She changed Europe

Page 25

"Because the central gate was reserved for members of the Hohenzollern family who ruled the Kingdom of Prussia, and ordinary people would be arrested if they tried to pass through. However, half a century ago, Empress Napoleon of the French Empire (whose real name was Pauline, but was changed to the more masculine Napoleon) led the French army into Berlin through the central gate in a triumphant manner. In order to humiliate Prussia, the legendary empress not only had the French army take away the goddess statue on the gate, but also declared in front of the King of Prussia that his queen Louise was his woman."

Fortunately, they were all women, and the Prussian people didn't take it too seriously. However, Queen Louise didn't see it that way. She considered it a disgrace and constantly sought political reform in Prussia. Unfortunately, an illness soon took her life. After all, not everyone is a magically gifted being favored by heaven.

"The Empress also expressed similar sentiments after her death."

“I know that!” Gisela nodded and said.

“I have lost one of my best diplomats.” Gisela and Mr. Bradley said almost in unison, clearly because the statement was too famous.

"Sir, do you know what Queen Louise thought of Napoleon?"

"Oh?" Clearly, Mr. Bradley was unaware of Queen Louise's opinion of the Empress.

"She wasn't sincere when she talked about good things and good people. Her thoughts and ambitions were only for self-interest. People could admire her, but not love her. She was blinded by luck, thinking that everything was possible. But she didn't know how to restrain herself, and all those without restraint will lose their balance and fall to the ground. But no matter what, I will watch her suffer until the end of my life." Gisela didn't seem surprised when she heard that the Napoleon of this world was a woman; instead, she seemed quite indifferent.

Combined with Queen Louise's assessment of Napoleon, the subtle relationship between the two evokes a poignant feeling: "Those who know me say I am worried, those who do not know me ask what I seek." Perhaps this describes them perfectly. If only the Empress had someone named Charles Bonaparte by her side. It's unclear why Gisela harbored such thoughts…

Bringing her thoughts back, Gisela, who had been lost in reflection, noticed a voice that was all too familiar beneath the gates of Brandenburg.

"Rita!?" The dutiful maid, dressed in a uniform similar to that of a Prussian policeman, stood under the gate, giving instructions to several policemen beside her.

Secretly infiltrate Investigator Rita? For some reason, Gisela had this strange thought pop into her head.

But the next second Gisela was shocked. Why was she here?!

————Perspective shift: Clothes soaked, flags fluttering, father, driver's shift

“Her Highness told me that she would visit this gate first when she comes to Berlin, so we’ll lie in ambush here. Mr. Erwin, please lead your squad to block off the east side of the street; Mr. Felix, your squad to the south; Mr. Franz to the north; Mr. Ellen to the west; the rest of you follow me and lie in ambush around the gate. Now, begin the operation.” With Rita’s command, the police scattered.

"Why did Your Highness try to escape? Wouldn't it be better to stay obediently by my side and let me protect you? Whether it was yesterday's events or your escape today, I might as well just lock you in a cage for good. Do you naively think that leaving a little note will put Rita at ease?" Rita's eyes were icy cold, her purple pupils devoid of any ripples, even somewhat empty. A careful observer might notice that the flow of magical energy around this beautiful woman was unusually chaotic and possessed an aggressive aura.

"Sir, how about we go look around somewhere else first?" Gisela, who seemed a little guilty about her scumbag maid, looked around and noticed a strangely designed bicycle parked in the square.

“I just saw a group of people I don’t want to see. They were all wearing police uniforms and mixed in with the police.”

There was no Hollywood in this era, and this was the first time Mr. Bradley had ever seen such a plot. Combined with the girl's already mysterious identity, Mr. Bradley believed her words without a second thought and was looking forward to what interesting ideas the quirky princess would bring.

"Can you ride a bike?" Gisela first glanced at Rita and the police officers walking towards her from behind, then asked Mr. Bradley.

What kind of bike are you riding?

