How to Survive in the Roanoke Colony

At such a high level of harsh statements and clearly intentional discourtesy, everyone in the court was shocked into silence. They all looked toward the throne.

Then Felipe looked toward his trusted advisor, the Duke of Lerma, and when he nodded, the king rose from his throne and exclaimed.

Everyone, and especially Henri IV's envoy himself, wondered how much dignity and anger the King of Spain would display toward this Frenchman and.

"Th-this is... what insolence! I, I have... not... condoned such crimes..."

Here, Henri IV's judgment was proven precisely correct.

Felipe III, dripping with cold sweat, glanced toward the Duke of Lerma again. Then the duke spoke.

"...I too know nothing about this."

"R-right? If you don't know, how could I possibly..."

"But look at this shabby letter of marque that the envoy has presented as evidence. It clearly bears the signature of the Viceroy of New Spain."

"In-indeed it does!"

"We ourselves know 'nothing' about this, but it's possible that this situation unfolded due to mistakes by our colonial officials. Or those who received the license may have over-interpreted its contents."

"Indeed.... L-look! We in Spain know nothing about this matter!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"We, we bear no responsibility for this situation!"

Thanks to the duke's help, the king managed about half his duties. He denied responsibility for the situation, and protected the national officials who carried out the plan...

"How can there be no responsibility for what happened in Your Majesty's government!"

"I, I, didn't I say I don't know! Ah, th-the Council of the Indies! Summon the members of the Council of the Indies immediately! It's all their responsibility!"

...Or not.

So the Council of the Indies was summoned and.

"You are all dismissed! Duke of Lerma? Quickly, promote the personnel you recommended. Is everyone fine with that?"

"Of course."

A purge was carried out.

"...To the Viceroy of New Spain, be it known. You are to take responsibility for the meaningless plundering of third-country vessels and resolve the situation. Your responsibility is heavy... ...Is this really an order sent from the home country? Are you perhaps an English spy? Did His Majesty really send something like this..."

"..."

"..."

And the newly purged Council of the Indies then put pressure on the Viceroyalty of New Spain.

Juan de Mendoza y Luna, the Viceroy of New Spain, stood dumbfounded for a moment with his mouth open, unfolding the order.

No, he never dreamed that rather than protecting the officials who carried out his orders, they would put pressure on them. Is the Duke of Lerma actually an English spy?

...No, at this level, the king himself might be a spy.

If he had told him to pressure Virginia, and given him this much autonomy, shouldn't he at least show an attitude of taking responsibility?

Even if not, wouldn't stepping forward to protect his servants when criticized by other countries be the way to show dignity as a monarch?

But...

'They're just throwing me as diplomatic food...!'

Cutting off the tail?

If you proceed like this, will there be anyone left who will be loyal to you later? No, do they not even think about that?

The Council of the Indies seems to have just been purged with the Duke of Lerma's connections. Don't tell me they're trying to cut down the nation's dignity just to behead a few annoying people?

Is this the thinking of a king of a country...?

Juan de Mendoza, with trembling hands, tightly gripped the order... and with great difficulty suppressed the desire to crumple or tear it, returning it to the envoy.

France is angry.

His Majesty the King pretends not to know.

The Council of the Indies pressures me.

If this continues, the picture of making a show of moderately implementing the king's orders and being promoted to the Viceroyalty of Peru within a few years would be completely disrupted.

At this rate, he would simply be dismissed.

'If this continues... only I will sink!'

He must establish achievements somehow.

While pressuring Virginia, he must simultaneously avoid the clutches of the English spy (the king) attacking from behind!

"Ac-actually..."

Juan de Mendoza, with trembling hands, searched through his drawer and pulled out several documents.

'Letter of Marque'.

"W-we too have frequently observed ships with such things plundering French merchant ships off our coast. Upon investigation... wasn't it the mischief of pirates who forged my signature?"

The crooked signature on the license, deliberately written with the left hand, was certainly quite different from the viceroy's usual signature.

He had deliberately made the letters of marque shabby for times like this.

...Of course, he never expected the king to pressure him like this, though he had anticipated French merchants coming to protest directly.

Anyway, the viceroy thanked his past self for wisely preparing countermeasures. The king's envoy standing before him carefully examined the letter of marque handed by Juan de Mendoza before putting it down.

"Is that so? But as that sea area is under your jurisdiction..."

"Are you telling me to monitor the movements of all pirates in my jurisdiction? Is there a guarantee they're all Spanish? Where is such an unreasonable demand heard?"

"That's true, but clearly His Majesty..."

"Are you the only servant of His Majesty! I too, as His Majesty's servant, am carrying out orders to pressure Virginia and capture the Queen of England!"

Juan de Mendoza spoke, deliberately raising his voice.

"Is it alright if His Majesty's grand design is disrupted because of you!"

His Majesty's grand design.

...Is there even such a thing?

Probably not?

Anyway, that wasn't what was important.

"If that happens, do you think His Majesty will leave you be?"

"...I, I am merely an envoy! His Majesty wouldn't do anything to..."

"His Majesty."

Juan de Mendoza snatched the king's order that was still in the envoy's hand and waved it in front of his eyes.

"Will he leave you be?"

Was I going to be left alone or not?

"..."

"..."

Having received that implication, even the envoy could only harden his face without being able to respond. Of course.

The person right in front of him not only holds the title of marquis but is also the Viceroy of New Spain, essentially an emperor in the New World. Yet they're trying to dismiss him without proper procedure.

What about himself then?

"...I, I will look into this again."

The envoy who said this immediately left the office. The viceroy, who had been waiting until the envoy disappeared at the end of the corridor, let out a sigh of relief.

He had survived for now.

The Atlantic is a wide and rough sea. It would take at least several months, even at the shortest, for that man to return to the mainland and then come back again.

He just needed to buy time while the gullible and spineless king vacillated between the nagging of the French ambassador and the justification he had put forward.

'...Until then, I just need to solidify the bridgehead near Pamlico Sound...!'

I heard there were no natives around there. I heard it wouldn't take long to settle and fortify. All of these are opportunities given by God.

What if he dragged out the dispute with Virginia near that bridgehead? At the very least, he could greatly pull the border of the Florida colony northward.

If not that, considering a bigger picture... through that bridgehead, he could destabilize the entire Pamlico Sound region and threaten Virginia.

'They too will find it difficult to take significant military action!'

Starting with the questionable existence of the native emperor.

The English settlement would be at most a few hundred to a few thousand people in size, so it wouldn't be easy to conduct military activities on the scale of hundreds of men.

That cursed Drake and his terrible friends are in Ireland now, so they won't have time to pay attention to this side.

Everything is a race against time.

Just until the chaos between England and Ireland subsides.

Just until the king does something foolish again.

If he succeeds in solidifying the bridgehead by then, it's a big step toward overwhelming Virginia. And if he succeeds in shaking Virginia, that would be even better.

'Privateers alone won't work anymore. It's time to use the fleet in earnest.'

The viceroy unfolded something only after confirming no one was around. It was a map of the Pamlico Sound and Chesapeake Bay areas.

Now that the path of moving while distributing letters of marque was blocked, another method must be used.

The fleet must be mobilized.

The plan will proceed without a hitch.