King's Landing.
"R'hllor, what exactly have you done?"
Ever since Joffrey Baratheon had awakened, he knew the state of the magic within his body like the back of his hand.
But recently, he noticed that a portion of his magic was always missing. It was a very small amount, so small that he would not have noticed it if he had not investigated closely.
Just at this time, Joffrey Baratheon received a secret report from the Riverlands stating that Robb Stark had died at The Twins, and he immediately linked the two events.
"Robb Stark actually isn't dead at all, is he! You saved him!"
Joffrey Baratheon said to R'hllor, very angrily:
"R'hllor, tell me, why on earth would you do this?"
"Why do this? Isn't this exactly what your heart desires?" R'hllor replied with a smile.
"I..." Joffrey Baratheon was at a loss for words.
Yes, R'hllor was right. Joffrey Baratheon was not a native of the world of A Song of Ice and Fire; he was just an ordinary person. Even now, he still harbored a shred of goodwill toward his enemy, Robb Stark.
Although his emotions had diminished by more than half since his heart disappeared, the kindness within Joffrey Baratheon remained unchanged.
"Joffrey, hear me out. In the near future, when the Long Night descends, everyone's political and historical positions will change. At that time, they will only have two choices: one is life, the other is death."
R'hllor sighed with emotion. While the people of the world were obsessed with the Game of Thrones, his gaze had long been fixed on the impending invasion of the Great Other from the North.
...
Inside The Red Keep, Sansa Stark stood before a massive, gold-framed floor-length mirror, adjusting the gown she would wear for her wedding in two days.
The Direwolf sigil on the gown made her feel at ease, as if her family were there with her.
"Sansa, you look beautiful in everything." Joffrey Baratheon walked in while eating lemon candies.
"Is that so?"
Upon hearing her lover's praise, Sansa Stark turned around and beamed. But when she saw Joffrey Baratheon eating candy, she unconsciously frowned.
"Joffrey, why are you eating so many lemon candies again? Didn't I tell you last time that you shouldn't eat too many of these?"
Sansa Stark looked at Joffrey Baratheon with a frown, hands on her hips, looking every bit the lady of the house.
Joffrey Baratheon gave an awkward smile and said: "Alright, alright, I won't eat them next time."
Having said that, Joffrey Baratheon shoved the remaining candies in his hand into his mouth.
Seeing him act like this, Sansa Stark walked up to Joffrey Baratheon and pouted to express her dissatisfaction.
Just as Joffrey Baratheon was wondering what Sansa Stark was about to do, he saw her suddenly wrap her arms around his neck and kiss him.
Their lips met, and their passionate love fermented in the air.
After a long while, when they parted, Sansa Stark looked into Joffrey Baratheon's eyes with a blushing face and suddenly smiled slyly. It turned out that all the lemon candies Joffrey Baratheon had just put into his mouth had been transferred to Sansa Stark's mouth.
Joffrey Baratheon could do nothing about this and could only smile and gently pat his lover's bottom to show his annoyance.
In truth, Joffrey Baratheon felt a bit guilty because, over the past few days, messengers from the Riverlands had brought news that the King in the North, Robb Stark, had been killed at The Twins.
Because it was still being kept secret and the truth could not yet be verified, Joffrey Baratheon had not told Sansa Stark about this matter.
After the two shared a tender moment, Joffrey Baratheon went to the iron throne hall to handle affairs of state.
Meanwhile, Sansa Stark received an invitation from Garlan Tyrell's wife to have tea in the gardens of The Red Keep.
...
When Joffrey Baratheon walked into the iron throne hall, the moment he entered, he saw his good uncle Tyrion Lannister discussing something with the master of whisperers, Varys.
When they heard footsteps, they turned around and saw that it was Joffrey Baratheon, and they hurriedly greeted him: "Your Grace."
Joffrey Baratheon waved his hand, signaling: Don't mind me, carry on with your work.
