iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 641 Each Person's Desire

"Avoiding war is avoiding war, that's the fact. Duke Stark's actions are truly disappointing..."

Since miraculously defeating Stannis's army besieging Eastwatch, Prime Minister Mayes has been quite smug.

He would send out ravens whenever he had free time, urging his eldest son (Veras) to expedite the reinforcements, preparing to wipe out Stannis in one fell swoop and make a name for himself in the Seven Kingdoms.

However, the Duke of Stark's personal letter dampened his good mood.

He was very angry.

The reason was somewhat reasonable, but... the Duke of Stark's wording in rejecting his battle plan was too harsh.

He is the most trusted prime minister of the King and Queen!
If the little Stark hadn't suddenly submitted, Winterfell would have been used to make him a famous general!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and Prime Minister Mayes unconsciously twirled his beard.

Actually, he didn't have good intentions from the start, but now all his scheming was overshadowed by his anger...

And Tyrion!
A liar indeed! None of the Lannisters are good people. Sooner or later, we'll teach that treacherous dwarf a lesson.

Ok……

Ok……

Suddenly, the fingers that were twirling his beard stopped abruptly; he had just thought of another possibility.

A flicker of barely suppressed excitement flashed in his eyes: "Winterfell... Could it be that they've reached a truce with Stannis in private?"

As Prime Minister Mace's voice fell, everyone below was stunned, including the Stark envoy.

Ser Roderick was the first to recover, his anger causing his long white beard to tremble: "Your Excellency the Hand! This is baseless slander! It is a trampling of the honor of House Stark!"

Prime Minister Mayes, however, paid no heed to the old sergeant's anger and scrutinized him suspiciously: "As far as I know, Stannis was previously attacking the Stark army everywhere, so why has he suddenly stopped?"

He waved the letter in his hand: "Isn't it too much of a coincidence that Duke Stark is refusing to cooperate with my battle plan at this moment?"

Below, only a few Reach lords nodded in agreement with this seemingly reasonable conjecture, while the others... were either intently studying the intricate patterns of the Myr carpet beneath their feet, or looking up at the mottled marks on the ancient stone beams above, and so on.

Ser Roderick was stunned again, then his face flushed red: "My Lord Hand! Please retract this absurd accusation! Stannis's army has withdrawn its defenses because of a lack of supplies, something even the White Walkers know!"

Indeed, Stark was not a fool after all.

Of the seven kingdoms today, only that madman Stannis dares to challenge the majesty of the king and queen.

Ignoring the burning rage of the Stark envoy, Prime Minister Mace could not hide his disappointment and waved his hand listlessly: "Go back and tell the Duke of Stark that Stannis must be eliminated as soon as possible, and that he must march north within seven days to assist the Tyrell army in breaching Castle Black."

"you!"

Ser Rodrik clenched his fists. The Rose was so arrogant, treating the Duke of Winterfell like a servant. The deep humiliation made him freeze in place for a moment.

Seeing that he did not move, Prime Minister Mays frowned and said, "Sir Caesar, you may leave."

"you……"

Ser Rodrik's chest heaved violently, his hand on the hilt of his sword almost breaking free of reason, but his life experience, with its full head of white hair, told him that acting impulsively at this moment would only bring more trouble to the Stark family.

The atmosphere grew increasingly heavy, but Prime Minister Mayes seemed oblivious, lost in his own thoughts.

Matus Rowan, who had been largely ignored during this period, sighed and had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward.

"Lord Mace, please forgive my intrusion, but may I take a look at that letter?"

Prime Minister Metz then came to his senses and, seeing the respectful Matus, did not say anything but casually waved his hand.

Immediately, the Rose attendant handed over the letter. Count Matus quickly read it, and after a moment of silence, turned to Rodrik, who was still panting heavily.

He frowned and said, "Your Excellency Stark, I am Lord Mattus Rowan, Earl of Goldentree. May I ask... is this the only letter the Duke of Winterfell has sent you with?"

