"Your Highness, it's time to leave."
Hannah, still shy after their first night together, gently pushed the prince.
Joffrey rolled over and pulled her into his arms. "Then let's go. The carriage can move on its own."
He was pleased with his body. Though only twelve, he stood a full five foot ten, and the rest of him had grown too.
Could that be the effect of Healing Magic?
Hannah still hesitated. "What if Lord Tywin sees us?"
Right. Joffrey remembered that he was supposed to have a proper talk with his grandfather today.
The eternal Hand of the King, Lord of Casterly Rock, Shield of Lannisport, and Warden of the West: Tywin Lannister, every inch a ruler. Those were some impressive titles.
The convoy moved out in good order.
Lord Tywin rode at its head, straight-backed and proud. Gold patterns adorned his deep-red armor, and a golden lion clasped a blood-red half-cape at his left shoulder.
Following behind, Joffrey had to admit the man cut an extraordinary figure. No wonder he had once ruled the Seven Kingdoms.
During a rest stop, Lord Tywin sat with several lords and knights.
Joffrey approached them.
Adam Marbrand greeted him. "Your Highness, do you have instructions for us?"
Joffrey knew him as one of the Westlands' finest and most charismatic young commanders. "My lords, I have important matters to discuss with my grandfather. Please give us a moment."
Everyone looked to Lord Tywin.
"You heard the prince." Tywin kept his eyes fixed on Joffrey.
The open wilderness was the perfect place to reveal a secret.
Joffrey came straight to the point. "Grandfather, you may not know this, but Uncle Jaime is my father."
He delivered the staggering revelation in the calmest of voices.
Lord Tywin's brows twitched violently.
"Joffrey, have you gone mad? How dare you spout such nonsense to my face!"
Joffrey immediately dropped another bombshell.
"Jon Arryn has already found clues. He and Stannis are plotting together."
Joffrey watched his grandfather closely. His expression had changed, but deep in his eyes, he was far too calm.
So Tywin knows everything.
Perhaps Jaime and Cersei's affair was why he had brought so many men to King's Landing—and why he was still wearing armor for the return journey.
But do you know this?
Joffrey laid down his final card. "In the next couple of days, the Hand of the King will be poisoned. He'll die in pain, but fully aware, with conclusive evidence in his possession."
Lord Tywin shot to his feet.
In the space of a few breaths, countless possibilities flashed through his mind. Disaster seemed unavoidable.
Yet Lord Tywin sat down again.
"Joffrey, stop this nonsense. At least think your stories through."
Tywin had not sent him away. Joffrey knew he was listening—and testing him.
"Grandfather, everyone has secrets. I've simply grown up."
Joffrey treated the whole exchange as a negotiation.
"You needn't be so tense. I also know that the Hand of the King won't reveal the secret. King Robert still suspects nothing."
"Joffrey, you're making all this up."
Joffrey sighed, a trace of sadness in his voice. "Grandfather. Lord Tywin. Must we speak to each other only through lies and deception?"
Tywin fell silent for a moment. Who had ever dared mention the rumors about the "golden twins" in his presence? Not even the Crown Prince could get away with it!
But with the Lannister family's survival at stake, none of that mattered.
The Lion of Lannister spoke as though issuing an order. "Continue."
Joffrey was not nervous in the least.
Of all the places he had been these past few days, this was the safest. He was surrounded by Lannisters: Cersei, Jaime, and Tywin.
As long as he was not foolish enough to reveal everything, who among them would want him dead?
It was time for Joffrey to invent another story.
"The Gods blessed me with a dream. I saw certain secrets."
"I couldn't believe it at first, but things that happened over the last few days matched what I saw."
He met Tywin's piercing gaze without a flicker of guilt.
"As a young lion of Lannister, I naturally have to think of the family. I can't stand by and watch an opportunity slip through our fingers."
"Grandfather, the Lannisters' standing for the next thousand years rests on your decision."
Tywin had many questions. But at such a critical moment, with the family's fate on his shoulders, he could not get caught up in pointless details.
"What do you intend to do? What else have you to say?"
