How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony

First of all, Spain had nothing to gain by threatening her. The delicate balance of power that had been established would not tilt in their favor through such a brazen act. They couldn't induce political chaos in England since there was a separate joint king, whose authority would remain undiminished even in her absence, ensuring continuity of governance and a swift, terrible retribution should any harm befall her.

Moreover, by now Spain must be yearning for peace, if only from exhaustion. The country's treasury had been drained by years of costly conflicts across multiple fronts. They had many enemies more important than England—the Ottoman Empire pressing at their Mediterranean territories, rebellious provinces in the Low Countries consuming resources and manpower, and rivals circling their colonial possessions like hungry wolves. A provocative move against her would only serve to unite their opponents and further isolate Spain in European affairs.

In such a situation, they wouldn't choose to prolong the war with England by capturing her, killing her, or doing anything else to her.

Therefore, Elizabeth was safe.

Therefore, there was no reason for Elizabeth's actions to be restricted.

Therefore, there was no reason for Elizabeth to be confined to this island. Like some prisoner...

"..."

...Yes. Like a prisoner.

Unpleasant memories briefly surfaced.

Memories of being treated like a prisoner before.

Just as Elizabeth was revisiting the bitter past, recalling past pain and past hatred.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Your Majesty, Sir Drake requests an audience."

The attendant's voice.

"Let him in."

And as she responded, the door opened and a man with a cheerful countenance walked in.

"Your Majesty! I have come at your summons!"

As Elizabeth gestured with her chin toward the chair across the table, Drake sat down and immediately addressed the Queen.

"Your Majesty, may I speak directly?"

"Go ahead."

"Meeting the 'Emperor' is madness. You must stop immediately."

"...What?"

Elizabeth tilted her head.

What is he saying? After claiming he had met him himself?

Thinking it might be another of his typical nonsensical ramblings, she looked up to meet Drake's eyes, but...

"..."

"..."

His unusually serious eyes left her speechless.

Drake did not speak at length.

"There... is a secret there that I cannot explain in words. You must neither set foot there carelessly nor speak to the people there recklessly."

"...And you?"

"I'm fine since I'm a hardy seafarer."

"...What about Raleigh?"

"Similar to my case. You could say he's already accustomed to the sea's pranks."

"..."

"..."

Silence again.

I summoned him thinking I might seek advice before meeting the native emperor, but he just says strange things.

"You mustn't take this lightly. You absolutely must be careful."

"What exactly is happening?"

"I, I really didn't want to tell you this but..."

"..."

"The Emperor's true identity is... probably...!"

"Probably...?"

"He must be a sea monster."

Ah.

No. Until just now, he was speaking quite sensibly.

"..."

"After meeting him, you will have bizarre experiences that are difficult to describe in words. Even I have been seeing hallucinations more frequently since meeting him!"

Of course, that's due to vitamin deficiency from happily sailing around without going to England.

"Then after he gave me some strange medicine, those visions dispersed instantly. Perhaps the mystery of the sea was testing me..."

It was a vitamin supplement.

"Anyway, you must be careful. Your Majesty, I don't want to lose you! Aren't you the one to whom I've presented numerous treasures and offered affection and respect all this time?"

He means he's paid a lot in tribute, so please live long enough to be worth it.

After that, England's proud naval leader Francis Drake passionately expounded for 30 minutes on all sorts of mysterious dangers one might experience at sea.

Thanks to that, Elizabeth was able to vividly see how far the human mind could deteriorate due to causes such as vitamin deficiency or excess adrenaline.

"..."

"..."

"I understand your words well."

"...Then!"

"However, am I not a monarch of a nation? Whatever dangers may come, whoever the counterpart may be, if I must meet them, I shall."

"..."

"You may go now."

Elizabeth quickly gave up on the idea of having a proper conversation.

Indeed, one shouldn't attempt to converse with someone who's slightly off... It felt like common sense was crumbling.

The Queen shook her head, and Drake left the room with a regretful expression.

And he thought to himself.

The Queen is indeed a strange person... After all those warnings, she still wants to meet the mystery of the sea...!

There's no point in a sensible person like myself having a lengthy conversation.

Thus, the most nonsensical man and woman in England shook their heads thinking about each other.

While Elizabeth and Drake were filming a farce thinking about each other.

"...Why not capture the Queen?"

Another farce was unfolding across the Atlantic.

==

As mentioned earlier, Elizabeth's safety is guaranteed despite being far away.

Spain has many enemies, and as such, England is pushed down the priority list, and attacking a queen who isn't even on English soil should have been even further outside the priorities.

"The... Queen is on Roanoke Island, you say?"

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then wouldn't the war end if we captured the Queen?"

"...Pardon?"

That's why the ministers were shocked when Philip III spoke.

"Your Majesty, the Queen may not have many days left to live anyway. But if we threaten England's Queen in this situation, England will never be able to surrender!"

"Who said anything about killing her? Didn't I just say to capture her as a prisoner?"

"..."

"..."

Things wouldn't proceed so easily.

From the perspective of England's joint king James, Elizabeth is a thorn in his side. Even if she were captured as a prisoner, he would have no reason to be concerned for her welfare.

If Elizabeth were to die of old age, England would have changed dynasties, so various conditions could be attached to bring about the end of the war. But now a kidnapping? An attack?

It's a foolish idea. It needed to be stopped immediately.

But there was not a trace of hesitation or retreat in the king's words.

"Duke of Lerma, what do you think?"

"Ah... Of course it's reasonable! It's not wrong to see this as the last opportunity to end the war with England advantageously!"

And the king's final brake, the Duke of Lerma, Francisco de Sandoval y Rojas, also moderately agreed, bringing despair to everyone.

The Duke of Lerma... was more urgently concerned with the immediate capital relocation project (and real estate hoarding).

"We must strike now when we're gaining ground in Ireland! Prepare the fleet and soldiers to capture her immediately!"

And Philip III, having received confirmation from his favorite, became even more jubilant.

"In the name of the Lord! We shall bring divine punishment upon that heretic queen!"

...There's no way things would go like that.

Everyone trembled with anxiety.