King's Landing is made up of three hills, and the Red Keep was built atop Aegon's High Hill by the sea.
Standing on the balcony of Maegor's Holdfast in the Red Keep, with the added height of the hill, one could look out over nearly half of King's Landing's districts.
At this moment, as Cersei gazed into the distance, the city that had once been so familiar to her suddenly felt strange.
It was as if a giant sand-table model of the city lay before her, with a huge sack of soybeans poured over it. Each bean represented a rioter, packed densely together, layered upon layer, stretching so far that no end was visible.
"Execute the blasphemer Cersei!"
"Blood for blood! Only the life of the whore Cersei can pay for the High Septon's life!"
The roar of the mob was like a tsunami. The tall, imposing Red Keep seemed to have become a small boat bobbing on the surface of the sea.
Each wave threatened to capsize it.
For the first time, Cersei felt fear toward the common people.
"You said that shifting the blame onto the wyvern riders would be enough to calm public anger." She shrank back, her pretty face twisted as she roared at Euron.
A flash of sharp light passed through Euron's eyes, then vanished. With a helpless expression, he said, "I told you, as long as the nobles are given a suitable reason, they will settle down, and then your rule will be as steady as a mountain."
"Because the foundation of a king's rule has never been the common people, but the nobles!"
Then his tone changed, turning serious. "And the nobles have indeed been placated. The small councilors have not come to bother you recently, have they?
But you still need the Faith. You need a new High Septon to crown you.
You also need the common people. You need them to quiet down.
With tens of thousands surrounding the Red Keep every day to demonstrate, would you dare to go out riding or hunting?
With nothing but treasonous words ringing in your ears, would you still be in the mood to listen to Archmaester Vogtgrave's operas?
When you hold a masked ball, the nobles will talk about what the mob outside the Red Keep did today. Can you really enjoy yourself then?"
"But staying shut away for three years will kill me," Cersei said pitifully, looking at her husband.
"Stay in the tower for a month or two first. Once the Church and the common people's anger over the death of the High Sparrow has faded, you will be able to do as you please again and go wherever you want."
"But…" Cersei was tempted.
Euron continued, "In any case, the High Sparrow is dead, Aegon has been exiled, and Stannis was never a threat to begin with. Your great enemies are gone. This little bit of time is nothing."
Cersei shook her head resolutely. "Even if I am absent for just one or two months, wouldn't the realm fall into chaos because it has lost its wise leader?"
The muscles on Euron's scarred face twitched a few times. He nodded and sighed. "Indeed. You are the pillar of Westeros. You cannot be absent for even a single day."
"How about this: I will serve as your chamberlain, like the chief eunuch stewards of the eastern kingdoms, helping the queen convey her edicts to the ministers."
"Chief eunuch?" Cersei exclaimed in astonishment.
Euron then went on to explain how the eastern emperors used eunuchs to manage the palace while they themselves enjoyed a carefree life.
"This system is good!" Cersei said at once.
"Only… if you were to become a eunuch, wouldn't that—"
Her eyes drifted toward her husband's lower body, her expression hesitant.
Euron's scarred face darkened. He said in a muffled voice, "It is just a metaphor! Is our relationship not closer than that between a eunuch and a king?"
Hearing this, Cersei cast him a wary glance, thinking to herself: Even Jaime can no longer be trusted, let alone you.
"The plan is good, but you are my husband after all. You cannot be reduced to running errands, so instead—" Cersei clapped her hands regretfully and shook her head. "If Qyburn were still alive, he would be the most suitable lackey for the job. Now I can only let my cousin Davos try."
It was Qyburn who had pressed Robb's head onto the Mountain's neck. How could Arya possibly let him live?
"That works too," Euron said without the slightest change in expression. "Davos is a good lad. Everyone says he resembles the former Regent Kevan. With him handling affairs at home, I can lead the troops to campaign in the Vale, and you can rest easy in the Tower of the Hand, listening to operas and holding balls."
"Uncle Kevan…" Cersei's gaze grew dark and deep. "Perhaps we should call Tanyia (ps) over."
Euron's idea was quite good. When the stubborn, vicious Queen Cersei issued a public proclamation of self-blame, announcing that because she had mistakenly trusted the wyvern mercenary company, leading to the accidental and tragic death of the High Sparrow, she would confine herself for three years to atone for her sins, the people of King's Landing were shocked, and the number of protesters decreased day by day.
