On the evening of the day he learned that he was going to have a child, the King of England was discussing the shape of the earth with Abbot Evesham. The king tried in vain to explain to the traditional English monk all sorts of advanced ideas, and Abbot Æthelweig replied haughtily: "Not only was this question discussed by Ptolemy, but St. Isidore also agreed with him, that the mention of how the earth resembles a reliquarie and the sky resembles a dome may indeed be a metaphor, and that the shape of the earth may be as they described." But I must say that, as St. Augustine once told us, the ancient pagan philosophers often had their point, but their help was very limited in the matter of the real great one, the salvation of the soul. ”

Edgar found himself on the educated side, and he couldn't even get the other party out of the influence of his unrealistic knowledge of geography, the old man who thought that part of India was connected to Africa! What's more, he lacks sufficient interest in all knowledge that does not contribute to spiritual salvation.

"I think we should teach and study everything, in addition to the nature and person of God, as well as basic arithmetic and grammar, and we should also teach other knowledge of antiquity, including the 'three arts' and the 'four sciences,' and perhaps law, architecture, and medicine!" Once again, the king emphasized his position.

"The great St. Jerome was bothered by these ancient learnings, which affected the perception of the soul, and if such a thing as architecture was to be added, wouldn't it be time to set up a special magic course?"

"In addition to literature and art, we need craft—rulers, like gyroscopes, can help us know God and prove His glory. As for magic...... I think that the alchemy of the East can also help us. The king's words almost made the dean angry, and when the old man tried to protest, a maid appeared.

"As for the stars and the earth, as well as the curriculum of this new academy, we'll talk about it later." The king took the initiative to end the conversation.

Then he heard the great news, that Emma's maid spoke with a thick Franconian accent, but there was a sweet smell of honey paste on her body, which refreshed the king: "How is the queen now?" ”

"Her Majesty has woken up." The Frankish maid replied.

Dean Evesham on the side made a cross: "Praise God!" ”

England had been looking forward to an heir for too long, and for Edgar, who had already had a son, he could not even see each other once, this new offspring was different, and the king felt a kind of ecstasy like drinking honey, and immediately went outside.

There were no real secrets at court, and the news of the queen's pregnancy soon spread, and the people were as lively as a festival, and after a long period of foreign rule, everyone welcomed a true heir to the throne from England. The bishops saw it as evidence of God's return to favor the royal family of Wessex, and some of the hidden fears disappeared at this moment - as long as the royal blood continued, the kingdom would be incomparably stable, and when the branches of the great tree of Wessex began to wither, the Anglo-Saxon kingdom would also decline.

The protagonist of the whole thing, Queen Emma, had just recovered, and a flushed glow appeared on her fair face, as fresh as a midsummer rose, and beside her, the half-finished needles had not yet been retracted, revealing a golden mistletoe pattern.

Then the appearance of the king filled the room with joy, and the carvings of strange beasts on the walls danced in the candlelight, and Queen Emma, seeing the gentle gaze of her husband, suddenly said: "It is so quiet, like the night of the Île de la Cité." ”

"It won't be so quiet anytime soon, there's a banquet being prepared outside."

"We can get out of here and go outside the White Tower, my love. I believe that a few nightingales will be found singing for us in the fog tonight, much more beautiful than your court poets. ”

"Your thoughts can make the whole kingdom tremble, imagine the expressions of those people who find the king and queen disappear at the same time." Edgar couldn't help but laugh, only to see a childlike sly expression on her face, as if she was going to do it.

"I really doubt that the kingdom will collapse if the king and queen leave for one night." Emma's voice seemed to be encouraging.

"Then come with me, I think I know a way to go unnoticed." Edgar lifted his wife up and put on her robe.

The tower's figure disappeared into the fog on the other side, and the two men walked slowly along the Thames in a mule cart like ordinary Benedictine monks towards the monastery of Wimudes, where large areas of grass were shrouded in fog, and they could barely see each other's faces.

"What are you doing over there?" Queen Emma sat in the car and shouted in the direction of an oak tree.

When Edgar returned, he had a zigzag wood carving carved with a pair of antler-like heads draped over the top of a mask, and a line of runic inscriptions, minra-eagna-leoht.

"I can set colorless gems on it, and only in the light of the stars will reflect silver and blue light, but unfortunately the face of this oak will always wither."

"My friend, the magic of oak may be gone, but our blood will live on, better than the most precious metals and gems." When Edgar heard his wife's words, the gloom was immediately erased with joy, and the distant birdsong became unusually pleasant, and the two snuggled together until the golden light pierced the mist.

"Do you hear me, the nightingale's voice has changed." The queen awoke from her sleep and saw Edgar still watching.

"That's the lark, the messenger of dawn, not the nightingale." The king replied in Shakespeare's lines, as light as a feather.

When the two returned to the tall White Tower, the whole court was about to go mad, and Edgar and Emma appeared in front of the stunned nobles and servants, like a young man and woman, with a pure smile on their faces, but with a complacent look in their hearts that had teased everyone.

Such prosperity and love ecstasy made the young king almost oblique to the turmoil around him—the English were in nature an islander's free, and when they were so focused on their own pleasures that they could ignore the collapse of the whole world, until they woke up from a dream and realized that the outside world had been turned upside down, and the familiar situation was no longer what it had been.

Before the feast of the Assumption, a drought struck the south, a terrible fire broke out, this disaster woke Edgar from the dream of a newlywed, churches and monasteries were destroyed by fire, Saxon houses with straw roofs were in ruins, and only the remains of blackened ancient Roman buildings stood alone, commemorating the passing civilization.

In the face of this catastrophe, King Edgar of England finally made a decision: spare no effort to rebuild a new London!