She changed Europe

Page 11

"The Austrians are ridiculous. They were once the most powerful and had the best chance to unify Germany." Chloris felt more contempt for Austria and the Habsburg dynasty, after all, it was they who hindered the rebirth of Germany.

"The past is the past. The current order must be established by us. Now it's either we defeat Austria and achieve unification, or Austria defeats us. Of course, if an ambitious person had emerged from the Habsburg family, perhaps Germany could have been unified. Unfortunately, the current Austrians are just a group of Metternich's successors, the guardians of the old regime." Bismarck's tone was filled with indignation as he said this. The emergence of nation-states was the future trend of Europe and the world.

Metternich is a political ideology centered on the views of Metternich, a famous statesman of the Austrian Empire in the early 19th century. It advocates maintaining the Holy Alliance under the Vienna system and opposes all nationalism, liberalism, and revolutionary movements. It can be seen as a shield for conservatism and is a product of the old feudal forces in Europe banding together for mutual support after the impact of the French Revolution.

"By the way! Miss Bismarck, have you ever heard of Princess Gisela Louise Marie of Austria-Hungary?" Chloris asked a question that seemed quite abrupt from the previous topic, and Bismarck also seemed somewhat confused and puzzled by the princess's question.

“I don’t know her. I only know that she seems to be the second daughter of Emperor Franz of Austria and his Empress Elisabeth. Other than that, I have never seen any news about her in the news or the media.” In Bismarck’s view, Gisela was just an obscure Austrian princess and not someone she needed to pay special attention to.

"Your Highness mentioned Princess Gisela. Is there any information about her that we should be interested in?"

"Miss Bismarck, do you know of a company in Berlin called Siemens?" Chloris straightened up and casually glanced at the documents in the other person's study.

PS1: You can think of Bismarck as the Bismarck from Kantai Collection.

PS2: Chloris's official artwork will be posted later.

Chapter 38 The Princess Starting from Zero: Capter 37 - Worth Watching

"Siemens?" With a slight frown, Bismarck turned and sat down on the sofa opposite Chloris. Then, with his legs crossed, he picked up the wine glass in front of him and put the wine in his mouth.

Bismarck was a lifelong drinker, whether he was the pot-bellied old man in history or the stunning blonde woman in front of him. It was one of the few pleasures of this hardworking Prussian prime minister.

"Sir Bismarck, you know that we have always regarded Austria as our number one hypothetical enemy. Our generals are often keen to simulate on the sand table how to defeat our greatest enemy on the road to unification head-on. But as the prime minister, you should understand better than anyone else the value of intelligence to us."

"My intelligence agency has been dedicated to gathering intelligence on Vienna, including monitoring telegrams and magical communications between Berlin and Vienna." Clearly, Chloris's presence here indicates she has important intelligence to share with the Prime Minister.

“Your Highness, there are thousands of companies in Berlin alone, and nearly 50 of them are engaged in magic communication services and telegraph business. Bismarck is the prime minister and foreign minister. He always speaks on behalf of the Prussian government. But she is not the minister in charge of economic affairs. Even if she were an expert in this field, she would not be interested in such an obscure company. She would only care about military giants like Krupp.”

"Our intelligence personnel noticed several telegrams sent from Vienna to Berlin, among which there were letters signed Gisela Louise Marie, a name I'm sure you're familiar with."

If it were just a simple name, then it wouldn't be surprising if there were many repetitions, but there was probably only one person in the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire with this full name.

"So what is the purpose of that Habsburg princess's invitation to Mr. Siemens?" Upon hearing this, Bismarck frowned slightly, looking at Chloris with a somewhat serious expression.

The founder of an obscure company received an invitation from a princess of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This suggests that the situation is not as simple as it appears on the surface. After all, true political maneuvering is often hidden beneath seemingly ordinary decisions. As for the mysterious princess, perhaps she is just an excuse from the Viana side?

After all, if you do the math, that princess is only about 12 years old, far too young to participate in the governance of the country.

"Since Your Highness finds this matter suspicious, then let's continue the investigation. I will always support Your Highness's judgment. I just wonder if this Mr. Siemens can uncover anything we don't know."

