" Myr's carpet————"
"Telosi's hair dye —"
"Lisbon wine!"
"Come and see, this is a Japanese product."
King's Landing seems to have regained its former glory.
The hawkers hawking their wares along the main road have reappeared, and imported goods are being transported into the city in an endless stream. Brothels of all sizes in the city have also reopened.
Steel Street and Silk Street, these important places, have once again become bustling with people.
A carriage entered King's Landing, and Davos and Petyr sat facing each other. Both were in a rather somber mood, as the mission had not yielded the desired results.
Although House Tyrell expressed his willingness to negotiate, he vehemently opposed Stannis's marriage proposal.
Such a request would be considered excessive by anyone, let alone by the Duke of Mace, who always held himself in high esteem.
However, Stannis did not blame them, but instead put Yassel in charge of taking them to Red Keep.
Yassel has now been appointed captain of the guard in King's Landing, and on the way, he tells the two about the recent events that have occurred in King's Landing.
When Davos heard that Jon had been legalized as Stark, he looked relieved and said to Petyr, " Jon deserves this."
Petyr smiled and nodded, but his smile wasn't as composed and reserved as before.
What puzzled him was that since losing his left hand, he often felt severe pain in it, to the point that he would frequently wake up in pain at night.
If he doesn't look at his severed limbs and closes his eyes, he feels that his hand is still there, just tightly clenched, which makes him very uncomfortable.
But he soon heard something even more upsetting. Yassel went on and on about what had happened to Jon: "This Jon is really unpredictable. Your Majesty appointed him Lord of Harrenhal, but guess what? He just ran away in the middle of the night!"
If Melisandre hadn't spotted his movements with his flames, he might already be back at that godforsaken Great Wall.
"Sir, why? Why is he unwilling to accept the Duke's bestowal?" Petyr asked Dao, leaning to the side.
The fact that others discarded what he so desperately wanted made Littlefinger very upset, even making him feel like a lowly beggar. He desperately wanted to know why this was happening.
"According to him, he doesn't want to be Robb's enemy, and he believes that as a Nights Watch member, he should go to the Great Wall to fulfill his duty. But His Majesty Stannis has already sent someone to confirm with the Great Wall that this guy didn't even take an oath. I guess the real reason is that he doesn't want to fight Robb." Yassel said, his tone tinged with contempt.
He believes Jon's situation falls into the category of "not being absolutely loyal, but being absolutely disloyal."
Unlike him, who was willing to arrest even his own brother Alliser to demonstrate his loyalty.
However, Davos admired Jon's loyalty and willingness to give up his fiefdom and title for his brother even more.
He believed Jon was definitely going to the Wall because he opposed Robb's claim to the throne and had launched a coup in Harrenhal, leaving him with no standing or future in Winterfell.
The three chatted all the way and soon arrived at Red Keep. Seeing the stag banner with a bright red heart flying above the castle, Davos felt a little better. He thought that perhaps his four sons hadn't died in vain.
Soon, Davos and Petyr were received by Stannis. Upon meeting Stannis, Davos apologized profusely for failing to complete the task Stannis had assigned him.
However, Stannis calmly stated that it wouldn't be long before the Queen of Thorns, Olenna, would come to King's Landing with Margaery to meet him, and then they would decide on the marriage alliance.
" Although Olenna brought Margaery to King's Landing, she still hasn't agreed to the marriage alliance. I'm wondering if Tyrell is trying to win Jon over," Stannis said to the two of them, or more precisely, to Davos, expressing his concerns.
Davos thought for a moment and said, " Your Majesty, I think if Tyrell really wants to win Jon over, it will only be in vain. Everything Jon has comes from you. He was willing to give up his title for brotherhood. How could he betray your loyalty because of Tyrell's promise? As long as you trust him and favor him, I believe Jon will definitely repay you."
First impressions are very important, and Jon made a very good impression on Davos, who was always willing to talk to the young man.
Petyr watched the conversation between the two, and although his hatred for Stannis was like a venomous snake tearing at his insides, he had to be careful to hide it at this moment.
Stannis said that someone had recently suggested that he might pardon Tywin and allow the Lannisters to continue ruling the Westerlands, provided they could pay a large fine for the royal family, plus more interest-free loans, on top of forgiving their debts.
Knowing that Dao would soon be removed from the Council of Kings by Stannis and thus removed from the center of power, Petyr decided to take this opportunity to influence Stannis's absolute power as much as possible. He once again advised Dao: "But Your Majesty, if we allow Tywin to occupy the West, what if they secretly make peace with Tyrell?"
