Her Majesty’s Secret Service

097. Rumors

Reason, more than two months have passed since I arrived in England following the servant called Logan here.

“Then I will go. “I’m an adult.”

“Didn’t your servant tell you that he would give you a horse? “Still, do you really want to walk?”

“At least once, I wanted to walk the road that connects London to these two bridges. Jawal, Cheongjeukjin, Sijeukgi, Wijeukgagira. Wouldn’t it be nice to walk on a well-paved road like this before you can proudly talk about building a road like this in front of government officials when you return to your country? ‘I walked it myself and found it really useful.’ Didn’t the two governors and governors say that building a road like this would help the people? To help you both… .”

“Hmm… . Even if you fall into the water, your mouth will float.”

“Thank you for the compliment, adult Jeongsa.”

Today was the day he decided to go to Westminster Cathedral to meet his friend, John. Since it was a day with no mission scheduled, Yulgok, who had received permission from the governor to temporarily let go of his duties as the chief secretary, planned to use the day as he pleased.

Normally, I would have left the mansion by either a horse or a carriage, but today I woke up early in the morning and left the mansion because I wanted to take a walk on London’s roads, which, unlike Joseon, were ‘well paved’ with my own two legs.

When passing along the road connecting the mansion and London, there was a place that was sure to catch your eye. It was the residence of farmers tending the fields in the outskirts of London. Things that he usually passed by while riding a horse caught Yulgok’s eyes.

Farmers go out to work in the fields early in the morning, and even children feed their rabbits.

“Huh… No matter how many times I see that damn rabbit, I can’t get used to it. What kind of rabbit looks so long and scraggly… . Everything in this country is big. The squirrel is like that, and that rabbit is like that… Same thing with words… .”

One of the things the Joseon delegation, including Yulgok, felt while staying in England was that livestock was much larger than in Joseon.

From small squirrels to large horses. In particular, the horse called ‘Destrier’, which is said to be used as a war horse, boasted the same majesty as the red tom horse in the story. The government and busa admired it, saying, “If only I had that horse, I wouldn’t be afraid of the wild men of the north,” and said to Yulgok, “Your bell type is quite good.” He went so far as to say, “Since he seems to be in a high position, let’s ask your servant to take that horse to Joseon.”

After watching the farm children feed the rabbits for a while, Yulgok set out on his way again. As I was heading towards London along the road, a sudden shower started pouring down.

“I feel this every time, but the weather here is truly complicated and bizarre.”

When I just started living in London, I used to make a fuss about the dry sky and the rain, but now I have long since gotten used to this damn weather.

As I faced the pouring rain with a calm expression, the rain soon stopped and the clear sky appeared again.

Yulgok walked and walked like that until he arrived at the walls of London. Again today, he waved lightly to the soldiers guarding the walls and passed through the gates naturally.

Among London’s population of nearly 100,000, only 20 Korean envoys, including Baron Grinstead, were Asian, and the Korean-style clothing, which cannot be found in England, was already familiar to the London guards, so there was no need to verify their identities. That is.

After saying hello to the guards, I passed through the west gate and moved to the Westminster area. In order to get to the temple, you had to cross the garden of Whitehall Palace or go around the palace, but today, Yulgok decided not to cross the garden, but to go around the outside of the palace and head to the temple.

Yulgok, who left the mansion at dawn and arrived at Westminster Abbey late in the morning, knocked on the door of the temple and said he had come to see ‘John’. Soon after, he was introduced by Logan, a priest belonging to Westminster Abbey, and who helped translate Yulgok’s books. Priest John appeared.

“Yelgok! Long time no see. “Is it just a week?”

“Well, it’s okay if it’s ‘Yulgok’ instead of Yelgok.”

“So, isn’t it ‘Yelgok’? Oh, did you eat lunch?”

“Well Yul… no… Let’s stop. lunch? “It’s already been that long?”

“It looks like it’s not lunch yet. “I will ask the kitchen to prepare your share of the meal as well.”

“I want this… I’m sorry… .”

Today again, Yulgok had a simple lunch at the cathedral restaurant under the guidance of Yohan, who pronounced his nickname ‘Yulgok’ as ‘Yelgok’, and then went to his room with Yohan.

Arriving in the room, Yohan pulled out a chair and offered Yulgok a seat. Yulgok expressed his gratitude and willingly sat down on the chair. John looked at Yulgok and opened his mouth.

“So, what brought you here today? If you’re asking me to help you translate ‘Monarch’ again… .”

“Ah, I’m sorry about what happened back then. “I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a ‘banned books list.’”

“ha… As I said, you put away the knowledge of countless wise men and become interested in the book of such an evil person… Lord… Please save this friend from the East… .”

“haha… It didn’t seem like there was anything sinister about it… “Even if it’s a little extreme.”

“… “That’s not what you came here to say, is it?”

Seeing Yohan frowning slightly when he mentioned the content of ‘The Prince’, Yulgok felt the need to change the topic and told him the reason for his visit.

“Hmm, hmm, that… “The reason I came to you today is not because of anything else, but because I need your help.”

“Help?”

“Oh, was it a day or two ago? “My brother asked me, ‘Would you like to talk about science with scholars in England?’”

“Is the Baron speaking to you, Yelgok?”

“I see, you said law and theology? I heard you are planning to bring in people who have studied such fields… .”

“Huh… “Did you say anything about bringing someone over?”

“that is… “You said you were aiming to bring in a professor from a place called Cambridge, William Soone.”

“Professor Sun? oh my god… “Are you saying the rumor that the Baron is behind Her Majesty the Queen was true?!”

“huh? “Are you famous?”

“The title of Regius Professor of Civil Law is not for everyone. “Professor Sun is one of the top three legal scholars in England.”

