Her Majesty’s Secret Service

095. Parent’s heart

New Year’s Day, July 21st

When I arrived at the mansion late in the afternoon, Jonghyung came to see me and said he had a favor to ask our envoy. When I asked what was going on, I was told that it was to meet and discuss with an English scholar invited by Jonghyung in front of merchants whom Jonghyung would call, or to explain the system of the Korean government.

After thinking about it carefully, I thought it was an opportunity to preach the principles of my country to a distant, foreign country, so I willingly accepted Jonghyeong’s offer.

The scholars that Jonghyeong would call were professors who taught students at places such as Oxford and Cambridge in England, and Sungkyunkwan in Korea, and their academic knowledge was quite remarkable, so I was very excited.

I relayed the story I heard from Jonghyeong to the governor and governor, and they were both very happy that they had the opportunity to talk with scholars in this country.

The Jeongsa and the Busa were talking about this matter, and the Busa said, “You said you would pay a lecture fee. I am very curious how much it will be.” The Jeongsa, who heard this, said, “How can you become a Confucian and prioritize wealth? “He got angry.

* * *

I told investors that I was thinking of opening a restaurant to make a profit by exploiting the vanity of the gentry, but what I really wanted was to raise the value of my name among the gentry.

This is to establish himself as a central point that the gentry can trust and follow, rather than simply a person in charge of Eastern trade or a nobleman favored by the queen.

In short, the reason I wanted to open a restaurant was to build awareness among the gentry.

In order for gentry to taste royal food, they had to be invited to the royal palace, visit the mansion of a nobleman who hired a royal chef, or even hire a royal chef themselves.

I don’t know about the first and second methods, but the third method was impossible without paying a considerable amount of money.

Usually, most of the court chefs were hereditary and worked at the court, and occasionally those who came from outside would work in the palace kitchen, and even if they left the court, they would go into the kitchen of a prestigious noble family that boasted a long tradition and cook for the nobles. .

Therefore, it was clear that a dish prepared by a ‘royal chef’ would be very attractive to the gentry, and that alone was reason enough for the gentry to flock to my restaurant.

In addition, I planned to provide a very special service to the customers who visited my restaurant. Should I call it a simple academic conference or a dinner party?

To explain it in detail, the idea was to invite renowned scholars or artists and create a time for restaurant guests to discuss academics and art with these famous people after finishing their meal.

The restaurant’s entrance fee was set at a hefty price of 10 pounds per person, but the plan was to create scarcity by limiting the number of people who could enter each week. To establish my restaurant as a symbol among the gentry through a luxury strategy. This is a store that wealthy and intelligent people must visit at least once.

‘Don’t call yourself an intellectual unless you go to the baron’s restaurant.’ This was the reputation I ultimately wanted for the restaurant. It had been a long time since the name of the store was chosen for him.

It is said that ‘Plato’ philosophy is on the rise among literate people, so ‘Idea’ is used accordingly.

After hearing my plan, some people were simply busy calculating the profits that ‘Idea’ would bring, while others who were quick-witted asked how much they would be able to exercise their right to enter every week if they invested in ‘Idea’.

So, investors decided to empty their pockets once again.

This morning, three days after meeting with them, I had arrived at South Walk, beyond London Bridge, and was meeting Robert, the bill dealer who was in charge of my money.

“So, you found a building for ‘Idea’?”

“Yes, Baron. It is a mansion that satisfies all the conditions, except for the condition of being ‘in the heart of London’, which the Baron mentioned. You said that a building in downtown London would be better if possible, but… No way, there has to be someone putting it up for sale.”

The reason I came here was because I heard from Robert that he was looking for a building for a ‘restaurant’. As I walked along behind Robert, a rather decent building built on the riverside caught my eye.

Following Robert’s guidance, I went inside and looked out the window from my room on the third floor, and I thought it was quite nice to be able to see the Thames River and even London Bridge in the distance.

“It is a three-story mansion that the Baron mentioned. As you can see, it overlooks the river so well that you can see ships coming and going. Even though it’s not a building in downtown London, wouldn’t this be fine?”

“Hmm… That’s true too… .”

When I seemed a little hesitant, Robert started talking as if he was trying to persuade me.

“Baron, it is nothing short of heavenly luck to be able to purchase such a mansion for the price of two thousand pounds. I don’t know if I have about half a year to spare. “Didn’t the Baron say that ‘Idea’ will begin operations within two months?”

