Her Majesty’s Secret Service

013. Residence in the Palace

The queen, unaware of my inner turmoil, continued to smile at me, as if waiting for my response.

When I remained silent for too long, a maid standing behind the queen, not the queen herself, cried out.

“Does the Queen not question you! What are you doing not answering promptly?”

Startled by the maid’s voice, who had been standing quietly, I couldn’t help but stammer.

“That… it’s just…”

As I faltered, the maid glared at me with furrowed brows.

Her expression twisted even more when I continued to be silent. It was the moment before she was about to shout again.

“Anne, stop that. What’s the use of scolding someone unfamiliar with etiquette?”

“But Your Majesty the Queen…”

“Enough already!”

The Queen, who had calmed the maid called Anne, turned her gaze towards me. Unlike the maid, her expression was utterly gentle.

“Why, do you so dislike preparing my breakfast?”

“It’s not that. It’s not that at all…”

Desperately searching for an excuse to decline the Queen’s offer, I had no choice but to betray the owner of the mansion where I resided.

“It’s just that I am already preparing Bishop Steve’s breakfast…”

It was an excuse as feeble as I had feared.

“Was that all? Do not worry. I shall speak to the Bishop myself. Will that suffice?”

“Ah… Yes… Thank you… Thank you.”

Having finally extracted an answer from me, the Queen wore a satisfied smile. Her gaze, with such an expression, turned towards the maid Anne standing behind her.

“Anne, go tell Bishop Steve that, effective today, I will take Logan as my chef.”

“Understood, Your Majesty the Queen.”

It was the moment when the maid Anne, having received the Queen’s command, turned to leave.

“Anne, wait a moment.”

The queen, who had called Anne to a halt, turned to me and spoke.

“Logan, do you have anything to bring?”

“Yes… Yes?”

“I asked if you have any belongings to bring. If so, I will command someone to fetch them while sending Anne.”

I didn’t understand. What had I done to deserve the queen’s help to such an extent that she would go out of her way to bring me along?

But my belongings… My belongings were nothing more than the clothes of the future I was wearing when I fell here and the items in my bag.

“If it’s that… I will bring it myself. There’s no need for you to bother…”

I had buried the items deep inside my bag, not taking them out for fear that someone else might see them.

If it became known that I, of unknown identity, possessed a book with a world map and the blueprints of an 18th-century wooden sailing ship, the misunderstandings I would face were clear.

If someone commissioned by the queen were to rummage through my bag and find those items, it wouldn’t just be a headache; my head might literally shatter.

“Are you ignoring my kindness?”

“No… Your Majesty, it’s not that I’m ignoring your kindness, I just don’t want to trouble your people unnecessarily. Please understand.”

Desperately protesting my innocence, the queen quietly smiled. Her gaze still fixed on me.

“You don’t take well to jokes, do you? In that regard, you strangely resemble Steve. Since you feel that way, there’s nothing I can do. Anne, go with Logan to Bishop Steve.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

“Since you feel burdened, I will not assign you an escort. However, I will assign someone to accompany Anne. Do not feel too burdened. And… Anne, come closer, I have something to tell you. Logan, you may wait outside.”

Though she told me not to feel burdened, the very invitation to enter the palace was a weight on me.

I wanted to refuse the queen’s offer right then and there, but lacking the courage to defy the king’s command, I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.

Quietly, I simply followed the queen’s words.

* * *

How long had I waited?

The door to the queen’s chamber opened, and Anne walked out. What conversation had passed between them was unknown, but it seemed of no concern to me.

“What are you standing there looking so dumbfounded for? Aren’t you coming?”

Suddenly, Anne, who had been walking away in the distance, turned around and shouted at me. Her demeanor was markedly different from when she was before the queen.

Hastily following Anne, I saw two unfamiliar men standing behind her. They were likely the attendants the queen had assigned to her.

Thus, we left the palace and after a considerable walk, arrived at Bishop Steve’s residence. The sky, which had been bathed in sunlight just moments ago, was now filled with gloomy clouds.

The door was locked, so we knocked on the mansion’s door and waited for someone to come out. Soon, the door opened, and we were able to enter the bishop’s residence.

As soon as we entered, Anne spoke to me.

“You said you came to fetch something? Hurry up and get it. I will speak to the bishop.”

“Ah… Yes…”

I replied to Anne and was about to head up to the second floor where my room was when I heard a familiar voice. It was Jack, one of the servants of the residence.

“Logan?”

From noble mtl dot come

“Ah, Jack. Am I late?”

“Why are you so late today! Hurry up. The bishop… Huh? Wait, who are those people? Hey! Who are you to be inside here?”

Jack was pointing at Anne and her two attendants, speaking. Anne frowned slightly and then shouted at Jack.

“How rude! Did the bishop tell you to treat guests like this!”

Jack stuttered in response to Anne’s assertive attitude.

“Yes…? Oh, that… I’m sorry. May I ask, where are you from…?”

Jack was inevitably flustered by Anne’s noble speech. Moreover, Anne’s authoritative voice had a way of making people shrink back involuntarily.

Even in the queen’s chamber, I had felt it, but this woman, her voice was too loud.

“What does it matter where I come from? For a servant to show such an attitude is to soon… the employer…”

Despite Jack’s apologies, the nagging towards him seemed to have no end. Are all the royal maids like this?

