After a long silence, Kevan rubbed his bald head made so since becoming Regent and spoke wearily. "Do you know? The High Sparrow is
After a long silence, Kevan rubbed his bald head made so since becoming Regent and spoke wearily."Do you know? The High Sparrow is constructing new statues of the Seven, and he has even altered doctrine, claiming that the High Septon is equivalent to the Kingsguard of the Seven Gods.
It's clear that, after witnessing the dragons' influence over believers, he intends to strengthen further the bond between the Faith and the dragons.
Naturally, this also means the Faith's ties with Daenerys will only grow closer."
"The moment the army returned from the Riverlands, you should have crushed the Faith outright. Instead, you left tens of thousands of battle-hardened soldiers standing idle as mere decoration," Cersei mocked.
Kevan replied in a deep voice."By your command, Ser Robert Strong slaughtered over a hundred who had shamed you in the streets that day. He was ambushed by grieving families, yet cut through them alone, one against ten. Who in King's Landing does not know this?
The High Sparrow felt the pressure and planned to abolish trial by combat, replacing it with a Faith trial, just like Margaery's.
But thirty thousand Lionhelms taught him to make the sensible choice.
And remember this, Lannisters always pay their debts.
I am also a Lannister.
I will not spare the High Sparrow, but it cannot be our house alone that commits blasphemy against the Seven.
We must wait. Wait for winter to come, when the sparrows starve and freeze by the thousands. Wait for the Faith, desperate to feed its refugees, to continue eroding the nobles' power. Wait until the great lords' patience reaches its limit.
Then, I will unite them all to strike together.
If we alone topple the Great Sept, the lords who stand with us now will be pleased, but they will instantly turn from allies to enemies, just as they once condemned cruel Maegor.
Moreover, we must consider the possibility of dragons intervening, for after all, he is the High Septon of the Seven!
The thunder is not ours to bear alone, and the pit is better filled by others."
"Didn't you say Euron has the Dragonhorn, that he can control dragons? Tear down the Great Sept, draw the dragons into attack, and seize one or two for ourselves—who would dare oppose us then?" Cersei pressed.
Kevan rubbed at his temples, carefully explaining to his niece."First, the horn cannot control the black dragon. It would require the white, or the green, preferably the young golden one.Second, the horn belongs to Euron, not to us.
Finally, Maegor had dragons too—the strongest of them all, Balerion. Yet even he was abandoned when he burned the Sept."
Cersei murmured, "Euron is right here in the Red Keep. Seize him or kill him, force the Ironborn to swear loyalty to the Iron Throne, then take the horn from him. Wouldn't that be better?"
Kevan groaned, clutching his forehead, nearly driven to tears by her foolishness."I swore an oath, a sacred vow. I received him as a guest. Guest right! Not only I, but the Tyrell Hand and Lord Tarly too swore to ensure his safety."
"Well, it's not as if we'd be the first to break oaths or violate guest right. Everyone's used to it," Cersei muttered.
"Gods…" Kevan nearly fainted.
This niece must be sent away as soon as possible—let her plague the Ironborn instead!
"It is obvious the matter can be resolved through marriage alliances, so why discard honor and bear the sin of being spat upon by millions?
And the Dragonhorn is not even with him. His brother Victarion holds it. Should Euron meet an 'accident' in the Red Keep, Victarion will take vengeance on us with even greater madness."
Seeing his niece fall silent, Ser Kevan sighed and continued earnestly."Then there is the North. Roose Bolton must return immediately.
I had thought Stannis no longer a threat, yet somehow he has risen again, gaining the allegiance of clans and several northern houses. He has already marched south into Deepwood Motte.
If he captures Winterfell and raises the banner of Stark vengeance, the North may truly fall under his control.
And the Vale too brings trouble.
Littlefinger refused the Master of Coin's invitation. Instead, Gulltown—the Vale's port city, like White Harbor in the North—has provided significant aid to Salladhor Saan's grain fleet.
Cersei, our enemies grow stronger by the day. We lack the strength and time to indulge your schemes any longer!"
Cersei gazed at Kevan's sorrowful eyes and sighed."Uncle, you will regret this."
The next day, at the Regent's council, Kevan solemnly announced his niece's betrothal to Euron Greyjoy.
Cersei Lannister, after completing her trial by combat with the Faith, would be betrothed to the King of the Iron Islands, Euron Greyjoy.
This news spread quickly from the Red Keep through all Seven Kingdoms, even startling the Governor of Pentos, who had just arrived quietly in King's Landing.
"To hear such news upon arriving here—Kevan Lannister is no simple man!"
Walking through the dark, narrow passages of the Red Keep, Illyrio Mopatis sighed deeply.
The plan for Cersei and Euron's marriage had existed for some time, but he always believed, given her nature, that she would never accept Kevan's arrangements—after all, Kevan was not Tywin.
"I never once underestimated Ser Kevan," said Varys, holding a torch, his expression calm.
"What do you plan to do?" asked the corpulent governor.
"Even if I had a plan, what use would it be without the cooperation of that one?" Varys replied helplessly.
Illyrio sighed bitterly."Ah! The very reason I sought you out this time was Daenerys.
I've heard that the Dragon Queen has concocted a cure for greyscale, and the plague in Slaver's Bay has officially ended. I am deeply concerned.
