White Harbor, Merman Hall, the Manderly family's ancestral castle.
"You... you're lying! My... my father isn't a monster!"
Shireen Baratheon said, a little displeased, to Marco. Her mother, Selyse Baratheon, quickly pulled her back, wanting to hide her behind her. However, the little girl still glared at Marco with some dissatisfaction.
"Your... Your Majesty! My daughter doesn't mean any harm, it's just that this kind of thing is too... too much..."
Selyse Baratheon spoke, her voice trembling slightly. Although she was a fervent believer of the Lord of Light, that didn't mean she was an idiot.
In this situation, if she still acted as if she were superior, she would be courting death. At this moment, Selyse Baratheon seemed to have forgotten many things.
She seemed to have forgotten her status as queen, forgotten her faith in the Lord of Light. Now, Selyse was just a mother who simply wanted to protect her daughter.
Marco turned his head and looked at the two women, mother and daughter. The magic control skill unconsciously sensed them. When he sensed the gray scales on Shireen Baratheon's face, a hint of curiosity flashed across Marco's face.
Marco didn't dwell too much on Shireen's attitude. He just smiled slightly and said to her, "Your father is a respectable opponent, but he's not a qualified lord. His faith has caused him to lose many things, including the belief in protecting his people, which he has always been so proud of."
After saying this, Marco whispered to the Nymph beside him. Then, Marco's wives turned their gazes towards Shireen.
"Little human girl, have you been feeling an itch on your face lately? Do you feel like there's water flowing inside your body?"
The Nymph's beautiful and exquisite face caused a moment of trance among those around them. Shireen's heart skipped a beat, as if it had suddenly stopped, and she didn't know how to respond.
Selyse, however, sensed the key point in the Nymph's words and asked with a trembling voice, "E...excuse me, what do you mean? Is something bad going to happen to Shireen?"
The Nymph nodded without answering, then pointed towards Shireen. Immediately, a stream of water suddenly appeared in front of everyone, gently lifting Shireen up.
The water was incredibly strange; it didn't soak Shireen's clothes at all. She felt like she was wrapped in a soft blanket, making her want to doze off.
Watching Shireen slowly drift towards Marco and the others, Davos and Selyse visibly stiffened. However, they quickly composed themselves. They were powerless to do anything.
After all, their own lives were in Marco's hands. They dared not make any sudden moves, fearing they might anger him and endanger Shireen.
Shireen, being a child, was quickly captivated by the water. It was cool and felt very comfortable against her skin.
Then, the Nymph left her seat and slowly approached Shireen. She extended her slender, jade-like right hand and gently touched Shireen's cheek.
Immediately, Shireen's face, covered in hard, scaly patches, seemed to come alive. She felt a tingling sensation on her cheek, and in moments, the scales began to move.
The scales then began to retract towards the spot the Nymph had touched, and the grey color of the scales began to change, eventually transforming into a patch of pale blue, transparent gemstone.
"Sister, what did you do to me? Why can't I feel the scales on my face anymore? Hey! There's one here! Ah... it's so cold!"
Shireen touched her cheek in disbelief, asking the Nymph, unable to hide the smile on her face.
The scales on her face had always made Shireen feel insecure. Aside from the old Maester and Davos, she had hardly any friends, and mostly kept to her books. In them, she knew how terrible Greyscale was, and that it was practically incurable.
But now, Shireen couldn't believe that this disease, which had baffled countless Maesters, and its aftereffects, had actually been cured.
Looking at her face, which was almost completely restored, Shireen's heart felt like it was filled with honey. She quickly ran to her mother and threw herself into her arms.
Selyse also looked at her daughter with excitement, gently stroking Shireen's smooth, delicate cheek, her eyes filled with affection.
However, when Selyse looked toward Marco and the others, her expression became somewhat complicated, her heart a mix of emotions, and she felt a little lost.
Selyse had already learned about Stannis from Davos. Stannis's departure made her feel like her faith had crumbled. She had once believed her husband was a savior.
