The Reclusive King

There was not a breath of wind in the sky King's Landing, Fiery Heart Stag Banner that represented the Iron Throne hung limply.

After a year of recovery, King's Landing's Landing has failed to regain its former prosperity. Some astute merchants estimate that King's Landing's population may have fallen below 500,000, or even continues to decline.

At the gates of King's Landing, one could see many commoners leaving with their families and carrying large bags and bundles.

Even some nobles are fleeing King's Landing.

Rising food prices have made it impossible for many people to continue living in King's Landing.

The speed at which food prices have soared is terrifying. The Reach, which used to sell large quantities of food, not only stopped selling food more than half a year ago, but also started buying it up in large quantities. In addition, the population of the Riverlands had suffered heavy losses in the previous war, which made food prices in King's Landing's Landing even higher, almost four times the price before Robert died.

Fortunately, the Twins was expanding its territory and increasing its power, and Riverrun was also seeking to increase its population. They had been secretly recruiting people in the Crownlands for a long time, so there was no chance of any riots.

All of this was done quietly, and Stannis, faced with a mountain of problems, had no energy left to deal with it. The Red Keep was almost completely unaware of these events.

Stannis, in particular, is now facing far more pressing issues; the mere trouble of population loss is not even worth mentioning on his desk.

Has Your Majesty still not eaten anything?

Having been released from confinement, Selyse, accompanied by her daughter Shireen and adopted son Robin Arryn, arrived at Stannis's room and asked Stannis's servants what was happening. There stood a dozen fully armed guards.

The dark room and the cold armor made it almost impossible to breathe.

Robin was even younger than Shireen, felt his legs spinning. In fact, he disliked everything about King's Landing, from the city's strong smells to the strict rules of the Red Keep. What frightened him most was the king's ugly daughter, especially since he had to leave his mother.

For the first two days after King's Landing, he always liked to snuggle into the arms of the nuns and handmaids and ask for milk.

Stannis was shocked to see a seven- or eight-year-old child trying to nurse from a woman's breasts, and he immediately had his guards begin teaching the child martial arts.

However, no one is paying attention to how an adopted son feels right now; Stannis is in the same state as he was after the defeat at Blackwater.

He locked himself in his room, refusing to eat, drink, or speak, as if processing the horrifying news alone— Eddard Stark's bastard son was actually the son of Rhaegar, the Targaryen Dynasty crown prince!

This was Robert's "designated" rapist.

Stannis had a strong feeling of being "tricked". He had thought that although Jon was good at fighting, he had a weak foothold in the Westerlands and that he could control him by the issue of legitimacy.

But Eddard Stark, the universally acknowledged honest man of the Seven Kingdoms, managed to deceive everyone.

However, Stannis would certainly not admit it. Even if Jon was Rhaegar's son, he was still born from Rhaegar's rape of Lyanna and could not be considered the rightful heir.

This time, Stannis finally possessed the Iron Throne, and regardless of how he acquired Iron Throne, he was far from being in dire straits like he was after his defeat at Blackwater.

Before locking himself in his room, he issued summons to the Crownlands, the Vale, the Stormlands, Dorne, and House Frey.

He was waiting, ready to strike down the traitor in Casterly Rock as soon as the army arrived.

But this is destined to be a difficult war. Not to mention the massive army in the South, even just how to breach Casterly Rock is a huge problem.

Without the advantage of a fleet, Jon's method of conquering Casterly Rock could not be replicated.

Let alone conquering Casterly Rock, they might not even be able to break into Golden Tooth.

Stannis locked himself away, not only to process the news that Jon was Targaryen, but also to think about how to defeat him.

However, defeating the other half of the kingdom with half of it is no less difficult Robert seizing the Iron Throne.

"No, His Majesty only drank some wine," the maid replied helplessly. They had tried everything, but Stannis wouldn't even open the door, let alone eat anything.

Little Stannis, serving as a squire, stood at his door, and no one was allowed to enter without the king's order.

"Get out of the way," Selyse commanded, but Little Stannis simply shook his head.

"Get out of the way!" Selyse's voice was like a whip, but Little Stannis remained unmoved.

A bright red handprint immediately appeared on Little Stannis's face, looking quite glaring.

Shireen nearby, was startled by her mother's rough behavior and instinctively covered her mouth, which was hidden behind her veil. Young Robin trembled even more.

"I'll say it again! Get out of the way!" Selyse threatened again, her voice like icy rain, somewhat reminiscent of Stannis.