"Grandfather, a change unlike any in a thousand years is coming. The Seven Kingdoms have been united under the Targaryens for nearly three centuries. From great lords to common folk, people have gradually come to see them as a single realm."
In a sense, the Targaryen Dynasty was the Qin Dynasty of Westeros Continent. It was simply less centralized and had lasted rather longer.
"The supreme power symbolized by the Iron Throne is enough to drive men mad. If a Baratheon can sit on it, why not someone from another family?"
Joffrey's expression turned grave.
"The lords will soon realize that the times have changed."
"War won't stop short as it did when the Andal Kings fought one another. Nor will the threat of dragons hold anyone back. This time, they'll destroy everything! Tear it out by the roots! Countless new versions of 'The Rains of Castamere' will be born!"
He paused briefly to steady his breathing.
"If that's how things stand, why shouldn't we go further? Do the Seven Kingdoms truly need so many liege lords and dukes? Can the lesser lords go on ruling their own lands as they please?"
"Does the name 'Seven Kingdoms' even mean anything anymore? Aren't we one kingdom beneath the Iron Throne?"
Even Lord Tywin could not help being shaken. Joffrey's ambitions reached that far!
With the stage set, Joffrey turned to temptation.
"Lannister should not stop at the Westlands! Grandfather, Highgarden, the seat of House Tyrell, and the fertile, flourishing lands of The Reach—don't they tempt you?"
Lord Tywin showed little reaction. "Enough fine words. Tell me something concrete."
Joffrey laid out his plan.
"War will break out within the year! You can prepare now: stockpile armor and weapons, and expand your standing forces."
"After Jon Arryn dies, the king will go north to Winterfell and appoint Lord Eddard to succeed him. At the same time, he'll betroth me to Lord Eddard's eldest daughter."
"Win the Direwolf's strength, and we'll have the support of The North, the Riverlands, and the Vale."
"The king will die at just the right moment."
"Then, with those four kingdoms and the Crownlands, we'll deal with Stannis and Renly first. After that, we'll bring our full strength against The Reach and intimidate Dorne. The Seven Kingdoms will be ours!"
"There's only one problem."
Joffrey was satisfied with everything except this one infuriating point. "My parentage."
"Quite a few people in King's Landing hope to use that secret to throw the Seven Kingdoms into chaos. We cannot make enemies of House Stark and give others an opening."
Lord Tywin gave no indication of what he thought.
Joffrey then came to the most immediate purpose of their conversation.
"After Lady Lysa poisons the Hand of the King, she'll take her son back to the Vale and shut herself away. But Littlefinger will persuade her to send House Stark a secret letter, framing us for the murder."
"The letter might reach Winterfell with the king's northbound convoy, or things might change. She might send a Message Raven, or have someone deliver the warning by word of mouth. I can't be certain."
"Grandfather," Joffrey said with a faint smile, "you'll find a way to stop them, won't you?"
Lord Tywin's face was unreadable. Nothing about him revealed whether he believed Joffrey.
"Joffrey, I won't ask about your secrets. The way you are now is better. I'll verify these claims myself. If they're true..."
The old lion looked at the young lion wearing a stag's hide.
"I will protect the family."
Jaime, Cersei, Tyrion—which of them can be my heir? And where is my grandson?
"Remember your blood. A lion is stronger and fiercer than a stag. Remember our words: 'Hear Me Roar!'"
Could Joffrey be the answer?
Watching his grandfather's tall figure turn to leave, Joffrey felt safer than ever.
"Don't make any big moves before the king dies, Grandfather."
He really is the king of the pride.
Joffrey felt a glimmer of belonging to the Lannister family.
When the convoy set off again, he returned to his carriage. He idly kneaded his little maid's soft, springy cheeks as he sank into thought.
Lord Tywin had been unexpectedly easy to talk to, and Joffrey had achieved everything he wanted today. With that done, he probably would not have to worry about his life for the next few years. He could focus on growing stronger.
Looking at it optimistically, taking the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros was only a matter of time.
As for what lay beyond Westeros...
He bent down and found his eyes a soft, warm blindfold.
It was only a minor move, irrelevant to the larger game, but success would still be welcome.
Elin, it's all up to you. You can do it.
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