Chapter 372: Chapter 372: Cersei's Sincerity
Women's intuition is indeed very sharp, and Cersei has a strong sense of crisis. She felt deep anxiety when her husband and brother both thought things were still under control.
Pentos is located directly across from King's Landing, with only a narrow sea separating the two giant cities. If you only calculate the straight-line distance and don't consider travel time, Pentos is even closer to King's Landing than the Neck.
The remnants of the Targaryens now have over sixty thousand troops in Pentos, along with war elephants and three dragons, all eyeing Westeros.
They could easily turn King's Landing and its hundreds of thousands of people into ashes.
It merely depends on whether Viserys wants to become an 'Ashen King', leading his burning legion to destroy the Seven Kingdoms.
For the Seven Kingdoms, which are now plagued by internal and external troubles, perhaps the only thing that could prevent Viserys from crossing the Narrow Sea with his army is his own supply problem.
A large army requires adequate supplies, and provisions must be prepared before the troops move.
Since his return, Viserys's preparations have mainly focused on logistics and supplies. Otherwise, if there are problems with supplies during a sea expedition, it could lead to disastrous consequences.
The conflict between the Targaryens and the Lannisters, in a strict sense, has nothing to do with Cersei herself. It was the result of her father, Duke Tywin, and her brother, the 'Kingslayer'.
Cersei has always been a beauty enthusiast since she was a child. She was captivated by Prince Rhaegar's appearance and temperament when she was a young girl, and even had a great chance of marrying him.
Unfortunately, the marriage proposal that Duke Tywin made for his daughter Cersei was rejected by King Aerys II.
Even in Viserys's memory, Cersei seemed to still be infatuated with her brother Rhaegar many years later.
After she became the Regent Queen and effectively took power, she appointed Aurane Waters, the bastard of Driftmark, as the Admiral of the Navy, simply because he looked somewhat similar to Rhaegar, reminding her of the perfect prince in her girlhood dreams.
"Mediate the conflict between the Targaryens and the Lannisters?"
Viserys sat behind his desk, his hands interlocked. The room was brightly lit, and his violet eyes reflected a faint glow.
This statement was unexpected.
His gaze fell on Littlefinger, sizing him up slightly, then he chuckled and spoke.
"Lord Baelish, you should know that this is impossible."
"In front of Your Grace, what am I but a 'lord'?"
Littlefinger still had a respectful smile on his face, and he spoke humbly.
In the class differentiation of Westeros, 'lord' is a common term for nobles, from dukes to landed knights, all can be called 'lords'. Littlefinger's family may have a small fief, but they are nobles.
Although the king is the greatest noble in the country, he is not suitable to be called 'lord', but has a higher level of address.
Nobles must respect the king, but this does not mean that the king can look down on the nobles who swear allegiance to him.
Viserys calling Petyr Baelish, the 'Littlefinger' noble of the Fingers, 'Lord' is strictly reasonable. This shows his excellent royal upbringing and manners, but in this situation, it seems somewhat ironic.
However, the silver-haired youth did not pay attention to Petyr Baelish's words, but continued to speak with a cold voice.
"The Lannisters betrayed their king."
"The last King of the Rock, Loren Lannister, was defeated in the War of Conquest against Aegon. Loren knelt before Aegon and surrendered, willingly giving up his kingship to swear eternal loyalty to the Targaryen family, for all generations to come."
"Lord Baelish, can you translate what 'eternal loyalty' means?"
Petyr Baelish was somewhat speechless at Viserys's question.
The Baratheon family were the usurpers who betrayed their king, and those families who helped the usurper rebel also broke their oaths.
"Eternal... is forever..."
Littlefinger took a deep breath, his voice somewhat dry.
"Forever?"
"Yes, eternal is forever."
"But the Lannisters betrayed their ancestors' eternal oath."
"Moreover, the Lannister family has committed unforgivable heinous crimes. My nephew Aegon, my sister-in-law Princess Elia Martell, countless citizens of King's Landing who were slaughtered and washed in blood by the Lannister family..."
In the splendid study room, the candlelight flickered, casting the shadow of the silver-haired youth on the wall. He didn't stand up, but his hand on the table gradually clenched into a fist, showing a slight emotional fluctuation.
But whether it was more of a performance or genuine emotion, only Viserys himself knew best.
"I quite like the unofficial motto of the Lannisters that is widely circulated, 'A Lannister always pays his debts'. I'm curious about what price the Lannisters want to pay to repay this blood debt?"
Viserys took a deep breath to calm his emotions, then asked word by word.
But in fact, many years ago, when only a few people who followed him from the beginning might still know, when Viserys and his mother were still on Dragonstone, Viserys had sworn to his mother, Queen Rhaella.
One day when he led his troops back to Westeros, he would make the Lannisters pay in blood. The death of Kevan Lannister in his hands was just the beginning.
And Petyr Baelish, facing Viserys's calm but knife-like gaze, broke out in a cold sweat again.
Aura is often related to a person's status. A beggar, no matter how strong his aura, can hardly intimidate a noble.
And sitting on the throne, Viserys truly held Petyr Baelish's life and death in his hands. At this time, every word he said was a great pressure for Littlefinger.
"Queen Cersei is willing to make a great sincerity to mediate the conflict between the two families."
Then Petyr Baelish spoke with a somewhat stiff voice.
He was already somewhat regretting taking on Cersei's task, but there was no choice, this was also a crucial step for his future planning.
If he bet correctly, he would skyrocket and become a true 'Lord' Baelish.
"Sincerity?"
Viserys's expression remained calm as he picked up a book he was going to read tonight.
He had told Littlefinger to save time and think about what he wanted to say. After so long, he was impatient. He didn't think Cersei would want to show any 'sincerity'. This was a self-righteous little woman.
But then he heard Petyr Baelish speak with a somewhat dry voice.
"Her Majesty's sincerity is herself..."
"What did you say?"
Viserys, who was about to dismiss the guest, was slightly stunned at these words.
Then he looked up at the astonishing Littlefinger, and then heard him continue.
"And the head of the Usurper's Hand of the King, Jon Arryn, the Duke of the Vale."
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