A letter from Crakehall brought a trace of strange change to what had originally been peaceful and tranquil Highgarden.
"Your Grace, you absolutely must not believe what Kal wrote in that letter. It is nothing but deliberate provocation—he is simply trying to drive a wedge between us!"
"That damned bastard Kal—not only did he seduce my daughter, he now even wants to smear House Tyrell with such filthy means!"
"Your Grace, House Tyrell is absolutely loyal to you, without the slightest trace of disloyal intent!"
In the garden where Renly Baratheon was staying, Lord Mace Tyrell of Highgarden spoke earnestly as he explained things to Renly, while at the same time grinding his teeth and hurling curses at Kal, who had caused all of this.
In truth, he himself did not even know exactly what had happened. He only knew that his precious daughter, Margaery Tyrell—who was originally supposed to marry Renly Baratheon—had suddenly fled the marriage without any warning.
By the time he found out, several days had already passed since she had slipped away.
As for the maid who had assisted Margaery in deceiving and misleading them, he had already ordered her buttocks beaten to a pulp and thrown her into prison.
He had, of course, dispatched troops to pursue them. However, the awkward part was that before matters could conclude as he had envisioned, this terrible piece of news had already arrived in his hands.
Seeing this "Lord Puff Fish" in such frantic agitation, Renly himself wore an expression of embarrassment.
After all, the one who had run away was his fiancée. No matter how one looked at it, the one who had lost the most face was him.
What was even more embarrassing was that he had learned of this matter even later than the Lord of Highgarden standing before him.
By all rights, as Margaery Tyrell's betrothed, it was impossible for him to be the last to know about such a situation—so this truly was rather awkward.
His wife had run off with someone else, yet he, the husband, was still completely in the dark.
And the problem was that by the time he learned of this matter, it was already too late.
Moreover, he himself was on someone else's territory, so it was not appropriate for him to disregard the Tyrell family's face and dignity and dispatch troops to pursue the matter over this.
Therefore, he could only choose to make a big issue into a small one, and a small one into nothing at all, waiting for the Tyrell family to handle it quietly themselves—ideally allowing the matter to come to an end without a sound.
When the time came, everyone would tacitly treat it as though this incident had never happened and simply let it pass.
At that point, everyone would remain harmonious and at ease.
However, in all things, what one fears most is "however."
What Renly waited for was not the cold, quiet handling he had hoped for, but instead such a letter from Crakehall—sent by his nephew, who also harbored delusions of becoming king.
And within that letter it was written that his fiancée had already become the other party's prisoner, and had also been slept with by him.
It could be said that the moment this letter reached his hands, the words inside felt as if Kal were standing right in front of him, delivering several loud slaps straight across his face, making it unbearably uncomfortable.
This was nothing short of an immense humiliation.
After all, this so-called "fiancée" of his had followed him out of King's Landing after his elder brother Robert died.
Yet now, when she was about to marry him, she had suddenly and inexplicably fled the marriage.
And the object of that flight was his elder brother's son—his nephew who was now openly lining up against him to contend for the Iron Throne.
This rose of Highgarden, as if she had lost her mind, had forcefully placed a lush green hat upon his head.
All right, perhaps it could not be put quite that way, since his engagement with Margaery had not yet even had time to be announced, and he did not actually like this beautiful girl.
But no matter how much he preferred men, that was still a private matter.
Because once such things were brought into the open, they became deadly—no one's face would look good under such circumstances.
Off the scale, it weighed only two ounces; once on the scale, even a thousand pounds could not contain it.
And what truly made him feel the worst was that after Margaery Tyrell fled the marriage to seek out Kal Baratheon, Kal Baratheon actually did not accept her affection at all.
In the end, he even took advantage of this opportunity to wipe out the Crakehall family of Crakehall, seizing this key stronghold in the process.
And now he actually dared to write a letter to mock him, sowing discord between him and the Tyrell family.
Just look at what the letter said—the Tyrell family was duplicitous, and their plot had been exposed by him.
And then he warned him to see clearly what kind of people House Tyrell were, and not to believe the words of certain people who should not be believed, lest he muddleheadedly fall into a pit.
At the very end of the letter, he even urged him to surrender, saying that if, right now, before he caused greater losses, he would submit and allow himself to be captured, then King Kal Baratheon I would, in great mercy, spare him from punishment.
He would still be his good uncle.
Just listen—how grand and proper those words sounded.
This little bastard not only lured away and slept with his fiancée, the future queen, but now even wanted him to bow his head and swear fealty while humiliating him at the same time.
So what—was the next step to make him bow and debase himself even further?
So how could Renly possibly swallow this insult.
If House Tyrell had not blocked him with all their might, saying that this matter was House Tyrell's scandal and that it should not trouble His Grace Renly, and that they did not dare let His Grace Renly suffer further humiliation to his face—he would already have taken his army to personally go and make trouble for that damned "nephew" of his.
