Stannis's Strategy for the Vale

"Under the sea, mermaids drink starfish soup, and their servants are all crabs, I know, I know, oh oh oh."

In the gardens of the Red Keep, a jester dressed in baggy, comical clothes, resembling a clown, is teasing a richly dressed little girl in front of him.

The little girl has a pair of bright blue eyes, but there are unsightly scars on her face that cannot be ignored.

This jester, with his broad face and shaved head, had red and white checkered tattoos on his face that looked like patches on his clothes, hence his nickname "Patchface." His real name has long been lost to history.

After jumping around for a while, the jester bent over, propped himself up on his knees, and panted heavily, saying, "Oh dear, I can't take it anymore, my Patchface is getting old, my Patchface is getting old."

"Then you should rest for a bit, I'll pour you some tea."

Seeing the little girl about to pour him tea, Patchface quickly stepped forward to stop her. "Good heavens, I don't have the honor of having a princess pour me tea. Patchface was bought by the princess's grandfather, and Patchface will always be with Princess Shireen."

A jester with tattoos on his face bows to a little girl, looking comically like a fat squirrel.

The little girl wore a blue veil, the color of which perfectly complemented her blue eyes, and giggled as the jester amused her.

She smiled, and the jester smiled along with her, but a hint of pity flickered in his eyes. He truly hoped to see this sickly princess grow up, marry, and have children one day.

"The princess's eyes are so beautiful, like the first blueberry of summer," the jester remarked, causing the young princess to blush.

However, the gray, scaly scars on her face were quite unsightly. It was precisely because of these scars that she, as a princess, had no female companions. From childhood to adulthood, she only had this jester, whom her grandfather had bought from Volantis, as her friend.

Just as the master and servant were having a good time, they suddenly heard footsteps.

Shireen and Patchface turned around and saw a tall man with similar blue eyes appear behind them.

"Father, Father, King!" Shireen greeted him cautiously, her voice tinged with a hint of excitement.

Shireen heard that her father had inherited the Iron Throne from her uncle Robert in King's Landing and become the new King of Westeros, but had left her on Dragonstone for more than half a year.

She always thought that her father disliked her because of her face, which was why he was reluctant to take her with him. Even the servants on Dragonstone would gossip about it.

But now that she had finally arrived in King's Landing, the rumors had been dispelled, and her king father had not rejected her, which made Shireen feel very happy these days.

Shireen looked at Stannis with great anticipation, waiting for him to speak, wanting to know what her father would say to her.

But when he saw the imposing guards behind Stannis, he couldn't help but lower his head.

Shireen had seen far too many of them intentionally or unintentionally avoid her gaze.

Shireen stood there waiting for an unknown amount of time before Stannis finally spoke, "Patchface, you should go back to Dragonstone in a while and retire there."

The king's voice was like the sound of a hammer forging—short, but forceful and unyielding.

Upon hearing Stannis's decision, Patchface was taken aback for a moment, but then respectfully accepted it.

Shireen, however, was somewhat panicked. Her only friend was about to be sent away, leaving her all alone in King's Landing. How lonely she would be!

As Stannis approached, he looked at Shireen and said, "Shireen, from today onwards, you will work as my sommelier and learn how to handle state affairs."

"Handling state affairs?" For Shireen, who was not yet ten years old, this word was quite distant, but since it was her father's order, she chose to agree.

After saying that, Stannis turned and left, leaving Shireen standing there as usual, looking lost and bewildered like a fawn that had lost its way.

It wasn't until Varys stepped forward and reminded her that she should follow behind Stannis that she hurriedly quickened her pace.

Shireen had a hard time keeping up with her father's brisk pace, and by the time they arrived at the Tower of the Hand, Shireen felt breathless.

After they went upstairs, Shireen felt even more dizzy.

Shireen noticed at some point that she had a teapot in her hand.

She couldn't quite remember when her father started discussing matters with his ministers; she simply did her best to fulfill her duties as a wine server.

Until she saw a familiar face— the Onion Knight.

Davos gave Shireen a gentle smile, which calmed her down. Once she was calm, Shireen dared to pay attention to what Stannis and his ministers were discussing.

"Now that he has conquered the Iron Islands, let him King's Landing."

The Iron Islands? Shireen only knew that the Iron Islands were very far away, separated from Dragonstone by the entirety of Westeros. The Onion Knight told her that there were many terrible pirates there. Who had breached the Iron Islands?

"But Your Majesty, Margaery is due to give birth in about a month. Is it perhaps inappropriate to summon Jon now?"

Shireen turned her head and saw that the one who spoke was the same chubby minister who had just reminded her.

"Is it appropriate to disobey the king's orders?" Stannis retorted, Shireen couldn't help but shiver, feeling the temperature in the room drop slightly.

"Your Majesty, why don't you allow me to go to Casterly Rock as an envoy?" Davos suddenly said, while gesturing to Shireen to pour tea for Master of Coin Adrian.

"Jon has just eliminated a usurper for you. He wants me to go there and return to King's King's Landing with him after his child is born. This will also demonstrate the royal family's respect and benevolence."

Stannis looked at Davos and said, "This is the last time you'll speak well of this bastard in front of me, understand?"

Seeing the Onion Knight's furrowed brows and tense expression, Shireen felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

Having made a temporary decision regarding Jon, Stannis also expressed his interest in the Vale.

Stormlands is a place that Baratheon has ruled for three hundred years. Although Stannis himself is not popular, his dominance over Stormlands is beyond question.

Even if one is not physically present in Stormlands, one can still gain the support of the Stormlands lords.

