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Just then, another girl stepped into the bathroom and saw her older sister who had just landed. She helped her up with some concern.
"Sister, are you alright..." The girl seemed very concerned, after all, the two sisters were very close.
“My father has never hit me!” the Prince of Wales blurted out, followed by an outpouring of “motherly love.”
“Olive, don’t be like your sister. Today, she’s your worst example.” Victoria walked to the edge of the bathtub with a smile and put her bloodstained hands into the water to wash them. Olive trembled as she looked at the mosaic on the floor. The Duchess of York was truly frightened. She wasn’t as rebellious as her sister; she was usually very obedient to Her Majesty the Queen or her mother.
Of course, she was well aware of the difference in status between herself and her sister, the Queen. After all, the title of Duke of York was originally awarded to the second male heir of the King or Queen. But like the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York was the Queen's second adopted child. Of course, there were some special circumstances. For example, the previous Duke of York, Celine, relied on her military achievements, which made it difficult for Queen Victoria to adopt a woman of similar age. Fortunately, Celine publicly claimed to be recuperating while relinquishing the ducal title, thus allowing the Duke of York to continue to circulate.
“Good mother.” Unlike the rebellious Prince of Wales, the Duke of Ouluck was very well-behaved and sensible.
After watching the royal family's prime-time 7 pm show with great interest, Hood and Rodney finally decided to get down to business.
"Your Majesty, I wonder what your thoughts are on the war in Italy?" Hood asked this not only for her own purposes, but also because she was asked by Prime Minister Palmerston to probe the Queen's attitude.
"The war between Austria and France?" Victoria sat back in her chair, crossed her legs, and rested her head on her right hand as she looked at Hood in front of her.
"Yes." This time it was Rodney who answered. As a senior officer of the Royal Navy, she was known for her good character and was very popular among both male and female soldiers.
"It was Lord Palmerston who sent you to test me! Tell me, what do you want?" Queen Victoria ruled Britain for decades; if she didn't even have this much political acumen, she would have truly wasted her time as queen.
"Lord Palmerston wants to send our men to Italy to search for Princess Gisela's remains." Hood pushed up his glasses and looked at Victoria with a solemn expression.
Chapter 214 Irises Withering in the Alps: Capter 75 The Queen's Salon (Seeking Votes)
"Searching for remains?" Victoria frowned upon hearing this, as she disliked this approach. After all, the other party was a princess of a country and should be buried with the honors due to a hero, rather than having her corpse used as a trophy for research and experimentation.
For the nation, the earth-shattering noise that night was enough to make the entire European continent tremble. How could a minor magic user possess such power? This matter naturally made Victoria unable to understand and full of curiosity. If this could be figured out, what huge advantage would it bring to the country?
Even with the tacit political silence among various countries on this matter, the rumors circulating among the public, along with the propaganda and reports from the media, still couldn't stop the spread of these stories. These media outlets spared no effort in embellishing the battle with their ornate language, calling it a "battle of heaven," and so on, portraying the battle on the Ticino River as incredibly brutal.
After all, there has never been an event in history that caused such huge casualties to magic users in one night, and the public deserves a proper explanation.
Of course, Hood didn't know the Queen's thoughts, but perhaps sensing her hesitation, she adjusted her red-rimmed glasses and spoke up:
“Studying the princess’s body may bring us a great achievement, just like Professor Frankenstein’s discovery.” The ladies present were all magic users, and they certainly didn’t like that madman Frankenstein, but they couldn’t deny that his discovery paved the way for Britain’s true rise.
"So, to confirm my stance, Palmerston sent you to test me, is that it?" Victoria responded coldly to the two in front of her, clearly unimpressed by the Queen's actions.
"Everything is up to His Majesty to decide. We will absolutely not act rashly, after all, Austria is our friend," Hude said politely yet elegantly.
“The deceased deserves to rest in peace. She was a noble princess in life, and yet you want to take her body away, preventing her flesh from returning to the church where her family has been buried for generations, and subjecting her to eternal exile?” Victoria slammed her hand heavily on the table, then stood up and looked at Hood and Rodney in front of her. As for her daughters, this matter had nothing to do with the two of them.
