iron throne of ice and fire

Chapter 445 Loyalty and Betrayal

Ser Jaime looked back and shouted, "Stop!"

"Lord Brynden!"

"Master Blackfish!"

"Your Majesty the Duke!"

The Tully guards screamed, spurred their horses and rushed forward.

"Protect your lord!"

While running, the captain of the guard raised his sword and shouted: "Shoot! Shoot Lannister to death!"

shhhhhh!
Ser Jaime swung his sword to knock back several arrows flying from the city wall, and watched Brynden retreat under the escort of Tully's knights.

Soon, the iron gate of Riverrun came crashing down, and the spikes at the bottom of the gate sank deep into the mud.

More archers appeared on the city wall, drawing their bows and arrows. Seeing this...Sir Jaime could only pull the reins hard and turn his horse around.

"Lord James, I..."

Ignoring the others, Ser Jaime rode sullenly the long way back to the Lannister camp.

The atmosphere at the camp gate was solemn.

Ser Balon Swann, a member of the Kingsguard who had just jumped off his horse, walked slowly to Jaime's side with trepidation.

He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't know where to start. He could only utter a weak call, "Lord James..."

Sir Jaime, who had been suppressing his raging anger all along, could no longer control his emotions. His eyes were red, as if burning with two balls of blazing flames, and he swung his fist and hit Sir Balon hard in the face.

"Bastard!"

Jaime's voice was full of anger and disappointment. Ser Balon staggered and fell directly into the mud mixed with horse manure and urine, looking extremely embarrassed.

His clean white robe and shining silver armor were instantly stained by mud, losing their former luster.

"You have tarnished the honor of the Kingsguard!"

After the roar, a deep doubt suddenly arose in Sir Jaime's heart... He doubted whether he could really restore the former glory of the Kingsguard?
What made him even more desperate was that he seemed to have no right to talk about the honor of a knight.
"answer me!"

Sir Balon staggered to his feet, his face covered in mud and a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.

Ser Jaime grabbed him by the collar and roared, "Who told you to do this?"

The angry Jaime did not notice the pain flashing in Ser Balon's eyes. He moved his cracked lips and said hoarsely: "I have not tarnished the Kingsguard. Trout is dead, and the war is over."

"Shut up!"

Ser Jaime's fist came down hard on Balon's face again.

Balon's white robe and silver armor were covered in mud. Ser Jaime looked down at him, clenched his teeth and said, "Blackfish is a good knight. He should have died honorably on the battlefield, not in a sneak attack."

Sitting on the muddy ground, Sir Balon lowered his head, his heart full of guilt and helplessness. He whispered, "I'm sorry, Lord Jaime. I just want to end this as soon as possible. The battlefield here is too... cruel."

"If you violate your honor, it will follow you for the rest of your life. I can only be thankful that your sneak attack was unsuccessful, Sir Sven."

Sir James' tone softened slightly, but still serious: "I was once like you, doing things that I thought were honorable... but actually violated my honor. Don't follow my old path."

Jaime has always trusted and intended to train Ser Balon, but now... there is only deep disappointment in himself on his face.

Ser Balon opened his mouth. He wanted to be honest and tell his captain that someone had forced him to do this.

But...that man was once known as the Bloody Count. If that were the case, his family would never be forgiven and would be executed as traitors.

But the captain of the Kingsguard was...

He is a member of the Kingsguard, but his father and brother...

Sir James looked at Balon, whose face was full of confusion and regret. He calmed down, exhaled, and said, "I will record this incident in the White Book myself. Balon Swann, you are still young enough. I hope you will always remember this lesson."

After saying that, Ser Jaime flicked his snow-white cloak and turned and left.

Even until Jaime's figure completely disappeared, Ser Balon was unable to squeeze a sound out of his throat.

Duke Green "instructed" himself that he did not want the fight between the lion and the trout to stop...

Baron didn't even know what to do. He only knew that if he didn't satisfy Duke Green, that lord would "re-examine" the Sven family's crimes.

Later, he found that he didn't have to do anything. The battle between the lion and the trout under Riverrun became more and more intense. He was secretly glad...

Until, Ser Jaime was going to duel with the Blackfish.

