iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 662 The End
Another gust of cold wind swept past the two, ruffling Green's dark hair and lifting Stannis's cloak, revealing his slender and straight waist.

Stannis's sudden change of heart did not stir any emotion in Green. He paused slightly before slowly saying, "Indeed, I once thought that your demise would be sung by bards and resound throughout the seven kingdoms."

He raised one hand and spread it out: "In the past, although most nobles disliked you, I always thought you were a rare fair man among the seven kingdoms, a good lord who could make the people of your territory sleep peacefully."

Stannis's jaw moved silently a few times, as if he were chewing something, and his breath dissipated very quickly.

Then, he squeezed out a cold voice: "I never care about other people's eyes and mouths. The only thing I have ever protected is the law and the justice of the law."

With a slight movement in his brown eyes, Green's gaze swept over the snow-laden branches in the distance. He paused, then said, "But according to the sacred laws of the Seven Kingdoms, Stannis, you are already beyond redemption."

Stannis's deep gaze shifted over. Although his face was withered and he was in dire straits, his blue eyes remained bright, like a pair of unextinguished stars in the cold night.

A faint smile appeared on his cold, hard lips, as if mocking, or perhaps confirming: "If I heard correctly, you seem to be...regretful for me?"

Meeting Stannis's gaze, Grimm nodded calmly: "You murdered your parents and betrayed the faith of the Seven, these are indeed indelible sins, but... if... you hadn't assassinated the Duke of Winterfell, I originally planned to find a way to have you wear the black robes and become the 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, to join me in resisting the White Walkers' invasion."

Gazing at the snowflakes falling from the sky, he seemed to be saying with emotion: "Your merit in saving the seven kingdoms is enough to earn their recognition, give you a new life, and make you the subject of their praise."

Upon hearing Green's sincere statement tinged with regret, Stannis's eyes trembled almost imperceptibly, followed by a hoarse laugh that seemed to be cut off in his throat, leaving no lingering sound.

The cold wind still swept through the wolf forest, and the swirling snowflakes landed on their shoulders.

The next second, Stannis's relaxed expression vanished completely, and he returned to his usual tense demeanor: "In the end, I never expected that the one who truly believed me wasn't Robert, but you. How ridiculous, how utterly ridiculous."

After a pause, his tone shifted, and he coldly said to Green, "You've forgotten that, based solely on the charge of rebellion, the laws of the Seven Kingdoms are sufficient to execute me."

"If we were to settle accounts strictly according to the laws of the Seven Kingdoms, the 'old scores' from seventeen years ago alone would cause widespread panic and bloodshed throughout the kingdom. You should know very well who would suffer the most in that case: the people who have finally managed to settle down. You should know very well that if this happens, they will despair, and despair will lead to madness... Don't forget how Rhaenyra Targaryen's dragons died."

As he spoke, Green rubbed his head, his tone revealing a hint of weariness: "The sanctity of the law cannot be violated, but in order to maintain the stability of the Seven Kingdoms, I still have to squeeze through the cracks in the law and try every means to exonerate those people. This is what I find most ridiculous."

Stannis frowned, clearly disagreeing with this "compromise," and was about to retort when Green raised his hand to interrupt him.

His tone turned slightly heavy: "The White Walkers are about to invade. At this time, how can the Seven Kingdoms win if they do not have a stable rear? Now, the dead are the greatest enemy of all the living."

Green looked him straight in the eye: "This is a decisive battle for the survival of humanity, Stannis. Isn't the answer obvious enough?"

"..."

Stannis paused, his body stiffening, before suddenly changing the subject: "That little sea monster in black, he defected from the Wall, but then appeared in King's Landing. I heard he's quite popular there?"

His gaze was profound: "Of all the Seven Kingdoms, only you are interested in him, and only you could do it, Green. You have trampled on the Night's Watch's honor of thousands of years." A stronger gust of cold wind swept by, swirling up snowflakes and pelting them.

Green tugged at the reins to calm the restless horse beneath him before replying, "How many people in the Seven Kingdoms still remember the honor of the Night's Watch? The Wall has become a penal colony for criminals of the Seven Kingdoms, and the glorious Night's Watch has been reduced to 'jailers.' Apart from the descendants of the ancient First Men, who in the Seven Kingdoms cares about them?"

He reached out and stroked the horse's neck, its dark mane rustling through his palm: "The Night's Watch is utterly incapable of resisting the White Walkers' invasion. As king, I would never entrust them with such a crucial responsibility concerning the survival of the kingdom."

Brown eyes and blue eyes collided in the cold wind. Green continued, "Stannis, I am here to right those—once glorious, now corrupt, thousand-year-old traditions—in a legitimate and just manner. In the future, the Wall will become a direct domain of the Targaryen-Claybers, and in the name of the King, I will recast the glory of the Night's Watch."

"..." Stannis admitted that he had made similar judgments after entering the Wall.

After staring at Grimm for a long time, Stannis slowly nodded and changed the subject again: "Two years ago, you were just a young man who had just inherited Whispering City. How did you figure out that Cersei was the breach that destroyed Baratheon?"

"It's very simple."

"It was Robert who gave us hope. He indulged in wine and women, and more and more people no longer feared his rusty warhammer, including me, a minor lord of Crab Claw Peninsula."

After hearing Green's answer, Stannis's eyes remained fixed on him: "Did Tywin really die at the hands of that bastard?"

Green thought for a moment, then gently shook his head: "To be precise, the old lion died because of his arrogance."

The snow in the Wolf Forest fell even more heavily.

After a moment of silence, Stannis continued, "Is Kevan the same?"

Green nodded slightly: "Sir Kevan served Tywin with all his heart, but he was as proud as his brother and had no patience to properly look at his brother's children, that is, the future of the Lannisters."

"Ha~"

Stannis let out a brief, strange laugh, then remained silent for a long time before asking, "Why did I fail?"

Brown eyes met blue eyes again. With a sigh, Green slowly spoke: "It's anger. This rage that blinded you was ignited by your brother, Robert. He's dead, but it hasn't disappeared. Otherwise, you might have been the final victor, or... at least you wouldn't be in this situation, ending up in the cold Wolf Forest."

After a moment of silence, Stannis untied his "Longclaw" and threw it into the thick snow beside him.

His cloudy eyes looked over, his thin lips parted slightly, and his tone, though less cold and hard, carried a greater certainty: "Green Clayber, I am certain that you will be a good king."

(End of this chapter)