“Huh… In terms of our country, it sounds like he is the same person as Toegye… . I wonder if my brother can invite such an amazing person… .”

“What are you talking about?”

Yohan looked at Yulgok with a puzzled expression. Yulgok, who received Yohan’s gaze, continued speaking in a slightly embarrassed voice.

“No, that’s not true. Even if my brother is quite favored by Her Majesty the Queen of England, I doubt he would be able to invite such a great scholar… .”

“Isn’t it more strange that someone who is so favored by Her Majesty the Queen should not invite her? Just looking at the authority that Her Majesty the Queen granted to the Baron this time… .”

“huh? “What kind of authority do you have?”

John could not understand Yulgok’s reaction.

Wasn’t it said that Yulgok was a relative of the Baron? He is a relative who even lives in the same mansion.

Nevertheless, in response to Yulgok’s reaction as if he had never heard of a rumor about the Baron, Yohan lightly tapped his chest in frustration and started talking about rumors about ‘Baron Logan’.

“Yelgok. Even though you live with the Baron, do you really not know much about him? Why, didn’t the Baron announce that he would return to the palace a few days ago? It’s a rumor that has been spreading since then… .”

* * *

“It is said that he gave up full control over trade in the East, or at best, over a trade route that would make profits more than 10 times more. It was not given to the baron personally, but to the ‘commercial association’ created by the baron. From what I heard, did you say that the queen was deliberately supporting the baron?!”

At the time when Yohan was explaining to Yulgok how the rumors about Logan were spreading, discussions among those who confirmed the rumors about Logan were in full swing at the Scottish envoy’s quarters.

The four envoys, including Knox, had just confirmed the rumor today about what kind of authority the husband of the ‘Scarecrow’ they had decided to protect had been granted by Mary of England, and were hurriedly gathering to discuss measures.

“How on earth do you handle things? Didn’t you say that Logan, who was locked in his mansion after the Eastern Trade, gained no real power? But he’s coming back? And that too in the position of overseeing trade in the East?!”

“That is… When I found out, I found out that he himself had asked the palace to resign. According to what I found out, it’s not that he didn’t have real power, but that he gave up real power himself… .”

“What do we do now? Obviously, neither Princess Jane nor her husband accepted the Queen’s offer because they heard that they had no real power!”

The Scottish envoys wanted to make Jane the Scarecrow Queen. In order to obtain just the justification they needed and gain real power, they needed a helpless scarecrow queen.

In the case of Elizabeth, who made this suggestion to them, they confirmed that all of her hands and feet were cut off by the current Queen Mary, and the only remaining force was a noble family called ‘Seymour’.

When she came here and accepted Mary’s offer, the only power that Mary’s proposed queen candidate, Princess Jane of Suffolk, had was her husband, Logan, and despite his achievements in Eastern trade, he did not hold any real power and abdicated on his own, leaving London. I confirmed that he was wasting his time in a suburban mansion.

Both met the conditions they wanted, but in response to Mary’s promise to ‘fully’ support Protestant forces, they chose Jane Lee, the Princess of Suffolk and Baroness Grinstead, as their scarecrow. A few days ago, I couldn’t help but be taken aback when I heard that Logan Lee had suddenly returned and assumed full authority over Eastern trade.

“What do you think? It seemed like Princess Jane’s weak heart would make her a good scarecrow, but… What kind of person is her husband, Baron Logan? .”

“… Shouldn’t we meet the Baron first? “Wouldn’t it be better to meet them in person to understand what kind of person they are and respond accordingly?”

“No, the queen promised us full power, so why are you so worried? Even though he is favored by the Queen, isn’t he just a baron? “A stranger who used to be a chef!”

“Ha, you live in such an easy world. Are you taking the Queen’s promise literally? If Princess Jane hadn’t looked like that, I would have suggested making Princess Elizabeth her king. shit… The queen tricked us. After seemingly guaranteeing her full authority and reassuring the innocent princess, it is clear that she is planning to devour Scotland using her close associate, the Baron. “It is clear that we are seeking more than the ‘formal allegiance’ we promised, and the annexation of Scotland!”

“Why are you so short-thinking? “If that’s the case, there’s no way the Queen would show off like this!”

“under! A person who believes in the queen should say something like that… !”

“what? “What did you just say!”

The Scottish envoys fell into confusion as they each expressed their opinions due to the sudden change in the situation. Since it was a union of forces that were in a horizontal relationship rather than a vertical relationship with each other, the chaos showed no signs of ending.

“Everyone be quiet! Everyone please be quiet. “This isn’t something we can solve by fighting among ourselves!”

In the midst of this confusion, John Knox, the representative of the mission and the religious reformer who united them, came forward and calmed them down. Since all of those gathered here have seen and respect Nox’s unbiased actions, the chaos that had been going on a while ago was able to subside, at least on the surface.

“I don’t know if things can be resolved by fighting among ourselves, but that’s not the case, is it? first of all… Let’s meet the Baron. “I heard that the baron once heard a rumor that Princess Jane was to wear the Scottish crown and was very opposed to the queen.”

When Nox expressed such an opinion, some of the other members of the envoy, especially the head of the Macintosh family, looked openly dissatisfied, but couldn’t help but nod to agree with Nox’s opinion. As Knox said, fighting with each other does not solve the problem.

So the Scottish envoys decided to visit Grinstead Manor once again. This time, it was to meet the owner of the mansion, Logan Lee.

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*You might think of the Regius Professor of Civil Law as the Dean of Cambridge Law School today. This title was first established by Henry VIII in 1540, and was a fairly honorable title as it was a professorship appointed directly by the king. ah. It is said that the annual salary was 40 pounds.