Petyr's question made Davos uneasy. In fact, Stannis was also worried about this issue, but he couldn't make up his mind.
He continued, " Your Majesty, how about this? Why don't we ask Jon's opinion? You can offer him the title of 'Lord of Harrenhal ' as an option, or—as a backup—as a guarantee, and ask him if he's willing to lead the expedition to the West. If he succeeds, we can change his title to ' Lord of Casterly Rock.' If he fails, we can hand Harrenhal over to Jon then."
Stannis and Davos exchanged glances; Robb was now independent both in fact and in name.
The Reach is powerful and densely populated, but the problem is that it has no natural defenses. If it could be backed by the western border, this weakness would be made up.
They have even more leverage to challenge us, so it seems safer to keep the Western Territory in our own hands.
Seeing that the two seemed somewhat interested, Petyr decided to add fuel to the fire: " Your Majesty, since the Queen of Thorns and Margaery are coming to King's Landing, why don't you add a clause to the peace terms that you don't have to force a marriage alliance, and instead have them help Jon attack the Westerlands, just as we discussed at Dragonstone? This would also weaken The Reach's strength. If Tyrell were to die in the campaign, we wouldn't have to worry about the possibility of the Westerlands and The Reach uniting for a long time."
Although Davos disliked Petyr's suggestion because he found it insidious and malicious.
However, the risk of Tyrell and Lannister forming another alliance is looming large and cannot be ignored.
" Your Majesty, perhaps we should ask Jon's opinion?" Davos asked hesitantly.
When Jon saw Stannis again, Davos was still by his side, but Petyr had been sent away.
Upon seeing Jon, Davos immediately adopted an expression of admiration and satisfaction.
Jon responded to him, but when he looked at Stannis, the king, whose hair was thinning, remained expressionless as always.
" Your Majesty." Jon bowed slightly to Stannis.
" Jon," Stannis began, "you told me before that you ran away because you didn't want to be enemies with Robb, right?"
——
"Yes, Your Majesty," Jon admitted immediately.
"I don't want the war in this country to continue any longer. I understand that you don't want to go to war with Robb, but I have one condition, or rather, I have a task for you. If you can complete it, I don't want to see fratricide happen."
Upon hearing Stannis's words, Jon immediately bowed and declared, " Please ask for my Majesty, and I will certainly fulfill your request."
Seeing Jon's expression, Stannis was displeased but said nothing. Instead, he said, "I need you to persuade Robb to relinquish his crown and submit to me."
Stannis gave the order, but Jon did not respond immediately, and a brief silence fell over the room.
This made Davos, who was standing to the side, a little anxious. He thought to himself, "Jon can't let Stannis keep giving in, can he?"
Fortunately, after half a minute, Jon finally spoke: " Your Majesty, I can try. If Robb is unwilling to give up the crown, then let me lead the troops there. If fate makes me a kinslayer—please let me return to the Wall."
Why are you bringing up the Great Wall again!
Davos smiled bitterly to himself, feeling somewhat helpless.
In his view, Jon was in a difficult situation because of his identity, and Davos felt sorry for the young man.
Stannis hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded in agreement. He then said to Dao, "I actually originally intended to rename you Lord of Casterly Rock— "
Stannis was halfway through his sentence when Jon was struck by a jolt. Wasn't all that work for this?
It seems that Varys ' information is quite reliable.
"The West is still in the hands of traitors. If you can persuade Robb to submit to me, then I will declare you the next Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West. Also, I know that you don't have many soldiers under your command, Dao. I will send troops to assist you."
Since Stannis had put it that way, Jon naturally had to respond: "If I can successfully persuade Robb to submit, I will definitely reclaim the West from the traitors for Your Majesty!"
"Hmm." Stannis nodded in response. "There is one last thing, which is your marriage. I must make the decision about your marriage. You are not allowed to disobey your king again."
Jon nodded, then confessed about his relationship with Roslin: " Roslin from the Frey Family and I..." Young Miss and I had corresponded, but my father has passed away, and my mother is probably long gone as well. Your Majesty, could you arrange for me and Roslin to meet? It would be better if Young Miss got married, but if Your Majesty has someone else in mind, then I will respect that arrangement.
Stannis stared at Jon for a couple of seconds, then said, "Alright, I know, you can go now." With that, Stannis waved his hand impatiently.
Jon had barely turned around and taken two steps when he turned back to Dao and asked, "By the way, Your Majesty, I—I'm still Stark, right?"
"