Her Majesty’s Secret Service

017. The Queen Who Loved Ships

Before responding to Marco’s request to plead with the Queen about his cousin’s unjust situation, I asked Marco how my rumor had spread.

“In truth… there has been much talk since you entered the kitchen. Of course, now that I know your capabilities, I understand, but…”

“Excuse me, but I would appreciate it if you could get to the point.”

“Ah… yes, the rumors about you.”

And so, Marco began to speak of the rumors entwined with me.

“The truth is, I only overheard the rumors about you this morning, so I don’t know the details. I eavesdropped on the maids talking.”

“What were they saying?”

“They said you entered Her Majesty’s room and didn’t come out for a while. The maids don’t go near Her Majesty’s room at night, but you know… the guards.”

“What did the guards tell the maids?”

“Well… Her Majesty… they say she attracts men, just like her father, His Majesty Henry…”

“What?”

It’s absurd. Not only is it ridiculous that the guards are gossiping about what they see during their watch, but I must admire their boundless imagination. The Queen and I?

“Is that all? Was there nothing else?”

“Uh… one maid was blabbering that you’re Her Majesty’s… ahem… lover, and another said you were just bringing a late-night snack. That’s all there is to it.”

“Is that really all?”

“Truly. Anyway, do speak well of us to the higher-ups. It doesn’t have to be Her Majesty… why, there are plenty, like the bishop. I ask because I owe a debt to my cousin. Please, I beg of you.”

I didn’t bother to ask about the nature of the debt.

Nevertheless, the fact that the maids are gossiping… I could see the rumor that I am the Queen’s lover spreading before the week is out.

As I pondered how to clear up this misunderstanding, a sudden thought flashed through my mind.

‘Wait, isn’t this an opportunity…?’

After all, I had to interpret the blueprints every time the Queen called me to her room.”

Every time, the guards or the maids and servants would be watching me, and if it happened repeatedly, it would be impossible to stop the rumors from spreading.

‘In that case, couldn’t I use this to my advantage…?’

It’s not just in cases like Marco’s; there must be many who wish to contact the queen or the core of the current regime.

If they hear the rumor and reach out to me… it could be an opportunity. An opportunity to build my own power.

After all, once Felipe’s marriage to the queen is prevented, there will be more to consider. Given the circumstances, I had no intention of settling for just a royal chef’s position.

‘If someone dares to ask the queen outright if the rumors are true, they wouldn’t bother making a request to me…? To deceive such people… Wait, if I fulfill Marco’s request, the rumor will spread even faster….’

While pondering this, a question suddenly occurred to me, and I asked Marco.

“By the way, Marco, you’ve been in the kitchen for quite some time, don’t you know anyone?”

“People I know? Ah, you mean the high-ups? Hmm… well, that’s the thing…”

Marco trailed off, making a throat-slitting gesture with his hand in response to my question.

“All the people I knew are all…”

I understood what he meant. They were all involved in the recent rebellion and had gone to the Lord’s side.

“I see. I don’t know when Her Majesty the queen will call for me, but I’ll be sure to pass on your message when she does.”

“Really? Thank you, I’m truly grateful. Ah, my cousin’s name is George. He’s the tallest George in Dartford.”

“George of Dartford… Dartford, you say? Understood.”

With that, I took Marco’s request and etched the name ‘George of Dartford’ into my memory.

* * *

As the sunset draped over the rooftops of Westminster Palace, Mary was in the midst of her last agenda for the day.

“Bishop Steve, what did you tell me to do now?”

“You were told to acknowledge the royal supremacy.”

“Are you speaking seriously right now?”

The Royal Supremacy.

Otherwise known as the ‘Act of Supremacy,’ this decree, proclaimed during the reign of Mary’s father, Henry VIII, declared that the supreme head managing the Church of England would be the monarch of England.

This essentially meant that all administrative authority over the churches in England resided with the king, thereby denying the Pope’s authority.

