Gregor laughed and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Boots. From now on, we're family."
Booz was full of questions. He was an ordinary commoner with no special skills, a native of King's Landing. Why would the Mountain from the West come to King's Landing to find his family and claim kinship?
This is very strange and illogical.
He looked at Tob Mott and Gendry. Tob was strong and burly, a very tough and strong man, while Gendry was also muscular. Judging from his appearance, he was a fearless kid, but it seemed that, like them, he had been coerced by the Mountain.
"Sir Gregor, our family are commoners, and our granddaughter Esther has no particular talents. We are truly unworthy of your presence…"
Gregor ignored the old man's rambling and interrupted him, shouting, "Let's go back to the West."
He led the way. A cavalryman leaped onto the purchased wagon, and with a crack of his whip, the wagon swayed and followed behind the Mountain. Polliver Clegane rode alongside the wagon, followed by nine ferocious cavalrymen who escorted Master Blacksmith Tob Mort and his apprentice Gendry.
The group traveled along the Golden Road, traveling by day and resting by night, heading straight back to the Clegane Territory in the west.
*
King's Landing, Red Keep, Throne Room.
Renly Baratheon, King Robert's third brother, sat on the famous Iron Throne in the Throne Hall.
Renly Baratheon was born in Aegon 278 and is twenty-one years old this year. He is young and handsome, with charming blue eyes and long, shiny black hair that falls over his shoulders. He has a friendly smile and speaks gently, making him very likable, but his older brother Stannis Baratheon has always thought he is too frivolous.
If Master Blacksmith Tob Mott, who was taken by the Mountain, were here, he would be astonished at how similar his apprentice Gendry was to Renly Baratheon. Their eyes, foreheads, lip contours, and face shapes were all remarkably alike. The only difference was that one had short hair and a stubborn, reckless demeanor, while the other had long, flowing hair and an elegant, noble air.
King Robert Baratheon, accompanied by a hundred courtiers and the queen, traveled north to Winterfell, leaving the city in the care of his younger brother, Renly Baratheon. This greatly displeased Robert's second brother, Stannis Baratheon, who angrily left King's Landing and returned to his fiefdom: Dragonstone, an island in the sea beyond the Blackwater Bay.
Renly is the Lord Attorney General, and his older brother Stannis Baratheon is the Lord Attorney General. Renly offered a perfunctory attempt to persuade his brother to stay, but once Stannis made a decision, no one could persuade him unless Robert was present.
Stannis left without saying goodbye to Renly.
However, Renly was an optimist and didn't mind.
Although the Minister of the Navy, one of the senior ministers, was absent, this did not affect the daily political meetings held at the Iron Throne.
Beneath the Iron Throne, none of the other important courtiers were missing: Barristan Selmy the Fearless, Captain of the Kingsguard; Varys the Spider, the Chief of Intelligence, whose gleaming head was as shiny as it had been during King Robert's reign; Petyr Baelish, the Treasurer, whose face, horribly swollen two days ago, had now recovered, leaving only a faint bruise on the right corner of his mouth, which he claimed was a pleasurable scar from a drunken masochistic game with a prostitute; and Grand Maester Paisell, Grand Master of Four Reigns.
Paisell was born in Aegon 216 and is eighty-two years old this year. His bald head is covered with black age spots, and the hair on the sides and back of his head is completely white, hanging down in long strands. His maester's necklace is made of twenty-four different metal plates, representing his expertise in twenty-four different fields. The heavy metal plates hang from his neck to his chest.
What Grand Master Paisel valued most was his long, snow-white beard, which he regarded as the source of his honor and pride.
Paisell entered the royal court at the age of forty-two and has served four kings: Aegon V, Jaehaerys II, Aerys II, and Robert I. He holds Tywin Lannister of the West in the highest esteem and is a loyal courtier to the Lannister family of the West.
A decision made at a Council of Kings is legally binding as long as at least three Lord Chancellors are present. This is why Renly isn't afraid of his brother Stannis leaving.
Renly was favored by his elder brother Robert in everything he did; he was the heir to Storm's End and the Duke of Storm's End. However, according to the laws of the land and the order of succession, Stannis Baratheon should have become the Duke of the wealthy Storm's End. But Robert disliked Stannis's cold and cruel demeanor towards everyone, and in the name of the King, he bestowed Storm's End upon his younger brother Renly Baratheon, while granting Stannis the barren and sparsely populated Isle of Dragonstone.
Stannis had long suffered unfair treatment from his brother Robert, and this time was no different. Robert left, and according to the order of seniority, Stannis could have become the acting king, but unfortunately, it wasn't him this time. Robert still gave the honor of acting king to his younger brother Renly Baratheon.
Renly did not feel comfortable sitting on the Iron Throne, which symbolized the highest power in the Seven Kingdoms.
The Iron Throne is cold and hard, and it has been 298 years since its creation. It was forged by Aegon, the first emperor of the Targaryen dynasty.
In the first year of the Aegonian calendar, King Aegon had his dragon Balerion, the Black Death, melt down thousands of swords discarded by his enemies when they surrendered, and it took him fifty-nine days to complete this throne.
The Iron Throne is covered in spikes and barbs, making it uncomfortable to sit on. The backrest is also covered in spikes, preventing you from leaning back when you're tired. A moment's carelessness could result in cuts to your hands or body from the spikes and sharp edges. King Aegon deliberately forged this throne from thousands of enemy swords to remind future kings that the throne was hard-won, and being a king was even more difficult; they should cherish it and work diligently for the country.
The last Targaryen king, Aerys II, known as the "Mad King," was frequently wounded by the Iron Throne due to his volatile temper. Rumors even circulated that the Iron Throne had caused the deaths of several kings; for example, Maegar I was said to have fallen and died after running into the outward-facing sword tip of the throne. Of course, there were also whispers that Maegar I was pushed from behind before he crashed into it.
Although Renly did not enjoy sitting on the Iron Throne, he still had to sit on it.
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"My lords, I have received word that King Robert and Queen Cersei have led everyone across the Neck, a swamp hundreds of miles long in the North, and are expected to reach Winterfell in the North in about ten days."
Sparse applause immediately filled the throne room.
Most of the courtiers accompanied the king, including the queen's two brothers: Jaime Lannister and Tyrion Lannister, known as the Imp. The throne room was empty, with only a few people present.
The ensuing official business was, as always, a jumble of trivial matters that Renly found utterly uninteresting. As Renly visibly showed signs of boredom and exhaustion, the intelligence chief, Varys, announced, "Lord Renly, gentlemen, two serious incidents have recently occurred in Flea Hollow. One was the murder of a mercenary from the Warriors' Guild on the street where brown soup is sold. The other was an even more serious violent incident at the underground arena in Flea Hollow, resulting in several deaths and more than twenty injuries."
"Who is the murderer? Has he been caught?" Lan Li immediately became interested, his blue eyes shining.