The House of Châtilon was not well-known in this era, and its members were far less powerful than the later Prince of Antioch and Lord of Karak, Renard de Chatillon, to the dislike of the Byzantine Emperor and Saladin himself, but the Bishop of Odo was an important figure in Rome, and the King of England could not ignore this envoy. Accompanied by Count Rodrigo, King Edgar came to the center of town.

In the purple twilight, the English camping boats were still sailing on the river, the town was full of horses and sergeants, and the papal legate was watching a group of soldiers tear down a wooden altar, and the Christians seemed to be a little frightened, and no one dared to approach the innermost black wood, so Bishop Odo himself stepped forward and pushed the wooden beam from which the sheep's skull hung to the ground.

"Superstitious barbarians......" muttered the bishop in a low voice, and then turned back and shouted, "does a rotten piece of wood scare you like this?" ”

The soldiers in the chain mail seemed to be ashamed, and the group continued to destroy the sacred site that had once belonged to Villers.

"Your Excellency, Bishop!" Edgar made his way through the crowd and preemptively stepped forward to greet you, "It seems that the weather in the north has not affected your spirits. ”

"Your Majesty, on behalf of the High Priest, I congratulate you on your victory over the infidels!" Bishop Odo had never met the king of England, but that did not prevent him from recognizing a king among the nobles who had flocked to him.

As they spoke, Edgar quickly understood why Gregory VII had sent the French bishop north, who was so eloquent that he could almost move a stone, and in some ways he didn't even look like a monk.

There are many kinds of people in the world, some are content with mediocrity, some are slightly accomplished, but this bishop from the House of Châtilon has a spiritual trait that seems to have been born to achieve great things. Edgar secretly savored it, only to see Bishop Odo stroking the harp and waving away the gray-robed young squire.

"Poor soul." The bishop sighed suddenly, and when he saw the king's puzzled expression, he explained, "A young man who has been deprived of his inheritance has met someone he should not have seen, and has been conquered by a woman...... Your Majesty, have you ever been sad about such a thing? ”

Edgar was silent, some of which he still grieved, but it was always strange to discuss such topics with a bishop.

The bishop had no taboos: "I am the son of the lord, and when I was young I was a bold and willful dissolute son, until one night I kissed a girl, and then the whole person was like a demon, and I did all kinds of stupid things to please the girl. Eventually, she knew that my father was the lord of the castle, but ran away with a bard. ”

"I have come to see Your Majesty, in addition to the mission of the Holy See, there is another matter." Bishop Odo finally stopped playing dumb riddles, "The Tuscan lady has mentioned her Majesty to me, and I can see that she seems to have some ...... for Your Majesty Infatuated. ”

Seeing that Edgar did not immediately deny the ambiguity with the lady, Bishop Odo looked a little disappointed, but continued to say: "Your Majesty should know the current situation, our cause cannot afford such a scandal, especially at the juncture when Henry's army is advancing on the Tiber, and Rome needs the power of Tuscany. ”

The King of England felt only embarrassment, and he even forgot to clarify himself, perhaps because he had never been tempted by Madame Matilda, and therefore did not feel the need to explain anything, and then he heard Bishop Odo say: "The eldest son of the Duke of Normandy has asked me to propose to Madame Matilda of Canossa on his behalf, and I have granted his request, and I hope Your Majesty will understand." ”

Robert had never met Matilda, and knew nothing of her appearance or nature, Edgar thought, apparently because of the Tuscan dowry, but then he remembered that he had traded his son's marriage in order to obtain the Duchy of Saxony, and felt a little embarrassed, as if he was not in a position to despise Robert.

Bishop Otto saw that the King of England's face was ochre, and immediately misunderstood the other party's thoughts, but he did not break it - this handling was just right, Robert did not actually take the initiative to propose, it was completely his own arrangement after hearing the rumors, and the eldest son of the Duke of Normandy was discouraged because of his fall from grace, so he naturally would not refuse such a good thing.

"I heard that Prince Henry is a man of the Lord?" The bishop asked suddenly.

"Yes, he is now in Mecklenburg, accepting the submission of the tribes."

"Should we, then, continue the Lord's cause in the East?" Bishop Odo's face had a strange look on his face.

"I'm sure Count Henry will help the Church with all his heart, but for now we need to be cautious. Lübeck was a town with potential, not only in terms of commerce – the Danes were pagans at first, but they quickly accepted the Lord's gospel after York traded and intermarried with Christians. As he spoke, he glanced at the pagan wood carvings on the ground, "Charlemagne's 'bloody verdict' is no longer suitable for this land, the harshness can only frighten people's hearts, the cold west wind cannot blow the robes of pedestrians, and the light of the sun can make everyone who feels the heat automatically take off their old clothes." ”

"Maybe you're right." The bishop's brow furrowed slightly, but Edgar didn't notice.

The King of England did not accompany Bishop Otto to the north, but gave him a richly decorated horse so that the envoy could travel through the wilderness of the north, where not a shepherd had any.

"I miss the warmth of the South." Bishop Odo's sigh lingered in Edgar's mind, and it was long after the other had disappeared into the hazy mist that the king came to his senses—and he began to miss England, even if London was anything but warm this season.

Many years later, Edgar recalls his first meeting with Urban II in amazement, even though he could no longer remember everything they had said, and Lübeck was no longer an old Slavic town, where thousands of artisans of different trades worked and formed alliances with each other in guilds, and the city itself became the hub of the new Hanseatic system.