In the blink of an eye.
Spring, day 22, Monday, clear skies, 11:00.
King's Landing, Red Keep.
White Sword Tower.
Daeren leaned over his desk, sketching out a map of King's Landing's defenses with a quill.
He was dressed in armor.
His short silver-gold hair hung naturally around his ears. Beneath his armor, he wore a purple silk shirt, while the engraved silver armor was draped with a golden cord tassel across his chest and a purple cloak over his right shoulder.
On his feet were the Leather Boots rewarded from the chest on the tenth mine level.
The cold, austere armor only further accentuated his youthful and handsome face, lending him the calm nobility of one in power.
It could not be helped.
Having taken up the post of Deputy Commander of the City Watch, he had to patrol every part of King's Landing.
Neither the Trial by Combat nor fighting monsters in the mines had required him to wear armor, but some places in King's Landing made caution necessary.
After all, King's Landing's troublesome rabble was notoriously famous.
"Prince, the frostbite medicine you requested has been prepared."
Maester Harvey spoke softly, afraid of disturbing him.
"..."
Receiving no response, Maester Harvey moved to a corner of the room, only occasionally glancing toward the round table.
Naturally shy and timid, he held particular respect for the benefactor who had changed the course of his life.
Daeren had personally promoted him to acting Grand Maester.
Until the Citadel elected a new Grand Maester, he could temporarily fulfill the role's duties.
Compared to eight days ago, his entire demeanor had vastly improved.
Healthy color had returned to his cheeks, his body was no longer so frail, and a pair of rectangular glasses now sat on his face beneath his little mustache.
The lenses had been hand-ground from two magnifying glasses, while the frames had been a gift from Prince Daeren.
They had completely freed him from the adverse effects of severe nearsightedness.
"The prince is truly diligent."
Havel withdrew his gaze and continued preparing healing medicine.
Over the past few days, the prince's need for wound medicine had increased, and he had also requested frostbite medicine be kept in reserve.
Besides that, the King's daily calming medicine was indispensable as well.
On the other side, Daeren remained fully engrossed in his work.
"This should do it."
Daeren set down his quill and picked up his finished work with satisfaction.
A map of King's Landing's defenses had been drawn on the paper, every position matching reality exactly.
"After eight days in office, the groundwork is finally complete."
Daeren had a clear plan in mind.
Over the past eight days, outsiders believed he had holed up in the White Sword Tower, using the Kingsguard's Weirwood round table as though it were a daily ritual.
In truth, he had quietly accomplished many major things.
Dragon Tongue Farm—City Guard
First, within the farm, ripe strawberries had been harvested on Spring 18, Spring 21, and Spring 22.
On Spring 18 and Spring 22, the sixteen strawberry plants ripened by Sprites had produced thirty-two strawberries in total.
On Spring 21, naturally grown strawberries had ripened, yielding twenty-nine strawberries.
That made sixty-one fresh strawberries altogether: forty-five of ordinary quality, fifteen of Silver Star quality, and one of Gold Star quality.
The Dragon Tongue Farm had produced its first Gold Star quality crop!
After the large strawberry harvest, his farming level naturally rose to Level 5, unlocking the [Tiller] profession and increasing crop sale prices by 10%.
With the [Tiller] profession unlocked.
Daeren kept one Gold Star quality strawberry for himself, sent several Silver Star quality strawberries each to his mother Rhaella and his Sister Shayani, then sold all the rest.
They sold for as much as 7,590 gold.
He kept the gold for now; it would be useful later.
Holding the Neptune Greatsword and Lucky Ring, he made his way to the forty-fifth mine level and began mining Iron Ore.
Harvest: smelted iron ingots and crafted three basic sprinklers.
Difficulty: from the fortieth mine level onward, the mines entered an Ice region, where the cold cut straight to the bone.
This was especially unbearable for Daeren, a Targaryen.
Outside of the farm matters.