As for the Tyrell family's plots and schemes mentioned in the letter, and the words warning him to be careful, although Renly subconsciously grew wary in his heart, he did not pay them too much mind.
After all, in this situation, no matter what, he should not show a suspicious heart at such a moment.
Otherwise, would that not be falling right into Kal's trap?
Since Kal wanted to use this to drive a wedge between himself and House Tyrell, if he failed to hold steady now, would he not be revealing information that he did not trust House Tyrell?
This was also part of the reason why, when House Tyrell stated that they would resolve this matter themselves and did not want him to interfere, he went along with it.
Because compared to venting his anger, what mattered most right now was instead to steady House Tyrell, and not let them lose confidence in him.
What was more, House Tyrell at present had shown no such signs at all.
Whether it was Margaery Tyrell's sudden flight from the marriage, or House Tyrell's reaction afterward, and their support for him remaining as it always had been, all of it showed that the possibility of such a thing was, in fact, not very great.
Moreover, privately, Loras Tyrell had also told him that there was no such matter at all.
After that, Loras casually brought up as well that Margaery had actually always harbored an affection for Kal, Robert's bastard son; this had been the case ever since he was merely a landless knight.
Therefore, with the promise given by his beloved, the Knight of Flowers Loras Tyrell, and the conduct shown by House Tyrell, this matter appeared to be nothing like how frightening Kal had described it.
Thus, in broad terms, regarding this affair, Renly also felt that it was merely an unpleasant incident caused by the willfulness of a young girl in the season of her youth.
It had simply happened to occur at an awkward point in time.
After all, Margaery knew about the relationship between himself and Loras.
To force her to marry someone like him, who was entangled with her own brother, did indeed carry a measure of grievance.
After hearing Loras Tyrell's account, Renly understood Margaery's feelings—an affection that could not be restrained.
Just like his own with Loras.
"Lord Mace, there is no need to be anxious. I will not take Kal's nonsense to heart."
"Although this lad does not know where he learned his military talent, it must be said that he is a genius—not only adept at warfare, but also skilled in these schemes that strike at the heart."
Seeing Lord Mace Tyrell sweating profusely as he explained himself before him, Renly exchanged a glance with Loras, then reached out and helped him sit down beside him.
Renly's words allowed Mace Tyrell to breathe a great sigh of relief in his heart.
At a time like this, he truly feared that if Renly Baratheon were to develop doubts toward House Tyrell, then where would House Tyrell go from there?
Would that not turn a single dead end into being blocked on both sides?
By then, House Tyrell would likely become the greatest laughingstock in all the Seven Kingdoms.
Damn Margaery, damn Kal El!
At the thought of this, Mace Tyrell could not help but curse a few more times in his heart, even though one of them was his own precious daughter.
Fortunately, Renly was a clever man and did not lightly believe this page full of absurd claims.
Indeed, House Tyrell had not made the wrong choice in choosing Renly.
Look—this was the bearing a king ought to have.
How could that damned bastard, a mere baseborn who only knew how to play petty tricks, possibly understand such things?
Seeing that Renly truly harbored no resentment toward House Tyrell over this matter, Mace Tyrell—who had rushed over in haste to explain—finally relaxed quite a bit.
"That is good, that is good. Your Grace Renly, it is precisely your magnanimity and benevolence, and your peerless wisdom, that kept you from believing the despicable bastard's scheme."
Mace's expression turned ingratiating again as he spoke to Renly.
At this, Renly shook his head and said with a smile, "I trust House Tyrell, just as House Tyrell trusts me. Our alliance is not something that such lies can pierce."
However, after saying this, Renly looked again at Mace Tyrell before him, and his tone shifted.
"Nevertheless, Lord Mace, although Kal's despicable scheme has been exposed by us, I believe this matter still needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible, after all—"
After all, the one most disgraced by this scandal was not House Tyrell, but he himself, Renly Baratheon.
Renly did not say this aloud, but he knew that Mace Tyrell would certainly understand his meaning.
Before Mace Tyrell could pat his chest and say anything, however—
Loras Tyrell, who had been standing to the side and had said little all this time, suddenly interjected.
"Only by bringing my sister back can we clear this matter.
Loras feared that his father might not have fully grasped what Renly meant, and added this explanation at the side.
Hearing the words of the two of them, Mace Tyrell nodded repeatedly, clearly in agreement.
"I will find a way as soon as possible. I have already summoned the bannermen, and your grandmother has also sent a letter to Arbor Island. When the time comes, the Redwyne fleet will likewise dispatch forces."
"Damn Kal—I will make him pay the price!
"He should never have provoked House Tyrell in such a despicable manner!"
It would have been better not to mention it; once he did, the more Mace Tyrell thought about it, the angrier he became.