"You're absolutely right. I've already arranged for someone to handle that. The basic information we can confirm so far is that this person was born in Hanover, is a native German, highly educated, served in our Prussian army, and after retiring, independently established a laboratory to conduct research. During this time, he and a friend started a business in Berlin, but it didn't go well, and they could only barely make a living through telegraph work." (The information about the generator was filtered out by the intelligence department because they couldn't understand the potential of this technology.)

"That's strange. There's nothing suspicious about him at all. Besides, he's never been to Vienna before, let alone had any contact with Princess Gisela. If he had the support of Vienna, he wouldn't be in such a sorry state now."

"Could it be that someone else has been in contact with him secretly and reached some kind of agreement with them?"

“This is a direction we can consider. I can have them investigate the people Mr. Siemens has been in contact with.”

Bismarck looked up at the wall clock and realized it was getting late. She still had to go to Potsdam to meet His Majesty the King to report on her current work. Thinking about the mountain of paperwork that had piled up in her office since she left half a day ago, Miss Bismarck couldn't help but sigh.

"I'm getting old and my energy is waning. I'll retire once Germany is unified."

Although Bismarck looks like a woman in her early twenties in both appearance and temperament, she is actually nearly forty years old. The reason she hasn't aged is simply because she is a magic user, and the massive amount of magic power she possesses has the effect of delaying aging. It is worth mentioning that Bismarck in this world has not been able to get married due to personal reasons, and is a so-called "leftover woman" of advanced age. She has always prioritized the country and has no rush to get married.

Of course, it's hard for a strong woman like her to attract any man's interest.

"Knock knock knock!" A knocking sound came from outside the room.

"Please come in," Bismarck replied softly.

"Your Highness, here is your coffee and the beer that Lord Bismarck wanted to take with him."

“You’re still the same as always, Bismarck.” This time, Chloris didn’t use honorifics, because Bismarck’s casualness was already well-known throughout the Prussian court. Despite drinking both red wine and beer, her alcohol tolerance was actually better than many people’s.

“Well, we’re just idling around in the carriage anyway, might as well drink to pass the time.” With that, Bismarck nodded to Chloris, then turned and left with her beer bottle.

As for Chloris, she didn't intend to stay any longer at the other person's house, so she got up to leave, only to find that the other person had already left the reception room...

"Has that esteemed person left?"

"It really is like a machine, always operating at high efficiency..." Chloris couldn't help but complain.

“Yes, Your Highness, if you can be as competent as Lord Bismarck, it would be an honor for our Kingdom of Prussia,” the maid she had brought with her echoed beside Chloris.

"Competent, is that it?" Chloris suddenly turned her gaze to the cute maid beside her, a hint of amusement playing at the corner of her mouth.

"So, are you competent?" Chloris hugged the petite and adorable maid from behind, gently biting her ear with her pearly white teeth, then softly blew on it. Caught off guard by her mistress's "surprise attack," the maid quickly blushed and slumped into Chloris's arms, completely at her mercy.

"Your Highness... um..." The little maid let out an unintelligible moan.

Chloris skillfully explored the maid's beautiful body parts, leaving no spot untouched, such as her breasts, the base of her ears, and her lips.

"Gisella, is it! Let me see what you're plotting in the shadows." Chloris murmured softly, intensifying her bullying of the maid beneath her, as if she were a princess of the Habsburg family whom she had never met.

PS1: I almost forgot to post an update.

Chapter 39 Princess Starting from Zero: My Dear Senior (Vote Requested)

On a sunny afternoon, humming a tune from her hometown in her past life, Gisela was walking along the tree-lined path on the campus of Royal Art Zero Flag - Jiujiu Dam Magic Power Academy. After the commotion of the past few days, she had finally returned to school and started her long-awaited campus life.

To be honest, Gisela already had a premonition that her peaceful campus life was unlikely to continue. After all, being a magical being meant that even if she wanted to make a fortune quietly, she couldn't, since your abilities already surpassed those of most of the pretty princesses in Europe.

That being said, taking it one day at a time was still her way of surviving. Besides that, she couldn't help but think of her mother, Queen Elizabeth, and the mission of Principal Selena, and her expression instantly became a little disappointed.

However, she was quickly pulled back to reality and turned to look at the very reserved red-haired girl behind her.

"Senior, can you walk a little faster? You're a senior, you should act like one." In terms of age, 14-year-old Rania is undoubtedly a senior in the third grade, and Gisela is Gisela's senior at school.

