Tyrion merely looked silently at the little gold dragon Robert beside him in response to Kal's meaningful words.
After the servants brought it food, it instantly brightened up from the pitiful state in which it had been lying on the table.
A perfect display of a mischievous child.
"I think that with it here, no one will refuse your 'goodwill.'"
Watching it, Tyrion said, his tone meaningful.
But he then smiled faintly and hurried to add a line.
"Of course, that is only if those people think the way I do. Unfortunately, they are not dwarfs, so I cannot give you an answer to that."
After saying this, he shook his head and, taking advantage of the moment, reached out to receive his own breakfast from the maid's hands.
But once he had taken the plate, Tyrion's expression grew far more solemn.
Looking at the food meant for him, he was silent for two seconds before he sighed and said, "As for whether my dear father Tywin Lannister truly betrayed us again—sorry, perhaps he did."
"After all, my equally dear brother Jaime and Cersei—"
At this point, Tyrion found himself unable to go on.
But even without him finishing, Kal naturally understood what he meant.
Kal paused in his movements. Thinking about Tywin's personality from the original story, if he had done this purely for Jaime Lannister's sake, one might actually find that somewhat reasonable.
After all, Jaime had already gone to the Wall to become a man of the Night's Watch, his later life destined for loneliness.
And the one who carried out the deed had been a Faceless Man, and in that particular manner, no less.
As long as nothing unexpected happened, it was essentially impossible for anyone to know the matter had anything to do with him.
But why would the Faceless Men, after assassinating Robert, come after me as well?
Having understood one problem, another doubt immediately surged into Kal's mind, leaving him somewhat perplexed.
Kal looked at his own reflection in the spoon for quite a while but still could not understand.
So he could only shake his head, then continued, "Tyrion, you know that this is not what I want to know."
"All right, let us set this matter aside for now. What I mean is, you know that if this is true, it will cause a little bit of trouble for what we are going to do next."
"The Westerlands, after all, originally belonged to the Lannisters, did they not?"
As soon as Kal's words fell, before Tyrion could speak, Sam, who was off to the side, could not help shrinking his neck.
He felt as if a chilly draft had suddenly blown through the great hall of Casterly Rock, sending a chill down his spine.
Kossi and the others likewise could not help stopping what they were doing and turning their heads to look at His Majesty King Kal.
In fact, they had all been pricking up their ears, listening to the conversation between King Kal and his friend and strategist, Tyrion Lannister.
Yet as Kal's words fell, they all sensed a faint killing intent.
As for Kal directly pointing out the crux of the matter, Tyrion only shrugged indifferently, casually speared a piece of fried fish from his plate, and put it into his mouth to chew.
"I do not know about that," he said slowly as he chewed the food in his mouth. "Back when we were in King's Landing, we had already been preparing to do this, but unfortunately we were interrupted by the head of House Tarly, Lord Randyll Tarly."
"In the end, it inexplicably turned into an argument and a wager that was rather widely talked about among the upper circles of the Seven Kingdoms."
Shivering, Sam thought of this matter and curled his now much thinner body up even more weakly.
And when this matter was brought up, Kal could not help but laugh as well.
He put down the bowl of soup he had been drinking from, picked up the bread, tore off a chunk, and bit into it.
"To tell the truth, I do not know whether what happened that day was a 'coincidence.'"
Back in King's Landing, taking advantage of the tourney being held at the time, Kal and Tyrion had planned to organize a meeting of the lords of the Westerlands.
Kal had originally planned to use this opportunity to have these men swear fealty to him.
But as "luck would have it"—
That day, when their feast had only just begun for a short while, the Lord of Horn Hill, lord of House Tarly, Samwell Tarly's father, Randyll Tarly, came uninvited to his feast.
He had brought only two guards and barged in alone.
And, most importantly, he was clad in armor, clearly looking anything but friendly.
As for why he had come, the reason went without saying.
The eldest son of House Tarly, who should originally have become a man of the Night's Watch, had instead become a close attendant at Lord Kal El's side.
Lord Randyll Tarly, who had originally brought all of this about with his own hands, only to have his plans disrupted by this unexpected factor, Kal, would of course come to question it.
Although the time he chose to come and raise his doubts was indeed somewhat "special."
Of course, Randyll Tarly could not possibly, in a place like King's Landing, openly fall out with a newly promoted Warden of the West, Lord of Casterly Rock, who had earned his position through solid battle merits.
Nor would he expose his own family's shame in public, even if that shame had long since become widely known among the upper nobility.
The nobles naturally had their own ways of resolving problems.
Kal found the matter very amusing, so he took the initiative to propose a wager.
Because he had never believed that Sam was truly a coward.
