Game of Thrones: Knight’s Honor

Chapter 374 - 374: The Queen Takes Action

After hearing Nymeria speak so highly of the recent siege of King's Landing, Daenerys couldn't help but ask with curiosity, "I know Stannis Baratheon. During the War of the Usurper, he defended Storm's End for the usurper and held off the Reach's forces, which led to the fall of King's Landing due to lack of reinforcements." She paused, then added with interest, "Tyrion? You mean the little imp from House Lannister?"

Daenerys's advisor, Haldon, explained, "Yes. Tywin Lannister had three children. The golden twins, Jaime Lannister and Cersei Lannister, were the most prominent. Tyrion Lannister, being a deformed dwarf, never held a high place within the family. Tywin hated him. There are even rumors that he wasn't Tywin's son at all, but..." He glanced at Daenerys and continued, "...the son of King Aerys."

"What?" Daenerys was completely stunned, and Nymeria looked equally shocked. Barristan, however, frowned in displeasure, clearly irritated by such reckless speculation.

Haldon went on, "The rumor says that King Aerys and Tywin Lannister fell out because Aerys insulted Tywin's wife, Joanna Lannister. Afterwards, Joanna..."

"Enough! Lord Haldon, how can you spread such unfounded slander about the dead?" Barristan snapped, clearly angered. He turned to Daenerys with a serious expression. "I was at the Red Keep at the time, and I can swear to you that King Aerys never insulted Lady Joanna."

"That's enough, Lord Barristan. We all know those rumors aren't reliable," Nymeria interrupted, then turned to Haldon. "Maester Haldon, refrain from repeating baseless rumors like that in the future."

"Yes, Your Grace," Haldon replied with a nod.

Nymeria turned to her court steward, Lady Mellario, and asked, "Lady Mellario, I remember Lynd mentioned in a letter that Varys was bringing Tyrion here to Ny Sar. It's been nearly a month. Why haven't they arrived? Did something happen?"

"There was a bit of a situation," Mellario nodded. "I was just about to report it to you. Not long ago, Varys and Tyrion were ambushed in Selhorys and kidnapped."

"Who would attack them? Bounty hunters?" Nymeria asked.

Mellario glanced at Daenerys and said, "It was Lord Jorah Mormont, Your Grace's former Lord Commander of the Queensguard. He apparently hoped to offer Tyrion and Varys as a gift, in hopes that Your Grace would forgive him for his betrayal and allow him to return to your service."

"That Jorah Mormont?" Daenerys looked somewhere between exasperated and amused.

Nymeria frowned. "If it was meant to be a gift for Dany, shouldn't he have brought them here by now? I remember Selhorys has passenger ships that sail straight to Ny Sar. At most, it should've taken two days. Where is he?"

Mellario smiled. "He went to the wrong place. He thought Your Grace was still at the frontlines near Slaver's Bay, so he..."

"That idiot!" Daenerys groaned and pressed a hand to her forehead in frustration.

Mellario chuckled. "When I received the news, I immediately sent someone to intercept them. They should be arriving any moment now..."

She hadn't finished speaking when a court maid entered the room and whispered something to the head lady-in-waiting, who stepped forward and announced, "Your Grace, Lord Behal is here to see you."

"How convenient. We were just talking about him," Mellario said with a hint of surprise, then smiled and asked, "Is he alone?"

"No, he's accompanied by three others," the maid replied.

"Let them all come in," Nymeria ordered.

"Yes, Your Grace." The head maid bowed and left the room.

A few moments later, she returned with Jorah Mormont, Varys, and Tyrion Lannister in tow.

As soon as they entered, Jorah Mormont immediately dropped to one knee before Daenerys and said earnestly, "Khaleesi, please allow me to present this gift to you."

"Jorah, shut up!" Daenerys snapped, visibly uncomfortable. "Do you have any idea that Varys and Tyrion were already on their way here to join the Kingdom of Lorne?"

"Huh?" Jorah froze, dumbfounded.

Daenerys pointed to the open space beside Barristan. "Go stand over there and stop embarrassing yourself. We'll deal with you later."

Jorah didn't argue. Lowering his head, he quietly walked off to the side.

Nymeria smiled and gently shook her head, then gestured for Varys and Tyrion to step forward.

"I happen to be in need of a Master of Whisperers," she said. "Arianne has talent, but her methods are still too inexperienced in some areas. Aerys, your arrival is perfectly timed. From now on, you'll assist Princess Arianne. Do you think you can handle it?"

Varys bowed. "Your Grace, I will do all I can to support Princess Arianne."

Nymeria then turned to the slightly disheveled Tyrion. "As for you, Lord Tyrion, Lynd has spoken of your wisdom more than once in my presence. He's also expressed his hope that you would take up a position at Summerhall. While my court may not compare to Summerhall, I can still entrust you with a meaningful role."

"To serve Your Grace would be my honor." Tyrion, who had been uncertain about his prospects, let out a quiet breath of relief at her words.

"Tyrion Lannister," Daenerys said, watching him. "Do you know who I am?"

"You are..." Tyrion glanced at her unmistakable silver hair and violet eyes and was about to respond when the three young dragons circling above suddenly descended, landing around him. They eyed him like predators sizing up prey, as if ready to rip him apart at any moment.

Though Tyrion knew he wasn't in real danger, his entire body tensed, his expression strained with unease.

"Rhaegar, Aegon, Viserys—come back," Daenerys said with a small smile, calling off the dragons. They obediently turned and padded over to her side, curling up at her feet.

