Chapter 40

“Your Majesty, we can’t catch up. If we go any further, we’ll enter British territory,” Boswell said with difficulty.

If they went any further, the British stationed at the border would surely stop them and then make up some pretense that the Scots had violated British sovereignty.

Their group of about twenty people were all riding horses, standing atop a small hill. The valiant queen, riding a pure white horse, stood tall and straight like a valiant knight. Only the faint bluish-black tinge around her eyes testified to her fatigue over the past few days.

No one expected that the pampered queen could endure the arduous journey of riding day and night, the nearly spoiled milk and coarse oats, without uttering a single complaint. Instead, like a hunter relentlessly pursuing its prey, her sharp gaze followed Earl Morrie closely, as if she wanted to capture or kill him.

Unfortunately, Count Morley still managed to escape.

The setting sun cast its last rays upon the deep green mountains, like a knight's cloak billowing in the wind, concealing the traces of the rebels in the shadows of the forest. Mary could see as far as the eye could see, but could only make out a few small black dots running toward the British sentries, who welcomed them.

Mary felt a pang of regret. She gripped the reins tightly, turned the horse around, and ordered, "Then there's no need to chase after them. Let's go back to Holyrood Palace first to deal with the land and property left behind by the rebels, and then reward the soldiers. That's the important thing... Even if Count Morley is lucky enough to survive, from this year onwards he will only be a criminal, no different from a stray dog ​​that has fallen into the water. I wonder if I should pay more attention to him."

Upon hearing the word "property," Boswell's eyes lit up, and he and the others excitedly marched back to the palace.

...

News of the Queen's victory over the Earl of Morrie's rebellion reached Holyrood Palace before the Queen herself.

Inside and outside the palace, whether maids or nobles, everyone was cheering for the news, which swept away the gloomy atmosphere that had preceded the turmoil.

When the Queen of Scots returned with her army, she was naturally given a warm welcome. Her fiancé, Lord Darnley, stood at the very front of all the nobles, a gentle and joyful smile on his face, and reached out to embrace the Queen of Scots as she dismounted from her horse.

"Congratulations on your great victory, my dear Mary, my supreme Queen! I knew you would win!" Lord Darnley said with a beaming smile, opening his arms wide in a hug.

“I’m also glad to see you safe and sound,” Mary said calmly.

After saying this briefly, Mary nodded to him, then stepped past Lord Darnley's embrace and began discussing the inventory of the property with Maitland.

The Earl of Morrie was the first nobleman in Scotland. Now that his rebellion had failed, all his property was legally taken over by the Queen of Scots. Several other nobles, including Lord Ruseven, who were also dissatisfied with the Queen of Scots, received the same treatment and chose to side with the Earl of Morrie and support his rebellion.

Over the next few days, the Queen of Scots was busy with this matter, measuring the land and its inhabitants, replacing stewards and officials in various places, and taking inventory of valuable property and storing it in the treasury, or giving it away in large quantities as rewards to others.

To Boswell and Maitland's secret disappointment, although Her Majesty the Queen bestowed upon them a great deal of wealth, she did not grant them the fiefdoms they desired most, but instead placed all the lands under the direct administration of the royal family.

Although they were the royal family, the Stuart family's directly owned territories and subjects were somewhat inferior to those of the Hamilton and Gordon families. Several previous Scottish kings, including Mary's father, were greatly troubled by this and tried various ways to weaken the power of the nobility, but with little success.

When the Queen of Scots returned to Scotland three years ago, the Earl of Maurice had inherited a large amount of the previous king's private estate, making the Scots less than the previous kings and merely an empty shell.

Now things are different. Having received so many territories at once, and with the allegiance of Boswell, Maitland, and Albert, the Queen of Scots has risen above her father and grandfather, truly wielding real power in the Kingdom of Scotland.

It is worth mentioning that Mary also found many of the relics and dowries of the previous two Queens of Scotland from the Earl of Maurice, so she hung a gold pendant box with a portrait of her mother on her body as a memento.

The paintings of this era were generally mediocre. Due to religious reasons, the faces in the portraits were mostly like those of the Virgin Mary—dignified, gentle, and serene, but lacking any distinctive features.

However, when Mary opened the locket and carefully examined the miniature portrait inside, she still had a strange feeling. She felt that the beautiful black-haired woman in the portrait looked somewhat similar to herself and felt extremely familiar with her.

In fact, she didn't have many memories of Queen Mother Gis.

My memories before the age of six are already blurry. Back then, I was just a little girl who only knew how to eat, drink, and play. I only had a vague concept of national affairs and my status as queen. I only vaguely remembered that my mother was very busy and could only come to see me once or twice a week. She would put me on her lap, say a few words, kiss my cheek, and then leave in a hurry, leaving me in the care of a maid or monk.

After she turned six, she boarded a large ship bound for France and began her life at the court there. Apart from seeing Queen Mother Guise once more when she visited France, she did not see her again until the Queen Mother's death.

Inside Earl Morrie’s mansion, busy servants carried boxes back and forth, while Emma and Seton, along with a few others, held pens and paper and were making calculations.

Mary clutched the portrait tightly, walked to the edge of the windowsill and sat down, lost in distant memories for a long time, until Albert came over and called her softly, which brought her back to her senses.

"What's wrong?" Mary asked, looking up. Was there a problem with the inventory?

"...Please do not grieve, Your Majesty. Queen Mother Guise has found eternal peace and joy in heaven and will always watch over you. This is the final destination for all of us," Albert said, his voice incredibly gentle.