Perhaps only I, who have fought with Sir Jaime many times, know best how excellent his swordsmanship is. Besides, Blackfish is still an old man. How could he be a match for Sir Jaime?

But if the black fish dies in the duel, the battle between the lion and the trout will be over, and his "deal" with the Duke of Green will fail.

So, he had to stop this duel of honor, he had no other choice.

Everyone said he was a natural archer... Yes, he shot the arrow off target on purpose, so that even if Brynden Tully didn't react in time, his arrow wouldn't have caused much damage.

His purpose was to prevent this sudden duel and let the lion and trout continue to bleed under the city of Riverrun, because this was the prerequisite for Duke Green to forgive the Swen family.

Damn honor!
Sir Baron, who was sitting on the mud, suddenly burst into laughter, and the laughter became louder and more desolate.

In this cruel battlefield, how should we choose between honor and survival, loyalty and betrayal?

What is right and what is wrong, and how do we distinguish between them?
Ser Balon had no answer.

…………

…………

Morning at the Red Fort.

Lady Tanya and her maid were helping Cersei Lannister dress, a long off-the-shoulder dress made of bright green satin and luxurious black velvet, with intricate black Myrish lace on the chest.

It was expensive, but in keeping with the queen's majesty and beauty. Cersei looked at herself in the mirror with a little satisfaction.

She pointed to the necklace inlaid with emeralds among the many pieces of jewelry brought by the maid, and asked casually, "Has anything interesting happened recently?"

Hearing this, Lady Tanya chuckled as if she remembered something interesting and said, "I heard that Miss Margaret has been very fond of singers and jugglers recently, which has led the jealous twin brothers of the Redwyn family to start learning to play the harp..."

As she spoke, she couldn't help laughing again: "The maid told me that the performance of the Redwyne brothers would remind people of a cat being strangled."

Cersei curled her lips sarcastically, and chose a ring with the same emerald from the jewelry box held by the maid, and said, "Anything else?"

Madam Tanya thought for a moment and suddenly said, "By the way, I also heard that the prince of the Summer Islands is very keen on attending Miss Margaret's maiden home parties, and he goes almost every time."

"The Prince of Summer Isle is called Jaraba Thor, right?"

The lioness snorted disdainfully. "He is probably begging for troops and dragons to retake his old territory." Cersei remembered the prince from the Summer Isles, who had asked for troops from a drunken Robert many times.

Her alcoholic ex-husband was attracted by the glory of conquering the Summer Islands, but it was clear that the truth was... he was only interested in the dark-skinned women in feather cloaks in the Summer Isles.

So, in the end, it became an excuse year after year, and Robert's excuse every time was: wait until next year.

Although he had the title of prince, Jalaba Thor was ultimately just a high-ranking beggar in luxurious clothing.

As Cersei was reminiscing about the past, Lady Tanya's voice rang out: "I asked Ser Osney, and he told me that Lady Margaery seemed to be asking the Prince of Summer Isle to teach her the language of Summer Isle."

Queen Cersei looked at Tanya through the mirror with her clear green eyes, frowned, and said, "Why do you think she is suddenly interested in the language of the Summer Isles?"

“I really haven’t thought about that…”

After thinking for a while, Madam Tanya's distinct black and white eyes suddenly moved, and she said, "Could it be because of Duke Green? You once told me that, um...his fiancée is a princess who is stranded on Summer Island?"

Cersei's face flashed with contempt: "Rose only knows how to play such tricks."

Tanya's wit made Cersei feel good, and after finishing her busy daily government affairs, she enjoyed Tanya's company more and more.

She said cheerfully, "You are really smart. It seems that even the palace rose cannot escape your eyes."

Lady Tanya smiled at Cersei through the mirror, and said in a slightly hoarse voice: "I just cherish the opportunity to serve you very much, my queen."

Cersei also looked at her through the mirror, raised the corners of her lips, and said, "Very good, you can take your son over as soon as possible. Tommen needs a reliable playmate."

Mrs. Tanya bowed gratefully: "I really can't repay you, thank you, Your Majesty."

"please continue."

"As ordered."

Lady Tanya looked carefully at Cersei's dress, smoothing out the tiny wrinkles she saw.

After a pause, Tanya's voice came from Cersei's feet: "By the way, Queen Mother, have you seen the gift that Little Rose gave to your son?"

