Chapter 2: Chapter 2 Where in the goddamn hell am I?

Königsberg Castle Estate in the City of Königsberg 

August 15, 1880

[Erika's POV] 

3 years have passed since her reincarnation and she has finally accepted that she isekaied and didn't just dream all of this as her parents thought Erika was sick when in reality she was just in a state of shock and depression before she recovered. 

And for the past 2 years of learning where she was, what era she was in, and what her family's situation is. 

In short, she has reincarnated into a different universe in which most of the history is the same, but it diverged in the 1800s where In the year 1805, a battalion was formed called the Bataillon de chasseurs à pied "Jeanne d’Arc", a battalion that was only made up of female soldiers, led by a noblewoman, this battalion was formed in relative secrecy or rather with the disguise of being men until 1810. 

from then they revealed their disguise and showed that they were women and not men, as those within this battalion wanted to prove that women could fight as well as men, as the story of Jeanne d’Arc had spread all around France, this battalion would be involved in fighting throughout the Napoleonic wars and the sight of female soldiers had inspired some within the Russian Empire and the Prussian Kingdom to also take up arms, as such the Freikorps "Germania" for Prussia and the Line Regiment "Catherine the Great" for Russia were formed out of Volunteers who wanted to prove something, these regiments on both Russian and Prussian as well as French side, however, were not very well equipped yet they did receive some sort of support in form of equipment and training before they were send off to war.

The Idea of Females being kept secure was still in the mindset of most and as such during the harshest times were mostly on rear line or reserve duty, yet the few times they did come to battle they proved that they were as capable as their male's counterparts which resulted that after the Napoleonic wars, women rights movements were way bigger in Europe and resulted in the decision that as of 1848 most nations within Europe and by extension the wider world women got the same rights as males, same ability to be used in factories, in the military, in politics be it voting or being voted and so on.

This resulted in all-female Regiments being deployed during the Crimean War, Austro-Prussian War, American Civil War, Franco-Prussian War, and most other big wars that happened. 

Now, most nations abolished nearly all of the mixed units and returned to dedicated female regiments with only some mixed remaining purely for the symbolic statute they have, or within naval service, with new weapons coming most of the time the gender is fixed to the crew of a vehicle and not the entire unit as such some units have a full female unit.

After finishing reading the book that contained a part of this world's history, Erika pondered for a moment before speaking her thoughts 

It's really real…I'm in a different universe. And from what I can gather, I'm from a famous noble family that is aligned with the Hohenzollern. Which is a good start for me as I can meet Bismarck and even the King himself. This bodes a huge problem as she is still a child and cannot change much until her mother and father will train her at age 6 on noble etiquette, and other nobility classes. Which Erika finds disorienting and a hassle as her 3 older brothers and a sister. 

Right now she needs to train her body and prove to her parents that she can help the family by helping them in ways that a young child wouldn't normally do. But she'll have to do it directly as she can be labeled a genius or some sort. She knows shell has a target on her back once other nobilities know that she is the one behind the prosperity of the future Duchess of Konigsberg. 

[Prince Albert of Prussia/Father POV]

Albert contemplated on what to do with her youngest daughter Erika as she was doing these weird things such as building miniature buildings and some kind of vehicle and making drawing that sort of resembled a gun which confused him even more as even her wife Marie was equally confused and just chalked it up to Erika being quirky and unique. 

What's even more shocking to her and Marie is that Erika has shown intelligence that of an adult rather than a child which scared both of them as one of the butlers even barged in one time as he remembered it all too well. 

[Flashback]

The Butler Draco quickly knocked rather quickly as Albert grunted in his tired groan and answered" you may enter" After he said that, the butler quickly opened the door and closed it and turned to face him and spoke rather frantically.

"Your highness! Princess Erika is writing something dangerous again. What are your orders?" 

Albert this time rubbed his scalp and wondered why is Erika doing all of this, by asking matches, clays, and building those small like structures and some sort of a shape of a gun that he saw once on a drawing that Erika made when she was sleeping and glanced at it. And it looks strangely shaped like the ones from the ones the British had but more refined somewhat as Albert knew his guns well as he was in the army and at the rank of colonel at that. 

The question is, how did his daughter know how to make such a weapon without ever seeing it? She couldn't have gone to the gun room he owned.. He always locked it and kept it secured only for emergencies. Hence he replied to his butler in a tired gesture of his right hand

"Is it the guns again Draco? I'm pretty sure my daughter surely doesn't know about any firearms. And surely me and my wife along with the rest of the maids and your fellow butlers that we kept Erika out of the room itself. So what has she done this time to show you concern?"

He finished his words, as he signed another document and set it aside for now to fully focus on Draco's words. 

"No, your highness! I swear it on my grave! Here your highness. Take a look at this. This is what I was surprised about."

