Her Majesty’s Secret Service

053. Appointment

Even though I lie down in bed, cover my head with the blanket, and close my eyes, I just can’t fall asleep.

Today is the second day since I was appointed in charge of ship construction by the Queen. Starting tomorrow, we had to go to the royal shipyard in Deptford and begin shipbuilding work in earnest.

‘Ha, fucked up…’ . I’m supposed to be in charge of shipbuilding? ‘You don’t know anything about ship building?’

It is true that I translated the sailboat blueprint, but I have never built a sailboat before.

This was different from cooking. Since I have learned how to cook dishes myself or watch videos, I can at least imitate them, but what about a sailing ship? What kind of sailboat am I building?

They say that the position in charge of building ships, especially the royal flagship, is a position that any noble would want. Isn’t this a position where you can gain prestige and interests at the same time?

Aside from the honor of overseeing the construction of the royal flagship, the interests that arose during the construction process were usually not huge.

‘How many nobles came to visit over the past few days?’

I found out thanks to the nobles who came to me, and they said that the general manager could select a company to supply supplies for the ship.

It is said that there are several other benefits, such as being able to have some influence in selecting the crew and captain to handle the ship. Anyway, there were a few more interests that would attract the attention of nobles.

Additionally, the cost of building a ship right now is 30,000 pounds. It is said that of the support funds sent by Spain, what was left over from the construction of the dry dock expansion project and what was left over from the property of the confiscated traitors that the queen could use were stolen.

Oh, by the way, I heard that it also included the fine paid by the Earl of Kent to the Queen.

‘Why are you entrusting such a large-scale business to a chef? .’

While I was complaining, I heard a knock on the outside of the door. He heard a voice and realized it was one of the attendants. He guessed why he came.

“Lord Logan, may I come in? that… I brought a letter from Representative Brydges of the House of Lords… .”

‘Nimi, who is Bruges again…? .’

There are dozens of nobles who have sent me such letters over the past two days.

I felt like I could understand the contents of the letter sent by that congressman called Bridgeson or something without even looking at it. It might be something like let’s meet up before leaving or introducing a business that you know well.

Or, a threatening letter telling you to resign from that position.

When I didn’t answer, the servant seemed to have quietly slipped the letter through the crack in the door and left.

When I saw one more letter piled up in front of the door, I sighed.

Even though I was knighted, it wasn’t a good thing for me, a foreigner, to attract attention among the nobles.

There were two types of people who sent me letters: those who were trying to placate me, or those who were trying to threaten me and make me resign from my position.

Even with the appeasers, it was quite unpleasant to receive letters from those who threatened me.

If I were not a stranger, or even if I were a stranger, if I had the power, would they have been able to come out to me like that?

‘Of course I couldn’t do it.’

The more I go through it, the more I painfully feel that this is an era where the powerless are being bullied.

* * *

Peter Pett, the superintendent of the Royal Dockyard at Deptford and the master for 19 craftsmen, looked in bewilderment at the official who brought news from London about the construction of a new ship. I was watching.

“Look, what did I hear wrong just now?”

“No, Sir Peter. “You heard correctly.”

“No, do you think it makes sense to say that a chef is coming to oversee the construction of the royal flagship? Has Her Majesty the Queen finally gone crazy? It seemed like you were a little crazy when you declared that you would protect Anglicans. “It’s okay.”

“Off… “Please refrain from speaking.”

“Nimirel, did I say something wrong? It’s not even high-ranking nobles, it’s just a knight in charge! Also, a chef who was lucky enough to get a noble title?”

It would have been more understandable if a high-ranking noble had sat in charge of this royal flagship. It was not a matter of a day or two for them to just put their name on the position of general manager and take advantage of the interests in building ships.

“Oh, well, to put it bluntly, the position in charge of the royal flagship is something that Her Majesty the Queen herself decides, so let’s say there is nothing we can do about it. But isn’t this a bit much? Building a ship according to the chef’s drawings! “Isn’t Her Majesty the Queen crazy?”

“Her Majesty the Queen said the designer was ‘Brian Lavery’… .”

“Anyway, I’m not telling you to build a ship based on the blueprints of an author I don’t even know! And if we’re going to build a ship based on drawings drawn by someone we’ve never even heard of, why… !”

“Just calm down first… .”

“Do you think I look real?”

Peter screamed, blood rising in his neck. Although he was tired of seeing Peter like that, the messenger continued his words in an attempt to calm Peter down.

“First of all, Lord Logan said he would arrive around this afternoon, so how about reading the blueprint first?”

“Damn, it’s obvious that it’s trash, so you’re telling me to waste my time?”

The messenger frowned at the sight of Peter swearing and just hoped that Logan would arrive quickly.

There’s no way Peter will change his attitude when Logan arrives, but the people who hear Peter’s swearing will change.

* * *

I had no idea that just a few months after thinking I would never ride a carriage again, I would be doing it again.

