Hearing his nephew's "accusation" against Littlefinger, Kevan shook his head and said noncommittally, "The Vale is a powerful force, and for now, it obeys the Iron Throne.
Besides, Littlefinger comes from humble origins. Even his position as 'Lord Protector of the Vale' is only secured through our support. He's not foolish enough to throw it away."
"Uncle, why not invite him to King's Landing in your capacity as Regent and see if he dares to come?" Tyrion said with a smirk.
Kevan's expression shifted. He had, in fact, already invited Littlefinger once, and the man had refused without a moment's hesitation.
"What good would killing Joffrey do him? What could he possibly gain from the War of the Four Kings?"
"Chaos," Tyrion sighed. "As the Dragon Queen said, outsiders see the game more clearly than those trapped within it."
"Hmph. When it comes to Daenerys's words, we should probably take them in reverse. You don't even understand that much?" Kevan sneered coldly.
"Are you sure?" Tyrion wasn't irritated. Instead, he gave a mocking smile.
"She said that, aside from lacking a bit of boldness, your ability doesn't lose to my father's. And she also said she's never seen anyone as stupid as Cersei someone who could play a winning hand into complete ruin.
So, following your logic, that makes you the fool and Cersei the wise one?"
Kevan hadn't expected such high praise from the Dragon Queen. A flicker of pride rose within him, but embarrassment soon followed. His face reddened as he quickly changed the topic.
"You once warned me to be wary of Varys, Cersei, and the Starks. But how could Sansa Stark possibly harm me?"
"The Stark family isn't extinct. The only one confirmed dead is Robb Seven above, even Robb has been resurrected by my dear sister!"
Tyrion had lowered his voice, speaking gravely, but as he recalled Robert Strong's head, he groaned, slapping his forehead with a sigh. "The Dragon Queen wasn't wrong. The Starks truly are monsters."
"You know about the trial by combat too?" Kevan asked in surprise.
"Dragonstone also sent a representative Archmaester Marwyn. He's the one who informed Slaver's Bay," Tyrion said naturally.
"That wasn't Robb. There are many people in the world who look alike," Kevan replied, his tone uneasy.
"I hope that one day, when you face Lady Catelyn, you can say the same thing," Tyrion said with a cold sneer.
"Catelyn Tully?"
"The Lady Stoneheart of the Riverlands is Catelyn. The Red Priest of Myr brought her back."
"That's impossible. The dead can't be " Kevan stopped mid-sentence, realizing the absurdity of what he was saying.
"The times have changed. Perhaps the Long Night is real, and the gods are showing their miracles again," Tyrion sighed.
"Damn it, I understand now." Kevan's face turned ashen. "Jaime might have been captured by Lady Stoneheart.
Cersei even deliberately spread rumors in the Riverlands about her supposed betrothal to Euron, hoping to lure Jaime out.
If Lady Stoneheart is truly Catelyn, then he's surely been caught.
He once swore to Lady Catelyn that after regaining his freedom, he would release Sansa and Arya. And now… alas!"
"Jaime's a grown man. He must take responsibility for his own oaths. We can't interfere," Tyrion said after a brief pause, then added softly, "The Dragon Queen told me the Starks are deeply favored by the Old Gods, and that several of their children possess the strongest warg abilities."
"What are you talking about wargs? This isn't some children's tale," Kevan frowned.
"Uncle, if it weren't for matters involving such powers, why would I risk my life to come all this way to warn you?Just listen, don't question me.
As long as I don't expose any secrets that could harm the Queen's interests, I'll do everything I can to help you and Casterly Rock. After all, I'm a Lannister too," Tyrion said with a bitter smile.
"Go on," Kevan said in a deep voice.
"Wargs can merge their souls into animals. If one's clever enough, killing someone becomes easy. For example, finding a rat as a companion, coating its claws with poison, sneaking into the Red Keep at midnight, and striking you or Tommen.
Any of the Stark children could manage that easily, especially Arya Stark. She's not only a warg but also a Faceless one!"
Well, Daenerys did have a big mouth she spilled secrets like water.
