At the same time.
Red Fort, Prime Minister's Tower.
James stood in front of the large desk, with a fireplace burning with strong flames behind him.
He has washed away all the dust from his life and put on his ideal white robe White Armor again. His long blond hair has been cut short and his face has been groomed cleanly.
Except for his right arm, which looked a little dazzling, he seemed to have returned to the handsome and handsome Kingsguard again.
However, there was no trace of joy on his face at this moment. Instead, he tightened his jaw and looked very irritable.
All this stems from the middle-aged man sitting behind the desk opposite.
He sits as tall and straight as a pine tree, with broad shoulders and thick knuckles, full of strength.
His hair was a typical Lannister blond, but slightly bald, with some gray on the sideburns, and was carefully combed.
He was dressed very appropriately, with a dark velvet jacket, the collar and cuffs embroidered with gold threads with complex patterns, and a small gold lion head brooch on his chest, which looked low-key and luxurious.
But under those calm, sharp green eyes that seemed to be able to penetrate all disguises, everything else was reduced to a foil.
He is Jaime's father, Duke of Casterly Rock, Warden of the West, and current Hand of the King - Tywin Lannister.
However, more than a year later, when the father and son reunited after suffering many hardships, there was no tender reminiscence, and the atmosphere seemed extremely unharmonious.
"If nothing happens."
James spoke coldly and was the first to break the silence, "I think I should go and fulfill my duties as a Kingsguard - to protect the king."
There was no respect for his father or the warmth of a reunion after a long separation. There was only alienation and resistance in his tone.
In response, Tywin's answer was equally cold, "You are not my son."
"You said you are the captain of the Kingsguard. That is the meaning of your life. Very good, Ser. I will not delay your performance of official duties."
Hearing this, James was extremely angry.
Just now, he stepped into this office with expectation and joy.
However, his father showed no sympathy or concern for his experience in the Riverlands. The first thing he said was to forcefully demand that he resign from the Kingsguard, take off his white robes, and return to Casterly Rock to inherit the family business.
From beginning to end, Tywin never said a single greeting, as if his capture, imprisonment, and even the loss of his right hand were just trivial matters!
"I should be able to take this away, right?"
But just when he was about to leave angrily, he pointed to the newly forged Valyria steel sword in front of him. "You said you gave it to me."
"Of course."
Tywin didn't even raise his head, and his tone was calm but full of ridicule. "How can the Kingsguard protect the king without a sharp weapon if he has no hands?"
This naked sarcasm made James' anger almost burst out of his chest.
He grabbed the Valyria steel sword and wanted to slam the door angrily and leave, but at this moment he seemed to remember something and stopped.
"Before coming back, I promised someone who helped me that I would give him a bathtub of Gold Dragon as a reward."
"A Lannister must pay his debts, right, Lord Tywin?"
James raised his chin, with a hint of emotion in his tone that he couldn't explain clearly, as if he was provoking.
Hearing this, Tywin still did not raise his head, but the sarcasm on his lips became more intense. "That's right," Lannister must pay its debts."
"But your last name is Lannister, Ser?"
"Oh~~~It seems so."
He patted his forehead exaggeratedly. "Look, if you didn't tell me, I almost forgot. I thought you were no longer a Lannister since you joined the Kingsguard."
Faced with such continuous ridicule from his father, James felt unprecedented humiliation in his heart, but when he thought of his promise to Corleone, he still resisted the urge to slam the door and leave.
He just stood there stiffly staring at Tywin, holding the hilt of the sword tightly with his left hand, looking like he would not give up until he achieved his goal.
After a while, Tywin seemed to have finished processing the document in his hand. He finally raised his head and looked at his livid son standing in front of him, and for the first time there was a trace of surprise in his eyes.
He knew James too well. He was proud, impulsive, and irritable. With this kid's temperament, he should have been humiliated long ago.
But today, James endured it until now.
"He saved your life?" Tywin asked curiously.
"Yes, he saved my life."
James took a deep breath and met his father's gaze. "But at the same time, he is also my friend!"
"Ha..." Tywin sneered and put down his pen disapprovingly, "I remember that when you were a child, you loved making "friends" the most, James."
"Adam·Malbrand, Brax brothers, etc... You always enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by stars."
"But you never understand that those flatteries and those flattering performances are just because of your identity, because your surname is Lannister, because you are... my son."
"I understand!"
Seeing his father's disappointed eyes, James gritted his teeth and raised his voice to retort.
Then, he stared at Tywin closely and said word by word, "But, Vito·Corleone, he is different!"
Tywin was stunned.
He didn't seem to expect that James would be so sure.
"Go find Tyrion." After a while, Tywin lowered his head to deal with the documents again.
"He is now the Chancellor of the Exchequer. A bathtub of Gold Dragon, that's not a small sum."
"I deserve so much money." As if he felt he had won, James raised his eyebrows proudly, then turned and walked out the door.
"Bring that Vito·Corleone to me."
"I want to see him tonight."
"Won, Lord Corleone!!!"
Arena was completely silent. Only Rorge jumped up from his seat excitedly, waving his arms and shouting loudly, which seemed a bit abrupt.
In the field, "Butcher" Bode, who had been so aggressive before, now seemed to be covered in blood and fell to the ground. Only the weak rise and fall of his chest proved that he was still alive.
But Yego just panted slightly and wiped his blood-stained hands on his coarse pants casually, as if he was no more tired than killing a dog.
As Rorge boasted, even though Bode is the most capable player in Flea Bottom besides "Fang", even "Fang" himself couldn't go five rounds under Yego when he was in the Warriors.
Sure enough, the battle ended very quickly, and people didn't even have time to react.
"Five thousand Gold Dragon, Ralf, you bastard is about to come out and pay for it!"
Rorge grinned widely, showing his yellow teeth and laughed so hard that he almost wrote the words "gloating over misfortunes" on his forehead.
Although he was once half the owner of this Arena, he had never handled such a huge amount of money!
According to his estimate, this is almost the total profit of "Blood Pit" for several months, or even longer.
And now, that damn betrayer Ralf is about to bear a huge debt of five thousand Gold Dragon.
This is enough to wipe out most of that guy's savings, or even bankrupt him!
Just thinking of Ralf's expression of pain and aggrievedness is enough to make Rorge burst into laughter.
Yes!
"Calm down."
Compared to Rorge's excitement, Corleone behaved quite calmly.
Because he knows that winning the bet is never the end of the matter, on the contrary, it will be the beginning of another trouble.
After all, no one would be willing to take out such a large sum of money, especially when the opponent is someone like Ralf.
But it doesn't matter. A great man once said that there is endless joy in fighting with others.
Sure enough, as soon as Corleone finished speaking, he glimpsed from the corner of his eye, Ralf, surrounded by several men with gloomy expressions, walking towards their direction again.
Gently patting Rorge's shoulder, Corleone stood up slowly and calmly.
"After you get the money, remember to remind me to buy a cat first."