Chapter 5

5_The Queen's Poison (1)

I was in the middle of devising a plan to drive Prince Felipe away when the voice of a servant came from beyond the door.

"Your Majesty, Sir Thomas Wyatt requests an audience. What shall I do?"

At first, I intended to send him away without a second thought.

Such requests for an audience had become frequent since I became Queen Mary.

Initially, I dealt with each one, but I soon realized that it only caused me harm.

Moreover, Thomas Wyatt was a man who had led a rebellion in history.

There was no reason to meet such a man...

'No, wait. Come to think of it, wasn't the reason for his rebellion related to Spain?'

I tried to recall.

Thomas Wyatt had indeed rebelled due to the marriage alliance with Spain.

His personal hatred of Spain was one of the main motivations for the rebellion.

'This could be useful...'

I instructed the servant to grant the audience, and soon Thomas Wyatt entered the room with a solemn expression.

"Your Majesty, I am deeply sorry to trouble you. However, I thought that perhaps Your Majesty might share the same concerns as I do after the recent council meeting. The matter is-."

I didn't want to listen to his long, drawn-out speech, so I cut him off and asked,

"Are you here to advise against an alliance with Spain?"

Thomas Wyatt flinched and raised his head.

"...Yes, that's right. Of course, Spain may seem strong at first glance, but this is only temporary. What is truly important is not the current power but-."

"Fine. Then bring me the list of gifts for the coronation ceremony."

"...Pardon?"

"To this place... No, this place is too conspicuous. Bring it to the suburban Convent of St. Catherine. The nuns there are quite discreet."

Thomas Wyatt looked completely stunned.

Since he seemed to be completely lost in the conversation, I kindly added an explanation.

"I agree with your stance. However, it's not easy to reject Spain's advances. It would be ideal if Prince Felipe were to cause trouble, but there's no guarantee that will happen. We need a proper reason to reject them, and a flawed gift would provide a suitable pretext."

I asked him to come to the convent because it was a matter requiring confidentiality.

After I explained, Thomas Wyatt seemed to finally understand.

"But surely a great power like Spain wouldn't prepare problematic gifts?"

"Perhaps, but I can create the problems myself."

At my words, Thomas Wyatt looked at me as if I were a madman.

What are you thinking, making such a face?

###

Despite his uneasy expression, Thomas Wyatt brought the list of Spain's gifts the very next night.

It seemed that the list of gifts was not considered highly confidential from the beginning.

His father, who was a Spanish envoy, also helped.

Thanks to this, we could create a plausible reason before the coronation.

"Your service has been invaluable."

This is the Convent of St. Catherine.

Founded by Queen Catherine, it is now maintained with my patronage.

No matter what I do, no one here would speak out rashly.

This makes it perfect for such secret meetings.

"I didn't expect you to use the list in this way."

Thomas Wyatt, holding a wine glass, smiled brightly in response to my words.

He looked much more relaxed than during our previous meeting.

Seeing the stark contrast in his expressions, I couldn't help but ask,

"What did you think I would do with the list?"

"Well..."

Wyatt scratched his cheek, looking embarrassed, and said,

"...Poison the food to be presented to Your Majesty, or switch some of the gifts with cheap ones, or burn the gifts..."

I was speechless.

"Do you think I'm a psychopath?"

If I had done such things, the Spanish delegation would have been executed upon returning to their homeland.

"Um? Psycho...?"

"Never mind."

I waved it off, but then I had to ask,

"...So, you brought the list without a word, even though you thought I would do such things?"

"..."

A moment of silence followed.

I felt a bit of cold sweat.

Thomas Wyatt.

I knew he was a radical, but I didn't expect this much.

"So, are you disappointed by what I did? Did Spain not fall as easily as you thought?"

I asked playfully, trying to ease the tension.

To my surprise, Thomas Wyatt responded with a serious expression.

"No, I am impressed. Your Majesty is truly remarkable."

Wyatt hesitated for a moment before continuing,

"Your Majesty, I have a question, though it may be presumptuous."

"What is it?"

"...The protector of the Church of England, as mentioned during the coronation. What does that mean?"

It was a completely unexpected question.

Why are you asking this now?

###

Thomas Wyatt. He is a notorious troublemaker.

He breaks the Church's rules by eating meat during Lent.

He smashes the windows of merchants he dislikes at night.

He has even volunteered for war, risking his life.

He lives fearlessly, like a reckless young man.

That's the image of Thomas Wyatt.

But in fact, he has a secret that no one knows.

He has nightmares of flames every night.

The disgusting smell of burning people fills his nose.

The screams blend together, sounding like the wails of monsters.

The greedy flames devour people one by one.

The fire licks its tongue as if it will burn the entire world.

Thomas Wyatt spends his nights trapped in this horror, and when the sun rises, he wakes up with a head drenched in cold sweat, muttering,

"Damn, that bloody Spain..."

Thomas spent his childhood in Spain with his father.

There, he saw people burning every night.

