King's Landing, just after nightfall.
Three days had passed since Lynn's wedding.
Silence filled Cersei's bedchamber.
Robert Baratheon stumbled through the door, a heavy stench of wine immediately invading the entire room.
His face, swollen from alcohol and debauchery, bore a sickly flush.
Cersei Lannister sat before her dressing table.
She had changed out of her opulent queen's gown and was now dressed only in a black silk nightgown.
Her golden hair cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall.
She did not turn around, but instead looked coldly at the intruding Robert through the bronze mirror.
"Get out."
Cersei's voice was colder than the night wind outside the window.
"Get out?"
Robert let out a crude laugh.
"You dare speak to me like that now?"
He staggered behind Cersei, his massive shadow completely enveloping her.
"All of King's Landing is mine, including everything here, even you are mine. Where do you want me to go?"
Robert extended his large, fan-like hand, intending to grasp Cersei's smooth shoulder.
Cersei abruptly stood up, recoiling from his touch with disgust.
"Don't touch me with your dirty hands."
"Dirty?"
Robert's movements froze.
Fury instantly ignited in his muddled eyes.
"What the hell is dirty about me?"
"I am the King of the Seven Kingdoms! You are my lawfully wedded Queen!"
"You should feel honored to serve me."
Robert took a step forward, trying to grab her again.
"Don't you like Lyanna? Go find her then. If not, go find a whore, just don't touch me. I find it disgusting and fear getting sick!"
Cersei's gaze, directed at Robert, who frequented whores, was filled with undisguised disdain and revulsion.
Her conversation with her daughter reminded her of that night of profound humiliation.
She was truly fed up with Robert, as she had learned he intended to use 3,000 militiamen to deal with Lynn.
Militiamen, what good would they be?
To be sent to their deaths?
It was as good as nothing!
She herself didn't know why.
Seeing Robert target Lynn made her angry!
Cersei's undisguised look of disdain sharply pierced Robert's already fragile self-esteem.
He remembered their wedding night, this woman beneath him, like a dead fish, unwilling to even utter a sound!
He remembered how, for twenty years, every time he tried to touch her, she would look at him with that same expression.
He remembered how, just a few nights ago, she openly defied him for that Lynn from the North!
Boundless rage, mixed with alcohol, completely shattered his last shred of reason.
"Bang—!"
A crisp, loud slap echoed through the silent bedchamber.
Cersei's face was violently thrown to one side, a clear five-finger mark rapidly appearing on her pale cheek.
A trace of blood even seeped from the corner of her mouth.
Cersei slowly turned her head back.
She did not cry, nor did she scream.
In her green eyes, all emotion had faded, leaving only a blank indifference.
Cersei elegantly wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with her fingertip, then looked at the glaring red stain on her finger.
This eerily calm demeanor, on the contrary, made Robert feel an unprecedented sense of panic.
He even instinctively took a step back.
"You... what kind of look is that?"
Robert roared, his bluster betraying his inner fear.
He tried to use his voice to cover his guilt.
Cersei did not answer him.
She merely looked at him, as if watching a ridiculous clown, a dead man.
"What?"
"You think I hit you, and you're aggrieved?"
Robert felt completely uncomfortable under her gaze, and he roared again.
This time, it was to bolster his own courage.
"Do you think I don't know what you're thinking?"
"Do you think I don't know what your damned father is thinking?"
"Lannister!"
"What else is in the minds of you Lannister people besides gold dragons and schemes?!"
Robert seemed to have found an outlet, and began to vent his long-suppressed suspicions and fears without restraint.
"Why do you think I'm sending that bastard Lynn to the North to die?"
"Do you think I'm just jealous that he has a dragon?"
Robert let out a maniacal laugh, filled with self-satisfied triumph.
"You stupid women will never understand!"
Robert walked up to Cersei.
"Wolves, eagles, fish!"
"Ned Stark, Lysa Arryn, Hoster Tully!"
"They are allies! They are the brothers who overthrew the Targaryen with me back then!"
"But now, they are also the greatest threat beneath my throne!"
Madness flickered in Robert's eyes.
He lowered his voice, as if sharing the most malicious secret.
"I'm going to make them fight!"
"I'm going to make them fight to the death over Lynn!"
"Lynn is Ned's vassal, and that stubborn old Ned will absolutely not stand by! He will certainly send troops!"
"And that madwoman Lysa Arryn, she is now the de facto ruler of the Vale. Facing the butcher's knife I hold to her throat, she will absolutely not give up easily!"
"Behind her is the entire House Tully! It's the entire The Riverlands!"
"Wolf bites eagle, eagle pecks fish, fish tears wolf!"
A sickly excitement appeared on Robert's face.
He seemed to already see the scene of the three great families' blood flowing like rivers.
"Once they've fought each other to exhaustion and are greatly weakened, I will step in as King to mediate!"
"That bitch Lysa will die!"
"And by then, they will no longer have the power to threaten my throne!"
"They will only be able to kneel at my feet like dogs, begging for my mercy!"
"This is the art of a King! Do you understand?!"
Robert turned his head, looking triumphantly at Cersei, awaiting her shock.
But what he saw were still those cold, dead green eyes.
"So,"
Cersei finally spoke, her voice eerily calm.
"You are warning me not to let the Lannister interfere."
"Exactly!"
Robert nodded heavily.
"You'd best write to your cunning father."
"Tell him to hide in Casterly Rock like a turtle, just as he did during the Usurper's War, and count his gold dragons!"
"If he dares to send soldiers past Golden Tooth, I will let him know who the true ruler of Westeros is!"
"Not only will I weaken the North, I will also let everyone know that whether it's Stark or Lannister, all must submit beneath my Baratheon iron heel!"
Robert finished, letting out a satisfied burp.
