October 2nd, afternoon, Grand Residence of Luxembourg.
"Hey! Charlotte, you're slacking off again."
Tangning was very familiar with the task and caught the Second Princess of Luxembourg who was lazing about again on the swing in a hidden corner of the garden.
"Brother, can you not take me back? I don't want to learn French."
Charlotte, who is still a cute princess today, looks as cute as Tangning.
Faced with Charlotte's coquettishness, Tangning still accepted it. However, as a high-quality handsome young man, he did not need to be a dog-licker, so he would not be doting on her without any bottom line every time.
"Brother? Who is your brother?"
Tangning knocked Charlotte on the head and raised her lips to pretend to be dissatisfied.
"Charlotte, why don't I remember you have a brother? Who are you calling?"
"Ah, Tangning, you are my brother!"
Charlotte was a little confused after hearing Tangning's words. Tangning was his brother!
Although there is a generation gap between Charlotte and Tangning, Charlotte's mother Maria is the aunt of Tangning's father Francisco, which means Charlotte is also Tangning's aunt.
But because they were in Germany, and the two were almost the same age, Tangning usually called Charlotte sister, and Charlotte called Tangning brother.
However, Tangning is a bad boy.
Except for his real sister Helen, he hoped that these lovely little aristocratic girls would call him master.
ha! To be able to have so many princesses and noble daughters call him master, the honor and sense of accomplishment are truly unparalleled.
"I don't have a sister like you."
Mingming had already discussed with Charlotte the day before yesterday and paid a large amount of bribes to let him call him master in private.
Unexpectedly, this hateful fool has forgotten it now.
"Woo~"
Charlotte only has sisters. His parents gave him a younger sister not long ago. Except for Tangning, a close relative, he really doesn't have anyone he can call a brother.
She was envious of her best friends who had older brothers. Charlotte welcomed Tangning's arrival.
Now the brother disowns him, which makes Charlotte cry sadly.
"Brother, Tangning, you are my brother!"
Charlotte is doing this again, always crying. Is Tangning not going to eat it this time?
This Charlotte must remember her words, always getting benefits from here but forgetting to pay.
"Hmph! I don't have a sister like you who always forgets her promises."
Tangning's expression was impassive, as if she was interrogating a prisoner.
"You should return the paper cranes and wind chimes I gave you when you go back today. I will never give you anything again in the future. I will give them to Hilda.
Although Hilda is only five years old, one year younger than you, she is much better behaved than you.
Have you forgotten what happened the day before yesterday? As long as you don't recognize your mistakes for a day, I will ignore you for a day. "
When Charlotte saw that she was acting coquettishly and crying, instead of being comforted by her brother, she was scolded instead. She suddenly panicked. Could it be that her brother really didn't like him anymore?
After hearing you mention the wind chimes and paper cranes the day before yesterday, Charlotte finally knew what mistake she had made.
"Oh, Master, Charlotte knows she was wrong."
Charlotte choked back her tears and said obediently that she would not do it again next time.
"Master, I will never forget it again. Please forgive me, Master Tangning!"
"It won't happen next time!"
Tangning took out her handkerchief and began to gently wipe the tearful and sobbing Charlotte while teaching her earnestly.
"Only close people, in private, my brother allows him to call master!
Charlotte, you also know that many people call me brother. Brother is just a common title. Although everyone comes here, I especially recognize girls who are close to me and can call me master.
You must remember this time and don’t do it again next time. "
"Well, Charlotte will remember the master's words."
Charlotte obediently cooperated with her brother's wiping and made her promise seriously.
"Tangning is the closest person to Charlotte, my master, I will never forget it!"
Tangning was very satisfied, nodded with a smile, and at the same time balled up the towel on her hand and prepared to find a place to throw it away.
"Brother's hand towel, because you soiled it, I won't let you wash it this time. Don't do it again in the future."
"Master, I'm sorry, it's all Charlotte's fault."
