Chapter 9
Mary asked in French, the official language of Europe, "What's your name?"
“Albert Dest,” the young man said in French as well.
Albert is an Italian name.
The names and surnames of nobles and royalty throughout Europe are countless, more complex than a spider web. Coupled with the transfer of territories and the extinction of noble families, no one except experts specializing in surnames and heraldry can glean anything from a single name.
But the surname Dessert does sound somewhat familiar.
Mary pondered for a moment, then remembered that it was the surname of the Duke of Ferrara in Italy, because in her previous life, the Duke of Ferrara had proposed to her.
"What is your relationship with the Duke of Ferrara in Italy?" Mary asked him, switching to Italian.
She received a perfect lady's education at the French court, and learned five languages: French, Latin, Greek, Spanish, and Italian. In addition, she learned English and the native Scottish language, which was enough for her to converse fluently with anyone on the European continent.
Albert hesitated almost imperceptibly for a moment, then said frankly, "By blood, he is my cousin, but I am from an insignificant collateral branch, possessing only a knighthood. Apart from sharing a surname, I have no relation to that noble duke now."
Mary nodded, then asked, "As an Italian nobleman, how did you come to such a faraway place?"
Albert fell silent, seemingly unsure of the right words to describe the situation. After a long pause, he said somewhat awkwardly, “You are my savior, Your Majesty, so I have no intention of hiding anything from you and must tell you the truth. I am no longer a knight; I am just an ordinary man. The Duke of Ferrara stripped me of my title and lands. I cannot continue to live in Italy, so I wanted to go to England to see if I could find a position and a salary… I never expected to encounter such a disaster on my first shipwreck. Thank God, I was fortunate enough to meet you.”
Mary raised an eyebrow, walked to a chair in the room and sat down, but did not indicate that Albert Durst could sit down, instead leaving him standing in front of her.
“It’s just a small favor. I’m willing to help any innocent person who is in trouble, provided that the person is truly innocent. You didn’t encounter pirates at sea, but mercenaries. An ordinary Italian wouldn’t attract the attention of professional mercenaries to harm him,” Mary said calmly.
Albert, sensing Mary's suspicion, knelt on one knee and bowed earnestly, saying, "Your Majesty, I swear to the Lord, the person you rescued at sea was absolutely not a despicable villain. I was stripped of my title because I was unfortunately implicated in some of my family's conspiracies, and then incurred the wrath of the Duke of Ferrara. Given my oath to keep this secret, please forgive me for not being able to tell you everything. Furthermore, I am willing to swear on my life that I am innocent. If one day you discover that I have committed any unforgivable crime, then please take my life immediately, and I will have no objection. As for those mercenaries…"
At this point, Albert gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"...As for those mercenaries from Switzerland, I think they probably thought I was dead. Even if I wasn't, I wasn't worth enough for Duke Ferrara to hunt me down for long. Seeing me looking like a pathetic stray dog, the Duke should have already calmed down."
Mary hoped he was telling the truth, but it didn't matter if he wasn't; a penniless, down-on-his-luck Italian nobleman couldn't do her any harm.
Mary then asked him about his plans for the future.
Albert stated frankly that he originally intended to go to London, but since God's will had brought him directly to Scotland, he would rather ask the Queen of Scots to grant him a minor position, and he would repay Mary with all his loyalty for the rest of his life.
“In that case, after you’ve recovered from your injuries, go find Boswell,” Mary said.
She remembered Boswell mentioning that the Italian was skilled with both guns and swords, and if that was true, then taking him in as a bodyguard wouldn't be a bad idea.
...
Mary sat at her desk and carefully read the entire book, "The First Horn Against the Horrible Rule of Women."
This book, with its long title, is just as tedious and long-winded as its content. The author goes on and on, citing scriptures and classics from all aspects of God, religion, social customs, ethics, and history, rambling on for an entire book, only to express one core idea: that women are not worthy of wearing crowns or ruling a country, otherwise they will only lead the entire country into an abyss of sin.
This book is blatantly aimed at her.
The author of this book is John Knox, the current Protestant leader in Scotland, an extreme Calvinist pastor who makes veiled sarcasm at Mary almost daily during his sermons.
