She changed Europe

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Rita wasn't the only special maid in the palace; another was Aponia. Of course, she didn't appear in the palace often, or even stay by His Majesty's side for long periods of time, but she always appeared at just the right time when His Majesty needed her. She was also secretly carrying out some of the Empire's most confidential affairs.

"Yes, thank you." Gisela looked up at the familiar yet unfamiliar girl in front of her. Familiar because she was her husband in name, and also her cousin, but unfamiliar because Gisela knew that Nina had a special feeling for the deceased Leo, a feeling that she could never replace.

Upon thinking about these things, Gisela suddenly didn't know how to continue the conversation, and the atmosphere became quite quiet as a result.

"How is Mia doing?" For Gisela, their adopted daughter was the only topic on her mind at that moment.

“She’s doing well in Munich and can now speak fluent German. She still retains some English handwriting habits, which will take time to correct. I wanted her to have a more relaxed and happy life, but…”

"But what?" Gisela gently put down her knife and fork, waiting with interest for Nina to tell her more about their daughter.

"After she heard that you became empress, she asked me to teach her magic. She said she wanted to protect her mother, just like a knight."

"Pfft! Mia is so cute." Gisela nodded and smiled.

“She’s been reading Mr. Cervantes’s Don Quixote lately. He also likes to replace the child of a court guard with Sancho Panza. He borrowed a horse from me called Naxon Rare.”

"So, am I Dulcinea?" Gisela and Nina laughed almost simultaneously at the mention of this story. (Dulcinea was the princess Don Quixote fantasized about, though in reality she was a very ugly woman; the fox is making a joke here.)

“That’s what makes kids so adorable,” Gisela said, wiping away tears of laughter from her face.

“Now that things have calmed down on your end, do you need me to bring her to Vienna?” Nina asked, picking up her glass of wine.

"You're welcome anytime, but I'm heading to Constantinople soon, which will probably take more than a month. You can bring your little one over after I've settled things. It'll be better if I'm here to introduce her to some good friends." Gisela was already very friendly and considerate towards the adorable little girl, let alone her own daughter. Finding some playmates among the noble children would be much better than having her come to this unfamiliar court alone.

Of course, Gisela was confident that Mia would not be bullied in Vienna. After all, Mia was Gisela's precious daughter, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her a princess, even though they were not related by blood and had no right to inherit the throne.

“That’s fine too. Our King Ludwig II is very fond of Mia, and he basically spoils her.” It’s not surprising that Ludwig, the unmarried King of Bavaria, would extend his affection to Elizabeth’s granddaughters as he is the number one admirer of his mother, Sissi, who is Gisela.

"These are all fine wines, top-quality wines that I seized from the Hungarian nobleman's mansion years ago. They have all undergone double sealing and have been stored for over thirty years." Due to the special nature of winemaking, it is impossible for wine to improve with age like Chinese baijiu. The current vintage is already quite good.

"No wonder it tastes so mellow and sweet, yet the alcohol is mild and gentle." Nina swirled the glass in her hand as she savored the wine.

“Of course, the wine from my land is just that good.” Gisela used to be a country bumpkin who never tasted wine and only knew how to drink it by force. But after so many years in this world, he has transformed from a pheasant into a golden phoenix, and his wine tasting and appreciation skills are almost maxed out.

Given her position, Gisela could proudly declare that, aside from wines from China, what wine from any European winery could she not drink? If she wanted to, she wouldn't buy the wine herself; these people would beg to have it delivered to her palace for free.

If this brand still exists a hundred years from now, its advertising could include the line, "The wine of Her Majesty the Great Empress Gisela of Austria, a true royal standard, a symbol of high society." The price would undoubtedly be many times higher. Of course, this is just a lighthearted joke.

The two chatted and drank for what seemed like an eternity until Nina brought up a new topic.

“Gisella, I have something I want to ask you…” Nina then downed her drink in one gulp, stood up, and looked at Gisella with a serious expression.

A healthy flush appeared on the girl's face, indicating that Nina had already drunk quite a bit, including from the glass of wine. However, more than the girl's expression, Gisela was concerned about Nina's sudden mention of her name. She straightened her back nervously, looking at Nina. Gisela, too, was somewhat incoherent and her mind was hazy due to the alcohol.

