Her Majesty’s Secret Service

061. Flanders

The season of warm sunlight has returned again.

It was hard to believe that two years had already passed since we entered the 16th century. No, now I feel like I was born and raised here.

It was clear that this summer would never be forgotten in my life. Did you at least make a solid profit by selling bills?

No, I was about to get married right now.

“and! “Lord Logan, you look like a completely different person dressed like that, don’t you think?”

“her… Maybe it’s because it was given to her by Her Majesty the Queen herself, but the decorations are unique, right? How much does it cost to wear clothes like that? ?”

I usually dressed as simply as possible, that is, instead of wearing strange clothes with strange frills around the neck, I wore plain shirts and pants without decoration, which were ordinary by my standards but extremely shabby by the standards of nobles.

Today, because of the wedding, I had no choice but to wear a strange formal dress with a frill around the neck. I didn’t like the design, but since it was given to me by the Queen, I had no choice. As I put on my formal attire and went out, Marco and Oliver, who had come as wedding guests, looked at me at the door and expressed their admiration.

The color of the dress is bright red, and the frills around the neck stand stiffly like a chicken comb. This looks more like a circus performance uniform than a wedding dress. In addition, the pants were so tight that it was extremely uncomfortable every time I took a step.

“under… If I’m going to get married wearing something like this, I’d rather not get married… .”

“No, what is the new groom getting married today talking about? “Stop talking nonsense and just get out!”

“Ah, won’t it be okay if I go out? If I go out.”

As I grumbled and grabbed the doorknob, my hand trembled slightly.

To be honest, I didn’t think anything of it until this day came, but with the wedding just around the corner, I felt a little, if not a lot, nervous.

Even so, you can’t make the Queen and Archduke Eric, who are guests, and Jane, the bride who will conduct the ceremony, wait. Plus, over the past few months, I’ve been on time with Jane a handful of times.

Yes, shouldn’t we be on time for today, the wedding day?

‘Jane also said that this was her first time doing something like this, right? ‘For me too, it’s her first wedding and I can’t ruin it.

Unlike me, Jane had been married once, but she said it wasn’t a ceremony like it is now. In some ways, it was Jane’s first wedding.

I know very well what meaning this wedding holds. To put it bluntly, isn’t it a political effort to eliminate Princess Catherine’s right to succession by marrying her to a lower-ranking nobleman who has no origins because Jane, who has the right to succeed her, may threaten Princess Catherine?

‘But that doesn’t mean you can have a rough wedding… .’

Whatever the reason, it is a once-in-a-lifetime wedding. And from now on, she will have to live with Jane as her wife for the rest of her life.

Over the past few months, seeing each other several times a week, Jane and I have become quite close. Now, I don’t mind being called ‘Jane’ instead of ‘Miss’.

The place where Jane and I got married was Westminster Abbey. Since there were not many high-ranking nobles among the guests attending the wedding, it was decided to hold the ceremony at Westminster Abbey next to the palace to make it easier for the Queen to attend her wedding.

Moreover, the ceremony was held as quietly as possible. Although it was said to be a royal wedding, the ceremony was held with minimal guests and minimal costs, and it was decided not to hold a ball.

When I took a quick look at where the guests were sitting, I saw that the number of guests, including several high-ranking nobles who had attended the wedding under the queen’s orders and some people I had invited, was no more than thirty.

The queen sitting in the center was looking at the door Jane would enter through with an apologetic expression.

The queen also seemed sorry that things had turned out this way.

“Her Majesty the Queen. “Now that the bride’s decorations have been completed, can we start the ceremony soon?”

“So be it.”

The bishop who will preside over today’s ceremony was an unknown bishop who took the Bishop of Winchester in place of Steve Gardner. I had heard that a new Bishop of Winchester had been appointed, but this was my first time seeing his face today.

Once the queen’s permission was given, the bishop began to carry out the ceremony according to the procedures. The ceremony proceeded quite quickly, probably due to the Queen’s formalities.

As per the procedure, I went and stood in front of the bishop first, and soon Jane, dressed in red robes, walked in, stomping on the carpet.

It seemed like the queen felt sorry for Jane. A closer look at Jane’s dress revealed that her red cloth dress with gold leaf embroidery resembled the dress her queen had worn on her wedding day. The skirt was also shiny and made of the same high-quality satin fabric that the Queen wore.