He was also Scottish, but his former religious teacher, George Wishart, had been burned at the stake for heresy for opposing the rule of Mary's mother, Queen Mother Guise. John Knox, who witnessed his teacher's burning, embarked on a journey of escape. He was first captured by the French during the war and suffered as a slave. Later, he went to London and worked as a priest under Edward VIII, a Protestant. Unfortunately, his good fortune did not last long. The frail and sickly Edward died of tuberculosis, and the king who succeeded him was Mary I, an extreme Catholic, which forced John Knox to once again embark on a journey of escape.
This time, he fled to Geneva, Switzerland, where he was deeply moved by Calvin's sermons and became a complete Calvinist fanatic. He then returned to his homeland of Scotland to preach, and because of his persuasive nature, he had already gained a large number of fervent supporters in Edinburgh in just over a year.
Mary had calculated the year; the war that led to his unfortunate enslavement by the French was the same war in which the crown princes of England and France fought over her as their fiancée. The Protestant organization that he had been eagerly establishing in Scotland—the Presbyterian Church of Scotland—was already taking shape, but because of Mary's return to England as a Catholic, the situation in the country was being observed and the project was once again put on hold.
There is absolutely no possibility of reconciliation between these old and new grudges.
She and this man were destined to be mortal enemies.
Unfortunately, to prevent a Protestant uprising, Mary could not directly deal with him and could not exercise her royal power, so she simply ordered him to be thrown onto the guillotine.
After finishing the book, Mary put it aside, then dipped a quill in ink and carefully wrote John Knox's name on a piece of white paper.
By candlelight, Mary rested her chin on her hand and looked at the name for a moment. Then she picked up another quill pen with red ink and gently scribbled across John Knox's name.
“Go and fetch Boswell for me,” Mary ordered.
Boswell arrived quickly and asked, "Your Majesty, what are your orders for me in this late hour?"
Casual conversation was out of the question. Every time this young emperor saw him, he would either issue orders or discuss military matters; there was no nonsense to be had.
At first, Boswell was a little uncomfortable with the cold, businesslike atmosphere. After all, she was a young and beautiful woman, and in his past memories, she was always associated with flirting, drinking, and having fun—that was normal. But then he thought, she was, after all, a queen, so it wasn't surprising that she had this kind of demeanor.
"How well are my guards trained? Are they adapted to the Scottish climate and lifestyle, having previously served in France?" Mary asked.
“Very good, Your Majesty. France is rich, but everyone longs to return to their homeland, and besides, the salary and benefits you offer are no less than those in France. I assure you, they are loyal soldiers who would risk their lives to protect you in any war,” Boswell said.
Mary nodded and said, "I'll need them to do their job soon, Boswell. If you were faced with a mob of hundreds storming the chapel at Holyrood Palace, could you control them without taking lives?"
"Although we only have a hundred men, what can untrained civilians do? They'd be scared out of their wits if we just brandished our swords. We could easily take three times that number," Boswell said nonchalantly.
“Then I’m relieved. I will be holding a Catholic sacrament at Holyrood Palace this Sunday. There’s a lot of Protestant influence in Edinburgh right now, and there’s a fanatical leader. To prevent any accidents during Mass, I hope you can lead the group to guard the area in a secluded corner of the palace and try not to be discovered, so as not to frighten the priest who is holding Mass,” Mary instructed.
"Of course, I will do as you say."
Boswell obeyed orders, but a sense of confusion arose in his mind.
Such preparations were less about preventing sabotage and more about deliberately setting a trap. Who was the Queen of Scotland in front of him planning to deal with?
But who cares?
Any underhanded schemes or tricks are nothing to him; they will only submit to his soldiers and fists. They are utterly useless. Whatever Queen Mary wants to do, he will simply carry it out.
With that thought in mind, Boswell rolled up his sleeves, hummed a little tune, and strode out of the Queen's study.
...
The Scottish Guards are not the guards of Scotland.
This statement may sound difficult to understand, but it is true.
In the early 20th century, King Charles I of Scotland organized a large number of longbowmen to form the Scottish Guards, which were quite effective in killing enemies on the battlefield. However, they were soon disbanded because the army could not be maintained. The King of France took a liking to the guards and funded their revival, retaining the name Scottish Guards, but they were now the king's private army.
