She was dying.
It was a natural thing. Not because of any special illness or threat, but simply because the human body, not designed to live forever, was slowly coming to a halt.
Nevertheless, this realization was shocking to .
Sohow, the Queen always seed to radiate a heat that resisted death.
Because of this, even knowing it was impossible, I had been under the illusion that the Queen would live forever.
"You’re acting as if you’re seeing an old person for the first ti. Even though you’ve already seen several people depart."
"..."
And such inner thoughts of mine were clearly exposed to the Queen. The Queen smiled and said:
"Let answer again... your question about why I did it, as there are other things to address."
She pulled back her covers and moved her skinny legs to sit on the edge of the bed. Crossing her legs, she wrapped herself in dignity like armor, as if she had never been lying down like a patient.
"First of all, I wanted to crush my enemies."
"Ahem."
"...It seems my words lacked dignity. I apologize. Let correct myself. I wanted to defeat my enemies, trample them, and watch them crumble."
"..."
"It’s not that I particularly hated them. I just found it terrible that they targeted what was mine, my possessions, my power, and furthermore, . So I couldn’t leave my enemies alone."
With a body that’s about to die... you think such thoughts?
I inwardly stuck out my tongue. I wanted to applaud her.
It felt like reading one of those satisfying revenge stories that circulate on Twitter. Like watching the madness of soone who formats their work computer’s files and takes off when retiring.
’Wow, she’s actually doing it.’
Exactly that feeling.
If you replace retirent with farewell to life, it would be a perfect analogy. Her determination to feed her enemies one last bitter pill before departing was not just surprising but brilliant.
She herself seed quite pleased with her answer and smiled contentedly as she spoke:
"And it seems to have succeeded. Jas won’t be able to touch Ireland as he must guarantee its autonomy, and Spain has also suffered enormous losses. Good news for the Continental Covenant as well."
"..."
"I hard my enemies and helped my allies. What could be better than that?"
Is that so?
...No. That’s not it.
Of course, crushing enemies and helping allies is the basis of all politics. But there’s sothing more important than that.
"Your health has deteriorated."
Surviving is the basis of all human beings.
And she is Elizabeth Tudor. A person full of the will to survive sohow, who hates nothing more than harming her own body.
"...Ha! This old body won’t get much worse from a little movent anyway."
It was strange to hear such words from her lips.
The Queen wasn’t that kind of person.
...At least, that’s what I knew.
What I had known.
"What did that ’promise’ an?"
"..."
I had to ask.
And she answered.
"...I must have told you through Margaret before."
She grinned like a mischievous child.
"That I would repent before dying. Look."
She raised her now skinny arms to show .
"This is the body of soone about to die. So I tried to do so good before dying."
"..."
"So I ended the war."
It must have been a miserable war.
The war in Ireland, which would have been called the ’Nine Years’ War’ in the distant future, had now beco the ’20 Years’ War’.
"Their commander-in-chief... no, the one who has now beco the King of Ireland, told to rember those I killed. So I said I would. I decided to rember the fact that I have killed so many."
"..."
"I have lived shedding so much blood."
Elizabeth said, widening her eyes.
"I did it because I wanted to live. No, I did it because I didn’t want to die. As more blood stained my hands, death beca more terrifying. I wasn’t attached to life. I was avoiding death."
The blood vessels in her eyes beca prominent. Her fists clenched tight.
"...I’m still afraid of dying."
Afraid of going to hell.
"I don’t want to go to hell. The thought of eternal flas engulfing makes it impossible to sleep."
"...Is that so?"
"It is. So tell , naless one."
She stared directly at . She raised her hand to grasp my arm.
"Can I... be saved?"
She maintained her mischievous smile while widening her eyes and holding my arm. The strength with which she held my arm was so weak. But I knew it was all the strength she could muster.
She asked again.
"Will I go to heaven?"
I... stood there, wondering what to tell her.
And I told the truth.
"I don’t know."
"..."
"Only God knows. So don’t worry about it."
The Queen smiled at my words.
"That’s the answer I wanted."
"..."
And she lay back down on the bed as if collapsing. Her face looked more peaceful, and her eyes were closing as if drowsiness was overwhelming her.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
We were silent for a mont.
"...Going to Ireland, stopping the war there."
She spoke as if talking in her sleep.
"Because of that... I don’t think I can go to heaven. It’s ridiculous to believe that my misdeeds would be cleared just because I stopped a war that I started..."
"Then, why did you do it?"
"..."
The Queen covered her eyes. And spoke again.
"...It bothered ."
"..."
"Shouldn’t one be free of bothers at the end of life?"
"I see. But wouldn’t staying here also bother you? This isn’t your holand, is it?"
"No."
Her tone suddenly beca clear.
"The place where one feels comfort... is holand."
"..."
"Thank you. For making comfortable..."
"..."
With those words, she fell asleep. I could hear her lightly snoring.
I covered the Queen of England with a blanket and went outside. Margaret, who had been waiting, bowed her head and asked:
"How is Her Majesty...?"
Her tone was worried. She wasn’t asking about her physical condition. After all, she was a physician with experience.
"...She seed peaceful. Dignified."
At my answer, Margaret smiled with a sigh of relief. I greeted her and left the Queen’s mansion.
A week later, the Queen died.
It was drizzling that day.
==
The Queen’s death ant the change of England’s dynasty.
From Tudor to Stuart.
Now Jas beca the sole monarch of Britain. (Though in Ireland, he was a joint monarch.)
And a change in dynasty ant a change in the responsible party.
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