0p0 Chapter 539 Devotion
Chapter 539 Devotion
“Very good, we’ve figured out all the known factors. Let’s start setting up the puzzle,” Howard said. “We know that Agatha believed you would be with her when she opened this box, and that she herself was already dead. Therefore, you have the right to interpret this item.”
"What does this mean?" Christina asked, confused.
“Suppose there really is a box that Agatha left for Osarino, your will will determine how it is interpreted,” Cecil said. “Suppose there’s a key inside. Osarino would certainly not understand it at first glance, and might never understand it, but you can guide him. For example, you could say that the key is the key to Agatha’s jewelry box, which contains her most treasured possessions. Or, you could say that you once saw a safe hidden in the wall in Agatha’s bedroom, and this key is the key to that safe, which contains evidence of crimes that Agatha had collected.”
Howard: "But that would be too obvious. Let's be more subtle."
"Our goal is to make Osarino see the filth his family has done, but to make the intention less obvious, this thing can't directly point to the filth of the Lyon family. It's best to add a buffer in the middle. The thing in the box points to the buffer, and then that thing points to the sins of the Lyon family."
“There’s one more thing,” Howard said. “We need to consider Agatha’s age.”
Cecil nodded: "This little girl was not even ten years old when she died. Even if she was precocious, she would have been at least seven or eight years old before she became conscious and started to act. Therefore, the things she left behind must be reasonable. We can't have a seven or eight-year-old child acting like a Space Marine collecting evidence, nor can we have her doing good deeds in factories or the lower levels of Hive City like a saint. So, the things in the box must be something that a child of Agatha's age and status could easily obtain or access."
Howard: "I'm new here and don't know anything about the inside story, so I can't help you with that."
“You’ve already helped us a lot,” Cecil said, then he rested his forehead on his hand. “Hmm… let me think, let me think…”
As Cecil pondered, he dipped his finger into the Radiance of Macurag in his cup and drew a mind map on the table. He first drew a large circle to represent the Lyon family, then a small circle to represent the things they were going to forge left behind by Agatha, and then drew a question mark between the two circles to represent this uncertain buffer.
The small circle points to the question mark, and the question mark points to the large circle.
Then Cecil drew a triangle next to the chain, representing Agatha, pointing directly to the three nodes on the chain.
Finally, Cecil drew an inverted triangle outside of this system, representing Osarino who was completely clueless about the situation.
Then Cecil kept tapping the table, unable to make a decision.
Howard, as an outsider, was completely unaware of the inner workings of the Lyon family, but Cecil, as the executor, didn't know much about them either. Although he had gathered most of the evidence against the Lyon family, if it were brought to trial, the judge would at least praise Cecil for his kindness in sparing a life.
However, Cecil knew very little about the specific members of this family, because he wasn't in charge of the previous cooperation with the Lyon family; he was there to put out a fire. Theoretically, he had met Agatha and Osarino before, but even with photographs, he couldn't recall anything about them until his men brought one of them to him.
The progress seemed to have stalled, but at this moment, it was the person among the three who knew Agatha and Osarino best who spoke.
Christina: "Brother, Agatha is actually a devout follower of the Emperor. She goes to their planet's church to pray at least once a month, while Osarino usually doesn't follow. Agatha told me that she was troubled by Osarino's lack of devotion to the Emperor."
Cecil: "Go on, Christina. I know this may be very difficult for you, but please continue to speak your mind."
“We can put an imperial statue in this box,” Christina said. “This statue will lead Ossarino to the church where Agatha often prays, and then we can decorate the church… For example, we can forge Agatha’s prayers. Agatha always prayed to the Emperor, asking for forgiveness for her sins, forgiveness for her family’s sins, and so on… But it can’t be too obvious. I think just some subtle hints will arouse Ossarino’s suspicion about his family, and then let him find out the truth about his family on his own… I think this plan is feasible.”
A plan is more likely to succeed if it is simple and has fewer steps. Christina's solution is one of the simplest methods under the current conditions. In some ways, it is even better than Howard's plan to put a key, because putting a key has no benefit, while putting a statue has a benefit, and the steps are not much more.
Because the most crucial element in the entire process is the sins of the Lyon family, and this is not fabricated.
But there's one last question.
“Using the church to achieve one’s own ends is not piety.” Cecil gazed at his sister: “Sister, are you a devout believer?”
If Christina had been asked this question a few days ago, she would probably have lowered her head and answered "I don't know." But now, she still lowered her head, but said softly:
"I'm not."
Cecil did not criticize the impious answer, but instead stood up, patted Christina on the shoulder, and said:
"If you have time, take a good look at the scriptures of the state religion. Also, try to set aside some time to pray and repent publicly at least twice a year."
"Do you want me to rediscover my devotion to the God-Emperor?" Christina asked.
“I wanted you to act like a devout believer, sister,” Cecil said. “Faith is a sacred idol in the hands of the devout, but in the hands of the unbeliever it can become a tool and a weapon.”
Then Cecil shrugged and said, “After all, only when you understand the nature of faith better than those believers can you figure out their logic, confront them, incite them, and even exploit them. I know it’s despicable, but you don’t have to do it. However, you must have the ability to do it, because if you know nothing about it, someone will use this tactic against you.”
That's blasphemous.
Howard thought to himself.
However, it was perfectly clear that among the three present, the combined lack of piety of this brother and sister did not even match his own, let alone the skeleton on the Golden Throne.
In human empires that worship emperors as gods, the emperor himself may be the biggest and most ungodly pagan.