"In short, I will not agree. Haven't you thought about this? Today, those madmen only used the remains of a foreign princess as a starting point. If they get a taste of success, who can guarantee that there won't be a second, a third, or even more Frankensteins?" Great Britain prospered because of the discovery of Frankenstein, but they absolutely do not want such madmen to appear again.
As a monarch, a competent queen, and a person of morality and conscience, Queen Victoria absolutely did not want her country to go astray and align itself with Satan for the sake of some minor progress.
But perhaps it was this kindness that prevented her from truly becoming a perfect queen who served the interests of Britain.
“I understand Your Majesty’s meaning; you will not allow their actions,” Hood said after observing Queen Victoria for a moment with his light blue eyes.
“That’s right, Miss Hood, there’s no room for discussion on this matter.” The British intelligence service doesn’t operate based on parliamentary votes, as these are state secrets and cannot be made public. Therefore, its operations typically only require the approval of both the Prime Minister and the Queen from the head of intelligence.
Unfortunately, Queen Victoria's aversion to this matter may cause the operation to be shelved. However, if Prime Minister Palmerston is willing to circumvent the rules and send additional personnel to northern Italy through the cabinet, he has countless ways to do so.
For example, she could ask the First Lord of the Navy in her cabinet to contact General Nelson in Malta and have her send a small ship into the Adriatic Sea to land in northern Italy. The landing personnel could then be incorporated into the naval establishment, thus allowing this small operation to be carried out outside of Victoria's sight.
This would inevitably lead to Queen Victoria's displeasure, but as long as he was in office, the Queen could do nothing about it, since it was Parliament, not the Queen herself, that elected the Prime Minister. This is what is known as a political system called a **.
“Miss Hood, Miss Rodney, don’t you think it’s a bit unnecessary for you to come here to test us today?” Victoria tossed her waist-length blonde hair and pulled up the towel that was about to slip off, water droplets falling to the ground as she swayed.
“Palmston could easily use your navy to bypass me and achieve his goals, and my personal opinion would not affect your final decision. Instead, he asked you to test my thoughts. Is this really in line with his cunning and politically unshakeable nature, or is he himself hesitant?” After all, she was facing her friend, so Victoria didn’t need to hide her true feelings. Besides, she had been in power for many years and was no longer the naive young girl she once was.
“Your Majesty is right. There’s really no need to talk about such unpleasant things during our break. We should relax now.” Hood nodded and smiled, then adjusted his glasses. Rodney, who had been idle for some time, walked over to Victoria with a grin, put his arms around her waist, and pulled off her towel.
Every Sunday evening, Queen Victoria would host a social event called the "Royal Bath Salon." Initially, only the Queen and her family could attend. Later, as the Queen's needs evolved, this relatively private social event gradually transformed into a platform for noblewomen of status or position to meet with the Queen. For ladies of high society, the opportunity to enter and have a candid meeting with the Queen was a great honor in itself.
"Delia, let go!" Victoria bit her pink lips tightly. The majestic queenly demeanor of the previous second was completely replaced by a flushed face and a shy, coy girlish manner.
“Asterix, look, our Majesty’s skin is so soft here.” Rodney squatted down and poked Victoria’s fair, snow-white skin and the soft, elastic flesh around her smooth abdomen with his index finger.
"Stop!" Victoria had to bend over because she needed to cover her private parts, making her look quite disheveled. As for Rodney's groping hands, she was completely helpless. She just didn't like subordinates who lacked boundaries!
At this moment, the elegant Hood ignored the two of them and entered the bath first, enjoying the relaxation of her skin and the relief of fatigue brought by the hot water.
The Duke of York squatted on the ground, resting his sister's head on his lap, waiting for her to wake up, while shaking his head and marveling at how his mother seemed to have gained a few more pounds.
This time, after a year, Her Majesty's screams echoed through Buckingham Palace once again!
PS1: It's holiday time! Yay!
Chapter 215 Irises Withering in the Alps: Capter76 The People I Care About (Seeking Votes)
Looking back at the European landscape, a careful observer will notice that four of the traditional five major powers were thrown into turmoil by the disappearance of a princess. Aside from the bear licking its wounds in the north, the world's attention was focused on northern Italy, a relatively small territory. Hidden beneath these surface events were undercurrents, but what people seem to have overlooked is that this event also affected the nerves of a financial empire.
