Casterly Rock stood between heaven and earth, carved from a massive mountain of stone, with countless walls and structures built upon it to further strengthen the castle's defenses.
Creamy white and golden yellow clashed together, and Jaime Lannister felt as though he had become a walking contradiction.
The stump of his severed hand had long since healed, but his hand would never grow back. He now wore a golden prosthetic hand and a golden mask over his face to conceal the long scar left by his injury. Golden armor covered his body, along with the spotless white cloak of the Kingsguard.
The pain of his injury and disfigurement had aged him by several years. His face had become gaunt, his eye sockets were sunken, and several deep wrinkles had appeared between his brows.
"Your father is waiting for you in the council chamber," Kevan Lannister said.
His tone was somewhat cold, and Jaime immediately noticed the difference.
Lord Tywin would normally dismiss such matters as insignificant, but Kevan, as Tywin's shadow and most trusted brother, was far more meticulous.
"Yes."
After all, I'm a monster. I defiled my own sister and harmed my own child.
When Jaime had been injured, he had repeatedly dreamed of the past.
He dreamed of his Kingsguard brothers, once as pure as blood, only to see them transformed into piles of gore.
You betrayed us. My wife and children were entrusted to you.
The ghost of Prince Rhaegar cried out at him, wearing a crown of mist and sorrow, his long hair flowing in the wind.
You abandoned the King.
You are not our brother.
Ser Gerold Hightower, the White Bull, had cursed him as well.
Then I...
Jaime had experienced something close to rebirth.
Only now did he truly understand the suffering Tyrion had endured throughout his life.
A crippled lion.
Perhaps that was worse than death.
Yet Jaime seemed to possess nothing except the white cloak he had worn for decades, as though it could conceal his filth and shame and prove that he was still a knight.
Jaime followed Kevan past the Hall of Heroes, where the precious armor of hundreds of Lannister knights, lords, and kings was displayed.
The Hall of Heroes was famous throughout the Seven Kingdoms and even across the Narrow Sea. Members of House Lannister and their close relatives who had died heroic deaths could be buried there.
"You can't always blame your sister for what happened to Tyrion," Kevan said, pausing for a moment. "Under those circumstances, she had no choice."
"Tyrion will never joke with me again. What will that boy do to him? Robert's son?" Jaime asked.
"Probably something worse than what he did to you. The Stormlands have always been brutal."
Kevan glanced at Jaime's face and golden hand.
The Lannister lion had almost become a headless lion.
Tywin could still console himself after losing Tyrion. But if his eldest son died as well, the blow would probably be devastating.
"We cannot acknowledge him as Robert's son. Joffrey is the king's legitimate heir," Kevan added.
"Are we just deceiving ourselves, then? How different does he really look from Robert in his youth?" Jaime retorted.
My child died too.
He was killed by a mob. Is this divine punishment for me?
Joffrey had been Jaime's eldest son and firstborn, yet Jaime's feelings toward him had never been particularly deep. After hearing about all the foolish things Joffrey had done, Jaime couldn't bring himself to mourn him sincerely.
From a young age, Joffrey had been arrogant and bloodthirsty.
All Jaime could think about was how devastated Cersei must be.
Inside the council chamber of Casterly Rock, a huge red banner bearing the roaring golden lion of House Lannister hung from the stone wall.
Lord Tywin Lannister sat at the head of the table.
He wore red velvet decorated with a row of golden lion-head buttons, along with the badge of the Hand of the King.
The situation facing the Lannisters was precarious.
Yet precisely because of that, Tywin had to appear even more composed than usual.
Firmness was more effective than laughter.
That was a truth Tywin had learned from childhood.
Cersei's hair fell loosely over her shoulders and was somewhat disheveled. Joffrey's death and the fear of fleeing King's Landing had left her looking exhausted and dispirited.
"Sit down. This is a family meeting," Tywin said.
Those present were Tywin, Kevan, Cersei, and Jaime.
"I believe you should remove that white cloak."
Tywin looked at his son, once the pride of the Lannisters, now maimed and disfigured.
"You can no longer wield a sword, so there is no need for you to maintain your position in the Kingsguard."
"Of course I must maintain it," Jaime interrupted.
"And I absolutely will."
"I have read the White Book and know the precedents. Regardless of disability, once a member of the Kingsguard takes his vows, he is bound to serve for life."
"Rules can be broken," Tywin replied.
"Your sister once declared Ser Barristan a traitor and banished him. In that sense, you can also resign."
"Besides, this is Casterly Rock, not King's Landing."
"Someone must uphold the dignity of the Kingsguard."
Jaime stood up.
"I cannot control what people say about me. But here, I must continue serving as the captain of the Kingsguard."
"Since this responsibility has fallen upon me, I have a duty to persevere."
"Of course you have a responsibility," Tywin snapped.
"Your responsibility is Casterly Rock. It is House Lannister."
"Before, you were the heir to House Lannister, and you still are."