Charlotte lowered her head and apologized.
"As a master, I am very tolerant. Just don't do it next time."
Tangning stretched out her left hand and gently stroked the girl's head. She began to fulfill her responsibilities as a master and paid attention to her studies.
"Why don't you want to learn French? This language is easy to learn."
"Master, I think French is so difficult to learn!"
Charlotte asked with some confusion: "France is not that powerful! The emperor of France was overthrown by us Germans. It should be the French who learn our German."
This is really hard to explain. Since the end of the Franco-Prussian War, the Kaiser was crowned in the Palace of Versailles and established the German Empire.
The century-old history of Germans being conquered by other countries is over. Luxembourg is also considered a part of Germany and has a strong pro-German ideology.
However, strength and weakness are relative. Although France is weaker than Germany, it is not that much different.
If there is too much difference, France will not be upset. It has always been full of confidence and is not weak in the face of Germany. It will try every means to regain its position.
Moreover, Paris, France, has been the political and cultural center of Europe for many centuries, and its cultural influence is not comparable to Berlin in Germany and Vienna in Austria.
Although English was favored by French, at this point in time French was the common language of the upper class. It would only slowly loosen after World War I and completely collapse after World War II.
"Charlotte, is Luxembourg a country?"
"Master, of course."
"Then does Luxembourg belong to the German Empire?"
"Does not belong."
"So!"
Tangning took Charlotte's hand and slowly walked to the classroom.
"France is bigger than Luxembourg, so we have to learn from it!
You see, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and France are all older than us. We all need to learn the languages of these countries so that we can communicate with them. "
"But, master, why do I still need to learn English?" Charlotte asked her question.
"Because Britain is larger than France and Germany, we also need to learn their language."
This is not the aristocrat of later generations. Although he can learn multiple languages, he is generally only required to master German, English, and French.
The aristocrats of this era were miserable. They had to learn the languages of all the major powers, including English, French, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and even Greek, Dutch, Portuguese and Swedish.
Male nobles are better off, but noble women are even more miserable. They are very likely to join any country and are destined to learn more languages than male nobles.
For example, Tang Ning is the heir apparent of Portugal's exiled Miguel royal family, so he doesn't need to get married. He only needs to master German, French and English.
Although the two languages of French and English are somewhat different from what they are today, the gap is actually not that big, and there is no need to study so seriously.
As a member of the royal family in exile in Germany, and her current mother is also German, Tangning has been exposed to German since she was a child.
At a young age, Tang Ning was proficient in four or five languages. Coupled with her usual intelligence, she was regarded as a child prodigy by many nobles and was very popular.
Charlotte, although still young, only six years old, has already begun to learn French, the most common language in Europe.
Charlotte is now the most miserable among the sisters. The eldest sister Marie Adelaide is the eldest daughter. Even if Guillaume IV and Maria finally give birth to a male heir, even if they get married, they will only choose to live in Germany.
Therefore, in addition to her native German, Mary only required to master French and English. Charlotte, who was most uncertain about her whereabouts, and the remaining sisters were destined to learn multiple languages. However, the other sisters were still young, and only Charlotte was suffering now. .
"Ah, how big are those countries? Are they ten times bigger than Luxembourg? I don't know if they can learn Luxembourgish." Charlotte complained.
Oh, Charlotte, you are such a silly, innocent and lovely little maid!
Luxembourgish is just a German dialect that no one can learn.
Moreover, among those countries, Belgium, the smallest, is twelve times larger than Luxembourg, not counting colonies. As for Tsarist Russia and Germany, it is even more incomparable, starting from a thousand times larger.
"Don't be sad, Charlotte."
Tangning, tenderly comforted the wounded Charlotte.
"Don't you still have me? I will also teach you. As long as you can complete my goal, I will reward you!"
"Really? Master" After hearing Tangning give the reward, Charlotte suddenly became motivated to learn.
"Of course, when have I ever lied to you?"