This time, he was truly enraged.
Mm—this also included his mother, Lady Olenna Redwyne, the Queen of Thorns.
Thus, after receiving his mother's indication, he directly issued a summons across the entire Reach, calling the bannermen in the name of the Warden of the South.
He swore that he would absolutely make Robert's bastard, who dared to humiliate House Tyrell in such a way, pay the price.
Having obtained the answer they wanted, Renly Baratheon and Loras Tyrell exchanged another glance and nodded to each other in tacit understanding.
Then Renly turned his head to look at Mace Tyrell, nodded, and said, "Since that is the case, then so be it."
"However, Lord Mace, I believe I may have to leave Highgarden for a period of time and return to my seat at Storm's End."
Mace Tyrell, who had been about to continue cursing Kal, was momentarily taken aback upon hearing Renly's words, his expression stiffening slightly.
"Your Grace—what do you mean by this?"
Seeing that Renly was so quick to take his leave, Mace's first thought was that Renly might truly have begun to harbor some doubts toward them, and anxiety could not help but rise again in his heart.
At this moment, Loras Tyrell—who had already discussed this matter with Renly and was fully aware of the situation—stepped forward once more.
"No, Father. It is only because His Grace Renly is not presently at Storm's End that some of the bannermen of the Stormlands seem to be voicing dissatisfaction with His Grace Renly's legitimate rule."
"In addition, there is the matter of Stannis Baratheon. From what we have heard, Stannis Baratheon appears to be mobilizing his royal fleet, and the destination seems to be Storm's End."
"With His Grace Renly so far away at Highgarden, it is somewhat beyond reach for him to handle these matters."
With just a few sentences, Loras explained clearly the reason Renly wished to depart.
In fact, when Renly first learned of these matters, he had already intended to leave. It was only after learning that Kal was also summoning his bannermen and advancing toward the Reach that he put it off for several days.
Then, with Margaery's incident occurring recently, it became even more difficult for him to depart.
Yet the situation in the Stormlands could not be left unattended.
At present, the two Baratheon brothers and a bastard were all claiming the crown at the same time, and the lords of the Stormlands also seemed somewhat unsettled.
This situation should not have existed in the first place. After all, after so many years of Renly's management, the Stormlands had long since been regarded as his unshakable base.
It was simply that this matter was no longer something he alone could decide.
In King's Landing, Eddard Stark had made everything that had occurred known to the realm.
Moreover, Renly Baratheon himself had been one of the witnesses to Robert's legitimization of Kal El and to the question of succession—yet he now intended to betray that oath.
Such actions by Renly ultimately created fissures in the hearts of some of the Stormlands' nobles.
Fairness resides in the hearts of men; whether for the sake of interests or anything else, different people will inevitably hold different views.
Although Renly felt that those people were simply afraid of some so-called dragon.
Yes—Renly had also once been worried about the fact that Kal had actually hatched a dragon from a dragon egg.
But the words of House Tyrell's wise woman—Lady Olenna Redwyne, the Queen of Thorns—had awakened him.
If he were considering this matter in ten years, or even thirty years, then she would support him in honoring Kal as king.
But now—Kal, as a bastard, had actually hatched a dragon.
Then he, Renly Baratheon, as the legitimate blood of House Baratheon—could it be that he did not also have the talent to ride a dragon?
Renly fell silent at this.
Then he followed House Tyrell to Highgarden and accepted their fealty.
It was only that he, who had originally intended to go to the battlefield in person and face Kal, in a short span of time consecutively encountered the Margaery Tyrell incident, unrest in his own domain of the Stormlands, and the military threat from his brother Stannis Baratheon—and he could no longer sit still.
Now that House Tyrell, because of this humiliating incident caused by Kal, was preparing to go all out, the meaning of his remaining here was, in truth, not that great.
With that time, would it not be better to hurry back to Storm's End, calm the anxious atmosphere within his domain, at the same time summon his bannermen to answer Stannis's delusions, and take him down in the process?
Moreover, on Kal's side, it was simply impossible for him to win.
When the time came, that dragon—said to be golden—would naturally become their spoils of war as well.
If House Tyrell were to present it to him, as compensation for the Margaery incident, then it would also happen to be appropriate.
It could be said that, if this matter were handled in this way now, it would completely be killing two birds with one stone.
And then, once he had dealt with both Kal and Stannis, would taking the Iron Throne not be merely a matter of shifting his backside?
What was more, by that time, he, Renly Baratheon, would also possess a dragon—something only the Targaryens had once possessed.
If that bastard Kal could do it, then as the legitimate bloodline, he—could he not do it as well?
"Ser Loras, what do you think this comet ought to be called?"
Thinking of the beauty of the future, Renly could not help but lift his head once more to look toward the sky above.
A blood-red comet, casting its reflection until heaven and earth changed color.
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