"Your brother is practically dead. Only you remain."
"Tom men is also your responsibility. You should guide him, treat him as your squire, and raise him like a foster son."
"Only then will he become a true Lannister instead of being spoiled by your sister."
Regarding Joffrey's death, Tywin may have felt grief, but he showed none of it.
"Father... please calm down..." Cersei quickly interjected.
Jaime suddenly felt a sharp pang of pain.
At a moment like this, Cersei wasn't helping him. Instead, she was comforting their father.
Jaime suddenly realized something.
Could she actually be afraid of me inheriting Casterly Rock?
After all, Cersei had always believed herself superior to every man around her.
"You don't need to comfort me," Tywin said coldly.
"You are a fool as well."
"Joffrey was spoiled by you. And as for Tyrion and Lancel..."
"Tyrion is your brother, yet you simply abandoned him and allowed him to become a disgrace to our family."
"He..."
Cersei was left speechless, her face turning pale.
"He was at the city walls. King's Landing was in chaos. There was blood and fire everywhere."
"I couldn't save him, and I couldn't prevent Joffrey's death."
"If he hadn't asked Joffrey to go to the city tower, Joffrey wouldn't have died."
"That's not what I heard."
Kevan wanted to speak but stopped himself.
The situation was already too grim. This was not the time for the family to start blaming one another.
"Enough."
Tywin decided not to continue the argument.
"Let's talk about the war ahead."
"The horns of war are about to sound. We have already lost too many men in the Riverlands and the Crownlands."
"We need allies," Kevan said.
"But where?" Jaime asked.
His throat felt tight.
"Dorne and House Lannister have a blood feud."
"The North and the Riverlands are lands we have devastated."
"As for the Vale and the Stormlands, there is no need to even mention them."
"Are we supposed to beg the Reach and the Iron Islands for help?"
"Sometimes the game isn't confined to Westeros."
Tywin cleared his throat.
"Myrcella is in Braavos."
"I need to arrange an advantageous marriage for her."
"After the old Sealord dies, if the great houses of Braavos and Pentos are willing to send us fleets and soldiers..."
"That's not appropriate," Cersei immediately interrupted.
"She is my child. My darling."
"You cannot sell her like that."
"She is a maiden, a young girl, but she is beautiful and valuable," Tywin said coldly.
Jaime felt dizzy.
No.
He wanted to shout.
She is my daughter, not a piece of merchandise on a market stall.
He was sick of his father and sister treating everything as a cold political transaction.
"You need not speak out of turn, Your Grace, the Regent Queen Mother."
Tywin turned his gaze toward Cersei.
"You are still young, and you are equally valuable."
"Although you are no longer a maiden, you have at least proven that you are fertile and capable of bearing children."
"I don't want to marry."
Cersei's head buzzed as if she had been slapped several times.
"Your Grace, you are still young and beautiful. You cannot remain alone for the rest of your life."
Kevan spoke calmly.
"Moreover, this is a weapon we can use."
"Once you marry, you can dispel those rumors."
"You must marry. You will have a new husband and bear new children."
"It would also be a slap in the face to Gendry, that bastard blacksmith, and to Stannis."
"Three children are enough. Now... now there are only two."
Cersei's voice trembled.
"I am the Regent Queen Mother. I'm not a broodmare meant for producing children."
"I am also the regent. I am the Regent Queen Mother."
"You are my daughter."
Tywin looked at Cersei coldly, his eyes seemingly pinning her to the chair.
"This is Casterly Rock."
"I asked you to sit down merely so you could listen to this suggestion and then make your choice."
"No. No, no, no..."
Cersei's voice became hollow.
"I absolutely will not..."
Jaime's mouth opened.
He wanted to shout:
The truth is simple. I have a choice too.
But he couldn't say the words.
"However, we don't have many good candidates at the moment."
Tywin sighed.
"Mace, Doran, Paxter... they've all distanced themselves from us, and they already have young women by their sides."
"As for Oberyn, that is even more impossible. He is our enemy."
"King Balon's wife is old and faded, but she remains an option."
"If the situation becomes chaotic, there is still the Reach."
"I don't like them."
Cersei bit her lip.
"The Iron Islands are a desolate place..."
"I have considered many candidates. All of them are alternatives."
"At present, the kingdoms of the North certainly won't cooperate with us anymore."
"The only remaining possibilities are the Reach, which is powerful, and the distant countries across the sea."
"Even if they are nothing more than cheese merchants, they still have ships and armies."
"Chaotic situation?"
Jaime was confused.
"How could the situation become chaotic?"
"Of course it could become chaotic."
Tywin's eyes grew cold.
"Braavos, Volantis, Lys, the entire Slaver's Bay, Qarth..."
"Their fear is our opportunity."
"Until the day comes when the storm has passed, we can move east once again."
"Then we will reclaim everything we once had."
A cold light flashed through Tywin's eyes.
"Next comes the Long Winter."
"We must endure it."
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