"Dear nephew, Prince Oberyn Martell, The Red Viper of Dorne, is coming. Do you really intend to let him take a seat on the Small Council?" Tyrion Lannister asked.
Before the Battle of the Blackwater, Tyrion Lannister had originally planned for Joffrey Baratheon to marry Margaery Tyrell and for Myrcella Baratheon to marry Prince Trystane of Dorne.
This would unite Dorne and The Reach, and combined with his own Westerlands, it would at least ensure the strength and stability of the entire southern alliance.
Furthermore, Tyrion Lannister's main purpose in giving Dorne a seat on the Small Council was to lure Prince Doran over and place him under house arrest, using this opportunity to get a grip on the Dornish people.
It could be said that Tyrion Lannister's strategy was interlocking; if things had truly proceeded according to his plan, everything would have developed in favor of House Lannister.
But Tyrion Lannister was not a god, and he had not expected his plan to be completely ruined.
First of all, changes occurred with Joffrey Baratheon. Joffrey Baratheon loved Sansa Stark too much, so he adamantly refused to marry Margaery Tyrell.
Therefore, Tyrion Lannister had to settle for second best according to Joffrey Baratheon's plan and marry Myrcella Baratheon to Willas Tyrell of Highgarden.
But this caused subsequent plans to change as well, and they could only have Tommen Baratheon marry Princess Arianne of Dorne.
Even the final step of the plan was seen through by Prince Doran, who instead sent his brother, The Red Viper, Oberyn Martell, to King's Landing. This both protected himself and gave the iron throne no grounds for complaint.
"After all, it is a promise already made, so it must naturally be fulfilled," Joffrey Baratheon said.
In fact, Joffrey Baratheon knew what Tyrion Lannister was thinking; after all, House Lannister and House Martell had an irreconcilable feud.
Tyrion Lannister was afraid that after The Red Viper, Oberyn Martell, came to King's Landing, he would not submit to the authority of the iron throne and would engage in things like poisoning and assassinations.
Looking at the face of his uncle, Tyrion Lannister, ravaged by war, Joffrey Baratheon felt a bit guilty.
In the Battle of the Blackwater, Tyrion Lannister had suffered nearly fatal injuries; he had been ambushed by the Kingsguard Mandon Moore, who had sliced off half his nose, leaving an unhealable scar.
Although Joffrey Baratheon was a transmigrator, he could only remember the general plot development; he really could not remember the finer details.
Moreover, since he had arrived here, the plot had already changed, and everything might not necessarily align with the original work.
The matter of Tyrion Lannister being ambushed by the Kingsguard Mandon Moore on the battlefield was far too serious; it meant that even after Joffrey Baratheon had cleared out some of the personnel, there were new unstable factors around him.
"That said, my good uncle, have you not decided which castle you want yet?" Joffrey Baratheon asked.
He had long promised Tyrion Lannister that after the war was won, he could pick any of the vacant castles.
Now, the fattest piece of meat: Brightwater Keep of House Florent had already been enfeoffed to Garlan Tyrell of Highgarden to commend his bravery in battle.
Of course, this also had the nature of a compromise used to consolidate the alliance between House Lannister and House Tyrell. From now on, House Tyrell would be referred to as: the Tyrell family of Highgarden and the Tyrell family of Brightwater Keep.
After the war, Joffrey Baratheon had stripped many families who participated in Stannis Baratheon's rebellion of their ancestral castles.
These families were: House Florent of Brightwater Keep, the Meadows family of Greenstone, the Footly family of Tumbleton, the Mullendore family of Uplands, the Fossoway family of New Barrel, the Fossoway family of Cider Hall, the Crane family of Red Lake, the Varner family, and the Willum family.
Among these: apart from Brightwater Keep, which had already been enfeoffed to Garlan Tyrell, the Fossoway family of New Barrel and the Fossoway family of Cider Hall were relatively better, so Joffrey Baratheon hoped to let Tyrion Lannister choose one of these two.
