Coronation and First Meeting
The sky was cloudless and azure, and people from all walks of life in King's Landing gathered there. From above, the square was almost completely packed.
Ordinary wealthy people and nobles dressed in silk clothing were naturally able to stand closer to the Great Sept, surrounded by servants.
As for ordinary people, they stood on the relatively outer perimeter. From children as young as a few years old to Crone with wrinkled faces, from boatmen working hard on the riverbank to merchants walking through the streets and alleys, they all gathered here.
"I heard the king is going to crown himself using the rituals of the Red God?"
"The Red God? But we all believe in the Seven! Isn't the King afraid of being punished by the Seven?"
"Quiet down. The king will definitely be crowned according to the rituals of the Seven; he is the King of Westeros."
"The people of King's Landing are well-informed; they know that the Red God is also known as the Lord of Light."
Compared to these commoners, the wealthy and nobles ahead had already decided that Stannis intended to use the ceremony of the Lord of Light as the main ritual for his coronation.
He had already summoned the Pyromancer from the Alchemists' Guild to the Red Keep, and for a moment, the elderly people seemed to have returned to the time of Aerys.
During the later years of Aerys' reign, he even elected a Pyromancer as his Hand of the King, but this Pyromancer Hand of the King for only about twenty days before being killed by Jaime Lannister.
While commoners simply wanted to get to the bottom of things, the wealthy and nobles were considering whether or not to follow in Stannis's footsteps. "If they could get closer to the new king through their faith in the Lord of Light, they wouldn't mind redecorating their Great Sept in the style of the Red God."
At the very front of the Great Sept, which can be considered the center of the ceremony, more than a dozen flags fluttered high.
The most eye-catching Fiery Heart, followed closely by the House Florent banner.
In addition, there are the Direwolf banner of Winterfell, Jon's black Direwolf banner, the banner of the the Eyrie, and the green banner with gold flowers of Tyrell.
Each of the four flags has a specific story behind it.
Jon's black Direwolf banner goes without saying, Winterfell's grey Direwolf banner actually represents Eddard Stark.
The Eyrie Arryn the Eyrie, with their blue eagle, was also present. Lysa Arryn, the widow of former Hand of the King Jon Arryn and sister of Catelyn Tully, was holding her only son, Robert Arryn, representing the Vale —all thanks to Petyr.
Petyr was dismissed from his position as Master of the Treasury by Stannis, but unwilling to leave the center of power, he turned to Queen Selyse for help.
He assured Selyse that he could persuade Catelyn's sister, Lysa, the widow of the former Hand of the King, the Duchess of the the Eyrie, and the Warden of the Vale, to attend the King's coronation.
And he did indeed succeed, thus being allowed to participate in the coronation ceremony. This also helped Selyse to improve his impression of Stannis.
In addition, Littlefinger Petyr also had Lysa provide Stannis with an interest-free loan of several hundred thousand Gold Dragon.
This further alleviated Stannis's immediate crisis.
Despite knowing Petyr's lust for power, he believed he could control the situation and turned a blind eye to Littlefinger's actions.
As for the House Tyrell, they had only arrived a few days prior, along with a considerable amount of grain. This grain was publicly claimed to be an interest-free loan, but in reality, it could also be considered a fine paid by the House Tyrell.
As if by design, the House Tyrell's green banner with gold flowers was placed right next to Jon's black White Wolf Banner.
Many House Tyrell were present: Mace, his mother Lady Olenna, his wife Alerie, Garlan, Margaery, and Margaery's handmaid.
The maid Lya was dressed almost as elaborately as Margaery, and even wore more jewelry than Margaery.
She was actually used as a shield for Margaery, and also the person Tyrell considered to marry Jon.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Jon and Lya will fall in love at first sight, be betrothed, consummate their marriage, and have children soon.
But Lya, a girl who longed for stories of knights and princes, was not looking forward to marrying Jon.
Even though Jon's story is also very interesting, and even though he is now a duke, Lya is still somewhat unwilling to accept it.
Margaery stood in the group, listening to Mace mutter under her breath, "What kind of Lord of Light is this? Now look at all these red-robed monks, I thought I'd gone abroad."
Margaery looked ahead at the ongoing coronation ceremony, where Stannis, now draped in a red cloak, was surrounded by a group of Red Priest wielding longswords.
Seeing that everyone's attention was focused on the coronation ceremony, she secretly turned her head to look in Jon's direction.
Compared to the large and powerful House Tyrell, Jon's side appeared rather small.
Under the White Wolf Banner, there were almost only him and two guards; Sansa and Arya still had to stand under the gray banner of Winterfell.
Margaery looked at Jon's profile and thought that his features were fairly well-defined, and he could be considered handsome. Moreover, she noticed that Jon seemed to be deep in thought about something.
The Tyrell also had many illegitimate children. Although their family was very lenient in its restrictions on illegitimate children, they were not allowed to appear on any important occasions.
