Jaqen's figure disappeared behind the door, as if he had never been there.
Lynn sat back at the table, looking at the clay jar filled with food.
The House of Black and White.
Blood magic.
Jaqen didn't say much, but the amount of information was huge.
That ancient and mysterious assassin organization was full of wariness toward his dragon, toward his power.
They wanted balance.
And he, Lynn, was the one breaking that balance.
"Offer this 'gift' that even gods cannot refuse?"
Lynn picked up a piece of beef from the plate and put it in his mouth.
Tasted good.
Really giving them face.
Forget it, my hands are full, no rush to go to Braavos.
If I want something, I'll go get it myself.
I just need to wait now.
Wait for the situation in the South to become more interesting.
Like a pot of thick soup being stewed, someone needed to constantly add new spices to it.
And he believed that fat man named Varys in King's Landing must be a good cook.
...
King's Landing, The Red Keep.
King Joffrey Baratheon was in a terrible mood.
He kicked over the low table in front of him, sending golden goblets and fruit platters crashing to the floor.
"Useless! All useless!"
He roared at the shivering servants before him.
His face was flushed red with anger, and flames of humiliation burned in his blue eyes.
Ever since his damned grandfather Tywin Lannister returned to King's Landing, he felt like he had become a joke.
Everyone revolved around that old man.
His orders, his will, in this castle, were worth less than a fart from his grandfather.
He was the King!
Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms!
But now, he didn't even have the power to punish a traitor.
Just then, a scrawny servant responsible for cleaning, while tidying up the mess on the floor, seemed to accidentally mutter a sentence in a low voice.
"The Knight of Flowers is going to marry the Queen Mother. How nice, the Roses of Highgarden will bloom all over the Red Keep..."
The voice was very small, but in the dead silent room, it reached Joffrey's ears clearly.
"What did you say?!"
"Your mother is the one marrying that dead fairy!"
Joffrey jerked his head around, staring dead at the servant.
The servant was so scared he knelt directly on the ground, trembling all over.
"Your Grace... I... I didn't say anything..."
"Say it again!"
Joffrey walked up to him and kicked him viciously with his boot.
"Speak!"
"Outside... everyone outside is saying..."
The servant stammered with a crying tone.
"Saying... saying Lord Tywin... is going to marry Queen Mother Cersei... to Ser Loras Tyrell of Highgarden..."
"To... to consolidate the alliance with House Tyrell..."
Joffrey's head buzzed.
He felt all the blood in his body rushing to the top of his head.
His mother, Cersei Lannister.
The Queen Dowager of the Seven Kingdoms.
Was going to be treated like goods by his old undying grandfather and married to a... sissy from Highgarden?
A jester who liked men?
What was this?!
This was a slap in his face!
This was telling everyone.
He, Joffrey Baratheon, couldn't even protect his own mother!
He, the King, was a complete puppet!
"Haha... HAHAHAHA!"
Joffrey suddenly burst into a fit of neurotic laughter.
He laughed so hard he leaned back and forth, tears streaming out.
The surrounding attendants and guards looked at him like this, scared to make a sound.
They felt the King before them had gone mad.
"Good... truly wonderful!"
Joffrey stopped laughing, the expression on his face becoming hideous.
"My dear grandfather truly breaks his heart for me, for this kingdom!"
He kicked the servant at his feet away.
"Guards!"
"Your Grace!" Two Kingsguard immediately stepped forward.
"Assemble all the Gold Cloaks! Immediately!"
Joffrey's voice was sharp and piercing.
"Go to the Sept! Get my mother out!"
"Tell those damned Lannister knights, and my good grandfather!"
"My mother is the Queen Dowager of the Seven Kingdoms! Not a chip for his trades!"
"She is my mother! Her destination can only be decided by me, the King!"
The Kingsguard hesitated.
"Your Grace, this... this is Lord Tywin's order..."
Slap!
Joffrey slapped the Kingsguard viciously across the face.
"Now, am I the King, or is he the King?!"
"Go!"
"Whoever dares disobey, I'll chop off his head right now!"
The two Kingsguard dared not hesitate any longer, immediately accepting the order and leaving.
Soon, the sound of hurried footsteps and clashing armor rang out in the Red Keep.