"A bicycle!" It might be a little embarrassing to say, but Gisela doesn't know how to ride a bicycle, not even in either of her lives.

“Don’t worry! I will.” Bradley nodded, then instinctively ran towards the bicycle Gisela pointed to.

"Sir, here's the money, rent this bicycle to me." In his haste, Mr. Bradley tossed his wallet to the bicycle's owner. There was no heartache involved; it turns out that when a person is in a state of tension due to a change in situation, they often ignore the negative impact of the external environment and adverse factors on them—they're too busy to think.

"Stop talking nonsense and get in the car." For a moment, Gisela had a feeling of being in a movie. If only a sports car had appeared at this moment, it would have been perfect. Unfortunately, reality is cruel.

"Your Highness!" With her magical senses enhanced by activating her magic perception, Rita also noticed the two somewhat flustered figures in the distance.

She didn't recognize the tall man, but the short man dressed in men's clothing was undoubtedly her own master, Yi Lin Yi Qi Si Xiao, based on his build. "Stop!" Rita exclaimed!

After all, Gisela's aura was too familiar, and as a magic user, the flow of magic energy around her was different from that of ordinary people. Rita knew Gisela very well, and she knew every part of her princess's body like the back of her hand.

“It would be a miracle if I stood still!” Gisela muttered to herself as she climbed onto the back seat of the bicycle and gently patted Mr. Bradley on the back.

Mr. Bradley's stride was incredibly fast, just like an athlete participating in a sports meet.

Watching Gisela ride away on her bicycle, supporting a strange man's waist, Rita expressionlessly took out a police baton from her waist, squinted at the weapon in her hand, and then gave a friendly smile.

"Lady Rita, shall we give chase?" A Prussian policeman ran up to her, looking exhausted and panting heavily. It's worth noting that the small square where the Brandenburg Gate is located is quite large, and not everyone there is a magic user.

"Chase? Why chase? We'll just wait for His Highness to come to us at a specific place." Rita revealed an elegant and composed smile, having already calculated that someone's period would be in the next few days. Ever since Gisela first had her period half a year ago, Rita had been meticulously tracking her Highness's days every month.

“Your Highness can’t do without me…” Rita licked her lips, a playful smile on her face.

PS1: I almost forgot to update today because I was drinking with my elders.

Chapter 89 The Brandenburg Eagle and the Snows of Jutland: Capter23 Hmm? Where's my hat?

In Rita's memory, her prince was always as uncomfortable as a sick kitten during his period, spending all his time meowing in bed. Once the discomfort subsided, he would revert to his carefree and reckless ways, recklessly flirting with the edge of sex. (That's how Rita saw it.) He was completely oblivious to his own physical condition, acting like a clueless man.

“Your Highness, you will naturally come back to us for help when you encounter problems.” This was Rita’s greatest confidence, after all, no one understood His Highness better than her.

at the same time--

"Huh? Where did they go?" Gisela turned around several times, but didn't see any pursuers behind her. Based on her understanding of Rita, this behavior was completely out of character for Rita.

"Playing hard to get?" Gisela used Chinese this time.

"Fish bones are heavy?" Mr. Bradley heard the girl sitting behind him say something very strange, and he repeated it.

“Sir, this is Chinese, and your pronunciation isn’t standard either. This should be called ‘feigning weakness to lure the enemy into a trap,’ which is an ancient fable from the East.” Gisela had no intention of explaining the Thirty-Six Stratagems to a foreigner, so she perfunctorily called it a fable.

"Is it from the East? Then what is this fable about?"

“To arrest someone, you must first learn to release someone. This is to lower their guard and make deceptive preparations for the real arrest later,” Gisela explained, calmly patting Mr. Bradley on the back.

Immersed in Gisela's interpretation of the ancient Eastern proverb, he seemed oblivious to the wall directly in front of him.

“Is there anything else, Miss?” Mr. Bradley asked Gisela, still not looking where he was going.

