"I believe that the education that I received in the French court is perfect enough and I don't need to study more. As for ruling Scotland..." Mary Stuart turns around and holds Earl Moray's hand, and says sincerely, "...James, my dear half-brother, in the past few years, I really thank you for handling Scottish affairs on my behalf, so that I don't have to worry about my homeland when I am in the French court."
He, is just a substitute when the monarch is absent.
Hearing Mary Stuart say this, Earl Moray's bad mood can hardly be concealed. After a long pause, he continues to say, "No need to thank me, this is also my country, and we also have the noble blood of our father, James V."
"It's a pity that although my father and Lady Margaret Erskine are deeply in love, they never entered the marriage hall. In the end, the only wives he recognized by the Lord are my mother and the French princess who died early." Mary Stuart says calmly and meaningfully.
This is definitely a demonstration to him!
Who does she think she is? A little girl who just returned home and knows nothing about Scotland, she can only show off her power by relying on her bloodline!
The tall Earl of Mori grits the teeth, and uses all his patience to stop himself from saying bad words, and then says goodbye to Mary Stuart as gracefully as possible.
When Earl Mori leaves the Queen's bedroom, his face gets so bad that he couldn't hide it, which makes Seton, who listens to the conversation between the Queen and her brother, tremble.
As soon as the Earl of Mori leaves, Seton says boldly, "Your Majesty, I dare not question your decision, but you just returned to the country, and you confront Earl Mori like this, which may cause a fight between us."
"He just wants me to be a puppet doll on the throne, and I need to take back the rights and wealth that I am supposed to have. The fight between us is inevitable... Go to sleep, Seton, I have to visit Edinburgh and attend the parliament tomorrow, and I need enough sleep to replenish my energy." Mary Stuart says calmly.
Outside the window, as the dead branches gradually burn out, the bonfires die out one after another, and the dancing and singing civilians gradually disappear, returning to their small homes in Edinburgh to prepare for the next day's work.
Mary Stuart, who has just arrived in Scotland, has a lot of work to do, such as sending off the guests from France, opening the Scottish Parliament, summoning the more than 20 earls and lords who really hold power in Scotland one by one, and begin to try to ease the most important issue at the moment.
Religious issues.
The current Scottish citizens and most of the nobles believe in Protestantism, while the peasants in the village and a small number of nobles still adhere to the old Catholic faith, and the two sides are almost incompatible in their struggle for this.
However, Mary Stuart, as a monarch, believes in Catholicism and just stands opposite most of the nobles who hold the main power, and certainly is rejected by them.
At the first parliament, Mary Stuart takes the lead in expressing her goodwill and announces to everyone that the lords and civilians would have freedom of belief from now on, which receives unanimous cheers.
"Then, Your Majesty, do you want to give up the evil faith from Rome and convert to Protestantism - that is, our sect that truly adheres to God's true will?" Earl Moray stands up in the parliament and asks in front of everyone.
This sentence tears apart the peaceful atmosphere after Mary Stuart returns to Scotland.
"Yes, Your Majesty, this is also the question I want to know?" Earl Alan also stands up and says.
"Are you willing to have the same faith as us, your most loyal ministers?" Lord Rutherford says then.
"The popes and agents of the Roman Catholic Church who only know corruption and bribery should have fallen into hell long ago. Only because of pure faith can we truly approach our Lord, Your Majesty, what do you think?" Morton Douglas says.
The most spacious hall in Holyrood Palace gets silent.
Under the eyes of Earl Moray, slowly, the Protestant lords and earls on both sides of the long table stand up one after another, and cast their expectant eyes on the queen who is sitting at the top.
The few nobles who still maintain their Catholic faith are also cautious and do not come forward, but secretly hope that the queen would stick to her position.
Sitting at the head of the long table, Mary Stuart crosses her fingers on the table and clasps them tightly. Her expression is very calm, but she begins to have a headache, in fact.
All the lords look at her, waiting for the queen to express her opinion.