Daeren stretched his limbs and stood before the tower window. "Maester Harvey, did Lord Manly come looking for me?"
"Yes, yes, Prince."
Havel pushed up his heavy glasses and hurriedly said, "Lord Manly said that many knights have recently joined the City Watch, which has sparked resentment among the original City Watch's middle ranks. The two sides have been clashing quite unpleasantly."
"Then I can rest easy."
Daeren replied calmly.
Havel blinked. "Huh?"
The prince's words were so complicated. Why could he not understand them?
"Maester, the fact that others think I am hiding in the White Sword Tower to take it easy is exactly a good opportunity."
You would never know until you looked.
The City Watch had actually decayed to such a degree.
The two-thousand-man Gold Cloaks establishment had not been filled for years. Captains and squad leaders at every level took bribes, embezzled funds, collected pay for nonexistent men, and seized commoners to pad the ranks...
Their crimes were too numerous to list.
Lord Manly Stockworth had more loyalty than ability.
During his tenure, he had been unable to subdue his subordinates. He could only win over a group of old Gold Cloaks and do his best to preserve the dignity of the City Watch commander.
"It is rotten to the core. It needs drastic treatment."
Even Daeren, mild-tempered by nature, had been angered by it.
Knock, knock, knock!
A retainer of House Lannister knocked on the door and informed him that the Lord Hand had summoned him.
"Lead the way."
Before leaving, he reminded Maester Harvey to continue developing more effective calming medicine and help his father Aerys break his dependence on Poppy Milk as soon as possible.
Maester Harvey nodded vigorously, as though he wished he could put all his strength into it.
Tower of the Hand.
"You're here, kid."
Tywin sat behind his desk, with a stack of freshly processed documents beside him.
The deep lines between his brows showed that being Lord Hand was no easy task.
Daeren asked, "My lord, what guidance do you have for me?"
Tywin's brows furrowed slightly at the form of address.
But when he remembered that official titles were used during work, that trace of displeasure faded.
"I summoned you to tell you something."
Tywin pulled out a document and said in a deep voice, "Your post was assigned by the King. It was not a position I chose for you."
"And after taking office, without consulting me, you made a major move and have now caused trouble."
Daeren picked up the document and looked it over.
It was a jointly submitted letter of impeachment.
"They are all insignificant figures."
Daeren glanced at it once and placed it back on the desk.
The densely packed names belonged to captains at every level of the City Watch, along with at most a few merchants and minor nobles acting as echo chambers.
The impeachment accused Daeren of favoring his own people, disrupting internal unity within the City Watch, and so on...
There was nothing substantial to it.
Seeing how little he cared, Tywin frowned. "Kid, you may look down on those flies, but do not forget that beasts often stand behind flies."
"You should placate them, achieve results as soon as possible, and win unanimous approval from your subordinates, the nobles, and the lords."
For the student he had carefully cultivated, he offered a clear solution.
Daeren shook his head. "Beasts? I see a flock of sheep."
"Manly Stockworth is the sheep!"
Tywin raised his voice, speaking sternly. "The noble lords behind those flies can skin you alive and swallow you whole."
Great nobles ruled lesser nobles by winning hearts and minds.
It was not enough to wear a crown and shout, 'I am the King,' to truly become King.
Arrogance would lead only to destruction.
"In my eyes, they are all sheep."
Tywin's expression changed.
Daeren tapped the document with his finger and asked, "Teacher, when a lion eats sheep, does it care about the sheep's opinion?"
"I am a true dragon. I do not care about the sheep's opinions."
With that, Daeren gave a slight bow, turned, and pushed open the door to leave.
Those bluffing sheep had gone too long without seeing a dragon's wrath, and their understanding had become distorted.
Daeren would show them through his actions.
What the "wrath of the sleeping dragon" truly meant.
Bang!
The door closed softly.
Tywin looked surprised, unable to fathom what his student was thinking.
Before you continue