“Miss, our men have searched along the banks of the Ticino River for several days, but still have found nothing.” A cloaked man knelt respectfully before the girl with waist-length black hair.
"Keep searching, find him alive or dead." For the first time, the gentle, refined, elegant, and beautiful Hannah Rothschild displayed a somewhat uncharacteristic behavior in front of her servants. However, compared to these trivial matters of etiquette, Hannah was more concerned about her "business" with that prince.
The Luo family had finally found a member of the royal family willing to cooperate with them, who was also a magic user and heir to the throne. This was a rare opportunity for the Jewish people, one they hadn't had in many years.
The family's pursuit of wealth and political ambitions were expected to be realized through her efforts, but now this unexpected turn of events has occurred...
"Yes, miss." The cloaked figure quickly retreated into the shadows and disappeared into the dim light.
"Damn it!" Hannah bit her nails and paced back and forth in the room.
Analyzing the current situation, the seeds sown in the New World are about to blossom and bear fruit, and the Rothschilds' future prosperity rests entirely on this action. Seeing their competitors reaping huge profits from their railway investments in the New World, while the Rothschilds do nothing and wait for these opportunities to slip away, is a stark contrast.
To ensure her smooth transition into leading the Sixth Empire's financial affairs, her father entrusted her with the coordination and command of this operation, as well as the allocation of family resources. He reasoned that if he failed to deliver satisfactory results to the clan, even as the new patriarch, he wouldn't possess sufficient prestige to command the obedience of his uncles, brothers, and sisters, let alone oversee the financial operations across Europe.
Gisela Louise Marie, where are you?! She couldn't believe that the person I had my eye on would be such a nobody who ended up so hastily, even though she seemed to have made a name for herself in Italy, it was all so insignificant compared to the history they were about to create.
The conversation between that guy and her father in Frankfurt had already captured Hannah's heart. Of course, this wasn't romantic attraction, but rather the thrill of seeing someone she could cooperate with, or even follow.
If what she said is true, the Rothschild family could not only become even more glorious than they are now by cooperating with her, but their family would also be remembered by history for fulfilling the long-cherished wish of the Jewish people for thousands of years. A thousand years later, the Rothschilds would be engraved in the scriptures as a holy name as King David.
Most importantly, Gisela did not share her ideas with Hana. Without Gisela's Rothschild family, this operation was extremely difficult. The clever Gisela had already secretly tied her success or failure to the Rothschild family. Perhaps from the moment he shook hands with Gisela, Rothschild was already trapped by her.
With this thought in mind, Hana raised her right hand. As she focused her attention, purple energy surged from her fingertips. She really wanted to unleash her magic power to the fullest and smash everything in the room to pieces to vent her frustration.
"Knock knock!" The knocking sound from outside the room quickly interrupted Hana's thoughts. Hana looked up at the door, took a deep breath, and completely withdrew her magical energy.
"Please come in." Hana smiled and looked towards the door, appearing elegant and poised like a well-mannered young lady from a strict family.
The door slowly opened, and a girl with fiery red hair walked into the room, followed by a dark-skinned woman.
“Miss Shahrado, and this is…” Although Hanna had been helping Gisela manage her business in Prague, this was the first time she had met Rania, who had become a tech geek.
“Rania von Brno, as you might guess, she is the daughter of the Marquis of Brno.” Shahrado simply explained Rania’s name. The reason she had heard of this name was thanks to Rita, with whom she had a very bad relationship.
How to put it? Hana's first impression of Rania was that she was like an ordinary girl, without the air of a noble lady, nor the aloofness that should be there, and she seemed quite...
Clearly, Rania has embarked on a hardcore path, far removed from the comforts and pleasures of girlhood. If you were to ask her what the happiest thing in the world is, she might have said in the past, romantic moments with her Prince Charming; now, she might say seeing her factory expand, her and Mr. Werner's light bulbs sold all over the world, and making a fortune.
"So, what brings Miss Rania to see me?"
