She changed Europe

Page 5

"Sponsorship or collaboration? Does Your Highness wish to engage in philanthropy?" In Rita's view, Queen Elizabeth was also passionate about philanthropy, so it was not difficult to understand why her daughter would have such thoughts.

“No, I just want to invest and start a business.” Gisela knew that Rita was a trustworthy person, and she did not choose to hide this from her.

“Your Highness may be speaking out of turn, but I believe that as a member of the glorious Habsburg family, you should not waste your time on such trivial matters. Court life and making connections with nobles from all over the world, rather than being a lowly merchant, should be your most important priorities right now.” This was Rita’s inherent way of thinking, or rather, the imprint of a nobleman’s mindset.

“I know, I know! You’re absolutely right.” Gisela nodded, indicating that she understood. After all, this was concern from someone close to her. As a mentally mature adult, whether what they said was correct or not, it wouldn’t prevent her from responding to their kindness in a more benevolent way.

"Then I hope Your Highness will keep this in mind."

"By the way, Rita, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you." Gisela sighed as she looked at the almost blank sheet of paper in front of her.

"Have you heard of Mr. Werner von Siemens?" A famous inventor who cannot be ignored when discussing the Second Industrial Revolution, he was also a successful entrepreneur. His invention of the world's first DC generator paved the way for the true arrival of the electrical age. If Gisela's memory serves her correctly, he successfully built this generator two years ago, in 1866.

"I haven't heard of this person, but there is a company called Siemens, headquartered in Berlin, which mainly provides telegraph services. I've heard that it's also involved in many other industries, but with little success."

"Does Your Highness have any information you wish to know? To be honest, this is the first time Rita has heard the princess mention such an obscure name. Fortunately, Rita has enough information and knowledge to not be completely clueless in front of Gisela."

The headquarters were in Prussia again, tsk! That old man Wilhelm got off easy again. Thinking about it this way, it's not without reason that Austria lost to Prussia. Many of the outstanding achievements of the Second Industrial Revolution originated in Germany, or more precisely, in Prussian-dominated Germany. Fortunately, however, this timeline was more favorable; by 1868, the Second German Empire had never truly entered the historical stage.

Poaching them is unrealistic, so we can only seek cooperation. The question is, what can I offer Mr. Siemens right now? Gisela fell into deep thought and did not answer Rita's question immediately.

That's right! Mr. Werner has always been committed to expanding the company's business and market reach, and Eastern Europe, which is the Balkans region dominated by his family, is a virgin territory that has never been explored by him at this time. As long as he takes the lead, Mr. Werner's Siemens company can enter the empire more quickly, and of course, the generator technology that she wants most will also arrive sooner.

When Gisela was making her calculations, she didn't know that Siemens in this world was actually not doing well at all. This was because magical communications were far more sophisticated than the telegraph industry. Therefore, compared to the cold and impersonal telegraph service, people in this era, especially the middle class and the upper class, were more enthusiastic about magical communications, which could directly drive magical calls.

Such market demand determined that telegraph services could only remain among the lowest classes of society. The idea of ​​using a business intelligence network built on communications services to obtain first-hand market information for investment was doomed to fail, because for the so-called proletariat, escaping poverty or improving their lives was the primary goal of their time, and investment was simply out of the question.

Consequently, since you haven't achieved enough results to attract the government's attention, it's inevitable that Mr. Werner will be unsuccessful in this world.

PS1: There used to be little stories in PS, but now I can't remember a lot of things. It feels like so many years have passed.

Chapter 15 Princess Starting from Zero: Capter 14 The Maid's Temptation (Vote Requested)

"Rita, then quickly send a telegram to Siemens in Berlin, in my name Gisela Louise Marie, to invite their founder, Mr. Werner, to Vienna for lunch to discuss business cooperation."

"Why does Your Highness have to use Siemens? We have our own telegraph company in our country."

Of course, Gisela wouldn't tell Rita that what she wanted wasn't telegraph technology, but generator technology, which was one of the keys to unlocking the electrical age.

Rita carried the plate to Gisela and placed the food on the table. However, perhaps still concerned about why His Highness had invited the man named Werner to lunch, Rita made a mistake, causing the ceramic cup in her hand to slip and fall to the ground.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I'll clean it up right away." Rita bent down and slowly tried to pick up the shards of glass with her hands. She should have grabbed a broom to sweep up the glass, but because she was somewhat distracted, she chose the riskiest way.

