Her Majesty’s Secret Service

014. It Was Lit.

As soon as I returned to the palace before it got dark, I was led to a new room. The room in Westminster Palace was certainly more spacious and pleasant than the one I stayed in at Bishop Steve’s residence.

It was decorated to the extent that it was hard to believe it was a room for a mere cook, almost giving the illusion of being in a modern, respectable hotel room.

I heard this room was specially prepared by the queen.

Housekeeper Anne led me to the room and then left with two attendants to see the queen.

Fortunately, I was able to get my luggage back, but with no good place to hide it, I had to leave it beside the bed.

“Logan! If you’re back, you should be in the kitchen, what are you doing here?”

I had just dumped my bag and was pondering what to do next when I heard Oliver’s voice.

“Oliver? When did you get here?”

“Just now! Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?! Hurry to the kitchen. You’re late!”

Urgency tinged Oliver’s voice.

“Why? Has something happened?”

“What do you mean, something? Shouldn’t you be preparing Her Majesty’s dinner?”

I had forgotten, due to the Queen’s command sending me to the bishop’s estate. I had forgotten what my role in the palace was.

“Ah…”

“What do you mean, ‘ah’? Hurry up! If we’re any later, it’ll be a disaster!”

Oliver grabbed my hand and pulled me along. Though my only task in the kitchen was to make cream stew every evening, it was the Queen’s favorite among all the dishes.

It had been a long time since I taught the kitchen staff the recipe, so anyone could make it, but I was in charge of the evening meal.

No matter who made the dish, I had to be the one to take it.

Today had been an exceptionally busy day.

* * *

In front of Westminster Palace, a suspicious shadow loomed at the door of the room assigned to Logan.

As soon as Logan slipped out of the room, two people who opened the door began rummaging through Logan’s bag.

“What’s this, a book?”

“Let’s see… this is… a map, and…”

“What’s this black thing, a mirror?”

“It looks like a mirror? You can see your face in it.”

“Well, that’s that… So, is this parchment?”

“Seems like it, doesn’t it?”

From the bag emerged two books and a map.

One book was in an unrecognizable language, and the other was written in the alphabet but not in a familiar format they knew.

—

And there was something like a pitch-black brick, but upon reflection, it seemed to be a small mirror, casting a shape.

“Let’s take everything. The lord of the manor said to bring anything strange.”

“But this book… it’s not just a little strange…?”

The man holding the book had left a small, incomprehensible booklet aside and was rummaging through a large book.

The language written inside was clearly English, but it was written in a way they could not recognize.

“This drawing… isn’t it a ship’s blueprint…?”

“A blueprint?”

“Yes! My father was a shipbuilder. My goodness… I’ve never seen a blueprint like this. Where did this foreigner get such a thing?”

“The name written at the front… B…r… Brian? Is that the name of the person who drew this blueprint?”

The man who mentioned his father was a shipbuilder scanned the book and exclaimed in surprise. The drawing was far more intricate than any blueprint he had seen before.

He couldn’t understand the meaning of the numbers and small letters written next to the drawing, but as far as he knew, a ship with so many sails and ropes did not exist in their world.

“Let’s take this and run. This item is worth the trouble.”

“What…? What are you thinking?”

“You fool, this isn’t an ordinary blueprint. From what I can tell, it’s a blueprint of a large ship with dozens of cannons. If we take this to Spain or France, we could make enough money to live on for the rest of our lives!”

It was the man who claimed to know about blueprints speaking. The other responded with a voice of uncertainty.

“Is this… really such a valuable item…?”

“Yes, that’s why…!”

“I see. So it’s that valuable a blueprint, you say?”

A soft woman’s voice followed the man’s frustrated tone, addressing his companion.

The two men turned in surprise towards the direction of the voice.

—

Behind him stood the estate manager Anne and four robust men.

“Bind those two and throw them in jail. And let’s take these items to Her Majesty the Queen.”

“Yes, Manager Anne.”

At Anne’s command, the men quickly subdued the two individuals.

Two of them disappeared with the captives, while Anne and the other two headed for the Queen’s chamber.

* * *

Mary couldn’t help but marvel at the book and map that Anne had brought.

Though it was too dark to see clearly, the sea parts of the map glistened blue in the light, and it seemed every continent was intricately drawn.

And the book—what of it? The clean quality of the paper and the thick cover were such that even Queen Mary had never seen before.

“These items, they came from Logan’s belongings?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

It was only natural to inspect the belongings now that he would be staying in the palace.

Hearing Anne’s response, Mary turned the map over several times, uttering words of wonder.

“I’ve always thought so, but Logan must indeed be an explorer. Otherwise, he couldn’t possess such a detailed map. Anne, have you ever seen a map this intricate?”

“The map is remarkable, but… would you care to open that book?”

“The book? You mean this small one?”

“It’s a large book. Yes, the one with the strange characters, not the one with the alphabet written in it.”

Mary, heeding Anne’s words, opened the large tome by the light of a lantern to examine its contents.

The first page was clearly in English, the alphabet, but there were noticeable spelling and grammatical errors throughout.

“Bryan Laberry… Is this the name of the wretch who wrote this abysmal text? Such a waste of paper. To think such fine paper is marred by spelling, grammar, and such poor writing….”

