Her Majesty’s Secret Service

069. Mary’s Ambition

When I open my eyes, my head feels dizzy.

It was clear that the sun was shining on my face, but I was frustrated that I had no way of knowing exactly what time it was.

Perhaps because I had just woken up, I was very thirsty. I wasn’t drowsy yet and the sunlight was dazzling my eyes, so I couldn’t open them properly, so I stretched out my hand on the table.

“water… water is… .”

I think I put the water bottle on the bedside table before going to bed, but I couldn’t reach for it.

“no way… Seed… .”

I wanted to lie down longer, but I had no choice but to get up. I couldn’t hold back my thirst today. I suddenly opened my eyes and tried to move his left arm, and then I realized that there was something heavy on my left arm.

“uh… Uh… ?”

“Ugh… ? uh? Logan? lol… Did you sleep well?”

I saw Jane lying down with her hair, which she usually tied up, hanging down, using my left arm as a pillow.

Now I see that both Jane and I were covered in blankets without even a single layer of clothing on.

Now, finally, I remember.

Last night, Jane’s cooking skills, which she had been learning from Marco, didn’t change that much as I thought. After somehow finishing dinner, Jane asked me to make dessert since she made the meal herself, so I got milk and butter and started making whipped cream… From then on… His head hurts.

For sure… Whipped cream… Damn, did I drink too much wine yesterday? I don’t remember.

“Captain? Captain, are you in there? “I have something to tell you about supplies!”

As I was holding my pounding head and trying to remember, I heard Lieutenant Flint’s voice outside the door.

“uh! “I’m going to put on some clothes, so just wait a moment!”

As I was hurriedly getting dressed, I heard the voice of Jane lying on the bed, wrapped in a blanket, grumbling.

“What is it? “Do you start work in the morning?”

“Iknow, right. Flint is not a person who doesn’t experience situations like this… .”

As if he heard my voice, Lieutenant Flint’s voice continued.

“Captain? It’s already past noon! I think you need to sign the receipt now so it’s time to move the supplies… “Please come out quickly!”

It was noon, so I felt like the sun was strong.

“uh… “It’s noon?”

“huh? Already? ah… Well, a little bit yesterday… You fell asleep late, right? Hehe, let’s go. “I’ll be waiting.”

“Wait? Perhaps we should load up the supplies like this and head back to the coast of Holland around evening… .”

“Don’t you remember? “You said it yesterday, right?”

“what… “You mean?”

“I’m going back to London with you. “I have to go back to London in a month anyway, right?”

“yes? when?”

“It was early morning yesterday. What, don’t you remember? “You said you would do that when I asked, right?”

After seeing him for the first time in a while, I drank some alcohol and realized that he had said all sorts of things.

“Then where have you been… .”

“You can stay here. Because I knew this would happen, I brought some servants. Don’t worry and come back. I’ll be waiting here for you. “You said you missed me?”

Jane smiled softly as she spat out the last words.

At first, I tried to stop Jane from going through a hard time, but when I saw her smile, I didn’t even think about stopping her.

Yes, if you really want it, is there any need to stop you? In fact, I was a little envious of the sailors under his command who had lovers in Calais.

“then… Really here… .”

The moment I was about to speak to Jane, I heard a knock on the door from outside again.

“Captain! “Are you still underdressed?!”

“That’s right! Just wait! “I’m wearing almost everything!”

After nervously responding to Lieutenant Flint’s urging, I turned my head to Jane.

“sorry. It seems like work is urgent… .”

“are you okay. “It looks like you’re busy. Let’s go quickly.”

Jane said she completely understood, pushed my back with her small hand and told me to get out.

I responded with a shy smile to Jane, who saw me off with a smile, opened the door, exchanged greetings with Lieutenant Flint, and began today’s work.

* * *

The Queen’s Office at Whitehall Palace, London.

Mary, who had sent Jane away, was carrying out her duties as usual.

Today, as usual, Mary was in a slightly uncomfortable situation after arguing with the lawmakers about the budget, but the middle-aged man standing in front of her now bowed to her with a bright smile, as if he knew what Mary was feeling.

“It’s been so long since I last saw you. Even though almost half a year has passed, Her Majesty’s face has not changed. “You are still full of virtuous beauty.”

“Antoine, stop talking nonsense. So, you brought King Henry’s letter?”

The middle-aged man who spoke politely and sweetly to Mary was the French ambassador, Antoine.

At the beginning of the war, France thought that England would not intervene in the war any more than it had opened Calais.

However, contrary to expectations, England declared that it would side with France in this war, and did not end up burning a hole in Spain’s wallet by blockading the seas off the Low Countries?

Henry II of France believed that Ambassador Antoine was involved in England’s active intervention. For that reason, Henry II continued to retain Ambassador Antoine as England’s ambassador.

In addition, unlike his father Henry VIII, Henry II seemed to be quite fond of Mary, Queen of England, who helped him.

Henry II, who had a quite ‘hospitable’ personality, seemed determined to shake off past resentment and establish a friendlier relationship with England than before through this war.

“Yes, Her Majesty. here… .”

At Mary’s words, Ambassador Antoine took out a letter from Henry II that he had kept in his chest.

Ambassador Antoine, who carefully handed the letter to Mary, once again showed courtesy and carefully stood in front of Mary.

“where… .”

After receiving Henry II’s letter, Mary immediately opened the letter and checked its contents.

The top line of Henry II’s letter contained a greeting written in English. Of course, the following content was written in French, but since Mary knew foreign languages, she had no great difficulty reading it.

