The door of the preparation room was closed tightly, and there were sounds of rummaging through boxes and cabinets.
"Where is it... where is it...
The hunting dog lay on the ground, groping wildly with both hands like a real dog, and its ferocious burned face was even more distorted at this moment.
He has already gone through the entire preparation room three times.
He pushed the shelf holding weapons to the corner and threw everything on it to the ground.
He even picked up the dusty Chamber Pot in the corner and took a look at it, and then almost died of being smoked.
But I can't find it.
That Booklet... is missing.
"Impossible!" The hunting dog knelt on the ground, supporting the ground with his hands, and his eyes were as wide as bells. "It's obviously here... I kicked it away, it should be nearby here!"
He muttered something in his mouth and raised his head to look at the door, only to see that it was empty, with only a few scratches on the floor, probably from when he was rummaging through things just now.
"Fuck!"
The hunting dog punched the ground hard, remembering his kick just now.
How proud he was then, how regretful he is now.
Lyn Corbray's image of kneeling on the sand flashed over and over in his mind.
Who would have thought... who would have thought that damn Farmer could be so strong!
It was true that he had heard Corleone talk about what happened after the Magic Mountain was transformed, but Hound Dog only thought that the other party was exaggerating.
But with the kind of swordsmanship Corleone showed just now in Fighting Arena, he was almost defeated by the transformed Magic Mountain?
Then am I not fucking useless!
"Where is it..." Thinking of this, the hunting dog started to search frantically again. This time he even reached into the mouse hole in the corner and dug out. "Where is it! You damn Booklet!"
He cursed himself ten thousand times in his mind.
Call yourself a fool, an idiot, a braggart with a long mouth, and you deserve to be burned like this!
"Get out of here!!!" After searching for a long time, I still found nothing, and the hunting dog's voice was filled with tears.
.. although hounds never cry.
Just then.
Creak - the door opens.
The hunting dog turned his head sharply.
The sun shines in through the door, casting a long shadow on the ground.
The shadow was wearing pure black armor, with straight shoulders and a sword in its hand.
Then, he saw Corleone's face, with dark eyes staring at him.
Only then did the hunting dog realize that he was kneeling on the ground, reaching into the mouse hole with one hand, and behind him was the preparation room that had been turned into a mess.
The air froze for about three seconds.
"What are you looking for?" Corleone's voice sounded, as calm as asking what to eat for lunch today.
The hunting dog opened its mouth, but no sound came out.
Do you want to say "Hey, what a coincidence! I'm looking for the Booklet you gave me, the one I kicked away yesterday and over-pretended, and now I regret it so much"?
It's so embarrassing.
Although his hunting dog has never been very shameless.
But this is so fucking embarrassing.
"No... it's nothing." He forced a smile.
The smile on his burned face looked particularly ferocious, but at this moment, he exuded an inexplicable sense of joy, and he looked really embarrassed.
"You look uglier when you smile than when you cry." Corleone raised his eyebrows.
Hearing this, the hunting dog's smile froze.
Then he stood up, patted the dust on his knees, walked to the side pretending to be nonchalant, leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and looked like "I was just resting here."
But his eyes couldn't help but wander around the preparation room, trying to find the damn Booklet.
"Take it." However, Corleone did not point out his embarrassment and spoke suddenly. Then, something flew over and the hunting dog subconsciously reached out to catch it.
It's very light to hold and feels cool to the touch.
He looked down and his eyes widened even more.
The black sword body has corrugated lines... The sword hilt is inlaid with a Ruby, which is shining with a dark red luster, like an open eye.
Miss Kongji!
The hunting dog raised its head and looked at Corleone in confusion.
I saw Black-armored Knights still standing at the door. The sun shone in from behind him, casting a long shadow on the ground. There was no expression on his face, but his dark eyes showed a sense of freedom and ease.
"I lent it to you, remember to return it to me after you use it."
After he finished speaking, he stopped talking nonsense and turned around to leave.
The hunting dog froze in place, but after Corleone took a few steps, he seemed to remember something again. "Oh, by the way, I seem to see something pressed under the stool over there."
Then he continued walking, and the sound of footsteps gradually faded away.
After hearing this, he suddenly turned his head and looked at the bench that he had overturned. The bench was lying on the ground with its four legs pointing upward, like a turtle turning its shell.
He rushed over and opened the stool...
