Tywin Lannister said coldly, "You still don't understand what Lannister is."
He looked at Kevan and said, "Write a letter for me, in my name, and tell Cersei that this was my idea."
Kevan Lannister nodded slightly. " Lord Tywin, I will arrange it immediately."
As Lord Tywin and Kevan stood beside the map discussing military matters, the captain of the guard outside the tent called out, "Lord Tywin, Harys requests an audience!"
Harys Swyft Swivel was Kevan Lannister's father-in-law. Rumor has it that the vassals of the Westerlands secretly called him a shameless sycophant, and that his greatest achievement was marrying his daughter to Kevan, thus climbing the social ladder to the House Lannister.
"Let him in."
Not long after, the rather elderly Sir Harys entered the tent.
He first glanced at Ser Kevan, who was looking at him, then bowed to Lord Tywin: " Lord Tywin, Stannis's ravens have arrived again."
Upon hearing this, Lord Tywin turned his sharp gaze to Ser Harys, who trembled slightly.
Ser Kevan spoke up, "Sir Harys, how did Stannis's ravens find this place?"
The Lannister army has just entered Harrenhal, while Stannis is far away on Dragonstone, yet his ravens have flown here... What does this mean? Could they be hiding Stannis's eyes among them?
Kevan's expression turned serious, and he continued, "And why is it in your hands?"
Sir Harys quickly explained, "One of my men shot down a raven, which is how I got the letter."
He paused, then added, "Judging from the direction the raven is heading, its destination is the Westerlands."
After explaining, Sir Harys secretly breathed a sigh of relief... Fortunately, he had prepared a perfect excuse on the way here, so he didn't expose his secret hunting trip.
Kevan walked over, took the tightly rolled-up letter from Sir Haussmann, and glanced down at the new Stannis crest on it.
"You tell me what it is," Lord Tywin, returning to the table and sitting down.
Ser Kevan opened the letter, read it carefully, and said, "He claims to be Stannis I of House Baratheon and demands that all loyalists swear allegiance to him."
Harys craned his neck to peek at the letter in Kevan's hand and said, "Both Baratheon brothers have become kings? Two kings?"
Sir Kevan glanced at Sir Harys, then immediately withdrew.
Ignoring his father-in-law, he looked at the seated Lord Tywin: "How should we proceed?"
After a moment's thought, Lord Tywin looked at Ser Harys and asked, "What do you think Stannis will do next?"
Ser Harys was thrilled. Was Lord Tywin going to rely on his wisdom? Had he finally recognized his abilities? The thought made him even more excited.
His voice trembled slightly. " Lord Tywin, Stannis controls Blackwater Bay, and he will surely attack King's Landing next."
After speaking, Sir Harys looked expectantly at the dignified Lord Tywin, but he did not receive the appreciation and praise he had imagined.
Lord Tywin stared at Ser Harys for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "You may leave."
After Harys Harris left looking disappointed, Lord Tywin's voice rang out after a pause. "That's what they'll all think."
Sir Kevan added, "But he is Stannis."
Lord Tywin nodded slightly and said, " Kevan, we need some more time, so we must let Stannis know that whoever wins between him and Renly will be King of the Seven Kingdoms."
A pair of pale green eyes, adorned with golden hues, looked at Kevan and continued, "We are to deal with the winner between the two of them; that person will be our final enemy."
Kevan nodded solemnly, paused, and then said, "Those people we've bribed can at most spread rumors on Dragonstone; they can't directly advise Stannis."
Lord Tywin picked up a blank sheet of parchment and said, "That's enough. Rumors only work when someone wants to hear them, and that's exactly what he wants to hear. We're doing him a favor."
You mean...?
After a pause, Ser Kevan nodded and continued, "That's right. The Dragonstone army will have a very difficult time taking King's King's Landing. Even if they manage to win by chance, it will be a lose-lose situation. When Renly's army marches on King's King's Landing, he won't even be able to put up a decent resistance."
He added, " Stannis will certainly consider these factors, but... even if that's true, Stannis's few thousand troops on Dragonstone are no match for Renly's 100,000-strong army, and the current lords of Stormlands are even less likely to support him."
"Does it matter to him what other people think? He's Stannis."
Lord Tywin scoffed and continued, " Stannis follows the laws of inheritance and bloodline; he must hate his ill-mannered younger brother."
Sir Kevan addressed Lord Tywin respectfully, "Therefore, he is happy to accept our help."
Lord Tywin picked up his quill, dipped it in ink, and said, "May the Gods..."
He paused, then changed his words, saying, "May his New Gods bless him."
Lord Tywin began to wield his quill. "Honorable Balon Greyjoy..."
He paused for a moment with his quill pen, then added "—Your Majesty" at the end.
Dragonstone, Painted Table Chamber.
Stannis Baratheon stood before the tall, narrow window, gazing at the rolling waves in the distance, his chin twitching silently.
Davos Seaworth stood respectfully behind the king.
"This time, Dragonstone doesn't have enough carrier ravens."
King Stannis turned to Onion Knight and said, "I am the rightful king of the Seven Kingdoms, but the lords of the Seven Kingdoms will choose to turn a deaf ear, because they love Joffrey, Renly, or Robb Stark."
He added, "Even if we had enough messengers, and those scholars brought my letters into their studies and bedrooms, read them to their lords, and then... just like last time, either the letters were burned, or the listeners kept their mouths shut."
Davos patted his chest and said, " King Stannis, Davos is at your beck and call."
King Stannis nodded slightly and said, " Davos, I want you to sail the Black Betha north, passing through Gulltown, the Fingers, the Three Sisters, and even as far as White Harbor."
Your eldest son Dale Seaworth, sailed south on the Sea Spirit, past Cape Wrath and Broken Arm, along the Sea of Dorne coast, all the way to Arbor.