At the same time, Joffrey Baratheon had also collected several long-lost valyrian steel sword.
The first sword was called Vigilance, the ancestral sword of the Hightower family of Oldtown. The last known wielder was Ormund Hightower.
The second sword was called Orphan-Maker, the ancestral sword of the Roxton family, and the last known wielder was Lord Unwin Peake.
The third sword was called Truth, the ancestral sword of the Rogare family of Lys, and the last known wielder was Moredo Rogare.
The fourth sword was called Lamentation, the ancestral sword of the Royce family, and the last known wielder was Ser Willam Royce. It is said that during the Dance of the Dragons, a knight named Willum Whitting used it to chop off one of the wings of Syrax.
"Good nephew, if I want Cider Hall, will you give it to me?" Tyrion Lannister laughed.
"I will. If you choose Cider Hall, I will immediately issue a decree naming you the Count of Cider Hall," Joffrey Baratheon said.
"What about the previous Count of Cider Hall? I remember the Fossoway family has marriage ties with House Tyrell," Tyrion Lannister said with some concern.
"I made the head of the red apple Fossoway family choose between his head and Cider Hall, and he chose his head," Joffrey Baratheon said with a smile.
"Then I must thank Your Grace!"
Tyrion Lannister was very happy and also very touched.
He had originally thought he should have died on the battlefield, but he had been saved by the Grand Maester Pycelle.
He had originally thought that after his father, Tywin Lannister, arrived in King's Landing, he would definitely replace him as Hand of the King, but this position had been saved for him by his good nephew Joffrey Baratheon.
He had originally thought Joffrey Baratheon would burn bridges and not honor this promise, but instead, the other party had saved the two better castles for him.
Although the plans Tyrion Lannister had formulated before the war were ruined in a complete mess, his gains after the war were beyond his imagination.
From now on, no one would be able to look down on Tyrion Lannister.
From now on, the Lannisters would be referred to as: the Lannisters of Casterly Rock, the Lannisters of Lannisport, and the Lannisters of Cider Hall.
"That's enough, this is all a matter of course."
Joffrey Baratheon said: "I want to know if the news of Robb Stark being killed at The Twins is true?"
In fact, Joffrey Baratheon was asking a question he already knew the answer to; he had long known that R'hllor had saved Robb Stark, but Joffrey Baratheon wanted to know the thoughts of his ministers.
"Unfortunately, Your Grace, your old friend Robb Stark is likely truly dead."
After finishing, Tyrion Lannister shifted his tone and said: "However, this is the high-probability scenario. Because House Frey and House Bolton have already spread the news, clearly stating their actions of killing their liege lord."
"However, there is a low-probability scenario where Robb Stark led everyone to control House Frey and House Bolton at the Red Wedding, in order to lure other traitorous lords to The Twins."
After saying this, Tyrion Lannister seemed not to believe it himself, so he laughed and said: "Of course, this is just my speculation. I don't think Robb Stark is that capable."
Tyrion Lannister shrugged, looking indifferent.
But only Joffrey Baratheon knew that his uncle Tyrion Lannister's speculation was correct, even down to the last detail.
Because the idea R'hllor gave Robb Stark was exactly this: using a fake death to secretly eliminate dissidents.
"Robb Stark indeed does not have such magical powers, but what if he has capable people around him?" Joffrey Baratheon said, looking at Tyrion Lannister and Varys.
This sentence also made Tyrion Lannister and Varys look at each other, somewhat confused.
Finally, Joffrey Baratheon presented another valyrian steel sword to Tyrion Lannister to commend his outstanding achievements.
This sword was called Truth, the longest of the valyrian steel sword Joffrey Baratheon had collected, and the one with the most valyrian steel material; it was also the ancestral sword of the Rogare family of Lys.
Tyrion Lannister was naturally immensely grateful; after all, House Lannister only had one, Brightroar, but it had been lost for many years.
