Moreover, the aristocratic power was not as dominant as that of the bourgeoisie. Most importantly, the Brno family, to which his senior Rania belonged, had enormous influence in Bohemia and Moravia. With the protection of the Habsburgs and Brno, Siemens' development would naturally be much more stable.

"We'll leave the site selection to His Highness." Mr. Werner had just finished his coffee.

“Then I wish us a pleasant cooperation.” Gisela stood up and shook hands with Mr. Siemens again, then walked towards the door, quickly boarded the carriage parked in front of the inn, and left, leaving Mr. Werner staring blankly at the coffee cup, reviewing his conversation with the decisive Austrian princess.

On the carriage—

"Your Highness, have you finished discussing matters with Mr. Siemens?" The speaker was Rita, a maid with silver-gray hair. Since that incident, the master and servant had resumed their daily routines, but Rita's confession that day had made their relationship quite delicate.

"Yes, a little exchange of benefits can happen quickly." The negotiations with Mr. Werner were actually just a formality unilaterally led by Gisela, and since Gisela had already prepared conditions that the other party could not refuse, there was no reason for the talks to fall apart.

"How did it go with my instructions to secretly send someone to contact the Prussian workers' representatives?"

"The other party was very cautious, only replying that they would consider your proposal." (Of course, not in Gisela's name.) Their caution was understandable. At this time, not only these grassroots worker representatives, but even the great mentors were only vaguely exploring ways of labor. As for letting them revolt and seize power, these weapons of struggle that were ahead of their time, they certainly could not easily agree to them. After all, the movement in Paris had not even started yet.

Gisela certainly wouldn't choose that path to reform the country for the time being, because the cost of overthrowing the system she represented was not proportional to the benefits. She simply wanted to trip up her nemesis in a potential future war.

"Never mind, this matter can't be rushed. I still need to go to the Hofburg Palace today." Gisela skillfully took off her suit jacket while untying the corset she had just tied. Why did Gisela choose to wear men's clothing? Is there a problem with a man liking men's clothing?

"Rita, can you do me a favor?" At this moment, Gisela's face suddenly flushed slightly.

"What's wrong, Your Highness?" Faced with such a lovely prince and her beloved's request, Rita naturally wouldn't refuse, so she tilted her head and asked with some concern.

"My tail is stuck."

"Don't worry, Your Highness, I'll help you." Rita leaned forward, lowered her head, and looked at Gisela's rump, where her fluffy golden tail was swaying restlessly.

"That's rude, Your Highness!" Rita said, grabbing Gisela's tail. The fluffy fur was surprisingly nice.

"Ugh, Rita, be gentle, don't touch me, it's too ticklish." Gisela's face flushed slightly, her usually assertive demeanor wavering, and even her voice trembled a little.

"So this is Princess's weakness..." Our maid realized to herself once again.

PS1: The path in this world is difficult; after all, are kings and generals truly born with their titles? 0v0

Chapter 64 Princess Starting from Zero: Father and Daughter (Vote Requested)

The Hofburg Palace—this was Gisela's second visit to this palace since arriving in this world. Unlike her first visit, which was a distant observation, this time she was about to step into the heart of this imperial power.

But for some reason, Gisela felt inexplicably uncomfortable, as if her body was instinctively resisting something. After all, for the original Gisela, the Hofburg Palace, a place of power struggles and intrigue, held no pleasant memories, even if it had little to do with a young princess...

As for his father in this world, Emperor Franz Joseph, a pivotal monarch in the 600-year history of the Habsburg family, he was handsome and had a refined manner.

Unfortunately, he was not the most talented, although he was more diligent than most monarchs in the world. He went to bed at nine o'clock every night and got up at four o'clock in the morning to start working. He took cold showers every day, slept on a cot, and worked for up to 12 hours a day. He was fluent in eight languages. He never indulged in sensual pleasures and comforts. He tried to stay away from any woman except Queen Elizabeth. He devoted almost all his energy to his empire.

Even by today's standards, he was a man who could be considered perfect in both his career and family life, yet he had a life that was truly regrettable, and his regret was as great as that of his empire.

Historically, he ascended the throne in 1848 amidst the European revolutions, only to face a dire political situation in the Austrian Empire. In the west, the Savoy family and Napoleon III were poised to seize northern Italy from the empire; in the north, Prussia was rising and attempting to unify the German regions; in the east, the Russian Empire was restlessly eyeing the Balkans; and in the south, the seemingly weakened Ottoman Empire was unable to advance northward. Meanwhile, the Serbs on the empire's borders were able to freely and secretly build their dream of a Greater Serbia. Internally, there was also the Hungarian uprising. All of this weighed heavily on the shoulders of Franz, who was only 18 years old at the time.

