Unexpectedly, the Queen does not speak harshly to him like to others just now, but turns her body and says in a kind tone as if nothing has happened,
"Even if there is anything I want to say, it is just a family matter. My dear brother, we are blood relatives who rely on each other after all. Well, please sit down, don't mention the things that have been decided again and again, let's talk about other things, such as how about having dinner with me at Holliday Palace tonight?"
This is an invisible surrender and show of goodwill. The corners of the Earl of Moray's mouth curler up secretly, knowing that the Queen does not have the courage to tear her face with him after all, but has to rely on him to sit firmly on the throne surrounded by wolves.
In this case, he is supposed to also give the Queen face accordingly.
"Of course, it is my honor to have dinner with you." Earl Moray says, slowly pulling out the chair behind him and sitting down again.
"I hope that from now on, there will be no more bloody conflicts in Scotland because of religious issues." Mary Stuart concludes at last.
Of course, this is nonsense.
After the business is over, at the Queen's suggestion, everyone starts chatting with each other. Although there are some hostile families fighting each other, the cold atmosphere is swept away.
In addition, there are several nobles who are eager to get to know the new queen, such as Earl Mar, who enthusiastically invites Mary Stuart to hunt in their territory.
Looking at the atmosphere in the hall that gets re-harmonious, Mary Stuart sighs inconspicuously.
Her faith problem is actually not solved at all, but is temporarily put aside to maintain superficial peace.
If she encounters anyone with ulterior motives, such as Elizabeth in London who secretly instigates, then this hidden danger would most likely erupt again.
But now, she truly has no better way to solve it.
The second-in-command of the Scottish nobles, Maitland, who is watching Earl Moray's good show very enthusiastically, also covers his smile at this time, joins the nobles' chat, and invites the queen to his castle to attend the masquerade.
As a mortal enemy who has always been fighting for power with Earl Moray, Maitland begins to consider whether to express his loyalty to Queen Mary Stuart in private in order to gain greater benefits.
Although he is also a Protestant, he believes in Protestantism only because he could get the benefits of the monastery by believing in Protestantism. As for the difference between Protestantism and Catholicism, Maitland actually doesn't care at all and could accept a Catholic mistress.
If the queen and her half-brother are at odds for a long time, Maitland would be very happy to be the knife that could chop Earl Moray and then cut off a few pieces of meat to eat.
…
When this long parliament finally ends successfully and the lords take off their hats and say goodbye one by one, Mary. Livingston pushes open the door of Mary Stuart's study and smiles and whispers,
"Your Majesty, the sun god Apollo you saved at sea has woken up."
"Which Apollo?
There were too many things after returning home. Mary Stuart is stunned for a moment before she remembers the episode on the ship and the impressive face of the young man.
Thinking of the strange situation on the sunken ship and the dead crew members, Mary Stuart feels that she has to ask the survivor in person.
"Take me to see him." Mary Stuart says seriously.
Lifting up the long skirt to lead the way for the queen, Mary Livingston talks nonstop,
"The servants have been following your instructions and feeding him boiled water mixed with sugar and salt when he was unconscious. Although I don't know what this is for, his health is indeed getting better. In fact, he woke up once on the boat, but after we got off the boat, we rushed all the way and made him fall into a coma and fever again. It was not until today that he got better. On the boat that day, he seemed to really regard Your Majesty as an angel, saying that an angel covered in black gauze appeared in the glory and led his soul to heaven. I explained several times that he was still in the world and it was the Queen of Scotland who saved him. Only then did he reluctantly believe it. How romantic it is..."
Young noble women always yearn for romantic legends. This handsome young man who survived the shipwreck is tantamount to adding a touch of bright colors to their boring lives. These days, Four maids often discussed his origins in private, and even made such an outrageous guess that he was a prince in distress.
Mary Stuart doesn't know what the maid beside her is thinking. She is actually more concerned about the true identity of the young man than the romantic fantasy.
