Game of Thrones: The Wrath of the Sleeping Dragon

As the Sand Snake Girls left, the youngest girl, Trinity, who looked only fourteen or fifteen years old, secretly smiled sweetly at Viserys once again and gently bit her red lips.

At the same time, fingers gently lifted the hem of the skirt along the thigh and slowly slid upwards...

However, this time her sneaky little actions were discovered by Obaya, the eldest sister of the Sand Snakes, and the tall woman's face immediately darkened.

However, instead of reacting out of fear of being discovered by Arianne, she ignored Trinity's protests and roughly grabbed her sister's shoulder and carried her away.

"Slut!"

As they walked away, Obaya whispered a reprimand in Treni's ear.

However, Arianne did not possess Viserys's exceptional senses, and she did not hear those words.

Viserys and Arianne watched the sand snakes leave, and then the young king's gaze returned to the exotic girl before him.

"Your Highness, what were you talking about just now?"

Viserys asked the question while making an inviting gesture.

We were just discussing the flowers in the garden.

Arianne followed Viserys, and the two strolled and talked in the garden.

"The flowers in the palace are beautiful, but most of them have already withered, but the flowers of Dorne will never fade."

"Oh?"

Viserys heard Arianne's words and glanced at the withered flowers in the garden.

He usually didn't have time to walk in the garden, and only realized it after Ariane reminded him, then gently shook his head.

Winter is coming.

"Yangji City is adjacent to the Summer Sea, so it naturally enjoys a long summer all year round, which is the envy of many."

When winter comes in Westeros, Dorne's warm climate is the envy of many; however, when Westeros enters its long summer, Dorne suffers from heat and drought.

Therefore, compared to the widespread lamentation in the other six kingdoms, the people of Dorne actually looked forward to the arrival of winter, hoping that it would at least lower the temperature in the air.

Upon hearing Viserys's praise, Arianne couldn't help but smile slightly, but since it was their first meeting, she remained composed and simply gave a humble smile.

"but..."

At this point, Viserys changed the subject slightly, turning his head to look Ariane up and down.

"While Dorne is warm, Pentos is no longer a suitable season for wearing only light clothing, Your Highness."

He noticed that Arianne's clothing seemed somewhat thin.

Although the temperature in Pentos isn't very low in winter, it seems a bit unreasonable that Arianne is still wearing only a single layer of clothing.

"Your Majesty may call me Ariane."

However, the girl was perhaps in the prime of her youth, full of passion, and completely unconcerned about the cold that Viserys spoke of.

"Yes, Princess Ariane."

Viserys nodded slightly.

Upon hearing Viserys's address, Arianne pouted slightly, then feigned displeasure.

"Your Majesty can drop the title 'Princess.' It would be foolish to call yourself a princess in front of the kings of the seven kingdoms."

Arianne was very quick-witted; during their first meeting, she probed for what Viserys wanted to hear, such as addressing him as 'King of the Seven Kingdoms'.

She thought that Viserys, as a fugitive Targaryen king, must have a deep obsession with the Iron Throne.

However, Viserys merely chuckled at her self-righteous and unintentional compliment, and then spoke.

"Then... Arianne, did Prince Doran send you here with any special instructions?"

As a princess of Dorne visiting Pentos, Viserys naturally dared not be negligent, after all, Dorne was now the Targaryens' most loyal ally, and it was almost impossible for her to betray him.

The alliance between the two is gradually becoming more solid and unbreakable.

After exchanging pleasantries with Arianne Martell for quite some time, it was finally time to get straight to the point. Viserys asked directly.

He knew that a man as shrewd as Prince Doran would not send his daughter without a purpose.

Moreover, Prince Doran was an avid letter writer, and he had exchanged more than a dozen letters with Viserys over the years. It is likely that his daughter would bring a handwritten letter from Prince Doran with her.

Viserys found it somewhat troublesome to communicate with Arianne about many things; he only needed to take Prince Doran's letter and read it himself.

After all, although Arianne is Prince Doran's daughter, she does not have the power to make decisions for him, and this girl is clearly not a simple person, with a strong sense of making decisions or causing trouble.

However, the Dornish girl clearly showed displeasure upon hearing Viserys's words.

And this time I'm genuinely a little unhappy.

"Humph."

Arianne gave a soft snort, pouted, and stared at Viserys with her dark eyes.

“Prince Daolang, Prince Daolang, why do you all talk about father but not me?”

Just as Viserys judged the girl, Arianne, though only fifteen years old, possessed great ambition.

Because of the influence of the Rhoynar culture, Dorne and the other six kingdoms of Westeros have some differences in their systems, such as the issue of gender equality.

For Donne, having lovers and mistresses was not such a serious moral issue.

Therefore, Oberyn didn't care to say that he hoped his daughter would become Viserys' mistress, and it would be even better if she could conceive a child.

Regarding inheritance law, Dorne believed that daughters also had inheritance rights.

Therefore, Arianne is ahead of her brother Quentin Martell in the line of succession to Sunspear.