"What's going on between you and that Chloris, the Queen of Prussia... hiccup... hiccup..." Nina picked up the wine bottle and staggered toward Gisela.

"What? What's the relationship?" Gisela tilted her head, looking at Nina with some confusion.

"Don't...think I don't know, now all of Europe knows she publicly wrote you a marriage proposal letter...hiccup...do you know what they're saying about me behind my back?" As Gisela's nominal husband, Nina's portrayal of Leopold naturally attracts a lot of gossip, because not only in Prussia and Austria, but also in Bavaria, various negative rumors about Nina are circulating...

PS1: An incompetent husband and a philandering, beautiful wife

Chapter 528 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose: Capter 25 Nina's Discontent (Seeking Votes)

"So, cousin, can you be a little more mature? You're already married! Even if I have no right to criticize you, I'm carrying the weight of my brother's reputation and position, so can you please stop causing me trouble all the time!" Thinking of this, Nina stood up angrily. Perhaps because of the alcohol, the girl seemed much bolder than usual today.

"I..." Hearing the girl's words, the fox, who was already feeling uneasy because of his affair, was so overwhelmed by guilt and shame that he lost his composure and confidence.

"You may seem so high and mighty in front of others, but to me you are simply my wife, my hiccup!" With these words, the girl, seemingly agitated, lunged at Gisela, pressing her chest against the wall. Gisela's eyes widened in panic, her fox ears drooped, and her tail twitched uneasily.

Normally, Nina wouldn't dare treat her cousin so roughly, but the resentful girl couldn't care less! She was going to fight for her deceased brother!

"I told you not to move! Explain yourself!" Seeing something swaying in front of her, she grabbed Gisela's swaying fox tail.

"Hmm..." A somewhat suggestive sound rang out. Apart from the fact that the person in question had become more beautiful and mature, everything seemed to be exactly the same as before.

"Stop babbling and speak up." Even though Nina was wearing high heels and was a head shorter than Gisela, Nina's aura was incredibly strong right now.

"Don't think I don't know about your affairs with those women. I'm seen as an honest man outside! You know what? People have said before that I have a health problem, which is why you can't have children! Otherwise, with such a beautiful wife, I would have gotten you pregnant long ago..." Seemingly realizing that she was also a woman, the girl suddenly changed her tune and continued her rant:

"Hmph! I may not care about these things, but now you've pulled this stunt with the Queen of Prussia. What exactly are you trying to do?" Nina took a deep breath and released her grip on her body, while the exhausted Gisela leaned forward, knocking Nina to the ground along with her.

In her predicament, Gisela, seeing that things had come to this point, decided that it was better to go down together. So she decisively snatched Nina's bottle, bit off the cork with her teeth, took a sip of wine herself, and then shoved the bottle directly into Nina's mouth, chugging down the wine. In this way, the atmosphere on the scene quietly became more and more bizarre.

At this moment, Rita was still pacing back and forth in the corridor. She didn't know why, even though it was a normal dinner party, her eyelids kept twitching unnaturally, and she felt extremely uneasy and anxious.

"Miss Rita, what are you doing here?" A familiar voice reached Rita's ears. She turned around abruptly and saw Aponia walking slowly towards her, holding documents. Aponia had faint dark circles under her eyes today, clearly from working overtime late into the night.

“Are you preparing to report to His Highness?” Rita walked up to Aponia and placed her hand on her shoulder. This was the perfect excuse for her to get in.

In fact, Rita's attitude towards Aponia had always been lukewarm, but now that she had suddenly become so enthusiastic, Aponia was naturally a little at a loss. Therefore, her beautiful face showed a hint of confusion, and her purple eyes were full of vigilance.

“Her Highness is having dinner with her ‘husband’ inside. We’ll go in together in a bit,” Rita said, looking at Aponia with a sense of formidable danger. Aponia immediately understood Rita’s concern.

“Of course, no problem, Miss Rita.”

The two knocked on the door one after the other, then pushed it open and went inside. The servants standing in the corridor naturally dared not stop them.

Upon entering the room, Aponia and Rita didn't immediately see them near the dining table, so they took a few steps inside. Soon, a silver-haired, fox-eared girl came into view, riding on top of a black-haired girl. At this moment, the black-haired girl's eyes were rolled back, and she was unconscious, while Aponia tilted her head slightly, staring at the two maids in the room with her scarlet eyes.

