The sky was cloudless and azure. On this day, people from all strata of King's Landing gathered. Looking down from above, the square was almost completely packed.
Naturally, the ordinary wealthy people and nobles dressed in silk garments were able to stand closer to the Great Sept, surrounded by their servants.
As for the common folk, they stood in the outer areas, gathered here were everyone from children several years old to old women whose faces were covered in wrinkles, and from boat trackers doing hard labor by the river to vendors walking the streets and alleys.
"I heard the King is going to use the Red God's ceremony to crown himself?"
"The Red God? But we all believe in the Seven Gods! Isn't the King afraid the Seven Gods will punish him?"
"Quiet. The King will definitely still use the Seven Gods' ceremony for his coronation. He is the King of Westeros."
The people of King's Landing were "well-informed", they knew that the Red God was also called the lord of light.
Compared to these commoners, the wealthy and nobles in the front had already confirmed that Stannis intended to use the lord of light's rites as the main ceremony for his coronation.
The Pyromancers of the Alchemists' Guild had already been summoned by him into the Red Keep. For a moment, the elderly felt as if they had returned to the Aerys era.
This was because during Aerys's Late Stage of rule, he even selected a Pyromancer to be his hand of the king, though this Pyromancer hand of the king was killed by Jaime Lannister after only twenty-odd days.
However, while the common folk only wanted clarification, the wealthy and nobles were considering whether or not to "follow Stannis's pace". If they could get closer to the new King through the faith of the lord of light, redecorating their household septs in the Red God style was certainly acceptable.
And right at the front of the Great Sept, the center of the viewing ceremony, a dozen banners flew high.
The most conspicuous was the Flaming Stag, followed closely by the banner of House Florent.
Besides these, there were the Direwolf banner of Winterfell, Jon's black Direwolf banner, the banner of the Eyrie, and the green and gold flower of Tyrell.
These four banners were all highly significant.
Jon's black Direwolf banner goes without saying; the gray Direwolf banner of Winterfell actually represented Eddard Stark.
The blue flying falcon banner of House Arryn of the Eyrie was also present. Lysa Arryn, the widow of the former hand of the king, Jon Arryn, and Catelyn Tully's sister, was attending on behalf of The Vale, holding her only son, Robert Arryn. This was all thanks to Petyr.
Petyr had been dismissed from his position as Master of Coin by Stannis, but unwilling to withdraw from the center of power, he instead defected to Queen Selyse.
He guaranteed Selyse that he could persuade Catelyn's sister, Lysa, the widow of the former hand of the king, Duke of the Eyrie, and Defender of the Vale, to attend the King's coronation ceremony.
And he indeed succeeded, thus being permitted to attend the coronation ceremony. Selyse also used this point to slightly increase Stannis's favor toward her.
Furthermore, Littlefinger Petyr also had Lysa provide Stannis with an interest-free loan of several hundred thousand Gold Dragons.
This further alleviated Stannis's pressing needs.
Although he knew Petyr had a strong lust for power, Stannis believed he could control the situation and thus turned a blind eye to Littlefinger's actions.
As for House Tyrell, they had arrived a few days ago, bringing with them a substantial amount of grain. This grain was publicly claimed to be an interest-free loan, but in reality, it could also be called a "fine paid by House Tyrell".
As if specially arranged, House Tyrell's green and gold flower banner was right next to Jon's black and white Direwolf banner.
Many people from House Tyrell came: Mace, his mother Lady Olenna, his wife Alerie, Garlan, Margaery, and Margaery's handmaiden.
Among them, the handmaiden named Lia was dressed almost as elaborately as Margaery, and her jewelry even surpassed Margaery's.
She was actually meant to be a shield for Margaery, and she was also the person House Tyrell intended to betroth to Jon.
If nothing went wrong, Jon would "fall in love at first sight" with Lia, be granted marriage, enter the bridal chamber, and have children soon after—
But Lia, a girl who longed for stories of knights and princes, was not looking forward to marrying Jon.
Even though Jon's story was quite exciting, and even though he was now a Duke, Lia was still somewhat reluctant.
Margaery stood in the procession, listening to Mace grumble softly, "What lord of light? Now look, seeing all these Red Priests, I feel like I've gone abroad."
Margaery looked toward the ongoing coronation ceremony. Stannis was now also draped in a red cloak, surrounded by a group of Red Priests holding longswords.
Seeing that everyone around her was focused on the coronation, she secretly turned her head to look in Jon's direction.
Compared to the large numbers of House Tyrell, Jon's side seemed somewhat sparsely populated.
Under the black and white Direwolf banner, there were almost only him and two guards. Sansa and Arya still needed to stand under Winterfell's gray banner.
Margaery looked at Jon's profile, thinking his features were clear and could be considered handsome. Moreover, she noticed Jon seemed to be deep in thought.
There were also many bastards in the Tyrell Family. Although their Family's restrictions on bastards were very lenient, bastards were not allowed to appear at any important occasion.