I saw a leather-covered Booklet lying quietly on the floor under the stool.
As if waiting for him.
The hunting dog's eyes suddenly burst into an indescribable brilliance.
Like a drowning man seeing the rope on the shore.
Like a lost person seeing lights in the distance.
Like...
"Myprecious!"
He murmured, his voice was hoarse, and he stretched out his trembling hands to hold Booklet up.
The leather cover has dark red wine stains and some wear on the corners, but the paper inside is still intact.
The hunting dog pressed Booklet to its chest, its eyes widened like bells, and its corners of its mouth grinned, revealing a ferocious smile.
"My baby..." he murmured, turning page after page. "My baby...
, but when he turned to the third page, he suddenly found something sandwiched in the page.
A note.
He took it out and unfolded it. There was only one line on it. "After reading it, remember to return it to me."
Fighting Arena, in the VIP seat, Tywin Lannister narrowed his eyes slightly as he listened to the cheers of "Ser Corleone" that became more and more enthusiastic.
Lyn Corbray.
Unexpectedly, the first knight in the valley holding the Valyria steel sword would lose so completely.
Tywin's mind was currently flooded with countless thoughts.
He remembered three days ago, when he called Lyn to the Prime Minister's Tower, Lyn's confident smile was so confident that even Tywin thought the matter was a sure thing.
He remembered that he carefully planned all this, and on the day Ring of Order opened, in front of 2,500 people, he let Lyn openly challenge Corleone.
If Corleone refuses, his prestige will be damaged.
If Corleone accepts, Lyn will use Lady Kongji to cut off his sword and pull him off the altar.
No matter what the outcome is, he wins.
But he didn't expect that the result would be the third one.
Corleone won.
And it was such a clean win.
Tywin was good at swordsmanship when he was young, and he also gained fame with his bravery during the Battle of the Nine Copper Penny Kings.
He could see that unlike any other time before, the swordsmanship shown by Corleone had reached its peak.
He had watched the battle of "Sword of Dawn" Arthur Dayne, but Tywin had to admit that even the once recognized first knight of the Seven Kingdoms might not be as... exquisite as Corleone in terms of swordsmanship?
Angle, power, timing, prediction, every element is perfect!
This can no longer be called swordsmanship.
This is art!
Lyn·Corbray, holding the Valyria steel sword, is one of the seven the Seven Kingdoms top swordsmen.
If even he can't beat Corleone, then who else in Westeros can defeat this man in a head-to-head confrontation?
Barristan·Selmy?
Too old and betrayed.
James?
Come on, let alone the fact that he has broken a hand, that boy is just like a married woman, determined to stand by Corleone.
After thinking about it, Tywin couldn't think of anyone who could compete with Corleone in swordsmanship.
But it doesn't matter.
Since head-on confrontation doesn't work, then try another method.
The tradition of the Lannister family has never been a fair duel. Thousands of years ago, their ancestor "clever" Lanny defrauded Casterly Rock from House Casterly without using a sword or a sword.
As long as you are human, you cannot have weaknesses!
He is less than sixty years old and has a lot of time to waste with Corleone.
So what if it takes me until I'm seventy or eighty?
At first, he survived the Mad King Aerys Targaryen, and later Robert Baratheon. Even though they were all younger than him, the one who laughed in the end was always him, Tywin Lannister!
Thinking of this, Tywin's mood calmed down a little.
"It seems your plan failed, Father."
At this moment, a voice sounded, with a faint smile, like a needle.
Tywin was stunned for a moment and turned his head, and sure enough, he saw his Queen Mother daughter standing there.
The sun shone on her body, the dark green skirt swayed gently in the breeze, and her golden hair spread over her shoulders like a waterfall.
There was a smile on her lips, and her green eyes, which were exactly the same as her own, shone with some indescribable light.
It was a daughter who showed unconcealable joy when watching her father fail.
In response, Tywin stared into her eyes for a long time without saying a word.
Cersei's smile began to stiffen, but she did not flinch. Instead, she took a step forward, stood in front of Tywin, and looked at him condescendingly.
"Lyn·Corbray."
She shook her head, her tone full of contempt. "The First Knight of the Valley."
As she said this, Cersei chuckled, and her laughter was particularly harsh in the quiet VIP table.
"You know, father, I almost laughed out loud just now, not at Lyn Corbray, but at myself."
