Chapter 68

All failures began with a betrayal.

In ancient Greek mythology, the almost omnipotent hero Cress did not fall at the hands of heroes and monsters, but died painfully because his wife Deianella gave him a poisoned garment.

Queen Elizabeth, who ruled Europe for decades and created Britain's golden age, did not lose on the battlefield, but lost her freedom and life due to the betrayal of her trusted nobles.

June 11, 1565, will be a day that history will remember.

In the port palace of Portsmouth, the Duke of Norfolk and the Earl of Northumberland, both native English nobles, led their soldiers into the small court that Queen Elizabeth had hastily assembled. After a fierce but brief struggle, the Duke of Norfolk, who had several thousand private soldiers, temporarily gained the upper hand.

Immediately afterwards, the Duke of Norfolk made a respectful "request" for Queen Elizabeth to visit the territory of the Queen of Scotland.

With most of the Spanish soldiers busy fighting the Scottish coalition and the palace sparsely guarded, Elizabeth I had no right to refuse this "request".

So even though Queen Elizabeth was furiously cursing and using every vicious word to condemn the Duke of Norfolk and the Earl of Northumberland for their betrayal, cursing them to go to hell, and vowing to make these traitors pay the price in the future, she was ultimately invited to a tower occupied by the Queen of Scots, where she was heavily guarded.

After this news spread, the morale of the British Navy collapsed.

They were fighting for Queen Elizabeth, who was commanded by God to rule England, but if even Queen Elizabeth had become a captive of the Queen of Scotland, then whose orders should they follow?

The British navy abandoned the attack, and the lowest-ranking sailors and soldiers returned to their ships, waiting for orders from their superiors, while the higher-ranking nobles and officers were also filled with anxiety.

They didn't know whether they should continue attacking the Scottish coalition or surrender to the Queen of Scots.

If the attack continues, whose orders and instructions should they follow? Apart from Queen Elizabeth, there are no other members of the Tudor family left. If they surrender, will these Englishmen, who have a generations-long feud with Scotland, really be treated well?

At the crucial moment, it was Duke Giese who seized the opportunity.

The shrewd Duke quickly sent a messenger to the Queen of Scots to explain the situation. He then dispatched a group of loud-voiced soldiers to the British naval ships, where they loudly proclaimed the Queen of Scots' policy of tolerance, swearing to God that if they surrendered, the Queen of Scots would not hold any past grudges against them, would treat every Englishman equally and fairly, and the nobles would retain their titles, wealth, and lands, and would never hold a grudge against them.

Because the Queen of Scots also had the blood of Henry VII and was born from her parents' legal marriage, she was the most legitimate heir to the Tudor dynasty!

"Her Majesty Mary's grandmother was the daughter of Henry VII, a true English princess of the purest bloodline. Her Majesty Mary's father was the nephew of Henry VIII, and Her Majesty also has English blood in her veins!"

The soldiers shouted this at the side of the ship, and brought out large quantities of milk, bread, and roast meat, swearing to God that as long as they threw down their weapons and surrendered, they could disembark and enjoy the food as they pleased without fear of being attacked.

The British soldiers, whose supplies had been cut off, were already starving. After only a few days, some soldiers from the small boats tentatively disembarked and began to eat and drink on the beach...

As for the nobles, they surrendered even faster.

Ultimately, they just changed the mistress of the house.

The Duke of Guise's actions undoubtedly shook the hearts of a large portion of the British people and also caused Secretary of State Cecil's plan to launch a counter-offensive to fail.

He had successfully organized the remaining English nobles to rescue Queen Elizabeth, but the Duke of Guise's words immediately demoralized the troops, making no soldier willing to fight on the battlefield.

The Spanish navy, even more valiant, was not fooled by the Duke of Guise's methods. However, the excommunication imposed on Queen Elizabeth by the Pope instilled fear in these devout Catholics.

Good heavens, that was the Pope's will.

If even the Pope has said that any action against Queen Elizabeth is righteous, and that helping Queen Elizabeth is a betrayal of Catholicism, then what exactly are they doing now?

She was a Protestant, no, she was a heretical queen. If we help her, aren't we betraying God?

Won't such behavior send us to hell after we die?!

Spanish soldiers whispered among themselves every night, their fighting strength greatly diminished. When news of the French attack on Spain arrived, it became the final straw for these soldiers, causing them to raise their sails and embark on the journey home.

No Spaniard would be willing to fight on foreign soil for a foreign queen when his homeland was being invaded and his parents and brothers were in danger of being killed by the French.

