"Frankly," said Theoderick bluntly, "I wasn't going to get involved that deep in the first place—if it weren't for the sudden madness of Amon of Tsmich......"

"You must thank Uncle Theoderick well," said Louis, cheerfully, "and without him, I probably wouldn't have had such a lovely child as you." ”

"Bishop Mazaran made only one mistake, when he almost died, and since then your father has always been with the clergy—it can only be said that at that time His Majesty or Mr. Bishop had other ideas. Theodric said, and then he paused: "No, it must all be the thoughts of our Majesty, and I don't think that the Bishop of Mazarin is so crazy as to ignore its own faith with the French." Then he glanced at Louie, "Do you think I should continue?"

"I don't think there's anything unspeakable between us. Louis said jokingly, and then bowed slightly: "Say, little Louis is also fourteen years old, Monsieur Theoderick, and I was almost that age at that time." ”

"Your father was bold. Theoderick said unmoved: "Your Highness, it was not without unbelieving people before him, they were either too stupid, too clever, or too shameless, and your father probably had all three, in short, after the time of Merlin and Arthur, the Church dealt the harshest and most extensive blow to wizards, far more than the so-called Inquisition—of course, you can understand that it was just two political forces fighting each other, because they were of the same origin." ”

Little Louis squeezed his hand nervously, and the cat boy squealed in dissatisfaction, and he squeezed it out and put it on his knees, and instead went to intertwine his fingers.

"In the five hundred years between 700 and 1200, the Church did succeed in doing what Merlin did not do, and they replaced it—the little sir, what the wizards could do, the priests could do, and only a few wizards, because of blood and marriage, of course, the former were the most important, and they were protected by the king, and survived—and this situation was not alleviated until after the crusading jihad. With Theoderick saying this, Louis raised his hand and signaled for a timeout.

"Tell me, kid, you've finished your history lesson during this time, and you can speculate on what it will do in the end. ”

Faced with the king's question, Louis Jr. thought for a moment, of course, as an heir to the state: "The Church originally wanted to consolidate its power with holy war, but they failed. ”

"Very serious defeats," said Theoderic, "the clergy of the Church are constantly being broken down in successive battles, so much so that they have to recruit new blood from the Inner World, and these new blood will be the judges and presiding judges of the Inquisition." ”

"As you can see," said Louis, "the Inquisition was at first constrained by the Church, but within a hundred years it was a matter of time for them to turn to secular powers. ”

"It's like a double king in Spain. Theoderic said: "The queen of Castile and the king of Aragon used the Inquisition to purge dissenting voices in the court and plunder the wealth of their subjects, and they used this weapon wisely, saving the rulers who came after them." But," he added, "but even they are not as ...... as your father did "Excessively," apparently he chose as conciliatory a word as he could: "Although the Church comes from the sorcerers, or arguably from the older polytheistic beliefs, they do make themselves a virgin, and even if there are no such stupid fanatics among kings and queens, for hundreds of years, continuous education and guidance, they have also invisibly erected a tight line of defense, so that many people dare not take a step beyond the thunder pool." ”

"I know," said Louis Jr., pursing his lips, "I've taken philosophy classes. That's why the more educated people are, the less religious they are – the king has made witches work in the army, and in his new army, if it had been the old army, they would have either fled in all directions, or they would have swarmed and burned the witches at the stake, and imprisoned the "mad" king.

Like the kings and queens of the past, who were systematically educated from an early age, although theology was necessarily included in these courses, there would also be content in ancient philosophy (mainly Greek and Roman), and these philosophical courses that flourished in the age of polytheism can make people clear-headed, quick-witted, and not confined to one place.

Yes, the church, especially the senior teachers who have not yet been robbed of the last shred of their sanity by alcohol and women, know very well how important education is, and that they cannot fool the people, but they cannot continue to fool the people—when those who hold power and money realize that knowledge cannot be monopolized in the hands of the church, they will begin to learn (the church is a den of forgers and fraudsters when they do not have such awareness)- The church can only take the lead and take this power into its own hands.

So most people still believe in purgatory. Louis said thoughtfully.

"Everyone, except you. Theodric said.

"Even I may not be able to deny it, after all, no dead person has come back to tell us if there really is purgatory, hell and the devil. "But this thought," said the king, "becomes an intangible asset of the Church, that is to say, with which they bargain with people, gentlemen, such as indulgences, such as excommunication, such as the sacrament of death." Like the coins of the merchants, the swords of knights, and the crowns of kings, they have carefully built a temple and a prison of nothingness, and every man must consider before he wants to do anything, lest he go to hell or lose his qualification to ascend to heaven, and the priests, they have nothing to pay for it, except their spittle. ”

Little Louis took a deep breath, which he had vaguely felt before—but today his father had apparently lifted the last fig leaf.

