"Heh, what's the point of hiding it? The moment I saw the Dragon Queen, I suddenly understood—confession was the only way out.
I'm not afraid of death. None of us should be.
From the moment they became Sons of the Harpy, they should have had the same resolve as I do—to be buried with the Ghiscari people." The old priestess smiled faintly.
"In the High Court, even the Queen must abide by the Codex. If even one life can be spared, it should be," the elder said indifferently.
The old priestess gave a bitter smile. "That's precisely the problem. We were the ones who first violated the laws of the Codex.
The assassination of Jon Boton fully exposed the Sons of the Harpy. As long as the Queen upholds the Codex, none of us will escape.
In her eyes, I saw a will stronger than steel. That's why I surrendered so decisively.
At the very least, among the eighty thousand who were arrested, the innocent can avoid imprisonment. As you said—if even one can live, let them live."
The two elders had nothing more to say.
They had never joined the Sons of the Harpy, nor had they ever considered opposing the Dragon Queen.
To put it bluntly, they had always felt a deep aversion to and fear of the Sons of the Harpy.
If not for the fact that they were also Ghiscari, they might have cried out, "Cleon the Impartial!"
Because the Sons of the Harpy targeted three groups for assassination: outstanding representatives of the newly freed, officials and generals under the Dragon Queen, and Ghiscari traitors.
It was precisely because of the Dragon Queen's arrival that these talented yet low-born commoners had the opportunity to represent the Ghiscari and become elders.
Just like Cleon, they were beneficiaries of the new order.
In the eyes of the old noble bloodlines who had lost their power and wealth, they were Ghiscari "traitors"—"Ghi-traitors."
"The kings of Westeros are also called 'Kings of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men.' The Seven Kingdoms is a realm of many peoples.
The Ghiscari of Slaver's Bay haven't been pure Ghiscari for a long time.
I firmly believe that Her Majesty the Queen will bring a glorious future to Slaver's Bay.
I believe she will lead the Ghiscari and the newly freed together into the light and honor!"
As she left, the Green Priestess of Astapor said this to the old priestess.
"I sincerely hope she can accomplish all you've said," the old priestess replied.
Green Priestess Grazdan's sudden confession stole the spotlight from "Cleon the Impartial" and disrupted "Lord Bao of Meereen's" entire trial process.
Because the moment she confessed, the Sons of the Harpy case was essentially concluded.
Even the five Ghiscari jurors unanimously passed the resolution that the Sons of the Harpy had committed treason.
In other words, Cleon had not framed the innocent.
He was simply too harsh in sentencing, but had made no fundamental error.
Thus, the entire trial process was drastically simplified.
Originally, Dany had expected the case to drag on for a month or two. In the end, Cleon might have used public sentiment to pressure the jury into a ruling of "spared from death, but not from punishment."
—Perhaps he would have been stripped of his title as Lord of Meereen and demoted from Earl to Knight.
But now that the Green Priestess had confessed, even though the 20,000 Ghiscari sentenced to death included many who were wrongfully accused—over 90%—there were still a fair number who truly belonged to the Sons of the Harpy and were guilty of treason.
In the final closed-door verdict session, the jury unanimously approved the Dragon Queen's judgment:
"Cleon the Breaker of Chains uncovered the Sons of the Harpy conspiracy and rendered great service. He is hereby promoted to Marquess of Chains and awarded 100,000 golden honors.
However, Cleon, during the investigation, was excessively severe and disregarded multiple articles of the Codex, using coercion and forced confessions. He is demoted one rank, fined 80,000, given 48 lashes, and reassigned from Lord of Meereen to Grand General of the Western Expedition."
So, Cleon was promoted and demoted—his title remained the same, but his position changed from city lord to general. He earned 20,000 golden honors and took 48 lashes from Hattar's "Tail of the Demon."
Then there were the 60,000 labor convicts and 20,000 death row inmates Cleon had arrested.
Roughly 73,000 of them were innocent. Perhaps they harbored resentment against the Dragon Queen's rule, but they had no involvement with the Sons of the Harpy.
After all, the rebel organization had only recently been formed and hadn't had the chance to recruit many members.
Yet Dany didn't declare them innocent and release them outright.
Because she realized something: Cleon, though brutal, never mindlessly framed the innocent.
All those falsely accused had relatives connected to the Sons of the Harpy.
When Dany inquired about Cleon's investigation methods, she was dumbfounded.
No on-site investigation, no detailed reasoning, no questionable or definitive evidence. He simply opened the census records, rounded up the relatives of the first batch of arrested suspects, then their relatives' relatives, then their relatives' relatives' relatives…
There's a theory called "six degrees of separation"—that you can connect to any stranger through at most five people.
But relatives aren't quite the same as acquaintances.
Still, if Cleon had continued arresting people round after round based on family ties, he might have eventually arrested the Dragon Queen herself.
In fact, he only managed three rounds before he had to stop.
Any further, and there wouldn't be any Ghiscari left in Meereen.
Cleon's methods were crude, but his rationale wasn't entirely without merit.
The Sons of the Harpy were guilty of treason, intent on overthrowing the Dragon Queen's rule.
They and the Queen were mortal enemies.
The people of Slaver's Bay had to choose sides—either the Dragon Queen or the Sons of the Harpy.
And when it came to such a black-and-white choice, it was almost certain that the traitors' relatives wouldn't choose the Queen.
Of course, being reasonable does not mean it is legal.