But with the disappearance of Stannis and the dragon, Selyse saw more, and it made her re-evaluate herself.
After experiencing such emotional turmoil, Selyse had seen through many things. The most important things in this woman's life were her family and her faith.
And after her faith collapsed, Selyse's only remaining family member, Shireen, became her sole support for living. At this moment, she gradually regained her composure, returning to the noblewoman she once was, from the Florent family.
After slightly bowing to Marco and the others to express her gratitude, Selyse pulled her daughter back into the captive group. In her eyes, Marco and his companions were still enemies. Although she was grateful, Selyse, as a queen, still possessed her pride.
Seeing Nymph sitting down, Marco said to Davos:
"Now, you have become my prisoners. According to the laws of the Valyrian Empire, I could sentence you to death. Your king refused to pledge allegiance to me and initiated a war against me.
However, I believe this was all due to your being misled by false gods. Therefore, I have decided not to pursue your responsibilities. I will also allow someone to continue to grant Wolf's Den to Stannis's heir, provided that you must pledge allegiance to me."
Marco's words left the noble captives of Stannis's faction looking at each other in bewilderment, unsure how to respond.
In the end, they all unanimously turned their gaze towards Selyse. Selyse sighed with a touch of helplessness and said:
"Your Majesty! We still hope to buy back our freedom with Gold Dragons. If you allow it, we wish to return to our own lands."
Marco shook his head and said, "This is my empire. There is no clause for 'ransoming captives' under my laws. And it's impossible for me to let you return south. My army will also move south soon. I can't let you surrender to the Iron Throne and then come against me, unless you all become dead men."
"Your Majesty! This… this doesn't seem to align with the holy laws, we…"
Davos said with some helplessness. He had guessed what might happen to them from the start. He was prepared for the worst: that his people would be imprisoned or killed. He never expected Marco to make such a demand.
Davos had heard about Marco's ruling system. Shireen had told him about it. It was a system similar to the 'Great Council' system on the continent of Westeros.
Because Davos had become a noble, he knew that nobles would not be willing to give up their military power and the right to tax.
"I have been very merciful to you. During the era of the Valyrian Freehold, according to the laws of our ancestors, you should all become slaves of the empire. However, I inherently dislike such laws. Therefore, I abolished the slave system. But, if you still try to provoke me, then I don't mind sending you to feed the dragons."
Marco spoke to Stannis's people in an extremely calm tone. At the same time, a faint blood-colored energy emanated from his body, making his words sound faintly imposing.
Finally, Selyse and Davos exchanged a glance, and with their prisoners, swore fealty to Marco.
After that, Marco turned his gaze towards the nobles of the Two Rivers Plain. He looked at the three female members of House Manderly standing before the male nobles, and shook his head with a touch of helplessness.
The status of women in this world was better than in the medieval period of the Blue Star, but only slightly.
Although women could inherit titles and lands, in the eyes of many great nobles, women were still their vassals. They didn't like being governed by women, nor would they be happy to see a woman as king.
Therefore, in the television series, Cersei Baratheon's ascension to the throne and the destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor wouldn't gain her the support of the nobles. On the contrary, she would likely lose her head to assassins or rioters the very next day.
But at certain times, these great nobles would be very happy to have women stand in front of them – when they surrendered, or when they took the blame.
Although the nobles of the Two Rivers Plain were somewhat shameless, they did have the merit of surrendering the city. Therefore, Marco had to make his attitude clear.
After consoling the three female members of House Manderly who had lost their loved ones, Marco announced his system and the corresponding rewards to these nobles.
Although their military power and some rights were stripped, Marco also gave them corresponding rewards, including helping them expand their castles and build factories.
The Two Rivers Plain had a rather complete handicraft system. Industries like gold and silver ornaments, woodenware, glass products, and wool blankets had always supported White Harbor's economic development, allowing the nobles there to live well.
However, no matter the industry, they could still get many different suggestions from Marco, especially since Marco had the "BUG"-like existences of the Druids and Sprites.