“Hmm… “Why not wait a few more weeks?”

“Baron. I dare say that it would be sooner for the Baron to visit the East once more than for a mansion in downtown London, especially a high-rise mansion overlooking the River Thames, to be put up for sale. “Would I really say this to you?”

When I saw Robert, who was polite to me no matter what the situation, talk like that, I felt like I had no choice and nodded to indicate that I agreed with what Robert said. Then his face turned bright red.

“This is an excellent decision. Well, I’ll finish the story with the owner of this mansion. Oh, then when will the interior construction begin… .”

“Immediately after completing the contract. “Time is running out.”

Thus began the preparations to create a foundation to protect our family.

I had to make the gentry my faction as quickly as possible. That is, until an unexpected danger approaches.

* * *

While Logan was out in Southwark early in the morning, an uninvited guest came to Grinstead Mansion on the outskirts of London.

“I came out of the palace. “Some people from Scotland came to see the Baron and the Princess.”

The person who guided the Scottish delegation to this point was Francis Walsingham, who had attended the previous court meeting as a representative of the high-ranking treasurer.

After what happened that day, Walsingham incurred the wrath of the high-ranking treasurer, the Marquess William, and was dismissed from the Treasury, but thanks to the Queen’s attention, he was hired as an assistant to the royal second secretary and is now working for the royal family.

Today, I was ordered to guide the envoys from Scotland to Grinstead Manor, so I guided the envoys there.

The soldier guarding the gate asked Walsingham to wait a moment and entered the mansion. Since Logan wasn’t around at the time, the report went to Jane, the landlady of the mansion, who was looking at Richard with warm eyes.

“is it so? It arrived later than expected. Ask them to come in. Oh, could you please guide them to the drawing room? Richard. “Come here, guests have arrived.”

“Sean?”

Jane, who gave the order to the soldier, once again smiled warmly at Richard, who was questioning her with a shaky pronunciation. She carefully picked Richard up and headed to the living room.

Not long after Jane arrived at the drawing room with Richard in her arms, Scottish envoys appeared in the drawing room.

Their representative, John Knox, among the members of the New Articles Drafting Committee called ‘Six Johns’, ‘John Douglas’, who arrived in London with Knox, and Knox’s committee, proposed to bring the crown of Scotland to the King of England. Douglas, Earl of Angus, a representative of the Protestant nobility, signed the motion, and Macintosh, head of the Chattan Clan, also signed the motion.

And a total of six men, including Francis Walsingham, who guided them, entered the drawing room and quietly paid their respects to Jane.

“I see you again, princess. “My name is John Knox.”

Each of the Scottish envoys, including Knox, introduced themselves by their names, and when the introduction of ‘Macintosh’ was finally over, the envoys’ attention naturally turned to Richard, who was in Jane’s arms.

“this person is… “Are you my son?”

As Knox’s unfamiliar voice and the envoy’s gaze focused on him, Richard hugged Jane’s neck with a tearful face.

Jane, who felt Richard trembling in her arms, reassured him by stroking his back. Only after the tremors soon disappeared from Richard’s body did Jane turn her head towards her envoys, looking at ‘Nox’ standing in the center among them, and quietly opened her mouth.

“If it weren’t for my son, there would be no reason for me to hold him like this. “So, what is the famous Pastor John Knox doing here?”

Until the moment he greeted Jane at the banquet held to welcome the Scottish envoy, Knox had intended to choose Elizabeth as the holder of the crown as promised. This was an issue that was also agreed upon with representatives of other Protestant forces who came along.

However, after confronting Queen Mary of England, Knox proposed a new agreement to change the title of the crown from Elizabeth to Jane.

If a new king was put forward by the Protestant powers, there would naturally be opposition from the nobility of the Catholic powers, and in the worst case, French intervention had to be considered. In any case, it was François of the House of Guise who now took control of France.

However, Queen Mary of England made an unexpected proposal to Knox. If she crowns Jane as her queen, she will not only prevent French intervention, but also support Protestant forces in any civil war that may arise.

At Mary’s suggestion, Knox decided to abandon Elizabeth and appoint Jane as the new queen.

After several days of agreement, others accepted Knox’s offer.

There is only one reason they are gathered here today. Her purpose was to check whether Jane, who would become queen, could become the ‘queen in disguise’ they wanted.

