Early morning, throne room.
Randyll·Tarly stood in front of the long table, his back straight.
It must be said that Horn Hill Earl, who has been in the military all year round, is extremely energetic.
He only slept for four hours last night, no... three and a half to be precise.
Randyll·Tarly, who fell asleep early in the morning, got up before dawn, washed up, and reviewed all the documents to be submitted to Small Council today.
Each copy was neatly stacked on the long table in front of him, stamped with the seal of Master of Laws, which represented a precise attack on the core members of Black Hand Mafia.
The first one is about Rorge.
This noseless guy is Corleone's most effective lackey, and is in charge of almost all of Flea Bottom's gray industries.
According to the information provided by Varys, Rorge has participated in at least seven cases of extortion, three cases of illegal detention, and one case of intentional injury of a vile nature in the past six months.
The victim personally stated that he refused to pay "protection fees" to Black Hand Mafia, and then his left hand was smashed into pulp by Rorge with a shovel.
The second copy, Yego.
Dothraki Bloodrider, who calls himself Corleone, is also his most trusted personal bodyguard.
According to the testimonies collected by Varys's Little Birds sons in the dock area, this barbarian seriously injured at least a dozen Lannister soldiers in the past three months, three of whom died of their injuries.
If you add in the previous records in the Ring of Order Fighting Arena, he may have at least twenty lives on his hands.
What makes Randyll·Tarly most angry is the third...
... "The Hound"Sandor·Clegane.
The former Kingsguard is now Black Hand Mafia's number one thug. This guy's charges fill three pages of parchment!
Flea Bottom set up a private execution chamber, used violent means to force businessmen to sign unequal contracts, beat Gold Cloaks officers in the street and maimed them... The most shocking one was that during a conflict in the bacon street, he personally threw a Butcher from the second floor who refused to sell his shop to Black Hand Mafia, causing him to be paralyzed for life!
Not only did such people not receive any punishment, they were able to live well in King's Landing, which is simply outrageous!
Randyll·Tarly looked up at Iron Throne with a stern expression, feeling extremely disappointed with King's Landing's previous legal work. Judging from the evidence he has so far, Kevan·Lannister is not as upright as rumored.
It is true that God did not give birth to me Randyll·Tarly, King's Landing and the law is as eternal as Long Night!
But that's fine.
Shaking his head, Randyll·Tarly let out a long sigh of relief.
Thanks to Varys's hard work, the evidence collected so far is enough to eliminate all the core members of Black Hand Mafia.
It seemed that the eunuch had to be whipped vigorously before he would work. In the first few days, he kept making excuses that he couldn't find any evidence.
Hum!
I think he just wants to be lazy!
If not, how could so much evidence be collected in just a few days?
The eunuch must have more residual value in his hands and must squeeze it out.
No sleep allowed tonight!
Of course, Randyll·Tarly knows very well that these alone are not enough to directly bring down Corleone himself. That Farmer is really too cunning. He almost never personally participates in these dirty deeds, but only hides behind those lackeys to control all criminal activities.
But as long as all these minions are pulled out, Corleone will become a beast without weapons.
What's more, Varys also provided more fatal information, such as Black Hand Mafia's core industries in Flea Bottom, House of Order, Ring of Order, etc., almost all of which have tax evasion problems.
These days, Randyll·Tarly has signed a seizure order, and Small Council will implement it as soon as the plan is passed.
Even if Corleone wakes up by then, he will find that the empire he worked so hard to build has been reduced to ruins.
For a Hand of the King who has no fiefdom, no family, and no ancient surname, this means that he will completely lose his foothold in Small Council.
The corners of Randyll·Tarly's mouth rose slightly, but they were quickly suppressed.
Still can't be proud.
As a veteran who has experienced hundreds of battles, he knows that the war is not over yet, at least until the moment when the enemy's head is not hanging on the tip of the gun, any relaxation may lead to failure.
So, Randyll·Tarly sat down and opened the file again, and began to check the details of each criminal evidence word by word, striving to make it perfect.
However, as time passed by, Randyll·Tarly finally noticed something was wrong.
He raised his head and looked out the window. The sun had risen to nearly noon.
But he was still the only one in the throne room.
His brows slowly furrowed.
Wrong!
According to Small Council's schedule, the meeting should start in the morning. As Master of Laws, he is always the first to arrive. This is normal, but others should not be late for so long.
Although Rui Frey·Lake is an old fox and has colluded with Black Hand Mafia, he has always been impeccable in terms of punctuality.
