Capítulo 155: -Chapter 148-

-Chapter 148-

-5th day of the 10th moon of the year 299 AC-

-POV Grazdan Zo Galare-

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Yunkai fell without difficulty.

The Unsullied fled the battle before we even arrived at Yunkai.

They surely fled to Astapor to ally with the butcher who currently acts as king.

---

This is the message I received from the spies I sent to infiltrate the Company of the Red Tiger while I, on my side, was quietly enjoying the delights that my new life as the most influential Lord of the Great City of Meereen brought me.

Besides the fact that I was under the control of the Westerosii for the moment, I had no reason to complain, because with their help, I gradually gathered the power of the Galare family and other families as well who feared the return of Daenerys Targaryen.

Some always advocated that we surrender to the nearest dragon, but as Garth recently explained to me, a young dragon is just as vulnerable as any other animal made of flesh and blood.

As soon as he told me this, I immediately thought about freeing myself from his control because the dragons residing on the other side of the strait were at most the same age as those of Daenerys Targaryen.

But eventually, I realized that it was not the fear of dragons thousands of miles away that made me docile, but simply the fear of this man who would slit my throat at the slightest sign of betrayal.

I waited 30 years to find the opportunity to seize the position of head of the family, I can wait a few more years to be crowned King of Meereen.

"Your Excellence, Master Garth is here, he requests an audience with you to discuss crucial subjects for the good relationship between Westeros and Meereen," he said.

I raised my hand for the slave who was massaging my feet to stop, then I said:

"Let him in without delay. Master Garth is an honored guest of the Galare family, take him to the private reception room and put lots of grapes on the table, he loves them."

'For now, once he is no longer of any use to me, it will be time to slit his throat,' I thought, getting up from the bed where I was receiving a divine massage from the hands of this beautiful slave whom I would gladly bed in the afternoon if I get the chance.

---

-POV Garth-

"Please, your Excellence, Master Grazdan will arrive in a few moments, let me lead you to the refreshments," said Grazdan's slave steward.

'It's sad that the king has to fight against his aunt, without this, he surely would have put an end to this barbarism,' I thought, seeing the bare back of the slave riddled with scars, clearly caused by whips.

Once we arrived in front of the refreshment table, I signaled to the slave that he could leave, and I poured myself a glass of wine while quickly swallowing some grapes.

I was surely struck by the sin of gluttony, as I could no longer go without grapes since I discovered this divine fruit.

'Grazdan must have noticed, that's why there are many more grapes than last time, but I must also start being careful. If he starts looking for what I like, it's either to try to corrupt me or to make me lower my guard. It is out of the question that I fall for such tricks,' I thought, keeping a neutral expression while reflecting on what Grazdan might aim for by trying to get closer to me in this way.

"Is everything to your liking, Lord Garth?"

"I have no complaints, the grapes are particularly excellent today," I said, glancing in his direction.

Grazdan smiled without revealing his inner thoughts and finally said:

"I noticed that you liked this type of grape very much, so I took the liberty of buying some, you don't mind, do you?"

"How could I mind when you think so much of me?" I said with the same smile as him.

Grazdan did not respond but chose to divert the subject of our conversation by saying:

"I heard that the last stronghold of Queen Daenerys Targaryen has fallen, it seems that our Bay will soon be freed from the dragon."

I smiled, catching the double meaning, and then said: "It seems so."

I pretended to remember something important and then said:

"Oh, but what an idiot I am, I came here for a very important purpose, a special mission from my king."

"A special mission from your king, you say?" Grazdan asked suspiciously.

I nodded and said: "Yes, the king entrusted me with this special mission because, lately, many people around the world are starting to fear his influence."

"That is understandable. Although I have no spies in Westeros, some spies residing in the free cities of Lys, Tyrosh, Myr, and Pentos report that your king has taken the Stepstones by force and that he has an impressive number of soldiers, far surpassing all the former Westerosii armies."

"It is true that our king borrows a lot of gold and builds an extremely large army, but it's simply because the territory that the Royal Domain now occupies is dozens of times larger than before. With my king's rise, many noble houses that maintained order on their lands have died. Therefore, the king is doing nothing more than his duty by ensuring the defense, security, and order of his kingdom by building this army."

