How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony-Chapter 276: Eternal Rest (1)

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 me.

Somehow, the Queen always seemed 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 time. 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 me 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 me 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, me. 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 someone who formats their work computer’s files and takes off when retiring.

’Wow, she’s actually doing it.’

Exactly that feeling.

If you replace retirement 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 seemed quite pleased with her answer and smiled contentedly as she spoke:

"And it seems to have succeeded. James 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 harmed 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 something 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 somehow, who hates nothing more than harming her own body.

"...Ha! This old body won’t get much worse from a little movement 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’ mean?"

"..."

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 me.

"This is the body of someone about to die. So I tried to do some 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 become the ’20 Years’ War’.

"Their commander-in-chief... no, the one who has now become the King of Ireland, told me to remember those I killed. So I said I would. I decided to remember 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 became more terrifying. I wasn’t attached to life. I was avoiding death."

The blood vessels in her eyes became 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 flames engulfing me makes it impossible to sleep."

"...Is that so?"

"It is. So tell me, nameless one."

She stared directly at me. 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 moment.

"...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 me."

"..."

"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 homeland, is it?"

"No."

Her tone suddenly became clear.

"The place where one feels comfort... is homeland."

"..."

"Thank you. For making me 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 seemed 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 meant the change of England’s dynasty.

From Tudor to Stuart.

Now James became the sole monarch of Britain. (Though in Ireland, he was a joint monarch.)

And a change in dynasty meant a change in the responsible party.

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