Mary grumbled about the grammar and spelling as she flipped through the pages one by one. Once past the introduction, the book’s content captivated her.

“Hmm…? For such writing, the illustrations are quite exquisite…”

Initially indifferent, Mary’s expression hardened with each page turned.

The drawings in each chapter were clearly blueprints of ships, battleships to be precise. It was nonsensical for mere merchant ships to be armed with 40 to 50 cannons.

“1,200… 2,200… 2,900… What…? 6… 6,000 tons…?”

The book contained blueprints for about five or six ships. In the corner of each blueprint were the letters 17c, 18c, 19c, and below them, the ship’s tonnage was listed.

From 1,200 tons to 6,000 tons, each blueprint bore incredible figures.

“Has he lost his mind? Where in the world does such a ship exist…”

The drawings were too intricate to dismiss as the delusions of a madman. The tiny letters scrawled next to each image seemed to declare the ships’ existence.

Mary called out to Anne with a shocked voice.

“Anne, have you seen these blueprints?”

Anne responded in her usual tone to the queen’s inquiry.

“Yes. I don’t know much about ships, but I heard the man who planned to steal and sell this book say it was valuable.”

“Anne, where did you say those who intended to sell this book are now?”

“They are detained underground. What should we do?”

A resolute answer sprang from Mary’s lips.

“Those two will not die a peaceful death. Trying to sell such a book to France? It’s nothing short of treason. Yes, they shall be dealt with for treason. My work for tomorrow has increased.”

Mary was certain of the book’s immense value.

Even the smallest blueprint depicted could carry more cannons than the Mary Rose, the former king’s flagship, with 40 to 50 cannons drawn on each.

“Logan, where is Logan now? I must see Logan immediately.”

—

At the queen’s command to bring Logan, Anne summoned a servant to convey her words.

* * *

Rushing to the kitchen in a hurry, dinner was already prepared. It was helpful that I had shared some cooking tips with the kitchen staff.

“You’re late, Logan. Take this quickly.”

“Thank you, Marco.”

Chef Marco, who had initially been cold and brusque when I first entered the kitchen, had warmed up after I shared some recipes.

After expressing my gratitude to Marco for preparing the meal, I headed to the queen’s chamber.

Fortunately, I arrived at the queen’s door without much delay.

Oliver, as usual, knocked on the door and requested entry from the queen, but there was no response.

“Could Her Majesty be angry? That would be unfortunate…”

Oliver had been blindly loyal to the queen for some time now. Perhaps he was deeply moved that she remembered his name.

“Today, let only Logan enter.”

Just as Oliver was about to knock again, the queen’s voice was heard.

At the sound of the queen’s voice, Oliver looked distressed and fidgety.

“Ye… Could it be that the queen is angry? Because the meal is late…”

It was I who was called to enter alone, yet Oliver seemed frightened.

“It doesn’t seem like that, but well…”

I reassured a scared Oliver and opened the door to enter the queen’s chamber.

As I was about to go back out to bring in the stew I carried, along with the plate Oliver had brought,

“Today, the stew will suffice. Tell the one outside to leave.”

—

“Yes, I understand, Your Majesty.”

As the Queen, seemingly engrossed in reading, commanded me, I turned to place my hand on the doorknob when her voice reached me once more.

“I did not speak to you, Logan.”

“Yes?”

Who else could be in this room besides the Queen and me? As I harbored such doubts, a lady who had been standing gracefully behind the Queen revealed herself.

It was dark in the room, so she had been unseen. The woman who appeared was Anne, the housekeeper Anne.

“Anne, as you send Oliver back, step out for a while. I have something to discuss with Logan alone.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

Upon receiving the order, Anne left without a word.

Left alone in the room, the atmosphere became unbearably awkward.

I thought I should attend to my duties first.

“Your Majesty, the dinner is…”

“Dinner can wait. There is something I must ask you.”

With those words, the Queen closed the book she had been reading. A dull ‘thud’ echoed as the thick book shut.

“I wish to inquire about a book that came from your bag…”

From noble mtl dot come

“Yes… a… book?”

It was true that there was a book in my bag, but how did the Queen know of it? I stuttered in surprise.

“Looking at the contents of this book, it seems to be a collection of blueprints for building a ship. Clearly written in English, but the spelling, grammar, and even the pronunciation of many words are all a mess, making it utterly unreadable… Logan, by any chance, can you read this book?”

The Queen tapped the cover of the book. By the light of the lantern, it was undoubtedly the book from my bag.

Flustered, I failed to answer the Queen’s question and instead found myself asking her one.

“How could that be… in Her Majesty’s hands…”

“It’s not important. Tell me honestly. Who is Brian Laberry, the author of this book, and what is your relationship with him? I will not tolerate lies.”

I responded with silence to the Queen’s question, pondering what to say. The Queen pressed me for an answer.

“Are you not going to answer?”

The Queen’s interrogation continued. Glancing at her expression, I thought I might be in trouble if I answered incorrectly.

Yes. It wasn’t important why the book was there. I needed to think of a way to avoid the Queen’s pressing questions immediately.

Footnote:

*Tons The quantity of tons is divided into displacement and cargo tonnage, and the use of tonnage first appeared in 15th century England. The reason for using tonnage was to levy taxes on maritime transport, with a standard barrel of wine being set as one ton at that time.