"Tsk!" As Rita reflexively took a deep breath, sure enough, she cut her own hand.

Gisela had witnessed Rita's every move, from crouching down to being cut by the glass. Although she didn't know what Rita was thinking, she attributed the maid's unusual behavior to the burden caused by her own unconsciousness during the day—in short, she was tired.

"Rita, you should go and rest. I can take care of myself." Gisela came to Rita's side, squatted down, and gently lifted Rita's right hand.

"Your Highness is not seriously injured..." Rita said softly, clearly feeling some remorse for her mistake.

Gisela ignored Rita's attempts to refuse and, with a serious expression, took Rita's hand and examined it against her chest. Looking at the slender, bleeding fingers, Gisela couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache. After all, as a mentally mature man, she couldn't bear to see a beautiful woman injured, especially one who bore such a striking resemblance to her "wife" from her past life's game.

“It’s not a serious injury, but we still need to…” Gisela thought it over before putting Rita’s finger in her mouth, since human saliva can disinfect wounds.

Salty and sour, this must be the taste of blood. Rita's hands weren't as rough as she had imagined; she clearly took care of them. Besides, a personal maid doesn't do everything herself; her role is more like that of a butler, after all, she is a noblewoman.

There was also a woman's fragrance, as sweet as honey... Wait a minute, what am I doing?! How did I start admiring the other person's fingers... Gisela suddenly realized something, and her mind went blank.

So even though she tried so hard to maintain her image, her strange thoughts caused her pretty face to involuntarily flush red, and her heart to beat faster.

"Your Highness... what an adorable child..." Rita thought to herself as she looked at the girl in front of her, while her wine-red eyes continued to linger on the cute pink lips and tongue, the feeling of her fingers roaming over them as if she were being affectionate with a small pet.

If you keep breaking the rules like this, your older sister might just eat you up! Of course, Rita couldn't say these words out loud. She could only deliberately control the speed at which her wounds healed using her magic to prolong the time she could spend with Gisela.

Should we take it a step further? Gisela thought to herself, after all, now she could openly get close to the pretty lady.

"Rita." Gisela, as if she had made up her mind, pressed Rita to the ground, raised her hand to touch the other's cheek, and her other hand skillfully reached towards the hem of her skirt, but just as she was about to touch it, she suddenly stopped.

Gisela seemed to realize something; she didn't have any tools at all, and she had just been acting as if she were perfectly prepared...

In short, it's nonsense.

Upon thinking of this, Gisela seemed to enter a state of enlightenment, straightening her dress and neckline before standing up under Rita's calm gaze.

"Tsk!" His Highness seemed to stop there, clearly his prompting wasn't enough, what a pity.

At the same moment, Gisela couldn't help but rub her forehead, then walked to the window and gazed at the starry sky at a 45-degree angle. If only she had a cigarette right now, it would be perfect. How could she have forgotten that, having the illusion that she could do it?

At a young age, Lin Wei (Gisella) experienced for the first time the feeling of wanting to do something but being unable to do it, which is unique to middle-aged men.

How are we going to live from now on! Gisela couldn't help but start denouncing the gods of this world.

When God closes a door, he opens a window. At this moment, Lin Wei (Gisela) does not realize that this is only the beginning.

A brief dividing line —

The first day of a new life always seems exceptionally long. With Rita gone and Gisela having finished her work, she could finally turn off her kerosene lamp and get a good night's sleep. Nights without electricity and lights weren't like the nights she used to enjoy playing all night long. Even ignoring the cost of kerosene, the dim light was enough to make her drowsy, completely lacking the desire to continue working or studying. Resting early was the best solution.

Gisela slowly took off her dress and put on the white nightgown Rita had placed on the bedside table. She then pulled back the covers, ready to go to sleep. The moment she lay down, a question suddenly flooded her mind again.

Gisela was originally poisoned. If I were the assassin, what would I do after poisoning her? Of course, I would check if the plan was successful. If it was unsuccessful, I would definitely devise a new plan. The most likely scenario is that the assassin is still lurking in the manor.

The thought instantly banished Gisela's sleepiness. She threw back the covers, relit the kerosene lamp, and rummaged through her large room for anything she could use for self-defense. Magic was out of the question for her, given her current ignorance; she'd rather focus on finding a knife, dagger, or pistol.

"What is this... phew!" Gisela pulled out a dusty wooden box from the bottom drawer of her desk. Judging from the amount of dust, it was quite old.

"Let me see what it says." Gisela casually lifted the hem of her white nightgown and wiped the dust off it.