"Hey! We're going to crash into a wall!!!!" Gisela exclaimed, her eyes wide. By the time Mr. Bradley came to his senses and heard Gisela's warning, it was too late. The two of them dared to chat downhill without looking at the road; their hearts were incredibly big.

"Thump!" With a loud noise and a cloud of dust, Gisela felt her vision spinning. The commotion quickly attracted the attention of passersby.

Fortunately, just before hitting the wall, Mr. Bradley turned the car around and crashed into a pile of cardboard boxes on one side, clearly intending to use the boxes as a cushion.

“Miss, you’re not…” Mr. Bradley was completely stunned when he saw Gisela lying in the pile of cardboard boxes. Due to the violent impact, the hat that had been on Gisela’s head was gone, and Gisela’s fox ears were now exposed.

The fluffy golden fox ears, combined with the girl's already beautiful appearance, created a perfect fusion of two seemingly unrelated elements, causing Bradley to hold his breath.

"You are a noble mage?" Mr. Bradley seemed somewhat surprised. To his shame, although he had learned a lot about magecraft from textbooks since childhood, he lacked talent and ultimately could not even dream of becoming a mage.

To be honest, in his homeland of America, there are only three such people among tens of millions of people. The fact that the girl he met today was indeed someone of the same status as those three adults made him incredibly surprised.

What's more, this is a magic user with Eastern characteristics, which immediately reminded him of Giacomo Puccini's opera "Turandot," in which the Eastern princess is just as beautiful and mysterious.

"Huh? What are you talking about? How could I be?" Gisela laughed awkwardly, putting on an expression that said, "No, I didn't do it," before placing her hand on her head.

"Huh? Where's my hat?" The slow-witted man had clearly realized the seriousness of the situation. Putting Mr. Bradley aside, it seemed that many passersby had already gathered around.

"That's right! Actually, I am from the Chinese Empire..."

"You are Princess Gisela!" Before Gisela could finish speaking, a gasp rang out from the crowd! Gisela turned her head and looked at the crowd with some displeasure.

"I told you I'm not..."

"They look so alike." As if to confirm, many passersby took out the portrait in the missing person notice in the newspaper and compared it with the portrait.

"What are you looking at?" Gisela stood up and snatched a so-called missing person poster from a passerby who was standing near her, examining it closely. "Although the poster doesn't show the person's ears, it's drawn exceptionally well. The style, somewhere between realistic sketching and a touch of exaggeration, briefly reminded Gisela of a cartoon."

"Wait, why does this dress look so familiar?" Gisela certainly did. It was the evening gown you wore to the banquet last night. If your memory were any clearer, you would also remember the cuffs and the places where the Prime Minister had torn them. Of course, these embarrassing moments have been subconsciously ignored by you.

"Don't let me find out which painter painted this, or I'll rub him against the wall until he dies."

Meanwhile, at her estate outside Berlin, Princess Chloris of Prussia was intently working on Gisela's painting, her handwritten sketches scattered on the floor a testament to her overflowing inspiration.

"Cough cough!" The healthy Chloris suddenly coughed twice, as if someone was cursing her in the dark.

"That's really strange." Having awakened as a magic user at the age of 12, she was free from illness from a young age, as magic provides very strong positive protection for the body.

"I don't know, whether they found Gisela or not." Chloris put down her pen, turned her head, and looked at Prime Minister Bismarck sitting opposite her.

“You could have secretly sent people to search for her instead of putting Princess Gisela’s runaway story in the newspapers and letting everyone know that we’ve lost the Habsburg princess.” Bismarck sighed as he looked at Chloris, who was enjoying herself.

"I heard you took a day off?" Clearly, as a busy prime minister, she has not had a holiday since becoming the prime minister of Prussia. Today's holiday is the first time in decades for this "workaholic" lady.