The butler then showed Albert a stack of papers detailing drawings of weapons he hadn't seen before, and frankly, it terrified him that her daughter could literally be a treasure trove of. Knowledge or be considered a national threat and be assassinated. Hence he vowed to protect her as he spoke to the butler with a rather strict and authoritative tone. 

"Butler Draco. How long have you been working for us?" Albert said, to which the Butler answered "15 years Your Highness." the butler answered nervously. Albert then replied, "I see. And if you don't want to lose any trust in me…i suggest forgetting about this whole incident on where these drawings so to speak. Are we clear on this?" 

The butler nodded, scared and shivering as he answered "O-Of course your highness I have not seen those papers, nothing at all! Sorry to bother you, your highness, I'll return these and go about my daily duties. He bowed and quickly grabbed the papers and proceeded to leave before hearing the last words of Albert 

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"There won't be a next time.. You understand me Draco?"

To which the butler nodded repeatedly before leaving and running quickly through the halls to return the papers and return to his duties. 

[Flashback Ends]

Albert sighed at that incident as he would often sometimes visit his daughter and she would openly discuss and ask questions that are not befitting for a child. But Albert tried his best to answer every question on Erika's exciting expression and smiled as no matter how weird and her shenanigans as she changes her expression every now and then Albert laughed a bit until Erika asked 'Can I learn how to shoot? ' Albert paused for a moment and looked at her with a serious expression and asked his daughter. "Are you sure Erika? You're mother and I are gonna be worried if that's what you want to know instead of socializing with others your age."

To which Erika replied "I want to learn how to defend myself and be in the army like you dad. I want to make you and mother proud!" Albert was a bit speechless with Erika's decision and who is almost turning 4 years old said. "Then I'll teach you everything I know when you reach 8 years old at least. Your mother would kill me if I teach you now. Now come, let us go eat now."

As Albert held Erika's hand and headed to the dining hall to join the family to eat and finally meet with her siblings. 

[Erika's POV]

As they arrived in the dining hall, Erika pondered for a moment at her family's situation. 

First off, she knows that she has 4 siblings. 3 of which are boys and 1 girl. Which is quite a big family considering their from nobility and have ties to the Hohenzollern. 

Secondly, she doesn't know the political situation yet of the German empire, as she needs to know what changed and the other countries' political landscape as well. Which worried Erika greatly as she knew Wilhelm the I hasn't got long to live and Wilhelm the II will succeed him and that's where the first mistake of Germany will occur in her mind as Otto Von Bismarck being dismissed was a mistake as Bismack could've done more changes until his death in 1898. For Erika, she still has time to meet Bismarck and help him in many ways such as further improving the army of Germany and delaying the rise of Wilhelm II as much as possible. She knows she can't stop the rise of Wilhelm, but she can undermine his influence in the Yonkers and in the military side of things with the right moves and investments. 

And it's very highly likely that her father and Bismarck are very close friends and associates to which Erika will exploit it and hopefully have Bismarck to be her mentor and slowly suggest some things that Bismarck would find interest in. 

But first she needs to find someone that she can trust within the military and the nobility circle to further her plans once she reaches 8 years old. 

Haaah how I wish it were so easy to tell Bismarck that he will be ousted out on the order of Wilhelm the II in 1890. I hope I'm not too late in meeting Bismarck himself as she was quite a fan of his works in the political sphere of Germany itself. You can't deny that he shaped Germany to what it is today. And hoped to God to convince Bismarck to expand into their colonial holdings more, but she knew that the Congo was still free for the taking. All she has to do is to convince Bismarck and the King to take it for Germany's interests.

God this is gonna be a tightrope to go around as I know the economy of Germany isn't doing well thanks to the Franco Prussian war. But I can make it work by doing the right investments and convincing the junkers to invest in our colonial efforts to expand the influence of the German empire in the far reaches of the world itself like the British empire did.

Yes I know it will help Germany short term, but the long term benefits and investments just outweigh everything. Call Erika a naive and ambitious woman, but she'll be damned if Germany lost the great war thanks to incompetent rulers.

As Erika sat down and proceeded to eat with her family, her mother suddenly said that made her drop her fork and spoon

"Erika my dear daughter It has been decided that you'll be visiting the King along with his son and grandsons in Kronprinzenpalais along with us in tow. So be on your best behavior there my daughter. We wouldn't want the King to see us as a prude and a bother to their home wouldn't you dear?" 

Her mother finished her words as Erika was still shocked but replied in a light tone "Yes mother. I will be on my best behavior."

Her mother and father nodded as they resumed eating. But one thing on Erika's mind right now is I hope the crown prince is not an asshole as depicted in history…and I don't like to get married!!! I have a dick for Christ sake! Hah….I hope everything goes well…but I get the feeling it wouldn't be…

[Kronprinzenpalais home of Wilhelm I]

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