The Druids could optimize and transform the planting and breeding industries. The introduction of new grain seeds and economic crop seeds could completely double the output value of the White Harbor area.
Not to mention the various practical tools provided by the Sprites. In a few years, Marco's Sprite workshops were very likely to replace Myr on the Essos continent and become the most developed precision handicraft production place in the world.
The next day, Marco's newly established White Harbor Council held its first meeting in Merman Hall. At the meeting, Marco promoted a total of three agenda items.
The first was to promote the construction of roads in the Two Rivers Plain area. The bridges in this area were also too few, and passage in many places was not very convenient. The roads were narrow, and only some merchant caravans knew them.
These muddy roads, like capillaries, severely restricted the development of The North and would also affect Marco's rule in the future. Therefore, the road construction plan was passed as the first motion.
The second point was to reduce the size of the military. In reality, each castle didn't have a large standing army. Disbanding the auxiliary troops of these standing armies basically met Marco's requirements.
These disbanded auxiliary troops would then be absorbed into Marco's imperial army, preparing him for future conquest. Establishing these rules now would prevent him from being influenced by an alliance of noble forces in the future.
The third point was to rebuild a fleet. Marco wanted to integrate the White Harbor Fleet with Stannis's former Royal Fleet, forming an elite fleet.
Winning naval battles didn't rely on numbers or a large number of ships. Often, a well-equipped naval force could defeat enemies several times their size.
Later that night, Marco held a grand banquet in Merman Hall. Although yesterday's battle had damaged many areas, Merman Hall was quite spacious.
After simple repairs and isolation of the damaged areas, it could be put back into normal use. The resources that could be allocated in White Harbor were simply too many.
The ingredients at tonight's banquet included almost all the specialties of The North and the Vale: cakes, meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, and wines from all over the world.
Musicians and bards performed earnestly on the stage, jesters told jokes, and some jugglers performed various skills they were good at.
Many of them wanted to show off in front of King Marco. Many well-informed individuals had already inquired; there were no dedicated singers, musicians, or jesters in Marco's palace.
However, Marco wasn't particularly interested in such things. At the moment, he was chatting with his wives, five stunning foreign women who drew the attention of many in the room.
As the music began, some noble young ladies approached Marco, ready to invite him to dance, while none of the male members dared to invite Marco's wives.
These great nobles had already inquired beforehand. Marco's wives never danced with other men, and even Marco himself had never invited anyone to dance.
There were rumors that Marco was actually a transformed dragon, so his wives were all of foreign descent because Marco's sword was too large; no human woman's scabbard could handle it.
Marco smiled and declined the noble young ladies' invitations. Instead, he pulled Moonshadow and began the first dance of the day. The dances on the continent of Westeros were mostly upbeat and lively.
They weren't like the European aristocratic dances of the industrial revolution on Earth. Marco wasn't very good at dancing either, but as king, he had to perform the first dance before others could start.
However, Marco didn't like the dancing style of Westeros. So, he had the musicians change the tune slightly. Then, Marco pulled Moonshadow and began to slowly dance, imitating the Western-style dances he remembered from his previous life.
Although it was his first time dancing in such a setting, Marco quickly adapted. Moonshadow followed his lead, imitating his movements.
Soon, this novel dance form captivated everyone present. Marco and Moonshadow's partnership perfectly expressed the dance's elegance and serenity.
Before long, others began to learn their dance steps. Many talented individuals were already dancing almost as well as Marco and Moonshadow.
After the song ended, Marco led Moonshadow back to where Maeve and the others were. The naturally lively Nymph immediately pulled Marco back into the crowd to dance again.
The banquet continued until the late hours of the night. Marco danced the new dance with each of his wives. During that time, some bold noblewomen came to invite Marco to dance, but he refused them all without exception.
One month later, near the Neck and Moat Cailin.
Marco rode ahead on a Crystal Dragon, with Aegon following him on an Ice Dragon. The surroundings were...
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