Her Majesty’s Secret Service

083. Reunion

June 2nd, New Year.

… Soon, when we disembarked at the Port of London, hundreds or thousands of people waiting cheered toward the bell. Among the crowd, a woman in fancy dress walked toward our group, escorted by dozens of soldiers.

The sailors who had sailed with her so far and the surrounding crowd all bowed to show their respect, so our envoy followed suit and made a similar bow. Only after bowing did he realize that the woman was the ‘Queen’ of England.

During the voyage, he heard that England was ruled by a queen and a king, so he asked, “Why did the queen come out and not the king?” and was told the situation.

It is said that the King of England, who is the Queen’s companion and rules England together, was originally a prince of a country called ‘Sweden’ and became the King of England after marrying the Queen. However, the king of his home country was critically ill and he returned to his home country to take over his throne.

* * *

“You have truly done a great thing. He has truly suffered for two years. I feel like I want to hold on to it all day and listen to what happened over the past two years. If only Jane hadn’t been there. “You probably received the letter, right?”

“I got it in Portsmouth. Her Majesty the Queen, that… There’s nothing wrong with Jane’s body, right? Richard… .”

“Jane and Richard, you are both in good health. We’ve appointed royal doctors, so don’t worry too much. You have no idea how much Jane is waiting for you. We have prepared a banquet, so please attend with Jane. “Today you are the main character.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Logan had the honor of sharing the horse’s head with the Queen and was heading to Whitehall Palace, where a banquet was being prepared.

On either side of Logan and the Queen, soldiers of the Royal Guard were riding horses in preparation for any unexpected situation, and behind them was a delegation from Joseon. The three envoys of the magistrate, magistrate, and magistrate rode on horseback, and their attendants followed behind them on strong legs.

“Huh, it looks like this country called England had high expectations for this tribute mission. Isn’t that right, Governor Kang?”

“That’s right. The woman standing in front of me is the king of this country, right? “If the king of a country came out in person to congratulate us on our safe return, I can guess how much they expected from this incident.”

Every street the procession passed through was filled with Londoners, who cheered at the procession. Cheers congratulating the success of this delegation and praising the Queen.

“however… How long will I keep scattering these petals? .”

Those who were cheering were scattering flower petals that they did not know where they had come from. The rain of flowers that started falling from the port continued endlessly and showed no signs of stopping.

“Huh… Portsmouth was like that, but London is also a truly great city.”

“It is indeed so. Have you seen it? It was truly spectacular to see the building on top of the bridge. Moreover, most houses are two-story… .”

Even as the envoys chatted, the cheers pouring in as the procession headed to Whitehall showed no sign of stopping.

* * *

The procession departed from the Port of London early in the morning and did not arrive at Whitehall Palace until the afternoon. Looking at the spacious garden spread out within the palace, I felt like I had finally returned home.

Every member of the Mary’s crew took part in this welcome procession, and all were scheduled to attend the banquet this evening. Originally, it was an impossible task, but the money earned from this voyage made the impossible possible.

Each sailor was assigned a room at Whitehall Palace, where they would stay until the banquet began.

Lieutenant Flint and Captain Stan had gone to the Queen’s office to report the results of this voyage on my behalf to the Queen and the nobles. Originally, I, the person in charge of this voyage, should have taken the position, but thanks to the queen’s consideration, those two were able to take my place.

The Joseon delegation was also allocated a room at Whitehall Palace. The Queen had said that after she heard of the results of the voyage, she would interview the three envoys of Joseon and invite them to a dinner banquet.

Oh, then what am I doing?

“Whoa… .”

I am now standing in front of Jane and I’s door in Whitehall Palace, fiddling with the mother-of-pearl box in my arms.

It was nice that Flint and Stan had put off their work and rushed straight to my room, but when I tried to open the door, I was filled with fear.

Why is it that when the body becomes distant, the mind also becomes distant? I am afraid that the way Jane looks at me has changed over the past two years.

First, I thought about what I would say when I met Jane, but the problem was how Jane would react to these words. She had done very little since she married Jane, no, she had never done anything in her right mind… . She was actually a little worried about how Jane would react to her first sober words.

“What are you doing standing there, Logan?”

While I was standing in front of the door and wondering what to say to Jane, I was startled by a voice coming from behind me and immediately turned my head.

Jane’s face with a bright smile came into view. Instead of saying the words I had prepared, I was so embarrassed that I blurted out something.

“uh… Jane, can you open the door?”

I don’t know what I said even after I said it. There’s no mirror, so I don’t know what kind of expression I’m making, but I’m probably making a stupid face.

Jane burst into laughter as if she was dumbfounded by my clumsy attitude.

“What is that look on your face? And, since we met again after two years, is that all you have to say, Logan?”

Seeing Jane making a light, slightly sulky voice brought me to my senses. It was only then that I came to her senses and dragged the words down her throat that I thought I needed to say if I was going to meet Jane.

“I missed you. my… “Honey.”

I don’t know why it’s so hard to say this.