Pycelle That old fool is always drowsy, but Kingsguard always drags him out of bed before the meeting starts.
However, until now, not only none of Small Council's ministers have arrived, but even Queen Margaery·Tyrell and Olenna·Redwyne have not arrived.
This is so abnormal.
Randyll·Tarly frowned and looked in the direction of the door anxiously.
He clearly remembered that since Corleone fell into coma, the old woman from Olenna·Redwyne was the first one to arrive at almost every Small Council game.
Her desire for power is no less than that of Tywin·Lannister, and is even more naked. She will sit closest to Iron Throne in every meeting, sarcastic everyone with her mean and vicious mouth, and spare no effort to fight for the interests of House Tyrell.
And today, not even Olenna was present.
Uneasiness began to spread in Randyll·Tarly's heart, but he forced himself to calm down and re-examine the situation in front of him.
At this moment, a burst of sudden footsteps came.
Randyll·Tarly turned his head.
I saw a figure in white armor and white robe walking out of the side door. The person had a slender figure and a handsome face that looked sharp in the sun. There was always a hint of an uninhibited smile on the corner of his mouth.
Lynn·Corbray.
Seeing the self-proclaimed "Vale Number One" knight walking towards him, Randyll·Tarly's expression did not change much, but there was a hint of disgust that could not be concealed deep in his eyes.
He had heard of this guy's name a long time ago.
After all, during the uprising war of Robert·Baila Theon, both of them stood out for their bravery in combat.
As for the legendary swordsman who single-handedly killed Kingsguard Lewyn Prince Martell, almost no one in Westeros does not know his name.
Even after being defeated head-on by Corleone in the Ring of Order a few months ago, people still have high respect for Linn.
But Randyll·Tarly has never been able to have even the slightest fondness for this person.
In his mind, he attributed the reason to the cynical smile that always hung on his face, but in fact, what really made Randyll·Tarly feel disgusted with Lin En·Corbray was another thing.
The Kingsguard and Black Hand Mafia in front of them are inextricably linked. In the past few days, Randyll and House Tyrell have tried to win over each other several times, but this guy has not been able to get in.
In the words of Olenna.
"Sir Lynn Corbray seems to be extremely upright. Neither money nor beauty can seduce him. Perhaps only my beautiful grandson can make him change his mind."
When he heard this, Randyll·Tarly almost spat in front of Olenna.
He could hold back only because he considered that the other party was the actual controller of House Tyrell and the mother of his lordship, but this did not mean that he agreed with the old woman's nasty joke.
According to Randyll, everything in this world has its proper order.
Men and women should be responsible for their own affairs. Men fight, hunt, and manage territories; women give birth, manage housework, and raise children.
This is a law set by the gods and is the foundation for maintaining the operation of Seven Kingdoms for thousands of years.
It has been very obvious since ancient times that men cannot have offspring with each other.
Therefore, when Randyll heard that Lynn Corbray was still unmarried and had never had any public mistress, the disgust in her heart became even stronger.
He even began to feel that the reason why the other party chose to put on a white robe and swear not to enfeoff land, marry a wife, or have children was not at all because of how much he respected the honor of Kingsguard, but... this was just what he wanted.
To others, becoming Kingsguard requires paying a huge price, giving up family inheritance rights and the right to marry a wife and have children, just like the original Barristan Sir Selmy.
As the eldest son of House Selmy, he could have inherited his father's position of Earl and Harvest Hall, but when Erqian was three years old, Barristan chose to become Kingsguard under the recommendation of Kingsguard captain "White Bull" Gerald Hightower.
For this reason, he even had to cancel the already negotiated engagement!
But later it was said that the girl married a cousin of Barristan, and their child inherited Harvest Hall. In short, it was... quite great.
And noble.
It's just a little bit green.
But for Lynn Corbray, these are not a price at all, but a kind of relief.
First of all, he is not the eldest son, and there is no right of inheritance. Secondly, his unethical interests almost eliminate the possibility of marrying a wife and having children.
This kind of person is simply an insult to the sacred position of Kingsguard!
After failing to win over him, Randyll·Tarly secretly made up his mind that sooner or later he would find evidence of guilt and kick this disgusting guy back to Vale.
Kingsguard doesn't need a person with such a special hobby, no matter how superb his swordsmanship is!
"Why are you here? Master Tarly."
Lin Corbray walked to the long table, crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows casually and asked.
Randyll·Tarly pursed her lips and replied stiffly, "I have Small Council's schedule today, and I'm waiting for the other adults."
As he spoke, he emphasized his tone slightly. "Why are you not with the king, Sir Lynn Corbray?"