The previous queen of England, Mary I, have burned 300 Protestants to death, which fully demonstrated how terrible the consequences would be when the nobles and the monarch deviated in religious beliefs.
And their Queen Mary of Scotland does not seem to be much better.
She grew up and received education in the French court where all believe in Catholicism. Her mother and uncle were members of the Guise family who extremely supported Catholicism. Naturally, she also became a Catholic and was said to be extremely pious. Even though she has just allowed the lords to have freedom of belief, things are unpredictable, and no one can guarantee that this order will not be reversed in the future.
So it is better to let the queen convert to Protestantism and solve the future troubles once and for all.
Does she want to convert to Protestantism?
Before returning home, Mary has carefully thought about this issue in private, and finally decided to give up.
This is not to say that she is very devout to Catholicism, although she was very devout in her previous life. Until the moment before being beheaded, she did not hesitate to refuse the Protestant priest to give her the last sacraments, but died on the guillotine while reciting the Catholic doctrine.
But while she is Mary Stuart, she is also another ordinary person from modern times. The scientific knowledge that has been instilled after more than ten years of learning has made her almost doubt the existence of God.
She still respects Catholicism and the Lord, but it is just respect.
Now she believes in Catholicism more out of political considerations.
If she converts to Protestantism, she will not only ease her relationship with the nobles, but also indirectly recognize the legality of Elizabeth I's parents' marriage, making herself lose the biggest support for impacting the throne of England.
As long as she insists on believing in Catholicism, the Vatican and the Guise family will always be her invisible allies, and although the religious reform is in full swing, she will also have many supporters in the European continent, which is still dominated by Catholicism.
Mary Stuart looks around and says coldly in next moment,
"Please be careful, my Lords. The Roman Catholic Church certainly has its shortcomings, but God's agent on earth cannot be easily insulted!
In the decree I just issued, freedom of belief is granted to all people in Scotland, including me, who can freely believe in Catholicism.
And I have no intention of abandoning my devout faith since childhood.
I respect the Protestant beliefs of the Lords present here, and allow you to hold all kinds of new masses and sacraments. On the contrary, from now on, everyone present is supposed to not find excuses to prevent the Catholic Mass from being held, or to provoke other Catholics in the country, or to force them to convert."
After speaking such a long paragraph in one breath, Mary Stuart pauses, makes a cross on her chest, and begins to call out names according to her memory.
"Earl Alan, do you agree with me?" Mary Stuart asks firstly.
As a Protestant, Earl Alan indeed doesn't understand why he the Queen pays special attention to him, with the presence of Earl Moray and Maitland Lytton, but he has no courage to be the first to speak out.
"Of course, Your Majesty." Earl Alan says vaguely.
"Then please sit down again." Mary Stuart says, and after Earl Alan sits down, she looks at the next person.
"Lord Rutherford, don't you agree with the freedom of religion that I promulgated?"
"I have no such intention, Your Majesty." Lord Rutherford, who also does not dare to be the first to speak out either, immediately says, and at Mary Stuart's request, he also sits back in his seat.
"Lord Hintley, what about you?" Mary Stuart asks.
"I'm the same as everyone else."
Lord Hintley is even more vague, not clearly expressing his agreement or opposition, but he hurriedly sits down before Mary Stuart could speak.
Mary Stuart calls out the names one by one and asks the lords to sit down one by one. Finally, only Earl Mori, who is closest to the queen, is left standing on both sides of the long table.
He does not step back temporarily under the displeasure of the young queen like other nobles, and no longer entangles in religious issues, but still stands there. On his face covered by a beard, he could faintly see a mixture of arrogance and disdain. When he looks at Mary Stuart, it is like looking at a child trying to pretend to be an adult.
Earl Mori does have such capital. Whether it is wealth, army, or prestige among other nobles, Mary Stuart, who is just a name, is far inferior to him now.
"What do you want to say to me, Your Majesty?" Earl Mori says calmly.