Her Majesty’s Secret Service

065. Why are pirates here?

Mary, who had just returned to her office at Whitehall Palace, was immediately rummaging through the documents on her desk.

Since the launch ceremony of the Catherine was brought forward, all other schedules had to be adjusted, and the status of the sailors and warships that had come to blockade the coast of Holland in accordance with the declaration of war had to be checked immediately.

“Anne, I will be leaving for a tour of Deptford Shipyard in two days. We need to check Catherine’s armament. Then send someone to Calais and tell them to make sure the docks are maintained. “I plan to make Calais the fleet’s port of call during this war.”

“I understand, Her Majesty.”

Anne left the Queen’s office and faithfully carried out the work the Queen had asked her to do. She called a soldier separately and delivered her queen’s instructions. Just as Anne was about to enter her queen’s office again, her familiar face stopped her in her tracks.

“Anne, is Her Majesty the Queen inside?”

“Jane… No, Baroness Grinstead. “What are you doing at this hour?”

“I wonder if you need to know the royal family’s affairs.”

Anne couldn’t help but be taken aback by Jane’s sudden mention of the royal family.

Indeed, is the woman he is seeing now the Jane Gray he knew in the past?

‘You agreed to marry a baron to get away from the problem of succession rights, but then you suddenly start talking about the royal family?’

Even though the queen had arranged it, Logan and Jane’s marriage would not have taken place if Jane had been strongly opposed to it.

But didn’t Jane willingly accept marriage to Logan? She thought that Anne and Jane wanted to escape from the problem of her succession as soon as possible, and that was why she agreed to marry Jane.

But that didn’t seem to be the case. Additionally, his personality seemed to have changed a bit.

The Jane Gray that Anne knew was not a woman brave enough to come to the queen and raise the issue of succession. When it comes to ‘royal business’ for Jane Gray to discuss with her queen, what else is there other than the issue of succession?

“Why is there no answer? Her Majesty the Queen asked if she was inside.”

As I was looking at Jane with a dumbfounded face because Jane showed an unexpected appearance, I heard Jane’s cold voice.

Seeing Jane like that for the first time, Anne stuttered without realizing it.

“ji… Gold and silver… Since you’re at work, come back tomorrow… .”

Jane decided to respond sternly to Anne’s subtle congratulatory command. Immediately she interrupted Anne and screamed loud enough for the Queen to hear in her room.

“Her Majesty the Queen! It’s me Jane! “I’d like to see you for a moment!”

“I, Baroness. What rudeness… !”

At Jane’s sudden shout, the eyes of the guards and servants in front of the door focused on Jane. The maids began whispering among themselves, wondering what was going on.

Jane paid no heed to those reactions and continued to yell that she wanted to see the queen.

For Jane, who had only behaved ‘politely’ throughout her life, this kind of rude behavior was the same as breaking a taboo, so she was a little scared.

Nevertheless, Jane did not stop being rude. This was because I was more afraid than anything that I might lose these happy days that I barely got.

“What is the sudden commotion at this hour?”

Is it worth making a fuss? The door to the office, which had been tightly shut, opened, revealing Mary.

Jane turned her gaze towards Mary as if she had been waiting. Before Jane’s mouth opened and her voice poured out, Mary nodded her head as if she understood what was going on and motioned for Jane to come in.

“Jane, come inside first. Come in and let’s talk. “Anne, I’m thinking of having a private meeting with Jane, so please watch outside the door for a while.”

“… Yes, Her Majesty the Queen.”

So, Jane followed Mary into the office.

Under the candlelight burning quietly on the desk, several sheets of paper were scattered, detailing the ship’s armament and the amount of gunpowder England now possessed.

Jane, who must have been nervous because she was alone with Mary in the room, stared at Mary’s back and swallowed her saliva without realizing it.

Mary turned her head towards Jane, who was looking at her, then went back to where she had been sitting a moment ago, calmly organized the documents she had been reading, and spoke to Jane.

“Yes, Jane. “Are you here because of Logan?”

Hearing Mary’s calm voice, Jane nodded once.

“Yes, Her Majesty. I’m begging you. Please stop my decision to make her husband her captain. “It seems like Her Majesty the Queen misunderstands something, but I have no intention of having children until the princess grows up.”

Jane, who had been speaking up to that point, paused for a moment and looked at Mary with eyes that seemed to have made up her mind. Then she started making her voice again.