Just like having criminal tendencies doesn't mean one has committed a crime.
Daenerys could not sentence them.
But letting them go for nothing would waste all of Lord Cleon of Meereen's efforts.
Fine. The Dragon Queen admitted—she herself was unwilling to let it go.
Aside from the innocent, of the more than seven thousand remaining, only two or three hundred had directly participated in the Sons of the Harpy incident.
The other six thousand or so were their family members or people whose innocence could not be proven—those who knew of the Sons of the Harpy and were willing to help them but had not joined themselves.
Then, Daenerys came up with a lousy idea.
"According to the law of the Codex, treason is an unforgivable crime. The perpetrator shall be executed immediately. Direct relatives will either face the death penalty or life imprisonment, but…"
The Dragon Queen pointed at the plaque above the throne. It did not read "Justice with Clear Vision," but rather "Justice Above, Mercy Below."
"I am willing to show them mercy," the Dragon Queen said with a tone of benevolent compassion. "The eighty thousand arrested are all friends and relatives. We may as well treat them all as collectively guilty.
There shall be no more executions, and no more life sentences. Everyone will be sent to labor camps.
Innocent friends and family can work during the day and return home at night. They will be released after two years.
The guilty members of the Sons of the Harpy cannot go home, but as long as they serve five years, they too can regain their freedom and start anew."
Unfortunately, the Queen's mercy did not earn the gratitude of the condemned.
"I'm not afraid to die! Kill me—I won't drag my family down with me!" cried one member of the Sons of the Harpy.
"I'm innocent! My relation to Graz is three generations removed. I won't become a labor prisoner for a distant cousin!" one of the "relatives" shouted.
"You insolent fool! The Queen's mercy is not to be refused!"
The Dragon Queen roared in anger and made the decision unilaterally.
After wrapping up the trial, the Dragon Queen visited Cleon, who was bedridden.
He had taken 48 lashes and was now lying paralyzed in bed, recovering.
Cleon's face was deathly pale. He lay face-down, eyes shut, seemingly using silence to protest the Queen's injustice.
Months of hard work for nothing, and what he got in return were 48 lashes and the loss of the lucrative position of Lord of Meereen.
Lord Cleon was suffering deeply inside.
"Sigh. Do you understand the meaning of 'Grand General of the Western Campaign'? Once, a great 'King Cao' gave up his throne just to become the Grand General of the Western Campaign," the Dragon Queen said with a sigh.
Cleon, intrigued by the mention of 'King Cao,' couldn't help but ask, "What is the significance of the Grand General of the Western Campaign?"
"'Western Campaign' means, as the name suggests, campaigning westward. The Allied forces will advance by sea and land. The navy will gather at New Ghis, and the army at Mantarys.
They come with force, but they can only do this once. If they fail to take Slaver's Bay this time, then next time it will be my turn to campaign against them.
And where will I begin?
Naturally, I'll strike along the same route they invaded. From Meereen, westward through Tolos and Mantarys.
Eventually, we will pass through the Land of the Long Summer and reach the Western Plains—into Volantis."
The Dragon Queen gave the Broken Chains Count a meaningful look. "So, do you understand now?"
"I'll become the Lord of Volantis?" Cleon asked in surprise.
Daenerys gave him an encouraging look and said, "No. You will become the Grand Governor of the West. The Lord of Volantis. The Lord of Qohor. The cities of Pentos, Myr, Tyrosh, Lys—all will fall under the command of the Grand General of the Western Campaign."
"Maiden Made of Light above!" Cleon's pale face flushed red with excitement and sudden clarity. "No wonder 'King Cao' would rather give up the crown to become the Grand General of the West."
Then, suspicious, he asked, "Your Grace, why don't you become the Grand General of the Western Campaign yourself? That's a vast territory—are you really handing it over to me?"
"You think I'll let go of New Ghis and Qarth?" Daenerys countered.
"Of course not," Cleon said bitterly.
"Exactly. That's why there's not just a Grand General of the West, but also Grand Generals for the East, North, and South. As for me, I'll stay seated in Slaver's Bay, commanding all you Grand Generals."
"I see now," Cleon said with sudden understanding.
As the saying goes, when the cunning hare dies, the hound is boiled.
But if the hunting grounds are vast enough and the prey plentiful enough, the hound may die of old age before it's ever boiled.
Cleon was far luckier than Reznak.
The Queen had grand ambitions and an endless hunting ground waiting to be conquered.
The Dragon Queen would conquer the hunting ground. Reznak would help her tame the prey. They worked in perfect harmony.
And in this magical world, where the Queen possessed dragons, supernatural powers, and an extraordinarily long lifespan, she would never worry about being unable to control him.
As long as he kept his wits about him, he would never betray her.
Thus, their bond as sovereign and minister would endure, and Cleon had a 99% chance of a happy ending.
With the Sons of the Harpy case closed, the public exchange between the Dragon Queen and the Green Grace in court spread throughout the land—known to the freedmen, known to the Ghiscari.
Strangely enough, Slaver's Bay actually became stable.
Well, it had been stable before too, but this time, the once-restless hearts were now fully settled.
The fact that Slaver's Bay was the Dragon Queen's kingdom had finally been accepted—deeply and sincerely—by everyone, whether newly freedmen or Ghiscari.
The Ghiscari no longer dreamed of "restoring the old order," and the new freedmen no longer dreamed of "purging the remnants."
(End of Chapter)
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