"I need to sort out some thoughts, and the Kingdom's cabinet is now fully functional. They should gradually adapt to operating normally even when I'm not around." The Kingdom of Prussia's long-standing problem of prioritizing military development while neglecting its domestic affairs system was exposed during the European revolutions of 1848, and the current Kingdom's bureaucratic system was rebuilt after learning from this lesson.

“I think you’re still hung up on what happened last night,” Chloris pointed out Bismarck’s dilemma.

"Why should I be conflicted?

PS1: Requesting votes and subscriptions.

Chapter 90 The Brandenburg Eagle and the Snows of Jutland: Capter 24 The Empire and the Beauty (Please collect and vote)

“I admit you are a genius in politics and diplomacy, but you are not even as composed as a teenage girl when it comes to handling emotions.” Chloris stood up and stretched.

“Your rude behavior toward Princess Gisela yesterday has no necessary connection with her running away from home today, and you don’t need to worry about it.”

“No, I was rude yesterday. To treat a princess of a nation in such a way is the greatest disgrace I can bear as a diplomat, and besides…” Chloris made two cups of coffee with coffee grounds. This time, she didn't ask the maid to do it; she did it herself. (Bismarck was both Prime Minister and Foreign Minister)

"And this is the first time you've been so intimate with someone?" Chloris was an extremely perceptive person; he pointed out Bismarck's inner conflict almost instantly.

As Cloris said, the seemingly mature and composed Iron Chancellor Bismarck, who presented himself as a mature and sophisticated woman, was not as fearless in matters of love as he was in politics.

“…” Bismarck pursed her lips and fell silent.

“You just said you didn’t feel guilty, but you clearly care a lot.” Chloris placed the coffee in front of Bismarck.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness! I don't like coffee. If there's beer..." Seemingly realizing his mistake, Bismarck sighed, lowered his head, and fell into a new wave of guilt. After all, everything that happened yesterday was caused by his drinking.

"You are a smart person. The key to resolving your inner conflict lies not in your remorse towards Princess Gisela, but in taking concrete actions to correct the causes of this terrible situation. Quitting drinking would be the first step towards change." Only cowards dwell on what has already happened, continuing to do nothing in regret. Of course, those who reach this point are not like that, because we only look to the future, constantly improving by learning from our mistakes.

“Lord Bismarck, I’ll tell you a secret.” Chloris’s lips curled up, as if she were brewing some earth-shattering conspiracy.

“I am different from you. I like a unified Germany, but I like this Austrian princess named Gisela even more. I want both the kingdom and the beauty!” Chloris’s meaning was self-evident.

"Empire and beauty?" Bismarck listened to the girl's words, pondering his plan for unifying Germany. According to his original plan, eliminating Austria would only require three wars. But achieving true unification would be far more complex than just three.

But the latter thing seems very difficult, but it is more meaningful to do, after all, Germany without Austria is not a complete Germany.

“Of course you can say whatever you want, and you don’t have to be so serious. Anyway, the present and future of Prussia are in the hands of Father and Brother Frederick, and we just need to look forward to the day when the country is unified.” Chloris deliberately observed Bismarck’s expression and suddenly added before she noticed that Bismarck was about to say something.

"Your Highness! You are absolutely right." In truth, Bismarck was not loyal to any particular monarch or country; she was loyal to the German people. Prussia was now the most likely to achieve unification, so she would serve Prussia. Of course, this was a common viewpoint among many great German figures of that era.

This is a matter of power. As for your mention of beauty, Bismarck admits Gisela is beautiful, but she doesn't believe she would fall hopelessly in love with her because of what happened yesterday; otherwise, it would only make her feelings seem cheap. I didn't expect Your Highness to also have feelings for Princess Gisela?

Our focus returns to Berlin—

Having escaped the frenzied crowd, a somewhat exhausted Gisela was catching her breath on an unnamed little bridge, while Bradley beside her finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After a chaotic and disorganized day, we didn't even have a chance to properly appreciate Brandenburg, let alone tour Berlin.