At this point, Gisela's mischievous little hand pinched her senior's slender waist and then patted her pert buttocks.

Rania had no way of expressing her bitterness about this...

After all, she, the so-called "senior sister," couldn't be authoritative in front of her at all. Even if she was the future Marquis of Moravia, the girl in front of her, Louise, was a true member of the royal family. Queen Elizabeth had already made that clear, not to mention that Louise had awakened as a magic user. As a result, the difference in status and strength naturally made Rania dare not have any thoughts of being friends with her on an equal footing. She could only act as a respectful follower like this.

"Don't worry, senior, I'm not going to cut you with a sword," Gisela teased the red-haired girl in front of her, half-jokingly.

It's worth mentioning the antique relic that Selena gave to Rita and Gisela, the Saint Stephen's Sword, which had been dormant for hundreds of years, and it was on that day that Gisela awakened it.

As for the Sword of St. Stephen, one of its owners was Prince Eugen, a famous general of the Habsburg family for hundreds of years, and this weapon is also known as the Heart of Vienna.

Gisela hadn't forgotten that day; not only she, but even her mother, Queen Elizabeth, and Dean Selena were stunned speechless by the bizarre scene. It was probably impossible to find such a peculiar mage in all of human history—possessing characteristics of an Eastern mage while also wielding Western magical artifacts. This was unheard of, utterly ridiculous.

Under normal circumstances, human history in this world would not produce a magical user like Gisela, because the human body and soul are identical, inseparable. The language of the soul is the bridge through which people communicate magical energy; wherever you are born, from the moment of your birth, your soul and body are tightly bound together, thus determining your soul language. Gisela, however, is an exception. Her body and soul are not the same, which places her at the crossroads of East and West. In terms of soul, she belongs to the East; in terms of body, she belongs to the West.

At least after consulting the materials, Gisela felt that this explanation was the most acceptable to her.

However, this does not mean that as a transmigrator, I am destined to follow the path of a phoenix-like overlord, and that some powerful figure will say, "This woman is terrifyingly powerful and must not be allowed to live; she will surely become a scourge in the future."

In fact, Gisela's magical energy state has become very unstable because of this, which is why she was found to have zero magical energy. Even though she has awakened to become a magical energy user, her magical energy is now only at a certain level, and her reserves are probably not much higher than Lania's. Now, it is even more of a luxury to drive magical energy armor.

"Louise, where are we going? And where is Miss Rita?" Now Lania can call Gisela Louise very smoothly, but a lot has happened along the way.

To be honest, it's quite amusing to see the senior looking so downcast now. After all, she's definitely a beauty, with long, fiery red hair that's surprisingly attractive.

This reminded her of what happened that night; as the saying goes, sometimes you become friends after a fight...

"You're not allowed to call me Gisela at school, understand?"

"Why, Your Highness?"

"There's no why, you're not allowed to shout, that's all."

"Why is there no why? You're not allowed to shout, that's just not allowed!" Rania looked at Gisela with a blank expression.

"Are you a contrarian? Believe me or not, I'll beat you up." Although the person in front of her was a beautiful young woman, Gisela's attitude towards contrarians was always the same: if she could settle things with her fists, she wouldn't waste words. Gisela transformed into a grumpy older brother (or sister).

"What is a 'nitpicker'? Why did His Highness beat me up? And why is it that there's no 'why,' why can't I just say that?"

"Rita! Don't stop me, I'll beat this troll to a pulp!" Gisela was furious. She not only started speaking in Chinese, but even her fox ears and ahoge stood up in anger.

If Gisela weren't currently unable to defeat Rita, she might bite anyone in her mad dog (fox? just kidding) mode.

"Thump!" A practiced chop to the head struck Gisela's forehead. A sharp pain shot through her, and Gisela incredulously furrowed her beautiful brows before speaking in surprise:

“My dad has never hit me!” Gisela turned around angrily, clearly assuming that Rita was the one who hit her.

"Then Mom can just hit her," Elizabeth said with a smile, looking at her adorable second daughter with a face full of kindness and maternal love. It's said that the imperial family is the most ruthless, and even so-called empresses may have maternal love for their children, but it's not much. At least Sissi was good enough to her children.

