Nearly a perfect victory!
Yet the atmosphere within Earl Hewett's great hall remained heavy as storm clouds.
Wuu wuu wuu~
A girl's weeping filled the space, her sorrow permeating the entire hall and touching every soul within its walls.
The King sat alone upon the high platform, a figure of solitary judgment.
Nobles, officers, and ladies stood arrayed on either side like silent witnesses to grief.
Wuu wuu wuu~
The girl kneeling at His Grace's feet wept without restraint, causing all present to feel deep empathy and secret lamentation for her plight.
"The tragedy of Fair Isle is truly beyond all regret," declared Earl Hewett.
Every eye turned toward him.
Among the hundreds gathered here, Hewett stood closest to the King in importance and influence. His words carried weight that none could ignore.
"Miss Mia, please tend to your health and gather your strength," Hewett said with a soft sigh toward the kneeling Mia. "After all, you are now the sole survivor of House Farman."
All present lowered their heads in mourning.
The vast majority had only just learned of Fair Isle's terrible fate.
Euron Crow's Eye had led his Ironborn reavers to seize the port and castle, plundering the entire island and destroying a noble house of ancient honor and standing.
None would question the truth of these dark tidings.
The terrifying sea monster had displayed its fearsome power in the waters beyond Grey Shield Island. King Joffrey's divine might had proven even greater, but the Harman family of Fair Isle?
All knew the bitter answer.
House Farman had possessed no power to resist such an assault. Their fleet lay destroyed and plundered, while surviving kin and retainers became playthings for Ironborn pleasure and humiliation—living lives worse than death itself.
Most infuriating of all was this: including Lord Farman himself, more than a dozen honorable nobles had been made into "figureheads" by those savage raiders!
From Fair Isle to the Shield Islands—how could mortal flesh endure such torment from endless sea winds and waves, the cold and humid air, the bitter taste of salt spray?
As if blessed by merciful gods, Mia had miraculously survived five days of hell upon the waters.
The others had not proven so fortunate.
The "figureheads" and captives aboard the Ironborn fleet had all been tortured to death, their bodies cast into the hungry sea.
It was precisely because His Grace knew these dark truths that he had decisively ordered the Ironborn fleet destroyed the day before—to grant peace to the Farman family's spirits in the heavens above.
Wherever the royal cannons had spoken, there remained only fierce plunderers and Ironborn accomplices—not even the corpses of House Farman's fallen.
So declared the captains of the Royal Fleet.
The Shield Islands would certainly not question or refute such testimony. Indeed, how could the King of the Seven Kingdoms ignore the lives of his loyal subjects? Moreover, House Farman remained vassals of the Westerlands.
It was said that Lord Farman's sister had been a dear friend to Queen Cersei in their youth.
King Joffrey should rightfully show preferential treatment to such a house.
But how could such losses ever be compensated?
People looked upon Mia , still lost in her grief. Was House Farman destined to die out entirely, leaving only this bastard daughter? Or perhaps...
"Mia."
The King leaned forward, extending his right hand to comfort the poor girl at his feet.
"House Farman should never have suffered such misfortune. It grieves me that the Kraken, not yet fully awakened, fell under the control of treacherous villains like Crow's Eye. The Westerlands lacked the power to resist such a sea monster."
People heard the creature's name for the first time. Kraken—how strange and foreign it sounded.
"However, the suffering of House Farman shall not prove meaningless, and the sinners will receive their due punishment!" The King helped Mia to her feet. "Bring forth Euron Crow's Eye!"
Two guards dragged the prisoner forward. The wretch had finally regained consciousness.
Crow's Eye laughed with presumptuous arrogance, as if death held no terror for him.
Joffrey regarded him with open disdain. "Mia, how would you see him punished? Speak freely."
Mia wiped her eyes, all of her injuries were heal by the light of the grace magic, she then turned to behold Crow's Eye's terrible and vicious countenance. Terror seized her immediately, and she took two instinctive steps backward—directly against the King's seat.
Then awareness returned, and she noticed the heavy shackles binding Crow's Eye's limbs.
In that instant, all the fear and pain accumulated over these dreadful days transformed into boundless resentment. She opened her mouth to scream, to pour forth all her emotions in a torrent of rage.
Such a cruel and cold-blooded demon!
It wasn't enough that you destroyed my family—you had to torment me as well! Did I not serve well enough?
That dagger... that cursed dagger was so sharp, cutting me with such agony.
My tongue!
I curse you! You and yours should fall into the deepest pits of hell! But I cannot speak properly.
It hurts so much.
I cannot speak as I should.
The sea was so cold! The wind so sharp and cutting!
Choking on water proved even more terrifying.
The sea at night was so lonely. Only the Black Iron Maiden kept me company.
The Maiden!
She feared neither cold nor wind! Needed no breath!
She remained a virgin still.
Ha! A virgin wrought of black iron! What manner of companion was that?
Only I...
Crow's Eye!
The reason I gritted my teeth and endured, clinging to life, was to witness your doom with my own eyes! You should kneel in mud and steel to repent and weep! Beg for mercy without dignity! And never, ever be forgiven!
How to punish Crow's Eye?
Kill him! Bind him to a ship's prow for a hundred days! Cast him into the sea to feed the sharks! Cut him into a thousand pieces! Subject him to...
In those brief moments of venting her emotions, Mia conceived every punishment method her imagination could conjure—hundreds of them, perhaps. Yet still it felt insufficient to ease her hatred! Not nearly enough!
But in the end, she voiced not a single torment.
After her screams ceased and calm returned, she said only: "I shall follow Your Grace's wisdom in this matter."
Still feeling her words inadequate, Mia continued: "By Your Grace's mercy, Mia was blessed to witness your supreme glory in subduing the sea monster, and has learned something of the greater difficulties we face."
She stared at Crow's Eye with naked hatred. "If this wretch can serve any purpose in bringing peace to the Seven Kingdoms or resisting the world's end, then let him live a while longer!"
What?
For a moment, the entire hall fell into stunned silence.
Under every watching gaze, King Joffrey did not refuse this strange mercy, but settled back into his seat—seemingly moved by her words!
People could not help but whisper among themselves.
Most of the lord knights of Grey Shield Island felt anxiety and indignation rising, surprised by Mia's bizarre suggestion.
Spare Crow's Eye's life?
Easy words to speak! The port of Grey Shield Island lay burned to ash! How many had died in the town's streets!
Moreover, the Shield Islands' sacred duty was to resist Ironborn raids. Through thousands of years of longship invasions, the hatred between the peoples—sealed with countless blood—had become impossible to erase.
For the heinous Euron Crow's Eye, the Shield Islands held but one opinion: execute him immediately!
Yet did they dare stand and voice protest?
The knights of the Shield Islands regarded Mia with complex emotions.
What this bastard daughter spoke did ring with nobility.
House Hightower's suffering had clearly exceeded that of Grey Shield Island. Yet for the sake of "greater difficulties," she abandoned personal vengeance and delivered Crow's Eye to the King's judgment.
Would Grey Shield Island now disregard the realm's larger needs?
Silence stretched on. Finally, someone could no longer contain themselves.
"Euron Crow's Eye."
The King's voice cut through the tension like a blade. "Count yourself fortunate that you yet conceal secrets of value. For the sake of millions of innocent souls, I shall spare your miserable life once more. However, though death may be avoided, punishment cannot be escaped."