"Commander Arthas, I think I need an explanation."
In the early morning, warm sunlight shone over King's Landing once more. A breeze rustled the leaves, and birds sang merrily in the trees, welcoming the arrival of a new day.
A furious dark-haired man pushed straight through the office door, interrupting the Commander of the Gold Cloaks as he worked diligently over official business at his desk.
"Lord Renly."
At the sight of the man's distinctive shoulder-length black hair and blue eyes, Arthas immediately guessed his identity.
Most importantly, the fellow looked far too much like Robert.
Rising from his chair and bowing slightly, Arthas greeted him warmly but politely:
"Although I don't know why you are so angry, I still hope you will sit down, have a cup of wine, and speak with me calmly."
As he spoke, he elegantly picked up a cup from the desk, walked over to Renly, and filled it with wine for him.
After Robert left, he had summoned Renly, the Master of Laws who had been enjoying a pleasant life at Storm's End, to King's Landing. It rather resembled a king leaving the capital and placing the crown prince in charge.
Renly had originally come to demand an accounting, but Arthas's manner immediately dispelled much of his anger.
He was not a narrow-minded man to begin with. He had merely come to ask about the situation because Arthas's actions had gone too far.
Besides, Arthas was simply too handsome. Renly, who had always greatly "appreciated" beautiful young men, lost all desire to blame him the moment he saw him.
"Commander Arthas."
He took a small sip of wine, suppressed the stirrings in his heart, and looked up at Arthas's perfectly sculpted face. How could there be such a handsome boy in this world?
"I would like to know why you executed the High Septon of the Great Sept without authorization, and even appointed a new High Septon for the Faith of the Seven."
Renly chose his words as carefully as possible to make his attitude seem friendlier, but he had not forgotten why he had come:
"King's Landing never interferes in the affairs of the Faith of the Seven. I believe you should know that very well."
"Of course, my dear Lord Renly."
Slowly returning to his seat, Arthas spread his hands with an innocent expression:
"As you know, I have only been in office for a few days. I never intended to interfere in the affairs of the Faith of the Seven."
"But my men brought me highly reliable intelligence, filled with the crimes of the current... what should now be the former High Septon."
At this, Arthas slapped the desk, his expression gradually becoming righteous:
"That damned fellow was the High Septon of the Faith of the Seven. It would have been bad enough if he simply failed to consider how to serve the Seven properly and let the people of the Seven Kingdoms hear their gospel."
"But he actually used the name of the Seven to indulge in debauchery in a place as sacred as the Great Sept!"
Arthas rose to his feet, looking deeply distressed:
"Do you know, Lord Renly?"
"When my men rescued those two Sisters, the wounds on their bodies pained everyone present."
"All of it stemmed from that damned fellow's perverted tastes!"
"And that was merely the tip of the iceberg of his crimes."
"In his residence, we even discovered a fortune of two hundred thousand Gold Dragons!"
"According to the septons of the Faith of the Seven, this fellow actually abused his position in King's Landing, using every means at his disposal to swindle money from the poor."
Under Renly's shocked gaze, Arthas slowly sat down again and sighed softly:
"I know I am merely a lowly Commander of the Gold Cloaks, and have no authority to sentence him to death on my own."
"But as a faithful believer in the Seven, I will never allow such filthy things to happen again in King's Landing!"
"Lord Arthas..."
Arthas's heartfelt words moved Renly deeply. He had never expected the Lannisters to produce a believer in the Seven who loved the people as his own children.
He himself treated the commoners under his rule very kindly. Suddenly feeling as though he had found a kindred spirit, even his voice grew a little choked:
"I truly never imagined that such filthy acts could take place beneath the gaze of the Seven."
"Come to think of it, I have also been negligent in my duties as Master of Laws!"
"It's all right, Lord Renly."
Lost in self-reproach, Renly felt a strong arm pat his shoulder. He looked up, meeting Arthas's sincere gaze:
"The current High Septon of the Faith of the Seven, His High Holiness the High Sparrow, was someone I carefully selected from among countless people in the Lower City."
"He, too, was born a commoner, and could be said to feel the people's suffering as his own."
"I believe that through our joint efforts, we can surely let all the people of King's Landing enjoy the blessings of the Seven!"
Those passionate words rang in Renly's ears, leaving his eyes a little moist.
What a boy he was, traveling a thousand miles from the Lannisters to King's Landing, narrowly surviving as he struggled to defeat seven Kingsguard before securing the position of Commander of the Gold Cloaks.
But unlike Janos, who knew only how to squeeze the poor, this compassionate boy had not thought about amassing wealth after taking office. Instead, he had risked universal condemnation to rid King's Landing of a great scourge!
This was how a true man should be!
Perhaps only those words could perfectly describe Renly's thoughts at that moment.
"Say no more, Commander Arthas!"
Renly rose decisively and bowed slightly to Arthas with solemn dignity:
"I, Renly Baratheon, thank you for your kindness on behalf of the king and the people of King's Landing."
"I will write to Robert immediately and report the situation here."
Then he winked, giving Arthas a reassuring look:
"This operation by the City Watch was carried out entirely under my instructions as Master of Laws."
"Everything was in accordance with the laws of the realm!"
"Your honor is admirable, Lord Renly."