Each of you take a box of my handwritten letters and deliver one to every port, every manor, and every fishing village. Nail the letters to the doors of Sept and inns so that literate people can see them.
Besides declaring myself the rightful king, I must also expose Cersei's crimes, so that they too may know the filth of a harlot and a whore.
King Stannis's teeth chattered. "I'd like to see how those lords who received the letter before will continue to play dumb this time..."
Davos hesitated for a moment, then said respectfully, " King Stannis, in many places... I'm afraid very few people are literate."
He paused, then added, "Perhaps... sharing our beliefs with them would be more effective."
King Stannis pondered, "It's good, but it's also more dangerous. Those hypocrites are most afraid of having their dark side exposed."
After a pause, Davos suggested, " King Stannis, perhaps... you could let me bring some knights to read it; that would make things much easier."
Stannis nodded slightly, seemingly pleased with Davos's suggestion. "Very well, Dragonstone has plenty of cowardly knights who would rather read letters than fight. I'll send you men."
He added, "When it's safe, act openly; when it's dangerous, keep it a secret. Use every smuggling method you know to spread my proclamation. If that's not enough, I'll allow you to grab a few monks along the way and have them make a few more copies for you."
After a moment of silence, King Stannis continued, " Davos, your second son Allard Seaworth... I also have a use for him. I want him to sail the Lady Marya across the Narrow Sea to Braavos and the other Free Cities, and deliver these messages to their rulers... I want the whole world to know that I, Stannis, am the rightful king of the Seven Kingdoms."
Davos glanced at King Stannis and nodded in acceptance.
King Stannis glanced at Davos, who looked deep in thought, and said, "Loyal Davos, what do you have to say?"
Davos immediately snapped out of his reverie and said respectfully, "I'm sorry, I was thinking about faith..."
King Stannis frowned and said, "Speak up, I want to hear your thoughts."
Davos paused, then said, "I'm wondering if there's any way to get evidence of Cersei's incest, which would... carry more weight when we talk about it."
"There is evidence, but witnesses are in Storm's End."
King Stannis, strode across the map table, saying as he walked, "He is Robert's bastard son, the bastard son conceived on my wedding night, on my wedding bed. His mother is Delena of Florent, so Robert had to publicly acknowledge the bastard."
Everyone calls him Edric Storm, and he's said to look exactly like Robert. I think if the people of the Seven Kingdoms were to see him, and then look at Joffrey and Tommen, the truth would be self-evident.
When King Stannis stopped at the map table, Davos spoke up, " King Stannis, if he were in Storm's End, I doubt Renly would have handed him over to us so readily, let alone put him alongside Joffrey for others to compare."
King Stannis's gaze settled on King's Landing map table in King's Landing, and he said coldly, "Once I capture the **, the people of the Seven Kingdoms will no longer be deceived by those hypocritical lords. I will put these people to trial in full view of everyone, according to the laws of the kingdom."
He pointed to the location of Storm's End with his finger, paused, then looked up at Davos and said, " Davos, if you have any further suggestions, speak them directly. I knighted you, not so you could learn the flowery words of my lords."
Davos bowed slightly and said, " King Stannis, the last sentence of your letter... 'Blessed Lord of Light, shining brightly...'... You are the first in line to the Iron Throne, the rightful king. This is a fact that no one can deny."
He hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Moreover... I'm afraid the people of your Seven Kingdoms won't like this statement."
He paused, then added, "Perhaps you could change it to... in the name of the Gods, or... in the name of the Old and New Gods."
King Stannis's gaze was icy. "My Davos, when did you, smuggler, become so pious? It sounds like you dislike my new god."
Davos said sincerely, " King Stannis, I don't know much about this Lord of Light, but most people are quite familiar with the Gods we burned."
King Stannis said coldly, "What we burned was nothing more than wood."
Davos looked at his king. "Your Majesty, I must advise you, your people will not see it as you burning wood; they will see you overthrowing all the Gods they have long worshipped and forcing them to accept a god whose name they can't even pronounce. This could cause them to lose their love and devotion."
"Is R'hllor really that hard to pronounce? Will I lose the people's love?"
King Stannis gave a cold snort and continued, " Davos, tell me, when have they ever loved me? Since that's the case, what difference does it make to me whether they love me or not?! When I was King's Landing, the High Septon constantly nagged me that all justice and righteousness in the world came from the Seven, but all the justice and righteousness I witnessed were the work of humankind!"
His teeth were grinding. "From the day I witnessed my parents drown, I stopped believing in God. I swear to God, I will never worship any god!"
Davos asked with some doubt, "Since you don't believe in God..."
King Stannis interrupted, "Then why find a New Gods? I've asked myself that question too. I know little about gods, and I don't want to concern myself with them, but I do know that this Red Priestess possesses powers that mortals do not have."
He stared coldly at the Stormlands on the table. "I humbly begged the lords of the Stormlands for their support, and what did I get? I got their ridicule... In short, I will never be so pathetic again, and no one will dare to laugh at me again."
His gaze swept over Bitterbridge, King's Landing, the Neck: "By law, the Iron Throne should rightfully belong to me, but how can I seize it? There are three Usurper, all three of whom are richer and have more troops than me. All I have are ships... and her, the Red Priestess."
He looked at Davos: "Do you know? More than half of our knights don't even dare to utter Melisandre's name, so... even if she has no other skills, she's already valuable as a priestess who spreads fear. Before the battle even begins, if the soldiers are terrified, they've already lost half the battle. That's my only advantage against the three Usurper!"
Finally, he said slowly, "From what I understand, she may possess other terrifying abilities. If she wants me to continue supporting the Lord of Light she believes in, she needs to prove her other worth to me. I think... she'll soon have such an opportunity."