Boswell went to France to seek refuge, and because of his Scottish background, he was appointed as the deputy captain of the Scottish Guard by Mary's former father-in-law, Henry II. Later, when Mary was about to return to England, she asked him to try to recruit some people and form his own small armed force of about one hundred men.
This is the maximum amount of money Mary can afford to support without affecting her daily life.
It sounds like a joke that a king can only afford to support a hundred elite soldiers on a daily basis, but it is the reality of Mary's current situation.
Scotland's poverty was no joke. It was common for nobles to underpay or not pay taxes at all. Abbeies and churches that owned large amounts of land were exempt from taxes altogether. The royal family's publicly known liquid assets amounted to only about 10,000 sheep, making it quite difficult to maintain the normal expenses and dignity of Holyrood Palace.
As for the money she had saved in private, her father, James V, had entrusted all his personal savings to his son, the Earl of Maurice, before his death. The huge dowry brought by her mother and the former French princess also contributed a lot to the national treasury during the years of regency. The rest was all swept away by the Earl of Maurice, who arrived in time, leaving Mary with only some large pieces of furniture, tapestries, and jewelry that could not be sold.
As Mary flipped through the account books, she couldn't help but think that her greatest gain from being Queen of France for over a year, besides the precious jewelry she brought back, was probably the annual annuity of about 1,200 pounds.
According to French etiquette, she could continue to receive her annuity as long as she, the former queen, lived.
...
Soon, it was time for Sunday Mass.
This was the first time the Queen of Scots had openly held a Catholic ceremony since returning home, and it deserved to be taken seriously. With subtle encouragement, the news quickly spread throughout Edinburgh.
It also reached John Knox's ears.
Inside the church, the bearded, elderly pastor trembled with anger at the news, pacing back and forth on the platform as he spoke.
"This is Satan's Mass! This is Satan's Mass!"
"The witches from France, one left and another came, and once again they ruled our country, openly welcoming those heretics who practiced idolatry back to our peaceful nation, leaving God silent in heaven and saints weeping in heaven!"
“My believers, if you are devout followers of the Lord, you should stop this Mass!”
Because of Pastor Knox's vehement rebuke, the crowd listening to his sermon suddenly erupted into whispers among themselves. The sounds echoed like muffled thunder in the dark church, fueling a silent surge of anger.
“I ask you all here, from ancient times to the present, has there ever been a woman sitting on the throne? Has there ever been a woman wielding great power? If such a thing were to happen, it would surely be the beginning of a national disaster! 1 Timothy says that a woman should learn quietly and submit to the word, that is what a good woman should do. But now in Scotland, it is completely the opposite, a woman sitting on the throne and doing whatever she pleases!”
"Has that young and beautiful woman not brought enough disaster to our nation? When she was born, King James V died of a serious illness. When she was still an infant, England invaded our country for her sake, plundering our property and killing our men. When she was five years old, England and France fought again on our soil, turning our cities into ruins. Just last year, because that woman dared to place the English crown on her own head, she brought us another senseless war! Ah, when have we not shed rivers of blood? When have we not been scarred?"
"Think about it, who among those who have been involved with her has ever had a good ending? Her father died, her mother died, her father-in-law and husband died. As long as one gets close to that Queen Mary, it is the beginning of an unfortunate fate!"
"That corrupt papacy from Rome uses lies to firmly bind the tickets to heaven, allowing the rich and arrogant nobles to happily go to heaven, while we poor people can only go to hell after death. Is this fair? Now we have finally come to understand the true meaning of God and can speak to the Lord through pure faith, but all of this is about to be destroyed!"
"That seemingly beautiful witch is about to start idol worship again, and we cannot sit idly by; we must nip it all in the bud!"
Yes, we must stop this from happening, otherwise they will never have a chance to go to heaven!
As John Knox spoke with great fervor, the Protestants' pent-up anger finally boiled over, overpowering their fear of offending the monarch and storming the palace. These devout Protestants cursed the heretical faith from Rome, gathered together, and charged toward Holyrood Palace outside Edinburgh!
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