“No, I will not have children until Her Majesty the Queen orders. Wouldn’t this be enough? I swear to the Lord of heaven that neither I nor any child I will bear will covet what belongs to Princess Catherine. So, please… .”

Mary looked slightly embarrassed as she saw Jane pleading earnestly. It seemed to her that Jane had completely misunderstood something about her.

‘Ho… I never thought this kid would come out like this for Logan. It felt like she was forcing her to get married, so she felt uneasy… .’

Aside from being embarrassed, I smiled happily at the thought that Logan was treating Jane with respect.

By the way, Mary, who felt it was necessary to clear up Jane’s misunderstanding about her, responded to Jane’s appeal by speaking as softly as possible so as not to misunderstand Jane.

“Jane, you seem to be misunderstanding something.”

“misunderstanding… “What?”

“First of all, I don’t really care when you and Logan have kids. “I would like to have a child as late as possible, but I don’t want to force it.”

“Then why did you appoint Logan as captain? This war will definitely last several years, unless you want to separate me and Logan for several years… . Plus, Logan is a chef, not a soldier. It is said that he came here by boat… .”

After hearing Jane’s dissatisfied voice, Mary realized that Jane did not know the details of Logan’s past.

‘I guess Logan didn’t tell me about his past. I see that you don’t even know how talented a sailor Logan is. The Logan this child knows is just a chef… It’s natural to be so anxious. Yes, if we know what kind of man Logan is, this child can feel at ease too.’

The Logan Mary knew was a nobleman from the East, an experienced sailor who had sailed around the world for several years, and a former soldier who had experience as a sergeant and commanded the army in his hometown.

I didn’t tell her because I thought she would naturally open up about her past after getting married, but judging from Jane’s reaction, it seemed like Logan didn’t say anything.

“Listen carefully, Jane. Logan is not as weak a man as you think. So, what kind of life has Logan lived… .”

Mary’s story went on for quite some time.

As Mary’s story continued, the anxiety in Jane’s eyes gradually faded. Finally, when she heard that Logan was the only captain in England who could handle the new ship, Jane nodded and returned to her usual quiet and polite self.

“Your Majesty, I have committed great insolence. Please forgive me… .”

“It’s okay Jane, it’s great to see that the wife cares so much about her husband. She felt sorry for separating the couple who were supposed to be enjoying their newlywed life… Okay, let’s do it this way. I’ll give her enough time to have her child once this war is over. If you want, I’ll give you a mansion too. Unlike a palace, it is a quiet mansion with no prying eyes. No, it would be better to give you back the title and rights of Duke of Suffolk. Then will you be able to believe what I say?”

“Yeah? That much… . Thank you, Her Majesty.”

Jane smiled as if she was a little embarrassed and bowed her head towards Mary.

‘I misunderstood Her Majesty the Queen. How could Logan be such a great person? And you assured me that there wouldn’t be a big fight… ‘I was worried too much.’

In this way, Logan’s inauguration as captain has become a fact that cannot be omitted.

* * *

Last night, I thought I could give up my position as captain of the flagship until Jane headed to the Queen’s office to meet the Queen.

Jane’s expression hardened as soon as she heard that I would be taking the captain’s seat and going to war, and it seemed like she didn’t like this job either.

As far as I know, the Queen cares a lot about Jane, so I was hoping that if Jane appealed, she would give the captaincy to another soldier instead of me, just to see Jane’s face.

Yes, until Jane comes back.

After some time, Jane, who had gone to see the Queen, returned to the room with a bright smile on her face. She then said, ‘Why have you kept those stories hidden until now?’ Isn’t she scolding me?

Just like that, my expectations were shattered.

The queen told Jane a story I had made up, and when Jane heard the story, she mistakenly thought I was an experienced sailor and navigator, and a skilled commander who had commanded hundreds of soldiers.

He squeezed my hand, telling me to make a big contribution and come back safely without getting hurt, but it was really driving me crazy.

This means that the ship I was on was a modern destroyer, not a wooden frigate. To be exact, DDG-992 Wailing, no, Yulgok Ii. There, all I did was fry eggs and look at seasonings, but suddenly I was given the command of an 18th century frigate. Her head feels like it’s going to explode.

Fortunately, the book I translated had numerous annotations, and some of them detailed how the ship written on the blueprint was operated at the time and what role each rope played, so it would be impossible to teach sailors how to operate the ship based on that. There won’t be any.