"Thump!" Seemingly realizing the danger, Rita and Aponia turned around in unison to run away. However, just as they took a step, a white figure flashed by, tackled the two of them, and skillfully hooked the door shut with her right foot.

Gisela grabbed Aponia's black stockings and Rita's white stockings by the thighs and dragged them deeper into the room.

————SeSe Dividing Line

As the bright morning sunlight streamed into the room through the window, Gisela slowly opened her eyes. Her body ached unusually, and it took her a moment to sit up with some difficulty.

She squinted, rubbed her temples, and then threw back the covers to get out of bed. When she turned to look at the alarm clock not far away, she sighed helplessly. If her memory served her right, she should have been drinking with Nina last night, but for some reason, she had lost all memory of what happened afterward.

"Rita!" Gisela, who was used to having Rita prepare her clothes every day, called out her name in confusion when she saw that the maid who was not in her room to help her dress today was not there.

Soon the door was slowly pushed open, and two maids that Gisela was not very familiar with entered the room.

"Your Majesty, Lady Rita is resting next door. Is there anything I can do for you?" The two maids bowed respectfully, their timid and somewhat reserved demeanor suggesting a lack of tact. To Rita and the others, Gisela might be a good friend, a close confidante, but to most ordinary people, Gisela was still the noble Empress of the Empire, a person at the pinnacle of imperial power, and it was not surprising to feel intimidated when facing her.

Thinking about it this way, Gisela can actually understand the two's reactions quite well.

"Alright, then help me pick out a suitable outfit. I have an important cabinet meeting to attend in a little while." Gisela gave the order as she walked between the two maids and closed the door to her room.

As the door clicked open, the two maids instinctively shrank back, exchanged glances, and then took a step back.

"What's wrong? Am I that scary?" Gisela teased her two maids with a slightly sarcastic tone. She then walked to the bedside, crossed her legs, and used her right hand to support her chin as she observed the two women in front of her.

PS1: Ra!

Chapter 529 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose: The toughest episode in Capter 26 (Vote Requested)

"No, no." The two women shook their heads cautiously, and soon they walked to Gisela's wardrobe, opened it, and began to choose clothes for Gisela.

“I’m not going to eat you,” Gisela said calmly, then picked up a book of Kant’s philosophy from beside her bed and began to read it with interest.

After a moment, seemingly feeling that the atmosphere in the room was too dull, Gisela wine + Linglu private Liu Qiba Er. Ba raised his head and looked at the two busy maids.

"Do you remember what happened last night?" Gisela asked casually, wanting to hear about what happened last night from others.

"I don't remember!" The two turned around as if startled and vehemently denied it. Their overly resolute attitude only piqued Gisela's curiosity, so she closed the book, stretched, and got up from the bedside to walk towards the two.

"Your Majesty, please spare us! We all have someone we love." One of the maids was so frightened that she knelt down on the ground, while the other stood motionless, her face pale.

"Huh? What do you mean by this?" Gisela had never seen such a strange scene before, so she stopped in her tracks and looked at the two of them with great confusion.

Of course, Gisela had no idea that she had actually turned the tables last night.

Let's go back to last night —

"Your Majesty, what's wrong?" Aponia, whose leg was being held by Gisela, looked at Gisela with some confusion. A strange feeling was swirling in her heart, causing a barely perceptible panic to appear in her usually poker-faced demeanor. This feeling stemmed from two sources. On one hand, instinct told her she should leave because Gisela's current state was strange; on the other hand, a subtle emotion hidden deep within her heart stirred a sense of anticipation, making her want to stay and wait for Gisela to do something to her.

“Your Majesty!” Unlike Aponia, Rita struggled the whole time, after all, she did not like being treated so rudely by her own prince.

"Shut up." Gisela forcefully ripped Rita's socks and pulled her in front of her. Then, she picked up a bottle of liquor from the ground and shoved it directly into Rita's mouth, making gurgling sounds. Rita's lower abdomen quickly swelled up visibly.

"Help...!" Rita cried out for help towards the door, while the maids outside could only peer through the crack in the door, watching the tragedy unfold inside with horrified expressions.

