Chapter 1

1_ I became Queen Mary

A cold, refreshing drink went down my throat with a gulp.

"Ah, this is good stuff!"

Indeed, expensive liquor is different.

I casually cleared away the empty glass and looked at the table in front of me.

The table was filled with colorful cocktails.

I picked up a luminous blue cocktail among them.

There's plenty of alcohol.

I had ordered all kinds of drinks at this cocktail bar, and if it wasn't enough, I would order more.

It doesn't matter today.

I quit my job today.

"Damn it. What did I do wrong?"

As the alcohol started to kick in, anger welled up inside me.

Why did I have to leave the company?

It wasn't me who made the mistake, but the senior employee.

He confused the order quantity and ordered ten times more than needed.

But that guy didn't admit his mistake.

Instead, he called me aside and pleaded.

'Can we say that Hyun-young made the mistake this time? I have three kids. Since you've only been here for a short time, everyone will understand if you say you made a mistake.'

Would it have been better if I had accepted that ridiculous proposal back then?

No, no. That's absurd.

Given my personality, I would never accept such a proposal, even if it meant my life.

I immediately rejected the proposal.

And from that day on, petty harassment began.

Picking on me over trivial matters and interfering with my work was the norm.

He ruined my reputation with ridiculous lies.

He intentionally excluded me from important tasks.

The dirty and despicable harassment continued, and my work performance gradually declined.

In the end, I had no choice but to throw down my resignation and leave the company.

"Bad guy. Did you think I would just sit there?"

Since I was quitting anyway, I reported the internal harassment to the company.

He acted all high and mighty in front of me, but he's just a regular employee.

Not part of the owner's family, not a high-ranking official, so my report will give him a headache.

"I should have seen that guy suffer before quitting..."

Bitterness lingered in my mouth.

I poured another drink, whose number I couldn't even remember, and picked up another glass.

Was it because of my depressed mood, or the dark red lighting?

The red drink in my hand felt strangely eerie.

"This looks just like blood."

It was just a mutter to myself.

But a response came from beside me.

"You have a good eye, miss!"

A friendly and cheerful tone.

A voice that sounded pleasantly drunk.

"That drink is a Bloody Mary. It's named after a queen in England."

Bloody Mary, huh.

I majored in history.

Of course, I know about Queen Mary.

Queen Mary.

A woman who massacred many people and waged wars, unloved by anyone.

But recently, it has been revealed that most of her infamy was a false accusation.

By contemporary standards, she was a relatively lenient and generous ruler.

"Stupid woman."

The words slipped out without me realizing.

"Huh? Why?"

"If she was going to be queen, she should have lived better. She ended up being mocked as Bloody Mary."

The more I talked, the more frustrated I felt.

Queen Mary was born with a silver spoon.

Grandmother was a queen, grandfather was a king, and her father was a king.

And she herself ascended to the throne.

But what for?

To be falsely accused and mocked in a bar with a blood-colored drink?

This way, her ending isn't much different from mine.

"If I were her, I wouldn't have lived like that. If I were Queen Mary—"

"If you were Queen Mary, what would you do?"

A voice that seemed interested urged me to answer.

I didn't answer immediately and fiddled with the glass.

Was it just my imagination, but the glass in my hand seemed to glow blue.

No, that's impossible.

I must be drunk.

"There were many things I could have done. I could have opened the Age of Exploration, reclaimed continental territories, or sparked the Industrial Revolution..."

I suddenly paused.

Of course, if I had achieved such accomplishments, I might not have been mocked in the future.

But to do all this because of the fear of being called Bloody Mary?

What did I do wrong?

I don't want to try to please people who insult me.

Rather, I would...

"No, forget it. If they want to call me Bloody Mary, let them. I'll become a woman who fits that name. A woman who does whatever she wants, completely crazy."

At that moment, the blue light in the glass disappeared.

Instead, the red drink in the transparent glass shone.

"Right. That sounds fun. Here, drink it down in one go."

The deep red drink tempted me.

It seemed to have turned even more blood-like than before?

But what does the color of the drink matter?

I gulped it down.

It was sweeter and stickier than expected.

As I drank, my head spun and my vision blurred.

"Ah, no. I have to go home..."

I turned to ask for help, but...

"Huh?"

No one was sitting next to me.

Wait, who was I talking to?

But my thoughts didn't continue.

Seeing a startled employee approaching from a distance,

My consciousness slowly sank into darkness.

###

"Wow!"

Loud cheers woke me up.

The sunlight was too bright to open my eyes properly.

But I could tell many people were cheering.

What is this? Did I fall asleep on the street from drinking?

"Long live Queen Mary!"

But the words I heard were unsettling.

Queen Mary? Are they filming a movie?

As my eyes gradually adjusted to the sunlight, I could see more clearly.

What is this place? A palace?

"Long live the rightful ruler of England, Queen Mary!"

There were many people in front of me.

