monarch

When the cabinet meeting finally came to an end, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon.

As soon as the meeting was over, Queen Elizabeth left the meeting hall in a hurry. She walked through the corridors of the palace with a bad expression on her face. People who met along the way saw her figure from a distance as if they saw a cat's tail raised up. Like a canary, she quickly hid in the shadows by the wall, fearing to meet the terrifying Medusa's eyes.

When she finally returned to her little living room, she found Robert sitting on the couch, fingering a parrot on a side shelf.There were bits of bird food stuck to the tips of his fingers, and the budgerigar was greedily pecking at his fingertips while rubbing its head affectionately against the back of Robert's hand.

Queen Elizabeth slammed the door behind her, and casually threw the fan in her hand on the nearest armchair.

"You are very leisurely." There was a trace of dissatisfaction in her voice.

"I always have to find some way to relieve my boredom." Robert retracted his fingers, and the parrot uttered a disappointed cry, "You said you would let me wait for you for a while, but I didn't expect you to ask me to wait for three Hours, if I had known this was the case, I might as well have gone to see a play at the nearby Burlesque Theater and come back."

"I can be sure that no matter what the burlesque theater is performing today, it is not as absurd as what happened in the conference hall!" Elizabeth's face was as red as a cockscomb, and she sat opposite Robert angrily. , supporting the gold-painted armrest of the armchair with his own elbow, "These ridiculous clowns are against all my proposals, and it seems that the only thing they want to do is to completely paralyze this country in my hands! "

"Then what do you expect?" Robert asked back, "You almost snatched this country from their hands, don't you expect them to give you any good looks?"

"It won't take long for them to take it back." Queen Elizabeth straightened her sweaty and disheveled bun, "The Duke of Braganza said nicely, when the Spaniards entered Lisbon, he He has already gone back to the fiefdom in the north! Do you think he can really resist the Spanish army? Britain’s money and weapons can’t save Portugal. This small country the size of a palm just came to the center of the historical stage by chance. Half a century is already enough. The army is a mob, the navy's warships are in disrepair, the army is a show, and the country is a crumbling house. Philip kicked on the door, and the whole building The building would come crashing down."

"In this case, why do you still agree to use the Brazilian colony in exchange for some aid that is a drop in the bucket?" Robert asked puzzled, "As far as I know, you have never been a person who can lose money in business."

"I was just trying to salvage some unmelted gold from the burning vault." Elizabeth took off her gloves and rubbed her sore eyes lightly, "We are old acquaintances, Marquis, do you know me?" Yes, I will always choose to fight to the death rather than throw in the towel. I won the power of Portugal, and I will do my best to keep it in my hands and pass it on to the child in my belly one day. But I am not bad A lunatic who knows the heights of the sky and the earth, I know that my chances of winning are slim, so I also want to leave a way out for myself."

"The beasts that are cornered are the craziest." Robert looked at Queen Elizabeth meaningfully. "The people who died under your pomegranate skirt were mostly buried in the battle between your trapped beasts."

"Are you talking about your father?" Elizabeth asked bluntly.

Robert was silent for a moment, "It's not just him."

"I didn't know you had such deep affection for your father." Elizabeth had a faint smile on her face, and she didn't seem to intend to hide her mockery at all, "In my opinion, you should thank me... ... I did not so much take away your father as I removed an obstacle for you, now you can do whatever you want, and my brother is the same, don't you all owe me? Besides, he is A traitor, if Edward kills him, there will be a rift between you that will never be healed; if he is pardoned, it will be an invitation to all potential rebels to tell them that the king is weak Powerless, rebel as much as you want, anyway, you can’t lose your head! Your father’s fate like that is his own fault, and you should all thank me for removing a big trouble for you!”

"Even if he deserved it." Robert felt his breathing became short of breath, as if a fire was burning in his skull, "then what did Guildford do wrong? You killed him, it means Killed his wife at the same time... Jane Gray is your friend!"

"He didn't make any mistakes." Queen Elizabeth didn't seem to care. She threw the silk gloves that cost twenty gold coins to her feet and stepped on them lightly with the tip of her shoes. "I have nothing to do with him." Conflict of interest, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, that's all."

"Just because of this, he has to die?" Robert's eyes showed a fierce light.

"You look like you're going to strangle me." The expression on Queen Elizabeth's face didn't change at all. "Don't things like this happen rarely? Every day in this world people die for no reason. Their death was more gratuitous than your brother's. The goddess Atropos cut his lifeline, it was the choice of fate, the goddess of fate treats all people with equal cruelty, even the gods King Zeus can only respect such a will. I don't want his life. Guilford's death is a tragedy, but I have to kill him, otherwise my plan to get rid of your father will inevitably be complicated. You can Treat his death as collateral damage."

"So what about Jane Gray? Your friend, she's also a collateral damage? Like a bonus from a merchant when purchasing?"

"I'm sorry, but I must make a correction," said Queen Elizabeth haughtily. "Maybe Miss Jane Gray's barren brains took me for her friend, but she was never mine. I am a princess of the royal family." , and although she has the blood of the royal family, she is no different from other noble girls in front of me, she is my subject, that's all."

"As for her death, it was because she lost the desire to live. I didn't take her life, no one wanted her life."

"You just broke her heart," interrupted Robert.

"Oh, come on." Elizabeth patted the armrest with her hand in disdain, "She doesn't want to live anymore, so you don't need to rely on me for such things. If I were her, I assure you, I She is still alive and well now. She killed herself, and that was her own choice."

"Is that how you explain it to your conscience?"

"Oh, I stopped explaining to it many years ago." Elizabeth shrugged, "Now it just says what I like to hear, just like this parrot next to you."

