Chapter 55
When Mary finally made up her mind after hearing Seton's words and asked Queen Catherine the Queen Mother to let her leave, she could clearly see that the Queen Mother's expression had relaxed considerably.
This Medici woman, who had changed from the cautious and prudent manner she had displayed during Henry II's reign to the haughty and dignified demeanor nurtured by power, even gave Marie Antoinette her first smile since arriving in Paris.
Although the smile was fleeting, at least it counted as a smile.
“Mary, I wish you a safe journey to the Duchy of Lorraine, and may the friendship between France and Scotland endure, and may the old alliance remain as precious as gold,” said Queen Catherine the Queen Mother.
“That is also my wish…” Hearing that Queen Catherine didn’t even offer the most polite words of retention, Mary knew all too well how disliked she was, but she still gritted her teeth and said sincerely, “…Your Majesty, please believe me, no matter how frivolous and arrogant I have been in the past, how many times I have offended you, and how much unpleasantness has occurred between us, in the depths of my soul, Scotland is the legacy left to me by my ancestors, and Paris and the Louvre are my true homeland and home.”
“In my heart, François is my eternal husband. I will never love anyone like him again. Until I return to the embrace of God and Heaven, the only husband I will ever acknowledge is him. Charles IX and Margaret will always be my dearest brother and sister. You will always be François’s mother and my respected elder.”
"I heard that you intend to set a wedding date for Charles IX and Archduchess Elizabeth of Austria. I think I should congratulate you in advance. This will be a perfect marriage witnessed by God."
At this point, Mary took a few steps back, slightly bent her knees, and presented her hands to Queen Catherine the Queen Mother in the manner of a junior bowing to an elder, her expression naturally revealing a hint of sadness.
“…This sudden visit to the French royal family is truly due to my overwhelming longing. I want to see François one last time, even if it's just to kiss his coffin, Charles IX… I'm sorry, but it was just a young man's sudden impulse. I hope you and I can both forget about it soon,” Marie said, unusually lowering her posture and head.
These words, half sincere and half insincere, were deliberately spoken by Mary to Queen Catherine the Queen Mother.
Firstly, Britain and France have a century-long history of enmity. From a personal perspective, Elizabeth I had no connection whatsoever with the French royal family, yet this Queen of Scots was so attached to France, regarding it as her true homeland. Furthermore, her mother's relatives were prominent French nobles with whom she maintained close and friendly relations.
Secondly, since she will never remarry, given the extremely small size of the Scottish royal family, a hundred years from now, it's possible that the Scottish throne and the right to inherit the British throne—this most important legacy—will be transferred to the rightful heir of the Queen's husband.
Finally, Marie subtly explained that she had no intention of "seducing" Charles IX and becoming Queen of France again.
Mary wasn't sure how much use her words would be, but it was better than doing nothing.
Hopefully, this can reverse the negative impact caused by Charles IX, slightly improve Queen Catherine's favor towards him, and prevent her from continuing to hesitate in this power struggle for the throne, thus preventing her from slowly leaning towards Elizabeth.
Faced with such seemingly sincere sweet words, Queen Catherine the Queen Mother was initially unimpressed. When the Queen of Scots mentioned her son, the King, her eyes revealed a hint of wariness and hostility. However, after Mary blessed the marriage alliances with France and Austria, her expression softened somewhat.
Queen Catherine looked her up and down and said suspiciously, "...Mary, I hope what you say is what you think. Don't be like a viper, spewing honey from your mouth but dripping venom from your fangs. I have already lost one son and do not want to lose another. Otherwise, even if you are far away in Scotland, I will make you pay the price."
“I understand… I will not visit the Louvre again without your permission, Your Majesty. I am about to leave, and I only hope to have a pleasant farewell to you,” Marie said as sincerely as possible.
Queen Catherine the Queen Mother frowned, but since things had come to this point, she couldn't afford to offend the Queen of Scotland. Besides, seeing the once proud young queen so humble was not without her own displeasure. So she said, "...Well, the Lord teaches us to be forgiving, Mary, so I don't want to hold your past against you anymore, and I hope it all ends here."