They were wearing unusual clothes.

They had woolen vests and bright, colorful outfits.

Behind them stood soldiers in unrealistic, old-fashioned armor.

"God save the Queen!"

Wait, are these people cheering for me?

I looked around in shock, but everyone seemed to be looking at me.

Then, I saw my reflection in someone's shiny armor.

A pale face with light blonde hair, and deep brown eyes.

I raised my right hand in disbelief.

The Western woman in the armor raised her left hand.

Interpreting my gesture, the cheers grew even louder.

"Long live Queen Mary!"

The cheers echoed from far away.

The ground shook with the sound.

This can't be explained as a movie shoot.

No, it can't be...

I briefly denied my suspicion.

No, that's absurd.

I became Queen Mary?

Just like that?

But no matter how hard I rubbed my eyes, I didn't wake up from the dream.

##

It's been a month since I became Queen Mary.

At first, I thought it was a dream.

A vivid dream of becoming Queen Mary.

I must have had this dream after talking about Bloody Mary and falling asleep.

But it didn't last just a day or two.

A week passed, then two weeks.

Now, with the coronation a month away,

There was no sign of waking up from this damn dream.

Eventually, I had to accept it.

I really became Queen Mary.

"Let's try to sort out the situation a bit."

I nervously tapped the table.

I was in a small prayer room attached to the royal chambers.

The only place I could be alone in this place with no concept of privacy.

It's 16th century England, where religion is everything.

I don't know why I became the queen of England in this era.

I'm curious, but I can't figure out such a supernatural phenomenon on my own, so I'll put it on hold.

The same goes for finding a way back to my original body.

The important thing is the situation I'm in now.

Two months ago, King Edward VI of England died without an heir.

By the line of succession, the next king should have been Mary, but in London, a plot was underway to remove Mary and install the collateral royal Jane Grey as queen.

Mary, understanding the situation, fled to Framlingham Castle to avoid assassins.

There, she gathered an army.

The people were on the side of the rightful heir, Mary, and soon a volunteer army was assembled.

A month ago, Mary led them into London in triumph.

She stormed the palace, captured the rebels, and declared herself the true queen.

"And that's when I became Queen Mary."

I sighed deeply.

Should I be grateful that I possessed her body early in her reign?

Mary had lived a lonely life in the countryside, under the watchful eye of her younger brother.

That means almost no one in this palace knows the real Mary.

If I act strangely, they'll just think that's how Mary is and understand.

Also, due to the influence of the body, I naturally knew the etiquette and languages Mary could use.

Not only medieval English, but Latin, German, Spanish, and even Hebrew.

So, it's fortunate that I won't be exposed.

"Besides, there are no ministers to check on me now."

The timing was good.

The rebels are locked up in the Tower of London, and the army is under my control.

It will be difficult for anyone to oppose me in this situation.

I have at least some power as a queen.

But I can't be complacent.

Mary is essentially the first queen of England.

It's an era where people doubt whether a queen can rule the country.

If I make even a small mistake, the opposition will grow even more.

I could be beheaded or stripped of all power and become a mere puppet.

"That would be terrible. I need to be careful."

I must always be cautious and not forget.

My goal is not to develop the current England.

It's not to change the era.

It's survival.

I'll try to live smoothly according to the original history.

If I make even a small change, it could come back to haunt me like a typhoon.

As I nodded and decided on my course of action,

A sudden, urgent knock came at the door.

"Your Majesty, I apologize for interrupting your prayers, but I have urgent news. A delegation from Spain has arrived. They are here to congratulate you on your coronation."

"The coronation is still a month away, and we didn't hear they were coming."

I stood up, puzzled.

But the minister's words weren't over.

"The representative of the delegation is Prince Philip!"

Prince Philip?

The future king of Spain, that Prince Philip?

I immediately called for an emergency meeting.

###

"Quite an early arrival, and Prince Philip at that..."

"Clearly, Spain is paying special attention."

"Even so, sending their eldest son here must mean something."

"Perhaps to strengthen the alliance."

"Maybe they're planning to attack France again!"

The council was in an uproar.

Everyone was clearly surprised by Prince Philip's sudden visit.

But no one could properly deduce his intentions.

I don't know either.

In the original history, did Philip come to England at this time?

I don't remember reading about it in history books.

But not everything is recorded.

In the middle of the meeting, the council room door suddenly opened.

The pale-faced chief steward shouted to me.

"Your Majesty! The coronation congratulatory delegation has arrived at the port."

"I know. That's why we're having this meeting."

A noble with a fine mustache scolded him disapprovingly.

But the steward shook his head, indicating it was something else.

"It's not from Spain. It's from France!"

The council room fell silent.

We could tolerate a delegation from our ally Spain, but from our enemy France?

The coronation is still a month away.

"The representative, Sir Huart, has expressed a desire to meet with you in secret!"

What is going on all of a sudden?