"But these things still belong to the Lannisters, and are not yet in your hands, are they?"
Tywin gave a cold laugh as well.
"Your Majesty, perhaps you have not considered—if you reject me, then the 30,000 troops before you will still remain your enemies."
To Robert's unrelenting stance, Tywin Lannister finally showed the blade within his words.
"I can guarantee, faced with the Iron Throne's ruthlessness, the Lannister army will fight back with their lives."
"So let us guess—how many troops of the North can defeat them?"
Speaking this threat, Tywin turned his gaze upon the northern lords, their features plain to see.
For now, it was the Northmen who made up the bulk of the army before him.
As for the Riverlands, he had long since foresightedly reduced them to ruin.
So the meaning of his words was plain—if it came to this, who among you here would bleed, who would die?
It was a blunt question, Tywin Lannister grasping well the ways of advantage.
"And I think all should not forget—across the Narrow Sea, House Lannister has already hired countless mercenary hosts with gold. If they do not receive what is theirs, I do not think they will simply give up. Oh, and Lannister has also borrowed a vast sum from the Iron Bank."
"And that money paid only 30% of their deposit."
Tywin pressed on with his threats, throwing forth every means still within his grasp.
Yet against the Iron Throne's relentlessness, he remained utterly calm, his tone no longer mocking.
He merely spoke the facts as they were.
Though all knew this old lion was wielding them as threats.
Yet such stark entanglements of interest laid bare did indeed prove effective.
The nobles around, who but moments ago were filled with enmity and killing intent toward him, could not help but exchange glances.
In that moment, Tywin had mercilessly seized upon human nature.
And seeing this old bastard dare to speak such blood-soaked provocations at such a time, Robert instantly flew into a rage.
The King bellowed, suddenly rising to his feet.
"Then let blood wash away your sins, Lannister!"
In that instant, Robert's killing intent toward Tywin Lannister reached its peak.
Yet the King's furious roar made Eddard Stark's brows knit tightly.
At the same time, he could not help but sigh inwardly.
Looking at the nobles before him, whose expressions had all turned complicated after Robert's furious roar, Eddard knew he could no longer remain seated.
So this time he did not stay upon his bench but rose directly, stepping before the King.
Once again he took up the role of mediator and peacemaker.
"Lord Tywin, you know very well why you chose to surrender at such a time—because your reason tells you that bowing before the Iron Throne now is the most dignified, and at the same time the least costly, choice for House Lannister."
"So if we truly wish for this war to end, could we not all show a bit more patience?"
Eddard Stark's voice was no longer so sharp or forceful.
A war could be fought—that much was fine.
But how to fight, and who would fight, that was another question.
This campaign that the King had launched against House Lannister of the Westerlands was justified and grounded, and as a vassal, Eddard Stark was bound to answer the King's summons.
Yet Eddard himself knew well that while the North and House Stark were utterly loyal to the Iron Throne, what others thought was another matter entirely.
Otherwise, why was it that he had been the first to respond to the King's call to arms, while as for the South, the Reach, Dorne's Martells, the Iron Islands, and the Vale—
Even the King's own Baratheon lands in the Stormlands—why had their responses to war been so slow?
The hearts of men are veiled; all things come down to profit.
As much as the Starks valued honor, so did these others value interest.
And it was Tywin Lannister's reaction to the King's campaign that had exceeded everyone's expectations.
Facing the overwhelming disparity of strength, the Riverlands had no choice but to become the sole sacrifice in this war.
It was only because his own Northern forces had moved swiftly—and because Kal Stone, as vanguard, had secured rapid victories in the Riverlands' battles—
That the situation there had not rotted beyond repair. And with the later arrival of the main host pressing in, it had finally forced the Lannister army, with no choice left, to retreat to Harrenhal.
It could be said that in this war the King had raised against the Westerlands and House Lannister, the one that suffered the greatest losses was, after all, the Riverlands.
So if Tywin Lannister chose to surrender, and truly was willing to yield all as he claimed—
Then that would in fact be a good thing.
At least in Eddard's view, if the war ended, then no more men would die.