Seeing that he had thoroughly hoodwinked the fellow, Arthas gave another sunny smile, walked straight up to Renly, and warmly clasped his hand...
Hopefully this fellow who liked men had washed his hands before coming:
"For the king to have a brother and Master of Laws like you is a blessing for all the Seven Kingdoms."
"Your understanding will surely be celebrated by Bards and the people of King's Landing alike."
"Knock, knock, knock..."
Just as the two were praising each other like old friends who regretted not meeting sooner, a dull knocking sounded at the door:
"Lord Arthas, the knights are ready. They're only waiting for you to appear!"
The blond-haired Lancel pushed open the door, straightened his back, and reported loudly like a dutiful guard.
Ever since being reprimanded last time, he had no longer dared call Arthas his cousin while working.
Seeing Renly's questioning gaze, Arthas walked to the desk, elegantly picked up Frostmourne where it rested quietly against it, and slowly explained:
"As you know, Lord Renly."
"As a fourteen-year-old suddenly entrusted with the important duty of defending King's Landing, it is only natural that my family should feel somewhat uneasy."
"So the family sent a few Lannister knights to help me manage the vast numbers of Gold Cloaks."
"Perfectly reasonable." Renly nodded as though it were only natural.
"Alas..."
Under Renly's puzzled gaze, Arthas sighed again, as though he found it somewhat embarrassing to speak:
"But what you do not know is that I have never really been accepted among the Lannisters."
"Those who came to King's Landing this time are all elite Lannister knights."
"They are proud and unruly. Even though I defeated seven Kingsguard, they are unwilling to swear allegiance to me."
"So..."
Slowly raising Frostmourne, its blade blocking his face, Arthas revealed a cruel smile where Renly could not see it:
"I have decided to fight all ten of them single-handedly once more!"
"Hey, Daven, are you sure the ten of us can beat Arthas?"
In the tournament grounds at the Gold Cloaks' headquarters, a fully armed Lannister knight sat astride his horse and asked the equally well-armed Daven Lannister beside him:
"He defeated seven Kingsguard all by himself!"
"Hmph, so what?"
Daven had not donned a gold cloak. Instead, he wore the Lannisters' signature red heavy armor, standing out somewhat among the golden cloaks.
Although he, too, was uncertain about Arthas's strength, he could not afford to sound weak:
"The Kingsguard are nothing but a pack of fellows whose teeth have already gone blunt."
"I reckon all these years of peace have probably left them unable to hold their swords steady."
As the leading figure among the younger generation of Lannister knights, Daven's swordsmanship could be said to be no worse than Jaime's, and perhaps even better.
Those with ability all had their own pride. Besides, his orders had merely been to come help Arthas manage the Gold Cloaks.
Daven was unwilling to submit so casually to this fourteen-year-old Lannister heir.
Even if the boy's martial prowess had already earned the recognition of every noble in King's Landing.
"But, Daven."
Seeing his confidence, the knight beside him felt somewhat reassured, but his eyes were still full of worry:
"Leaving everyone else aside, even Barristan the Bold lost to Arthas. Are we really stronger than the Kingsguard he leads?"
"Hahaha, Barristan the Bold?"
Daven snorted disdainfully, displaying all the fearlessness of a newborn calf before a tiger:
"Although his victories in his youth were astonishing, he is, after all, a tiger already well into his twilight years."
"If Arthas could defeat him, why couldn't I, Daven?"
No sooner had he spoken than Daven felt an intense presence sweep over from the edge of the grounds, instantly making his hair stand on end.
Turning his head, he saw an old man in white armor and a white cloak, a greatsword planted before him, staring fixedly at him with sharp eyes.
That presence, as though he had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, proclaimed the old man's identity-Barristan the Bold!
As a member of the Small Council, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard had not accompanied Robert to Winterfell, but had remained in King's Landing in case he was needed.
Knowing that Arthas would challenge ten knights again, this time on horseback, Barristan, still unwilling to accept his defeat, naturally would not miss such a fine opportunity to observe.
This fellow...
Somewhat unnerved by Barristan's stare, Daven could not help feeling apprehensive:
He's clearly over fifty, yet he still has such a terrifying presence.
How on earth did that fellow Arthas defeat a monster like this?
While Daven's thoughts wandered, the sound of hoofbeats gradually drew closer, and everyone present turned their eyes toward the entrance.
The first thing to come into view was a tall, pure-white warhorse-Arthas's mount, Invincible!
"Well now, you're all looking quite lively."
Mounted on Invincible, Arthas slowly circled the grounds like a king reviewing his troops. The heavy hoofbeats struck everyone's hearts like a hammer.
He wore neither the red armor of the Lannisters nor the standard-issue mail of the Gold Cloaks.
Instead, he wore silver-white heavy armor that actually reflected a dark blue glow beneath the sunlight.
Two broad pauldrons connected to the front of his breastplate, making his already towering figure look even more imposing.
The only blemish was that no skulls were carved into the armor, and he had not donned the imposing Helm of Domination, leaving his golden hair to stream in the wind.
His leather-gloved right hand slowly raised Frostmourne. As its edge slowly swept across the ten fully armed Lannister knights, the death knight's whisper rang in their minds:
"Proud lions of Lannister."
"Are you ready to face the lion king's roar?"
Before you continue