"Sigh, what a hassle!" Gisela frowned slightly, her fox ears drooping as she looked somewhat helpless.

“Your Highness… Princess?” After assuming the identity of Gisela, Mr. Bradley seemed somewhat reserved and conflicted, unsure of how to face this approachable noblewoman before him. Should he continue to address her as “Miss” as she wished, or should he address her as “Your Highness”?

“Since you already know, yes! I am Princess Gisela Louise Marie of Austria-Hungary, but I hope you can just call me Gisela.” Gisela gently rubbed the tip of her nose, as the impact earlier still made it ache slightly.

“Yes, Your Highness Gisela, my name is Joe Bradley, and as you can see, I am a journalist.” Although the man was deliberately suppressing his emotions, this was, after all, her first time meeting a real member of the royal family.

“Mr. Bradley, please do not add Your Highness. The person standing before you today is only an ordinary person named Gisela, not a princess whom you need to be careful around.”

“I’m very sorry, Miss Gisela, but I had my doubts about you before.” Mr. Bradley took out the paper that Gisela had asked about earlier from his left pocket.

"It's a missing person ad that published my picture, right?" Gisela pursed her lips, marveling at the efficiency of the Berlin media.

She had noticed the change in Bradley's gaze towards her. After all, she possessed cold reading skills, making it incredibly easy for her to discern whether someone without professional training was lying through their expressions and body language.

“How come you… Art Fin Liu Yi Shirt Er Cuo…” Mr. Bradley seemed very surprised.

"Don't be surprised, sir. As the future ruler of the empire, learning some ways to read people is a fundamental skill." Of course, this was Gisela's offhand remark; members of the royal family don't specifically study this kind of knowledge, as experience is enough for them to handle things with ease.

"Then why would you trust someone who lies to you?" After all, in Mr. Bradley's understanding, no one likes to be deceived.

"Sir, lying is an art of language, a manifestation of human talent. I don't care about the content of a person's lie, because I have my own standards for judging things beforehand. What I care about is the purpose of the person lying."

"Why do we lie? Is it for personal gain, a white lie, or something else?" Only children distinguish between right and wrong, good and bad. In the adult world, there is only a double standard of weighing interests and whether it conforms to cognition.

"Miss Gisela is much more mature than she looks. I suppose she's not that old in real life."

“I’ll be 13 next year.” Gisela is clearly not the kind of person who cares a lot about her age.

“She’s really young.” Looking at Gisela, Mr. Bradley couldn’t help but think of his family back in Philadelphia. At the age of 12 or 13, this princess had a level of logical thinking and a sense of purpose that far exceeded that of her peers.

PS1: Remember to water it after it's fattened up!

Chapter 91 The Brandenburg Eagle and the Snows of Jutland: Capter25 You passed (Seeking votes 0v0)

Gisela looked up at the setting sun and sighed with regret.

"Sir, thank you for your service. I am very satisfied with today's trip. As I promised, I will answer three questions that you may be interested in. As for your expenses for the day, they will be reimbursed by the Imperial Embassy in Berlin."

Looking at the somewhat dejected girl before him, Mr. Bradley gritted his teeth and said, "The three questions are no longer necessary, Miss Gisela. Please come with me, and I will take you on a tour of the real Berlin."

“Sir, it’s getting late. You’d better head back soon.” Although Gisela wasn’t very familiar with the security situation in Berlin, she knew it would be wrong to cause this kind-hearted gentleman to get hurt because of her.

As for her own safety? Sorry, as a strategic-level mage, worrying about being robbed? That's no joke. (Although Gisela hasn't fully unlocked her potential yet.)

“Miss, please get on the bike quickly. If the timing is right, you will see the best scenery.” Mr. Bradley patted his rented bicycle, which was clearly quite sturdy.

Cycling dividing line —

“This is it, Gisela (Part 7). Your Highness is the Prince of the Jade." Mr. Bradley raised his hand and pointed to the city of Berlin at the foot of the mountain.