Jaime speculated about the mastermind in his mind, suspecting everyone.
Jaime couldn't help asking again, "Have you figured out who it is?"
Gryn wasn't about to tell Jaime the answer. Doing so would lead to serious trouble.
"Love-struck" Jaime would go straight to chopping people up. For his own safety, "the instigator" Gryn had no choice but to bind himself closely to House Lannister.
At this point, Gryn had chosen Cersei because she could bring him power and Gold Dragons.
King Robert's bullying could turn a spirited Lancel into a timid young man, but it had no effect on Cersei.
You can scold me, hit me, and insult me all you like, but I, Princess Cersei, still don't fear you and still look down on you. Just don't let me get the chance, or I'll make you pay!
Her unyielding nature was one of the few bright spots in Cersei.
As long as King Robert and Lord Jon remained in the Red Keep, Gryn Crabb, once a model vassal of the Dragon House, would always have to tread carefully.
He also had to worry that one day they might take an interest in him again, while he was still weak.
Gryn's weakness was a disadvantage, but it was also an advantage.
If Princess Cersei was willing to protect him, the Red Keep wouldn't openly antagonize the Queen over someone as weak as Gryn. They wouldn't consider it worthwhile.
And with the Queen Cersei's peculiar nature, she might even fight them head-on, no matter the cost. So it wasn't worth the risk.
This was the narrow space where Gryn could survive and grow.
Jaime was the person closest to Cersei and the one she trusted most. Gryn couldn't afford to ignore Jaime's opinion of him, either.
Gryn had originally thought that Tyrion could indirectly improve Jaime's opinion of him.
Judging by Jaime's attitude when they first met, Gryn had to admit that his attempt to influence him through Tyrion had clearly failed.
He also couldn't get too close to Tyrion in the future, because Cersei hated him.
Gryn was always patient enough to carefully untangle these relationships one by one.
He knew exactly what he wanted: to sail on Queen Cersei's ship, not board House Lannister's.
Gryn rubbed his brow and said, "There's no evidence. So it's all suspicion, Ser Jaime. Unfounded suspicions will leave Her Grace surrounded by enemies."
Jaime felt powerless, as if he had no way to act. "You're right. I have to keep acting normal, or I'll just be helping the enemy."
Gryn nodded in agreement. "Ser Jaime, now that you know about the plot, all you have to do is keep your eyes open. It's only a matter of time before we catch the rats in the gutter. Once a plot has been exposed, it's no longer a threat as long as we stay alert."
Jaime looked much more relaxed. "You seem to be good at uncovering plots."
What kind of question was that? Gryn felt that he and Jaime really weren't suited to each other.
Gryn knew that Jaime disliked scheming by nature. Had he relaxed a little, only for Jaime to start doubting his character again?
In fact, Gryn had misunderstood Jaime's intention.
Jaime admired Gryn's perceptiveness, but worried that the young boy might become too enamored with schemes because of his intelligence. As an "old knight," Jaime felt obliged to keep a young man he admired from going astray.
They weren't on the same wavelength at all. They really weren't suited to each other.
Magnanimously pretending not to understand Jaime's words, Gryn smiled faintly with his refined features and said, "It may be because of the environment I grew up in. I have a keen sense for danger. My mother told me that, to preserve the family, she had to take me, a newborn, away from our ancestral home. The journey was full of danger. Whenever danger approached, I would start crying at once. She said I was even more useful than a sentry."
Gryn smiled and shook his head. "More than ten years ago, if Lord Eddard of Winterfell hadn't spoken up for people like us, the Crabb family might have been wiped out by now."
No doubt he'd have to go north to fight the undead sooner or later... Ever far-sighted, Gryn took the opportunity to let Jaime know in advance of Lord Eddard's kindness to the Crabb family.
After seeing Jaime off, Gryn rallied himself and got back to work.
There were five main routes leading out of the Queens Quarter. Gryn took fifty of the Lannister guards Jaime had brought and divided them into five squads of ten. They set up barricades and guarded one intersection each, sealing off the entire Queens Quarter that same day under the pretext of preventing the disease from spreading.
The remaining Lannister guards and Crabb Clan Soldiers were stationed at Gryn's command post, ready to be deployed at any time.
Once the area was sealed off, Gryn used the Queen's name to quarantine and treat everyone who had contracted the disease.
To ensure the patients cooperated with his arrangements, Gryn provided them with free food and medical care in the quarantine zone.
There were fewer patients than Gryn had expected: just over four hundred, fewer than five hundred in all. Gryn added a zero and publicly announced that there were five thousand patients, deliberately spreading panic throughout the Queens Quarter.
Gryn also gathered most of the physicians in the Queens Quarter into the quarantine zone.
He simply had someone toss them a bag of Gold Dragons. Combined with the guards' gleaming swords, that was enough to make the physicians very cooperative.
Little Steward Leyton was mainly responsible for publicity. He was in charge of Gryn's fearmongering "atmosphere team."
Thanks to Gryn's outrageous publicity campaign, everyone in the Queens Quarter was frightened and on edge.
After all these arrangements, Gryn successfully imposed a curfew starting the following evening. After sunset, no one was allowed to walk around in the Queens Quarter.
The fifth day of Gryn's rule over the Queens Quarter.
Gryn sat in the command post, brows faintly furrowed, as if hesitating over something.
So far, two hundred people had been proven guilty beyond doubt. None of them would be wronged if they were killed.
Gryn was hesitating over whether killing so many at once would earn him a nickname like the Head-Cutter Baron or the Executioner Baron.
Gryn suddenly smiled. Why was he thinking about protecting his reputation at a time like this?
His hesitation lasted only a moment.
Let heads roll. King's Landing would belong to him sooner or later. He could consider it an early benefit for the people of King's Landing. The sooner these evildoers were dealt with, the sooner everyone else's lives would improve.
Under Gryn's direction, a new Security Office was established in the Queens Quarter.
Gryn's guard captain, Foley, was appointed chief constable of the Security Office, while Little Steward Leyton was appointed chief clerk.
Gryn had already taken control of the original fifty or so constables. Not one of them was an innocent man.
At the same time, a hundred new constables were recruited in the Queens Quarter and placed under Foley and Leyton. They restored law enforcement and patrols in the area.
If the Red Keep recognized the Security Office and left Gryn's appointments unchanged, he would effectively control the Queens Quarter of King's Landing. If the Red Keep refused to recognize the new office, Gryn had no reason to regret it.
For now, Gryn was using the panic over the disease and other extraordinary measures to keep the entire Queens Quarter under control. The effect was striking in the short term, but this could never be a long-term solution. Given time, it would backfire and cause trouble.
Gryn had neither the people nor the energy to develop the Queens Quarter in depth. If he managed to bring it under his control, that would be a pleasant little surprise.
Perhaps Gryn would treat the Queens Quarter as a bargaining chip. It was still too early to tell.
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