iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 596 Tradition and Protection

After a pause, Count Matus chose to speak frankly: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for my offense, but I am not capable of managing the royal treasury."

Green nodded his chin, then looked at Matus again, and suddenly joked with him: "You came here empty-handed?"

Hearing this, Count Matus' lips trembled slightly: "Your Majesty, I..."

He opened his mouth, then gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty Green, Tyrell is loyal."

Green's brown eyes moved slightly, and he looked at Matus, and his lips opened slightly: "As you said, I govern this kingdom hand in hand with Lord Mace Tyrell."

Count Matus lowered his eyes and avoided Green's calm gaze. After a moment of silence, he spoke slowly: "Yes, this is a fact known to all the Seven Kingdoms."

He clenched his fists, raised his eyes, and looked at the king again: "Your Majesty, please allow me to resign from my position as the Minister of the Navy."

Looking at him, Green's lips curved slightly: "Martus Rowan, are you planning to 'trade' with me?"

Count Matus first nodded to the king to apologize, then paused and said in a slightly tired tone: "I requested an audience on behalf of my lord, although my presumptuous behavior did not receive the lord's permission..."

The fire flickered, and then there was silence again.

Green paused as he tapped his gauntlet. “No lord would like a vassal’s rash actions. This is normal, Matus.”

Green left his chair and moved towards the wine cabinet. As he walked, he said, "You look like a glorious knight ready to die."

Count Matus's straight back slightly bent. He leaned weakly against the back of the chair and managed to squeeze out his voice: "I'm just trying my best. I know I'm stupid, but..."

Green added: "But your actions have not tarnished your honor and loyalty."

As he spoke, he walked over with two wine glasses in his hands.

He handed one of the glasses to Matus: "The Duke of Metz and I have a lot in common, such as tolerance towards vassals."

Earl Matus straightened up and took the wine glass. Green looked down at him and said, "Tywin, who was praised by everyone as the 'Eternal Hand of the King', actually used his people to directly occupy most of the seats when he sat on the position of Prime Minister again. From then on, the Royal Council, which represented the highest power in the kingdom, began to gradually lose its majesty, until... I took charge of the kingdom."

He walked to the fireplace, took a sip of wine, and seemed to sigh: "Power is like a special poison. Once you are infected, its game will never stop, and the greed it breeds can easily make people lose their minds."

For some reason, Count Matus suddenly felt a little embarrassed. He suppressed his fluctuating emotions and said sincerely: "Your Majesty Green, it was you who restored the order of the kingdom. I admire you deeply."

Green glanced sideways and said, "Are you surprised too?"

With his back to Matus, Green stared at the flames in the fireplace for a while and said slowly: "It is a fact that Kleber comes from the valley and the swamp. Therefore, others will habitually ignore Kleber's feelings."

"This is an ancient tradition of the Seven Kingdoms, and it is also an old tradition of the great nobles." Green moved his feet, walked to the chair and sat down.

Hearing this, Count Matus was about to stand up, but Green raised his hand to suppress him, motioning him to sit down: "You don't have to worry. The competition for seats in the Imperial Council will not disappear. As the king, what reason do I have to blame the loyal ministers?"

Green's eyes became slightly deeper: "However, unnecessary 'fighting' should be prohibited. Matus, this is one of the reasons why I recommended you as the new Chancellor of the Exchequer."

One of the reasons? Suppressing his thoughts, Count Matus nodded in agreement: "Yes, as wise as you are, the kingdom today still needs careful care."

As he spoke, his tone changed and he mentioned his previous request again: "Please allow me to resign from the position of Minister of the Imperial Council."

"You are so stubborn..."

Green looked at Matus with amusement and said, "...Duke Mace will probably banish you back to the Reach. If that happens, it will be hard to gain sympathy from others."

Lord Matus shrugged, his face slightly bitter: "I am fulfilling my duties and obligations as a Tyrell vassal, my majesty."

Green's eyes seemed to be able to see directly into other people's hearts: "Bright Water City?"

Hearing this, Count Matus was stunned: "Uh... you really have a keen eye. To be honest, I do plan to go to Brightwater City to assist Sir Garlan (Chapter 586)."

"It's easy to guess that the knight's favorite is always the battlefield."

As he spoke, Green took out a rolled-up parchment and threw it over: "But there is a bigger battlefield."

Slowly unfolding the parchment, Count Matus lowered his gaze and paused. When he looked at the king, he could not hide the shock in his eyes: "This... a corpse ghost... how is it possible?!"

Green rubbed his temple. "In fact, almost half a year ago, the Night's Watch had already warned the lords of the Seven Kingdoms, but they were all ignored and ridiculed. I only found out after meeting with the envoy of the Night's Watch..."

Green briefly recounted the content of the conversation at that time (Chapter 355), and continued: "It does sound absurd, but as a descendant of the ancestors, I have no reason to doubt the honor of the Night's Watch."

Lord Matus murmured, "So, your reason for sending Sir Humphrey to the Wall at that time is true (Chapter 478)..."

Green took a sip of wine, paused for a moment, and sighed, "Sometimes the truth is more easily misunderstood as a lie. The kingdom is in turmoil, and it is not wise to spread news about the White Walkers... I chose Ser Humphrey. Even those with ulterior motives would think that this is just an excuse for me to subdue the Golden Cloak."

Green took another sip of summer red, a look of fatigue flashed across his face. "While I am destroying the usurper's rule step by step, I have begun to secretly mobilize Kleber's resources to prepare for the invasion of the White Walkers."

Count Matus was moved and stood up slowly. He then bowed deeply to the king and said, "Salute to you. It is the greatest fortune of the Seven Kingdoms that you can become the king."

Green smiled gently and said, "Thank you, my Lord Matus, but you must keep this secret. This is the king's order until Sir Humphrey brings back irrefutable evidence of the existence of the White Walkers."

"As ordered."

Earl Matus nodded and paused. He couldn't help but sighed: "The legendary White Walkers... the resurrected corpses... this is really unbelievable. If Sir Humphrey hadn't escaped back to the Wall and passed on the information, I would have treated this as a joke like everyone else."

Green sighed again: "The one hundred people who went deep into the north of the Great Wall to investigate are all the elites of Crabbe and the Gold Cloaks. Except for Sir Humphrey, the others will never..."

Although the king did not continue speaking, Count Matus could guess what was left unsaid. The brave warriors might have turned into wights, driven by the White Walkers, and became part of the invasion of the Seven Kingdoms.

Count Matus clenched his fists. This was a trampling and defilement of their lifetime honor!
Tap tap tap tap.

When he came to him, Green paused and looked him straight in the eye: "If we lose this war, there will be no place for the living to survive, and this world will be forever shrouded in darkness. Earl Matus Rowan, are you willing to go to the edge of the world and guard the kingdom's first line of defense?"

(End of this chapter)