Tyrion, ever the careful and astute man, had quietly listened and remembered countless secrets of Westeros from her side some factual, others speculative spoilers.
You couldn't really blame Daenerys for speaking so freely. Living thousands of miles away in Slaver's Bay, surrounded by loyal followers, she rarely kept secrets that had nothing to do with her personally.
To put it bluntly, even if the whole world knew Arya was a "blood child," what difference would it make?
Arya wasn't her daughter anyway.
Not to mention Arya even Brynden Rivers, the Three-Eyed Raven's secrets Daenerys would casually discuss with Aemon in public.
The truth was simple: those secrets only affected the people involved. For Daenerys, they carried no risk if anything, the more people who knew, the better for her.
Would Arya see her as a friend?Would Brynden treat her as family?Would Littlefinger ever truly be loyal to her?
Of course not.
"By the Seven, are you telling the truth?" Kevan asked in horror.
"The Queen never treated me as an outsider, nor has she any reason to lie to me. Or do you think she's the kind of person who speaks carelessly?"
"And yet here you are, betraying her trust," Kevan said meaningfully.
"Her Majesty should understand that a vassal's efforts to protect his family are natural."
"If it were me, knowing the secrets you've revealed tonight, I'd have you executed," Kevan said coolly.
"Ah, since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety cannot both be fulfilled. But anyway, tonight's discussion isn't over yet. The main part is still to come, so don't be too hasty in passing judgment," Tyrion said with a grin.
He poured another cup of wine for both his uncle and himself.
"Before, I was the Lannister dwarf offering good counsel for the family's survival.
Now, I am Her Majesty's Hand of the Queen, a high minister, the Wildfire General, and a dragon rider.
I hope the Lannisters will surrender to the Queen unconditionally."
That is to say, surrender the Iron Throne, hand over those who harmed the Targaryens during the War of the Usurper, and swear by the honor of your ancestors that Casterly Rock will, for all eternity, pledge allegiance to Her Majesty Daenerys and her descendants. You must also send hostages to serve as the queen's attendants or handmaidens.
"Hmm. Myrcella or Tommen could both atone for the sins of their grandfather and father," Tyrion said.
"You're insane! Do you even know what you're saying?" Kevan stared at him wide-eyed, as if seeing a White Walker.
"I'm perfectly clear-headed clearer than ever," Tyrion said solemnly.
"You're mad!" Kevan shook his head.
"I once warned you to beware of Varys, to guard against Cersei, and to watch out for the assassins and shapeshifters of House Stark. They could harm you, and by doing so, endanger all of House Lannister.
But I never warned you to be wary of the Dragon Queen.
Do you know why?Because there's no point in worrying. Even if you did, it wouldn't matter.
If she wanted to kill you, it would be easier than slaughtering a dog. If she wished to destroy Casterly Rock and House Lannister, it wouldn't be any harder than conquering New Ghis."
"New Ghis, the Pearl of the Summer Sea, the courtyard of the western world's route to the Jade Sea in the east such a great city, and yet it was merely a small piece in the queen's grand strategy."
Tyrion pinched his little finger, gesturing before his uncle.
"Qarth, the crossroads between the East and West because it displeased the queen, more than half its royal family and merchant princes died, and hundreds of trading ships were lost at the docks.
Compared to Qarth and New Ghis, Casterly Rock and King's Landing are nothing but provincial estates of wealthy bumpkins.
You won't know how vast the world truly is until you've ventured beyond it. And you won't know how powerful one person can be until you've followed the Dragon Queen."
"No matter how powerful she is, she's still just one person," Kevan replied.
"Right now, she's practically taken on the entire world by herself! Uncle, believe me this is the best choice for House Lannister!"
Tyrion met the regent's gaze, his tone slow and deliberate, every word heavy with conviction.
Kevan's face flushed with anger. "I just stabilized the Seven Kingdoms under Tommen's rule, and now you expect me to hand over the Iron Throne?"
"That's exactly why the act of surrender would be sincere. A fractured realm wouldn't even interest the queen," Tyrion countered.