Moreover, she was a queen with heretical beliefs; helping her might prevent him from going to heaven after his death.

...

After everything had settled down, Mary went to see Elizabeth I.

It's a strange thing.

They had never met.

It was the same in their previous life. Although Mary and the Queen of England corresponded with each other, from the very beginning when they wrote down all the affectionate words on their letters, expressing their longing for each other, talking about their appreciation for each other and their importance to their family ties, to the end when she cursed Elizabeth and Elizabeth sent her to the guillotine without hesitation... they targeted each other their whole lives, but they never met once.

In this lifetime, her first meeting with Elizabeth I was to bring about the latter's death.

After arriving at the tower late at night, the Queen of Scots stood at the door for a while before going in to face her arch-enemy.

Although Elizabeth was captured, Mary made special arrangements regarding her living conditions. Queen Elizabeth requested that all furniture and household items be of the highest quality. Even if she wanted something to eat, she could simply give the order through the iron-barred gate, and a skilled cook would immediately prepare it and deliver it to her.

The chained and iron-barred gate opened, and Mary entered. Inside, she found Queen Elizabeth writing a letter with a quill pen, her head bowed. A bright candle sat beside her, casting a flickering light that illuminated her long red hair.

Elizabeth I also heard the noise. She gently placed the quill in the inkwell and looked up at the Queen of Scotland.

The queen had her red hair down, and she wasn't wearing the elaborate clothes that the artisans had meticulously sewn and adorned with jewels in her wardrobe. Her face wasn't covered with thick, white lead powder, revealing her true appearance.

It was a gentle, beautiful face with a graceful jawline and clear, bright eyes that Mary guessed were inherited from her mother, Anne Boleyn.

When she was first captured, all the regret, pain and despair seemed to have faded from the queen. In just a few days, she seemed to have calmed down and regained the composure and calmness that a queen should have, as if she were still ruling England in Whitehall Palace.

She even nodded to the Queen of Scots as she walked in.

"Although I have written to you many times, this is our first meeting, Queen of Scotland," Elizabeth said, her tone surprisingly calm.

“I thought you would react more violently when you saw me, maybe yell at me or throw something at me, I wouldn’t be surprised,” Mary said.

"When you become my prisoner and face death, will you be like a peasant, terrified and weeping, your legs so weak you can barely walk? If you won't, then neither will I. Your Majesty of Scotland, although we have never met before tonight, you are like another version of myself in a mirror. Perhaps this is the strange similarity brought about by blood ties..." Elizabeth said frankly.

The corners of her lips curled up slightly, as if mocking or disdainful, but ultimately it turned into a trace of sorrow in the face of an inescapable fate.

"...How ridiculous! The scene of me being crowned Queen amidst the blessings of countless people, ruling all of England, is still vivid in my mind, as if it were yesterday. At that time, I vowed to surpass my father, brother, and sister and become the greatest monarch of the Tudor family. But in the blink of an eye, less than ten years later, I have become your prisoner again, about to face the scythe of death," Elizabeth I said.

“It seems you’ve already guessed why I’m here tonight,” Mary said.

The Queen of Scots put down the glass bottle she had been clutching and placed it on Elizabeth's table.

There was only one thing in the bottle—arsenic.

It also has a more common name, arsenic.

This was extracted using tools in her previous Edinburgh, and its purity was extremely high. Even a tiny amount, the size of a pea, could be fatal. Moreover, the symptoms of arsenic poisoning were very similar to those of food poisoning, making it easier for Mary to find a plausible excuse for Queen Elizabeth's death.

Although no one in Europe would believe this excuse, sometimes politics needs such a fig leaf.

If Elizabeth I were a weak enemy, Mary wouldn't mind sparing her life, whether she was exiled to other European countries or imprisoned and pampered. Mary was willing to do either.

However, a figure like Elizabeth I should not be underestimated; letting her go would be tantamount to putting a scythe to one's own throat.

“Because if I were in your shoes, I would have done the same…” Elizabeth paused, then couldn’t help but ask, “…When did you start preparing poison for me?”

Faced with this outcome, Elizabeth, who had calmed down over the past few days, could only say that she had already guessed it.

If she were the one who won the war, Elizabeth would definitely have put Mary Stuart to death, given how dangerous the enemy was. Although she was used to being frugal, Elizabeth would not hesitate to spend a lot of money to give the Queen of Scots a grand funeral if it were someone like Mary Stuart.

“No, you may not believe it, but this is my first year back home, and this is what I prepared for myself,” the Queen of Scots said calmly.