In response to Jane’s voice being sharp for some reason, Nox put on a friendly smile and said something shocking in a voice that seemed like it was no big deal.

“Yes, it may not be known, but… “I came to see the person who will be the next queen.”

Upon hearing those words, Jane’s expression began to harden, and the hand holding Richard began to tremble slightly.

Seeing Jane seemingly embarrassed by the unexpected news, the Scottish envoys began to smile in satisfaction.

Seeing such weakness, it seemed unlikely that the Queen’s promise to guarantee Scotland’s autonomy would be broken.

That woman named Jane would certainly make an excellent scarecrow, the Scottish envoys thought.

* * *

The conversation between the Scottish envoy and Jane ended after about an hour.

The faces of the Scottish envoys who finished their conversation with Jane were all filled with satisfaction, but on the other hand, Jane’s face was full of fear and gloom.

“Uh… Really, should I be Queen of Scots? Not me… different… Yeah, someone else… That’s right, my younger sisters… .”

“Her Majesty, don’t be too afraid. “We will help you wholeheartedly.”

Douglas, Earl of Angus, bowed his head and answered Jane with a trembling voice.

Fully satisfied, the envoys bowed politely to Jane, said, “Next time I will see you with His Highness,” and left the drawing room.

“Whoa… At this point… “I guess everyone was fooled, right?”

Surprisingly, as soon as the Scottish envoys left the drawing room, all emotion on Jane’s face disappeared.

With a leisurely smile on her face, Jane picked up Richard, who was asleep on a chair in the drawing room, and walked up to the window to watch the Scottish envoys leaving the house.

“Is Her Majesty the Queen doing this too much? “I can’t believe you really made this choice.”

Jane had been preparing herself ever since she heard from Logan that the Queen had nominated her as Queen of Scotland. She is determined to at least make sure that her son does not have to live the same miserable life of being exploited by others for his power.

If Jane herself became Queen of Scotland, her son Richard would naturally become the Prince of Scotland, with the right of succession.

Seeing how he, who prided himself on being quite popular, was being used like this, it was obvious that Richard, who had become Prince of Scotland, would be used by Mary as a tool of diplomacy.

I was able to tolerate using myself as a tool of diplomacy because I had already experienced it several times. However, Jane couldn’t bear the thought that her son Richard would go through something like that.

“It would be safest to marry Princess Catherine and Richard… Should I put up with the engagement first?”

In order to stop him, first of all, a strong position was needed so that no matter who came from England, they could not shake Richard. Jane was planning to create that position by pairing Richard with Princess Catherine.

In order to pair up Richard and Princess Catherine, she needed to be a real queen in power, not a scarecrow for those who had just visited her.

The reason why she deliberately acted like a weak noble lady in front of the people who came to the mansion was for her sake. To keep them from being wary of themselves.

“Whoa… If only Logan had been a little more cool-headed… No, what am I talking about? The Logan I know is that emotional… .”

The reason she didn’t bother to tell her husband, Logan, about her plans was because she had seen that Logan acted somewhat emotionally.

From mentioning his younger sisters at a palace meeting recently to prevent his ascension to the throne, to even refusing to attend a banquet to which the Queen personally invited him simply because he was in a bad mood.

No matter how good she tried to look at it, her husband Logan was the type of person who should not be involved in politics. I told Logan about my plan. What if they find out?

With that thought in mind, Jane looked at Richard, who had just woken up and was looking at him with sleepy eyes, and muttered something like this.

“Richard, don’t worry. Mom… “I will protect you.”

If something like this had happened in the past, he would have thought it was his fate and accepted it, but he couldn’t do that now. No, I didn’t want to do that.

Now, she was not Jane Gray, Princess of Suffolk, but Jane Lee, Richard’s parent.

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*South Walk is right after you cross Tower Bridge. It is said that Southwark was recognized as a cultural district after the Shakespeare Theater was built, but of course, at the time of the story, the Shakespeare Theater had not been built.

*During the 16th century Renaissance, a philosophy called ‘Neoplatonism’ was popular. It was a trend that started in Italy, but of course it also influenced British intellectuals, and it is said that it was extremely common for intellectuals of the time to study Plato.

*If Jane wears the crown of Scotland, her son Richard, as the owner of a kingdom, will also have the right to succeed to the next Scottish throne. Her husband, Logan, also automatically assumes the title of co-king or is promoted to grand duke, unable to exercise the rights of co-king.