At this moment, Aponia also suddenly realized the danger, so the moment Gisela let go of Rita, she scrambled to get away, but Gisela knocked her to the ground with a bottle.

The red wine soaked their clothes, and a sweet, rich aroma filled the room.

"Drink!" Gisela pressed down on Aponia's back, lifted her chin, and shoved the bottle into Aponia's mouth, just like Rita's tragedy had happened before. Countless drops of liquor poured into her stomach like a floodgate being opened.

As she continued to be forced to drink alcohol, Aponia's expression began to contort and become strange. Soon after Nina and Rita, Aponia also lost consciousness.

Gisela stood up, looked at the empty room, and began to drink again by herself. Her terrible drinking yesterday was unheard of. Afterwards, Gisela did many unspeakable things to the three unconscious people, causing an unprecedented shock to the maids outside.

The saying "Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger" is perhaps only now truly understood by them. Of course, they also silently vowed in their hearts to keep their distance from His Highness, all for their own good.

"What's the point of telling me all this?" Gisela couldn't understand the maids' intentions. What was originally just a simple rhetorical question had become a clear affirmation in their eyes. The two women exchanged glances, sighed, and slowly unbuttoned their clothes, removing the ribbons. As their black and white maid outfits slid down, the two beautiful girls revealed their best features to Gisela.

"If Your Majesty insists on doing this, please be gentle, this is our first time." The maid's eyes were filled with tears, but she had a forced smile on her lips.

"Slow down, slow down, what are you doing?" Gisela raised her head and stopped the two maids in front of her from further unbuttoning the last piece of fabric. At this moment, Gisela's expression was extremely strange.

"Didn't His Majesty intend to do that kind of thing to us?" Since they had entered the palace, they were prepared to dedicate everything to the royal family. In European courts, maids often bore certain unspoken responsibilities, sometimes having to do things that were difficult to talk about in order to satisfy their masters' needs. They had initially thought that being an empress meant a very comfortable life, and that being chosen for the palace meant they wouldn't have to worry about anything, but now they realized they had been far too naive.

"What are you going to do?" Gisela really didn't understand what young people these days were thinking about all day long, since they didn't even have any tools to commit the crime.

"I'm going to be the German Liu Xiahui (a paragon of virtue)!" Gisela couldn't help but want to use her profound Chinese to educate the two girls who were daydreaming.

At that moment, the door was pushed open as if it had been rehearsed a million times, and this time it was none other than their own Jeanne who entered the room.

"Giselle, I heard you caused a scene at the restaurant last night and got drunk. How are you feeling now?" Jeanne asked anxiously as she pushed open the door, only to witness the scene. In Jeanne's eyes, Giselle seemed to be pinning the two poor maids against the wall and forcing them into submission.

Just then, the room window opened, and the black-haired mature woman, Marta, climbed into the room from outside and witnessed this very absurd scene.

Unlike Jeanne's surprise, Marta's reaction was quite indifferent. She whistled somewhat frivolously, then walked with a smile to Gisela's bedside, picked up a book with a red cover and an Ottoman title, and turned back to the window.

"Sorry to interrupt, please continue, but remember to take care of yourselves and stay hydrated." Marta then flipped over and jumped out of the window, and the atmosphere in the room fell silent again.

“Speak! What else do you want to say?” Gisela turned around and looked at Jeanne. She didn’t know how to explain herself, so she could only say this.

"You still ask me what I want to say!" Jeanne stared at Gisela with wide eyes and a look of surprise.

“I didn’t do anything to them. Ask them if you don’t believe me.” Gisela glanced at the two maids behind her.

The two nodded obediently in agreement.

PS1: Delta Force's new season has started (0v0)

Chapter 530 The Turkish Symphony of the Vienna Rose: Capter 27 The Third Roman Ambition (Seeking Votes)

“Ha, I don’t care about your hopeless private life.” Jeanne frowned and looked at the fox in front of her.

Of course, it's impossible not to care or be jealous, but if he shows it too obviously, wouldn't he be tricked and mocked by this fox in front of him again? Rather than that, he might as well act this way from the beginning.

