Chapter 33 - King’s Landing (I)

Chapter 33 - 33 - King's Landing (I)"Betrayal hurts because it always comes from the people you least expect." Aenar Targaryen, seeing the fury in King Robert I Baratheon's eyes as he gazes upon the Lord of Winterfell.

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Crown Lands - King's Landing.

Inside the huge red fortress built beneath Aegon's Hill, in the Small Council chamber.

Seven men sat in their respective positions.

Just as everyone was about to start the meeting, the camera doors were opened and a strong smell of wine floated into the room.

All seven men rose from their seats and spoke at the same time.

"Your Grace."

Whoever came in was a tall and mostly fat man; if someone had told them that this man had been known as the Demon of the Trident ten years ago, no one would have believed them.

Robert I. Baratheon was a shell of his former self, a distant echo of the man he once was.

Taking a sip of vine from the mug, Robert ignored everyone and sat down on the main chair with his fat body, looking at his advisors with his deep blue eyes. His black hair was disheveled and his beard was large and dirty. Frankly, if it weren't for the expensive and noble clothes, it was hard to believe that such a man was the king of an entire continent.



Robert looked more like a mercenary from Essos than a king, anyone present could see that, but no one said anything or dared, not even the Hand of the King, Jon Arryn.

Lord Arryn looked at Robert with a hint of helplessness in his usually stern expression. He snorted loudly and began to speak. "With the King's arrival, we will begin the small council."

"My lords, there are two important pieces of news that my little birds have heard recently." The gentle words, soft and even too delicate for a man, caught everyone's attention, including Robert, who was still drinking non-stop.

"We are listening, Lord Varys." Lord Arryn commented, gesturing for Varys to continue.

Yes, the bald, fat man was Varys, the Spider, the Eunuch, the Master of Whispers.

Varys is a chubby, bald eunuch with soft white hands and round shoulders.

"The Lord of Winterfell, Eddard of House Stark, has begun the renovation of the Cailin Moat, which will be the fief of his second son, Brandon Stark." Varys spoke in a soft voice, his small eyes narrowing slightly, a smile on his lips as the Master of Whispers glanced discreetly at everyone present.

"HAHAHAHHA!!!" Robert laughed at the mention of his brother coming from the eunuch, although they didn't share blood, they had grown up together and were closer than his own blood brothers. "This silent wolf has five children and the sixth is on the way!"

Robert was in a good mood and took another sip of wine, apparently to toast his great friend, or was it just another reason for him to drink until he passed out.

"Your Grace, I don't think it's appropriate for Lord Stark to complete such a project. If the Cailin Moat is successfully rebuilt, it will be extremely difficult for armies to invade the North in the future." The Master of the Ships, Stannis Baratheon, spoke at that moment. His voice was as serious and calm as one would expect from a man.

Bang!!!

Robert had slammed the table down so hard that everyone was stunned for a moment. The king's blue eyes glared at his brother.

"Don't you dare slander Ned with your paranoia, Stannis!!!" Robert nearly roared at his younger brother. "I can trust that man with my back without hesitation."

Stannis felt a sense of humiliation and anger at the angry outburst from his king and brother. He was only thinking of his family, but Robert couldn't see how dangerous it was to have an untouchable North.

But as a loyal vassal and brother to the king, Stannis still had to warn of the consequences of the North's actions. "You can trust him, but what about your children and the children after them?"

"Then marry my children to his." Robert replied angrily. He trusted Ned and trusted even more in the upbringing the Lord of Winterfell would give his children. The King of the Seven Kingdoms had no doubt that all the sons and daughters of the Lord of the North would be honorable men and women.

Surprisingly, Jon Arryn nodded in satisfaction at Robert's words. "Your Grace has made a good proposal. We can marry Princess Myrcella to Robb Stark and Prince Tommen to Lady Sansa Stark."



Lord Arryn didn't know it, but those words had changed his fate.

Robert just let out a satisfied grunt in agreement with Jon Arryn's words.

Turning back to Varys, Robert asked in a slightly impatient voice. "What is the second important matter, eunuch?"

Varys' face remained unchanged as he listened to the King's words, he simply stood and answered in a respectful tone. "The Red Faith has received Queen Mother Rhaella and Princesses Visenya and Daenerys Targaryen."

A snarl came from Robert's lips when he heard the eunuch's words. "And what does the Red Faith want with the dragon spawn?"

Varys looked at the king about to explode with fury and couldn't help thinking that Robert was also a dragon spawn, since his grandmother was a legitimate Targaryen. Which, ironically, was Robert's greatest claim to the Iron Throne.

"Unfortunately, that is beyond my information." Varys replied, bowing apologetically.

A goblet of wine was thrown towards Varys, but he missed, the goblet passing dangerously close to him while the eunuch remained with the same gentle, courteous smile.

"Useless eunuch, I pay for your services and you don't know something so basic..." Robert, who had thrown a goblet at Varys, roared angrily, his eyes practically burning with rage.

Varys wanted to roll his eyes, he was a spy, not a mind reader, how could he know what the Red Faith were thinking when they received the Queen and the Princesses? Of course, he couldn't say, or his head would be on a pike the next morning after he spoke his mind.

"I will redouble my efforts, Your Grace." Varys spoke, bending down even more as he reached under the long, loose sleeves of his clothing, his fingers playing with the ring on his ring finger.

Robert just snorted coldly and looked at his Master of Coin, Petyr Baelish.

The Master of Coin was a small man with a slender build. He had distinctive features, a small pointed beard on his chin, and dark hair with gray streaks running through it. He had laughing gray-green eyes that resembled the eyes of a cat.

"How much will it cost to take the lives of the three prostitutes?" Robert asked, causing everyone to look at the king in disbelief, especially Jon Arryn, who looked at the boy he had raised like a son with a look of shock.

"If it's the House of Black and White, I'm afraid we can't afford it, Your Grace." With a polite smile, Littlefinger replied by bowing to Robert, whose expression grew even more somber at his words.

Robert took a sip of wine to clear his throat and spoke in a cold tone, looking directly at Petyr. "I don't care how you do it, ask House Tyrell, the Iron Bank, or old Tywin for money, I want the Targaryen bitches dead."

"I'll do as you say, Your Grace." Smiling, Petyr bowed and replied in a confident tone.

Without waiting for everyone's reaction, Robert left with an irritated look on his face. His day had been made worse by the news of the remnants of House Targaryen. He hated anything to do with those incestuous abominations.



Jon Arryn let out a helpless sigh, only he knew how much work it was to keep the Kingdom of the Seven Kingdoms whole and without too many rebellions, how many nights he stayed up to maintain what they had conquered.

At first he tried to get Robert to attend the small council meetings, but he soon discovered something. Robert was not meant to be king; he was a general, not a king.

Jon Arryn looked at everyone present and spoke in a serious and dignified tone. "We will meet again at wolf time, please be there."

With that, everyone left the small council chamber and split off in different directions.

Standing in front of a window that overlooked the whole of King's Landing, Varys couldn't help but sigh softly, compared to Essos, Westeros was even crueler and colder, conspiracy and betrayal were the norm between these red walls, but he didn't dislike it, on the contrary, it felt like he was finally home.

'Speaking of Essos, I hope Lord Jon Connington is taking good care of young Prince Aegon.' Varys thought with a small smile on his face, his gaze crossing the window and falling on King's Landing.

Today was a better day than yesterday.

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