When he thought he had resolved everything in a relatively reasonable way, he suddenly realized that his family was gone. His beloved wife had died in anarchist assassination, his brother had died in the Mexican Revolution, his son Rudolf had died by suicide after suffering from depression, and even his chosen successor, Archduke Ferdinand, had died in Sarajevo. His long life did not bring him the joy of family harmony, nor did it allow him to see the vitality and prosperity his hard work had brought to the empire. All his efforts were in vain. Perhaps driven by this vengeful mentality, he ultimately ignited the flames of World War I, plunging himself and the empire into the abyss of destruction.

Machiavelli once said in "The Prince": "The prince must be a fox to know the traps, and a lion to frighten the jackals." So, which of these two things has he accomplished?

Gisela shook her head, casting aside her many preconceived notions about the historical Emperor Joseph, and stood there, her eyes fixed on His Majesty the Emperor before her.

"This is your biological father," a voice in her heart told her. But Gisela, now ruled by the soul of Lin Wei, was unwilling to easily accept this blood-is-thicker-than-water kinship, because she still did not want to forget her former family.

The two stared at each other in the room, creating an incredibly tense atmosphere.

“Ji…” Emperor Joseph wanted to break the deadlock, but when the words reached his lips, he didn’t know what to say.

"What brings Father to me?" Gisela asked calmly. In his view, his father and mother had completely different personalities. His mother, Queen Elizabeth, was approachable, gentle, and lively, while the emperor in front of him seemed too serious, pedantic, and even a bit dull. No wonder that even though His Majesty was in his prime, his court seemed so gloomy.

"Little Gisela has grown taller and more beautiful." After a moment, Emperor Joseph finally uttered these few words, which seemed somewhat meaningless to Gisela.

"Come closer, let your father take a good look at you." Gisela couldn't refuse the emperor's request, so after taking a deep breath, she slowly walked up to the emperor.

"Take off your hat. I already know." Emperor Joseph looked at his lovely daughter, and a hint of seriousness appeared on his face.

"Got it?! So, are you going to kick me out, or what? Or perhaps strip me of my right to the throne?" Gisela made several predictions, after all, in his view, no monarch would forgive marital infidelity, and he only hoped that this matter wouldn't cause Queen Elizabeth too much trouble...

Because he was thinking, Emperor Joseph found his daughter's shifting eyes to be quite endearing.

"As expected, these are the ears of an Eastern mage. It seems our empire has produced a mage who is unique in Europe." Seeing Gisela's fluffy and very cute fox ears, Joseph finally showed a long-lost smile.

"As expected of Sisi, she always brings me surprises. Even if she and my daughter become magic users, they will be unique in Europe." Emperor Joseph's tone was full of pride.

So, she's chosen to forgive? Gisela doesn't think she should be so nonchalant. After all, Gisela used to be a man and was quite averse to things like NTR (Netorare), even though the stories about this kind of subject matter were indeed interesting, they were still just fiction.

"Little Gisela, I heard that you recently found the real Iron Crown? And you even wiped out the Italian Youth Party's stronghold in Vienna in one fell swoop?" Emperor Joseph picked Gisela up and put her on his lap, gently stroking her little golden head.

Although Gisela disliked the emperor's tone of voice, which sounded like he was talking to a child, she had no reason to dampen the spirits of her poor, adoptive father at this time.

“Yes, Father, but I must also thank the Dean of Selena Academy and the Marquis of Moravia for their help. Of course, my personal maid and her sister also contributed a lot to this matter. On the contrary, I was just an opportunist who stood on the shoulders of giants.” Gisela spoke frankly, and she did feel that she had not actually played a significant role in this matter.

Humility is a virtue, and besides, her own efforts were not as great as Rita's and her sister's...

"The little guy has grown up. Tell me what you've learned from this incident?" Emperor Joseph naturally had his own staff to summarize and report on the process, but right now he was more interested in what the young person involved was thinking.

"Father, I think this Iron Crown incident is just the beginning."

"Oh? What prologue?" Joseph showed great interest in his daughter's rather unexpected remarks.

PS1: I forgot to update last night.

Chapter 65 The Princess Starting from Zero: Capter 65 My mind is made up, I will head straight for my goal (End of this volume)

"The Italians' pursuit of national independence will reach its peak, and we cannot remain unaffected in this new wave of independence movements." Gisela did not linger in her adoptive father's arms but jumped back onto the carpet. She then picked up a small stool from the side. Although 12-year-old Gisela was 162cm tall, which was considered outstanding among her peers in her previous life, the map on the wall behind the emperor was designed for adult men. Therefore, she would still need to tiptoe to reach certain locations on the map, and a stool was obviously the best choice.