Soon Jane was standing in front of me. Because of the height difference, it was natural for me to look down at Jane.

The bishop declared the marriage legal and asked the guests if they had any objections to the marriage. After the declaration, following the bishop’s words, Jane and I shared a kiss of vows, and the bishop recited a congratulatory message between us and gave his blessing.

Jane Gray thus became Jane Lee, Baroness Grinstead, and the Queen was able to eliminate the potential threat of her daughter Catherine.

* * *

Although there was no ball, the reception given to the guests was quite formal.

The reception was held in the banquet hall of the Palace of Westminster, and it was an act of consideration on the part of the Queen, who felt sorry for holding the ceremony so informally.

The Queen, who had a busy schedule, left the reception early, but Archduke Eric stayed and attended the reception.

“Congratulations, Logan. Yes, at your age, it’s time to get married.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

When Archduke Eric congratulated me, the Queen and other high-ranking nobles who followed the Archduke followed suit.

High-ranking nobles also congratulated Jane, and Jane responded with an innocent smile to their congratulations on her marriage.

As time passed and the reception was over, I was about to head to my room to take off my boring frilly attire.

“Baron Logan, where are you going?”

The Bishop of Winchester, who accompanied the Queen to the reception, spoke to me.

“Ah, my clothes are stuffy so I’m thinking of changing them… Is there any problem?”

“What are you talking about? “The ceremony isn’t over yet, but you’re changing out of your attire?”

“yes? “The ceremony isn’t over?”

“Her Majesty the Queen has asked me to grant a blessing for the Baron and Baroness. Let’s go to the bedroom. “The ceremony will be over only when we finish this.”

There was still one more procedure left.

Yes, in a way, it is the most important procedure. Damn it, can’t we just not do this?

“Logan, what are you doing? “Come quickly.”

“uh… huh… all right.”

Holding my heart pounding in fear of the unknown, I followed behind the Bishop and Jane.

When the bishop arrived at the bedroom, he said a congratulatory message, blessed the bed, and left, leaving Jane and I alone in the bedroom.

“What are you doing standing still?”

Jane, who sat down on the bed first, looked at me and said that.

I had already changed the red dress I was wearing. The image of Jane wearing pure white pajamas caught my eye.

What happened after that? I don’t remember.

* * *

Emperor Charles V, who leads the most powerful nation in all of Europe, was in a state of exhaustion both physically and mentally after leading the nation for nearly 40 years.

Fortunately, his grown son, Felipe, acted passionately in everything he did and showed the qualities of a king.

I was a little concerned about his lack of compromise on religious issues, but I think that problem could be resolved if other subjects assisted Felipe.

He was able to run this empire not on his own, but with the help of great servants, and he believed that his son Felipe would do the same.

In addition, Carl, who felt that he wanted to take a break due to the pain in his legs that was getting worse every day and the fatigue that was increasing, called Felipe, who had been staying in London, to his home country about a year ago. He was to begin the work to pass on his title and duties to Felipe.

“Now, Jim plans to leave Spain, the Lowlands, and other titles to Felipe and retire to a monastery. “Know that.”

I don’t know if his reign wasn’t that bad, or if there was some other reason, but his subjects asked Carol to reverse his decision, but he didn’t want to sit in this awful position any longer.

It wasn’t until the cold winter wind blew that I was ready to hand everything over to Felipe.

A new year would dawn next month, and after handing over all titles of Spain and the Low Countries to Felipe at that time, Charles himself planned to go to the monastery in Ghent, where he was born, and spend the rest of his life in quiet contemplation.

“Your Majesty the Emperor! “Your Majesty the Emperor!!”

He was now planning to step down from his position as emperor, so even though he had been ordered to report all matters to Felipe from now on, he heard a voice urgently calling out to him, and he sensed that something urgent had happened.

“Didn’t I tell you to go report to Felipe unless it’s something extremely urgent? “Didn’t I tell you that your king is now Felipe, not me?”

“I am sorry, Your Majesty. Since Prince Felipe was on a tour of Toledo, I had no choice but to report to His Majesty the Emperor first. “I sent someone separately to Prince Felipe.”