As a devout believer, Mary naturally intended to abolish this Act of Supremacy. However, her close confidant and Catholic bishop, Steve, had suggested that she should not abolish but rather acknowledge it.

“Yes, Your Majesty, I speak with utmost sincerity.”

Mary harbored an extreme hatred for the so-called ‘Protestants,’ whom she considered heretics. Especially those of the national church or Anglican Church, established by her father, Henry VIII, she wished she could burn them all if possible.

“Are you suggesting that I become a heretic? If I acknowledge that decree, would I not become the head of the heretics?”

Indeed, if the Act of Supremacy were acknowledged, Queen Mary would suddenly become the supreme head of the Anglican Church. Steve opened his mouth to calm the infuriated Mary.

“Your Majesty, please hear me out. I am well aware of how much becoming the head of the heretics would offend Your Majesty. But, consider the opposite.”

“What opposite are you suggesting?”

“Before being a servant of the Lord, you are the queen of this kingdom. Regardless of them being heretics, are they not Your Majesty’s subjects? First, acknowledge the Act of Supremacy. Then, you can reform the heretics.”

Mary was astonished by Steve’s unexpected proposal.

Before being a servant of the Lord, she was the queen of the kingdom, and as their ruling queen, it was her duty to offer them a chance for repentance. That’s what Mary thought.

“I see, there is such a way! Truly, it is fortunate. Having a subject like you serve me is indeed a blessing from the Lord…”

“You flatter me, Your Majesty.”

“Then let’s resolve the issue of the Act of Supremacy… Ah, is the proclamation banning the export of grain being enforced properly?”

“Yes, it is. However…”

“However?”

“There are reports that foolish people are still putting up fences.”

“Again with the Anglican gentry? Those fellows are full of greed, not even paying their taxes properly.”

“Fortunately, the recent trend of converting good fields into pastures under the pretext of sheep farming has somewhat declined…”

“Are you saying there are still those who overturn fields, even now during the harvest season?”

“That’s correct. Do you perhaps have any advice?”

Mary pondered the bishop’s question for a moment before sighing deeply.

“No matter how much I think, I can’t come up with a suitable solution. To govern through punishment is to invite certain rebellion, and yet to do nothing is to watch our farmlands disappear…”

“Perhaps issuing a proclamation as a warning would be prudent?”

“If a proclamation could solve this, would we still be in deliberation?”

“However… isn’t issuing one better than not at all?”

“Hmm… That is true. Let’s issue a proclamation for now, as a warning. And…”

Mary’s voice trailed off, then returned with a subtle intensity.

“After much thought, it seems the Royal Navy could use another ship. What do you think?”

Since last night, after seeing ‘Brian’s blueprint’, the image of those grand ships hadn’t left her mind.

Mary, as the queen, was well aware of the limited funds, but she couldn’t help testing the waters with the bishop.

“Indeed, I share the same thought.”

“Really! You think so too!”

It was an unexpected agreement.

Mary’s face brightened at the bishop’s concurrence, which she had anticipated would be opposed on the grounds of insufficient budget.

But her hopes were shattered by the bishop’s following words.

“If only we had the money. Ah, to build a ship we need timber, and for the ship, cannons, as well as cannonballs and gunpowder… If Your Majesty has any plans to procure funds, would you please share them? I am all ears.”

At Bishop Steve’s words, Mary couldn’t help but shudder. Moreover, knowing that he was sincerely loyal to her, Mary couldn’t bring herself to be angry.

“Enough! I get it, I get it! Why must you speak like that when you could simply say it won’t work?”

“I have merely spoken my mind.”

Bishop Steve was still unyielding. Mary sighed deeply and looked out the window.

The reason for Mary’s regret was the royal flagship, the Mary Rose, which had sunk eight years ago.

The Mary Rose had served as the royal flagship for nearly 30 years, a battleship that could be called the pride of the Royal Navy. Henry VIII, Mary’s father, openly declared his love for the ship.

Like her father, Mary too had loved the ship. Above all, she felt a kinship with it because it bore her name.