In front of the queen or the emperor, he would move his mouth casually, but in front of his wife, whom he had met for the first time in two years, he could not move his tongue.

Jane’s expression changed subtly when she heard me stutter out the words, and then she answered me with a bright smile.

“Now, you can say that without being drunk? me too. I missed you too. “Sweetheart.”

With that answer, Jane started approaching me.

Jane’s scent, which I had forgotten for two years, tickled my nose. I felt Jane’s hand wrapping around my shoulder as she stood in front of her, and soon her lips were gently placed on top of mine.

* * *

When the Oriental trade ship ‘Mary’ docked at the Port of London, King Henry II of France also convened a court meeting.

Henry II, who had just received a letter sent from London a few days ago, burst into laughter as he held up the contents of the letter for his ministers to see.

“Hahahaha!!! Now, everyone, take a look. “I want you to see exactly how much the 700 pounds we invested has been returned!”

The person who sent the letter was a loyal French merchant who had been brought on board the Eastern trade ship ‘Mary’ by King Henry to confirm his loyalty. In the letter he sent, he wrote about the value of the goods that Mary had brought, and that if you add them all up, it would be close to 40,000 pounds or more.

“Your Highness, is this really true? An English trading ship returned carrying goods worth 40,000 pounds. my… According to my common sense… .”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute. Isn’t this estimated profit? Doesn’t that mean that if you do it well, it might be even more than that? Spices and products from the East, oh my… .”

“Your Majesty the King, your blessings must be with you! Even if we set the value of the product to the minimum, wouldn’t the dividend that our Kingdom of France receive be close to 10,000 pounds? This amount would be more than enough to almost completely repair the damage from the last war. Oh, long live His Majesty the King! Long live France!”

After confirming the contents of the letter shown by the king, smiles bright enough to drive away the darkness of the night appeared on the faces of the ministers. In addition, voices of joy that they no longer have to worry about money were heard among the officials.

Seeing the stately officials like that, Henry II opened his mouth in a confident and triumphant manner.

“I told you what I meant. “Didn’t you say that King Henry and King Mary were different?”

Two years ago, when England reported to France that it had no intention of investing in Eastern trade, Henry II sent gold and silver coins worth nearly 700 pounds to London.

The reason he bothered to invest such a sum was because of Henry II’s pride. Henry II, who heard that Sweden, an ally of England, was investing an amount worth 700 pounds, paid a quarter of the total investment amounting to 3,000 pounds, saying he could not pay more than the northern countrymen, but he could not pay less.

At the time, France was in a situation where it had to tighten its belt somehow to make up for the money spent on the war with Spain. Given the circumstances, opposition from the vassals naturally arose, and some brave vassals openly opposed Henry II’s decision.

There were more than one or two places where the money could go right away, so investing an amount of 700 pounds in an uncertain eastern trade was no different from gambling.

Despite the opposition of his ministers, Henry II pushed ahead with his will. And now, two years later, Henry II’s choice has been proven to be the right choice than any other minister.

“They say an ambassador will arrive from England in two weeks, carrying silver coins, minus the spices and goods. So, I’m thinking of holding a banquet in two weeks.”

“Are you talking about the banquet?”

“exactly. A banquet as grand as possible. “Yes, I would like to hold a joust to commemorate the success of this trade.”

“If so, His Majesty the King, instead of a tournament-style joust, we will have a friendly match…” .”

“No, a friendly match. Why on earth is that boring? Let’s make it a tournament, a tournament.”

“The tournament format has a bit of a budget… . “Since the dividends have not yet been paid out, why not have a friendly match?”

“Are you just opposing this time too?”

“I’m not just opposing it… .”

“If not at a time like this, when will we hold a match again? Please understand a little.”

Contrary to the content that asked for understanding, Henry II’s firm tone made the French ministers guess that the king’s stubbornness would not be broken.

In the end, it was decided that two weeks later, a joust along with a celebratory banquet would be held to coincide with the British ambassador’s visit to the Louvre Palace.

“Okay. very good. “I’m looking forward to the next two weeks.”

King Henry II opened his mouth with a satisfied smile, alone among the government officials with anxious expressions.

“Okay, let’s get to the point. Thanks to the previous agreement, France can also use the same route as England. Our ‘agents’ kept detailed records of the eastern route. Now, how much would you like us to invest?”

‘What England can do, France can do too.’

Thinking so, Henry II began discussing Eastern trade with his ministers.

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*In original history, Henry II died in an accident in 1559 during a joust to commemorate the marriage of his daughter and younger sister. The daughter and younger sister’s marriage partner was King Philip II of Spain and his relative Emmanuella, Duke of Savoy. However, unlike the original history, such a marriage did not occur in the treaty between France and Spain, and Henry II survived until 1561. It will.

*His son, François II, is also alive, and his wife, Mary of Scotland, also lives in France. In the original history, King François II died due to a tumor in his ear while leading the government. It is said that the tumor in his ear was caused by stress.