A Rather Unreliable Fiancée

Elia thought of many things in that moment.

Although she would have to see the finished product to judge how this new thing would actually work in practice, she certainly could not go wrong by claiming it first. She could also use the opportunity to grow closer to Rhaenys and the prince.

Besides, she was bored herself and wanted something fun to do.

Fencing was not his own invention to begin with, so Ghost readily agreed. "Of course." The sport originated in Spain and was even an event in the modern Olympics. He also hoped it could catch on throughout Westeros.

At least it might cut down on those duels that so often ended in bloody wounds and lost lives... hopefully.

Ghost's eyes shifted. "I have another request."

Elia said, "Hmm?"

"Once everything for fencing is ready, could you lend me your brother?"

Elia slowly lowered the drawings in her hands and gave Ghost a strange look. Then she made a lewd gesture. "You want him? Hmm...?"

Ghost flushed scarlet and shouted, "What are you thinking?! Oberyn is very skilled at fighting and footwork. He's perfect for testing fencing. I just want to duel him!"

Elia sighed. "Oh, so that's it. All right, a small matter."

Ghost: - -# What exactly are you so disappointed about?

Elia asked eagerly again, "Why do you want to duel Oberyn? You look so frail. Aren't you afraid he'll hurt you?"

"...Don't underestimate me. I have some fighting skills too. I'm just rusty. Sparring with him will definitely help me get my feel for it back."

Elia said, "I get it~ You want to help Prince Rhaegar save face, don't you? Oh, my little beauty, you're so adorable. I'd love to steal you away to Dorne..."

As she spoke, Elia began getting handsy.

Ghost suddenly remembered something. Oberyn and his mistress both swung both ways. Could Elia also...

"Stop! Don't touch me, aaah!"

Finally, Ghost and Elia went over the detailed requirements for making the weapons and protective gear once more, after which she scampered off with the drawings in her arms, thoroughly satisfied.

Ghost: I'm exhausted...

After some thought, he drew a diagram of a rapier on another sheet of paper.

As a being of another kind, he had excellent physical abilities, but this was a secret on which his life depended. Even if he encountered danger in the Red Keep, he absolutely could not reveal it. So he planned to have another weapon made for actual combat. Once he picked up his fencing skills again, this rapier would be his secret weapon!

Come to think of it, Arya's Needle in the Game of Thrones show looked quite like a modified thrusting sword too...

Once he finished the drawing, Ghost rolled it up and went to find Varys.

The spymaster actually lived beneath the Red Keep. His tastes certainly were unusual. It was said that the Red Keep contained countless unknown secret passages and hidden chambers, while deeper underground lay nothing but dungeons, torture chambers, and collapsed labyrinths. Without a map to guide them, people could easily become lost down there.

When she heard Ghost say he was going underground to find Varys, the maid Barbara hurriedly stopped him. "Princess, they say there are restless spirits beneath the Red Keep. Please don't go. Just have an attendant summon that lord."

Helplessly, Ghost told her to wait above and went himself. The timid Barbara agonized for a long while but still did not dare follow him down.

He followed a spiral staircase downward. The first underground level seemed to contain storerooms and some single rooms. When he arrived, Varys was already standing there, apparently waiting for him.

Even in the gloomy underground, Varys's bald head seemed to gleam. He bowed. "Good day, Princess Rhaenys."

Ghost was not at all surprised that he knew he was coming. He handed over the drawing. "Varys, help me deliver this to Master Weilisi, who serves Lord Rickard."

The chief eunuch smiled kindly and asked, "Lord Rickard is not in King's Landing. How can you be sure that master is here?"

Ghost smiled too. "You already know the answer to that, don't you? Do me a favor. Your little birds are all over Westeros. Surely finding one old man from the North with one foot in the grave somewhere in the city would be easy?"

The chief steward's smile did not change in the slightest. "Of course. It is my honor to serve you. May I ask what this is?" Varys pointed at the drawing.

"I want to have a weapon made for self-defense. The Red Keep is still somewhat unsafe." Ghost sighed, hinting at something.

Varys did not take up the subject. He merely bowed and urged, "This is no place for someone of your standing. Please go back."

Ghost nodded. "Tell Master Weilisi to put some care into it and use good materials." I'm already working as a spy for you people. You ought to give me something in return.

He remained where he stood, his gaze probing the deep, unlit passages as he wondered just how vast the space beneath the Red Keep was, and how many secret passages it concealed.

Varys stood silently in the shadows. Only after a moment did he say, "You should return, Princess. You ought to pay more attention to Prince Rhaegar..."

Strange. Was he hinting at something?

Still, it really did seem to have been many days since he had seen the prince. Was Rhaegar still angry? Ghost wondered. Surely not. It was only a small matter.

But perhaps it really was male pride at work? Because his fiancée had actually stood up for another man, or something?

Ghost had indeed gotten the wrong idea. Rhaegar had been mediating the matter of harbor taxes all this time and was overwhelmed with work.

For certain absurd historical reasons, King Aerys delighted in throwing obstacles in his Hand of the King's way, yet refused to let Tywin leave. Rhaegar truly felt he would not be surprised if Tywin Lannister someday lost patience, overturned the table, and rebelled.

White Harbor, Gulltown, and Lannisport had all suffered rare, massive storms that year. Tywin had already taken it upon himself to lower the taxes at each port, appeasing the nobles and merchants who had suffered losses. Unexpectedly, Aerys suddenly intervened. Not only did he raise the ports' trade taxes to three times their previous rate, he also demanded additional docking taxes and maintenance taxes on passing merchant ships. Otherwise, their property would be confiscated.

Countless people were now pointing fingers at Tywin's Small Council and cursing them, while quite a few others came to Prince Rhaegar to lodge complaints and plead for mercy.

Rhaegar suspected his royal father simply wanted to humiliate Tywin, then force him to bow his head and beg His Grace for mercy or something of the sort. If Rhaegar intervened, things would probably become even harder to resolve.

In short, Prince Rhaegar had not been angry all this time. He simply did not care about Rhaenys's strange behavior and had no time to concern himself with her.

But when he learned that Rhaenys was going to take up this so-called fencing with Elia, and even duel Oberyn Martell, the prince laughed in anger.

Sometimes, he truly could not understand how Rhaenys's mind worked.

She was completely different from ordinary girls. As long as he did not seek her out, she stayed cooped up in her quarters and went nowhere. She also had little interest in luxuries. He had never seen her use the gems and silks he sent, and she did not like going out for strolls either.

Although he was glad she did not come to bother him, she was far too dull for a young girl.

This time, she had come up with something new, but she had spoken to Elia and the others about it first. When had they become so close?

He asked Arthur, "Do you know about fencing? Rhaenys and Prince Oberyn are going to have some kind of fencing duel?"

Arthur Dayne shook his head. "No. Not interested." What was there to watch in a fight between a scrub and a woman? It was all just play.

Prince Rhaegar pondered for a moment, somewhat curious about the fencing they had mentioned. "Let's go and take a look at this thing called fencing."

After asking where Rhaenys was, Rhaegar was just about to head out with two Kingsguard when he received terrible news-Tywin's daughter, Cersei Lannister, had come to King's Landing again.