The meeting in the Queen's Hall continued.
Glyn motioned for the others to quiet down before continuing, "Returning to the advice proposed by Ser Lancel—the plan for heads to roll?"
Glyn found Lancel's shining gaze a bit unbearable, secretly disdaining this little Lannister brat.
Ignoring Jaime's somewhat hostile gaze, Glyn began, "We definitely need to make an example of a batch of people, and the number can't be small. Her Grace the Queen's authority cannot be so easily trampled upon!"
Before Jaime could speak, Glyn met his gaze. "If this isn't handled well this time, there will be more insidious rats slandering Her Grace our Queen from the shadows."
Cersei secretly rolled her eyes at Jaime and, helping Glyn, cut off Jaime who was about to speak again. "Continue."
Glyn nodded toward Cersei. "With an impartial heart, we shall act in an open and honorable manner. We can use an honorable pretext to achieve our goals."
"Ser Jaime, the Queen's Quarter is one of the poorest districts in King's Landing, and its order is chaotic... How many people do you think are there who should have been beheaded long ago?"
Jaime's palm tightened unconsciously. He asked in a heavy voice, "I admit there are many heinous criminals there, but I still want to ask, how do we distinguish which ones are the rumor-mongers? And how do we prevent the executions from causing a riot?"
Jaime had witnessed the horror of riots. They were like hell on earth, and innocent commoners would be the greatest victims.
Jaime possessed the compassionate heart of a knight. He wasn't afraid of killing, but his greatest fear was that mishandling the situation would incite a riot, and the consequences of that riot would, in turn, harm Cersei.
Glyn's tone was unhurried. "Ser Jaime, we must first agree on whether to kill or not. The riots are a matter to be discussed later."
Glyn swept his gaze over the surrounding officials and said in a low voice, "The rumor-mongers are not limited to the worst criminals in the Queen's Quarter, but the worst criminals in the Queen's Quarter are certainly among the rumor-mongers."
"If the blade we wield is sharp enough, those who lurk in the shadows will be terrified of Her Grace the Queen's iron fist. Only with fear will they be deterred. That is the result we must achieve!"
There was a moment of silence. Some had a sudden realization, some sighed in admiration, and others were still pondering. Finally, one by one, they began to nod.
Cersei's beautiful eyes gazed at Glyn's refined face as she nodded slightly.
Jaime was more or less convinced, but he didn't want to let Glyn off so easily. He shot Glyn a sidelong glance and said, "What about the riots?"
Glyn maliciously judged Jaime for being petty.
Glyn, who was used to acting like a bandit king in House Crabbe, almost tapped the table out of habit but managed to restrain himself.
"Conveniently, a disease is currently spreading in the Queen's Quarter. Under the pretext that Her Grace the Queen wishes to treat the district, we can seal off the Queen's Quarter directly, quarantining it from the rest of King's Landing."
"Secondly, as for the subsequent, specific implementation plan... Your Grace, forgive my presumption, but please allow me to advise you in private."
Glyn placed his right hand over his chest, his gaze sweeping seriously over the others. "Gentlemen, this is a war! Forgive me, but the principle of secrecy before a battle must be observed."
The important parts were not suitable for public discussion here. There are no secrets in the Red Keep.
If Glyn wanted to stand out from the many officials, he couldn't possibly please everyone.
Glyn's last sentence at least didn't ignore the feelings of the others. It wasn't perfectly tactful, but it was enough.
...
Queen Cersei rose from her seat, and the others all followed suit, rising to their feet and watching her.
Her beautiful eyes swept over her officials. Tilting her chin up slightly, Cersei nodded, turned, and began to walk away, saying, "Baron Glyn, accompany me upstairs. Alone."
(end of chapter)