“Did you say your name was Jack? If you behave in such a manner, what would become of the bishop’s prestige who employed you? Surely, the way to treat a guest is…”

While enduring the scolding, Jack kept bowing his head, apologizing repeatedly. I felt I would have done the same had I been standing there.

“Please be more careful in the future. Now, where is the bishop?”

It seemed I had forgotten that I came to meet the bishop because of scolding Jack, but that wasn’t the case.

Jack, perhaps thinking he was finally freed from the lengthy scolding, had a flush of relief on his face.

“Yes, the bishop is currently…”

It was when Jack was about to speak of the bishop. The door opened with a sound, and the voice of the person Anne had come to meet, Bishop Steve, could be heard.

“What’s all this commotion… oh, Anne…? What brings you here?”

Bishop Steve, appearing through the door, looked surprised to see Anne’s face.

“Today is the second time I see you, Bishop. Her Majesty the Queen has a message for you, which is why I’ve come to see you.”

“A message for me…?”

As the bishop wore a puzzled look, someone else appeared. It was an old man I seemed to have seen somewhere before.

“Anne Basset…!”

“Count Russell, why are you here…?”

Looking closely at the man called Russell, I finally remembered. He was the nobleman who had stared at me intently this morning.

Russell, as old as Bishop Steve, looked sharply and clearly at Anne with eyes that belied his age. Anne met Russell’s gaze head-on, not avoiding his piercing eyes.

“What concern is it of yours whether I am here or not?”

“I apologize. There’s no reason for me to know that. Is there any reason for you, Count, to know why I’ve come here?”

“Still… an annoying woman.”

Anne shifted her gaze from the irritable Count Russell to Bishop Steve.

“Bishop, I would like to speak in a quiet place. Would that be alright?”

Upon hearing Anne’s words, Bishop Steve nodded slightly and spoke on her behalf.

“Well, that’s fortunate. We also have something ‘quiet’ to ask of you.”

As the bishop nodded, the annoyed Count Russell opened his mouth. Anne’s gaze still rested on Bishop Steve.

Receiving Anne’s gaze, the bishop spoke.

“I don’t know what Her Majesty the Queen’s message is, but once you’re done, could you spare us some time?”

“The Queen’s message comes first, so let’s talk after that.”

“I’m curious about what Her Majesty the Queen has to tell the bishop. May I listen in as well?”

“In my opinion… the Count also deserves to hear this message.”

Anne was unfazed by the Count’s annoyed demeanor as he spoke.

“Then, let’s go to my room to talk. Follow me.”

Bishop Steve, who had been observing the situation, uttered those words and went upstairs. Count Russell followed him.

“Logan. You pack up and wait until I return. The luggage can be handed over to the attendants. That’s why they’re here.”

With that, Anne followed the bishop up the stairs.

After Anne followed the bishop, Logan went to the room to pack his bag, and it finally hit him. The realization that there was no escaping under Queen Mary’s command.

* * *

The luggage was nothing more than a bag containing books and a purse.

Given the contents of the bag, I had no intention of handing it over to the attendants, but they insisted it was an order and snatched it away from me.

And then, as if they found the modern bag fascinating for the first time, they examined it from every angle.

“Is this everything?”

Anne’s voice came from the staircase as she descended.

Following her were the figures of Bishop Steve and Count Russell.

“Yes.”

One of the attendants who had taken my bag answered Anne’s question.

At the attendant’s words, Anne nodded slightly and approached me.

“You don’t look well. Don’t worry. The bishop said he understands completely.”

“Ah… Yes…”

My troubled expression was not for the reason she thought, but because I was bound to the palace. I had been planning to leave the palace somehow and earn money…

My head throbbed at the thought of the queen holding me captive without any intention of release.

“Bishop, Count. I trust that the ‘misunderstanding’ has been resolved.”

After finishing her greetings, Anne gestured to the attendants. They opened the door, and Anne and I walked out of the mansion.

From now on, my residence would change from Bishop Steve’s mansion to Westminster Palace.

* * *

The mansion, now devoid of Anne and Logan. The voices of Bishop Steve and Count Russell could be heard.

In contrast to the bright expression of the bishop, the count’s face was utterly dark.

“I told you, it was all a misunderstanding on the count’s part.”

“When did you ever say such a thing…! Ugh… Whether to believe this or not….”

Witnessing the discontented expression of Earl Russell, Bishop Steve let out a small sigh.

“Coming unannounced and startling people, then speaking such words? How long has it been since you saw the letter Her Majesty sent with her? Besides, she said so herself. There was not the slightest impropriety between Logan and Her Majesty. Speaking of which, you really must change your attitude. You’ve always been this way, quick to suspect at the slightest…”

“Enough! Stop it! Can’t a person make mistakes?”

Upon learning that the fuss they made over Anne for half a day was just a misunderstanding, the two men showed different reactions.

The bishop sighed in relief, thankful for the good fortune, while the earl still looked at Anne with a skeptical eye.

However, the letter in the queen’s own hand proved Anne’s words to be true, and both had to accept that their worries were based on a misunderstanding.

And so, the day came to an end. It was two months since the queen’s ascension.

*Earl Russell, aged 68 in the year 1553, had served the Tudor dynasty alongside Bishop Steve since the time of Henry VIII.

He held the positions of Lord Privy Seal and Lord Lieutenant of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, and Somerset, as well as High Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset, serving concurrently from 1552 to 1555.