Joffrey's soul was lost.
Though he was sitting in the The Red Keep's opulent dining room, slicing tender roasted quail with a silver knife, his thoughts had already flown back to the warm suite on Silk Street from last night.
The ambiguous atmosphere in the air, the fresh scent of rain-kissed grass on the girl, the feeling of first experiencing pure bliss... and those eyes that gazed at him, filled with pure adoration and admiration...
"Joffrey."
Cersei's voice pulled him back from his dizzying fantasies.
Joffrey looked up to see his mother scrutinizing him.
"Where were you last night?"
"Learning how to be a true king from Lord Lynn."
Without thinking, Joffrey trotted out the excuse Lynn had taught him.
His tone carried a hint of impatience and a sense of superiority he himself hadn't even noticed.
He was no longer the little boy who only knew how to hide behind his mother's skirts.
He was a man, a man who had experienced the true taste of power!
Cersei's brows furrowed.
She didn't like Joffrey's attitude, and she especially disliked how close he was getting to Lynn.
But before she could scold him, Joffrey had already turned his gaze to the other end of the dining table.
Sansa Stark.
She was looking down, sipping her soup in small mouthfuls.
Her posture was elegant, impeccable.
But in Joffrey's eyes, she was like an emotionless statue at this moment.
Beautiful, yet lifeless.
Moreover, ever since he had The Hound kill that commoner, the way she looked at him was no longer the adoring gaze from before, which made him somewhat angry.
Joffrey thought of Liana.
He remembered her soft body, her sweet voice, the small warmth, and that melting passion.
Compared to the two.
One was heaven, the other hell!
Just then, Lynn's light words from when he left last night, like a thorn coated in Lysene poison, suddenly pierced Joffrey's heart.
"After all, she still has other guests to entertain."
Other guests?
Other guests!
A scene that made him almost vomit instantly flashed through Joffrey's mind.
A fat merchant with a beer belly and a sweaty stench, stroking Liana's smooth, jade-like skin with his dirty, plump hands.
No!
Absolutely not!
She was so pitiful.
That girl was his!
She was the first and only woman in this world who understood and admired him!
Her pure eyes should only look at him!
Her sweet voice should only praise him!
Everything about her should belong to him!
"Bang!"
Joffrey slammed his knife and fork onto the table, making a jarring sound.
The entire dining room instantly fell silent.
Cersei, Jaime, Robert, Ned, and even Sansa, all looked at Joffrey with astonished eyes.
"I'm full."
Joffrey didn't even look at them, suddenly stood up, and strode out of the dining room.
He couldn't wait another moment.
He had to find Lynn.
He had to go back.
Tonight, he had to see Liana again!
...In the Tower of the Hand's study.
Lynn was facing a large map of King's Landing, circling something on it with a quill.
Joffrey burst in like a gust of wind, without even knocking.
"Lynn!"
His voice was a bit harsh due to his urgency.
"Tonight, we're going out again!"
Lynn looked up, a hint of appropriate surprise on his face, which then turned into a knowing smile.
"Your Highness, it seems last night's experience has left you longing for more."
Lynn's tone held a hint of teasing, making Joffrey's handsome face instantly flush crimson.
"I... I just want to go again... to understand the common people's situation again!"
Joffrey argued, feigning bravery while inwardly timid.
"Is that so?"
Lynn put down his pen, walked around the desk, and stood before him.
"Is it to understand the common people's situation, or to see that girl named Liana?"
He exposed Joffrey's pathetic pretense with a single sentence.
"I..."
Joffrey was speechless.
In front of Lynn's eyes, which seemed to see through everything, he felt like a child stripped naked.
"I can't stand it!"
Joffrey finally gave up his pretense, growling like an enraged young beast.
"I can't stand those dirty guys touching her!"
"Liana shouldn't belong there!"
"But that is her life, Your Highness."
Lynn's tone was calm, almost cruel.
"She is a commodity, a plaything that can be bought for a night with gold dragons, no, silver stags."
"Today it's you, tomorrow it might be some spice merchant from Pentos."
"Even if she has feelings for you, for survival, she has to yield to others."
"Even... enduring those dirty merchants."
"No!"
Joffrey let out a roar.
A wild flame ignited in his green eyes.
"She's not a commodity! She's mine!"
Lynn looked at Joffrey, at this mad dog whose possessiveness he had completely ignited, and felt a profound calm.
The fish had already bitten the hook.
The effect was surprisingly good.
He was completely hooked.
"Alright."
Lynn sighed, feigning difficulty.
"Since His Highness is so insistent, as your most loyal friend, I cannot refuse."
"However..."
Lynn's tone shifted.
"Tonight, we can't do it like last night."
"You are currently a person in the public eye, and if it were discovered that His Royal Highness was frequenting such places, it would not be good for your reputation."
"Then what should we do?"
Joffrey asked eagerly, now completely led by Lynn.
"We only watch, we don't act."
A mysterious arc curved at Lynn's lips.
"I have some very interesting rooms in my place."
"They can let you see everything you want to see without being discovered."
Night fell once more.
King's Landing transformed into an ocean of desires.
Lynn led Joffrey back to the stone building with red lanterns.