Jews, Lutherans, fake Catholics, and various heretics.

The number of people burned was endless.

Spain, the land where people burned.

Thomas hated this place.

When a Spanish-born queen ascended the throne, Thomas's nightmares worsened.

The burning land in his nightmares changed from Spain to London.

The burning people changed from Spaniards to his family and friends.

It was a terrifying dream, as it spoke of the future, not the past.

But the queen he met in person was completely different from what he had imagined.

"Are you a loyal subject of England or Spain?"

The powerful words in parliament.

At that moment, Wyatt was captivated by the queen.

She was bold, unhesitant, and adventurous.

She boldly embarrassed the nobles and insulted the Spanish prince.

When she told the story of a flower without fragrance, he couldn't help but be impressed.

After that, he spread rumors as per the queen's orders, but even without such orders, Thomas Wyatt would have willingly spread the queen's achievements.

It was that satisfying.

That night, Thomas Wyatt slept without having a nightmare for the first time.

'Oh, this is dangerous. If I continue like this, I might fall in love with the queen.'

Thomas was afraid.

Until now, he had helped the queen for his own interests.

Helping the queen meant driving Spain out of England.

But if he became loyal to the queen, it would be different.

He would have to set aside his own thoughts and follow the queen's wishes.

Sometimes, he might perform tasks without understanding the queen's grand vision, like a mere part.

What if he unknowingly assisted in something as terrible as an inquisition?

Therefore, while he was not yet loyal to the queen,

Thomas Wyatt had to ask her.

"...The protector of the Church of England, as mentioned during the coronation. What does that mean?"

Does it mean that you will burn people to protect the Church?

Thomas swallowed the question that rose to his throat and looked at the queen.

The queen pondered for a moment and then answered calmly,

"Well, I think you'll be fine."

It was a simple statement, but it resonated deeply.

"I don't know how you'll interpret it, but I'm actually different from other kings. My past is quite unique."

Thomas Wyatt listened silently.

Indeed, the queen had once been half-imprisoned in the countryside.

Is this what she means by a unique past?

"Religion was not a significant issue where I lived. At least, people didn't kill each other over religion. That's why I feel that all these religious conflicts and endless disputes are just draining the country's resources and strength."

The queen shook her head, genuinely disliking it.

Peace, that's good. But the important part hasn't been mentioned yet.

"Having thought about how to achieve true peace, I've come to a conclusion. All religions in England will be unified under the Church of England."

It was a despairing answer.

I didn't expect the queen to support the Church of England rather than Catholicism.

But if she only recognizes one religion, the result would be the same.

"Much blood will be shed. How can that bring peace?"

"My story isn't over yet."

The queen spoke calmly.

"As I said, all religions in England will be unified under the Church of England. However, the Church of England will be the most inclusive religion, encompassing all others. It will include both Catholics and Protestants."

"...Pardon?"

"The key is to be part of the Church of England. I won't care whether they are Puritans or Catholics. As long as they recognize the king as the head of the Church of England, that's enough. I won't care about anything else."

It was a groundbreaking proposal.

It essentially meant that as long as they formally recognized the king as the head, religious freedom would be guaranteed.

Thomas was momentarily captivated by the queen's words but quickly regained his composure.

"Wait a moment. That's impossible! Other countries will isolate us, and the people will be restless."

The queen answered confidently.

"We just need to build enough power so that other countries can't ignore us, and feed the people enough to calm them down."

Thomas was now speechless.

Who doesn't know that? It's just not that easy.

"I see. To achieve the queen's goal, much will be needed. Strong military power, vast territory, and abundant wealth. Let's see, at least..."

Thomas pretended to do some calculations and then said,

"Territory, wealth, and military power on par with Spain. That's what we need to reform religion as the queen intends."

For a long time, England, a peripheral island nation, has been far from the powerful Spain.

Even Thomas Wyatt found it laughable.

He only brought it up to point out the queen's unrealistic talk.

But the queen, finding it amusing, smiled crookedly.

"Is it possible?"

"Um?"

"The times are changing. An era where squabbles within Europe are meaningless is coming. If we lead the way to the Atlantic, we can become strong enough to make the current power gap meaningless. Spain? We can surpass them. In a few decades, it will happen. England has that potential."

After saying this, the queen chuckled and said,

"I am confident, but it might sound unbelievable to you. What do you think? Do I sound mad?"

Thomas couldn't bring himself to say it out loud but muttered to himself,

"Yes, a bit mad."

Indeed.

The new ruler of England was a madman.

Such an outrageous and baseless dream.

It was no different from the fantasies of explorers who believed in a land of gold in the New World.

But.

Thomas Wyatt was not an ordinary man.

He was a man who wanted to slap Spain in the face.

He had ignored church law, been to prison, and fought in wars.

He had even considered rebelling if the queen were an undesirable person.

In other words,

Thomas Wyatt was a madman not unlike the queen.

"Allow me to share in the queen's dream."

Thomas Wyatt approached the queen reverently and kissed her hand.