Chapter 153: A Lannister Must Never Look Weak
Castle of Casterly Rock
POV of Kevan Lannister
"That ungrateful little wretch!" Tywin roared inside his room, and Kevan flinched at the sound of something shattering inside the room while waiting outside.
Genna gave a bored yawn and shooed away any maids or guards trying to eavesdrop on Tywin's tirade after he got the letters from King's Landing sent by Grand Maester Pycelle and Queen Cersei.
"Why would Tyrion do something so foolish?" Kevan said as he read through the letter that Tywin had thrown at him.
Considering the letter was sent by Cersei, he was sure that she had certainly over-exaggerated the whole matter 10 times at least, and added a few lies on top of them. But one thing that both letters informed them about was Tyrion giving up the Lannister name once and for all.
"I don't know… maybe raping his wife, forcing him to watch the whole thing, and then forcing him to rape the poor girl himself might have something to do with it." Genna said sarcastically, and he pinched his eyebrows.
"Would you not blame Tywin for this, Genna?" he begged, but Genna had never been one to fear either him or Tywin.
"Why? I know you worship the ground that Tywin walks on, but even you must admit that Tywin was wrong in doing what he did to Tyrion. Tywin has accomplished many things over the years, but when the realm speaks of him, they remember him for his cruelties only. One of them was bound to bite us in the back sooner or later."
"I… I admit that what Tywin did to Tyrion was a little extreme…"
"A little extreme?" Genna looked at him incredulously, "Is that what you would have said if Tywin had made the men gang rape 'your' wife and forced you to watch. Huh? That what Tywin did was a little extreme."
"Genna," he warned, and she took a deep breath to calm herself.
"You've dug your own grave this time." She said, "Now the whole realm knows that the Lannisters have run out of gold in our mines and that our riches are dwindling day by day. Even Tywin's reputation won't save us from the backlash that'll come from this information. How many people will continue to support us if they knew that we Lannisters are not as rich as we claim to be? How many of our enemies would see this as an opportunity?"
She shook her head and left the corridor. "Your brother made this mess. Tell him to think about this mistake of his before doing something so unnecessarily cruel the next time."
Kevan let out a sigh once she left and continued to stand outside the door for a few more minutes before his brother opened it, looking composed and stern, just as his usual self.
"Put a bounty of 10,000 gold coins on Tyrion's head. 100,000 if captured alive." His brother said without a hint of emotion in his voice, "I gave him a chance to prove himself a Lannister, and he spat on my face. I should have drowned him when he killed Jenna, but I raised him like a proper Lannister. And this is how he repays me."
"Also. Build a 10-foot-tall gold statue of me and put it on a pedestal in the front courtyard where everybody could see it. And start the construction of a Lannister Fleet."
"Brother..." he paused, shocked by all these new orders. "All this would cost too much."
"Only a dent in our coffers. Nothing more." His brother said, dismissing his words easily, "People must once again be reminded of the Lannister riches. A Lannister must never look weak. Hold a grand tourney. Call all the lords of the realm. Put 100,000 gold dragons as a reward for the joust champion. 50,000 for the melee and 30,000 for the archery contest champion."
His jaw almost dropped at all the gold Tywin was wasting, even if he could understand where he was coming from.
It took him some time to collect himself, but then he nodded his head, "It'll be done, my lord. Anything else?"
"That'll be all for now. Don't let anyone disturb me for the rest of the day." Tywin ordered and closed the door in his face.
He let out a sigh as soon as the door closed and thought about all the gold they'd be losing to prove to the people that House Lannister was still wealthy, making themselves poorer as a result.
Oh well, he had his orders. And it was not like he could refuse his brother's orders anyway. If he could have, then he would have stopped Tywin from doing what he did to Tyrion all those years ago, and this situation would have never occurred in the first place.
But he didn't. That day, as always, he obeyed his lord's orders and did what was his duty.
And yes, the Lannisters were paying the price for the cruelty committed that day, but there was nothing Kevan could do about it. All he could do was obey his lord's orders, just as he had then.
If there was one philosophy of life Kevan had learned and practiced until now, it was to adapt to the role life had assigned him.
He wasn't born as the eldest son. Therefore, he wasn't the Lord of Casterly Rock. No, he was the lord's brother, and life's role was to support his lord to the best of his ability and serve his household.
He might be dissatisfied with the role life assigned to him and struggle against it, just as many people throughout history have. But fighting against fate could bring significant gains, but it could also bring great harm.
Perhaps this seemed an attractive path for those with nothing to lose. But Kevan had a lot to lose, and frankly, he was happy with the opportunities life had given him.
That's why he lived as he saw fit, without risk, and tried to fulfill the duties his lord had given him to the best of his ability.
Just as he always had. And just as he always would.
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Next Chapters' Name:
Ch.154: Another Expedition?
Ch.155: What Are We?