"Commander Arthas, I believe I need an explanation."
In the early morning, the warm sunlight shone upon King's Landing once again. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, and birds sang happily in the trees to welcome the coming of a new day.
An angry black-haired man pushed open the office door, interrupting the Commander of the Gold Cloaks, who was diligently hunched over his desk processing official business.
"Lord Renly."
Looking at the man's iconic long black hair and blue eyes, Arthas immediately guessed his identity.
Most importantly, this fellow looked remarkably like Robert.
Standing up from his chair and bowing slightly, Arthas greeted him with a gentle and polite tone.
"Though I do not know why you are so angry, I hope you can sit down, have a glass of wine, and speak with me calmly."
As he spoke, he elegantly picked up a wine glass from the table, moved to Renly's side, and filled it with wine.
After Robert left, he had called Renly—the master of laws who should have been enjoying a fine life at Storms End—to King's Landing. It felt somewhat like a prince acting as regent while the King was away from the capital.
Renly, who had originally intended to come and demand accountability, felt his anger dissipate by half at this gesture.
He was not a narrow-minded person by nature; he had only come to understand the situation because Arthas's actions were far too out of line.
Furthermore, Arthas's appearance was simply too handsome. Renly, who had always "appreciated" beautiful young men, could no longer find it in himself to harbor any blame the moment he saw him.
"Commander Arthas."
Taking a light sip of wine to suppress the agitation in his heart, he looked up at Arthas's perfect facial features, thinking to himself how such a handsome youth could exist in this world.
"I wish to know why you took it upon yourself to execute the High Septon of the Great Sept and even designated a new High Septon for The Faith."
Renly tried to choose his words carefully to make his attitude seem better, but he did not forget his original purpose for coming.
"King's Landing never interferes in the affairs of The Faith. I believe you should be well aware of this."
"Of course, dear Lord Renly."
Slowly sitting back in his seat, Arthas put on an innocent expression and spread his hands.
"As you know, I have only been in office for a few days. I had no intention of interfering with The Faith's business."
"However, my subordinates brought me highly reliable intelligence, filled with the crimes of the current... well, now the former High Septon."
At this point, Arthas slapped the table, and the expression on his face gradually became one of righteous indignation.
"That damned fellow, as the High Septon of The Faith, didn't think about how to properly serve the Seven and let the people of the Seven Kingdoms hear the gospel of The Seven."
"Instead, he used the name of The Seven to engage in acts of debauchery in a place as holy as the Great Sept!"
Arthas stood up, looking deeply pained.
"Do you know, Lord Renly?"
"When my men rescued two Septas, the scars on their bodies brought grief to everyone present."
"All of this stemmed from that damned fellow's perverted hobbies!"
"And this is merely the tip of the iceberg of his crimes."
"In his residence, we actually discovered a fortune of two hundred thousand Gold Dragons!"
"According to the testimony of the Septons, this fellow actually used his position in King's Landing to use all sorts of means to swindle money from the poor commoners."
Under Renly's shocked gaze, Arthas slowly sat down again and gave a soft sigh.
"I know I am just a lowly Commander of the Gold Cloaks and do not have the authority to sentence him to death on my own."
"But as a faithful believer of The Seven, I will never allow such filthy things to happen in King's Landing again!"
"Your Excellency Arthas..."
Renly was deeply moved by Arthas's heartfelt words. He hadn't expected a Lannister to produce such a believer of The Seven who loved the people like his own children.
He himself was a man who treated the commoners under his rule very well. Suddenly, it felt as if he had found a kindred spirit, and his voice even choked up a bit.
"I truly did not expect such filthy behavior to occur under the gaze of The Seven."
"Speaking of which, I, as the master of laws, have also been derelict in my duties!"
"It's alright, Lord Renly."
Renly, immersed in self-reproach, felt a strong arm pat his shoulder. Looking up, he saw Arthas's sincere eyes.
"The current High Septon of the Faith, High Sparrow, is someone I handpicked from the slums."
"He also comes from a common background and can be said to feel the suffering of the people personally."
"I believe that with our joint efforts, we will surely be able to let the people of King's Landing be shrouded in the blessings of the Seven!"
The words full of passion rang in Renly's ears, making his eyes slightly moist.
What kind of youth was this? He had come all the way from Lannister to King's Landing, and after a narrow escape, he had painstakingly defeated seven Kingsguard to sit in the position of Commander of the Gold Cloaks.
But unlike that fellow Janos who only knew how to exploit the poor, this compassionate youth did not think about how to scrape together wealth after rising to power. Instead, he risked the world's condemnation to remove a great pest for King's Landing!
A real man should be like this!
Perhaps only this sentence could perfectly describe Renly's current thoughts.
"Say no more, Commander Arthas!"
Renly stood up decisively and bowed solemnly to Arthas.
"I, Renly Baratheon, thank you for your kindness on behalf of the King and the people of King's Landing."
"I will write to Robert immediately to report the situation here to him."
Then he winked, giving Arthas a look that said "don't worry."
"This operation by the City Watch was entirely at the behest of me, the master of laws."
"Everything is in accordance with the laws of the Kingdom!"
"Your honor is admirable, Lord Renly."
Seeing that this boy had been completely fooled, Arthas once again showed a sunny smile and walked straight to Renly, warmly shaking his hand... hoping this man who liked men had washed his hands before coming.
