[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-rise-of-the-empire-spain":3,"chapter-rise-of-the-empire-spain-rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-1":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Rise of the Empire: Spain",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":18,"prevChapterSlug":19,"totalChapters":20,"novelImage":21},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":12,"translator":16,"content_hash":17},2364929,4632,"Chapter 1: The Man Who Shouldn't Be Alive","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-1",1,"\u003Cp>\"Carlo, where are you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A shout from high up in the luxurious palace interrupted Carlo's thoughts, pulling his soul back into this real world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm here, Father,\" Carlo replied hurriedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thank God, my child, are you feeling better?\" Just a few minutes later, the voice moved from far to near, and the owner of the voice had already reached behind Carlo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carlo turned slightly, still feeling a bit of disbelief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The middle-aged man in front of him, looking dressed in finery, was actually the biological father of this body he now inhabited, the famous current ruler of the House of Savoy, the first King of a unified Italy, Victor Emmanuel II.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm feeling better; the medicine the doctor gave me is very effective.\" Carlo nodded honestly, though inwardly he was pondering how to converse with this unfamiliar father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Victor Emmanuel II did not notice Carlo's complex thoughts, but instead patted Carlo's head affectionately and said earnestly, \"It's alright, child. Although Oddone is gone, you still have us, don't you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Oddone was the third son of Victor Emmanuel II, who had received the title of Duke of Montferrat at birth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Carlo's memories, this older brother had been very good to him, with a relationship far closer than with his two older brothers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But unfortunately, by the time Carlo's soul arrived in this world, the Duke of Montferrat, Oddone, was already terminally ill and soon passed away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of the extremely poor medical standards of this era, the cause of Oddone's death was never even determined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That a prince could die in such an unclear manner made Carlo feel a hint of fear toward this real world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For an ordinary person who had experienced advanced technology and society, personally feeling the technology and life of one hundred and sixty years ago was truly a form of torture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though Carlo was the most favored son of Victor Emmanuel II and a prince of the newly established Kingdom of Italy, it could not offset this terrible feeling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that Carlo remained silent, Victor Emmanuel II patted Carlo's head again, squeezed out a smile, and said, \"It will be alright, everything will get better, child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I will not allow anything to take you away from my side, not even God. Both I and Adelaide will protect you; you will be fine, I promise you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For Victor Emmanuel II, who was known for his piety toward God, such a promise was clearly heartfelt and sincere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carlo naturally knew of Victor Emmanuel II's reputation, and he felt no repulsion toward this convenient father who cared for him so much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I am much better, Father. Thank you for your concern; I am fine now,\" Carlo said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That is good, child. May God bless you, and I will be with you.\" Victor Emmanuel II patted Carlo's head affectionately once more, then signaled for the maid beside him to help Carlo back to his room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Historically, although Victor Emmanuel II had six sons (counting only those born to Queen Adelaide), only two did not die young, which could be considered having many children but little fortune.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among them, except for Prince Oddone who died young at nearly 20 years old, the remaining three children who died early all passed away unexpectedly during infancy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although in this world, Carlo's arrival meant Victor Emmanuel II lost one fewer son, the continuous loss of sons during his middle age made Victor Emmanuel II cherish family affection all the more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Carlo, now the youngest son, was the most favored by Victor Emmanuel II; he was the noble Duke of Chablais from birth, with assets including vast farmlands, several castles and manors, and hundreds of servants waiting to attend to Carlo at any moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While Victor Emmanuel II was lost in thought, Carlo had already been helped into his room by two maids.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the pure and beautiful maid on his left and the alluring one on his right, Carlo swallowed the words he was about to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although the West practiced monogamy, for high-ranking nobles, a mistress was not an unfamiliar term.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially for the very top of the nobility, if Carlo were willing, the young women wanting to become his mistress could line up from the Italian capital of Florence to the northwestern city of Turin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least on this point, Carlo was willing to admit that the world of one hundred and sixty years ago still had some pleasures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, mistresses were merely a tacit enjoyment among nobles and were generally not made public.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For top-tier nobles, maids were certainly a safer choice than mistresses and were also more trustworthy in terms of loyalty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially for some young nobles, maids were more suitable for providing enlightenment education, which was the first choice for most European nobles in educating their heirs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two maids serving Carlo were the ones Victor Emmanuel II had chosen for Carlo's enlightenment; they combined the traits of being pure and lovely with being sexy and alluring, and both were very beautiful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, Carlo enjoyed their massage, but a pleasurable sensation in his lower region instantly brought him back to his senses. Turning his head, he saw that Anna, who looked pure and cute, had already reached her hand into Carlo's pants and was quietly teasing him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's enough, Anna.\" Carlo patted Anna's head, and seeing Anna look up with her blinking eyes, he finally smiled: \"Not there yet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright.\" Hearing this, Anna nodded with slight disappointment, and her hand left that spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I want to be alone for a while.\" After enjoying the skilled massage of the two maids, Carlo finally relaxed a bit and instructed the two women.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, the two maids left the room, leaving Carlo alone to lie in the room and fall into deep thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carlo had barely accepted his transmigration into this era. At least as a noble, there were many ways to enjoy life, which was much better than the life of toil in later generations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the problem was, although monarchy was still the mainstream worldwide, it would only last for a few more decades.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once the First and Second World Wars broke out one after another, they would deal a heavy blow to monarchies across the globe, causing monarchical countries to almost disappear from people's sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from the United Kingdom, a monarchy where the monarch's power was almost dead in name, people in later generations had very little understanding of monarchical countries and could not even think of a few that still existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Kingdom of Italy where Carlo resided would not become a republic until after World War II, but during Mussolini's time in power, the power and status of the Italian royal family were already precarious, and abolishing it was just a matter of a word from Mussolini.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he did not know how he had transmigrated, since he had started a new life and possessed such a high starting point, Carlo naturally had greater ambitions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In order to hold his future destiny in his own hands, Carlo had new plans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The new book sets sail, seeking recommendation tickets, collections, and investments!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of this chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1196,"2026-06-25T09:27:12.995Z","Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","be36ebf6316b486cdd0779a459fedcec86b6b59ddb34849e7af02428055713de","rise-of-the-empire-spain-chapter-2",null,493,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frise-of-the-empire-spain-cover.jpg"]