Vienna, Schönbrunn Palace.
Franz had a new guest: Viraweis Adani, one of the wealthiest merchants in India at the time. In Travancore, he wielded more power than the maharaja.
Yet Viraweis Adani had not risen in revolt or demanded a maharaja's title from the British. Instead, he had chosen to remain a loyal subject.
It was hard to make sense of. Nearly everything that had happened on the Indian Subcontinent in recent years bore his shadow.
Before leaving office, Viceroy of India Henry Hardinge had gone out of his way to warn of the man's threat. His successor, however, soon gave an entirely opposite assessment. Coupled with the change of government, this meant the matter had failed to catch the attention of London's upper echelons.
And yet this man, who could command the winds and summon the rain across the Indian Subcontinent, was now prostrate on the ground, not daring to breathe too loudly.
Had Lakshmi Bai seen this in the past, she would surely have wondered why Viraweis Adani, the uncrowned king of the Mughal Empire, was acting so humbly.
Now she understood. The so-called uncrowned king was nothing more than a puppet on strings.
Austria might be a tiny country, but its power was no less than Britain's. In a land war, the warriors of the entire Mughal Empire would likely be no match for it.
Lakshmi Bai was from Jhansi, which was nominally a princely state of the Mughal Empire, so she felt it was fair to consider herself a subject of the empire.
In truth, over the past two years, Lakshmi Bai had gained a new understanding of Britain and Europe. She knew these people could not be defeated by one or two warriors or heroes.
And if you were not strong enough yourself, drive one