Hearing the owner say his name, the parrot let out a proud cry.

"As you please," replied Robert icily, rising to his feet. "I don't want to waste any more time listening to these disgusting things."

"But we're about to get to the point." Queen Elizabeth held out a hand to block his way, "You are a diplomat, and this is your job."

Robert stared into Elizabeth's eyes, as if trying to discern what kind of dangerous poisonous insect was hidden among the petals of this delicate rose.

"What do you want to say, do it as soon as possible." He sat back to the position he was sitting on with a blank expression.

Princess Elizabeth nodded, "Then let's put the past aside. What I want to say today is that I am doing Britain a favor by turning against the Spaniards. Before solving the problems around me , Philip will not launch an invasion of Britain."

"War will break out at any time. Philip will use the resources and manpower that were originally planned to be used in the invasion of the British Isles to invade Portugal. We can't last a few months, but it will take a long time for Philip to be able to completely control the war. Living in this land, even he will never be able to control it. This barren country will become another abscess in the flesh of the Spanish Empire."

"According to their current preparations, the time for the invasion will probably be next summer." Queen Elizabeth continued, "But an invasion of Portugal will definitely disrupt their timetable, as long as the invasion time is postponed by a few months , then the wind direction on the Atlantic Ocean will change, and the British Isles will be hidden by thick fog, which is the most effective defense of the island nation. The Spaniards cannot invade in winter, so their actions can only be postponed for one year, that is, By the summer of 1559. That is to say, I have won a year for Britain."

"But Spain also has an extra year."

"Britain grows stronger every day, and Spain grows weaker every day, and time is on your side. Spain looks like a strong man covered in bruises, bleeding from every wound, and their fleet Built on a mountain of debt that is now beginning to crumble. They are desperate to seize this last chance to destroy Britain so that the Dutch rebel movement is left alone. Delay the invasion for another day, Philip At this rate, perhaps by the summer of 15, the Spanish Empire had completely collapsed.”

"So you feel that Britain owes you favors?" Robert asked. "Then what do you want to exchange for this kind of favor? After all, you never give favors to others for nothing."

"What I want is very simple." Elizabeth pursed her lips slightly, and then smiled again, "I only hope that once the situation in Portugal deteriorates beyond control, you can take me back to Britain for refuge."

"I thought His Majesty made it very clear when he sent you here." Robert replied, "You will never return to the land of Britain."

"But now that I've given him such a big gift, I think it's enough for him to reconsider his decision."

"Let's be honest, Your Majesty the Queen." Robert didn't seem to be moved by Elizabeth's explanation at all, "I'm afraid you want more than this? If you lose a crown, if you don't want to find another for yourself elsewhere Come on, it's not you."

His eyes looked at Queen Elizabeth's swollen belly, and the queen subconsciously put her hands on her belly.

"You want this child to be the heir to the British throne." Robert said in a declarative tone, "I met your sister before I came to Portugal... She won't live until next spring. At that time, according to the inheritance Sequence, you are the first heir to the British throne."

"In Britain today, my brother's word is the law." Queen Elizabeth let out a breath of contempt. "Who will inherit the throne is determined by his will, and he will never let me be the heir to the throne."

"So you thought of your children? Do you think your children are more likely to be accepted by Edward and Britain than you?"

"Mothers will always fight for their children's rights." Queen Elizabeth looked at her stomach again.

"Bastards have no rights," said Robert dryly.

Elizabeth glared at Robert fiercely, "I didn't think about such a distant thing as succession to the throne, Edward will be able to rule for at least 50 years..."

"As long as you don't get in the way, he will." Robert interrupted him, "So you see, letting you set foot on British soil is like importing a cargo of dangerous goods."

"What if I don't live on the British Isles?" Elizabeth took a step back. "My children and I can live in a manor in Ireland. There is no way to instigate any worthwhile rebellion in such a remote place."

"In my opinion, it's still too close to London." Robert's attitude did not soften because of Queen Elizabeth's softness, "If I want to say, if you want to take refuge in Britain, then you can only go to Brazil Or Newfoundland. I would advise Your Majesty to make your son the Earl of Rio de Janeiro or Newfoundland, depending on whether you prefer cold or hot climates."

Elizabeth was so angry that she even changed her voice, "I am the daughter of Henry VIII, the princess of Britain, you want me to be exiled to the colony like a criminal?"

"On the contrary, we will treat you with dignity. Depending on the place you choose, I think His Majesty can make you the Duchess of Brazil or the Duchess of Canada. You can dominate the colony and treat yourself as one of them. Queen, just not being able to go back to Europe, I think it's the best arrangement for everyone."

"But what about my baby? I can't take a baby across the ocean."

"You can stay in Ireland until he is four years old," said Robert. "That seems to me a generous enough condition."

Queen Elizabeth gently wiped the teardrops from the corners of her eyes, "Are you taking revenge on me? Because of your father and your brother."

"On the contrary, Your Majesty, this is only my job. As you said just now, I am a diplomat." Robert stood up again, "Besides, you are the one who asked for Britain's protection. If you think this condition is unacceptable, then You can try your luck with Philip, and maybe he still wants to marry you as queen of Spain."

He said and walked towards the door.

"Is there no other way?" Elizabeth shouted at Robert who had already opened the door.

"Of course there is." Robert turned around and said with a smile, "As long as you win this war, then there is no need to play tricks with me, an annoying guy, but frankly, I think you The odds are slim, so I think you'd better think about which one you prefer, Brazil or Newfoundland."

He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

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Atropos is one of the three goddesses of fate in ancient Greek mythology, responsible for cutting the lifeline