So he made an agreement with Lord Randyll Tarly, agreeing that once Randyll Tarly's younger son, Dickon Tarly, on whom he had placed high hopes, came of age, he could let him have a friendly "exchange" with Samwell Tarly.
If, in the end, Sam still disappointed him, then whatever he made Sam do, Kal would not interfere.
But if Sam did not disappoint him, then he would give Sam the recognition and freedom he deserved.
Their agreement was phrased very implicitly, but everyone present knew exactly what the two of them were talking about.
Although Kal's actions bore some suspicion of interfering in another man's family affairs, under the confident gaze of Lord Kal El at the time, Lord Randyll Tarly still chose to accept Kal's wager.
As for this young man, who had intercepted his son on the way to taking up the post of Warden of the East in the middle of the war, Randyll Tarly had given him sufficient respect.
After all, in the battle for King's Landing in which Kal attacked King's Landing and defeated Kevan Lannister, he knew that his son Samwell Tarly had likewise taken part in that war.
Moreover, after he arrived at King's Landing, everything he saw in Sam's current behavior was completely different from how he had been a few months earlier when he had sent him away.
These reasons were why, after Randyll Tarly came to King's Landing, he did not immediately come up to them.
He was carefully observing this son of his, who seemed to have changed somewhat.
And everything Kal had done also rekindled in his heart a renewed measure of hope for his eldest son.
"I look forward to his change—if you believe you have the ability to change him."
The Lord of Horn Hill left these words before departing, which could be taken as tacit approval of Kal's support for Sam.
It was precisely because of his "uninvited arrival" that the situation Kal had originally planned—to seize the initiative—naturally could no longer proceed.
Randyll Tarly, having come to King's Landing, neither came early nor late, yet managed to come to him at such an "appropriate" time; Kal absolutely did not believe that there was nothing fishy about it.
He said nothing.
Thus, that day's feast became nothing more than an ordinary banquet, and it ended hastily after not lasting long.
So this issue remained unresolved until today, and it was the key premise behind Kal's question to Tyrion.
"This is an obvious problem."
Tyrion swallowed the food in his mouth and said calmly.
"So I am not going to stop you. Do what you believe is right, Your Majesty Kal."
"Some blood must be shed before certain people can see the situation clearly."
"It's nothing more than another purge—shed a little blood, clear the ranks, and give your own people the space they need. And only by doing this can all the chaos be brought to an end as quickly as possible—"
In the great hall where a quiet killing intent was brewing, the cruel words did not come from Kal's mouth but instead came from that of Tyrion Lannister.
This surprised Kal somewhat.
"It seems you do not think highly of the choices made by my two uncles."
Although he had not known the dwarf for long, Kal already felt as familiar with him as with an old friend, and naturally he could understand what Tyrion intended to express behind those words.
He had chosen to stand on Kal's side, and so it was only natural that he would have to do certain things.
And only because he did not think highly of the current situation would he set aside his originally merciful nature and choose such a radical method to solve the problem.
After all, in such circumstances, even if Robert's assassination truly had been Tywin's doing, those in the North would not need to concern themselves overmuch with it.
For if the matter had never been discovered, then it would have been a hidden landmine.
But now that they had been warned in advance, even if this truly were Tywin Lannister's scheme, what waves could he possibly stir?
So the only thing that could trouble Tyrion—making him worry that Kal could not stabilize the situation in the Westerlands in the fastest way and secure that land as his support—would be those two uncles of his, who likewise held claims to the Iron Throne.
"If they had no disloyal thoughts, why would they leave King's Landing so quickly?"
"And the matter is so strangely suspicious—what are they afraid of?"
Tyrion gave a cold snort, lifted the cup on the table, drank a mouthful of milk to rinse his mouth, and continued.
"Putting aside Stannis for the moment, Robert's death and the timing of the things he did leave him unable to rid himself of suspicion."
"And I have also heard that when King Robert made that will in your favor, Renly Baratheon was present—he was even one of the witnesses."
"But he suddenly left at a time like this, and even took away the queen who originally belonged to his older brother?"
Tyrion finished his views in one breath, his face full of cold sneers.
Then he reached his conclusion: "Sorry, but I do not see even the slightest intention on their part to let everything settle peacefully."
At Tyrion's blunt words, Kal merely smiled faintly, as though not particularly concerned.
Even though Tyrion had not been in King's Landing, he still saw everything with impressive clarity.
By contrast, Eddard Stark, the Hand of the King, who was familiar with these two brothers of Robert, still clung to an unrealistic hope.
Their conversation made several of Kal's confidants, such as Jon, who were listening at the side, tremble as if in the cold.
Even someone as boisterous as Shagga, a wildling, kept silent before the undercurrents of this struggle for the throne.
