The Master Manipulator

Davos entered the Red Keep and looked at the flags fluttering overhead; they were not much different from when he first saw it more than a decade ago.

Apart from the extra fiery red heart, Davos still felt that the old flag was cleaner and purer.

He desperately wanted to tell Stannis that it wasn't the Seven's fault that his parents perished in Shipbreaker Bay; after all, everyone faces storms.

But seeing Melisandre and Stannis grow closer and closer, and her own status rise higher and higher, Davos knew that his advice might not be of much use.

Moreover, he didn't have any particular motivation to do it.

Not long ago, his title was changed from knight to knight, so Davos can now be called "Onion Knight".

However, perhaps he should be called "Sir Blackwater," since Stannis has now put him in charge of the Blackwater waterway.

The captain could still vaguely recall the first time he met Stannis, when Stannis was just a seventeen-year-old boy trapped in Storm's End.

He himself was a smuggler.

Unexpectedly, fate had taken a different turn. The calm-faced boy had grown into a man and then a king, and now this smuggler from Flea Bottom had transformed into the adult the common people spoke of.

Davos sometimes thought that if his father, who had perished at sea, knew that his son had actually come to this point, he would probably be overjoyed and swim up from the bottom of the ocean.

"Never mind, I'd better not let him know," Davos thought cheerfully.

Since Stannis has bestowed such honor upon me, I should repay him with an equal return.

Looking across the Seven Kingdoms, only Jon seems to share a similar fate, though Jon's destiny is far more legendary. Regardless, Davos believes Jon should, like himself, prioritize loyalty above all else.

Halfway there, Davos frowned again, remembering Varys's words from not long ago—

Everything Jon has now is both a gift from Stannis and something he earned himself. In some ways, Stannis needs him more than Jon needs Stannis.

In particular, he mentioned that the House Tyrell was very likely to corrupt Jon.

Davos thought about it carefully and realized that this was indeed the case.

"Perhaps Jon is still kind-hearted now," but he will be married to Tyrell in the future. Won't the House Tyrell influence him?

With this in mind, Davos was somewhat worried, because from the very beginning, almost everyone had been taking advantage of this young man.

To this day, Jon has only a title; he owns no land and no castle of his own.

This is somewhat unfair to Davos, who is now the greatest contributor to the Iron Throne. Of course, he has gained official status and become Stark, but Varys ' warning forces Davos to consider the possibility of Jon "corrupting" in the future.

He hoped to persuade Stannis, even if it was just an empty promise, to do more for Jon, to make Jon see the current difficulties of Stannis' court, and not to change his mind so easily.

Davos pondered for a moment, and soon he arrived at Maegor's Holdfast. The guards at the corner saluted him, Davos nodded and straightened his clothes.

Stannis was naturally also keeping an eye on the battle at Golden Tooth. When Davos entered the study, Stannis, Hand of the King Alester, Varys, Master of Coin Adrian, and the now much older Pycelle were already there.

"I'm late, Your Majesty."

"It's alright, have a seat," Stannis said casually.

Seeing that all the important ministers had arrived, Pycelle explained the day's agenda to everyone.

"Lord Tywin still hasn't given in; he remains adamant—"

"Tywin is no longer a duke, old maester," Davos offered a kind correction.

"Oh, sorry." Pycelle gave Davos a grateful look. To be honest, he quite admired Tywin, and sometimes he would make slips of the tongue.

Fortunately, Stannis didn't seem to mind and simply gestured for him to continue reading.

Stannis actually preferred a younger Grand Maester, but according to the old rules, he couldn't change Grand Maester at will unless Pycelle died. But that old fellow was just too long-lived, having outlived five or six kings.

Pycelle continued in his aged voice, "Tywin hasn't budged yet. He's only agreed to forgive the royal family's debt of three million Gold Dragon. His other conditions are the return of Cersei and Jaime, and Jon's army must leave the Westerlands. Only then will he agree to pledge allegiance to His Majesty."

"Hmph, this old fellow seems to have lost his sense of the situation, daring to make such a request," Paxter said disdainfully.

He glanced furtively at Stannis, Stannis expression also looked grim.

He seems quite dissatisfied with Tywin's almost provocative conditions. If he were to agree to Tywin's terms, what kind of just king would he be?