As for the Crownlands, needless to say, the king himself is stationed here. Right now, the most needed to win over is the Vale Kingdom, one of the only two intact kingdoms among the Seven Kingdoms, and which is also close enough to the core of the Seven Kingdoms.

"I intend to take Duke Arryn's orphan under my care and raise him. What do you all think?" Stannis said, addressing the Hand of the King.

Jon's power has grown faster than anyone expected, and in order to counterbalance him, the Iron Throne must ensure its control over the Vale.

Shireen didn't know who Arryn's orphan was, or whether it was a boy or a girl; she was still trying to remember who this Duke Arryn was.

Oh, right, my uncle's adoptive father.

Shireen tried hard to think, trying to make herself appear smarter.

"Your Majesty, I think this is acceptable. After all, King Robert had the same idea back then, but he sent it to Lord Tywin of the Westerlands," Grand Maester Pycelle said.

Stannis had already condemned the rebellious Tywin as a traitor, so he shouldn't have continued to bestow honorifics upon him. However, Pycelle was simply too old, and no one bothered him with such a minor detail.

"I think that's a good idea too. Shireen needs a playmate." Davos looked again at the little girl not far from him. In fact, he was very happy that Stannis had decided to raise Shireen as his successor.

"Playmate?" When Shireen heard Davos say that, a sense of anticipation welled up inside her, but she subconsciously touched the scar on her face.

Her third uncle once said, "A child this ugly would be better off dead."

"I just don't know if Lysa would be willing. After all, we can't take a mother's son away from her, can we? Besides, she's a widow."

This time, it was former Master of Coin Ardrian Celtigar who spoke.

Adrian was over fifty years old, and his ornately decorated Red Crab had also perished in the Battle of the Blackwater. He always hoped that Stannis could give him some compensation.

But this guy was such a spoilsport; Stannis really disliked him, and if you think about it carefully, he was practically speaking up for Jon.

If it weren't for the fact that the House Celtigar were former Targaryen subjects, Stannis wouldn't need to keep an eye on them to prevent them from getting in his way.

Once Jon becomes the steward of Dragonstone, we'll banish this guy from King's Landing.

Stannis glanced at Adrian but said nothing, and the others wouldn't take his statement seriously either.

Lysa currently only holds the title of Lady of the the Eyrie. If managed properly, she could even be married off, completely stripping her of her influence over the Vale.

"If Your Majesty trusts me, then I can teach the boy some spear techniques I learned in the East," Oberyn said, indicating that he also agreed to Stannis's plan.

His presence in King's King's Landing on behalf of Sunspear was to benefit Martell, and opposing Stannis clearly wouldn't bring him any advantage.

Stannis's proposal was quickly approved unanimously. The next question was: who should be appointed as the guardian of the Vale?

When the War of the Five Kings first broke out, Lysa neither responded to Stannis nor even to Catelyn, her own sister's plea for help.

Everyone agreed that the army in the Vale should not be allowed to be controlled by a woman any longer.

In the Vale, besides the Arryn, the next family to be mentioned is the House Royce.

The House Royce House Royce of Runestone also wields considerable influence in the Vale, making them an ideal choice for a Vale Guardian.

Of course, Stannis, who has always preferred to make his own decisions, already had a good candidate in mind, and this person was even on his way to King's Landing's Landing.

He is the patriarch of House Royce in Runestone, known as Bronze Yohn.

Besides the House Royce's influence in the Vale, Stannis had another consideration in choosing him: Loras Tyrell had killed Joel Royce's son in a fit of rage.

The reason is that his son failed to protect Renly.

Given the deep-seated blood feud House Royce and House Tyrell, Stannis believed they would be more loyal to him.

Soon, the Small Council will conclude, and Davos will travel with Melisandre to Casterly Rock to request Jon to come to King's Landing's Dragonstone.

Lysa's son, Robin Arryn, is coming to King's Landing to become Stannis's adopted son.

Joel Royce will become the next Guardian of the Vale.

After everyone else had left, only Stannis and his daughter remained.

Shireen was visibly nervous when alone with her stern-faced father.

Next is the teaching assessment.

Stannis tried to catch his daughter's gaze with his blue eyes, but the nervous Shireen kept looking away, which disappointed him.

"Look at me, Shireen."

"Father." Shireen looked at Stannis, her eyes no longer daring to look away, but she didn't dare to raise her head and meet her father's gaze.

"Tell me, why did I send Seaworth and Priestess Melisandre to Casterly Rock to summon Jon to King's King's Landing?"

Shireen thought for a moment and said, "Because, because he is very important."

Stannis didn't answer immediately, but looked at her quietly. Shireen knew her father wasn't satisfied with her answer, so she added, "Because Father needs him."

"Because I didn't want him to refuse." Stannis finally accepted the fact that his daughter wasn't a genius and gave his final answer.

In his view, Jon certainly didn't know that he was planning to appoint him as steward of Dragonstone. With such a sudden attack, coupled with Davos and Melisandre personally representing him, if Jon disobeyed his orders again like he did in the Iron Islands, then he would have a reason to punish him.

"Continue, tell me why I appointed Yorn as the Guardian of the Vale?"

"Because Sir Jon was more loyal?"

"It's because Lysa, as the Lady of the the Eyrie, should have fulfilled the responsibilities of Arryn, but she didn't."

Shireen was sweating profusely after failing to answer two questions in a row.

"Shireen, remember this: a person should do what is expected of them in their position, otherwise the world will descend into chaos. If you become queen, you must also do what you are supposed to do, punishing those who are incompetent, or even those who usurp and overstep their authority. Only in this way can you be a good king. Do you understand?"

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