There is no room for so many people here...
After hearing such a classic introduction, Corleone couldn't help but think of a more classic joke.
Daenerys Targaryen.
Of course, this name is familiar to him. After all, he is the only one who hatched three giant dragons in A Song of Ice and Fire, although the long list of titles is somewhat inexplicable shame.
However, compared to a person who is separated by an unknown number of leagues from the narrow sea, Corleone is more concerned about the one in front of him.
He leaned back slightly on the back of the chair, his black eyes calmly looking at the old man in front of him who claimed to be "at the Queen's will", and a playful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
As if to say... it's finally here.
"As far as I know, there is only one ruler among the seven the Seven Kingdomss, and that is King Tommen Baratheon."
Corleone is still sitting. "And the Targaryen you are talking about has already turned into history from the moment Rhaegar was killed by Robert Baratheon in the Battle of the Green Fork."
"Now you say that you came with the Queen's will. You should know very well that with this sentence alone, I can notify the Golden Robe to arrest you directly for treason."
"No trial, no evidence, a charge of treason is enough for you to spend the rest of your life in the dungeons of the Red Fort."
"Am I right?"
... Barristan·Selmy Ser."
As soon as these words came out, Bronn's head was buzzing.
When the old knight said Daenerys Targaryen's name just now, his brain capacity had already begun to be a little nervous. Now he looked back at the old knight in disbelief, but saw that the other party did not mean to deny it at all.
The hunting dog beside him looked calm, as if he was not surprised.
Bronn blinked his eyes several times before he suddenly realized.
This damn dog must have been recognized a long time ago!
It turns out that I am the only one who has been kept in the dark!
Bronn felt his teeth itch with hatred.
No wonder!
No wonder Bronn Earl, who is as powerful as me, can't defeat this old guy. If he is really Barristan Selmy, then everything will be explained!
But... being threatened by the "fearless" Barristan doesn't seem that hard to accept. I don't know how many people want this opportunity but can't get it!
My trip is not in vain. At least I can brag to others in the future and say, "I fought with the fearless Barristan."
After all, being beaten unilaterally is considered a fight.
Thinking of this, Bronn suddenly grinned again, as if he had won some great honor.
No wonder he thinks so, after all, Barristan Selmy's name is too resounding, and his record even exceeds that of Arthur Dayne, the Sword of Dawn who was originally known as the "First Knight of the Seven Kingdoms".
How magnificent is his record?
Let's put it this way, he has won almost all the highest knight honors imaginable.
He debuted at the age of ten and secretly participated in the tournament. No one but him dared to challenge Duncan Targaryen Prince. Although he lost later, it was precisely because of this that Duncan Prince gave him the title of "Fearless".
At the age of sixteen, he participated in the Winter Tournament in King's Landing and defeated "Short" Duncan Prince and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard "Tall" Duncan Ser. He was made a knight by the then King Aegon V.
At the age of eighteen, he participated in the battle of the Nine Copper Penny Kings. He rushed alone among tens of thousands of Golden Company members and successfully killed the last Black Fire "violent" Maris one-on-one, achieving the achievement of killing thousands of troops.
At the age of twenty-three, as the eldest son, he gave up his inheritance and his fiancée. Jaehaerys II personally put on a white robe for him and became the Kingsguard.
At the age of forty, he sneaked into the town of Duskendale alone and rescued the "Mad King" Aerys Targaryen, who had been imprisoned for half a year while being chased and intercepted by thousands of enemy troops, achieving the achievement of being a one-man savior.
A year later, during the operation to annihilate the Kingswood Brotherhood, the leader, Simon Toyne, was killed in a one-on-one duel.
During the Usurper's War, he participated in the battle of Trident at the age of forty-five. Even though he was wearing dozens of wounds, he still fought bravely and killed countless enemy knights. In the end, he was captured in a coma from exhaustion.
Although he fought bravely for the Targaryens, King Robert Baratheon later pardoned him and named him Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.
Even at the age of fifty-seven, he was still able to win the championship in the martial arts tournament!
It is said that this guy was over six years old and still knocked down powerful enemies like hunting dogs several times!