"Ah!?" Gisela was surprised by Jeanne's reaction today, but she still gave the two maids a look, indicating that they could leave the room first, as she and Miss Jeanne had important matters to discuss.

"Your Majesty, we'll leave now." The two maids grabbed their clothes and fled, closing the door behind them, leaving only Gisela and Jeanne in the room.

"Hmph, I'm only here to confirm a few things. Aren't you supposed to be setting off for Constantinople this afternoon? Before that, aren't you going to have a final confirmation with your cabinet on the diplomatic strategy?" Jeanne said with a sigh. In fact, in order to gain a greater advantage at the Constantinople Conference, the Imperial Cabinet had been discussing feasible solutions for some time.

“You still have time to flirt with them here? If I were you, I would have already set off for the Hofburg Palace, instead of idling around in Schönbrunn Palace.” Jeanne was unusually serious today, and her criticism was not unreasonable but quite justified, so Gisela naturally couldn’t refute it.

"I understand. Give me fifteen minutes, and I'll get dressed and ready as soon as possible." Gisela turned around and walked towards her wardrobe with a serious expression. Her serious demeanor made it seem as if the previous incident was just an illusion, because she was a completely different person compared to when she was trying to get ready.

Actually, he could dress himself without the maid's help; it would just be a bit more troublesome.

Jeanne perhaps sensed the inefficiency Gisela might cause in getting dressed, so she approached Gisela and said:

"I can help you to improve your efficiency, but not because I want to, and you're not allowed to take advantage of me."

“Oh…” Gisela’s lips curled up slightly, quite pleased with Jeanne’s compliant attitude.

To be honest, she still prefers Jeanne's old, unruly self.

Sevastopol on the Black Sea coast of the Russian Empire

"Your Majesty, those despicable Turks have sent envoys to various European countries, hoping that their heads of state will convene a meeting in Constantinople to put pressure on me!" At this time, "Turk" was a derogatory term used by Europeans to refer to the Ottomans, because in fact, the subjects of the Ottoman Empire preferred to call themselves Ottomans.

"Hmph! Those damned infidels, ever since they tasted the sweetness of exploiting the conflicts between the great powers last time, they've become unstoppable." Twenty years ago, in the Crimean War, with the Russian Empire's crushing defeat, Russia not only lost Bessarabia, an important outlet to the Danube River, but also lost its position as the protector of the Orthodox Church in Ottoman territory, because they failed to liberate Wallachia, Serbia, and Moldavia, and these three countries remained under Ottoman control.

This defeat was itself a challenge to the authority of the Russian Empire, which considered itself the successor to the Byzantine Empire and the Third Rome.

Even more critically, the important city of Kars in the Caucasus region was recaptured by the Turks. Of course, the most important thing was the neutralization of the Black Sea, which prohibited the Russian Empire from establishing a fleet or building naval bases in the Black Sea region. For the Russian Empire, which had a strong desire to seek access to the sea and conquer the ocean, the consequences were obviously disastrous.

"Your Majesty, we have also received an invitation from the Turks." The old man handed the diplomatic letter delivered by the Turkish envoy to Alexander II.

“Alexei, how did the Turks know I had secretly arrived in Sevastopol?” Alexander frowned as he took the documents the old man handed him.

"Your Majesty, the Ottomans' strongest backer has always been the British." The old man's implication was clear: for the ever-present British spies, his itinerary was no secret at all.

It is worth mentioning that while conflicts between Russia and Britain on the mainland may not be so acute, the situation at sea is quite different.

Why did Russia so desperately want to conquer Constantinople? Did tsars like Alexander II truly want to restore the Orthodox holy city and create a new Roman Empire? This was merely a propaganda ambition; what Russia really wanted was Constantinople's excellent geographical location.

Controlling Constantinople would allow Russia to directly penetrate the Mediterranean and compete with Britain for maritime supremacy, or to blockade the straits and hold the Black Sea. Russia, which sees itself as the protector of the Orthodox Church, could also leverage its claim to the restoration of the location of the universal patriarch to expand its prestige in Orthodox regions, thereby combining faith with Pan-Slavism to seize the entire Balkan Peninsula and ultimately dominate continental Europe.

"My father was killed by those despicable Englishmen!" Alexander II slammed his fist on the table, then took a deep breath, stood up, and walked to the balcony behind his office.