iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 595: Seats in the Imperial Meeting
All the ministers stood up and bowed in the direction of the main seat.

After the king left surrounded by the Kingsguard, the Duke of Mace sat back in the Prime Minister's chair and couldn't help scratching his face. He seemed to be in some confusion.

Princess Arianne glanced at the figure blocked by the snow-white cloak, pinched his smooth chin with her slender fingers, and inadvertently... her eyes met with Prime Minister Mace.

Then, Arianne saw the inflatable fish rolling its eyes at her very ungracefully, and she laughed out of anger.

"Father."

Willas' gentle voice interrupted the eye contact between the Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice.

"Let's go back together."

As he spoke, Prime Minister Mace reached out and patted Willas on the shoulder. Sergeant Tyrell pushed the wheelchair from behind, and the father and son left the long table of the royal council together.

Count Matus, with a frown on his face, also stood up and followed the feudal lord and his heir.

"Lord Tully."

Pycelle's old voice brought Duke Brynden back to his senses from his thoughts. He looked around and realized that only he and Pycelle were left at the long table of the royal council.

Pycelle in front of him looked like an ordinary, amiable old man. Duke Brynden forced a polite smile on his resolute face: "Grand Maester."

As if sensing Brynden's estrangement from him, Pycelle smiled kindly and harmlessly: "I wanted to congratulate Lord Rowan, but my old legs can't keep up with his pace."

He held out a hand while holding a thick parchment book, and said, "Let's go together, Your Excellency the Duke."

……

Pycelle walked unsteadily, and Lord Brynden was forced to slow down his pace.

"Ugh--"

While walking, Pycelle suddenly sighed, but was ignored by Lord Brynden.

Pycelle's cloudy eyes became deep. He paused and took the initiative to speak: "It's not easy for His Majesty the King..."

Lord Brynden's gaze finally shifted over. Pycelle showed an awkward and hesitant expression: "The Tyrells today remind me of a certain family in the past. History always likes to repeat itself."

Hearing this, Duke Brynden frowned but said nothing.

Pycelle continued, "My Lord Duke, you should be more active. You can't let our Majesty fight alone."

As soon as he finished speaking, Duke Brynden's sharp eyes swept over the people around him and said, "Grand Maester Pycelle, please do not tarnish my honor. Tully has sworn allegiance to His Majesty Green."

"You misunderstood."

Pycelle shook his head and sighed again: "I mean that the Tyrell family is too greedy. Obviously, two seats on the Royal Council cannot satisfy their appetite."

Lord Brynden's voice hardened. "I have no interest in joining you in private accusations, Grand Maester."

With that, he tossed his red and blue striped cloak, leaving Pycelle behind, and strode away alone.

"Humph."

……

Tyrell Mansion.

After entering the study, Prime Minister Mace, who had been holding back all the way, first asked the others in the room to leave, and then immediately spoke up: "Villas, why does His Majesty Green want Matus to be the Minister of Finance?"

Willas smiled gently: "Perhaps, he is just proposing it to us."

Crash---

As he spoke, he picked up the silver wine jug on the small round table and poured wine.

"proposal?"

Prime Minister Metz was even more confused. He glanced at Count Matus, who was sitting silently on the chair on the other side, and took the wine glass handed to him by Vilas.

Willas nodded slightly. "Yes, His Majesty Green's ruling methods are just like his military tactics, always surprising."

Speaking of military affairs, Prime Minister Mace's attention was instantly diverted. He stroked his beard, squinted his eyes, and said, "Yes, His Majesty Green's art of war is something that even I am sometimes amazed at." Willas: "..."

Matus: "..."

Willas coughed softly and brought the topic back: "Compared to other kings, His Majesty Green attaches more importance to the balance of the Royal Council."

He held a wine glass in his left and right hands respectively. "At least, he currently seems to not want the balance he has established to become 'abnormal'."

Count Matus was stunned for a moment, then respectfully took the wine glass handed over by the High Court heir. After a pause, he suddenly asked, "The position of the Minister of the Navy?"

Prime Minister Mace took a big gulp of wine, put down his glass, and asked in confusion: "Your Majesty Green is going to vacate the position of Minister of the Navy?"

Willas took a sip of the golden wine from Greenhall Island and said, "To be precise, he doesn't want Tyrell to have a third seat on the Council, at least..."

He smiled slightly: "For now."

Count Matus rubbed his brow, but his wrinkles did not smooth out: "Your Majesty, did you misunderstand something?"

As his voice fell, Tyrell and his son looked at each other.

After a pause, Willas' voice slowly sounded: "If the royal treasury wants to get out of trouble in a short period of time, in fact, the most suitable candidate for the finance minister is Tyrell."

He took a sip of his wine gracefully and shrugged. “Obviously, His Majesty, who is good at calculating, also knows this, so… he proposed you, Count Matus.”

Upon hearing this, Count Matus frowned even more deeply: "That's millions of gold royals owed."

Just as Prime Minister Mace was about to speak, Willas spoke first: "A few hundred thousand gold royals at most will be enough to alleviate the current difficulties. The time gained will be enough for the new finance minister to restore the kingdom's former prosperity."

"Villas, my ability will waste most of my precious time."

As he spoke, Count Matus turned his gaze towards Prime Minister Metz and said, "Your Excellency the Duke, I am willing to voluntarily resign from the position of Minister of the Navy and frankly admit that I am not qualified to be the Minister of Finance."

Prime Minister Mace showed displeasure on his face, and Willas frowned: "Earl Matus, Tyrell needs you to stay in the royal meeting."

After a moment of silence, Lord Matus hesitated and said, "Duke of Highgarden, Willas, please forgive me for being blunt, but the Queen's three-headed dragon will grow up sooner or later."

He ignored the stiff expressions of the Lord and his heir and continued, "Moreover, the Reach should not ignore the name of 'Bloody Earl' that His Majesty Green once held."

Putting down his glass, Count Matus stood up from his chair and said, "I will resign my post as Lord High Admiral to your Majesty, for the sake of this kingdom and the Reach."

He touched his chest and saluted: "Please allow me to leave."

Then, without waiting for the feudal lord's response, the cloak with white background and golden tree fluttered, and Count Matus turned and left.

Willas turned his head to look at his blushing father, then spread his hands helplessly.

.........

The evening twilight was like crushed amethyst, splashing onto the Myrish carpet through the stained glass, forming an interweaving of light and shadow with the dancing flames of the fireplace.

In front of the fireplace, Green half leaned on a wooden chair, staring at the flickering flames, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the armrests.

knock knock knock.

A knock on the door broke the silence of the room, and Ser Brienne of Tarth came forward and reported: "Your Majesty Green, Lord Matus Rowan requests an audience."

When Lord Martus' figure entered the king's study, Ser Brienne was outside, closing the door.

"Martus."

Green smiled at the upright figure, then pointed to the chair on the other side of the fireplace: "Please sit down."

"Your Majesty." Count Matus saluted the king with a slightly complicated expression.

After sitting down, Green casually looked at Count Matus, who had a heavy face, and his voice came over.

"Have you figured out how to save the kingdom's finances?"

(End of this chapter)