Grazdan said nothing, but I could see that he did not believe my story at all, so I added:

"The king is also not happy to have to build such a large army because it deprives him of gold and resources that he could use in many other areas."

Grazdan, being a merchant, was more sensitive to this argument and said: "It's true that such an army is a waste of gold."

"My king wants to reassure everyone of his noble intentions. He will not go to war and it is in this unique aim of world peace that he has decided to hold a ceremony gathering the most noble dignitaries representing the cities of the world to find trade agreements that would benefit everyone."

"That's a good idea, but who will participate?"

"The city of Volantis has already confirmed its presence, Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh have also confirmed their presence, the new Prince of Pentos is also ready to attend this ceremony. For the others, I do not know yet, but we have sent invitations to Lorath, Braavos, Mantarys, Tolos, Yunkai, Astapor, Elyria, Qohor, Norvos, New Ghis, Qarth, and the Summer Isles."

Grazdan raised his eyebrows, surprised by the number of invitations we had sent, then I said:

"You are not obliged to attend. I will ask other families if they are interested in representing Meereen, but as I have known you longer and we are now friends, as a friend, I had to offer it to you first. This will naturally enhance your dominant position in this city and it will also be an opportunity for you to speak directly with our king, who has great admiration for your ambition."

"Your king admires me?" Grazdan said, not quite believing it.

I nodded, pretending to truly believe it, and said:

"You had a very similar journey. Throughout his life, he had to hide his ambitions for fear of being beheaded, and when he had the opportunity to sit on the Iron Throne, he was ready and he did it. The king personally tasked me with helping you and providing all the necessary support to make you the uncontested king and sovereign of Meereen, and who knows, maybe the Emperor of the New Ghiscari Empire. You would be the second Grazdan the Great, hailed for thousands, even tens of thousands of years."

"I cannot give you an answer right now, but I will try to think it over properly."

"I advise you to hurry because the ceremony will take place in less than two moons, on the first day of the first moon of the 3rd century after the conquest of Westeros by the last house of Dragon Lords of Old Valyria, House Targaryen."

---

-5th day of the 10th moon of the year 299 AC-

-POV MC-

'So they have chosen pride,' I thought, watching Mance Rayder's army migrate northward.

"It's sad," I said, letting out a small sigh.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because they will all die and the lineage of the First Men north of the Wall will die out, and with them a large part of the inherited culture that we have lost, such as the Old Tongue."

"You know you can show mercy and open these doors. Remember the advice of Maester Aemon."

"It's good advice, but I don't have time to implement it. I'm not going to neglect a kingdom of 40 million souls for the sake of these proud savages."

"In my position, another king would have annihilated this people for the sole purpose of ensuring the survival of his own. I have been merciful enough to let them try their luck with the White Walkers," I said, turning away, not wanting to address the subject of the wildlings anymore, as even racking my brain, I couldn't see how to bring them to my side without great bloodshed or without lowering my pants.

Uncle Benjen sighed and said: "Let's pray for them, that's all we can do for now."

I nodded and said: "When will you come to court to become my Hand?"

He took a few seconds to think before saying: "I still have some affairs to settle before I can descend to the Capital."

I raised an eyebrow and asked: "What kind of affairs?"

He looked at me and said:

"I need to speak with my brothers so they know and announce to them that you have granted them all a royal pardon for their services. I also need to discuss with Lord Mormont. Since his son fled after being convicted of slave trafficking, the Night's Watch was all he had left. The death of his sister didn't help. I don't want him to face all this alone. I also want him to understand why you decided to disband the Night's Watch."

I nodded, understanding his reasons, then he added: "And once all this is done, I need to go to Winterfell to have a good discussion with Ned."

"About what?" I asked, smelling gunpowder.

"About you mainly," he said, and from his facial expression, I doubt it will be a pleasant conversation for my other uncle.

"I understand that you cannot leave right away, but do everything you need to do as quickly as possible because in less than two moons, an incredible event will take place and I want you to be there to see with your own eyes what will happen that day. All the lords of Westeros will be required to attend. At this point, everyone has surely already received the invitation and is preparing to go to King's Landing."

"What kind of events are you organizing for all the lords to be required to attend?" he asked suspiciously.

"The kind of event that will not be forgotten for at least a century," I said, eagerly, with a mysterious smile.