In particular, the House Lannister committed such acts that tainted the royal bloodline and reputation, and Tywin himself led his troops to wantonly slaughter the civilians of the Riverlands and joined forces with the Tyrell to attack his own army.

Any one of these offenses alone would be a capital offense, yet they still dare to continue to act so defiantly; Stannis is absolutely unwilling to accept this.

"Since that's his attitude, then let Jon continue fighting." Stannis's voice was like icy rain.

At that moment, Davos, who was standing nearby, suddenly remembered something and asked Alester, "My Lord Hand, does Jon know about our Tywin?"

"Of course not, Casterly Rock is communicating directly with us," Alester said matter-of-factly.

"Shouldn't we tell Jon?" Davos looked at Stannis. "After all, he's the one who directly confronted the Westerlands on the battlefield, and he just breached Golden Tooth. We should let him know."

"Sir Davos, Jon should just focus on fighting. There's no need for him to know about these things," Alester said.

"Why shouldn't Jon know? Wasn't he appointed Lord of Casterly Rock by His Majesty? Aren't we talking about changing his fiefdom?" Davos's tone was full of incomprehension.

"Have you considered that if Jon knew we were talking with Tywin, would he still be willing to risk his life for His Majesty?"

As soon as Alester finished speaking, he immediately sensed that the atmosphere around him was a bit strange.

Isn't it rather dishonorable to plot against a general who is fighting on the front lines in such a dark way?

Alester saw that Davos was clearly angry, while Varys remained indifferent, looking away.

"Your Majesty, this is not what you intended, is it?" Davos looked at Stannis with some resentment.

Stannis didn't answer, Davos felt that he, like that flag, had "changed his mind."

"Your Majesty, how could you deceive your subjects? This is pure manipulation!" Davos's voice was filled with disappointment.

Sir Davos! Watch your tone when you speak to His Majesty!

Alester offered a reminder, but Davos ignored him, staring intently into Stannis's deep blue eyes as if searching for the answer he sought.

Faced with his ministers' relentless questioning, Stannis began to lose face.

"That's right, I didn't intend to let Jon know, but do you really think he can breach Casterly Rock? Have you ever been to Casterly Rock? I have!"

"Casterly Rock has two hundred giant crossbows, each over four meters wide and capable of shooting four hundred paces! Their food reserves can last for over a decade, and their water source is rainfall. They're impenetrable, and you can't starve them to death. How do you think we should attack them?!" Stannis was also somewhat displeased, after all, it was he who ultimately decided not to tell Jon that they were talking to Tywin.

"But why don't you tell him? I believe Jon would understand!" Davos's voice trailed off.

Although Davos had never entered Casterly Rock, he had seen Casterly Rock; it was a castle carved into a rocky mountain, the mountain being the castle, and the castle being the mountain.

He couldn't figure out how to take down a magnificent city that rose more than two hundred feet (forty or fifty meters) high, no matter how hard he racked his brains.

Seeing Davos's tone soften, Stannis continued, "Now that he's breached Golden Tooth Golden Tooth, I'll give him all the gold mines around it, the gold mines in Castamere, and all the gold mines he can conquer. That should be fine, right?! And I'll even give him tax exemptions! He won't need to pay me a single Gold Dragon for the next ten years!"

Stannis's tone was somewhat agitated, and Davos knew that his king was struggling internally.

On the one hand, doing so was indeed contrary to his moral values; on the other hand, as king, if he wanted to stabilize the country, he had no other good way.

"For a bastard to receive such a promise from His Majesty is already incredibly lucky," Alester chimed in from the side.

"Prejudice in people's hearts is a mountain." Davos suddenly recalled Jon's words. He looked at Alester and said sarcastically, "At least this bastard didn't go so far as to collude with the enemy for a piece of land."

"What did you say!" Seeing his past exposed, Alester was also a little embarrassed.

"Enough!" Stannis found that his Small Council were never pleasant.

"That's settled then. Let Jon continue the fight. If he can truly take Casterly Rock, I will not break my promise." Stannis stood up and left the Small Council alone.

Everyone else also quickly stood up and bowed slightly to Stannis.

Watching Stannis's departing figure, Davos really didn't know what to say.

He still believed that they should tell Jon about their talks with Tywin, rather than so rudely undermining the trust between the king and his subject.