"Miss Hannah Rothschild, stop talking nonsense and get in the car. We're going to Italy right now!" Rania grabbed Hannah's wrist and dragged her out of the room.
Dividing line
"Leave it to me next."
"Hmph! I've been underestimated."
"You want war! Then let's fight!"
"Live on." Su Beiming's voice echoed in Gisela's mind, but no matter how familiar she was with it, this time she found she couldn't recall his name...
Wait a minute! Why am I all wet? Why can't I speak? Where am I? Who am I? What am I doing? What am I? Countless questions flooded her mind, and no matter how anxious she was, she still didn't know how to answer herself.
The boundless, unknown darkness gripped her like a chokehold, slowly eroding her last vestiges of consciousness. She didn't know how much time had passed; she felt her soul sinking, as if she had lost something precious. Who cared? She just wanted to sleep a little longer…
At that moment, a blue flame, blooming like a flower, slowly approached Gisela, who could barely feel its own existence, and finally disappeared just before it reached her.
"Live on!" It was that familiar voice again. Although I didn't know whose voice it was, her words seemed to contain an inspiring power.
"If you can't speak, then learn again; if you don't know where you are, then ask; if you don't know who you are, then search for them; if you don't know what you're doing, then go find it now; if you don't know who you are, then wake up!"
At the sound, Gisela suddenly opened her eyes, then propped herself up and lifted the covers from her bed.
Just then, a ray of sunlight fell directly on her face. She gently raised her right hand and rubbed her still slightly blurry eyes. The distant chirping of cicadas and the crisp calls of cuckoos in summer are not unique to Italy, but due to the influence of the Mediterranean climate, the summers on the Apennine Peninsula are not only hotter but also have more sunshine, making these vocal little creatures more active than in other places.
A gentle breeze from outside the window brushed against her cheek, carrying a hint of warmth, a touch of the rich aroma of wine, and the fresh scent of olive oil.
"Where am I?" Gisela looked around with a somewhat confused expression.
PS1: Italy is about to get lively! 0v0
Chapter 216 Irises Withering in the Alps: Capter77 Sister Urpe
"It seems I'm still alive." Wait a minute, why would I say "alive"? Gisela didn't understand why she said that.
"What is this...?" Gisela turned her head and saw her reflection in a mirror diagonally opposite the bed. The fox-ear-like things drooped down, just like their owner's pale and sickly face, devoid of any spirit. What she found even more unbelievable was that the ends of her golden hair had turned a gradient of silver-white, and one of her pupils had changed from blue to purple...
Perhaps due to her extreme surprise, Gisela reached out her left hand to pinch her cheek, but just as she was about to raise her hand, a violent tearing sensation was transmitted through her nerve endings to her brain, forcing her to hold her head with her right hand and gasp for a few breaths before she could calm down.
"Bandages?" Gisela hadn't noticed the white bandages wrapped around her hands because she hadn't been paying attention before. And it wasn't just her arms; when she looked down, she realized her entire body was now wrapped up like a giant white dumpling, making movement difficult.
Perhaps because it's summer, she can now appear in bandages, even skipping the clothes altogether.
While Gisela was undergoing her medical examination, the door to the room was slowly pushed open, and a girl carrying food walked in. Judging from her appearance, she looked to be about 10 years old.
"Huh? Sister, you're finally awake." The girl seemed to have thought that her older sister was still unconscious, so this time she only brought food to visit Gisela symbolically, and didn't even knock when she entered the room.
"Hmm." Gisela bit her lip, took a deep breath, and answered with some difficulty. She didn't know why, but she felt that her mind was a mess, with a lot of memories coming in, and it was as if she had forgotten something.
"Sister, it's time for your meal. This is something Mom specially prepared for you today." The girl was a little reserved, taking small, hesitant steps towards her beautiful older sister, who looked like a fairy from a fairy tale. After all, few people knew that fox ears were a characteristic of Eastern magic users, so it wasn't strange to mistake her animal-like features for a fairy transformed into a human. After all, from childhood, she had heard adults tell all sorts of fairy tales, in which fairies were always changing.
