Wolverine?

He was unhurt, but had been splashed all over with blood.

The lightly "battle-damaged" Earl Titus walked casually out of the alley without looking back.

The carriage, which Bowen had already instructed to circle around, soon drew near. The Peake Soldiers climbed down, ready to stow their fresh captive.

As for the bodies? Naturally, the City Watch would come out and clean up themselves.

A busy day was over.

The sky was darkening. It was time to head back...

That evening.

Having just finished dinner, Titus reflected that the King's Landing City Watch worked far more efficiently than he had initially estimated.

At least, that was true of the Gold Cloak captain before him.

Jacelyn Bywater was on the tall side, with a prominent brow, deep-set eyes, brown hair, and a broad jaw.

Sitting behind the dining table without the slightest intention of rising, Titus first glanced at Ser Jacelyn's right hand, then wiped his mouth before speaking:

"...Yes, just as my guard captain said, we were robbed by those bandits posing as Gold Cloaks while we were out shopping this afternoon. Had my guards not been quite capable, an Earl from the Reach might already have died in a dark alley in King's Landing."

He smiled, putting pressure on the Gold Cloak captain who had come on a routine visit to inquire about the "alley killings."

"If that had really happened, surely even your immediate superior couldn't have answered for it, ser?"

Jacelyn was rigid, but no fool. He knew perfectly well that a case as serious as a visiting Earl dying on the streets of King's Landing would be enough to remove anyone below the commander of the City Watch.

So he ignored the Earl of Starpike's tone and choice of words, as well as the alley that resembled the scene of a massacre. Very politely, he assured him that they would carefully investigate whether the dead men had any accomplices and do everything possible to ensure the Earl's safety in King's Landing, and so on.

Only nine bodies lay there, though, clearly leaving one man unaccounted for... Jacelyn dared not dwell on it and soon took his leave of the Earl.

Only then did Titus become courteous, rising to see the Gold Cloak captain, who hailed from a Crownlands family, out of his temporarily rented courtyard residence.

In truth, he was not afraid of a real investigation either.

House Peake took in people of all kinds and constantly recruited new blood. By now, every one of them was a talent, with extremely extensive experience in committing crimes, and they had cleaned up quite thoroughly.

Besides, wasn't he the victim?

Before dinner, they had already extracted the identity of their employer from the Gold Cloak Bowen had deliberately left alive-

A burly man in a heavy robe, generous with his money, with a deep, peculiar voice.

The man called himself "Logan" and had asked them to "invite" Titus over for a talk.

Honestly, those Gold Cloaks had been terribly unlucky. Before resorting to force, they had never expected Titus's side to react so violently.

As for Logan?

I might as well be Iron Man Stark.

Titus knew that this was not "Wolverine" transmigrating into this world, but an alias used by Varys, the Red Keep's Master of Whisperers.

This spymaster from Essos was very capable. At present, he was rapidly learning about the Red Keep's secret passages from the Mad King. He had yet to cultivate enough "Little Birds," which was probably why he had taken action in person.

He could disguise himself as different people, changing even his appearance, scent, and manner of walking.

That inevitably reminded Titus of the "Faceless Men" assassins who worshipped the "Many-Faced God" in Braavos's House of Black and White... No, he was not that formidable yet. At most, he was on the level of Qarth's "Sorrowful Men."

Perhaps Varys still believed his identity had not been exposed?

In any case, he was a talent.

This time, however, Varys had very unwisely provoked him.

Titus thought:

It isn't time to make contact with this eunuch of mysterious origins yet.

Who knows whether he shaves his head to conceal his hair color?

It's all trouble anyway.

He could no longer wait for the dawdling Reach delegation. He had to go ahead and leave King's Landing as soon as possible.

Having made his decision, Titus addressed his guard captains:

"Take note. These are my arrangements..."

I know this drill, Parker thought. He was just about to step forward and commit it all to memory when, a moment later, his jaw dropped.

Beside him, Wenda turned her little hand over and actually produced a small, exquisite notebook.

Hey, we're all captains, and you're only a deputy. Do you have to be this outstanding?

Bowen stared with dead-fish eyes, his thoughts exactly the same as Captain Parker's.

He felt his position as "executive deputy captain" slipping away from him...

Titus paid them no mind. He gave Lady White Eagle another mental thumbs-up and casually began issuing instructions.

Oswin, who had once handled smuggling on the Wendwater for the Kingswood Brotherhood, would need to use his connections in the Crownlands to find ships for their party.

Titus planned to abandon the Kingsroad and travel directly by ship, heading upriver from Blackwater Bay to the Gods Eye beside Harrenhal.

In addition, Old Rolly, his son, and Jamie, who served under Wenda, would all be stationed permanently at Master Tobho's smithy. Jamie's family had been in business to begin with, and he knew basic writing, arithmetic, and bookkeeping. Now was the time to put him to use.

Titus would pay to place two other members of the original "musketeers," Andy and Gordon, in the Gold Cloaks, assigning them respectively to the City Watch's patrol squads and the gate guards. With hefty bribes, he would try to secure them squad captain positions.

Jack, who served under Parker, would also remain in the city with some of the soldiers.

They would attempt to establish an underworld force in Flea Bottom, King's Landing's slum with its motley population, while also secretly monitoring the movements of the former Brotherhood members.

It was rather amusing to think about: former outlaws had transformed into law enforcers in the royal capital, while guards from respectable families with clean backgrounds were getting involved in the underworld...

Titus had his reasons for these assignments.

Whether on the side of crime or the law, they all had bright futures ahead of them.

Once these hidden pieces he had planted in King's Landing had each established themselves.

Titus hoped to take things a step further. During the period when Rhaegar, Prince of Dragonstone, "disappeared," he would see whether he could purchase "decommissioned" warships from the Royal Fleet or the Dragonstone Fleet.

In his view, there was plenty of room to maneuver. He simply needed to proceed cautiously, one step at a time.

Tobho Mott, the foremost smith on the Street of Steel, had no idea that someone was already planning to use his name to facilitate arms dealing and even the smuggling of the realm's warships...

Still, Tobho need not worry about his life.

If it really came to light, House Peake had people on both sides of the law in King's Landing. They would certainly abduct him safely back to the Dornish Marches...

As it turned out.

The Ironborn Oswin was no less efficient than the Gold Cloak captain Jacelyn Bywater.

There was no need to wait until tomorrow. That very evening, he brought someone over.

Oswin introduced his old associate Davos Seaworth, an ordinary middle-aged man with brown hair, brown eyes, an unremarkable build, and a long, thick, brown-and-gray beard.

Born in Flea Bottom, the man had worked his way up entirely through his own efforts, making his start in smuggling. He now owned a two-masted ship with black sails called the Black Beth.

As a smuggler, Davos's business had grown ever larger, naturally inspiring thoughts of going legitimate and securing a respectable future for his family and descendants.

The transition was not easy, however. Though the job Oswin had brought him would not earn much, it was one of the few legitimate jobs he had managed to get lately.

Perhaps he could even use this opportunity to establish a connection with the Earl of Starpike?

An illustration of Titus's alley-fight "battle damage":