"Dear Caravaggio." The words were in Italian. As for how Gisela knew this, it's because the original Gisela was fluent in Russian, French, German, English, Italian, and many other languages. At only 12 years old, she could be considered a genius in some respects. As for why she needed to learn so many languages, it was naturally because the empire was inherently complex. After its defeat in World War I, it was a large country capable of splitting into ten nations, and even now, its area and population were the second largest in Europe (Germany was not yet unified).

PS1: An unforgettable woman, so I'll just make her Gisela's maid.

Chapter 16 Princess Starting from Zero: Capter 15 Assassin (Please collect and vote)

"Who is Caravaggio? Could he be the former owner of this estate?" Gisela picked up the wooden box, brought it to her ear, and gently shook it. She didn't hear a sound of a hard object hitting the box, so it must be something soft—paper, that was the most likely answer, she confirmed to herself.

"Unfortunately, it's locked. You can't open it without a key." Gisela looked around but couldn't find anything to unlock it.

"Why don't we go check the kitchen?" Gisela gently pushed open the door to the room, lit a small kerosene lamp, and walked alone down the wide, empty corridor, carrying a wooden box.

The spacious corridor was deserted at this moment, with only the sound of the night wind passing through it. After all, it was already night, and the servants had long since gone to rest.

Gisela glanced out the window and noticed that a strong wind was blowing outside. Under the torrential rain, the trees in the yard were being blown about by the wind and rain. However, no matter how heavy the rain was outside, it didn't matter to her, since she was inside.

So she continued to walk down the stairs to the first floor, still with the lamp lit, following the wooden handrail.

It's definitely inconvenient not having electric lights at night, and this house is too big, it feels rather desolate. These ancient buildings are all quite old, so it seems reasonable for them to be haunted, like armored figures that can walk on their own, though of course that's impossible.

He used to envy other people's "big houses," but now that he actually owns a big house, he realizes it's not all that great after all.

Compared to this, Gisela couldn't help but miss her college dormitory. The four-person room wasn't big, just a small space of a few dozen square meters, but it was still warm and comfortable to live in than this big house. At least it felt more human.

"Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!" A strange sound, like the screeching of an old, dilapidated wooden cart wheel, reached Gisela's ears, startling her so much that she turned to look in the direction of the sound. It would be strange if she wasn't afraid walking alone in a place this late at night. Gisela had been trying to distract herself by thinking up some sarcastic remarks, but this sudden sound completely threw her off balance.

She cautiously lifted the kerosene lamp and shone it in the direction of the sound. A wooden awning swaying in the wind came into her view.

"Ugh, that scared me! I thought there was someone there." Gisela shook her head, finally letting out a sigh of relief. Ghosts and spirits are just things people imagine to scare themselves; how could they possibly exist in the world?

She turned around casually, and with a clatter, the kerosene lamp slipped from Gisela's hand and fell onto the marble floor.

Gisela's pupils dilated in shock. Behind her stood a tall figure clad in medieval knight's armor, raising a massive, sharp two-handed sword high. At that moment, a bolt of lightning ripped through the night sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder. The instantaneous light illuminated the armor, making it appear snow-white, and a chilling aura emanated from it.

"Holy crap! It's for real..." Gisela exclaimed, completely abandoning her German. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and finding the door unlocked, so you casually close it, then turn around and find someone standing right behind you. That's how you feel.

She was going to die; that was her only thought. It wasn't that she didn't want to hide, but her body, terrified, simply wouldn't obey her commands.

The two-handed sword cut through the wind and slashed towards Gisela's body. After this attack, she would probably be decapitated and become a corpse on the ground. With such a fast weapon, it shouldn't hurt that much when it hits...

"Your Highness, be careful!" A crimson light flashed through the darkness and appeared before Gisela. It was Rita, her most trusted maid.

Gisela was both grateful and surprised by her appearance. After all, she had seen with her own eyes a dagger appear before her first, followed by a figure that, with a smooth and effortless flick, deflected the direction of the opponent's two-handed sword, which was aimed at Gisela with all its might, and then crashed heavily to the ground due to inertia.

"Why are you still here so late!" the assassin growled in extreme dissatisfaction, his voice laced with anger. He raised his hands again, ready to slash at the girl before him with his weapon once more.

Rita stared indifferently at the assassin before her, her eyes devoid of any pity. She easily raised her right hand, manipulating the dagger in her hand, continuously channeling magical energy into the weapon. The dagger's color gradually changed, first green, then blue, and finally crimson.