"I actually really thought he could win. I was so naive that I thought your plan would succeed this time."
After she finished speaking, she straightened up and took a step back to stand in the sun again, her green eyes filled with unabashed pride.
"Are you happy?" Tywin suddenly said, his cold tone making Cersei stunned for a moment.
"What?"
"Let me ask you... are you happy?"
Tywin repeated, "You smiled so happily when you saw my plan fail."
The voice was very soft and did not seem to have any emotional ups and downs.
But Cersei's smile froze.
Because she heard it.
There was something else contained in that voice.
-disappointment.
It's not disappointment in the plan, it's disappointment in her, but it's more terrifying than any angry emotion.
"Father, I..." Cersei opened her mouth and wanted to explain, but Tywin didn't give her a chance.
"Do you know why I would rather have the thankless task of forcing Jaime to take off his white robes than let you inherit Casterly Rock?"
As soon as these words came out, Cersei was stunned.
She has thought about this problem countless times. It can be said that she has been thinking about this problem since she was a child.
She is the eldest daughter of the Lannister family. She is the most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms. She is smarter than Jaime, more ambitious than Jaime, and more suitable to rule than Jaime.
But her father never looked at her.
His father's eyes were always only on Jaime, even though Jaime had no interest in power and would rather wear white robes and stand guard for a drunkard and prostitute than return to Casterly Rock.
"Because I'm a woman!"
She blurted out, her voice filled with years of suppressed anger.
This was the only answer she could think of, and the only reason she could use to comfort herself.
Because she is a woman, she is not recognized or valued. She can always only be "Queen Mother", not "The Duke of Casterly Rock".
But to Cersei's surprise, Tywin shook his head.
"No."
"As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter who rules Casterly Rock, whether it's a man or a woman."
Hearing this, Cersei was even more puzzled. "Then why...
"But he/she can't be an idiot!"
Tywin suddenly emphasized his tone, causing Cersei's face to lose all color in an instant.
"You say I'm... an idiot?" Her voice trembled with anger.
She is Cersei Lannister, Seven Kingdoms Queen Mother, the daughter of the Lannister family.
How could she be an idiot?
But Tywin did not answer her question, but explained to himself, "My father, Tytos Lannister, he was a good man, kind, gentle, generous, and everyone liked him."
"But he's also an incompetent fool."
"During his years at Casterly Rock, House Lannister became a joke."
Tywin sneered and continued, "Those vassals were respectful to him on the surface, but they were laughing at him secretly. They called him Laughing Lion" because he always smiled and was never angry even if he was insulted in person."
"The people he trusted betrayed him behind his back. The people he trusted embezzled his gold coins under his nose. The people he thought were friends drank with him while conspiring with other families to carve up the Lannister territory!"
"You remind me of him, Cersei."
Upon hearing this, Cersei immediately retorted, "But I'm not like him, I've never been a coward!"
"Yes, of course you are not a coward."
Tywin shook his head and looked at Cersei, saying coldly, "But you are stupid enough!"
As soon as these words came out, Cersei's body trembled violently.
But Tywin obviously didn't intend to give up there, and continued to scold him, "You sit in Queen Mother's position and do so many things. How many of them are for Lannister?"
"You married Robert Baratheon, but your three children were left with hidden dangers in their blood, and they were discovered by Jon Arryn."
"Then you watched as your idiot son beheaded Eddard Stark, leading to an avoidable war!"
"You stand here and laugh at the failure of my plan because you are happy to see me fail, not because it is good for the Lannister!"
After Tywin finished speaking, Cersei's face was as white as a piece of paper.
She wanted to refute, but couldn't.
Because everything Tywin said was true, she was indeed happy to see her father fail.
"You have only learned how to enjoy power, but not how to use it."
"You only learned how to make others fear you, but you didn't learn how to tame them. You only learned how to get what you want, but you didn't learn how to give up what you want for the family."
Tywin said one sentence after another, and every word was like a whip hitting Cersei's face.
She clenched her fists and said nothing.
Tywin seemed to notice her dissatisfaction, but he didn't dwell on it too much.
After all, when it came to disappointing himself, his three children almost never let him down.
"From today on, try to speak as little as possible."
He just said in the end, "If you want to prove that you are not a fool, just watch and listen carefully."
"Look at how your knight from Farmer got to where he is today step by step, and how he is able to convince people and control this place."
"How... more of a Lannister than you are."