Lord Tywin had once searched everywhere for it but never found it; for this reason, he had even gone to various fallen ancient families hoping to purchase a valyrian steel sword with a large sum of money.
But these families, even if they sold their land, would not be willing to sell their ancestral swords.
Tyrion Lannister looked at the sword, seeing that its decoration was rugged and majestic.
After drawing the sword from its scabbard, it cut through the air like a pool of clear water, bringing with it waves of icy air. The blade was like ice, the hilt like frost.
Tyrion Lannister loved this sword to the point of obsession; he decided that in two days, he would take this sword to his father Tywin Lannister to show it off and really make the old man envious.
...
Tyrion Lannister appeared somewhat cynical and heartless on the surface, but his heart was actually very soft.
His soft heart would be afraid when encountering happiness, and it would be hurt even by touching cotton.
Since birth, he had been trying to prove his ability, but people only focused on his status as a dwarf.
This was the prejudice of the A Song of Ice and Fire world against dwarves; in the eyes of the world, dwarves were all people punished by the gods, no different from the disabled.
Especially since Tyrion Lannister's birth had caused his mother to die in childbirth, this had deepened his father, Lord Tywin, and his sister, Cersei Lannister's, hatred for him.
If it were not for the fact that kinslaying was an unforgivable sin to the Seven, these two would have loved to kill him immediately.
Only Jaime Lannister treated his brother Tyrion Lannister sincerely; although his brother was a dwarf mocked by the world, Jaime Lannister still gave him all the love of a brother.
In fact, while Tywin Lannister had been disgusted with this dwarf son at the beginning, it hadn't reached the point where he wanted him dead.
Ultimately, it was Tyrion Lannister's status as a dwarf that led to the tragedy of his life.
Not long after Tyrion Lannister was born, Lord Tywin's eldest son, Jaime Lannister, donned the white cloak to become a Kingsguard. According to the law, the younger son, Tyrion Lannister, would have to inherit Casterly Rock and the ducal title; this was a standard first-tier great noble house across the Seven Kingdoms.
But even though Jaime Lannister had worn the white cloak for eighteen years, no one was still willing to marry their daughter to Tyrion Lannister.
Tywin Lannister had once arranged four betrothals for Tyrion Lannister; the first was with Princess Elia Martell of Dorne, but it was refused by the Prince of Dorne.
Because Elia Martell was reserved by Dorne for House Targaryen, and Dorne really looked down on Tyrion Lannister's status as a dwarf.
The second was Lysa Tully of the Riverlands; in fact, at the very beginning, Lysa Tully was meant to be betrothed to Jaime Lannister.
But Jaime Lannister became a Kingsguard and legally could not marry or have children, so Tywin Lannister wanted his younger son, Tyrion Lannister, to continue this betrothal.
But it was rejected on the spot by Lord Hoster Tully, who said: "Our family wants a whole man, not a Half-man."
After these two betrothals were rejected, Tywin Lannister began to despise and loathe Tyrion Lannister. However, he still did not give up; after all, Tyrion Lannister was his younger son, and it concerned the reputation of House Lannister.
So he went to find the Royce family of the Vale, but this third request for a betrothal was still rejected.
The last betrothal was with the Hightower family of Oldtown, because Oldtown was a very wealthy city and the largest city and port in the Seven Kingdoms.
Its economic status was even higher than King's Landing, which made Tywin Lannister feel that the Hightower family met the requirements, but he was still rejected.
It is worth mentioning that the first and second, House Martell and House Tully, were considered liege lords, first-tier great nobles of the Seven Kingdoms.
The third and fourth, the Royce family and the Hightower family, could only be considered vassals, second-tier nobles; this was already after Tywin Lannister had made many concessions, yet he was still rejected.
From this point on, Tywin Lannister completely gave up on this younger son and believed that Tyrion Lannister was the shame of House Lannister.
The tragedy of Tyrion Lannister's first wife, Tysha, also stemmed from Tywin Lannister's hatred for Tyrion Lannister.