This question is not only fulfilling Master of Laws's supervisory duties, but also implicitly expressing dissatisfaction that the other party is not doing their job properly.
After all, Kingsguard's first duty is to protect the king, not hang out in the throne room.
Hearing this, the smile on Linn Corbray's face became more obvious.
He looked at Randyll·Tarly's face that was glowing gray due to staying up late and being anxious, and he couldn't help but marvel in his heart.
It has to be said that Randyll·Tarly is indeed an extremely energetic person. He only slept for four hours last night, but his eyes are still sharp at this moment. If it had been anyone else, they would have collapsed on the chair after such high-intensity work for many consecutive days.
Even Duke Tywin·Lannister couldn't do it. After all, Corleone said that guy's hemorrhoids were very serious and he couldn't sit for a long time.
But at this moment, Lin Corbray looked at this Master of Laws, but he couldn't feel any admiration in his heart.
"Of course I came here just to see your jokes."
Lin En almost couldn't help but speak out her true thoughts, but she still pretended to be surprised and said in a very dedicated manner, "Small Council? Why didn't anyone inform you, sir?"
As soon as these words came out, Lin En suddenly got what he wanted.
Because Randyll·Tarly's brows furrowed so deeply that they could almost pinch a mosquito to death. "What do you mean, Sir?"
Hearing this, Linn almost laughed out loud.
"You don't know yet?"
"This morning, Flea Bottom sent someone to say that Mr. Vito·Corleone woke up last night, but because his body still needs to rest, this morning's Small Council meeting was temporarily rescheduled at House of Order."
"Pycelle Grand Maester rushed over in a sedan before dawn. Her Majesty the Queen was also sent by Black Hand Mafia to pick her up. It is said that Lady Olenna also followed."
As he said that, Lin En looked Randyll·Tarly up and down, and could no longer help turning the corner of his mouth into a teasing angle. "Could it be that... no one really informed you, Your Excellency Master of Laws?"
As soon as these words came out, Randyll·Tarly's face completely darkened.
He spent several days collecting all kinds of evidence against Black Hand Mafia, and even prepared an arrest warrant in advance, but now you tell me that Small Council has been convened without my knowledge?
Fuck you!
Horn Hill Earl, who has always been steady, almost couldn't help but swear. He remembered that the last time he was so angry, he was supervising his weak and incompetent eldest son to practice sword practice. As a result, he saw Sam finally lift the sword, but got a cut on his leg.
Randyll·Tarly Without saying a word, he stood up and walked out. His pace was fast and urgent, and the cloak behind him was ruffled by the wind.
"Hey! Hey! Don't leave in a hurry!"
Linn·Corbray's mean voice came from behind. "You forgot your things!"
Randyll·Tarly, who was not going to pay attention to it, stopped and turned around, only to see that Lin En had already taken the stack of documents he left on the long table in his hand and raised it towards him.
Seeing this, Randyll·Tarly had no choice but to stride back and snatched the parchment from Lin En's hand.
The action was not rough, but it was certainly not polite.
"If you ask me, there's no point in going now."
Lynn folded her arms and leaned on the edge of the long table, her posture as leisurely as if she was chatting with someone she didn't know in a tavern. "After all, it's almost noon, Small Council may have already finished."
"You might as well finish your lunch. Red Keep's chef made grilled lamb chops today, and it tastes great with the Mushroom sauce sent by the Reach!"
Hearing this, Randyll·Tarly glared at him fiercely.
Although the other party was right, Small Council had been convened in Flea Bottom, but he, Master of Laws, was stuck in the empty throne room, as incompetent as his sleeping husband.
But this makes Randyll·Tarly feel even more anxious.
Because he has no idea what kind of proposal Small Council passed when he was not present.
"The rain girl has no melons."
In a hurry, Randyll·Tarly actually started talking.
Randyll·Tarly obviously realized what he had just said, but he immediately took a deep breath and said solemnly, "I want to remind you, Sir Lynn·Corbray."
"The king's safety comes first, and I don't want to see another Kingsguard wandering around Red Keep."
He deliberately used the word "loitering" very hard, trying to hit Lin En. After all, a Kingsguard who frequently leaves his post represents dereliction of duty.
But Linn laughed.
"I'm not here to hang out, my lord!"
He patted the scabbard on his waist. "Look, I'm patrolling Red Keep according to His Majesty the King's orders."
"After all, something as terrible as the assassination of the Queen Mother and Hand of the King happened. Now we have to be vigilant at all times."