It can be said that any one of his experiences and honors is enough to make any of the seven the Seven Kingdoms knights respected by everyone.
Even a man as proud as Tywin Lannister once said frankly in public that the fearless Barristan "served whoever he served, and he benefited from it."
Such a fierce man, I am afraid there is no king in the world who would not be willing to ask him to be his bodyguard.
It's just a pity that Barristan met the emperor who was even more unafraid of power during his reign...
Barristan Selmy stood in front of the desk, Gray-White Coarse Cloth Cloak hanging down to his feet, and his blue eyes in the sun were as calm as two deep pools of water.
After listening to Corleone's statement about treason, there was no fear on his face, and he didn't even frown.
"What you said makes sense, Master Vito·Corleone."
The old knight's voice was low and calm. After all, for everything he had experienced before, the threat of Corleone was nothing to make a fuss about.
He straightened his chest, Gray-White Coarse Cloth Cloak his shoulders were broad, and his waist was straight. Although he was no longer young, he still had a body as strong as steel.
"Of course you can do that,"
Barristan said calmly, "It is undoubtedly a huge achievement to hand over the traitor Barristan Selmy to the Iron Throne."
"Lord Tywin Lannister will be very happy. Perhaps he will reward you with a castle or let you marry his widowed daughter.
In response to the old knight's almost mocking words, Corleone just leaned back on his chair, looking at him calmly with his black eyes, without answering.
"I have been a member of the Kingsguard for forty years."
Barristan's eyes moved away from his face and fell on the blue sky outside the window.
"Starting with King Jaehaerys II...
"King Aerys was a good king when he was young. He was smart, diligent, and ideal. He wanted to govern the seven the Seven Kingdoms better."
"But then he went crazy, completely crazy. I watched helplessly as he locked himself in the Red Keep for months without leaving the house. His fingernails grew like claws. He was keen on ordering the burning of those he suspected, burning people alive with wildfire and laughing at their screams."
As he spoke, he was silent for a moment, and then continued to talk.
"King Robert is a good man. He likes wine and women. He is keen on holding tourneys. He leaves the government affairs to Jon Arryn and goes hunting, whoring and getting drunk."
"But at least he wasn't crazy and didn't burn anyone to death.
4
"If the evil boy on the Iron Throne hadn't stripped me of my duties, I might still be serving King's Landing. I'm ashamed to admit it, but it's the truth."
"When he took off the cloak that the White Bull tied around my shoulders and sent someone to kill me on the same day, the barriers in my eyes seemed to suddenly lift, and I realized that I must find the true king and die for him..."
"Not for power, honor or any other shit, just for someone worth dying for."
As Barristan finished speaking, the office was quiet for a moment.
Corleone leaned back on the chair and looked at him calmly with his black eyes.
"So you think you've found the true king?"
"Yes." Barristan met his gaze without any hesitation.
"I watched with my own eyes as she grew from an ignorant little girl to a wise monarch."
"She liberated one city after another in Slaver's Bay, and hundreds of thousands of slaves were able to regain their freedom. She gave the humblest people a reason to live and a chance to stand up."
Barristan paused and raised the corners of his mouth slightly. "Just like you, Lord Vito·Corleone.
"What you did in Flea Bottom, she did in Slaver's Bay."
"You are all pulling up those who have been trampled under your feet and making them stand upright and walk."
"Queen Your Majesty heard about your achievements in King's Landing and she was very interested. She said that if she wanted to take back the Iron Throne, she would need allies in Westeros."
"And Vito·Corleone is the first person she wants to see most."
After Barristan finished speaking, he closed his mouth and looked at Corleone with his blue eyes calmly, waiting for his answer.
The office became quiet again.
Bronn sat on the chair without daring to breathe, feeling like a rabbit sitting between two beasts.
He secretly glanced at Corleone, then secretly glanced at Barristan, and swallowed.
Damn it.
He suddenly felt that his castle, which had been burned to ruins, was not that important anymore.
Very interesting.
Corleone looked at Barristan. There was no trace of lying in his blue eyes. He also knew very well what Daenerys Targaryen did in Slaver's Bay, but this did not mean that Corleone agreed with Daenerys' actions.