After about half a day had passed with the body still shaking in the carriage, the carriage stopped.

“Is this the royal Joseon soap?”

“Yes, Sir Logan. “Please get off.”

The Royal Dockyard in Deptford, located not far from London, was naturally located next to the Thames River.

I got off the carriage and was just looking around the inside of the shipyard.

Familiar and unfamiliar faces approached me. One was a messenger who had left London first, saying he would deliver news to Deptford in advance, and the other, a middle-aged man with a frown on his face, approached me with a huff.

“Are you the guy named Logan who was in charge of building this ship? “I am Peter Fett, and I am in charge of the carpenters at the shipyard.”

A sharp-looking middle-aged man with a round hooked nose and a dark beard approached me, speaking sharply. Seeing that he was openly frowning, it seemed like he didn’t like me very much.

“I heard a lot. I hope to go along well. “My name is Logan Lee, and I am in charge of the construction of this ship.”

“Then, first, show me the drawing.”

“yes?”

“Ah, the drawing of the ship that was drawn by someone who looks like Brian or something! “I need to see with my own eyes how good a person must be to use the drawings of a person I’ve never heard of instead of the shipwrights at the royal shipyard.”

I felt pretty bad, but what can I do? This is the person who will build a boat for me. If I were to have a conflict with this person and cause trouble at work, there would be no one who would like it except the nobles who were threatening me.

In addition to being in charge of ship construction, he also held the position of head chef, so he had to go up to London every few days to serve food to the Queen.

What good would there be in causing friction with the person who will handle the work while I am away?

‘I’m sorry, so I’ll just endure it for now.’

I didn’t like the rudeness, but I had to put up with it for now. She handed him the drawing, frowning on the inside but smiling on the outside.

After receiving the drawing, Peter immediately mumbled something with a blank expression on his face.

“Brian… What? It’s the first time I’ve heard this name. But, did such an unknown designer really design a ship like this on his own? What kind of nonsense is this… .”

Peter’s hand holding the drawing was shaking.

In one corner of the drawing, the letters ‘USS constitution’ were clearly engraved.

* * *

Half a year has already passed since I spent time at the shipyard in Deptford.

For several months now, I have woken up every few mornings to the sound of hammers and shouting as an alarm.

“Everyone is working hard this morning too… .”

After washing my body, I went out of the accommodation and looked towards the largest dry dock in the shipyard.

There were a total of three dry docks in the royal shipyard, the other two were empty, and the largest dry dock was slowly taking shape with a huge hull.

‘under… Once the deck is completed, it can now only be in London. Damn, commuting from London to Deptford in this day and age. Does this make sense? .’

I wanted to complete the groundwork as quickly as possible and put down roots again in London.

As I looked around the dry dock being worked on, I heard the cheerful voice of a middle-aged man.

“ah! Sir Logan, good morning!”

“haha… . Good morning, Sir Peter.”

Our faces became familiar to each other, and Peter was older than me, so we were able to talk to each other comfortably regardless of our positions.

“Wow, it’s great to see everyone working so motivated.”

“Hehe, of course. “How can you not be motivated to work for a stupid nobleman who pays you to play?”

“haha. “Wouldn’t the work be faster?”

“That’s right, I thought it would take two more months to complete the hull.”

After a month of commuting, I had no choice but to throw up my hands. The commute between London and Deptford was not something my physical strength could handle.

In order to somehow speed up the work, I turned on the light and started looking for a way.

Fortunately, I was able to find a way to advance the work, as if my efforts were in vain. That was to change the way wages were paid and create holidays.

Until now, the royal shipyard paid its shipbuilders on a daily basis rather than a monthly salary. It was said that this was the case not only at the royal shipyard but also at other shipyards.

Since the construction of a ship itself did not happen every time, it was cheaper to pay workers based on the number of days worked rather than a fixed salary.

The carpenters at the royal shipyard were skilled enough to be hired by the royal family, and as a result, there were more than one shipyard that needed their skills.

Therefore, most of the shipbuilders at the royal shipyard would work several days a week at the royal shipyard and a few days a week at other shipyards.

Because of this, the number of shipbuilders assigned to the construction of the royal flagship each time was variable, and as a result, the speed of work was inconsistent.

There were even shipbuilders who worked in the shipyard all week long, even without the Sabbath, so their work efficiency was bound to drop.

‘From now on, 30 days’ worth of salary will be paid all at once on the 1st of every month. Come to the royal shipyard five times a week, and take two days off. please.’

This was possible because the budget was sufficient. Of course, it was not the case that there were shipwrights who received a month’s salary and went to work even on their days off, but most shipbuilders strictly observed five days of work and two days of rest per week.

As the shipbuilders got enough rest and the number of shipbuilders engaged in work began to remain constant, shipbuilding began to speed up.

Now, a few more months have passed, and the hull has begun to take shape.