Letizia walked silently, accompanied by her maids, towards the office of her father, Umberto I. He had summoned her only moments before and she, as a diligent daughter, did not intend to keep him waiting.
As she walked, she noticed many of the servants moving away and starting to whisper to each other but she was used to it. Many of those maids, after all, worked mainly for her "beloved mother" and it was no wonder she had made them hostile. Hell, maybe they would talk down to her openly if, by doing so, they didn't risk incurring her father's wrath. 'The day I become queen, I will have to completely overhaul the staff...' - she said to herself, mentally, with a sigh.
After all, for a 13-year-old girl, political lessons might seem heavy and boring, but for her they were her little paradise, the moment when she could communicate lively with her father about what she really liked. Those beautiful moments were well imprinted in her mind, as she crossed the door of his office.
King Umberto I, sitting on a chair, watched his daughter enter and allowed, for a few moments, a small smile to appear on his face, before inviting his young daughter to sit down. "Do you know why I summoned you here, Letizia?" - he asked her, after a few moments of silence. "I imagine not for simple lessons, father: if it had been for that you would have simply waited for me, instead of having me summoned. I suppose you are about to leave for a trip" - Letizia explained, after a very quick reflection.
Another smile had to be suppressed by the king, very pleased with her quick judgment. "You understood very well, daughter. I am about to leave for a visit to Sicily: the time is ripe and I need to visit the ports, to assess whether the navy is ready to leave for Tunisia" - he declared, seriously. Letizia's eyes shone at that news. Tunisia was a North African territory and vassal of the Ottoman Empire but in which there was a strong and ancient Sicilian culture, from the time of the Bourbons and, therefore, claimed by Italy.
In the original story, precisely in 1881, France preceded Italy in time, occupying the region and forcing the Italian government to renounce all claims on it. Italy, which did not have the forces to oppose France, had to give in but this irreparably tore the relations between the two countries, in addition to marking the rapprochement of Italy to Austria-Hungary and Germany, the following year.
But, in this timeline, in their numerous meetings, Letizia pointed out to her father the growing ambitions of France on Tunisia, which led him to present the issue to parliament and to urge the ministers to make a move first. "Father, this is wonderful news: we are practically getting closer to the foundation of a future colonial empire for our country" - Letizia congratulated, with excitement, hard-hidden, in her eyes. "It is a bit early to talk about Empire, Letizia...perhaps we will have to wait for your reign for that" - the king said carefully, who did not doubt her words. However, that was not what worried him.
In all their geopolitical lessons, he had not missed his daughter's ambitious/hungry gaze at the world map, the European area in particular. Letizia was clearly not interested in overseas territories for a normal colonial empire, but rather in the areas of Mediterranean Europe, North Africa, and the Asian Middle East: all areas of the ancient Roman Empire. It didn't take a genius to understand his daughter's ambition to restore, at least in part, the defunct empire. He shook his head: he would have plenty of time to address the subject with her, later.
"Listen Letizia: during the time I'm away, you will stay with your uncle Amedeo, make sure you behave properly with him, understood?" - he recommended seriously. "There is no need to worry, father, I assure you that, upon your return, uncle Amedeo will have nothing but good things to say about me" - Letizia replied, diligently, while the name made its way into her mind. Amedeo of Savoy-Aosta. Although her father did not look favorably on the external branch of the family, he had a good relationship with its current patriarch, Amedeo. King of Spain from 1870 to 1873 but who, due to political incompetence, was forced to renounce the throne. Letizia had a good relationship with him and with his son Emanuele Filiberto. Letizia had a great project for the Savoy-Aosta family.
On the other hand, the reason why Umberto I sent his daughter to his brother every time was to make sure she was okay. He was not unfamiliar with his wife's unfounded resentment toward Letizia and did not doubt the possibility that, at his instigation, the servants were bullying her. He would have to continue to keep her safe until she became queen. They then spent the rest of the day with their usual lessons and, the next day, once he had left Letizia at Amedeo's, he said goodbye to her to go to Sicily. No one yet knew that it would be the last time they would see each other.
After a few days of travel, the king arrived in Palermo, accompanied by his guards and the minister of the navy to inspect the place, while he looked with pride at the rapidly developing fleet. It was not at all comparable to the British Royal Navy, but it was still the heart of Italy's military power. Too bad he didn't have time to daydream. Sometimes fate was capable of playing the cruelest tricks. Shots were heard nearby, which alerted the guards. He, however, did not have time to realize, as a piercing pain hit his head. He had been shot. He did not recognize the screams of the guards, with only his daughter's name coming to mind, before abandoning himself to the eternal darkness.
That day a regicide occurred. After only 2 years of reign, King Umberto I died in Palermo on June 1, 1880, after a gunshot to the head.