Seeing such a heartwarming interaction between mother and daughter, Selena smiled, because seeing her beloved happy made her happy too.

"Tsk tsk, married women are just different; they always radiate maternal glow," Selena teased.

"Alright, Erza, we should head back now. If His Majesty doesn't go back to help soon, he might end up sleeping with his head on a pile of documents tonight."

"Yes, yes, yes! His Majesty the Emperor is the most important." Selena pushed Queen Elizabeth and walked outside.

"Little Gisela, you must get along well with Miss Rania." Even as she left, she didn't forget to remind herself. It seemed Her Majesty the Queen truly liked Gisela, both in providing her with opportunities to shine and in her level of care; she was a very good mother. Unfortunately, I'm not the real Gisela. Thinking of this, Gisela lost all interest in "retaliating" against Rania. She turned her back and walked outside, after which she engaged in a more "friendly" conversation with her senior, a process mainly carried out by Rita.

PS1:ra!

Chapter 40 The Princess Starting from Zero: Capter 39 Little Hands Are Restless

"What's wrong? Is something on your mind?" Although Rania stopped Gisela's groping hands, she noticed Gisela's absent-mindedness and asked her.

"It's nothing. Today I had Rita go to Belvedere Palace to borrow some copies of paintings." The history of Belvedere Palace is worth mentioning. This palace was originally built for herself by Prince Eugen, a meritorious minister of the empire. She was not only a brilliant military strategist but also a passionate art collector. Perhaps to compensate for the inferiority complex stemming from her plain appearance before her childhood awakening of magical powers, she had such a passion for art. After all, those who appreciated art were considered stylish and tasteful figures in the European aristocracy at that time.

However, because the legendary magic made Prince Eugen unmarried, her property eventually fell into the hands of her niece. But her niece was a compulsive gambler and a typical spendthrift, losing the entire palace to others. Ultimately, due to issues of interpersonal relationships and imperial dignity, the palace was redeemed by Empress Theresa, the later ruler of the Habsburgs, for a large sum of money and converted into an art museum for the public to visit.

Interestingly, in the original history, this place was also chosen by Archduke Ferdinand as his residence. (He was the one who was killed in Sarajevo, which led to World War I).

"Borrow a copy from Belvedere Palace? When did Louise become so interested in art? You could have borrowed the original instead of just a copy." After all, in terms of property ownership, everything in that palace belongs to Gisela and her Habsburg family. It seems a bit strange to borrow something that belongs to one's own family.

“No, Belvedere Palace is open to the public. Such reckless behavior would be detrimental to both me and my family.” Although Gisela did not know how the public viewed her family, as a mature adult, she should consider the consequences and the impact on others when she acted.

“Alright, we need to go to the academic affairs office next.” Gisela informed Rania of the arrangements. Since the investigation was to begin, and a directionless investigation was meaningless, the breakthrough should start with the student roster. First, select students born in Italy, and then, considering the timing of the information intercepted by the Imperial intelligence department, the breakthrough should be among the most recently enrolled students.

This is only one aspect. Another aspect is the investigation into the flow of funds in the academy. Gisela is most worried not only about the students, but also about the presence of such a mole among the academy's staff. Of course, this depends more on Dean Selena's self-investigation, since acting in accordance with her duties will not easily alert the opponents lurking in the shadows.

Gisela knew that her opponents were wary of her, and that they would go so far as to assassinate her even if it meant changing the original missions of their undercover agents. They must be worried that she would disrupt their plans. Of course, the closer they got to the so-called Gate of Truth, the greater the danger would be.

Of course, Gisela didn't expect to find any flaws in the rats' scheme through her own investigation. She was simply trying to tell them to be more discreet, because the Empire was already watching them. Her purpose was to divert their attention, making them continue their covert operations rather than focusing on finding the box. This would give Gisela a safer environment and ample time to uncover the secrets hidden within.

Now, searching for clues in Caravaggio's paintings became Gisela's reason for sending Rita to the Belvedere Palace to borrow the paintings. Of course, Gisela wouldn't tell Rania about this for the time being. Although Rania had been dragged into Gisela's scheme ever since she learned about the changes in Rania's body, Gisela decided not to tell her about this matter for her safety.

"The academic affairs department, right? Then let's go, Miss Louise. There should still be someone on duty there now."