Mary looked down at the portrait in her hand and realized that Albert had seen her reminiscing about him and thought she was very sad, which was why he had comforted her. So she snapped the locket shut and hung it around her neck.

“No, I don’t feel much sadness, just a little regret,” Mary explained.

"What regret?" Albert asked.

"Regrets about family and love."

“The family members who truly loved me always passed away early, and those who remained always turned against me, like James and Elizabeth. In my life, all that family and love was like a leaping spark, illuminating my life for a moment before extinguishing into ashes, leaving me alone to continue enduring loneliness in the darkness and heading towards death…” Mary said casually.

For example, François, Lord Darnley from her previous life, Boswell, and her child James VI.

At this point, Mary joked, "...Perhaps this is the fairness of the Lord, the fairness of fate. He gave me the throne at birth, but also made it impossible for me to establish a stable and intimate relationship with anyone."

--Lonely.

The young queen sat on the windowsill with such a calm expression.

Under the warm sunlight, that young and beautiful face was like a finely sculpted portrait, without a trace of fear, pain, or hesitation. It was frozen in a perfect angle, presenting the subjects with flawless calm wisdom. But this was the only emotion Albert felt in her at that moment.

A profound and heavy loneliness.

Albert found it hard to describe his feelings, but he suddenly remembered what she had said during that hunting trip.

Love will lead me to utter ruin.

At first, Albert thought she was an angel who saved the world from the flames. Her face, shrouded in a black veil, was so exquisite and beautiful, and her demeanor was elegant and charming, and she was full of artistic talent. In his hazy fantasy, he placed all the beautiful qualities he had imagined in his youth onto her, and then a burning love arose in this fantasy.

After living in Scotland for several years and getting to know her better, Albert realized that she was not the perfect lover he had imagined.

Beneath her refined appearance, Queen of Scots was a perfect ruler and a wise queen.

She is astute and rational, capable of governing her kingdom with all her might and striving to improve the lives of the poor. When things are peaceful, she is kind and generous to her maids and servants and tries her best to consider their needs.

However, when it is necessary to maintain her position, the Queen of Scots can also turn ruthless and send any enemy who dares to challenge her rule to hell.

Now, it seems that Albert has once again seen a Mary Stuart under the shell of this king.

She possessed an empty, cold heart that no one could approach.

Every boy, in his youth, has a vague fantasy about what his future lover will be like. Will she possess beauty like a rose? Or will she have a sufficiently luxurious dowry and noble family? Or will she be kind, considerate, and touching?

Albert was no exception; he once thought that the girl he had fallen in love with must be a kind, sensible, and considerate young woman.

However, these qualities were not entirely absent in the Queen of Scots; rather, they were extremely rare, relegated to a corner by the qualities of a king, barely surmountable in the small space of her heart.

But he still fell fascinated by her.

Realizing she had said something incoherent, Mary shook her head and changed the subject, asking, "Albert, how old are you this year?"

“Twenty-five years old, Your Majesty,” Albert said.

“Have you considered marriage? Many noble ladies are very fond of you. If you’d like, I can introduce you to a noble lady with an excellent family background, dowry, talent, and appearance,” Mary said.

Over the years, Albert has remained dedicated to his duties, performing his job exceptionally well, and has also expressed his intention to settle in Scotland long-term in his daily life.

Given this, Mary felt she could now fully regard him as a confidant, arrange marriages for him with Scottish nobles, and bestow titles upon him, which would effectively reduce the Scots' xenophobia towards him.

Take Boswell, for example. Mary had recently arranged his marriage to a lady from the Huntley family. One gained a wife of high status, and the other connected with the Queen's trusted military minister. Both were happy.

Unexpectedly, Albert's face showed resistance, and he frowned slightly, saying, "Your Majesty, I don't want to get married yet."

“Why? You’re not young anymore,” Mary asked.

“I don’t want a marriage without love; that would be unfair to both me and my future wife,” Albert said.

This answer...

Mary was taken aback and said, "...What?"

Albert calmly repeated it again, and Mary was then certain that she hadn't misheard.

“So you don’t need to introduce me to noble ladies; that would only make it awkward for me to refuse,” Albert said.

A hint of horror slowly surfaced in the Queen of Scots's deep black eyes as she stared at the handsome blond youth before her, as if he were an anomaly in a crowd. After scrutinizing him up and down several times, Mary finally nodded, calmly indicating that she understood.

This answer is utterly absurd.

We're all adults here, very realistic. Who cares about so-called love?

Moreover, in this day and age, love and marriage can be completely separated. After having a legal heir with one's wife and pretending to be a loving couple in social situations, they can each find their own lovers. Both husbands and wives can have affairs, and no one will gossip about such a common occurrence in social situations.

But the blond youth in front of them said it anyway, and he said it with a straight face.

"And what about you, Your Majesty? Are you really going to marry that cowardly wretch? Forgive my bluntness, but he is not worthy of you," Albert asked again.

He no longer even wanted to use honorifics when addressing Lord Darnley.

Mary stood up from the windowsill and walked towards the lawn outside the house. With a slight smile in her voice, she said, "No, after I've taken stock of the property here, I'll go and break off my engagement with Lord Darnley and ask him to return to England."

She even had a ready-made reason to break off the engagement.

Elizabeth I was so domineering that she imprisoned Lord Darnley's parents in the Tower of London. Under such circumstances, how could she disregard the lives of the Earl and Duchess Lennox and hastily marry Lord Darnley?