"Fine! You Habsburg family's domesticated bitch, die!" The assassin tried to use his massive physique and immense momentum to unleash a powerful blow. What's the difference between a magic user and an ordinary person? Besides possessing ample magic power to drive their armor, the former's greatest distinction lies in their ability to use special equipment far superior to conventional weapons. Rita's dagger was precisely such an unconventional weapon.

The clash of metal, the two figures advancing and retreating, clearly demonstrated to Gisela, who was watching from the sidelines, the strength of the maid beside her, and made her truly feel the influence of magic on humanity. A woman, wielding only a small dagger, could fight a fully armed adult man wielding a greatsword and maintain the upper hand.

If an army were equipped with such weapons, how much would its combat power increase when facing a regular legion? Not to mention the mysterious magic-powered armor, she really had to start thinking about what role regular legions played in the current military system. Were they just cannon fodder filling in the gaps?

It seems I need to read some of the works of this world-renowned military strategist. Although I have absolutely no feelings of liking or disliking the current Austro-Hungarian Empire, and even less so towards the Habsburg family, the mere fact that they poisoned the former Gisela for the sake of power struggles (although this is only one of many suspicions) makes Lin Wei lose all interest in protecting this country.

But sometimes, as the less-than-elegant proverb goes, "your position determines your perspective," and class determines one's stance. Now that she is Gisela, and a princess of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, her personal fate is inextricably linked to this empire and this family. Witnessing its downfall would be detrimental to her in every way.

Of course, now that the empire's power was in her own hands, her future ambitions shouldn't be limited to the Balkans; her vision should extend further. From the moment Constantinople fell in 1453, the doors of Europe had been wide open, and the empire had endured centuries under the shadow of the Turkic bayonets. It was time to close those doors.

The aging Ottoman Empire and its incompetent sultan have usurped the throne of this city of ten thousand for far too long. It's time for the double-headed eagle that flew from Rome to return home. Of course, Gisela did not want to rebuild the Holy Roman Empire, nor did she want to restore Rome's former glory. What she wanted was a new country, a country where she could live out her life in peace, not this "dilapidated building" that was less than half a century old.

PS1: Many of the stories and allusions in Volume 1 are cleverly designed. Of course, you shouldn't treat them as history; many of the events are fictional!

Chapter 17 Princess Starting from Zero: Capter 16 So-called Justice (Seeking votes and collections)

Pulling herself back to reality, Gisela seemed to have found a new goal. The battle ended with Rita's flying kick that knocked the man down, and her contest with him seemed to be coming to a close. Everything happened so quickly that Gisela hadn't expected Rita to be so incredibly powerful.

“If you think you can still resist, then I’ll have no choice but to slit your throat.” Rita held the dagger to the man’s neck and used her left hand to remove the helmet from his head.

“As expected, it was you, Mr. Coachman.” Rita’s tone was calm, as if she had already anticipated his identity.

"Hmph!" The coachman glanced at the maid with disdain before turning to look at the innocent-looking princess.

No matter how cute her face is, it can't change the fact that her family committed evil deeds in their hometown.

"You bunch of Habsburg robbers, trampling on our heads and bullying us! Italy belongs to the Italian people! Get out of here!" The coachman's voice was loud and clear, full of confidence. Perhaps for him, even if he were to sacrifice himself now, he would be dedicating himself to a noble cause, and future generations would remember his achievements.

Rita frowned. She wasn't the kind of person to be merciful. Now that the other party had spoken up, there was no need for her to waste any more words with him. So she raised the dagger in her right hand and thrust it straight at the other party's vitals.

“Rita…” Gisela called the maid’s name softly, causing the maid to pause for a moment.

“Killing him like this is such a waste. There are still so many secrets about him that we haven’t properly explored.” A playful look appeared on Gisela’s beautiful face that Rita had never seen before.

A white lotus flower seemed to shed its black petals at that moment, leaving Rita somewhat taken aback.

“How can I not treat someone who wants to kill me well? This is not how we treat guests. Oh, right, Rita, pry open his mouth.” Gisela slowly walked up to the man and squatted down.

“Want to bite into the capsule? No, no, no, you can’t do it, because what I least want to hear is you all with those impassioned expressions, shouting stupid things like ‘Long live Savoy,’ and then proclaiming yourselves dead.” Gisela’s tone was playful. Knowing history well, she understood that the greatest contributor to the unification of Italy was undoubtedly the Kingdom of Sardinia, the so-called House of Savoy.