Hundreds of Gold Cloaks, fearing no chaos, led by Joffrey, charged aggressively toward the Sept where Cersei was held.
At the entrance of the Sept, a squad of Lannister guards blocked their way.
The captain in charge was Tywin's confidant.
"Your Grace, you cannot enter."
The captain's tone was respectful, but his attitude was firm.
"By order of the Hand, no one may visit the Queen Mother."
"Fuck you!"
Joffrey pointed at his nose, cursing loudly.
"You Lannister dog! Open your dog eyes and see who is your King!"
"My duty is to be loyal to the Lannisters."
The captain was unmoved.
"Impudent!"
Joffrey trembled with rage.
He drew the sword at his waist, pointing it straight at the captain's throat.
"I'll say it one last time, get lost!"
"Otherwise, I'll execute you all for treason!"
Clang!
The Lannister guards drew their longswords in unison, confronting the Gold Cloaks.
Within the Red Keep, the King's guard and the Hand's guard faced each other with drawn swords.
The atmosphere was tense to the extreme.
Just then, a cold and majestic voice came from behind the crowd.
"Sheath your swords, you fools."
Tywin Lannister, wearing the black official robes of the Hand, walked slowly over, surrounded by a group of personal guards.
His pale green eyes swept over everyone present, finally landing on his disgraceful grandson.
"Joffrey, what are you doing?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it made everyone present feel a pressure.
"What am I doing?"
Seeing Tywin, Joffrey's suppressed anger exploded completely.
"I'd like to ask you, my dear grandfather, what are you doing?!"
"What do you take my mother for? Cattle?"
"You want to sell her to the Tyrells in exchange for their support?"
"Did you ask my opinion?!"
"Do you still have me, the King, in your eyes?!"
Tywin's face showed no expression.
"That is an arrangement most beneficial to the family and the kingdom."
"I do not need to explain to you."
"Beneficial?"
Joffrey sounded like he heard the biggest joke.
"Letting the whole world laugh at me is beneficial?"
"Letting my mother marry a useless man who likes men is beneficial?"
"I tell you, impossible!"
"Today, I must take my mother away!"
Tywin looked at Joffrey's face twisted with anger, a trace of undisguised disgust showing in his eyes.
How could he have begotten such a foolish daughter as Cersei, and how could there be such a madman of a grandson.
"You are destroying everything, you foolish boy."
Tywin's voice turned cold.
"Do you think the title of King means doing whatever you want?"
"No, it means responsibility!"
"And your greatest responsibility is to sit firmly on that chair under your ass!"
"For this, sometimes you must sacrifice some things! Including your laughable dignity!"
"My dignity is laughable?"
Joffrey pointed at his own nose.
"I'll tell you what is laughable!"
"You! You old man hiding behind the Hand's robes!"
"Do you think without you, I can't sit firmly on this throne?"
"I am the King!"
"Gold Cloaks!" Joffrey suddenly raised his sword.
"Charge! Kill these traitors who dare obstruct the King!"
The Gold Cloaks hesitated.
Although they were Lynn and Ned's men, they weren't idiots.
One side was the King, the other was the Hand with power over the court.
They didn't know who to listen to.
"I'd like to see who dares move!"
Tywin's voice was like ice.
The Lannister guards behind him took a step forward, swords and shields clashing, issuing a dull sound.
"Are you going to rebel?!"
Joffrey screamed hysterically.
He looked at those hesitating Gold Cloaks, then at Tywin's cold face.
A huge sense of humiliation and powerlessness swallowed his last bit of reason.
He raised the crossbow in his hand, aiming at Tywin.
"I'll say it one last time!"
"Release my mother!"
"Otherwise, I'll show you the King's fury!"
The entire courtyard fell into dead silence.
Everyone's eyes were focused on the grandfather and grandson.
The King aimed a weapon at his own grandfather, who was also his Hand.
This scene was enough to go down in the history books of Westeros.
Tywin looked at the dark muzzle of the crossbow, looking at Joffrey's crazed face.
His look finally changed.
It was no longer disgust, but a scrutiny.
Scrutinizing a... King about to be deposed.
"You made a mistake, Joffrey."
Tywin's voice was terrifyingly calm.
"A mistake... that even Aerys dared not make."