"It is the luck of the entire Seven Kingdoms for the King to have a brother who is also his master of laws like you."
"Your understanding will surely be passed down by word of mouth by the bards and the people of King's Landing."
"Knock, knock, knock..."
Just as the two were praising each other like old friends who had met late in life, a dull knocking sound came.
"Lord Arthas, the knights are all ready and waiting for your appearance!"
The blonde Lancel pushed open the door, standing tall like a competent guard as he reported loudly.
Since being reprimanded last time, he no longer dared to call Arthas 'Cousin' while on duty.
Seeing Renly cast a questioning look at him, Arthas walked to the desk, elegantly picked up frostmourne which was leaning quietly against it, and slowly began to explain.
"You know, Lord Renly."
"As a fourteen-year-old youth suddenly burdened with such an important responsibility as guarding King's Landing, it's inevitable that my family would be a bit worried."
"So the clan sent a few Lannister knights to help me manage the vast number of Gold Cloaks."
"Reasonable and fair," Renly nodded as if it were only natural.
"Sigh..."
Under Renly's puzzled gaze, Arthas sighed again, as if he were somewhat embarrassed to speak.
"But what you don't know is that I haven't actually been very well-recognized by everyone in Lannister."
"Those who came to King's Landing this time are all elite knights of Lannister."
"They are arrogant and unyielding. Even though I defeated seven Kingsguard, they are unwilling to swear fealty to me."
"So..."
Slowly raising frostmourne, the blade blocking his face, Arthas revealed a cruel smile where Renly could not see.
"I have decided to duel all ten of them at once!"
..."Hey, Davon, are you sure the ten of us can beat Arthas?"
Inside the training grounds of the Gold Cloaks Headquarters, a fully armed Lannister knight sat astride his horse and asked Davon Lannister, who was similarly fully armed, beside him.
"He defeated seven Kingsguard all by himself!"
"Hmph, so what?"
Davon was not wearing a gold cloak, but rather a set of Lannister's signature red heavy armor, making him stand out like a crane among a flock of chickens amidst the crowd of Gold Cloaks.
Although he also had no confidence in Arthas's strength in his heart, he could not lose his Aura in his speech.
"The Kingsguard are nothing more than a bunch of fellows whose teeth have already grown dull."
"I reckon all these years of peaceful life have probably made them unable to even hold a sword steady."
As a leading figure among the younger generation of Lannister knights, Davon's swordsmanship could be said to be not at all inferior to Jaime's, and perhaps even superior.
Capable people all have their own pride. Moreover, the orders he received were merely to come and assist Arthas in managing the Gold Cloaks.
Davon was unwilling to submit so casually to this Lannister heir who was only fourteen years old.
Even though the other's martial prowess had already been recognized by all the nobles of King's Landing.
"But, Davon."
Looking at his confident attitude, the knight beside him calmed down slightly, but his eyes were still full of worry.
"Leaving everything else aside, even Barristan the Bold fell at Arthas's hands. Are we really stronger than the Kingsguard he led?"
"Hahaha, 'Barristan the Bold'?"
Davon snorted disdainfully through his nose, the Aura of a newborn calf not fearing the tiger showing through vividly.
"Although his record in his youth was staggering, he is, after all, an old tiger who is already nearing the end of his days."
"If Arthas could defeat him, why can't I, Davon!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Davon felt a powerful Aura sweep over from the side of the field, instantly making his hair stand on end with fright.
Turning to look, he saw an old man in white robes and white armor leaning on a greatsword, a pair of sharp eyes staring intently at him.
That kind of Aura that came from crawling out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood unmistakably revealed the old man's identity—Barristan the Bold!
As the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and a member of the Small Council, he had not followed Robert to Winterfell but had remained in King's Landing for contingencies.
Knowing that Arthas would once again challenge ten knights, and in a mounted battle no less, the unwilling Barristan naturally would not miss such a good opportunity to observe.
"This fellow..."
Being stared at by Barristan's gaze made Davon feel a bit uneasy, and he couldn't help but feel a drum beating in his heart.
"He's clearly already in his fifties, yet he still possesses such a terrifying Aura."
"Just how did that fellow Arthas defeat such a monster."
While Davon was lost in thought, the sound of hoofbeats gradually approached, and everyone present turned their gaze toward the entrance.
What first came into view was a tall, pure white warhorse—it was Arthas's mount, Invincible!
"Oho, you all seem quite spirited."
Arthas on horseback was like a king inspecting his troops, riding Invincible slowly around the field. The heavy sound of hoofbeats was like a sledgehammer striking everyone's hearts.
He was wearing neither the red armor of Lannister nor the standard-issue mail of the Gold Cloaks.
Instead, he wore a set of silver-white heavy armor that, under the sunlight, actually reflected a dark blue light.
Two broad shoulder plates connected to the breastplate made his already exceptionally tall figure appear even more stalwart.
The only flaw was that there were no skulls carved on the armor, and he hadn't put on the domineering helm of domination, letting Arthas's golden hair flutter in the wind.
His right hand, encased in a leather glove, slowly raised frostmourne. The blade's edge slowly swept across the ten fully armed Lannister knights, as the whispers of a Death Knight echoed in their minds.
"Proud lions of Lannister."
"Are you ready to face the roar of the lion king?"
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