Carter Bruno took the task assigned by Carlo very seriously and decided to personally undertake Carlo's first mission to ensure a good start for the Royal Security Intelligence Agency.
Thus, Carter Bruno, accompanied by several reserve intelligence personnel he had selected from the Guards, embarked on a journey north to France.
Carter Bruno's primary target was Gramme, a Belgian-born French national. The reason for choosing Gramme was simply that France was closer to Spain, and it allowed them to pass through France to reach their second stop, Germany.
Finding someone couldn't be done blindly. Carter Bruno decided to first travel to Paris, the capital of France, and there inquire about experts in electricity, to see if there was a person named Gramme.
After the Germans left France, another Revolution broke out in Paris, almost overthrowing the French Government. However, this Revolution was eventually suppressed by the French Government. The good news was that Paris had once again welcomed peace.
This was also the reason Carter Bruno and his group could safely travel to Paris; at least a peaceful and stable Paris would not reject foreign visitors.
Upon arriving in Paris, Carter Bruno immediately investigated companies and enterprises related to electricity and electrical equipment around Paris, attempting to find a person named Gramme.
Fortunately, in a not-so-large electrical equipment company in Paris, they indeed found a generator researcher named Gramme.
Nighttime, in an inconspicuous residential house in Paris.
Knock knock knock!
The knocking sound quickly woke up Zénobe Gramme, who had just fallen asleep.
Gramme was first surprised, then a hint of worry flashed in his eyes. Just as he was considering whether to check who was at the door, his wife beside him also woke up.
"Zénobe?" Gramme's wife looked at Gramme, who seemed to be in a daze, and softly called his name with a puzzled expression.
Gramme also recovered from his daze, reassured his equally worried wife, got up, picked up the long gun hanging on the wall, and cautiously walked to the door.
"Who is it?" Gramme asked.
"Excuse me, is this Mr. Gramme? Mr. Gramme, who works in electricity?" The voice outside the door asked.
"Who are you? If it's nothing urgent, please come back tomorrow morning," Gramme said.
Paris had just emerged from chaos, but this didn't mean that the streets and alleys of Paris were as calm as the surface situation suggested.
Gramme didn't care about the outcome between the Government and the Revolutionaries, nor did he want the struggle between these two factions to affect his life.
He only wanted a stable life, with a certain stable income, enough to support himself and his family, and to pursue his beloved work.
Gramme didn't care about other matters, didn't want to participate, and certainly didn't want to bring trouble upon himself.
"Please forgive my intrusion, Mr. Gramme," the voice outside the door said, "I've left a letter for you. It's not too late to decide after you've read it. I'll visit again tomorrow at noon. Goodbye."
Hearing Gramme's obvious defensiveness, Carter Bruno also realized that the chaos in Paris had only recently ended.
It was natural for Gramme to be clearly on guard when a stranger suddenly showed up at his door at night. The best way to dispel his guard was to first leave a letter introducing himself, and then visit again during the daytime the next day.
Since they had already found this electricity worker named Gramme, the subsequent matters would not be so troublesome.
If Gramme was unwilling to go to Spain, in order to complete the task assigned by Carlo, they would have no choice but to use some means to invite Gramme and his family to Spain.
Hearing the footsteps fade away, Gramme also breathed a sigh of relief.
During this time, many Revolutionaries had been arrested by the Government, and Gramme truly did not want to be associated with other strangers.
Those noble lords in the Government were subservient to the Germans, but they were ruthless against their own people.
Moreover, Gramme was not a genuine Frenchman; he was born in Belgium and had only immigrated to France for a little over ten years.
The French Government would not be merciful just because Gramme was a good talent; after all, there were countless talents like Gramme throughout France, and losing one or two wouldn't bother them at all.
After waiting another ten minutes or so and confirming there was no sound outside the door, Gramme cautiously stepped out with his long gun and indeed found a letter at the door.
To alleviate Gramme's concerns, Carter Bruno clearly stated his purpose on the envelope, writing the words "Spanish Royal Family" clearly in French.
After confirming that the letter was not from the Revolutionaries, Gramme breathed a sigh of relief and took the letter inside the house.
"An invitation from the King of Spain? Royal Academy of Sciences researcher? Spanish National Electric Company consultant?" Looking at the words written in French, Gramme felt as if he no longer recognized French.
Would the King of Spain suddenly invite him, an ordinary commoner? And to join an institution with the word "Royal" like the Royal Academy of Sciences?
Gramme didn't feel a sense of happiness descending upon him; instead, he found it somewhat unbelievable, feeling like he had encountered a swindler.
But the other party seemed to have no reason to deceive him. Gramme was just an employee of a small electrical equipment company, with a low income and no actual power; there should be no need for the other party to deceive him.
After much thought, Gramme still decided to meet the person in person tomorrow. As long as the other party wasn't a Revolutionary, meeting them wouldn't hurt.
Time flew by, and at noon the next day, Carter Bruno arrived as promised.
To dispel Gramme's concerns, Carter Bruno came alone and brought a brand new check issued by the Royal United Bank of Spain, with a face value of 5000 pesetas.
Gramme had been waiting for a long time, with his good friend William, who also worked in electricity, sitting beside him.
When Carter Bruno saw another person sitting beside Gramme, he understood that Gramme's guard against him had not been eliminated. However, these were minor matters; he believed the other party would be swayed once he saw the check.
"Mr. Gramme?" Carter Bruno tentatively asked.
"Yes, I am Gramme, and you are?" Gramme looked at Carter Bruno, noticing that he looked somewhat Italian and didn't seem very Spanish.
"Allow me to introduce myself. You can call me Cadier. I serve King Carlo of Spain, and my goal is to find experts in electricity for the soon-to-be-established Spanish National Electric Company.
If Mr. Gramme is interested, I, on behalf of King Carlo, invite you to join the Spanish National Electric Company and serve as a consultant for the electric company.
At the same time, a position as a researcher at the Royal Academy of Sciences is also open to you. You can join the Royal Academy of Sciences at any time and are eligible to apply for your own research funding.
Do you have any questions?" Carter Bruno said straightforwardly.
"Oh my goodness, a personal invitation from the King of Spain? My God, this is insane!" Before Gramme could react, his friend William, sitting beside him, was already extremely surprised, looking completely disbelieving.
"I apologize, Mr. Cadier. But I still want to ask, is what you said true? Do you represent King Carlo of Spain?" Gramme also found it somewhat hard to believe.
The monarchy was still the mainstream in Europe at this time. It was already an honor for a commoner to receive an invitation from a noble, let alone an invitation from the King of a country.
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