Prince Doran's insistence on sending Arianne away as soon as possible, using various means of coercion and enticement to get Viserys to agree to the marriage, over the years, was partly due to this consideration.

The girl is a bit willful, perhaps because she's in her rebellious phase.

She complained that everyone only saw her father and not her, but little did they know that the attention she received and even her engagement to Viserys was all because of her father's fame.

Although Arianne was a little angry, in order to make a good impression on Viserys, she pouted and then turned her anger into coquettishness.

"You can call me Arianne, so can I call you Viserys?"

Viserys had received instruction in royal etiquette, which included how to interact with ladies and win their favor.

But Viserys simply shook his head and smiled.

In his eyes, Arianne was like a little girl who was somewhat cunning, but whose methods were still rather naive.

"can."

Viserys nodded.

"Humph."

When Arianne heard Viserys agree, her eyes curved slightly as if she wanted to laugh, but she restrained herself and let out another soft hum.

He then reluctantly pulled a letter from his pocket and handed it to the other party.

Chapter 237 Prince Doran's Letter

The contents of Prince Doran's letter were not complicated; it mainly conveyed his greetings and blessings, and expressed his hope that the two young people could get along well.

However, Prince Doran also mentioned the situation of the seven kingdoms in his letter.

Winter is coming.

This is a disaster that the whole world cannot avoid. Although the continent of Essos is not adjacent to the Land of Eternal Winter and is not greatly affected, the temperature has still dropped significantly.

Viserys watched Arianne's departing figure, then glanced at the withered flowers in the garden, before finally turning his gaze back to Prince Doran's handwritten letter.

Prince Doran wrote this letter a long time ago.

The North was the most directly impacted by the arrival of winter. At that time, Ned Stark, the Duke of Winterfell, wrote to King's Landing for help. King Robert then ordered the requisition of grain from the Reach to supply the North and help its people get through the cold winter.

It must be said that Robert was quite loyal to his good brother. He did not stand idly by when the North needed help the most, but instead actively helped them financially.

However, the bag that King Robert opened was not his own purse, but rather the grain belonging to the Duke of Tyrell in the Reach.

Anyway, everyone knows that Lord Tyrell is a big spender, especially when it comes to food. The Reach, with its pleasant climate and fertile lands, is the main grain-producing region of the Seven Kingdoms.

However, while King Robert was generous with other people's money, he did not completely treat the Duke of Tyrell as a sucker.

As compensation, Robert Baratheon then promised Mace Tyrell the title of Queen.

Of course, it wasn't that Robert, the big, dark-skinned, and rough man, was going to marry Tyrell, the fat, white, and stupid Duke; rather, it was an arranged marriage for their children.

King Robert proposed a marriage between his eldest son Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell, daughter of the Duke of Mace of House Tyrell.

According to the laws of the Seven Kingdoms and the traditions of Westeros, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Joffrey Baratheon will be the next king of the Seven Kingdoms.

Therefore, King Robert compensated the Tyrell family with the invaluable position of queen, and also facilitated a marriage alliance between the two families.

House Tyrell was very pleased with this, as they needed a future queen to consolidate their influence throughout the Seven Kingdoms.

However, King Robert's moves were not limited to these. It was clear that there were capable individuals among his courtiers who foresaw the inevitable course of the war surrounding the Iron Throne.

Therefore, the other party advised King Robert to help him consolidate his current base of support.

At the same time, we must take the initiative in our diplomatic strategy and actively seek ways to encircle and annihilate the Targaryens.

They lobbied other free trade city-states, led by Braavos, to be wary of or even hostile to the Targaryens, and to actively infiltrate their sphere of influence.

The secret connection between Dorne and the Targaryens is known to everyone in the Seven Kingdoms, but it is not made public.

However, Petyr Baelish, a close confidant of King Robert and recently becoming a favorite of his, recommended by Jon Arryn, did not advocate taking action against Dorne that winter.

Firstly, Dorne has a complex geographical environment and an arid climate, and the people of Dorne are known for their fierce nature; even Aegon the Conqueror suffered a bloody defeat there.

Secondly, winter is not a suitable time for a long expedition. It is currently the dead of winter, and the seven kingdoms are suffering from poor harvests. Even if the River Bend is rich, it is impossible to support so many people from all seven kingdoms.

If the able-bodied men of the family were to be conscripted to fight in Dorne at this time, it would almost certainly lead to the self-destruction of those poor families.

If Dorne hadn't been captured by then, the noble lords' own ancestral homes would probably have been thrown into chaos.

Therefore, Petyr Baelish proposed a bold idea: to arrange a marriage between Princess Myrcella Baratheon, who was born just last year, and Quentin Martell, the eldest son of Prince Dorne.

However, Baelish's plan was met with opposition from King Robert and Queen Cersei as soon as it was proposed.

"Seven levels of hell! You fool!"

“Myrcella is only one year old and still nursing in Cersei’s arms, while that Martell boy is already ten years old!”