Chapter 367: Chapter 367: Request for Aid
"The usurper's envoy, Lord Baelish."
"The one standing before you is the king of the Seven Kingdoms, the protector of the realm, not some second prince."
Viserys did not speak, but the knight standing behind him, her hand on the hilt of her sword, spoke in a cold voice in the Common Tongue.
After some time of adjustment, Mira now clearly understood the grudges and disputes between the Targaryen family and the Iron Throne of Westeros, which was part of her duty.
A hint of a formalistic bitter smile appeared on Petyr Baelish's face, and he bowed again.
"Very well, Your Majesty."
Of course, he knew to address Viserys as king, but due to his position, he could not appear too humble.
'A worthless commodity cannot be sold at a good price.'
All of this was within his prepared opening remarks. Petyr was not panicked and continued to speak after organizing his thoughts.
"You may not have heard of my humble name when we first met. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Petyr Baelish."
"I come from the smallest finger of the Fingers, and I currently serve as the Master of Coin in King Robert Baratheon's small council."
Although not very old, a few strands of white were mixed in his dark hair. Petyr Baelish stood in the great hall, speaking confidently, showing no signs of stage fright.
He positioned himself lowly, not hiding the fact that he came from an insignificant small house.
But he also emphasized his current position. As King Robert's Master of Coin, he was qualified to meet Viserys as an envoy.
"And the two standing beside me..."
Lord Baelish turned to introduce the two people standing beside him to Viserys.
However, at this moment, Viserys, sitting on the throne in light-colored casual clothes, suddenly spoke.
"I know your name, Lord Baelish."
"There's no need for false modesty."
The handsome silver-haired youth's voice was calm. This was the first time he had spoken since seeing Robert's envoy, and his voice echoed in the empty hall.
"Oh, how do you know..."
Viserys's sudden speech caught Littlefinger off guard. The small man was slightly stunned. He didn't expect Viserys to know his name.
But... how much does the other party know about him?
"You once came to Pentos and persuaded the magisters there to attack me."
"Am I right?"
Viserys's voice was still calm, but it made Petyr Baelish sweat, leaving him somewhat speechless, unsure of how to respond.
"This, this... Your Majesty..."
He had indeed secretly visited Pentos and Braavos, but this should have been highly confidential. He never expected that Viserys would know about it.
If he had known about this, he would have never accepted the position of envoy. Wasn't this a death sentence?
Was there a mole in the small council? Who leaked the information?
Then he thought of that damned old man, Jon Arryn, who insisted on sending him and put on a face of doing it for his own good.
When he got back, he would make sure Lysa, that stupid woman, paid double for this. Petyr thought bitterly.
Viserys's words made Littlefinger's forehead sweat in an instant.
He quickly sifted through every suspicious person in his mind, while thinking of a response in a hurry. There was no use in sophistry. Since Viserys had brought it up, he must have solid evidence.
Hendry and Barristan, standing behind Lord Baelish, looked at each other. Barristan saw the nervousness in the young man's eyes.
Then the slightly graying captain of the Kingsguard took a deep breath and lowered his head. In fact, he was also somewhat nervous, afraid of being recognized by Viserys.
The prince had changed a lot since then. At that time, he was just a stubborn child of six or seven.
Now, with tens of thousands of soldiers and three dragons at his command, sitting on the throne, every word and action exerted a great psychological pressure. Just a few words made Petyr Baelish sweat profusely.
The atmosphere in the hall was a bit tense, and the usurper's envoy was somewhat speechless.
The female knight standing behind Viserys had a slight smile on her lips. Her gaze passed over Petyr and the unknown nobleman of the Seven Kingdoms, landing on the old knight in bright armor and a white robe.
The usurper's Kingsguard?
Mira's hand on the hilt of her sword tightened slightly.
However, it was still Viserys who broke the ice for the sweating Baelish.
"There's no need to be nervous, Lord Baelish."
Viserys spoke, his pale purple eyes looking at him as if he had seen through him.
What Petyr didn't know was that Viserys knew him better than he knew himself.
He was a man with a talent for money and trade, and even more so a master of intrigue and cunning in the Seven Kingdoms. He was adept at playing the game of thrones.
"I have no intention of holding you accountable. On the contrary, I should thank you."
"If it weren't for you stirring up those fools to attack me, I might not have had the chance to take Pentos so easily."
This time, the bitter smile on Petyr's face was real. He bowed again.
"Thank you for your magnanimity, Your Majesty."
Littlefinger's previous elegance and composure were gone.
Then he had to continue the topic and introduce the two people behind him.
"Your Majesty, this is Hendry Bracken, the nephew of Lord Jonos Bracken of Stone Hedge."
The brown-haired young man standing next to Petyr looked a bit nervous. It seemed that Viserys's words had scared him too.
"Your... Your Majesty."
Hendry quickly followed Littlefinger's example and bowed deeply, almost kneeling and kowtowing.
"This is Sir Barristan Selmy, the captain of King Robert's Kingsguard."
"Your Majesty."
The white-haired knight who was named could no longer keep his head down and play dumb. He could only take a deep breath, then look at Viserys with bright eyes and speak.
He only hoped that Viserys had forgotten him.
However, to his disappointment, Viserys still remembered him.
"Ah, Sir Barristan, long time no see."
Viserys just nodded to the captain of the Kingsguard and greeted him, but he didn't say much else. This made him feel a bit uneasy.
Then Littlefinger composed himself and formally began to state the purpose of the envoy.
Robert finally couldn't withstand the pressure.
The defeat in two major battles made him realize that the White Walkers could not be defeated by human power alone. So he thought of the red priestess who disappeared after the Battle of Winterfell.
She once said that the Night King was ice, and the dragons were fire. The only thing that could defeat the Night King was the raging dragon flame.
The simultaneous resurrection of the Night King and the dragons symbolized that this was a song of ice and fire. To defeat the Night King, he had to ask Vis
erys for help.
Robert fled from Winterfell all the way to Riverrun, then tossed and turned sleeplessly at night. After discussing with his advisors and considering for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth and sent a raven to King's Landing, giving Jon Arryn full authority to arrange this matter.
However, he himself couldn't swallow his pride and didn't even write a personal letter asking for help.
Of course, Robert didn't have any good intentions under the guise of asking for Viserys's help.
This time, the envoy's departure from King's Landing was almost announced with drums and gongs, as if they were afraid that people wouldn't know that the Iron Throne was asking for help from the Targaryen family, hoping that the other party could extend a helping hand.
This was a well-known open plot, but the people of King's Landing naturally wouldn't think about open plots or conspiracies. They just cheered as if they saw hope.
Of course, this wasn't arranged by Robert. Robert might have given in, but he still had his pride.
Jon Arryn, on the other hand, was old and wise. He knew that face was useless, and that the only victory was to have the last laugh.
"White Walkers, dragons, wildlings... etc., these things that can easily tear our legends apart are appearing one after another."
"Let them kill each other. Only then can the world become better."
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