‘Eight years ago… when I heard that the ship had sunk, I was truly…’

The Mary Rose had sunk in the Solent sea in 1545, eight years prior, returning damaged from a battle with the French fleet. Even Mary, who had been demoted and expelled from the palace at the time, had heard of the famous incident.

Henry VIII was furious, demanding the cause of the sinking, and after a thorough investigation, the reason for the Mary Rose’s sinking was revealed.

It was a flawed design. The high center of gravity had caused the ship to capsize, and the realization left everyone feeling empty.

One of Mary’s resolutions upon becoming queen was to perfectly rebuild and resurrect the ‘Mary Rose.’

Then, as if by divine will, Logan appeared with ‘Brian’s blueprint,’ and the moment Mary saw the ship drawn on it, she decided that this was God’s will and resolved to build the ship depicted in the blueprint, no matter what.

Even as she gazed endlessly out the window, the reality that there was not enough money to build the ship remained unchanged. With the silhouette of a ship flickering outside, Mary spoke.

“The day has grown late. If there’s nothing more to say, you may leave.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Upon receiving the queen’s command to leave, Bishop Steve rose from his seat and went outside.

Mary watched the bishop leave and muttered to herself.

“Money is always the problem. Whatever I try to do, money holds me back.”

After muttering a few times, Mary rose from her seat and walked over to the bookshelf.

I retrieved the ‘Blueprint of Brian’ hidden among various books and spread it out. There was the sound of paper flipping with a rustle.

“Always a charming vessel to behold…”

A thick book that could be hundreds of pages. Among the blueprints contained in this book, the ship marked with the letters USS Constitution was particularly appealing.

The letters USS were somehow irksome, but every time I saw the ship’s ropes and sails, it seemed like I could see the apparition of the Mary Rose I had once seen.

“Yes, I must first command to decipher this. Before building the ship, shouldn’t we know how much wood will go into it…?”

Muttering to herself, Mary called out the name of the maid who would be standing outside.

“Jessica! Are you out there?”

Not long after the queen’s voice echoed, a maid entered from outside.

It wasn’t ‘Jessica’, but the housekeeper Anne.

“Did you call for me?”

“I called for Jessica, why did you come in, Anne?”

Anne seemed slightly flustered but soon answered the queen’s question nonchalantly.

“Oh, her? She forgot her duties, so I was giving her a little… education.”

At Anne’s evasive answer, Mary couldn’t help but smirk.

“She must have misspoken again.”

Mary thought of Jessica, who was prone to delusions and spreading rumors. At Mary’s words, Anne bowed her head deeply and replied.

“I apologize, Your Majesty. It was my mismanagement…”

“It’s alright. That child will come to her senses eventually.”

“Yes… she will… But, what did you need Jessica for?”

“I thought you would be resting today, and I was going to ask for you. Well, it turned out well anyway. Anne, go to the kitchen right now and call for Logan. Aren’t there a mountain of blueprints that need to be deciphered?”

Anne was the only maid who knew of the Queen’s relationship with Logan. Realizing why she had been summoned, Anne bowed to the Queen.

“I shall heed your command… Uh, shall I tell the kitchen that His Majesty wishes to dine a bit early? Would that be alright?”

“Of course. See to it yourself.”

With that, Mary’s gaze returned to the blueprint. Anne could be heard leaving, but Mary did not turn her head. She simply gazed at the ship drawn on the blueprint.

She wanted to know the detailed design of this ship as soon as possible. Knowing it was essential to somehow secure the budget.

Footnote:

*In reality, Mary had strived to rebuild the Royal Navy. It was also her policy to sponsor English explorers and dispatch them around the world with new ships.

After Queen Mary’s death, this policy bore fruit and greatly aided Queen Elizabeth’s reign.

*The Royal Supremacy is commonly known as the Act of Supremacy. Simply put, it declared that the rights of the Church of England belonged to the King. In fact, Mary, a Catholic, demanded recognition that she was the head of the Church of England. Naturally, Parliament did not accept this, and afterwards… you know? They all burned.