However, there was one thing that could not be solved even with a book: the background knowledge needed to play an ‘experienced sailor’, or an experienced sailor of this era, was far from sufficient.

The queen thought of me as an experienced sailor and military commander.

After this war is over, stories about my appearance on the ship will most likely begin to spread in some way, but the Queen has heard rumors that I, who was said to be an experienced sailor, showed an immature appearance on the ship?

I don’t know what will happen, but I don’t think it will be a good thing.

What should I do to prevent noise?

After thinking about it for a while, the one that came to my mind was the captain that Robert had introduced to me.

An experienced and loud-mouthed captain who will tell you about life on board a ship in this era. The captain Robert introduced was someone who perfectly fit the criteria.

“Did you say Stan Percy? The captain that Robert introduced to me. He said he wanted to invest. “That captain, who was criticized by the nobles and said he couldn’t do a proper business.”

“Yes, there was a time when no one knew Stan Percy of Tavistock. As I mentioned before, I am a captain who has also been to the New World. It’s not easy to find a captain like this. The quarrel with the nobles escalated when a merchant who invested in him was treated unfairly… Regardless, he is a captain who definitely gets his money’s worth.”

“How long has it been since you were on a boat?”

“I’ve been on a boat for over 20 years. “She said she’s been sailing since she was fifteen, so this is her 26th year.”

From noble mtl dot come

“26 years… . “Is that so?”

“That’s right. “But may I ask why you are suddenly asking such questions?”

“ah. I am in charge of a ship this time, and there seems to be a lot of talk among the nobles about my origins. What kind of ship is a former chef on board? So, I need someone to teach me how to drive a boat. “Quietly so that other nobles don’t find out.”

Unlike the Queen, Robert thought of me as a simple cook, so I made up a story and explained why I was looking for the captain. Fortunately, Robert seemed to believe what I said.

“Oh, that kind of thing…” ! But Baron, if you want to silence that friend, you have to promise to look after his friend… .”

“What the heck, tell them to move to London right away.”

Robert seemed surprised to see me declaring that I would look after the captain without any hesitation.

“Huh… ! Is that really okay? To be honest, I just thought that the Baron would not accept my friend because of the friction with the nobles who were looking for him… .”

“I don’t know which family he is hated by, but as long as he is not hated by the royal family, it will work out somehow. So, when can I see Captain Stan?”

“Oh, actually… We are already in the Port of London. As soon as I made an appointment for next week, I came up to the Port of London and said I wouldn’t go down until I saw the Baron… .”

“That’s good. “Can I see it right now?”

“Yes, please wait a moment. “I’ll call that friend right away.”

It seemed like things were going well. The captain happened to be at the Port of London.

While waiting for the captain, I was quenching my thirst by sipping the French wine that Robert had brought out.

Just as I was finishing my glass of wine, the door opened, and I saw a sturdy middle-aged man carefully following Robert into the room.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Baron Grinstead. “My name is Stan Percy.”

As I was sitting in my seat very nervous, it felt really good to see a middle-aged man bowing his head to me.

He was dressed in fairly wealthy clothes, as if to prove that he was quite famous even before he started fighting with the nobles. Come to think of it, the brooch that Robert gave me earlier was also given to me by this person.

“Ah, nice to meet you. But that friend… “Who are you?”

Next to Captain Stan stood a boy with a young face. No, he was a boy who could hardly be called a child or a young man.

“Oh, this kid is called Francis. Even though he looks like this, he is already an apprentice sailor who has been on my ship for three years. He has been sailing since he was ten years old, and he is not usually bright. He told Robert about the situation the Baron was in, and he thought he might be of help to the Baron, so he brought him here. Francis! “Say hello to the Baron.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Baron. “My name is Francis Drake.”

Francis. I thought maybe I had matured prematurely due to the hard life on board. I can’t believe I’m 13 with that face and that body.

But wait, Francis, what?

I was startled and looked at the child who introduced himself. Francis, feeling burdened by my gaze, was startled and lowered his head.

Is that kid the Francis Drake I know?

In a good way, my head started to spin.

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*Francis Drake is from Tavastock, Devon, and is said to have worked as a sailor under a nearby captain from the age of about 10. It is said that the captain of the ship on which young Drake first worked took such a liking to Drake that, upon his retirement, he bequeathed his ship to Drake.