The 1,500 soldiers brought by Old Jessy were quite a problem, and he had no choice but to go and settle them in helplessly.
Meanwhile, Roman took the opportunity to scout the terrain around King's Landing.
Eventually, both of them returned to their respective rooms, exhausted, to rest.
However, as soon as Roman lay down, he sensed something was wrong; he used magic to open his vision and observe his surroundings.
Sure enough, he saw a faint flicker of flame beneath the floorboards of his room.
Roman thought to himself, "Varys, I haven't sought you out, yet you've come looking for me. It would be best if I don't catch you doing anything malicious in the future!"
He needed to see if Varys was truly like what was speculated in the original story; if he really intended to incite subversion, then it would just be a matter of a single punch.
As for Littlefinger, he had to die; this man would drag the entire Westeros into chaos just for his own selfish desires.
Roman had not the slightest interest in the iron throne.
Feudalism is feudalism; the iron throne is merely a title, and the other great lords will continue to do as they please.
Setting aside whether sitting on that pile of scrap metal is comfortable or not, it certainly lacks the appearance of a monarch, and it would only expose one to the gaze of ambitious schemers.
What Roman wanted was centralization of power. As the heir, he would eventually take over Harrenhal, so the matter of centralization had to be discussed with Lady Helaena of House Hoare.
Now that Old Arryn was still alive, the situation wasn't that critical, and Harrenhal still had time to develop.
"The most important thing now is to build good relationships with the major lords; at the very least, we must not be hostile."
With this in mind, Roman closed his eyes to rest.
By the next day, Robert was indeed hungover, and Roman went to the military camp as usual to practice on his own.
But no sooner had he arrived at the camp than Ser Barristan followed closely behind.
Watching Roman practice alone under the protection of soldiers, Ser Barristan felt a trace of confusion.
Ser Barristan looked closer and was immediately broken out in a cold sweat.
Roman was wearing heavy armor, wielding a heavy warhammer, and attacking the dummy in front of him.
After a storm of blows, the scrap iron armor on the dummy looked like a crumpled ball of paper.
"The technique is slightly lacking, but the speed and strength are beyond that of an ordinary man. Aside from Robert, to think there is actually someone else with such strength?"
Just as Ser Barristan was marveling, Roman had already discovered him.
"Ser Barristan! Good morning, I didn't expect to see you here."
"My lord," Ser Barristan returned the salute, "King Robert has been clamoring to see you, but he is still drunk, so I came to inform you first."
"Oh? Then who is the guard by His Majesty's side right now?"
"Jaime Lannister."
Roman nodded; the kingslayer was indeed a good choice.
At this moment, Roman couldn't help but admire Robert's boldness; to dare to use someone with Jaime's reputation.
Roman knew clearly that Robert harbored a hatred for the Targaryen family that was almost like a demonic obsession; perhaps this was the reason why Jaime could continue to serve in the Kingsguard.
"Since I don't need to go to His Majesty for the moment, Ser Barristan, could you teach me some combat techniques?"
"Me?" Ser Barristan was somewhat surprised.
Roman nodded, then looked around to ensure Old Jessy was not nearby.
"My Drillmaster, Ser Jessy, has taught me everything he could. If I want to improve myself, aside from hard training, the only other way is to seek guidance."
"You are one of the strongest people in Westeros right now, so naturally, I must seek your guidance. Even if it is just for one day, I would be infinitely grateful!"
Looking at Roman's eager eyes, Ser Barristan did not answer immediately but asked a question:
"My lord, what is it exactly that you crave strength for?"
Roman glanced at Ser Barristan; he immediately understood what he should say.
"Ser Barristan, when I was at Harrenhal, I often heard farmers coming to weep and complain about being robbed by river pirates. Once, a farmer held his child who had been brutally murdered by the pirates, and he begged Lady Helaena of House Hoare to uphold justice for him."
Roman paused, then revealed an expression of anger and self-reproach.
"At that time, I wanted to rush into the pirates' den and kill those animals, but I didn't have the ability to do so. It was that experience that made me extremely hungry for my own strength."
Hearing the story of the farmer and his child, the corner of Ser Barristan's eye twitched uncontrollably.
Roman knew Ser Barristan's character well; he could be said to be the person in the Seven Kingdoms most worthy of the title of Kingsguard.
Ser Barristan had once recalled that if he had seen the scene of Robert laughing when Tywin presented the corpses of Rhaegar's children, then Ser Barristan would never have sworn allegiance to Robert, and nothing in this world could have stopped him from killing Robert.
Roman used a clever trick; he stirred his own emotions and brought up this example, which happened to evoke Ser Barristan's memories.
Ser Barristan quickly adjusted his emotions and stared fixedly at Roman, as if he wanted to flay him and pick his bones, carefully observing Roman's heart.
And Roman also looked at Ser Barristan without blinking; their gazes intersected.
Finally, Ser Barristan laughed aloud:
"Good! Then I ask that you do not mind my old age, my lord!"
Having said that, he assumed a stance, and Roman also grasped his warhammer with delight.
"It is my honor to learn from the fearless Ser Barristan!"
————
As the highest leader of the Hean Family's visit, Roman was instead practicing with Ser Barristan.
As for Robert, he had just woken up.
"Damn it, that wine last night was too potent. I didn't expect that besides the Arbor, there would be something so delicious. I should pay more attention to it in the future."
"Water! Give me water! Can't you see the King is dying of thirst?"
The Attendant had no choice but to remove the wine and quickly replace it with clear water.
While drinking the water, Robert asked the people around him, "Where is that brat Roman? He kept pouring wine for me last night; I've overslept now!"
"Your Majesty, Lord Roman... he is currently sparring with Ser Barristan."
Robert frowned; why did that kid Roman go to see that boring fellow Ser Barristan instead of reporting to him?
Robert happened to be in the mood, and he waved his hand, "Let's go! We'll go see that kid Roman and see what reason he has for leaving the King aside!"
A large group arrived at the camp in a grand procession, and before they even got close, they heard the clanging and banging sounds.
Robert and Jaime immediately discerned that someone was fighting there.
The surrounding soldiers were all gathered at the edge of the training grounds, making the scene impassable, and they were also cheering in bursts.
"What is happening?"
Robert pushed through the crowd forcefully; the people originally wanted to reprimand the person for cutting in line, but when the King's chubby face appeared, they shrank back like quails.
When they reached the front, everyone saw Roman and Ser Barristan dancing as they fought.
It must be said that Ser Barristan's performance completely exceeded Roman's expectations; he had thought it would be like in the TV shows.
But Old Barristan was clearly much more formidable than that; his moves were forceful and powerful, and his attacking angles were tricky.
Even though Ser Barristan was old and Roman was strong, the whole fight was still evenly matched.
Roman's swings were hard to block, so Ser Barristan would deflect the weapon along the angle of his attack.
Roman used fast-swinging moves, while Ser Barristan constantly moved his feet, pulling him in and out of range, all while attacking unexpectedly.
Everyone could see that Ser Barristan's technique crushed Roman's, but there was one fatal problem.
Roman's stamina was too good; even if he made a mistake, he could quickly defend.
And when it came to speed, he couldn't gain any advantage; often, Roman would choose to twist away from attacks with exaggerated movements.
Ordinary people would often run out of energy after doing these movements a few times, but Roman was still at ease.
On the contrary, Ser Barristan was already panting by this time; he no longer had the advantage.
Helplessly, Ser Barristan could only choose to go all out; after blocking Roman's swing, he lunged forward and held his sword to Roman's throat.
A smile appeared at the corner of Roman's mouth: "You have won, Ser Barristan."