"Did Father notice a news item about Italy last month?"

"What news?" Franz stroked his beard, thoughtfully recalling his memories.

As a diligent emperor, he naturally wouldn't miss the newspaper, a way to understand the outside world. Of course, the newspaper in his hands was more like a display of his work results, with no official embellishment in its content, and it could be said that it was the only one of its kind.

"Little Gisela was referring to Princess Misella of Sardinia's visit to Paris, where she held customary friendly exchanges with Napoleon III."

"Yes, Father, there is indeed such news." This isn't hard to guess. After all, the Kingdom of Sardinia is seeking the independence and unification of Italy, and as a major power bordering Italy and with significant interests, Sardinia's close ties with France are almost an inevitable national policy.

"Then Father should know that the Italian youth party, which clashed with me and seized the Iron Crown, actually had close ties with the Savoy dynasty of Sardinia. So why did they want to seize the crown?"

"Because they want legitimacy to rule Italy?" The emperor wasn't a fool; the moment his daughter spoke, he had already entered his own logical thought process. Looking back over the past decades, the Italians had nearly failed, but the Savoy family had never ceased to yearn for the unification of Italy.

Unfortunately, although the empire had declined, it was still not something that a mere Sardinian kingdom could easily challenge or provoke.

"Their petty tricks are nothing to worry about. Even if the Kingdom of Sardinia were to join forces with Naples, it would be impossible for them to shake our Empire's dominant position in northern Italy." Joseph was confident here. The Empire had 8 troops in Italy, and they were under the command of Grand Duke Albrecht Friedrich Freya of Tessem. With a magic user in charge, the Empire, though weakened, was not yet at the point of being defeated by a third-rate country like the Kingdom of Sardinia.

As for who Grand Duke Albrecht Friedrich Freya is, Gisela may be unfamiliar with her, but she is very familiar with the girl's mother, because she is Grand Duke Karl, who made great contributions in the Napoleonic Wars. This legendary female marshal, like Empress Napoleon, was a woman but used a very masculine name.

Most importantly, she and Gisela belonged to the same Habsburg family, only that the latter was from a collateral branch while she was from the main branch. In terms of wealth and status alone, she was even richer than Gisela. Her family owned the Welborg Palace (summer palace) and the Abrecht Palace (winter palace) in Vienna (today's Albertina Museum). They also owned more than 50 acres of land (2000 square kilometers), making them the most powerful noble family in the empire. Crucially, she was still unmarried.

"Then what about the Kingdom of Sardinia plus the French Empire?" Gisela had already anticipated that Emperor Joseph would say this. Historically, the emperor had also fallen into the trap of Cavour, the prime minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and unwittingly reduced the armies of each other in Italy. He thought he could easily defeat the Kingdom of Sardinia, but then the French devil appeared and handed over his advantage in Italy to the other side.

"I believe Napoleon III would not do something so thankless." Emperor Joseph's judgment was based on an unwritten consensus between the Empire and France regarding Italy: a unified Italian kingdom should not be allowed to appear on the Apennine Peninsula.

“Father is right, Napoleon III is not the kind of short-sighted person, but…” Gisela paused.

“He is a profit-driven man,” Gisela said with a frown, her words sounding somewhat harsh.

"..." The emperor fell into a brief silence, but after a moment he laughed:

"Hahaha! Little Gisela's judgment is truly astute." It's hard to imagine such a sharp and sarcastic comment coming from the mouth of a child who is only 12 years old. It's as if he is deliberately imitating an adult. Gisela's words undoubtedly amused Emperor Joseph.

"Am I wrong?" Gisela asked, after watching the Emperor finish laughing.

“No! Gisela, please continue, I’m listening!” Joseph seemed to realize that this might not be a good idea, after all, the topic itself was very serious and related to national strategy.

“What if the Kingdom of Sardinia offered territorial concessions? For example, if the French army helped them reclaim northern Italy, they promised to give the French Empire some territory closer to France in return?” Gisela could only offer this subtle reminder to the emperor. She dared not point directly at the map and say that the Kingdom of Sardinia and Naples had reached an agreement to cede these two places to France; that would be too blatant.

"Father, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Cavour, is a formidable and ruthless opponent. You must be careful." A person who can use territory as a diplomatic bargaining chip to exchange for greater national interests is probably hard to find even in the thousand-year history of Europe.