This was not due to their ignorance, because in some remote Italian villages, information was so limited that people didn't even understand why they were fighting, except that the Kingdom of Sardinia was at war with Austria. Although the 19th century was an era of the rise of nationalism and the working class, the vast majority of ordinary working people living in remote rural areas never really understood what these two concepts were, and these countries were still predominantly populated by farmers.
Just like the later campaign in Paris, most people didn't even understand what they were fighting for. Whether the people were enlightened or not depended on whether you mobilized the masses, whether you told them what they were fighting for, and what they were defending.
Sometimes mastering weapons is that simple; whoever understands it grasps the era, but unfortunately, the vast majority of people don't know this.
"Thank...thank you!" Gisela smiled gently at the girl before her. She felt quite fond of this somewhat reserved girl, after all, she and her family had saved her life. Although Gisela was unsure how she had been injured, it was undeniable that she was in poor condition.
"What's your name, sister?" The girl placed the plate on the small round table next to her, picked up a bowl of steaming white porridge. For a comatose patient, this era is not like the 21st century where you can get an IV drip. Feeding fluids is obviously the best method, and porridge is obviously the best choice.
"Name?" Gisela tilted her head, pondering how to answer the girl's question. After all, this was Italy, and her name was far too sensitive.
“Like me, my name is Lena.” Lena pointed to herself, then patted her chest with some pride.
“Me? My name is…” Gisela hesitated, but the girl took it as meaning that she had no name.
“Then I’ll call you Volpe (Italian for fox) from now on.” Lena looked at the girl in front of her with an expectant expression.
“Ulpe,” Gisela repeated her name softly.
"Sister, there's something else I'd like to ask you if you'd be willing." Lena sat down on Gisela's bedside.
"What is it?" Gisela tilted her head, not understanding what the little guy in front of her wanted to do again.
"May I touch your ears? This is the first time I've ever seen a fairy like you." Lena's gaze was firm, her bright eyes filled with anticipation for Gisela's answer.
Looking at the adorable little devil in front of her, Gisela had no reason to refuse; after all, touching him wouldn't hurt her.
"Great!" Lena jumped up with joy.
“Come on, little brat.” Gisela bent down in a duck-like position, stretching her head in front of the girl. Perhaps because her mind was rather confused, Gisela’s actions, driven by instinct, were all very feminine, a fact she herself was unaware of.
Lena nervously swallowed, slowly moving her right index finger closer to Gisela's ear. A mix of excitement and fear washed over her, making her heart race.
His fear stemmed from the fact that the girl before him was not "human," while his excitement was enough to give him something new to brag about among his friends.
As his fingers approached, the first thing he felt was body temperature, which was enough to prove that the ears were real. They were soft, furry, and surprisingly comfortable to touch, just like the feel of his own cat.
"Can you feel the touch in my ears, sister?" Lena lowered her head and saw that Ulpei's cheeks were slightly flushed, and a very subtle expression gradually appeared on her beautiful face. Although Lena didn't understand why, she felt a strange excitement. Hearing Ulpei's slightly panting breaths, Lena could clearly feel that she was starting to like this feeling.
"Sorry, sister, I need to pick flowers." Clearly, the young Lena didn't understand the complexities of the matter; she simply wanted to temporarily end her playful mood and adjust herself.
"Hmm!" Gisela breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the little girl flee as if running away. She was also worried that something unpredictable might happen if things continued like this...
PS1: Can you set off firecrackers where you are? We can't here QAQ
Chapter 217 Irises Withering in the Alps: Capter78 Countryside (Seeking Votes)
Just as Lena left the room, a girl with long flaxen hair and several thin braids walked by in the corridor.
"Lena! I told you to take care of that lady, where are you going to play again!" Obviously, this woman didn't know what was happening in the room; she just passed by and simply thought her sister was slacking off.
“You’re awake,” the woman seemed to notice that Gisela in the room had woken up.
“Yes!” Gisela nodded.
"Hello, my name is Laura, the older sister of that little girl from earlier." She politely lifted her skirt and bowed to Gisela in front of her. Although her posture was not very standard, it was clear that she had put in a lot of effort to learn.
“My name is Urpe.” Gisela had clearly decided to use the name the girl had given her as her current name, since she didn’t need to let outsiders know her true identity.
MM Racing