Cersei lowered her eyes, looked at Tanya who was adjusting her skirt, and said, "What gift?"

"I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner."

Tanya stood up, bowed, and continued, "It's a little black cat. She must have known that your son likes cute animals."

Cersei raised an eyebrow. "Black cat?"

The lioness almost laughed at Margaery's endless stream of childish plots. Tommen was too young to seduce with a kiss, so was she going to use a cat to please her son?

In the Red Keep, black cats represent bad luck, and Rhaegar's youngest daughter suffered the most from them.

If it weren't for the black cat, perhaps the little girl hiding under her father's bed would not have fallen into the hands of the beast and died from dozens of sword wounds.

Cersei couldn't help but think back to the day when she was ten years old... The old lion held a grand tourney in Casterly Rock to welcome King Aerys (the Mad King)'s westward tour.

By day, seventeen-year-old Rhaegar wore shining black armor over golden mail, and the red, gold, and orange silks from his helm flowed like flames.

In the lance competition, more than a dozen of the strongest knights under my father's command all fell under his lance.

At night he laid aside his weapons, took up his harp, and his songs brought tears to her eyes.

When she was six years old, her father promised that she would marry Prince Rhaegar.

When Rhaegar put down his harp and her father introduced her, that moment... she was overwhelmed by his sad purple eyes.

She was sure that he had been hurt, and after they got married, she would treat him well and make up for the pain in his heart.

Before the end of the tournament, Aunt Gina came to congratulate her and told her that her engagement to Rhaegar would be announced at the final banquet.

She was dizzy with happiness. It was the happiest day of her life.

However---

When the tournament ended, there was no banquet, let alone celebration.

The King flatly rejected the marriage proposal from the King's Hand.

The king said that Tywin was his most capable servant, and that there was no reason for a servant to be married to his master's heir.

In the end, the king married Rhaegar to a frail, flat-chested Dornish princess.

Turns out, refusing to marry Lord Tywin's daughter to Prince Rhaegar was the greatest mistake King Aerys had ever made.

If Rhaegar had married her as the gods had wished, he would never have been seduced by the little wolf girl, and the false spring would never have happened.

Rhaegar would be king, she would be queen, and their children would inherit the Iron Throne for generations.

Retracting her thoughts, Cersei's full breasts slowly rose and fell. Under Tanya's worried gaze, she opened her red lips and said, "Have someone keep an eye on the black cat."

Joffrey...

Her purpose was to prevent Tommen from dissecting a cat out of curiosity like his brother had done.

Then the lioness felt amused at her own suspicion. Although Tommen did not have Joffrey's kingly demeanor, but... at least he was better than his brother in this respect, cowardly kindness.

"Let's go to the restaurant."

The early morning sunlight shines through the huge stained glass and falls on the floor of the restaurant, adding a warm halo to the entire space.

A long dining table was filled with exquisite tableware and delicious food. The king and the queen mother sat opposite each other, with only the slight sound of the tableware colliding echoing in the air.

Cersei picked up the wine glass, took a sip of wine, and looked at her son, who was puffing up his chubby cheeks and flipping a vegetable salad with a fork.

"Tomen, I won't wait for you. If you don't eat well, I will make you go to class on an empty stomach."

Tommen glanced at Cersei, who had a cold face, and paused before saying, "When I officially sit on the Iron Throne, I will abolish beetroot."

Cersei smiled indulgently: "Of course, that is your right."

Tommen said excitedly, "Mom, I can sit on the Iron Throne today... No, I want to sit on the Iron Throne tomorrow."

Cersei's brows furrowed slightly. "According to the laws of the kingdom, you must wait until you reach adulthood."

Hearing this, Tommen pouted unhappily: "But Joffrey sat on the Iron Throne before he came of age, why can't I?"

Cersei's green eyes moved slightly. "You are different from Joffrey. He is older than you."

For the first time, Tommen bravely refuted his mother: "But Joffrey is not an adult yet, and I am also a king. I want to sit on the Iron Throne like Joffrey..."

The lioness's eyes narrowed slightly, and her son's voice gradually became weaker: "Listen in."

Cersei held the wine glass, examined her son, and said, "Tommen, tell me, who told you this?"

(End of this chapter)