“Carlo, where are you?” A shout from high up in the luxurious palace interrupted Carlo’s thoughts, pulling his soul back to this real world.
“I’m here, Father,” Carlo quickly replied.
“Thank God, my child, are you feeling better?” Just a few minutes later, the voice approached from afar, and its owner was already standing behind Carlo.
Carlo turned around slightly, still feeling a bit of disbelief.
The middle-aged man in luxurious clothes standing before him was actually the biological father of his current body, the famous current ruler of the House of Savoy, and the first king of a unified Italy, Victor Emmanuel II.
“I am feeling better, the medicine the doctor gave me was very effective.” Carlo nodded, looking honest, but in his mind, he was figuring out how to converse with this unfamiliar father.
Victor Emmanuel II didn’t notice Carlo’s complicated thoughts.
Instead, he affectionately patted Carlo’s head and said earnestly, “It’s alright, child.
Even though Oddone is no longer with us, you still have us, don’t you?” Oddone was the third son of Victor Emmanuel II, who had been granted the title of Duke of Montferrat right after birth.
In Carlo’s memory, this older brother had been very good to him, and their relationship was much closer than with his two older brothers.
Unfortunately, by the time Carlo’s soul arrived in this world, Oddone, the Duke of Montferrat, was already terminally ill and soon passed away.
Due to the extremely poor medical standards of this era, the cause of Oddone’s death was never even determined.
The fact that someone as noble as a prince could die so inexplicably made Carlo feel a hint of fear towards this real world.
For an ordinary person who had experienced advanced technology and society, personally experiencing the technology and life of a hundred and sixty years ago was truly a kind of torture.
Even if Carlo was Victor Emmanuel II’s favorite son, a prince of the recently established Kingdom of Italy, it could not offset this terrible feeling.
Seeing Carlo remain silent, Victor Emmanuel II patted his head again, squeezed out a smile, and said, “It will be fine, everything will get better, child.
I will not allow anything to take you away from me, not even God.
Adelaide and I will protect you.
You will be fine, I promise you.” For Victor Emmanuel II, who was known for his devotion to God, such a promise was clearly heartfelt and sincere.
Carlo naturally knew of Victor Emmanuel II’s reputation.
Towards this cheap father who cared so much about him, Carlo felt no repulsion whatsoever.
“I am much better, Father.
Thank you for your concern, I am fine now,” Carlo said.
“That’s good, child.
May God bless you, and I will stay with you too.” Victor Emmanuel II affectionately patted Carlo’s head once more, then motioned for the maids nearby to help Carlo back to his room.
Historically, although Victor Emmanuel II had six sons (counting only those born to Queen Adelaide), only two of them did not die young.
It could be said he had many children but little fortune.
Aside from Prince Oddone, who died young at nearly 20 years old, the other three children who died prematurely all passed away unexpectedly during infancy.
Although Carlo’s arrival in this world meant Victor Emmanuel II lost one less son, the continuous loss of sons during his middle age made him value family affection exceptionally highly.
As the youngest son now, Carlo received the most doting love from Victor Emmanuel II.
Upon birth, he was given the noble title of Duke of Chablais, and his properties included vast estates, several castles and manors, and hundreds of servants ready to serve him at any time.
While Victor Emmanuel II was lost in unknown thoughts, Carlo had already been assisted into his room by two maids.
Looking at the two maids—one pure and beautiful on the left, the other with an alluring figure on the right—Carlo swallowed the words he was just about to say.
Although monogamy was prevalent in the West, for nobles of high status, the word “mistress” was not unfamiliar.
Especially for the highest tier of nobility, as long as Carlo was willing, the young girls wanting to become his mistresses could line up from the Italian capital of Florence all the way to the northwestern city of Turin.
At least on this point, Carlo was willing to admit that the world of a hundred and sixty years ago still had some pleasures.
Of course, mistresses were merely a tacit enjoyment among nobles and were generally not made public.
For top-tier nobles, maids were certainly a safer choice than mistresses and were more trustworthy in terms of loyalty.
Especially for some nobles in their teenage years, maids were more suitable for introductory education, making them the primary choice for most European nobles when educating their offspring.
The two maids serving Carlo were the initiators chosen for him by Victor Emmanuel II.
They combined the traits of pure loveliness and sexy allure, and both were exceptionally beautiful.
At first, Carlo was enjoying their massage, but a sudden sensation of pleasure in his lower half instantly snapped him back to reality.
Turning his head, he saw that Anna, who looked pure and cute, had slipped her hand into his trousers and was quietly teasing him.
“Alright, Anna.” Carlo patted her head, looking at her as she raised her head and blinked her small eyes, finally cracking a smile.
“Not there yet.” “Okay.” Hearing this, Anna nodded with slight disappointment, and her hand left that certain spot.
“I want to be alone for a while.” After enjoying the skilled massage from the two maids, Carlo finally relaxed a bit and gave them his orders.
Soon, the two maids left the room, leaving Carlo alone lying there, deep in thought.
Carlo had somewhat reluctantly accepted his transmigration to this era.
At least as a noble, there were many ways to enjoy life, which was much better than a life of toil in future generations.
But the problem was that although the monarchy was currently the mainstream worldwide, it would only last for a few more decades.
Once World War I and II broke out consecutively, they would deal a heavy blow to monarchies worldwide, causing monarchic states to almost vanish from people’s sight.
In later generations, apart from the UK—a monarchy where the monarch’s power existed almost in name only—people’s understanding of monarchic states was minimal, and they could barely name a few that still existed.
The Kingdom of Italy, where Carlo was located, wouldn’t become a republic until after World War II.
However, during Mussolini’s rule, the power and status of the Italian royal family would already be in grave danger, and their abolition would just be a word away from Mussolini.
Although he didn’t know how he had transmigrated, since he had started a new life and possessed such a high starting point, Carlo naturally harbored greater ambitions.
In order to grasp his future destiny in his own hands, Carlo formed a new plan.
(END CHAPTER)