Nymeria watched Daenerys handle the dragons with ease and couldn't help but admire her gift.

After their alliance, Nymeria had shared with Daenerys the dragon-taming method Lynd had passed on to Augustus and the others. Daenerys had mastered it swiftly, now using it with impressive fluency. In contrast, Augustus and the rest were still far behind her in terms of control.

Daenerys was undeniably gifted and skilled at working with dragons, but in some ways, she still had the temperament of a young woman. Otherwise, she wouldn't have used the dragons just now to startle Tyrion for fun.

Regaining his composure, Tyrion looked curiously at the dragons beside Daenerys, then bowed slightly. "You must be Her Grace Daenerys, the Dragon Queen of Qarth."

Daenerys's expression darkened. "If you know who I am, then you must also know of the hatred between House Lannister and myself."

Tyrion quickly tried to explain, "Your Grace, that grudge is between you and House Lannister, not me. I'm no longer part of that house. And the hatred stems from the previous generation—I was only a child at the time, I had no part in it..."

"A child?" Daenerys cut him off. "Weren't my nieces and nephews children too?"

Tyrion's face froze in discomfort. He couldn't think of a rebuttal and instead rambled, "I've always believed this world is filled with love. Love should be passed down—that's what makes the world better. But hatred... it's better if hatred ends with the past. Carrying it forward doesn't bring joy to anyone."

"Haha! You're a funny man," Daenerys laughed, her earlier edge softening. "Tyrion, you don't need to worry. I won't hold Tywin's crimes against you. Besides, you killed Tywin for me—on the privy, no less—turning him into a joke across the entire civilized world. I'm more grateful than resentful. Why would I take my anger out on you?"

Tyrion exhaled in relief, though his face still carried traces of embarrassment. Patricide, after all, wasn't exactly a badge of honor—especially not when done over a prostitute. And now, tales of him, his father, and Shae had become infamous. Not only were they sung in Westerosi taverns, but even the Free Cities had their own scandalous versions. He'd already heard no fewer than ten different renditions during his travels.

"Enough! Don't tease him any further," Nymeria said, cutting Daenerys off with a light chuckle. "Lynd personally selected him to be Hand of the King. If you scare him away, where am I supposed to find a replacement?"

At her words, Daenerys wasn't the only one surprised—everyone in the courtyard reacted with astonishment. Even Tyrion himself looked taken aback.

Though they had already gathered from Nymeria that Lynd held Tyrion's talents in high regard and that he would likely be entrusted with an important position, none of them had expected Lynd's intention was to make Tyrion the Hand of the King.

After all, the Kingdom of Lorne didn't have such a position—that was unique to Westeros. And from all appearances, Lynd was preparing to build an empire that spanned two continents. That meant Tyrion would one day be the Hand of the King to that empire.

Nymeria continued, "We're facing a problem now, and I'd like you to help us find a solution."

"Is it about Braavos?" Tyrion asked, already guessing what she was referring to.

Nymeria smiled and nodded. She was about to elaborate when Daenerys cut in, curious. "Why do you think it's Braavos and not Slaver's Bay?"

"That's simple," Tyrion said, now fully speaking as a member of Lynd's faction. "It's not Slaver's Bay because we need to consolidate the territory we've just taken. Our campaign west of Qarth and east of Lorne went too well—we swept through like wildfire and claimed a massive swath of land. But we haven't had time to fully absorb it. Troops still need to be stationed, officials dispatched to govern. If we press on and attack Slaver's Bay now, those unstable territories will become our weak point—one that's hard to defend. The slave masters could easily create chaos in our rear, forcing us to spread thin. That could lead to a total collapse."

"Then why Braavos?" Daenerys pressed.

Tyrion answered, "Because His Grace Lynd has already made a move against Braavos. So naturally, Lorne and Qarth would act in coordination with him."

"Your logic is sound," Nymeria said, "but there's one thing you've misunderstood. Lynd doesn't know we're preparing to strike Braavos. He never asked us to help him take the city. It seems he intends to handle the Seven Kingdoms first, and then act himself. We're doing this for a simple reason—we intend to present Braavos as a gift to celebrate his coronation."

Tyrion didn't know how to respond to that. In all his experience, and in all the legends he'd read, he'd never once heard of anyone trying to give a city as vast and powerful as Braavos as a gift. Nymeria's statement felt absurd—but somehow, absurdity had become expected when it came to Lynd and those around him. What sounded impossible elsewhere seemed plausible here.

Nymeria didn't pause to gauge Tyrion's thoughts. She simply got to the point. "So—under the current circumstances, how should we attack? And no, dragons won't be used in this campaign."

"No dragons?" Tyrion blinked, then quickly understood. These three were still young. Keeping them off the battlefield was probably a precaution to avoid mishaps.

"May I take a look at the intelligence reports on Braavos?" he asked instead of giving a hasty answer.

"Of course," Nymeria replied. She immediately ordered all recent intelligence on Braavos to be brought and set in front of Tyrion.

Tyrion sat down in silence, flipping through each report with focused attention. It wasn't until much later that he finished reviewing the final scroll. He closed his eyes in thought for a moment, then opened them and said calmly, "I know where Braavos is weakest."

"Where?" Daenerys asked instantly.

"The canal," Tyrion replied, spreading out a map of Braavos and pointing to the waterway that carried fresh water into the city. "The Sweetwater Canal. It's their vulnerability. If we control that canal, Braavos won't be able to hold out. They'll have no choice but to surrender."