When Euron invited four elderly septas to personally lock Queen Cersei into the Tower of the Hand, even the sparrows who had been marching gradually dispersed.
After all, if even the whore dowager queen had voluntarily fasted and prayed for three years, what more could they demand?
Even those radical Warriors' Sons merely clamored for blood to repay blood, calling for the Faith of the Seven to arm itself and launch an eastern crusade against the western alliance of foreign gods.
That is to say, to start a holy war, with the Faith's armed forces forming volunteer armies to cross the sea and support the Dragon Queen in fighting the allied heathens.
"The situation in King's Landing right now is very wrong. Lannister power is waning, while the strength of the Ironborn is rising rapidly," Maester Pycelle said gravely.
On Dragonstone, in the control center of the sorcery tower, Dany sat in a wide weirwood chair. Facing her were Marwyn, Pycelle, Rhaella, and Jarett Dayne.
Bronn was inspecting Dragonstone. The Great Crab was still stuck in the North and had not yet returned.
"Cersei's fake confinement may well turn into real imprisonment," Dany sighed.
"Very likely," Marwyn nodded. "In the last Battle of the Blackwater, the ten thousand men of the Golden Company suffered nearly forty percent casualties and were almost crippled. Dorne fared even worse. Of four thousand desert cavalry, only a little over twelve hundred remain.
But likewise, the Iron Throne did not escape unscathed. Of ten thousand Lannister troops, only five thousand exhausted soldiers remain, and the commander, Ser Davos, lost his left leg.
The Reach lost fewer than a thousand men, and Euron's Ironborn reportedly lost only a little over three hundred."
"This…" Dany froze. "Isn't that far too obvious? Is Cersei an idiot?"
"It is said that Cersei participated in the formulation of the battle plan," Maester Pycelle said.
"Uh… what on earth was she thinking?" Dany was completely speechless.
In truth, the reason was simple. Euron had told Queen Cersei that this war was fought to defend her Iron Throne, and under no circumstances could the Reach army commanded by Randyll Tarly be allowed to become the main force.
Cersei very much agreed with this view and, based on it, formulated a battle plan.
In fact, the plan itself had no real problem, because Euron was not wrong. The Reach army would never fight to the death for the Lannisters, so the lion forces had to serve as the main strength.
Otherwise, once the Iron Throne's frontal battlefield collapsed, the Ironborn's rear attack would become a complete joke.
The key lay in the timing of the Ironborn's entry into battle.
According to the original plan, the lion forces would hold off the Golden Company head-on, pushing the war into its most intense and desperate phase. Only then would Euron lead the Ironborn to strike along the Rose Road and attack the enemy's rear.
Euron intended to let the lion forces hold on until they were almost unable to endure any longer, and only then would he unleash his main army to sweep across the battlefield.
So it goes to show that once an ally harbors ill intent, even the most perfect battle plan can develop a fatal flaw.
It was just like the War of the Five Kings back then. Robb's tactics were both imaginative and steady, and his personal record was nothing short of godlike. Yet Roose Bolton had ulterior motives and kept sending Northmen to die needlessly, forcibly ruining what should have been a winning situation.
"What about the allied wyvern squad?" Dany asked again.
Marwyn replied, "At the Battle of the Blackwater, one dragonrider and one wyvern died. Larraesa shot and killed a wyvern rider.
"The remaining three dragonriders, after plotting to assassinate the High Septon, landed at Euron's camp that afternoon and were ambushed. None survived."
"The Golden Company shot down a wyvern?"
Larraesa shook her head, her expression strange. "At the beginning, Cersei prepared large quantities of wildfire for the wyvern riders to throw.
"But the Alchemists' Guild's wildfire bombs lacked the stabilizing Tyrion oil. An accident occurred and one wyvern and one dragonrider were burned to death on the spot. After that, they never dared to throw wildfire again."
"How pitiful. Five wyverns traveled thousands of miles to Westeros and accomplished nothing at all. It is as if they came solely to put on a performance for the people of the Seven Kingdoms titled 'The Most Cowardly Way for Dragonriders to Die.'" Dany's mouth twitched.
"Euron is truly bold, daring to toy with the allies like this," Marwyn exclaimed.