Little Stannis was terrified. He was only thirteen or fourteen years old, and despite his trembling legs, he didn't budge an inch in the face of Selyse's coercion.

Just as Selyse was about to order her guards to act, Stannis's voice came from inside. "Let me have some peace and quiet! Can't you understand me?!"

Upon hearing Stannis's voice, everyone fell silent.

Selyse spoke up, "Your Majesty! Brightwater Keep has fallen, and my uncle is being held captive in Casterly Rock. You need to pull yourself together; the nation needs you!"

"Do I need to interrupt?! Don't I know what to do?! Get out of here! Don't make me say it twice!" This time, Stannis's voice was almost a roar.

Selyse outside the door looked embarrassed, her thin face even paler.

The guards around Stannis quickly looked away to avoid embarrassing the queen, upon hearing his blunt words.

However, Selyse did not respond. Just a short while later, Stannis heard the knocking on the door again.

It was this seemingly gentle knock that ignited Stannis's fury.

He strode to the door, flung it open with such force that it seemed he was going to tear it apart. His blue pupils were bloodshot, like an angry stag surveying the jungle.

Just as he was about to roar, he couldn't see the person knocking on the door.

Looking down, Shireen held a bowl of warm meat porridge and looked up, saying, "Father, please eat something. Mother and I are very worried about you—"

Inside the room, Stannis finished a large bowl of meat porridge in no time. The warmth of the porridge seemed to melt away the ice in his heart, and he finally let down his guard in front of his delicate daughter.

"Shireen, do you think I'm a good king?"

"Father?" Shireen hadn't expected her stern father to ask her such a question, and for a moment she felt inexplicably shy and nervous.

"I hope you can be happier—Father." Shireen's voice was soft, her head bowed, not daring to say anything more.

However, Stannis was not in the mood to listen to his daughter's comforting words, and instead got up and left without hesitation.

Shireen watched her father's retreating figure, wondering if she had said something wrong.

But she didn't dare ask.

After Stannis left, Selyse went to Shireen's side and asked her what she had just said to Stannis.

When Selyse learned that her daughter had said such a trivial thing, Selyse was very disappointed.

"I think your brain has been infected with this stone (Greyscale) disease too. When your father asked you if he was a good king, you could have just praised him. Why did you have to say such things?"

"I----"

"Looks like I'll have to find someone to teach you this."

Looking at her ugly daughter, Selyse realized that although she was ugly, she would still have to please men in the future, and she would have to pay attention to cultivating this aspect of her daughter.

Soon, Stannis convened a Small Council.

As soon as the meeting began, Stannis bombarded Oberyn with questions about how many soldiers Dorne could provide for the Iron Throne.

"Your Majesty, Dorne has the smallest population of the Seven Kingdoms, but it can still field an army of ten thousand men, and ten thousand of them are valiant warriors."

"Hmm." Stannis nodded. He thought the number was reasonable. After Dorne was located at the southernmost tip of the Seven Kingdoms, and considering the population and distance limitations, ten thousand people was indeed a lot.

"Prince Oberyn, I don't think you'd believe what that bastard and that whore have to say, would you?" Stannis asked again.

Upon hearing this, Pycelle Grand Maester, Treasurer Adrian, Garrison Commander Axell, and Intelligence Minister Varys all sat up straight and glanced at Oberyn.

After all, Dorne was a staunch King's faction, standing in opposition to Robert's rebellion. After Robert declared his claim to the Iron Throne, Dorne ignored the Baratheon court, merely submitting a letter of submission and making no further moves.

Oberyn glanced at the people around him, then a sly smile appeared on his face. He leaned forward, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole.

"Your Majesty, the House Martell initially supported the Targaryen because the Mad King Aerys used my sister as leverage, claiming that protecting the Targaryen crown was essentially protecting my nephew Young Griff's crown. Now, Jon has named his son Aegon, but this Aegon has no relation to Dorne whatsoever. If, as he claims, he is the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, isn't Lyanna indirectly responsible for my sister Elia's death? How could Martell be on his side?"

Oberyn's self-justification was convincing, and Stannis's self-illumination also faded away.

In fact, Oberyn not only wouldn't support Jon, but he also intended to fob Stannis off.

Since the Targaryen lost their dragons, the crown of the Seven Kingdoms has lost much of its weight.

Now that it has been defiled by Baratheon, the Dornishmen can simply block the Prince's Pass Dorne ignore everyone else.

At least from Oberyn's perspective, neither Jon nor Stannis was worth Dorne's attention.