Franz rubbed his forehead. With a mother like that, the intelligence of her descendants was probably cause for concern.
But given what Europeans knew and how they thought at the time, it was only natural for them to reach such a conclusion. After all, there were quite a few ready-made examples—Greece's King Otto I had obtained his throne in precisely that way.
Yet Franz was still making light of it.
"It hasn't even been born yet. How do you know whether it'll be a boy or a girl?"
"I just know!"
The attendants nearby looked toward Franz. He waved a hand, and they tactfully stepped back. Bordeaux brought Anna over as well. She looked at Franz apologetically.
"Your little friend really knows how to cause trouble."
Lakshmi Bai, however, was very confident in what she had said.
"The prince is old. He does not want to see his land fall into British hands, so he came up with this method."
The more Olga listened, the happier she became. She could not help imagining the day her child was born: the scene of her raising that tiny life over her head and announcing that he had inherited a stretch of land, leaving everyone dumbstruck.
But Franz did not want to hear any more.
"Where in this world is there such a cheap bargain? Gangadhar wants to use us to keep the British in check. Go back and tell him that if he is sincere, we can discuss arms deals. But if he wants to come here and catch a wolf barehanded, he should save himself the trouble."
"The prince is sincere! He simply does not want our land to fall into British hands. Everything he does is for the people of Jhansi!"
Lakshmi Bai argued loudly, but Franz had only one