Taking a deep breath, Otto organized his thoughts and went through the details of the conversation with Priest Matthew that day in his mind.
No problem, that priest Matthew definitely meant that he came to Bishop Lawrence for help.
But why does Bishop Lawrence seem so indifferent?
Perhaps, this is the other party's temptation?
Thinking of this, Otto smiled leisurely and spoke.
"Why don't I understand what Bishop Lawrence said? I just went out today, and it happened to be raining heavily. I thought I hadn't gone to the church to pray for a long time, and it happened to be close to Emma Abbey, so I came here. I had no other intention."
"Really?" Lawrence stared at Otto, his eyes sweeping over him. "I thought you came here for the Earl's business."
"Is it related to father?" Otto didn't react for a moment, but then his eyes widened. "What do you mean, Lord Bishop, is there any hidden reason behind my father's injury this time?"
"I didn't say that." Lawrence smiled and shook his head. "Don't make wild guesses."
Otto suddenly frowned and began to think.
Speaking of which, he also felt that there was something strange about Count Argau's injury this time. A count, with knights and elite soldiers, goes to suppress bandits, there is no danger. Even though many of the bandits are wandering knights, given the gap in weapons and equipment and the protection of regular knights, how could they be seriously injured due to falling off their horses?
According to the news sent back by the family knights, Count Allgäu's mission of suppressing bandits in the Principality of Swabia has ended. He was about to lead his troops back like other colleagues, but he heard that the Duke of Swabia accepted King Lothair II. At his request, he went to Burgundy to suppress bandits.
Therefore, Count Aargau, together with other nobles, went to Burgundy to suppress bandits on the order of the Duke of Swabia.
Unexpectedly, not long after arriving in the Burgundy region, such an accident would happen.
Otto also felt that it was a bit outrageous, but considering that the armor on the knight weighed dozens of kilograms, it would indeed cause huge damage if it fell to the ground. In addition, if the war horse was frightened and stepped on it, it was not impossible to be seriously injured.
So when I heard the news, even though I found it hard to accept, I had no choice but to accept it. After all, Otto had not heard of more bizarre injuries or deaths than this.
However, what Lawrence said made Otto even more suspicious. Could there be some hidden secret behind this? Could it be that the stepmother's energy could already reach this level? Then what chance does he have of winning?
"I'm sorry, Lord Bishop, God forgive me for being presumptuous. I want to know everything about my father's injury, and please tell me."
"Master Otto, among the twelve main gods, which one do you prefer?" Lawrence did not directly answer Claire's question, but changed the subject.
The church believes in polytheism, and the number of gods is naturally more than twelve. However, according to the circulating myths, the authority and power of the twelve main gods are higher. The twelve main gods are different from the various versions that Otto was familiar with before. The twelve main gods are quite different. It is said that they evolved from the former Roman polytheism that merged Greek and Egyptian mythology.
They are Sun God (god of light), Moon God (god of night), Vulcan (god of fire), Water God (god of ocean), Wind God, God of Life, Sky God, Earth God, and Wisdom God. , god of wealth, love and war.
Among the twelve main gods, the God of the Sun and the God of the Moon have the highest status and the most followers. The twelve purple-robed archbishops of the church also represent different main deity factions, and the chief archbishop has always been held by the purple-robed archbishops of the Sun and Moon deities in turn. This has been the case for nearly a thousand years.
Compared with monotheistic religions, the advantage of polytheistic religions is that they are more inclusive, but the disadvantage is that internal divisions and confrontations often occur due to different beliefs in specific gods. The church that evolved from Roman polytheism was quite well organized, and its cohesion and attractiveness were commendable. It finally resisted the invasion of monotheism and was not replaced by monotheism as Otto remembered.
Of course, even if the status of the state church is established, the church's problems still exist, which are internal factional disputes. As the highest gods among the twelve main gods of the church, the dispute between Sun God and Moon God has not yet been answered. The power struggle between the two groups of priests represented by the corresponding debate has never stopped from beginning to end. .
Reminiscent of the fact that the current chief archbishop of the church is from the Sun God faction. It is rumored that the chief archbishop named Siegel is in poor health and may not die soon. The church's chief archbishop is about to conduct a new round of elections, and the internal struggle within the church has already been fierce.
The last three chief archbishops have been from the Sun God faction, and the Moon God faction has failed three times. If one side wants to defend its power, and the other side wants to take back power, you can guess what kind of bloody storm there will be.
Could it be that the death of Otto's father was related to the internal struggle of the church? However, these battles were limited to within the church and had nothing to do with secular nobles. How could Otto's father, a small earl, be involved in the church's struggles?
Thinking of the moon pattern on the chests of Priest Matthew and Bishop Lawrence, Otto became convinced and pretended to be pious.
"I have the same belief in all gods, and I don't have any preference. I just pray to the Moon God more often when I pray."
At this time, if you say you believe in the Moon God, it would be a bit false. To say you are biased towards the Moon God is completely enough.
"It turns out that Master Otto is also a servant of the Moon God. In this regard, he is very different from your father." After hearing Otto's answer, Lawrence looked at Otto with a much softer look. At Otto's age, he prefers the Moon God in his heart. As long as he is carefully cultivated, he will definitely become a devout believer in the Moon God in the future. Matthew's job as a court teacher has been done quite well.
Otto listened quietly and did not speak. He knew that Bishop Lawrence would continue talking without asking.
The church does not exclude believers from believing in a single god. At this time, the vast majority of believers believe in all gods like Otto. Only a few are devout believers in a certain main god. Obviously, Otto's father It's the latter.
"Count Argau is a devout believer in the God of the Earth. I never expected that his successor would actually be a believer in the God of the Moon." Lawrence seemed to be saying to himself.
"Poor Count Argau, the God of the Earth failed to protect him and allowed him to be persecuted. Fortunately, the Moon God will protect his children and let them grow up safely."
With that said, Lawrence turned to Otto.
"Otto, the follower of the moon god, the injury of Count Argau is indeed not an accident. Do you really want to know everything?"
"Yes, Your Excellency Bishop, I think if everything is not an accident, if a son avenges his father, even if he does something that violates the doctrine, the gods will forgive me, right?"