Mary’s expression suddenly changed after reading the entire letter. With an expression of complete disbelief on her face, she looked at Ambassador Antoine and her letters over and over again.

“Antoine, by any chance, is King Henry crazy? You’re going to coordinate an agreement with us… ?”

Although the words were quite rude, Ambassador Antoine received them with eyes that seemed to understand Mary.

The armistice or war-ending agreement of this era basically put the country’s interests first.

Even if France unilaterally negotiates with Spain, there will be no problem, but to share the benefits with England like this.

It was a situation that Mary could not understand at all.

“Luckily, that’s not the case. Umm… Everyone was against this plan, but what can we do? Why is His Majesty the King so stubborn? And I would appreciate it if you could understand that rather than participating in the previous negotiations, I am willing to reflect to some extent the conditions England wants in the previous negotiations.”

Even so, isn’t it true that France wants to share its interests with England? She was Mary, still looking at Ambassador Antoine with an expression of disbelief.

“No, before that… Will Spain accept the deal? I heard that Felipe was defeated in Ghent by a surprise attack by François, but how can Spain accept negotiations, and even the end of the war, after only one defeat!

On what basis is King Henry confident that Felipe will negotiate? “Honestly, isn’t it true that everyone knows that France’s financial situation is not good?”

“Of course, both Charles and Felipe of Habsburg are well aware of the situation in our Kingdom of France. But… It is said that Barbary pirates have recently started rampaging in the Mediterranean. Do you see what I mean?”

“Barbary pirates… ? no way… .”

“That’s right. Because Suleyman is not a fool. It seems that the rumor that the fight between Habsburg and Valois has intensified has reached the Mediterranean. The Ottomans went so far as to let off the leashes of the Barbary pirates… .

Wouldn’t this be enough reason for Spain to accept the deal? It is said that nearly 20 years after Preveza, the pagan sultan, who was looking for an opportunity, is starting to move again. “Even Spain doesn’t want to fight with us anymore.”

The Barbary pirates were pirates controlled by the Ottoman Empire and could be said to be the main force of the Ottoman Empire’s navy. The fact that such Barbary pirates began running rampant in the Mediterranean again was equivalent to the fact that the Ottoman Empire was beginning to move to completely dominate the Mediterranean.

Regardless of the fact that Spain considered itself a defender of the faith, if it did not want to give up Mediterranean trade, it would naturally have to respond to the Ottoman moves.

When Mary learned where Henry II’s confidence in France came from, she began to think about what demands she could make that would benefit England.

‘After listening to the story, isn’t it a situation where Spain has no choice but to accept negotiations? Then maybe… ‘Wouldn’t it be possible to obtain the right to dock at a port of call heading to the East?’

Mary thought that ‘new trade routes’ were needed for England to prosper in the future. That was the reason why I told Logan to select sincere and loyal people from the crew of ‘Catherine’.

Mary’s original plan was to create a new ‘Catherine’ to open up new routes and load as many trade goods as possible on its huge hull.

Because I had ‘Brian’s Map’, I had a clear understanding of where to sail. Therefore, Mary was confident that her plan would succeed.

‘I thought there was no way Spain would open a way for us after this war, so I tried to open a new route. If things turn out this way, isn’t there a need to take risks and open a new route?’

Originally, based on Brian’s map, the plan was to find a sea route that Spain had not yet explored, but the story would be different if a route to the East could be opened through the kindness of France.

It was clear that if they could obtain the right to dock at a port of call in Spain, they would be able to set foot in the unknown land of ‘Joseon’, where Logan had come, before any other European country, with less investment than expected.

This is a fact that I learned while asking around about Eastern countries after getting to know Logan. He said that Portuguese merchants had already advanced into ‘Japan’ and ‘China’, but not ‘Joseon’.

‘Joseon’ was an unknown country that no one had ever visited.

Unlike Portugal, England has a Logan who is from there. Additionally, he said Logan had told him that he and Brian had traveled through China and Japan.

‘Unlike other countries, we have Logan who is from the East. If the sea route to the East really opens… !’

The corner of Mary’s mouth rose slightly as she thought about it.

“Antoine, did you say you could reflect the conditions we want?”

“That’s right. “As long as it’s not too much.”

“okay? then… The right to anchor at a port of call located on the way to the East. “How can you accept this much?”

After hearing Mary’s words, Ambassador Antoine seemed to think for a moment and then answered Mary.

From noble mtl dot come

“It’s not that difficult as far as anchorage rights are concerned. The situation is the situation. And, where is the Ottomans? “Isn’t it normal for lowland merchants to be dissatisfied with England’s performance?”

As the positive answer flowed from Ambassador Antoine’s mouth, a satisfied smile appeared on Mary’s face.

The conversation between Mary and Ambassador Antoine, who had such satisfied faces, ended only as the sun set.

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*Diplomacy in the 16th century was basically secret diplomacy. For example, in actual history, Felipe unilaterally signed an agreement with France without the knowledge of England, which had assisted Spain in the war in the end-of-war agreement, and recognized its sovereignty over Calais. He said that if you play with food, you will be punished…

*In the mid-16th century, Spain and the Ottomans were fighting over the Mediterranean Sea. After the Ottoman victory in the Battle of Preveza in 1538, half of the hegemony of the Mediterranean was transferred to the Ottomans. During the period from 1556 to 1557, the Potosi silver mine had not yet been fully activated, and the Mediterranean spice trade was one of Spain’s main sources of income.