"Perhaps he has a good eye and saw that the queen was destined to win," Larraesa said with a wide grin.
"This responsibility may well fall on Queen Regent Cersei. After all, she even dares to default on her debts to the Iron Bank," Pycelle said.
Dany thought for a moment and said, "Back then, Euron already set up and killed a thousand-man unit of the New Ghis Iron Legion, along with a fleet of more than ten ships.
"The Ghiscari were one of the main pillars of the alliance.
"Compared to that, today's five wyverns are about the same. He probably feels that once you have many lice, a few more bites do not itch."
In short, Euron and Cersei were an exceptionally audacious pair, utterly fearless of the allied forces.
"Oh, right," Marwyn recalled Myrcella's matter and relayed King's Landing's request. "Do you wish to return Myrcella?"
"Don't send her back. If she is returned to King's Landing, Myrcella will certainly die," Larraesa said hurriedly.
Black Girl and Myrcella both lived in the Great Pyramid and stayed constantly by the Dragon Queen's side. They had spent a fair amount of time together, and with compatible temperaments, they naturally developed a fairly deep friendship.
Dany pondered and said, "If Cersei sends two more letters demanding Myrcella, I will consider sending her to Dragonstone. If not, you should all pretend you have never been able to get in touch with me."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Maester Pycelle asked again, "Your Majesty, regarding the Great Sept of Baelor, do you have any plans?"
"What, has the Faith written as well?" Dany asked curiously.
"Yes. High Septon Matthew is asking whether you would be willing to concurrently serve as the High Septon of the Seven Kingdoms. The Iron Throne is contacting the High Septons of the Starry Sept in Oldtown and seems intent on intervening in the election of the new High Septon.
"The High Sparrow died in public in wildfire, leaving no remains. Not even the Mother could restore him to life. Yet the Great Sept of Baelor now lacks a powerful leader to replace the High Sparrow.
"The Faith in King's Landing has lost its backbone, so people are naturally in a state of panic. Some of the High Septons have therefore thought of you," Pycelle said.
"I have an idea," Dany said with a smile. "Above the High Septon, establish another position: the Pope.
"I will serve as the first Pope of the Faith of the Seven.
"Slaver's Bay and Westeros will belong to two different major ecclesiastical provinces, each with a High Septon to assist the Pope in managing religious affairs."
"The Pope?" Everyone murmured in shock, their faces filled with disbelief.
"Your Majesty, if you rule the world, the Faith of the Seven will inevitably become the dominant faith worldwide.
"Compared to a king of one realm, a Pope who controls the power of the world's church would wield too much authority. I fear it would threaten royal power," Doctor Marwyn advised.
"I have two questions," Dany said, raising her index finger. "First, was a High Septon like the High Sparrow ultimately more beneficial or more harmful to the Seven Kingdoms?"
"That depends on whom you ask," Doctor Bullneck said thoughtfully. "To nobles and kings, he was guilty of grave crimes. He seriously infringed upon noble privileges and provoked conflict between the Faith and the nobility.
"But no one can deny that the High Sparrow was upright and incorruptible. All the benefits the Faith obtained were used to aid the poor.
"The High Sparrow saved countless lives!"
"So the world needs people like the High Sparrow," Dany said.
"But you are a king," Marwyn said with difficulty.
After all, a king is the representative of the nobility.
（PS: Tania is from Myr and the wife of Count Orton Merryweather of Longtable. As a noblewoman of the Reach, she was originally Queen Margaery's attendant, but she betrayed Margaery in exchange for Cersei's trust.
Later, when the dwarf slew his father and Cersei discovered a Reach hand-coin deliberately left behind by Varys in the dungeons, leading her to suspect collusion between the Tyrells and Tyrion, it was again Tania who told Cersei that the Queen of Thorns always carried such hand-coins with her.
It is unclear what relationship Tania has with Varys, but her character is rather questionable.
Cersei once treated her as a confidante. After being imprisoned by the High Sparrow, Cersei constantly hoped that Tania would come to save her. Tania's husband was a small councilor, yet the woman from Myr instead fled with her family.
Cersei herself is also quite something. After regaining power, she kept wanting to bring Tania back to assist her again.
It seems that Tania possesses some kind of special skill, such as the art of spring lament.
Well, when she was in the Red Keep, she often slept with Cersei.）
(End of chapter)
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