Chapter 129 - The Battle of Haigh Castle (III)
🕑 Added 2025-02-24 07:44:05 +0000 UTC“Never underestimate a woman's anger, especially a queen's.” Tyrion Lannister thought, watching the palace fight at court and the headless body in front of the Iron Throne.
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In the camp tent, Tyrion looked around and thought he was in the lair of a gang of bandits by the side of the road. There wasn't even a decent-looking man inside the tent. However, he had no right to judge someone by their appearance, but they all really did look like villains, no matter how he looked at them.
Then Tyrion's green and black eyes fell on a bald, old man. He looked timid and not at all brave.
Emmon Frey, second son of Walder Frey.
The reason Tyrion recognized the man was simple: he was the husband of his aunt, Genna Lannister. If there was anyone in the world he recognized as a relative and believed in he abilities, it was Genna Lannister.
As far as he knew, Genna controlled her cowardly husband like a rider controls a horse.
“I hope my beautiful aunt is in good health, Lord Emmon.” Tyrion greeted the man with a smile.
Emmon also smiled at the mention of his wife and answered a little shyly in the face of everyone's gaze, which fell on him after Tyrion's question.
“Genna is well, Lord Hand. She is teaching our children with great zeal and decency.” He replied with a proud smile.
If there was one thing he was proud of in his mediocre life, it was his wife. Only he had a wife like Genna, who was Tywin's sister and Queen Cersei's aunt!
In terms of status, apart from Tyrion, there wasn't a single person with a position comparable to his. This, for a moment, made him so proud that his posture straightened and he looked at everyone haughtily.
However, all pride vanished when he felt the cold gaze of his brother, Aenys. His posture shrank as before, and he couldn't help but lower his head, not daring to look Aenys in the eye.
Tyrion, who had noticed everything, couldn't help but shake his head. His aunt had really suffered for being married to such a cowardly and stupid man.
“May I ask where King Aenar will strike first?” Glaring at the dwarf, Aenys Frey asked in a calm, slightly malicious tone.
Tyrion narrowed his eyes, took a sip of wine and replied with a humorous tone: “How should I know, Lord Aenys? My king is someone who likes to solve everything himself and rarely allows anyone to go against his orders.”
That was a partial lie. Although the part about going against orders was true, Aenar really did allow everyone to advise him without any impatience. If the idea was a good one, the king would accept it without a second thought, as would Oberyn's strategy.
Although his king did have a rather tyrannical temperament in certain matters, he was surprisingly easy to get along with.
However, even so, Tyrion didn't reveal Aenar's plans to attack the Vale and the Riverlands. How could he reveal such important information to Walder Frey's vassals?
Aenys nodded, gradually creating a clear picture of the king's personality.
An arrogant boy who had been lucky enough to hatch a dragon, full of pride and who didn't listen to his advisors. He didn't seem like someone who would be difficult to influence. Such people cared more about their reputation than anything else.
This brought a smile to Aenys' lips. He estimated that, after a few conversations, they could replace the arrogant dwarf in front of him. Which wouldn't be difficult... Who would want to live with a little freak every day?
Tyrion, who always received looks of disdain and contempt, was especially sensitive to malicious expressions, and caught a hint of malice on the face of Walder Frey's third son.
Looking at the proud expression on Aenys' face, Tyrion found the scene amusing. Intelligent people were arrogant and often thought that knowledge was power, but if there was one thing he agreed with Cersei about, it was that power was power.
Aenys might have thought herself clever, but Tyrion thought himself even more so. There were few people who could really fight a battle of wits with him. The king was one of them. His father too.
Tywin Lannister was always three steps ahead of the enemy.
As for King Aenar, Tyrion estimated that he could never match him in intelligence. The king seemed to predict the future with an accuracy that sent shivers down his spine.
Suddenly, the ground seemed to shake. Everyone knew that the king had arrived with his army.
