Emma Abbey is said to have a history of more than 400 years. It is said that Emperor Charlemagne once visited.
Otto felt that this must be a rumor. How could Charlemagne, a Frenchman, come to a remote monastery in the Swiss mountains with nothing to do?
Although Emma Monastery occupies a large area and is quite famous, it is limited to the surrounding area. Presumably, this is false news released by the abbots of the monastery to support Emma Monastery.
It has to be said that this kind of clumsy marketing method is surprisingly effective.
Even on rainy days, Otto could see many devout believers going to Emma Monastery to pray along the way.
The arrival of Otto and his entourage attracted the attention of Emma Monastery. Even without prior notice, Dean Gonzalo personally came to the door with many priests and nuns to greet them.
Although I don’t know who is coming, there are only a few of them who may have brought out more than twenty fine cavalry. No matter who they are, they are worthy of Dean Gonzalo’s serious treatment.
"It turns out that Master Otto is driving here in person. Why didn't you notify us in advance so that they could get ready?"
After seeing clearly the face of Otto sitting on the horse, Gonzalo stepped forward with a flattering smile and motioned for someone to come up and hold Otto's horse.
As the abbot of the largest monastery in Argauland, he had naturally seen Otto and recognized him at a glance.
Otto had a request in his heart, so he didn't dare to show off here. He shook his head to express his refusal, immediately got off the horse, performed a standard aristocratic etiquette, and held the horse by himself.
"I've been feeling restless in the past few days, so I wanted to pray to the gods for protection, so I came here without warning. I hope I won't disturb the dean."
"Master Otto, it is the honor of Emma Monastery for you to come to Emma Monastery to pray, so why bother? Besides, the monastery is open to believers of gods. As long as they are devout believers, we are all welcome." welcome."
Gonzalo smiled, stretched out his hand to invite Otto to enter, and walked in front to guide Otto.
The servant waiting aside bowed to Otto and then took the reins from Otto's hand.
The attendants also dismounted one after another, and after handing over the horses to the care of the people arranged by the monastery, they followed Otto.
Gonzalo noticed this scene out of the corner of his eye and whispered a few words to the priest beside him. The priest nodded and left quickly.
"I don't know if Master Otto wants a quiet room to pray, or if he can just pray in the hall. There are still many rooms available, and Master Otto can choose as he likes."
In general, there are many special quiet rooms in monasteries, which are used as small living rooms or prayer rooms. The service targets of these quiet rooms are mainly the families of nobles. After all, noble ladies cannot tolerate those mud-legged people and are unwilling to stay with them.
Otto was not so particular, praying was just an excuse, he said casually because he was not interested in drinking.
"No need to go to so much trouble, just stay in the lobby."
"There are still many believers praying in the prayer hall. I would like to ask Master Otto to take a short rest and pray later." Gonzalo suggested.
"It's not necessary." Otto hesitated a little, asking him to leave after praying carefully. "We are all believers of the gods, could anyone do anything bad to me?"
"This..." Gonzalo was at a loss for words. This noble young master really has no airs. However, this young master has not considered at all that if you bring so many guards in, will the believers inside still be in the mood to pray in peace?
He blinked, quickly thinking of words.
"Master Otto, you and your attendants are all wet. It would be bad if you catch a cold. Why don't I have someone bring you a towel, dry yourself, drink some hot water and rest for a while."
Otto looked back at the guards, who were all drowned like him. He couldn't bear it, and nodded in agreement.
Gonzalo has a point. In this era, a cold can turn into a serious illness that kills people. It would not be good for his loyal guards to catch a cold.
Otto casually asked if there was any "ginger" in the monastery, and found that Emma's monastery was significantly richer than the Earl's castle.
After all, Gonzalo had more spices brought to him than Otto had ever seen in the castle. Sure enough, compared with the nobles, the church is the real rich.
After consuming a bowl of hot ginger soup and wiping off the water drops on his armor with a towel, Otto entered the prayer hall alone.
In the casual chat just now, Otto had already learned that Bishop Lawrence, whom he wanted to see during his trip, was waiting for him in the prayer hall, so he entered without his attendants.
In the huge prayer hall, there was only a solitary red-robed figure standing in front, with his back to the door.
Otto narrowed his eyes slightly, and there was a hint of gloom in his heart. The last time he saw Bishop Lawrence, he was just a blue-robed bishop, and now he has become a red-robed bishop.
According to the organizational structure of the church, the lowest priests are generally gray-robed and are preparatory priests. After that comes the white robe, the official priest. Above is the blue-robed bishop, usually the bishop of a small area.
Above the blue-robed bishop, there are red-robed bishops, who are generally responsible for the church management of a large region. Above the red-robed bishops are the members of the Twelve Archbishops, who are also called purple-robed archbishops because they wear purple robes.
When he first heard this rumor, Otto wanted to complain. Good guy, only the royal family in Eastern Rome used purple. Your church's twelve archbishops also use purple. Doesn't it mean that the archbishop's power is the same as that of the Eastern Roman emperor?
However, considering that the church in this world has not been divided, and the Roman Empire in the east still believes in the twelve main gods, it seems that there is not much difference in power.
The improvement of the opponent's status is not a good thing for Otto. The cost of inviting a blue-robed bishop to take action is completely different from that of a red-robed bishop.
The red-robed bishop was already considered a high-level member of the church, and could mobilize far more resources than Otto's father, Count Argau.
However, no matter how pessimistic he felt about achieving his goal, Otto remained calm on the surface, pretending not to see Bishop Lawrence's voice, and knelt down like a devout believer, closing his eyes and praying.
Otto doesn't know if there are really gods in this world. After all, there are existences of extraordinary power. But in line with the idea of having a date or not, Otto decided to believe it without suffering any loss, just in case it really happened.
As long as it is useful, no matter what kind of god he is, even if it is an evil god, Otto can worship him without fail. The values brought by his previous life education give him the simplest understanding of gods.
Silently praying to the gods in his heart to bless him with a safe and prosperous life, and after getting through the current difficulties, Otto slowly opened his eyes.
Bishop Lawrence, who was originally in front, had walked in front of him at some point. Otto noticed that the left breast of Bishop Lawrence’s red robe was also embroidered with a moon pattern.
"We meet again, Lord Otto, may the gods bless you."
Otto stood up slowly and saluted the other party. "May the gods bless you, the Reverend Bishop Lawrence."
There was no other way. The other party had become a cardinal and his status was different. Even Otto had to add some words of respect.
"Your Excellency Otto, a devout believer in the gods, I am afraid that you are here not just to pray to the gods.
I probably already know your purpose of coming, but I'm sorry, but the church has no intention of intervening in the affairs of Argolan. You can continue to stay in the monastery to pray, and it doesn't matter if you want to stay as long as you like. But for the rest, I can't help. "
Bishop Lawrence had a spring-like smile on his old face, and his tone was neither urgent nor slow, but when the voice fell into Otto's ears, it was like a basin of cold water poured on his head, drenching him to the core. .
