Olga Nikolaevna (Part One)

Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.

It was late autumn, but Schönbrunn Palace remained a springtime paradise, with flowers in full bloom. The leaves had begun to fall, yet the scene was not bleak or desolate.

All kinds of strange and wonderful animals roamed the palace meadows and artificial lake, while delicacies from every corner of the world were laid out on an exquisite crystal table.

In this era, large crystal pieces were effectively a reflection of a nation's wealth and power. The enormous crystal table, weighing two tons, was the perfect embodiment of extravagance.

Besides the food, all manner of books were spread across the table, covering everything from literature, music, history, and education to military affairs, science, and philosophy.

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna ate pizza as she casually flipped through a few light reads.

As the princess who had spent the longest time with her parents, twenty-four-year-old Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna had, rather late in life, entered her rebellious phase.

Her parents hounded her about getting married all day, and then, for no apparent reason, her engagement was called off. Her brothers also occasionally fussed over her too much. Led by her unreliable eldest brother, Alexander, they would from time to time bring back some handsome young man for her.

They even offered rewards for her at balls. Her brothers meant well, but Olga Nikolaevna simply couldn't take it anymore.

In particular, Crown Prince Alexander had once offered a ten-thousand-ruble reward for his sister at a ball, and she ended up being chased around by every young rake in Saint Petersburg for an entire day.

Afterward, Alexander had been soundly thrashed by both Nicholas and his wife and confined to his quarters for a month. But the rumor that Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna was unmarriageable had already spread through the circles