Hopefully, the French royal family will never have any further dealings with the Queen of Scots.
She didn't want a daughter-in-law like that again at all.
...
No matter how furious Charles IX was upon hearing the news that "Queen of Scots was bidding farewell to France and leaving to visit the Duchy of Lorraine," and how much of a commotion he caused by arguing with his mother and making a scene at the Louvre, it did not change the fact that the Queen of Scots had left France to visit the Duchy of Lorraine.
Just as Mary said, this little king, who had no real power, was only influential within the court and was merely his mother's puppet. He had no say in making decisions on important political matters.
While Charles IX was arguing with his mother, Mary had once again forged and changed her identity. Accompanied by her bodyguard Albert, secretary David Lijo, and maid Seton, she rode at full speed to Rome under the guise of a glass mirror merchant, intending to visit the Pope.
Of course, on the surface, the Queen of Scots's carriage was ostentatiously parked in the castle of the Duchy of Lorraine, where she spent her days riding and hunting with her cousins. With the help of her uncle, the Duke of Guise, no nobles suspected the Queen's whereabouts.
Unfortunately, the Queen of Scots arrived at a very inopportune time, coinciding with the papal election...
“Your Majesty, we have come at a very inopportune time,” David Leechow murmured, his expression filled with despair.
He stood at the window, looking down at the chaotic city of Rome.
Robbers were busy extorting, thieves were busy stealing, fruit vendors' stalls were overturned, dirty apples and grapes were scattered all over the ground, rolling around on the stone slabs, and were quickly snatched away by beggars and disabled children. Even the prostitutes that were once ubiquitous in Rome no longer solicited customers indiscriminately, but instead carefully hid in small buildings to avoid trouble.
From day to night, crime and violence can be seen everywhere in Rome. If there is a fire, it is not a warm light, but a house that has been deliberately set on fire.
Further away, outside the Sistine Chapel, thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square, kneeling on the ground and pounding on the bronze doors of the electoral hall, pleading with a cardinal's guard to come forward and restore order to Rome, to stop the rampant robbers and thieves, or for God to perform a miracle so that their next Holy Father could be elected immediately to end this chaotic period and allow them to live normal lives.
Clearly, God had taken a nap and hadn't heard these prayers.
The exchange of favors inside the election hall continued at a snail's pace, causing black smoke to billow from the chimney atop the cathedral again and again, instead of the white smoke that symbolized the birth of a new pope, gradually wearing down the patience of the people in St. Peter's Square.
“My God, this is not Rome, it’s Sodom and Gomorrah!” Seton said angrily, covering the lower half of his face with a handkerchief.
Even Mary, who had heard that Rome was never very safe during papal elections, was surprised to see all of this.
Of all the people, only Albert, a native Italian, was not surprised by the chaos in Rome these past few days, but rather offered an explanation that was somewhat awkward and embarrassing.
“It wasn’t like this before. Rome usually has guards to maintain justice and order, but the cardinals are currently busy electing a new pope, so they don’t punish crimes in Rome. This year is a bit special…” Albert said.
"To be precise, those cardinals aren't busy electing a new pope, but rather busy having their guards threaten each other, or exchanging notes promising various vineyards and gold coins in exchange for other people's votes..." Mary said sarcastically.
Every time an old pope dies and a new pope is elected, the Romans experience this period of bad luck.
Perhaps due to the butterfly effect, Pius IV, who was supposed to die this December, fell seriously ill several months earlier than expected. The old man returned to God's embrace, and the Medici family lost a pope. While the cardinals mourned their holy father, they quickly began the next papal election.
This is a huge undertaking, usually lasting nearly a month, during which time Rome will be left unmanaged and chaos will ensue.
The elderly people who had lived in this city for many years would wisely pack their bags immediately and drive their carriage to the countryside for refuge whenever they heard the news of the Pope's death.
“David, the time has come for you to serve me. After the new pope is elected, I need you to introduce him to me,” the Queen of Scots said, turning around.
David Lich—this secretary has long been paid by both the Scottish court and the Vatican, and Mary has always turned a blind eye to it, all for this purpose today.
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