The name of Mattus was known throughout the Seven Kingdoms. Ser Rodrik paused, took a deep breath, and then replied, "Lord Ned ordered me to remind the Duke of Tyrell that Stannis's eyes are everywhere in the North, and the movement of troops cannot be kept secret from the enemy."

Lord Mattus nodded slightly and pressed, "Has Lord Stark come up with a solution?"

At this moment, Mace also leaned forward slightly, his gaze falling on the Stark messenger.

Ser Rodrik puffed out his chest and declared loudly, "From this day forward, within a month at most, Lord Ned will personally lead 20,000 Northern troops north. He hopes to join forces with the Tyrell army to launch a general offensive against Stannis!"

Prime Minister Mace's cheeks puffed up instantly. Was Stark trying to take command of the Tyrell army? Was he trying to steal the victory that was about to be his?!

Lord Mattus nodded again: "If we unite our forces, even if Stannis has a thousand and one eyes, he will only be waiting to die." As he spoke, Lord Mattus glanced back at the Reach Lord, who was eager to make a name for himself in battle, and added: "Sir, Lord Eddard should know very well that the Tyrell army has come from afar not only to quell the rebellion for the kingdom, but also to fight for the North."

Rodrik placed his right hand on his chest and bowed slightly: "Lord Ned's original words were—'The North will never forget, and the Starks only seek peace in the North.'"

There was a pause.

Prime Minister Mayes burst into loud laughter (hehehe) from the high platform.

……

……

Stannis was too quiet...

Inside the King's study, Green stared down at the background map on the table, his finger slowly tracing the last Hearth City and Eastwatch, finally tapping the location of Black Castle.

Lord Ned's messenger raven brought news—at Lord Magadhain's request, the Stark army was willing to assist the Tyrell army in suppressing the rebellion, provided that enough troops were gathered.

The information revealed was limited, but the astute Green naturally guessed the reason for Duke Ned's actions.

While Eddard Stark wasn't good at the game of thrones, he was definitely a skilled fighter, and he was doing this to guard against Stannis's ever-present eyes.

Staring at the location of Black Castle, Green rubbed his chin.

If Tyrell and Stark were to join forces, the Wildlings' "surprise attack" would be ineffective against tens of thousands of elite allied troops, and this place would eventually become Stannis's grave.

Is Stannis just obediently waiting to die?

What is that man made of pure iron seeking now?
His assassination of Lord Ned and his raid on the Stark army effectively ended any possibility of a final negotiation...

Green sat down, leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his temples.

……

knock knock knock.

A knock was heard, and after receiving a response, Ser Brienne pushed the door open and entered.

"Your Majesty, someone has hired a hunter from the Wolf Forest to deliver a secret letter."

Green opened his eyes: "Please bring it here."

Sir Brienne opened the letter as she walked, examined it carefully, and then handed it to Green.

Green took the letter and then raised an eyebrow.

He spotted the red and gold fox seal, the coat of arms of Stannis's wife's family—the House of Florence of the Reach.

The letter was written by Sir Axel Florence, the uncle of Stannis's wife and his second prime minister.

That's too risky...

After glancing at the letter, Green suddenly looked around as if searching for something.

Ser Brienne followed his gaze with suspicion and wariness, her thick fingers already gripping the hilt of the sword.

"His Majesty?"

"Sir, please pour me a drink."

As Sir Brienne walked toward the wine cabinet, he added, "I'm checking if any weirwood items have been left behind."

His Majesty Green was quite cautious; to prevent the Three-Eyed Raven from spying on and harassing him, he didn't even allow the fish weirwood spoon to be in his vicinity.

[Explanation: The tree roots buried deep underground form the network connecting the weirwood trees to the three-eyed crows]

"I'll have someone check it right away." As ordered, the Kingsguard had properly "expelled" all the weirwood items from the "King's Palace," but the loyal Ser Brienne was willing to repeat it carefully for His Majesty Green.

"No need."

Green took the glass, took a small sip, and said, "I just really don't like this... feeling."

(End of this chapter)