Presumably, the Stark Family of Winterfell was the same. Margaery thought it was truly remarkable that an unsightly bastard could reach his current position.
Suddenly, Margaery saw Jon turn his head to look at her, and their gazes collided like an uncontrolled carriage.
Margaery did not look away like an ordinary girl but returned a smile, and Jon nodded back at her.
At this moment, Mace seemed to sense something, looked back at Margaery, and followed her line of sight to Jon.
Seeing that Jon dared to covet his daughter, a sudden surge of anger rose in his heart. He glared at Jon, then moved slightly to stand between the two of them, and only after Jon obediently turned his head away did he whisper to Margaery, "That bastard is full of cunning. I knew he was no good when he attacked King's Landing. Once the coronation is over, you must stick close to me, don't give him a chance to approach you!"
"Yes, Father," Margaery responded softly, but the gray eyes were what filled her mind.
She distinctly remembered Jon was the same age as her, and noble youths who were her age or close to it usually showed expressions of surprise, astonishment, or even greed when they saw her, and Margaery was long tired of it.
Only Jon's eyes were calm, carrying a certain wisdom and maturity far exceeding his actual age. She had only seen that kind of brilliance in her grandmother Lady Olenna's eyes.
Just as Margaery was savoring the brief eye contact, she was suddenly interrupted by the Red Priests surrounding Stannis.
They wiped their hands across their longswords, and with a boom, all dozen longswords burst into flames.
Those who had initially been displeased with the Red God's coronation ceremony now felt a sense of awe.
The Red Priests brandished their flaming longswords, surrounding Stannis in the center. Enveloped by the firelight, Stannis's shadow flickered on the ground.
And in front of him, Melisandre spread her hands and chanted in Valyrian and the distant Asshai'i language.
As Melisandre chanted, the flames on the longswords gradually turned blood-red. Suddenly, she faced Stannis.
Stannis seemed to receive a signal; he drew his lightbringer. Although lightbringer did not blaze with fire like the other ordinary longswords, it shone brightly with red and yellow light.
This caused everyone's expressions to change simultaneously.
Sansa, needless to say, had been perfectly well-behaved from the start.
Arya was also awestruck, standing still with her restless hands and feet.
Mace stopped grumbling, and even Lady Olenna, who had lived long and seen much, was deeply captivated.
At this moment, Jon noticed that the red gemstone necklace around Melisandre's neck was also radiating light.
Not only the nobles standing closest, but even the common people far away were stunned by this sight.
After all, the Seven Gods had never displayed any miracles over the years, whereas the lord of light currently looked stronger and more reliable.
Moreover, when the Red Priests preached the lord of light, they always spoke of light and warmth.
Some elderly people who had experienced winter and knew how cold and difficult it was were already wavering.
Melisandre took out a crown inlaid with rubies, raised it high above Stannis's head, and began to chant.
Again, the first time was in Asshai'i, the second in Valyrian, and the third in the Common Tongue.
Everyone failed to understand the first two chants, but they heard the third clearly.
We Mortals, born and dying alone, lost and wandering in the dark valley—
Fortunately, we have kin to gather and walk with, fortunately, we have the True Lord to bless us with abundance—
When the third prayer ended, the ruby crown was finally placed upon Stannis's bald head, covering the bright spot in the middle of his head.
And the shadow cast by the crown perfectly matched the ring of hair around his head.
It was as if his receding hair was meant to make room for the crown.
After the coronation ceremony, Jon, Sansa, Arya, and Jeyne Poole sat in the same carriage.
----
In the carriage, Sansa praised Margaery's beauty endlessly. Since realizing she was also quite pretty, this was the first time she felt somewhat insecure about her own looks.
"Jon, you must find a way to marry her. You are a Duke now, you are perfectly worthy," Sansa said earnestly.
"You talk as if House Tyrell would definitely agree. Your Majesty already said that I would most likely marry that collateral Family girl next to her. Truly my own sister, always thinking good things for me," Jon teased, reaching out to pinch Sansa's cheeks, which had become round again.
Sansa shyly pushed Jon's hand away and said, "That won't do. Don't worry, I will help you then."
"You'll help me?"
"I definitely can. Cersei—I know how to talk to her, anyway." Sansa looked at Arya and said, "Arya, you have to come with me then."
"No, I want to learn how they put fire on their weapons!" Arya shook her head, still immersed in the magical display during the coronation ceremony.
Sansa wanted to scold Arya, but remembering Eddard's instructions before his death, she decided against it.
Just then, a face suddenly appeared outside the carriage window. Although Jon didn't know his name, he knew from his ears that he was a knight from House Florent.
This young knight leaned against the carriage window and said in a hushed voice, "Lord Duke, Her Majesty the Queen wants me to tell you that you must pay attention during the banquet. An opportunity will be created for you and Young Miss Margaery to meet then."
After speaking, the young knight left.
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn (Gk31)