“Miss Louise?” Rania called out again, seeing Gisela standing still.

"Rania, would you please walk in front?" Gisela said, feigning seriousness.

"Of course..." As for the reason, Rania naturally dared not ask, after all, the little princess in front of her had a personality just as awful as her maid. Of course, she would never know that Gisela actually had a terrible sense of direction.

The two walked together along the tree-lined path, past two quaint teaching buildings, through the square where Professor Frankenstein stood, and headed towards the tallest building in front of the square, which was the so-called college office area.

Gisela still remembers that she completed the test in this very square that day. Now that she thinks about it, some time has passed. At this moment, she can't help but think of the professor who guided her during the test. Although the professor put a lot of pressure on her and issued some warnings at the time, so many days have passed and she has not received any notification about herself. She can only say that being in power really has its advantages.

"Rania, how many Italian students are there in this school you've seen?" Gisela asked casually, since she was going to check the roster herself anyway.

“Not much. You might not know this since you’re new to the academy, but because the Royal Magic Academy has a branch in Milan, many of the most capable magic users in Italy prefer to choose that academy. Most of the students here are children of nobles or officials sent by the Empire to rule northern Italy, and they come to Vienna to build connections.” Rania told Rania everything she knew.

"Milan Branch? The first thing that comes to mind when I think of that name is my maid, Rita. But Rita knows without me having to say anything that she should be excluded. After all, Gisela doesn't believe that Rita would betray her, because that trust stems from the original owner's memories of Rita." It's worth mentioning that although the two were chatting, they didn't slow down at all. At this moment, the two had successfully arrived at the archives of the academic affairs department.

Coincidentally, the person on duty was the professor Gisela had just thought of.

“Miss Hurence, this is not a place for students like you.” The professor was wearing gray-rimmed glasses today, and her belt wasn’t as high as it had been a few days ago. For some reason, Gisela still felt a sense of life slipping away when she saw her.

“Professor, I have been ordered by Dean Selena to verify a file inside, so please let me in.”

"Was this an order from the Dean?" The Dean has a dedicated assistant; such a task should be entrusted to the assistant, not a first-year student. Thinking this way, he naturally confirmed his suspicion that Miss Hurons' parents might have a close relationship with Dean Selena, and that he was simply doing them a favor. But now, to have her receive confidential documents on his behalf—this action was far more complex than mere familiarity…

PS1: Please vote for me!

Chapter 41 The Princess Starting from Zero: Captain 40 Enrollment Roster (Please vote and add to your collection)

“Okay! You can go in, but she can’t.” The professor was referring to Lania, Gisela’s senior.

"Why can't I?" Rania raised her head, her fiery red hair swaying with her movement. She was proud of herself and disliked feeling rejected and excluded.

"Because this is the rule of the school." Unfortunately, ever since the day she mistakenly chose to visit the so-called Miss Hurons, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Moravia has been constantly getting the short end of the stick.

"You don't know who I am..."

"Alright, then I'll leave it to you to protect me outside, senior. You're really amazing, aren't you?" Gisela whispered in Rania's ear. Gisela was naturally skilled at flattery, as it was a part of the workplace in her previous life.

"I really can't do anything with you, don't worry about leaving it to me." The girl patted her bulging chest and assured him with considerable pride.

"Well then, thank you, senior." Gisela deliberately stuck out her tongue and made a cute expression. This made Rania pause for a moment, and she was momentarily lost in thought because of the princess's cute behavior. Unfortunately, during the brief period when she was under her control, Gisela had already turned around and walked into the huge archive.

As expected, even after slapping the meddlesome senior, I still have to give her a treat. I really am a deeply sinful villain...

As Gisela pondered these thoughts, the first thing that caught her eye was the vast space supported by six enormous marble columns. These columns were said to have been purchased by the empire from Venetian merchants who had looted them from Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. Their history could be traced back to the time of Justinian.

Of course, these are not Gisela's concerns at the moment. There is a very troublesome thing in front of her now, which is that the massive amount of archives and documents in this room are neatly arranged on rows of bookshelves like books. There are parchment scrolls and of course paper, but how is she supposed to find what she needs from them?

"It's really huge..." Gisela thought to herself as she continued moving forward.

“What is this?” Gisela noticed a base on the high platform at the entrance that resembled the stone she used to sense her own celestial energy.