However, all of Walder's lords and sons changed their expressions dramatically when they felt the intensity of the tremor.
“May I ask how many soldiers the king has?” Stevron asked, shocked.
“About one hundred and twenty thousand, but we're not complete yet. The army of House Tyrell hasn't joined us yet.” Tyrion replied casually, as he watched with pleasure at the change in everyone's expressions, trying to pick up any tiny detail that might be useful in the future.
But after a while, Tyrion saw only animation on their faces, which indicated that no one in the tent knew about Walder and Tywin's plan. Which didn't surprise him.
Knowing his father, Tyrion knew that such a basic mistake could never be made by the powerful Tywin Lannister. The man would kill anyone who knew of his plans.
“Let's go and greet the king.” Tyrion set his wine glass aside and got down from his chair with some difficulty. Everyone didn't hesitate and headed towards the entrance to the camp.
“Lord Tyrion, is the king married? I have a beautiful, delicate sister who is of a suitable age to marry.” Aenys asked with a smile, although her expression was, to say the least, frightening for anyone.
“The king has two wives and loves them both.” Tyrion replied in a slightly hurried tone.
He didn't want to get involved in this hornet's nest of killer bees. Fighting at court would be a scary thing, especially between queens, and he didn't want to put himself in danger by anything he said or did.
During his time in Volantis, how could he have missed Rhaenys and Arianne's intentions? He felt that things would get really complicated once the war was won. The two factions would fight for power, and it wouldn't be a gentle contest.
The queens could remain unscathed and safe from the Court's conspiracies, but their allies wouldn't have the same privilege. Tyrion didn't want to get involved in this battle and would never dare recommend a wife or mistress for Aenar, attracting the hatred of the queens.
Aenys showed a disappointed expression, but was not discouraged. If marrying her sister to the king wasn't possible, she could still become Aenar's mistress or even a servant. As long as he received rewards, it didn't matter what his sister's status was.
While everyone was talking among themselves, they arrived at the entrance to the camp.
When the army got close enough to be seen, a red and gold wave appeared in everyone's vision. The most shocking thing for Walder Frey's vassals and children was that all the soldiers were wearing armor!
How much gold had been spent to form such a well-equipped army? Stevron tried to imagine and shuddered at the absurd amount of resources that must have been invested.
Suddenly noticing that the sky was darkening, Stevron raised his head and felt like an ant in front of the crimson dragon flying above the army. The shadow of the creature's wings seemed to cover the sky itself.
Stevron couldn't help but thank his father for bowing to the Targaryen king. He didn't want to die and he definitely didn't want House Frey to disappear in the face of such a destructive force.
Had he known about his father's plan, perhaps Stevron wouldn't have been so grateful to his own father for making the decision to challenge someone so powerful and dangerous. After all, even if Aenar was killed, what would the dragon do when his rider died?
But that wasn't Walder's or Stevron's fault, how could they have known about the special bond between a dragon and its rider?
It was then that he saw the Targaryen king.
Aenar was surrounded by men in white armor, whom Stevron assumed were members of the Royal Guard. However, what really caught his attention was the king's size.
The man was gigantic, perhaps the biggest Stevron had ever seen in his sixty years of life. He was wearing red armor with the coat of arms of House Targaryen and a crown adorned with rubies under his white-gold hair.
“I hope I'm not late, Heir of the Crossing.” Aenar greeted Stevron with a gentle smile, even though he was about to kill him.
Stevron straightened up and bowed to the king. “We are your vassals, Your Grace.”
He looked at Aenar and continued in a respectful tone: "How could we blame you for any lateness?"
“Don't flatter me, Lord Stevron. I'm tired of traveling for so long.” Aenar smiled, responding to the man's flattery with an amused tone.
His words made the atmosphere more relaxed. Seeing that the king was approachable and kind caused many to start introducing themselves, each trying to impress him in some way.
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Note: There will be another chapter later today.
