Lakshmi Bai, her lie exposed, became dejected again. Anna could only hold Lakshmi Bai and comfort her once more.
"I was wrong. I was wrong. You Indians have a trillion people."
Hearing Anna's insincere words, Lakshmi Bai grew even sadder.
"Can't you stay in Vienna? Don't you always complain that Jhansi is hot, stuffy, damp, and full of mosquitoes everywhere?"
Lakshmi Bai shook her head.
"What's bad about Vienna?"
Anna asked with concern.
"Everything is good. But it isn't my home. My home is in India."
This time, Anna did not try to persuade Lakshmi Bai again. She had heard the story of that scientist—once, when a scholar was sincerely courted by the Austrian Empire with a high salary, he had said:
"Science has no borders, but scientists have a nationality."
Anna admired people like that as well, and as a friend, she had already done all she could.
Girls' entertainment was always so hard to understand. Lakshmi Bai was very confident in her embroidery skills, but before the Austrian Empire's sewing machines, such craftsmanship appeared quite powerless.
Lakshmi Bai had not come empty-handed either. She had brought many of India's most fashionable garments of the day, and their glittering decorations readily caught the girls' attention.
At the Royal Women's College, a place naturally teeming with girls, there could be no shortage of clothing and accessories. Before long, a group of girls chirped away as they began trying things on.
Under normal circumstances, no matter how splendid the garments, they would hold limited appeal for these young ladies, who certainly would not do anything unbecoming of their dignity.
But once humans formed a group, their intelligence became exceedingly unstable.
On the other hand, Anna liked them. As the saying went, "What those above favor, those below will surely follow." As