Because of the things she did, she also brought chaos, death, and famine.
She liberated Astapor, and then Astapor fell into civil strife and liberated Yunkai, causing Yunkai's slave owners to organize a large army to counterattack.
Yes, Daenerys has three dragons and a huge army.
But her dragon is still young, and seems to be a little unruly, and those armies are also made up of liberated slaves, hired Mercenary,
and those slave owners who "surrendered", with varying degrees of loyalty.
Corleone It's not that I don't believe in Daenerys Targaryen's ambitions and ideals, but ideals are often vulnerable in the face of reality.
He has seen too many people come with ideals and end up being wrapped in coffins.
Leaning back on the chair, Corleone's black eyes looked at Barristan calmly, with the corners of his mouth raised slightly.
"What you said makes sense, Ser."
"But before we talk business, we have to deal with a small problem first."
As he spoke, he turned his head and looked at the hunting dog at the door.
"Close the door."
The hunting dog didn't ask why, just reached out and closed the door.
The heavy oak door made a dull sound, and the door latch fell into the iron groove of the door frame, locking it with a click.
Bronn sat on the chair, his heart suddenly thumped, and he suddenly felt a little cold on his back.
Damn it.
Let's talk business, let's talk business, what kind of doors should we close?
But before he had time to think about it, the voice of Corleone rang.
"Get him."
Catch?
Who to arrest?
Before Bronn could react, he saw a big iron-like hand reaching out from behind and grabbing the back of his neck.
"Fuck"
He exclaimed, his whole body was lifted up from the chair, his feet were off the ground, like a cat being pinched by the back of the neck.
He struggled twice instinctively, but the strength of that hand was ridiculously strong, and the five fingers tightly clasped his neck like an iron hoop, preventing him from moving at all.
"Hound! You fucking...
", Bronn's voice was stuck in his throat, because a cold dagger had been pressed against his neck.
The blade of the knife was close to his skin, cold and bone-chilling. He could feel the sharp edge pressing against his carotid artery. If he applied any more force, the blood vessel would be cut open.
Bronn didn't dare move.
His whole body was hanging in mid-air, his limbs were drooped, and only his eyes could move.
He rolled his eyes and saw the hound's burned face leaning against his ear, so close that he could clearly see every scar tissue line.
"Don't move."
The hunting dog's voice was hoarse and cold, like a dull knife being sharpened on a stone. "This won't hurt, I promise."
Bronn felt his heart leap into his throat.
He swallowed, his Adam's apple rolled under the blade, and the coldness of the metal made him feel that Stranger was approaching him step by step.
"Corleone-sama... what are you doing?"
However, facing his begging for mercy, Corleone put an index finger to his lips and blew lightly. "Shh...
"Quiet, Earl."
His voice was calm, even with a hint of gentleness, but there was no smile in his black eyes.
"You didn't do anything wrong, don't worry."
Hearing this, Bronn was stunned again.
Didn't do anything wrong?
Then why arrest me?
He hadn't figured it out yet, but at this time Corleone had turned his head and looked at Barristan.
"Since we want to cooperate, some irrelevant people must be dealt with."
"After all, I don't like taking risks, Ser. The confidentiality of this kind of thing is directly related to everyone's wealth and life."
He paused, looked at Barristan with his black eyes, and raised the corners of his mouth slightly. "I think you don't like it either."
Barristan stood there, looking at Bronn with his blue eyes, then at Corleone, and was silent for a few seconds.
"What are you going to do?" His voice was low and emotionless.
Corleone spread out one hand and made a "please" gesture.
"I suggest you do it yourself."
"It just so happens that I can see how far you can go for the real king you call me."
Having said that, the hound stepped forward at the right time, still holding the back of Bronn's neck with his left hand. He turned the dagger with his right hand and handed it to Barristan with the handle facing forward.
The blade of the dagger glowed coldly in the afternoon sun, and the blade reflected Bronn's face, which was twisted with fear.
Bronn looked at the dagger, and then at Barristan's extended hand, his mind went blank.
No?
Why!