The Stark of Winterfell must feel the same way. Margaery thought it was truly remarkable that such a despicable bastard had managed to rise to this position.
Suddenly, Margaery saw that Jon had turned to look at her, and their eyes collided like a runaway carriage.
Margaery didn't shy away like most girls would; instead, she returned a smile, and Jon nodded back.
Mace seemed to realize something at this moment, glanced back at Margaery, and then followed Margaery's gaze to Jon.
Seeing that Jon dared to covet his daughter, a nameless rage surged within him. He glared at Jon, then subtly moved between them, standing until Jon obediently turned away before whispering to Margaery, "That bastard is wicked beyond measure. I knew he wasn't a good person when we attacked King's Landing. After the coronation, you must stay close to me and don't let him have a chance to get near you!"
"Yes, Father," Margaery replied softly, but the image of those gray eyes kept flashing through her mind.
She clearly remembered that Jon was the same age as her, and that noble youths of the same or similar age as her would generally show expressions of surprise, experience, or even greed upon seeing her, something Margaery had long since grown tired of.
Jon's eyes, however, were calm, yet held a wisdom and a maturity far beyond his years; the brilliance in them was something she had only ever seen in her grandmother Olenna's eyes.
Just as Margaery was savoring that brief eye contact, she was suddenly interrupted by the Red Priest surrounding Stannis.
They wiped their hands on the longswords, and with a loud bang, all of the dozen or so swords burst into flames.
Those who were initially dissatisfied with the coronation ceremony of the Red God now felt a sense of awe.
The Red Priest, brandishing flaming swords, surrounded Stannis in the center, Stannis shadow flickering on the ground in the firelight.
Before him, Melisandre with her arms outstretched, chanting in Valyrian and the distant Asshai'i.
As Melisandre chanted, the flames on those longswords gradually turned blood red, and suddenly she faced Stannis.
Stannis seemed to receive some kind of signal, and drew his Lightbringer. Although the Lightbringer did not burst into flames like other ordinary longswords, it shone brightly with red and yellow light.
This caused everyone's expression to change simultaneously.
Sansa, needless to say, was well-behaved from the very beginning.
Arya was also stunned, and her restless hands and feet stood obediently.
Mace stopped complaining, and even Olenna had lived a long and seen a lot, was deeply attracted.
At that moment, Jon noticed that Melisandre's red gemstone necklace was also radiating light.
Not only the nobles who were standing closest to the scene, but even the common people who were far away were stunned by what they saw.
After all, the Seven have never performed any miracles over the years; on the contrary, the Lord of Light seems more powerful and reliable at the moment.
Moreover, when the Red Priest proclaimed the Lord of Light, he always spoke of light and warmth.
Some elderly people who have experienced winter and know how cold and difficult it is have begun to waver.
Melisandre then took out a crown inlaid with rubies, held it high above Stannis's head, and began to sing.
The first time it was Asshai'i, the second time Valyrian, and the third time the Common Tongue.
The first two times, no one could understand it, but the third time, they understood it clearly.
We mortals, born alone and dying alone, are lost and bewildered, wandering in the secluded valley.
Fortunately, we have our compatriots, gathered together to travel; fortunately, God blesses us.
When the third prayer ended, the ruby crown was finally placed on Stannis's bald head, obscuring the light in the center of his head.
The shadow cast by the crown perfectly matched the ring of hair around his head.
It's as if he shaved his head just to make room for Wang Guanteng.
After the coronation ceremony, Jon Sansa, Sansa, Arya, and Jeyne Poole sat in the same carriage.
In the carriage, Sansa couldn't stop praising Margaery's beauty. For the first time since realizing that she was also beautiful, this was the first time she had felt somewhat insecure about her appearance.
"Jon, you must find a way to marry her. You're a duke now, you're perfectly worthy of her," Sansa said earnestly.
"You make it sound like the House Tyrell would definitely agree. His Majesty has already said that I'll most likely marry that House Tyrell next to her. As expected of my sister, she's always thinking of the best for me," Jon teased, pinching Sansa's rounder cheek.
Sansa shyly pushed Jon's hand away and said, "That won't do. Don't worry, I'll help you."
"You'll help me?"
"I'm sure I can do it, Cersei —I know how to talk to her anyway." Sansa looked at Arya and said, "Arya, you'll have to come with me."
"No, I want to learn how to add flames to weapons!" Arya shook her head, still immersed in the magical effects of the coronation ceremony she had just witnessed.
Sansa wanted to criticize Arya, but then she remembered Eddard's dying wish and decided against it.
Just then, a face appeared outside the carriage window. Although the name was unknown, the ears revealed that it was a knight from the House Florent.
The young knight leaned against the carriage window and said in a low voice, "Your Grace, the Queen asked me to tell you that you must pay attention at the banquet, as she will create an opportunity for you and Miss Margaery to meet."
After saying this, the young knight left.