From the very beginning, she was determined to fight Elizabeth with the resolve to die; if she could not win, then she would choose death.

However, there's no need to explain these things in such detail, and Queen Elizabeth I probably wouldn't be in the mood to listen anyway.

"But Queen of Scotland, you've come at the perfect time. I thought you wouldn't dare come to see me, so I was planning to write to you. Now that you're here in front of me, I can tell you my final wishes in person..." Elizabeth said, then suddenly clasped her hands in front of her and turned her head to look out the tower window.

She stayed here for a few days and learned that the sunrise from this window was the most magnificent view every morning. The rising sun would dye half the clouds in the sky with an ambiguous color, as beautiful as a young girl's cheeks or rose petals.

“The sunshine is so beautiful…” Elizabeth I murmured involuntarily.

Unfortunately, she would not be able to see the sunrise the next day.

After a long while, Elizabeth I continued with the main topic.

"First and foremost, I wish to place my remains in Westminster Abbey, in a marble tomb with my true sister Mary I, with the inscription: 'The union of kingdom and tomb, where we rest in peace, Elizabeth and Mary, awaiting rebirth.' Although she once tried to kill me, she was ultimately my sister, the only other person besides my mother who truly cared for me. Only by being buried with her can I find peace of mind."

"Secondly, I want a Protestant pastor to give me last prayers and arrange my funeral. This is not only because my throne is secured by Protestantism, but also because I have never believed in Catholicism. Unlike you, I feel disgusted by the Papacy from Rome. Even though I was born of a legal Catholic marriage, I will never accept such a corrupt faith."

"Finally, the country and the servants who truly worry me. I hope..." Queen Elizabeth looked up and gazed at me, "...that you will truly take good care of England, cherishing and loving this country as you would your own homeland or Scotland. Furthermore, to those servants who are loyal to me, please distribute a portion of my inheritance to them, so that the elderly and infirm may live in peace in their old age, and the young may be able to marry or have children with a generous bounty, living a peaceful and happy life in this world."

Mary listened silently, her thoughts swirling within her.

Elizabeth was truly a queen, a real and unparalleled queen.

Mary agreed to all of these requests.

After saying these words, Elizabeth I seemed to have lost all desire to communicate.

She didn't look at the Queen of Scots again, but walked to the cross, knelt down, closed her eyes, tightly grasped the rosary, and began to pray to God with utmost sincerity.

"Almighty and merciful God, you are compassionate and never refuse those who call upon you. You know my limitations and weaknesses. Facing the end of my life, I am filled with fear and reluctance. I ask you to have mercy on me in my dying moments, to reduce my physical, mental, and spiritual suffering, and to give me strength through your love so that I may peacefully complete my journey in this life and return to your embrace."

"—Amen."

In the dim, flickering candlelight, Elizabeth I made the sign of the cross on her chest, her calm, soft voice flowing quietly through the tower room like a stream.

Everything that needed to be said has been said, and the poison that needed to be delivered has been delivered.

Mary did not disturb Elizabeth's peaceful final moments any further. After quietly leaving, she had someone fetch a Protestant pastor and then boarded the carriage for the return journey.

"...Your Majesty, you're crying?!" Seton exclaimed in shock.

Mary, who had just settled down, reached up and wiped her cheek, only to realize that she had been crying without even noticing.

“Yes, yes, perhaps in your eyes this is the feigned mercy of jackals and vipers…” The Queen of Scots leaned her head against the carriage wall, slowly closed her eyes, and her voice, in the darkness, carried a deep weariness, “…but I truly feel sad.”

Her closest blood relative, her destined mortal enemy.

...

After Elizabeth I's funeral, Mary returned to London for the celebrations of her coronation as Queen of England.

In Westminster Abbey, the sounds of the organ and the cheers of the crowd echoed through the distant square. In the presence of nearly a thousand nobles, Mary bowed her head, applied holy oil, and once again formally donned the Crown of St. Edward.

Her title has changed once again; it is now "Mary I, by the grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Protector of the Faith".

"God save Queen Mary—!"

It's unclear who started shouting this, but soon the nobles began to cheer in unison, chanting "God bless Queen Mary!" This was a unique way of showing goodwill towards the new queen.

The summer sun shines through the stained glass windows of Westminster Abbey, casting beautiful colors on the white marble floor.

On both sides of the church, flower girls used all their strength to throw handfuls of petals into the sky without hesitation.

Mary raised her hand upwards, holding the sunlight in her palm.