"Maybe you're wondering why we chose this time," said Theoderick, "because you've seen the vagaries and bloody cruelties of the mundane, and you're going to see for yourself the weirdness of the extraordinary, and as I said before, your father is to blame." ”

"Your father is one of the rare ones who doesn't care at all about the chips—the ones that are held in the hands of the clergy, he's more ambitious than any king I've ever met, he's like another Caesar, ready to plunder when he sees it, he can't tolerate another voice in his court or even in the church, he's got off to a bad start, worse than King Arthur, who has only one Merlin by his side, and around him — you know, he doesn't mind taking in anyone who can. ”

"So the problem becomes," Louis continued, "I know that everybody is staring at me, watching when I go to hell, but they wait, wait, and wait, and not only do I not go to hell, but I get Holland and Flanders—the barrier, nay, the yarn, which I have pierced. ”

At this point, even Theoderick showed a sarcastic look, the former beautiful man Philip IV (king) completely shattered the illusion of the church militarily, and Louis XIV made the last bit of majesty of the church disappear in faith, and it is said that France is really a good daughter of the Roman church—a Goneril and a Reagan (note 1).

"So since the Battle of the Netherlands, kings have begun to use the wizards of the inner world for their own use," said Theoderick There are not many wizards with long-term vision and wise minds, but they also have parts that cannot be replaced by ordinary people, the son of King Charles II of England, and the sudden recovery of Carlos II of Spain, probably all of them have nothing to do with them, and in this war, if you see the presence of those kings and generals who do not look like knights or clergy, those may be wizards. ”

"And I heard that the Ottoman Turks also brought their patriarchs and priests. Theoderick said, "I'm still a little stranger to them, so it's better for you to take the kitten with you, and it's better not to leave the priest with you." ”

Little Louis nodded obediently, Theoderick couldn't help but glance at Louis, although little Louis was the son of Louis XIV and had been taken by him for many years, but in terms of temper and personality, there was nothing similar to his father: "Then I will take my leave first, two." He said, and then it turned into a gray-black mist and peeked through the crack in the window.

Theoderick could also have walked out, but the corridor outside the room was full of priests, and although he had a tacit understanding with the priests around the king, it was better for them not to meet each other.

Little Louis watched the mist disappear and hesitated, but Louis grabbed the cat from his lap, put it outside the door, and pushed its buttocks: "Wait a minute," said His Majesty, "I'll give you salmon at dinner." When he returned, he saw that his crown prince had a complicated expression—he didn't know it before, but now he knew that the cat boy was part of Theoderick...... He knew what the king had done to it......

Theoderick would understand. Louis said, "What do you want to say to me?"

"Father," said Louis Jr., "I thought you would let the Duke of Colonna run the world of France......"

"How could you have such an idea?" said Louis, "how could I make such a childish mistake and tear it apart with my own hands when I could not allow France to become one?"

"But I'm just a mortal. ”

"I'm just a mortal. Louis XIV said.

"Not really," said Louis Jr., "you are not extraordinary, I know. ”

"Hey," Louis said with a subtle smile, "Tell me, son." ”

Today was just the right time, and he didn't mind being under his supervision, giving little Louis a deeper understanding of the other world he would rule, but what did he hear?

——————

"The king is a wizard?!" the Duchess of Montpensier was on the bed when she heard this, and it had been a very good night—the Duchess, having lost her impulse and fanaticism for finding a husband after losing three marriages in succession—Louis XIV, the Duke of Orleans, and the Prince of Condé, but there were still many people who were willing to pay homage to the richest heiress in France, including several foreign dukes and princes.

But let the duchess say that if France had been the same as she had been thirty years ago, she might consider marrying in a foreign country, especially when her father could not have become the king of France, and she could not have become the queen of France, but now France, strong and prosperous, prosperous and fashionable, her position among noblewomen is second only to the queen mother and queen, the eldest princess, and she will leave France only when she is crazy.

With such considerations, the Duchess would never accept the courtship of foreigners, and the only people who could surround her were the French- That's right, although the duchess is in her forties, the king also complimented her like a blooming rose, it is the time when the color is the most intense and the fragrance is the most distinct, because Louis XIV has researched cosmetics that do not cause much harm to the human body in advance, liberated the wizards, and repeatedly gave honors and rewards to craftsmen and scholars, and the duchess and other nobles will not usher in aging and disease in advance for the sake of beauty, as women have done in the past- She was tall and plump, with fair skin, dark chestnut hair and eyes that were as fierce and charming as a lioness, and her suitors, though not all sincere, were not so difficult to compliment.

But the only guest of the Duchess for nearly a year was the Count of Lozin, a lucky boy of the Commons, who had been a member of the King's Musketeers' Guard, but because he had repeatedly violated the King's rules - he was the kind of man who was accustomed to pleasure and misconduct, so he had been thrown out of the ranks of the Musketeers long before the Battle of Flanders - and he was often seen wandering in the woods of Boulogne, and then, without knowing whom, he entered the Palace of Versailles and took the opportunity to catch up with the Duchess.

The Count of Lozin was of a worrisome character, but in appearance he had nothing to fault with him, and he had a strong physique, and in the duchess's room, on her bed, he often wore a loose linen bedgown, a long-sleeved robe about knee-length, with nothing underneath, and the knot at the neckline was fully open, revealing Chiluo's chest.

Now he leaned gently behind the Duchess, caressed her neck, rubbed her ears with his breath, and said it as if he were talking to himself.