“What on earth is happening to someone who is about to step down…” Phew, that’s it. “Just tell me what’s going on.”

As soon as Carol’s permission was given, the servant who came running with the news swallowed his saliva and spoke slowly with a very nervous expression.

“Brugge… It fell into the hands of the French.”

It seemed that God had not allowed Carol to rest yet. Or should I say that France did not allow him to rest.

“Brugge fell? “Are you saying that Bruges was occupied, and not simply sacked?”

“that… That’s right.”

Carol felt something was strange. If Bruges had been occupied rather than sacked, news of the fall of Artois should have come first.

No, could it be that he also brought news that Artois was occupied? Karl, who was so absorbed in his thoughts, scolded the noble who brought the news.

“What on earth did Artois’ soldiers do? Could it be that Artois has also been occupied?”

“Artois was not attacked.”

“Artois was not attacked and Brugge was occupied? no way… ?”

It has been almost 40 years since he lived as emperor. During those years, we only faced France once or twice. Carol had seen his map of the lowlands so much that she could recall it without looking at it separately.

A simple map was drawn in Carol’s mind. With Artois blocked, Brugge, located in the northwest of Flanders, was occupied?

‘You’ve crossed Calais. I’ve never heard of Calais being taken over by France. So, did Mary betray us? It was my mistake. ‘I looked at that child so innocently.’

Carol gathered her thoughts in an instant and looked at the servant who came to see her.

“I will convene a palace meeting immediately. You said you sent someone to Toledo, right? “Send someone again and order Felipe to return immediately.”

“I understand, Your Majesty.”

Although he plans to hand over all duties to Felipe next month, it is still Charles himself who rules the country.

Shouldn’t we at least make some preparations until Felipe, who was out on a tour, returns to the palace and takes care of things? First of all, it was urgent to understand the situation of the French army occupying Bruges.

“How many French b*stards occupied Bruges?”

“He said it would be 30,000, or more than 30,000.”

‘Henri, that guy is crazy, 30,000.’

Charles thought that King Henry of France must be crazy.

As they had been fighting for a long time, France and Spain knew each other’s situation well. As far as Charles knew, it was difficult for France’s finances to operate an expeditionary force of 30,000 men for a long time.

“Who is the general who commands those 30,000 people?”

“I heard that François, Duke of Guise, is leading them.”

Charles’ face became seriously distorted when he heard that the identity of the person leading the 30,000 soldiers was François, Duke of Guise. Carol felt a little uneasy upon hearing that the person who had defeated her twice was invading her hometown of Flanders.

“By François, do you mean the guy from Metz?”

“That’s right. This is François, who fought with your Majesty at Metz and Renty.”

“A guy who can block 50,000 with 6,000, takes command of 30,000? And he took over a city in Flanders? this… It’s going to be difficult. “You said Felipe was in Toledo, right?”

“Yes that’s right.”

“This… This is not an issue that can be easily overlooked. I would like to send the Duke of Alba, but he will be busy with Milan… . Sir, send someone to Felipe again. Instead of returning to Madrid, head straight to the lowlands.”

“I understand, Your Majesty.”

“Preach clearly. “We must drive the French out of Flanders!”

In December 1555, when the news of the French occupation of Bruges became known in Madrid, Charles, who had been thinking of abdicating his position to Philip, decided to postpone the abdication.

In this way, the war between France and Spain began with France attacking first.

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[[painting]]

The formal clothes worn by the main character look roughly like this. It feels like the frills are a bit longer and the color is more red.

[[painting]]

Red is Calais, blue is France, and orange is Artois, which was part of Spain at the time. The brightly lit part is all Flanders, the northern region of modern-day Belgium. Flanders was recognized as part of the Low Countries at the time, and it was the Habsburg family under Charles V that ruled that land.

*The battle at Metz refers to the Siege of Metz in 1552. Charles V attacked Metz with between 20,000 and 50,000 troops, but Duke François successfully blocked Charles’ attack with only 6,000 troops.

*The Battle of Renty was a battle that took place in the Renty region in 1554. As expected, the armies of both sides led by Duke François and Emperor Charles faced each other. Although the exact number of each army is unknown, it is recorded that Spain was numerically superior to the French army in this battle as well. The French army, led by Duke François, overcame their numerical inferiority and won this battle against the Spanish army.