Europa Universalis 1867: Start by inheriting an armory

The steamship cut through the calm sea, leaving a greasy wake.

The ship was about to dock, and only Louise and Richard sat opposite each other in the salon, the bartender leisurely wiping the rims of the glasses. Sunlight streamed through the porthole onto the table, shimmering like waves.

Richard tilted his head back and drank the last sip of red wine, but the movement caused a sharp pain in his abdomen.

"How are you? Still hurting so much?" Louise swirled her wine glass, looking at Richard who was grimacing, and almost laughed.

"Not much better." Richard poured himself a drink and then poured some for Louise. "She might need to see a doctor after we get off the ship."

"How about trying not to catch someone's fist with your nose next time?" Louise joked.

"I'm good with my brain, not with fighting." Richard took a sip. "Otherwise, why would the emperor send a general to fight for him?"

“These two are not contradictory.” Louise first extended her left hand, then her right. “Without the hand of judgment, the hand of God’s mercy is meaningless.”

"Hmm," Richard squinted, as if seeing her for the first time, "who exactly are you?"

"You've forgotten my name after having a few drinks?" Louise feigned disappointment.

"No, I mean, who exactly are you?" Richard put down his glass. "You're literate, you speak multiple languages, even the Duchess knows you..." He paused, "You're not some rich heiress, are you?"

Louise was stunned. She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Can you keep this a secret?"

Richard sat up straight, raising his index finger in a secret gesture: "You don't believe me?"

“Well, I…” Louise raised her slightly tipsy face and said solemnly, “…I am Louise Caroline Alberta, the sixth daughter of Queen Victoria.”

The news hit Richard like a stick on the back of the head, sobering him up considerably.

He never imagined that the Queen's most intelligent princess would appear on this ship incognito.

Seeing Richard's stunned expression, Louise nodded slightly: "You may bow now."

He then raised his glass and bowed slightly: "It is an honor to be on the same ship as the princess."

Louise seemed quite satisfied with his handling of the situation. The two clinked glasses, and Richard continued, "So what made Her Highness board the ship to France?"

"Uh, I was supposed to go to Paris to study painting and sculpture..." Louise stammered, as if she had something difficult to say.

"But as the Queen's secretary, political affairs always take precedence over academics, right?" Richard chimed in.

"You know quite a lot..." Louise was somewhat surprised, but she was already used to it. "My mother asked me to meet with Queen Isabella II secretly in my capacity as a member of the British royal family."

Richard was calculating in his mind. Napoleon III had tried to win over the Queen of Spain after she went into exile, which was obviously something Britain did not want to see. Therefore, Louise's trip was probably the Queen's way of testing Isabella's attitude.

He thought for a moment, then adopted a mysterious expression: "If that's the case, you'll be disappointed. Because Princess Isabella isn't in Paris at all, at least not right now."

"Haha, you talk like you know everything." Louise laughed with a hint of mockery and took a sip of the red wine in her glass.

"His Highness is currently in Biarritz, at Napoleon III's Imperial Villa," Richard said calmly.

Upon hearing Richard utter a specific address, Louise's expression changed, and she stared at him warily.

She had initially thought he was just a shrewd arms dealer. But now…

"How...how did you know?" Her voice lowered.

Her surprise was understandable; even the intelligence agencies couldn't track the Queen's whereabouts, so how could an arms dealer know?

Richard offered no explanation. He took Louisa's ring from his pocket and placed it on the table; the ruby ​​gleamed under the light.

"Negotiations have time limits," he said. "If the French emperor reaches an agreement with the queen first, your trip will likely be in vain."

Louise stared at the ring, her gaze barely leaving his face, as if she were seriously considering his proposal.

"What do you want?" Louise asked cautiously.

"What I want is not important," Richard said, taking back the ring. "What is important is what our beloved Queen Victoria wanted."

Louise chuckled softly, her words tinged with admiration: "If the news is false, you are guilty of treason."

"I'm a businessman, I don't buy counterfeit goods." Richard raised his glass again.

Just as the two were about to clink glasses, a flight attendant rushed in: "Mr. Brian? There's a telegram for you."

Richard took the telegram; it was a letter from Sean, which read:

"Young Master, the Greenwood Guild will apply to the court tomorrow to seize the factory. All family assets in London have been transferred to a Swiss bank in Geneva as you instructed. Sean, please."

He breathed a sigh of relief, folded the telegram, and stuffed it into his pocket.

"What's wrong?" Louise asked.

"Someone's been giving me trouble in London," Richard said, finishing his wine. "But the money's already been transferred to Switzerland."

Louise raised an eyebrow slightly: "What made you think of depositing your money there?"

Richard smiled and said, "A businessman always needs to leave himself a way out."

He didn't tell the truth because he knew that Swiss banks would not be affected by the war for the next hundred years.

The two then disembarked in Boulogne and took a train to Biarritz, a journey of about a day.

The streets of Biarritz were much quieter than those of Paris, with only a few fishermen mending their nets, and white houses and church spires in the distance.

The street climbs up the coastline, and the emperor's villa sits on the cliff, its gardens filled with palms and oleanders from southern France.

They passed through the gate as artists introduced by the Duchess, which was not difficult for them, who were carrying the tokens.

Soon they were standing in the villa’s grand hall. A waiter announced first, and Richard suddenly said to Louise, “You have to find a way to persuade the Queen to abdicate.”

"Huh? Are you crazy?" Louise controlled her expression, not letting the guard beside her see through her act.

"Britain wants to use the Queen to protect its interests in Spain, but neither the royalists nor the revolutionaries in the country will recognize her," Richard explained in a low voice.

"But the French emperor..."

"Do you think Napoleon III would turn against all of Europe for her throne?" Richard's question left her speechless.

“Napoleon III doesn’t need to send troops,” Richard said in a low voice. “He just needs to keep Isabella in France, and then he can tell the British at the negotiating table: ‘Look, the Spanish royal family is on my side.’”

Louise narrowed her eyes as she quickly processed the information.

"Therefore... Britain must reach an agreement with the Queen before France does."

“It’s not an agreement,” Richard said. “It’s about letting her son succeed to the throne, Alfonso XII. An eleven-year-old king needs someone to teach him how to do things. England can be that person.”

Louise stared at him, about to say something.

The waiter pushed open the door, put his hands behind his back, and acted as if he were the owner of the villa:

"The Queen is ready to receive you."

Louise took a deep breath and hugged the sketchbook to her chest.

"Remember," she told Richard, "you're the manager of my gallery, responsible for negotiating prices and signing contracts. Don't say anything out of line."

"Nonsense, me?"

Louise gave a soft hum and, without waiting for his reply, lifted her skirt and walked into the drawing room.