This time, they didn't use the main entrance but entered an adjacent room through a hidden back alley.
On the walls of the room hung a large tapestry of Volantis.
But with just a gentle lift of a corner of the tapestry, there was a one-way glass behind it.
Lynn had specially commissioned this.
It was to satisfy the strange fetishes of some other guests.
From here, everything in the adjacent suite could be seen clearly.
Yet, the people next door would not notice a thing.
Joffrey's breathing instantly became rapid.
He was like a peeping tom!
His heart pounded, and he stared intently at the room behind the glass.
It was the same suite he had been in last night.
Liana was sitting on the edge of the bed, still wearing her pale purple sheer dress.
She looked somewhat distracted, holding a small wooden knight carving in her hand, lost in thought.
Her appearance was so pitiful, it evoked sympathy.
Joffrey's heart instantly softened.
Looking at the knight sculpture, which bore some resemblance to himself.
This made Joffrey realize that Liana must be thinking of him.
This thought greatly satisfied his vanity.
However, just then, the door was violently kicked open.
A burly man with a scarred face burst in.
The man wore mercenary leather armor, a long sword that clearly had seen blood hung at his waist, and he exuded a fierce and brutal aura.
Liana screamed in fright, and the wooden carving in her hand dropped to the floor.
"Where's the money?"
The man walked menacingly towards Liana and grabbed her slender wrist.
"Rosse that bitch said you hooked up with a big shot yesterday and made a lot, right? Time to pay your debt!"
"I... I didn't..."
Liana trembled with fear, tears welling in her eyes.
"That lord... he didn't give me any money..."
"No money?"
The man sneered, and his other hand roughly pinched Liana's chin, forcing her to look up.
"Are you fucking taking me for a fool?"
"No money? Then pay with your body!"
With that, he began to tear at Liana's long dress.
"No! Please! Let go of me!"
Liana cried out in despair, struggling desperately.
But her meager strength was like that of a lamb to the slaughter before the man, appearing so pale and powerless.
"Roar—!!!"
In the adjacent room, Joffrey let out an inhuman, bestial roar.
His eyes instantly turned blood red, and his handsome face twisted with extreme rage, veins bulging.
He suddenly drew the sword from his waist and was about to rush over to kill the man.
"I'll slaughter him! I'll rip out his guts and feed them to the dogs!"
"Your Highness! Calm down!"
Lynn grabbed his arm, his grip as strong as an iron clamp.
"Let go of me!"
Joffrey struggled wildly, he only wanted to tear that scoundrel who dared to lay hands on his woman into a thousand pieces.
"A prince, drawing a sword against someone in a brothel for a whore?"
"Is this what you call becoming a true king?"
Lynn's voice was like a bucket of ice water, dousing Joffrey's burning reason.
"She's not a whore!"
Joffrey turned back, roaring hysterically at Lynn.
"Then prove it to me!"
Lynn's gaze met his, carrying a strange sense of oppression.
"Don't solve problems with your fists like a common street fool; that's too low-class."
"You must use a king's way!"
"A king's way?"
Joffrey was stunned, breathing heavily, his chest heaving violently.
"Exactly."
Lynn released his arm, his voice carrying a deadly allure.
"That man, what does he want?"
"Money."
"That madam named Rosse, what does she want?"
"Money too."
"In this world, there is nothing that gold dragons cannot buy."
"If there is, then use more gold dragons."
Lynn walked up to Joffrey, patted his shoulder, and spoke in a very low voice, like the whisper of a devil.
"A true king never fights for what he wants."
"He simply buys it."
"Go, Your Highness."
"Use your gold dragons to buy her freedom, buy all of her."
"Take her from this hell, make her exclusively yours."
"Declare to everyone that she is your property, and whoever dares to touch her again is an enemy of the entire kingdom."
"This is what a king should do."
"This is the true justice of a king!"
Joffrey was stunned.
Lynn's words opened a whole new door for him.
The fire of anger still burned in his chest, but it had transformed into something even more terrifying.
Power.
Yes, why should he, like a brute, fight with such scum?
He was a prince!
The future king!
What he wanted, he only needed to buy with money, to take with power!
That girl.
Her body, her soul, everything about her, should be his!
"Yes... you're right..."
Joffrey murmured, a light rekindling in his blood-red eyes.
It was a mad glow mixed with greed, possessiveness, and cruelty.
He suddenly turned around, gripping Lynn's collar tightly, his distorted face bearing an undeniable command.
"Now! Immediately! At once!"
"Go call Rosse! I want to buy Liana!"
"No matter how much it costs!"
"Tonight, I'm taking her back to the The Red Keep!"
"She will be my woman, forever belonging only to me!"
Lynn showed a satisfied smile, looking at the young lion before him, completely consumed by madness and believing he controlled everything.
Very good.
This most crucial and most unstable piece was finally firmly placed in the position he designated.
Now, the real show was just beginning.
Liana, this woman he had carefully cultivated, would give Joffrey a good lesson.
Dear Reader,
A special 60% discount offer available Don't miss this opportunity to enjoy your favorite stories at a greatly reduced price.
The offer is available for a limited time only — grab it before it ends!
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn luffy1898