The Hardships of Mary I

“Did you know? Bloody Mary, Mary I, was also once a promising monarch. In the early days of her reign, having overcome an unhappy family environment to be crowned Queen of England, the people’s support for her was tremendous. However, her popularity fell day by day due to controversial religious policies and defeats in war, and she eventually met a lonely death after a combination of factors. For her too, life was a series of hardships, and in the end, she couldn’t overcome them all.”

Mr. Bing swallowed his Bloody Mary, frowning as if the taste was truly bitter, and spoke.

Suddenly, I thought I might have been mistaken.

Certainly, Mr. Bing didn’t seem to envy Mary I. Rather, it was more like…

“But, Mr. Bing, you aren’t Bloody Mary, are you?”

Rather, it seemed closer to him feeling a sense of kinship with Mary I, though I didn’t quite know the reason.

Mr. Bing replied.

“Of course I’m not Bloody Mary. But we might be more alike than you think. Much more than you think. Actually, it’s not just me, but everyone. Do you know what I’ve been thinking lately? Everyone has a limit, a predetermined endpoint. No matter how great a superhuman someone is, they cannot live forever overcoming all of life’s adversities, and since there is no such thing as infinite victory, they are bound to face defeat someday.”

“'The disappearance of a great person for the arrival of a great era'. Did Napoleon foresee his own end at the battle of Waterloo? Who would have known that Alexander, the man who conquered the world and was called a god, would be bitten to death by a mere mosquito?”

“Whether it’s a sudden death or an unrecoverable failure, everyone has their own end. In Mary’s case, it was an early death at 42, and for me… there might be more time left than I think, or it might be much closer than I think. Either way, it’s clear that it’s gradually approaching.”...