Gold Cloaks Headquarters.
Commander of the City Watch, Ser Addam Marbrand, looked at the mountainous pile of scrolls and report documents before him, feeling like he was about to be murdered.
He was tall and thin, with dark copper shoulder-length hair, handsome enough, wearing dark red armor and a dazzling gold cloak.
Serving as squire to Lord Tywin Lannister since childhood, Addam's journey had been smooth sailing.
In his early years, he showed superb martial arts and loyalty and was knighted. Since the war began, he had always led the charge.
Especially for his valiant fighting in the Battle of the Blackwater, he was personally promoted by Lord Tywin to Commander of the City Watch, holding heavy authority.
But such an outstanding knight was now bent over the desk, frowning deeply at the files covering the table, his face full of irritation.
"Second son of House Rykker drunk and injuring someone on the Street of Silk, victim claims one hundred Gold Dragons..."
"Civilians fighting over stalls at the Mud Gate, resulting in several casualties..."
"Cardinal of the Faith took advantage of presiding over baptism to molest Ser Kyle's eldest son, the knight demands hanging..."
"Fuck this!"
The more he read, the more irritable Addam became. Finally, unable to hold back, he roared and slammed the document on the table: "Why is it all this bullshit filth!"
A strong urge drove him to crumple these annoying documents into a ball and throw them into the wastebasket in the corner, out of sight, out of mind.
But honor and Lord Tywin's trust prevented him from abandoning his duty. Gritting his teeth, he read the details of each case carefully again.
Three seconds later.
Thump~~~
Paper into the basket. Ser Addam leaned back in his chair with eyes closed, his brows gradually relaxing.
Refreshing!
Honestly, he would rather hold a longsword again and fight Stannis's army of one hundred thousand than waste time in these endless civil disputes and noble scandals.
"Blame that bastard Janos Slynt!"
He couldn't help cursing under his breath.
Originally, the City Watch had an establishment of nearly ten thousand, but that guy filled it with drunkards and street ruffians eating empty pay.
Later, Jacelyn Bywater took over and drastically cut it down to six thousand, but lost one-third in the Battle of the Blackwater.
Now, he could mobilize at most four thousand men, and among them, barely a handful could be considered qualified.
Four thousand men!
To maintain order in a capital with a population exceeding half a million... no, with the war continuing and countless refugees flooding in, the actual number was probably far beyond that!
This was simply an impossible task!
Paperwork torture was too fucking tormenting!
Just as Addam finally enjoyed a moment of peace, a noisy commotion suddenly came from the courtyard outside the window.
"Damn it..."
He jumped up irritably, rushed to the window in a few steps, and slammed it open: "Shut the fuck up! Any more noise and I'll throw you all in jail! Destroy you all!"
With that, bang, he slammed the window shut heavily.
Fortunately, his scolding worked. The noise outside lessened significantly.
Addam slumped back into the chair, closing his eyes again.
Refreshing!
However, this stolen peace didn't last long.
Knock knock knock... A knock on the door.
"Enter!"
Addam roared grumpily, too lazy to even open his eyes.
The door was pushed open, and a Gold Cloak walked in carefully, wearing a respectfully appropriate smile.
"My Lord, sorry to disturb you."
This voice was sickly sweet. Addam raised his eyelids slightly, immediately recognizing the visitor.
—Humfrey Waters, Captain of the Dragon Gate Guard.
"What's going on outside? Why so noisy!"
Seeing it was him, Addam's annoyed face softened slightly. This guy was quite clever usually, helping him share many trivial matters, considered a capable confidant.
"It's Captain Sven Rosby..."
Humfrey stepped forward, answering: "He came back from Flea Bottom."
Hearing this, Addam opened his eyes immediately, pursuing: "Is there news of young master Tyrek Lannister?"
Tyrek was Duke Tywin's nephew, missing in the riot of starving people in King's Landing not long ago. The Duke personally supervised this case, which had no progress so far, weighing on his heart like a stone.
"Uh... not really."
A appropriately awkward expression appeared on Humfrey's face, pretending to hesitate: "Captain Sven... he handled a big case in Flea Bottom."
"Said to have caught the former owner of the fighting pit, a fugitive named Rorge. Said to be personally reported by the current owner Raff."
Saying this, he paused deliberately, observing Addam's reaction, then added as if inadvertently: "You know, that place Flea Bottom, Captain Sven has always been very diligent there."
"And I've heard of that Rorge too. He had a close relationship with Janos Slynt before, bribed a lot of money."
"Captain Sven being so active this time, must have grasped some important... clues, right?"
These words seemed like an honest report, but every sentence hinted that Sven had some private interest relationship with Flea Bottom.
However, the straightforward Addam didn't understand the implied meaning at all.
He only knew there was no clue about Duke Tywin's nephew, yet this Sven Rosby ignored proper business to meddle in gang fights in Flea Bottom?
"I have no time to care about the bullshit mess between these scums!"
He slapped the table and shouted angrily: "Go tell Sven Rosby to solve the matter at hand as soon as possible, and investigate the whereabouts of Tyrek Lannister with full effort!"
Saying this, Addam rubbed his brows, complaining: "That kid has been missing for months. Today, the wet nurse of House Hayford came to me crying again holding his wife."
"Saying there's no man in the house, always distant relatives popping out from nowhere to take advantage. My head almost exploded listening to it!"
Hearing this, Humfrey pursed his lips, holding back laughter, daring not to interrupt.
House Hayford was indeed tragic. Almost everyone in the family died in the War of the Five Kings, leaving only an infant in swaddling clothes.
Later, Duke Tywin very "generously" let his nephew marry the still-nursing Lady Hayford. Everyone knew clearly what calculation was involved, just no one dared to say it explicitly.
Only that kid was unlucky. He could have logically inherited such a large family business of House Hayford, but went missing in the riot not long after.
Although no corpse had been found yet, according to Humfrey's estimation, he was likely dead.
Lady Hayford, not yet one year old, probably became the youngest widow in all of Westeros.
Truly enviable...
Pity, he, Humfrey Waters, was a bastard. Even if marrying into the family, it wouldn't be his turn.
"I'm going out for a bit. You help me look at these damn documents!"
Completely ignoring Humfrey's petty thoughts, Addam stood up and forcibly pressed him into his seat, wanting to go out for some peace.
"Heard Ser Jaime returned to King's Landing, I gotta go see..."
But before Addam finished speaking, he heard a familiar voice complaining incessantly outside.
"Seven Hells, spare me, Jaime!"
"Do you know how busy I am? King Robert left such a huge mess. debts of the Iron Throne, money for Joffrey and Margaery's wedding, and Gold Cloaks' wages, haven't been settled till now!"
"Heaven knows why I, bearing the name Lannister, would one day worry about Gold Dragons!"