"You..." The man lying on the ground looked at Gisela with a mixture of surprise and fear in his eyes, because the ruthlessness Gisela was showing now was completely different from what he had observed in the past.

The man had been driving for this Habsburg princess for half a year, and although he wasn't with her every day, he saw her quite often. During these six months, Gisela had always presented herself as an innocent princess, sometimes willful, sometimes kind, but one thing was undeniable: her behavior was consistent with her age.

At this moment, her words showed no trace of naivety, but rather a shrewd and calculating composure, as if she had been acting all along. If that were the case, then she had succeeded; she had not only deceived him, but also countless of her opponents.

"Don't be surprised, and please don't reveal your secrets too quickly, because I have a thousand ways to test you." Gisela appeared extremely calm, because once she confirmed that the other party was not a so-called ghost or spirit, but a real mortal, Gisela had a thousand ways to deal with him.

"Your Highness, what is that box in your hand?" Rita noticed the worn-out wooden box in Gisela's hand as Gisela spoke, and asked her out of curiosity.

"Oh, right! Do you recognize the words on it?" Gisela seemed to remember something, walked up to the man, half-squatted down and held the box in front of him.

“Caro Caravaggio! (Dear Caravaggio) No! I won’t tell you anything!” When the man saw this sentence, his eyes were filled with rage. He suddenly roared and ignored Rita’s threat, rushing towards Gisela recklessly.

Another unexpected turn of events occurred, but this time she felt no fear whatsoever. On one hand, she believed in the abilities of her maid, Rita; on the other hand, this also proved the value contained within the box.

He had clearly struck gold.

"Thump!" Just as Gisela had predicted, Rita raised her hand to "press" the man down as he was about to get close to her.

However, this time, just before the man was about to pounce on Gisela, he suddenly turned to face Rita, who was charging towards him. Clearly, he wasn't really coming for Gisela, but rather using his body to collide with the charging dagger in Rita's hand.

The dagger, gleaming with white light, easily pierced the man's antique plate armor, sliced ​​through the already fragile human skin, and plunged into his heart. Blood gushed out from the wound without hesitation, like water flowing from a burst dam.

Using this method to commit suicide to preserve a secret? Gisela was somewhat surprised by the man's resolute decision, even as his enemy. Rita, standing still, seeing that he had already done so, deliberately twisted the dagger she had plunged into his body slightly to vent her dissatisfaction.

The man felt an even more intense pain in his chest. He bit his purple lips hard, but his raised hand continued towards Gisela's direction without hesitation.

"Cardina, I'm sorry." The man's outstretched hand was like a moth drawn to a candle flame, conveying a sense of regret and desolation mixed with a hint of composure and resolve. He gave Gisela an enigmatic smile.

"Long live Italy!" the man roared with all his might, a powerful cry from the depths of his soul. Rita drew her dagger at that moment, blood splattering as she moved, and the man collapsed to the ground as if all his strength had been drained.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, I failed to keep an eye on him." Rita raised her hand to her chest and bowed to Gisela to express her apology.

"This is not your responsibility. If he wants to die, then let him die." Gisela waved his hand. As a Chinese person, Gisela couldn't be angry at all about these seemingly crazy extremists.

After all, Austria was a true aggressor to the Italians, occupying northern Italy and preventing Italy from ever achieving unification.

To later generations of Italians, he was a patriot. He and his comrades, fearless and selfless, risked their lives, leaving their families and abandoning comfortable lives to seek the well-being of their compatriots and their people. They were ordinary, as ordinary as the man before us who died protecting a secret, unable even to leave his name. Aside from the name of Caterina he murmured, perhaps no one even wept for him. He was my enemy, but to their nation, he was a true hero.

PS1: The world is inherently black and white. (This is a fragment of a sentence and doesn't translate directly.)

Chapter 18 The Princess Starting from Zero: Capter 17 Revealing the Secret (Seeking votes and collections)

Every nation has its own heroes, and these heroes can only belong to each nation itself.

"Your Highness, is there anything else Rita can do for you?" Rita took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from the dagger, her wine-red eyes fixed on Gisela. The way His Highness had acted just now was so different, even excessively calm, that it was so strange that Rita couldn't help but feel confused and puzzled by the girl before her.

Besides, at least in Rita's memory, this was the first time she had killed someone in front of His Highness, and His Highness did not show the fear and unease that she had expected... which was still too strange for a 12-year-old girl.