What if, to pacify her people, she merely slaughtered all the infected, pretending instead"
"It does sound incredible," Varys interrupted, "but I have just received word. The Iron Bank has sent envoys to Astapor. They have confirmed that the plague in Slaver's Bay has truly ended."
"Don't worry. The representative from the Iron Bank even saw Prince Aegon at the banquet. He's fine, in good health, and the Queen treats him well.
She has acknowledged his identity.
Not only do the people of Slaver's Bay know, she even introduced Prince Aegon to foreign guests, such as Tycho of the Iron Bank," Varys reassured.
Illyrio let out a sigh of relief, his expression easing slightly as he asked, "Then why did she refuse to marry him?"
"We miscalculated."
When they entered the vast Dragonpit, Varys stopped, fixing the torch into Balerion's nostril.
Afterward, the two casually found a place to sit.
"Daenerys' thoughts are beyond my grasp. When she first took Astapor, she sent you a letter, asking about the prophecy that 'the dragon has three heads,' and planned to look for dragonriders.
Of course, at the time we didn't think much of her, assuming she would soon be driven out by the Ghiscari Alliance.
So we never replied, nor did we tell her about Prince Aegon. We intended to wait and see.
But the result was unexpected. Like the Young Wolf, she displayed the brilliance of a peerless general the moment she first entered the battlefield."
Knowledge, however, is still knowledge. It must be studied and accumulated.
In terms of tactical ability, Daenerys and Robb were far inferior to renowned commanders such as Tywin or Randyll Tarly.
But both of them were like players with hidden advantages—Robb had direwolves, Daenerys had dragons.
What's more, each had a famous commander at their side: Robb had Brynden Tully, Daenerys had Barristan.
"Sigh, we really should have communicated with her more," Illyrio said regretfully.
The Spider, Varys, nodded silently.
When Daenerys crushed the Ghiscari Alliance, they sent Aegon to Slaver's Bay without even informing her.
They acted solely on their own assumptions, believing the Dragon Queen would obey them—marry Aegon, ride a dragon, and return to conquer Westeros.
Instead, the Dragon Queen treated them as if they were air.
Apart from sending Illyrio an apology for seizing those three great ships from Grolei (the three merchant ships laden with cargo that Illyrio had arranged to meet Daenerys at Qarth), Daenerys never once considered their plans.
From beginning to end, Illyrio and Varys' scheme was always their scheme alone. Others—even the Targaryens themselves—were kept in the dark, treated as pawns.
And Daenerys? She never considered them her own. Whatever ideas she had, she never informed them—and they, in turn, never wrote to her.
Both sides had their own plans, acting independently, and naturally Varys' supposedly "meticulous" strategy became a complete mess.
As for Daenerys, it hardly mattered. She never trusted the two of them and never expected their help.
But unfortunately for Illyrio and Varys, their plan made the Dragon Queen an extremely, extremely, extremely important piece.
Any single move from her could overturn the board.
Yet the two continued acting solely on their own thoughts.
Perhaps they fancied themselves playing with heaven and earth as their chessboard, with all living beings as their pieces?
In the wide, shadowy Dragonpit, only the faint crackle of sparks from the torch broke the silence as the two fat men stared at each other wordlessly.
Suddenly, Varys rubbed his face and said, "At first, we sold Daenerys to the horselord, believing Viserys would lead Drogo's screamers to carve a path for Aegon.
But then, in Westeros, the War of the Four Kings erupted; in the Dothraki Sea, Viserys and the horselord died in quick succession.
Our plan was completely shattered.
Later, we sent Aegon to Slaver's Bay, thinking Daenerys would marry him, retracing the path of Aegon the Conqueror.
Yet before Aegon even arrived, she had already flown to Westeros on dragonback, swearing an oath to 'end the Long Night.'
Once again, our plans could not keep up with reality.
Fate does not favor us, and Daenerys herself is a constant headache.
In the end, a true dragon is still a true dragon, with her own will, unbound and untamed. We both underestimated that girl."
"No, it wasn't underestimation. We simply never considered her own wishes," Illyrio said with a bitter smile.
"Whether she liked the horselord, we didn't care; whether she could adapt to the Dothraki life, we didn't care; whether she could survive after Drogo's death, we still didn't care; whether she wished to return directly to Westeros, we again didn't care; but now, whether she'll marry Aegon, whether she'll help him reclaim the Iron Throne—these are things we cannot afford to ignore anymore!"
Varys said, "Although our plans have constantly been disrupted, overall, Prince Aegon's situation is still favorable. Daenerys has recognized his identity and is even helping him with dragonriding."
Illyrio's chubby face twitched nervously. "Has Aegon become a dragonrider?"
Varys shook his head. "Daenerys may not have married him, but she truly treats him like kin. She cares deeply for him, even allowing him to choose the dragon he liked most.
And Aegon chose the black dragon.
You know the black dragon is intelligent, capable of speech, and far more difficult to tame."
Illyrio's eyes flickered as he muttered under his breath, "He should have chosen a smaller one."
"That boy is impatient. Maester Aemon had originally arranged for him to bond with the newly hatched red dragon, but he could not wait," Varys sighed.
Had Daenerys been there to hear this, she would have been deeply surprised—for even many of Astapor's high-ranking officials did not know such details.
"This time, you came to see me because of the Golden Company?" the fat eunuch asked.
"Yes. The Golden Company's contract with Myr has expired, and they are asking about my future intentions."
(End of Chapter)
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