He felt clearer than ever, stronger than ever.
He thought he controlled everything... Robert eventually collapsed, drunkenly sprawling on Cersei's bed like a dead pig, letting out earth-shattering snores.
Cersei stood silently in place, the swelling on her face preventing her from feeling any pain.
In her mind, there was only one thought.
I must tell Lynn.
Immediately! Right now!
She herself hadn't realized that her entire being already belonged to Lynn.
Her soul, her body, her proud heart.
All had been completely conquered by that man during those few humiliating yet wild nights.
Robert was no longer her husband; he was merely an obstacle she was about to push off a cliff with her own hands!
Cersei did not linger for a moment.
She didn't even tidy her disheveled robes before quickly walking out of the bedchamber.
Now that Lynn was Myrcella's husband, she could no longer go directly to Lynn.
But she could go to Myrcella.
When Cersei pushed open the door to Myrcella's bridal chamber, Myrcella was sitting on the edge of the bed, cradling the small white dog named "Snowball" in her arms.
When she saw the slap mark on Cersei's face, Myrcella abruptly stood up, the little dog in her arms whimpering in surprise.
"Mother?!"
Myrcella's voice carried uncontrollable shock.
"Your face..."
Cersei closed the door and quickly walked to her daughter.
She offered no explanation, but merely recounted Robert's frantic plan from moments ago, word for word, in a voice so calm it was chilling.
With every word, Myrcella's face grew paler.
By the time Cersei finished her last word, Myrcella's body had begun to tremble uncontrollably.
She looked at the humiliating mark on her mother's face, and then thought of Lynn, who was about to be pushed towards death.
A surge of towering rage instantly welled up from the depths of her heart!
Robert Baratheon!
That nominal father!
That drunken pig!
Not only did he want to kill her husband, but he even dared to strike her mother!
How dare he!
"He wants Lynn to die."
Myrcella's voice was squeezed out through gritted teeth.
"Yes."
"So, we cannot let him succeed."
"But the Lannister army cannot go north."
Cersei's voice was very low.
"That would confirm Robert's suspicions, and he would use it as an excuse to unite other families to wage war against us."
"We cannot give him that opportunity."
Myrcella's fingernails dug deep into her palms.
The little dog named Snowball seemed to sense its owner's emotions, whimpering uneasily.
"Then what should we do?"
Myrcella looked up.
In those beautiful green eyes, there was no longer any of a maiden's fragility, only the purest killing intent.
"Just watch Lynn die?"
"No."
A smile finally appeared on Cersei's face.
"Your grandfather might not send troops, but he can send other things."
Cersei reached out and gently stroked her daughter's cheek.
"War is not just about lives, but also about gold dragons."
"What does Lynn's Gift lack most?"
"It's iron, it's weapons, it's craftsmen who can arm those wildlings."
Cersei's smile was beautiful and deadly.
"I will write to Tywin."
"The Lannister fleet will bypass the port of King's Landing and land at White Harbor."
"They will bring the best iron ore from the Westerlands, the toughest steel, and the finest blacksmiths from Casterly Rock."
"Your grandfather might not like Lynn, but he will definitely act."
"Trust me."
"Tell Lynn everything I've told you today."
"I understand."
Myrcella nodded, her voice returning to its calm state.
She carefully reached out and lightly touched the slap mark on Cersei's face with her fingertips.
The touch was scorching, burning.
It burned away the last bit of hesitation and reluctance in her heart.
"Mother,"
Myrcella looked up.
In those green eyes, a cold glint flickered that even startled Cersei.
"Don't worry."
"He won't get away with this slap."
"I promise."
Cersei stroked Myrcella's golden hair; she hadn't yet realized the deeper meaning behind Myrcella's words, only thinking that her daughter was concerned for her.
Cersei's figure gradually receded down the empty corridor, finally disappearing completely.
Myrcella stood alone in the center of the luxurious bridal chamber.
Everything in the room was blindingly red: red drapes, red carpets... This was supposed to be, as Lynn had said, a color symbolizing celebration.
But now, in her eyes, it was only the ferocity of blood.
The slap mark on her mother's face was deeply etched into her mind, refusing to fade.
She remembered Robert Baratheon's face, swollen from alcohol.
She also remembered his crude roars and the disgusting stench of wine on him.
That man, who was nominally her father.
He struck her birth mother.
And he wanted to kill her husband!
A surge of hatred welled up in Myrcella's heart.
Just then.
"Creak—"
The door was gently pushed open.
Lynn walked in from outside.
Their eyes met.
Myrcella looked at Lynn's travel-worn appearance, at the weariness and sharpness in his eyes that he couldn't quite conceal.
She knew he hadn't been socializing recently.
He had met someone, discussed something.
Things she didn't know, but that were certainly related to this impending storm.
"My mother was just here."
Myrcella spoke first.
"Robert got drunk, and he revealed all his plans."
Without a moment's hesitation, she recounted everything Cersei had told her, word for word, to Lynn.
From Robert's malicious scheme to incite a three-way conflict between the North, the Vale, and the The Riverlands.
To Tywin Lannister's counter-strategy of secretly transporting supplies from White Harbor.
She spoke quickly and clearly, without any personal emotions interspersed.
Everything was a statement of objective facts.
Lynn listened quietly.
He did not interrupt, nor did he question.
Because he had already understood Robert's plan through Greensight these past few days, as well as who Lysa's so-called allies were.
Naturally, he also knew that the Lannister would not openly side with him this time.
But he did not refuse Myrcella and Cersei's good intentions.
At the most critical juncture, the House Tyrell, who had always shown him the most friendliness, chose silence instead.
And Cersei, who had always harbored some hostility towards him, chose to help.
Even Lynn himself was somewhat surprised.
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