Yet at the same time, they could not help growing excited.
For this meant there would be war to fight.
And fighting a war naturally meant getting rich—plunder, spoils.
Following the mighty warrior who had conquered their mountain clans, they did not believe they would lose.
"If they are not as naïve and clear-headed as Lord Eddard Stark imagines, then I believe we will inevitably face war."
"And now is their best chance—their only chance. Whether Stannis Baratheon or Renly Baratheon, I think they both see that clearly."
Kal let out two laughs, after which the smile on his face gradually turned cold as he spoke words filled with icy intent.
"And this will also allow me to see clearly just how many people in the Seven Kingdoms are still clinging to their illusions."
"It should not be more than a few days before we hear the news."
"So, Tyrion—are you ready?"
As Kal spoke, he finished the last portion of food on his plate.
"Ready for what?"
"Your Majesty Kal, we have nothing. What you see here in Casterly Rock has only just suffered through a sack. When I lived here before, it was never this empty."
Tyrion was rendered speechless by Kal's battle-ready enthusiasm.
He directly set down his utensils, spread his hands, and pointed around them with a face full of worry.
"And besides that, if everything turns out as we expect, how are we supposed to deal with enemies on the sea?"
"Not only that, we are short on every kind of supply. If we do not act quickly, the army you brought from King's Landing will soon have nothing to eat."
Having returned to Casterly Rock before Kal, Tyrion had been cleaning up the aftermath and planning according to the situation at hand, and he truly could not understand what advantage they still possessed.
But Kal paid no mind to Tyrion's complaints. His expression remained calm as he said, "Do not worry about the matter of food. I can take care of that."
But at that point, Kal seemed to recall something.
He immediately turned his head to look at Tyrion.
"But speaking of this, do you know what happened to the Lannister fleet? Where did it go?"
"I remember that once the war began, they lost all trace."
"It was only after the postwar meeting at King's Landing, when the reports were compiled, that I learned this fleet had vanished along with all members of House Lannister and most of the property they could take with them."
"Even the Redwyne fleet and the Iron Islands found no trace of them?"
Yet Tyrion knew nothing about this question of Kal's either.
"My father must have prepared for failure from the very beginning. If they left, there is only one place they could have gone."
"I recall that Varys is rather knowledgeable about the eastern continent. Did he not tell you anything?"
Were it not for Tyrion mentioning this now, Kal would never have noticed—it was a point he had never considered.
"Varys?"
"The Free Cities?"
"Yes—that is it. Even if the Lannister fleet had long been prepared, it could not simply vanish. No matter where they went, they would inevitably leave some trace behind; it is impossible for them to disappear so quietly, without a sound, without a single clue."
"Unless someone is deliberately helping them cover their tracks!"
Kal's tone grew solemn.
Tyrion, who had originally not thought this far—or rather, had never linked this information together to notice this problem—also started in shock at Kal's words.
"You suspect Varys?"
"But there is no reason for that, is there?"
"Varys cannot possibly be in league with Tywin!"
Yet even with this suspicion raised, Tyrion still could not grasp the key to the matter.
After all, no matter how he looked at it, that eunuch could not possibly be his father's friend, in any respect.
For the moment, he could no longer be bothered with his breakfast. Frowning, he pondered hard.
"No, it makes no sense. It should have nothing to do with Varys—"
Tyrion still could not figure it out; in his view, this matter should have nothing to do with Varys.
"Perhaps it is simply that Varys truly does not know about this matter."
Thinking this, he could not help voicing his conclusion aloud, and unintentionally met Kal's gaze.
But as he looked into Kal's deep eyes, a sharp light flashed at once in Tyrion's own, as though he had suddenly thought something through, and he could not help slapping his hand down on the table.
"That's it. Not long after the fighting broke out, the other side of the Narrow Sea likewise fell into chaos. Those Free Cities, together with the mercenaries my father hired, were the best way to wipe out all traces."
"So the Lannister fleet must have disappeared during that period of time."
"With those mercenaries as cover, if they truly wished to, this would not have been anything difficult."
"Moreover, at the time the fleet of Dragonstone was also besieged, and the Stormlands region was likewise in turmoil."
By combining the overall situation and judging on the basis of all the information, Tyrion instantly realized why his own house's fleet had been able to disappear so effortlessly.
After all, if things truly were as he guessed, his father Tywin Lannister must have had this idea from the very beginning.
In that case, with one side prepared and the other unprepared, it truly would not have been difficult for the Lannister fleet, carrying the members of House Lannister and their wealth, to slip away.
But at Tyrion's conclusion, Kal still did not relax his furrowed brow.
"If things really are as you say—"
"Then why has Dorne not found them either?"
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