"If you weren't the regent if Cersei were still in power I wouldn't have come here tonight."
"Uncle, you must understand: your duty is to preserve the family, not to steal and protect something that never truly belonged to a bastard who could never hold it."
"Tommen is your nephew!" Kevan roared.
"I love Tommen, just as you love me. But Tommen bears the name 'Baratheon.' Even though everyone knows he's a Lannister, he will never truly represent House Lannister. His crown and robes will always bear the crowned stag of Baratheon.
His descendants, too, will bear the Baratheon name, inherit Baratheon honor, and follow Baratheon tradition.
Perhaps, after two or three generations, Tommen's Baratheon dynasty will have nothing to do with Casterly Rock and the Westerlands just like the Baratheons and the Targaryens now."
"To spend a hundred parts of our strength defending a Baratheon bastard's throne, House Lannister would gain only one part in profit but would bear all the blame and ruin if it failed. Destruction!
And Tommen would die regardless.
If we give up Tommen and his crown, we lose only that small profit, but we gain the eternal survival of Casterly Rock.
Tommen himself would live.
You're a wise man, Uncle. How can you not see something so simple?"
Kevan's expression shifted several times. After a long silence, he hesitated and asked, "We truly have no hope at all?"
"None whatsoever," Tyrion said firmly.
"Your father prepared thousands of scorpion ballistae in advance," Kevan said quietly.
"Oh, Father always so mighty, always so farsighted!" Tyrion clapped his hands in mock applause before shaking his head. "Scorpions are useful, of course, but dragons don't just breathe fire they can hurl wildfire bombs too!"
Tyrion patted his chest, looking both proud and helpless. "I am, after all, the Dragon Queen's second-grade Wildfire General!
Didn't Thoros have two thousand dragon-slaying ballistae as well? And weren't they all turned to ash by my specially mixed 'Tyrion's Oil Wildfire Bombs'?
Trust me, Uncle. I'm an expert and experts don't get these things wrong."
"She swore to honor the vow that the one who ends the Long Night shall be king. Does she intend to break that oath?" Kevan asked again.
Tyrion gave a bitter smile. "If the Long Night were real even without White Walkers could you survive ten years of winter? And if the Long Night never came, then the vow naturally means nothing."
Kevan hesitated for a moment, then, thinking his nephew was at least acting for the future of House Lannister, decided to share one final secret of his own.
"You don't know this, but Euron has the Dragon Horn. It's said that he once fought the Dragon Queen and her three dragons alone and was only narrowly defeated.
If he hadn't been so greedy, he might have captured the green and white dragons. If we had dragons of our own, our chances of turning the tide wouldn't be small," he whispered.
"I've seen something far more terrifying than the Dragon Horn in Tolos," Tyrion murmured.
Remembering the dreadful sight of the dragon-slayer that terrified an entire city, he shuddered and smiled wryly. "Uncle, times have changed. The way wars are fought has changed too. It used to be men fighting men but now…"
(Note: Orys Baratheon, the first Lord of Storm's End, was Aegon the Conqueror's half-brother and a Targaryen bastard. Technically, the Baratheons were a cadet branch of House Targaryen. But after several generations, they became no different from any other noble house of the Seven Kingdoms.
For instance, the famous alliance of the Stag (Baratheon), Falcon (Arryn), Fish (Tully), and Wolf (Stark) was formed while Aerys was still alive.
If the Baratheons had cared at all about being a 'Targaryen offshoot,' they shouldn't have joined that alliance.
Clearly, Westerosi nobles are practical people. Blood ties from decades or even centuries ago mean nothing.
If Tommen's line were to endure, in two generations the Baratheon dynasty would have no connection to the Lion unless the Lannisters overthrew Tommen themselves.
In fact, after the War of the Five Kings, Dragonstone's leading opinion was that the 'Two Stags' should surrender and marry Shireen to Tommen. Their child would have Baratheon blood and name both.
But Stannis, stubborn as ever, burned the man who made that suggestion Lord Florent of Brightwater Keep.)
(End of chapter)
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09