"Your Majesty, we're here." Mary Livingston says.
Mary pushes the door open and sees the survivor leaning against the bed in a loose white shirt, with a pale sick face, but in good spirits.
Seeing Mary Stuart come in, he quickly stands up, his brown eyes bright and burning, and then bows to Mary Stuart.
"Thank you for taking my life back from the hands of death, your Majesty the Queen of Scotland."
Mary Stuart then asks, "What's your name?"
"Albert Deste." The young man answers.
Albert is an Italian name.
The names and surnames of the nobles and princes throughout Europe are countless, more complicated than spider webs, plus the transfer of various territories and the extinction of noble families. Except for experts who specialize in surnames and heraldry, no one can hear anything from a name.
But the surname Deste still sounds familiar.
Mary Stuart thinks about it for a while and remembers that it is the surname of the Duke of Ferrara in Italy, because the Duke of Ferrara came to propose to her in her previous life.
"What is your relationship with the Duke of Ferrara in Italy?" Mary Stuart asks him in Italian.
She received a perfect lady education in the French court. She learned five languages, including French, Latin, Greek, Spanish and Italian, plus English and local Scottish, which was enough for her to communicate fluently with anyone on the European continent.
Albert hesitates for a moment, then says frankly,
"In terms of blood relationship, he is my cousin, but I am an insignificant branch, with only the title of a knight. Apart from sharing a common surname, I have no relationship with the noble duke now."
Mary Stuart nods and asks again, "As an Italian noble, how did you come to such a far place?"
Albert gets silent, as if he doesn't know what words to use to describe it. After a long while, he says awkwardly,
"You are my savior, Your Majesty, so I have no intention of hiding anything from you, so I have to tell you frankly. Now I am no longer a knight, but just an ordinary person. The Duke of Ferrara deprived me of my title and land property. I can't continue to live in Italy, so I want to go to England to see if I can seek a position and salary. ... I didn't expect to encounter a disaster in the first shipwreck. Thank God, I have the honor of meeting you."
Mary Stuart raises her eyebrows and walks to the chair in the room and sits down, but does not signal Albert Deste to sit down, but let him stand in front of her.
"It's just a small favor. I am willing to help any innocent ordinary person who is in trouble, the premise is that the person is really innocent. You met mercenaries instead of pirates at sea. An ordinary Italian cannot attract the murder of professional mercenaries." Mary Stuart says calmly and seriously.
Albert sees Mary Stuart's suspicion, kneels on one knee, bows his head and says seriously,
"Your Majesty, I can swear to the Lord that the person you saved at sea is definitely not a despicable villain. I was deprived of my title because I was unfortunately involved in some family conspiracies and then was angered by the Duke of Ferrara. In view of the oath I made to keep a secret, please forgive me for not being able to tell you. In addition, I am willing to guarantee my innocence with my life. If one day in the future, you find that I have committed an unforgivable crime, then please take my life immediately, and I will never say anything. As for those mercenaries..."
At this point, Albert laughs self-deprecatingly.
"...As for those mercenaries from Switzerland, I think they should think I'm dead. Even if I'm not dead, I'm not worth enough to be hunted by the Duke of Ferrara for too long. Seeing me in such a mess like a wild dog, the Duke should have calmed down."
Mary Stuart hopes that he really tells the truth, but it doesn't matter if he doesn't tell the truth. A poor and down-and-out Italian nobleman couldn't cause any harm to her.
Then Mary Stuart asks him what plans he has for his future.
Albert says frankly that he originally wanted to go to London. Since the Lord's will directly brought him to Scotland, he would rather ask the Queen of Scotland to grant him a small position, and he would repay Mary Stuart with all his loyalty for the rest of his life.
"In that case, after you recover from your injuries, you can go to find Bothwell." Mary Stuart says.
She remembers that Bothwell mentioned that this Italian was a good gun and sword player. If that was true, it would be nice to take him in as a guard.
...