Enough had already died since this war began.
"Hand of the King, I have always been patient."
"You asked my terms for surrender, and I have already told you."
To Eddard's persuasion, Tywin remained neither humble nor arrogant—steady, composed, and unwavering in pursuit of his own interests.
But this made Robert blow out his beard in fury.
"Ned, don't tell me you'd believe that cunning, deceitful bastard born of a whore!"
"Your Majesty!" Eddard felt truly helpless.
Yet he could not deny that Robert's reminder was not without reason—for from the very start of this war, Tywin Lannister's schemes had been many indeed.
It could be said that if not for the unexpected factor of Kal Stone, whether they could now sit here accepting Tywin Lannister's so-called surrender was uncertain.
He was insidious and ruthless, daring to besiege Riverrun to lure the Northern host, and taking that chance to plunder the Riverlands.
Even at the very outset of the war, he had already arranged everything leading up to this point.
He had deftly drawn outside forces into what should have been a war confined to the Seven Kingdoms, and toward Dorne, the Reach, and other lands, he grasped men's hearts with skill.
All to create opportunities for himself.
And the most venomous of all was that he had even taken the entire King's Landing as hostage, forcing the King into a so-called "fair" battle with him.
He knew clearly that every chance he created was nothing but an illusion.
But it was precisely because of this that he dared, even before all had begun, to set everything in motion—placing all that belonged to House Lannister upon the gambling table.
Then, taking advantage of that sliver of gap he had created, he seized upon the key point—King's Landing itself.
One must know that King's Landing was the Crownlands, the territory directly ruled by the King, a vast city of four to five hundred thousand souls.
If Robert were truly heartless enough to abandon his own subjects, and chose in reckless pride to bring about a decisive war to annihilate House Lannister—
Then by that time, the throne beneath Robert's own seat would have reached its end as well.
To know that Robert Baratheon overthrew the Targaryen dynasty and ascended the Iron Throne—it had only been little more than ten years.
Under such circumstances, the Baratheon rule over the Seven Kingdoms could hardly be called stable.
And in secret, who could tell how many still longed for the Targaryens who once ruled them to rise again?
Perhaps to the common folk, it might seem that whoever ruled them was all the same.
They were merely the lords' slaves, lambs, tools for the rulers to create wealth.
But let us not forget—precisely because of this, they were all the easier to control.
Faith, at certain times, was not merely a tool of rulers.
Interests are eternal.
It was precisely for this reason that, after Jon Arryn's death, Robert had hastened in such a flurry, traveling thousands of kilometers north to seek his help.
As King, Robert might have neglected governance, but he knew very well where his true support lay—who were the ones that had truly made him king.
Robert was perfectly aware that there were no few who cast covetous eyes upon the Iron Throne.
And he knew even more clearly that a mere decade of rule after a dynastic upheaval could never make the Baratheon line secure.
Why had he quarreled so fiercely with Eddard Stark in the godswood?
What was it that truly troubled King Robert's heart?
Was it really only the matter of whether killing two children was just?
On that point, King Robert knew full well.
Eddard also understood, though his own sense of justice would never allow him to yield or compromise.
Thus, what Robert truly worried about—what he feared, what he dreaded—were those two orphaned remnants of the fallen dynasty still living beyond the Narrow Sea.
Throughout the Seven Kingdoms, if there was not a single soul hoping for their return, Robert would never believe it even if he were beaten to death.
The Targaryen family had unified the Seven Kingdoms under Aegon the Conqueror and the might of dragons, ruling for hundreds of years and laying down foundations that could not be shaken so easily.
And setting that aside—not even speaking of how Tywin, in a move that shocked all, seized King's Landing and used it as leverage to threaten King Robert—whether this was truly to unsettle the Baratheon regime or not,
Even looking solely at the strategic situation of the war,
Just Kevan Lannister's capture of King's Landing, coupled with the unknown number of mercenary armies beyond the Narrow Sea and the unclear involvement of powers from across that sea,
Had already made this originally straightforward war become increasingly obscure and unpredictable.
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