Inside the White Tower of the Hand, Stannis and Alliser were listening to Pycelle's report on the nation's true condition over the years.
Although he had long known that Robert was negligent and extravagant, the true state of the nation was worse than he had anticipated.
Take the finances, for example: the crown's debt alone amounted to over six million! Three million was owed to the Lannister Family, and another three million was owed to the Free Cities.
When Stannis learned the total debt, his mind stalled for a moment; he truly did not know how Robert had managed to spend all that money.
As far as he knew, Jaehaerys I hadn't spent that much money even when paving the King's Road connecting the entire country.
"Your Majesty, due to the Lannister rebellion, I believe our total debt can be halved immediately," Pycelle said, trying to ease Stannis's mood.
He knew that dealing with such a serious King meant his future days would be difficult to muddle through, but Stannis still frowned deeply. Even if the Lannister money didn't need repayment, he still owed three million, and he couldn't even afford the rewards for his vassals.
Not to mention he needed to reorganize his fleet. Furthermore, he had previously hired Salladhor's ships to join his fleet, but in the Battle of the Blackwater Rush, not only did he suffer heavy losses, but Salladhor's ships did too.
Besides needing to pay Salladhor his commission, Stannis also needed to compensate him for his lost ships.
It was then that he suddenly realized that even though he possessed the iron throne, he was merely a "pauper" King.
Just then, a maid walked in. Alliser tried to turn her away, but upon learning it was Queen Selyse's order, he had no choice but to let her enter.
"What is it?" Stannis asked without lifting his head.
"The Queen asked me to inquire if you need to change the decorations inside Maegors Holdfast—"
The maid was only halfway through her sentence when Alliser showed a helpless expression, and Stannis was instantly ignited—he abruptly looked up at the maid: "If that woman wants to change things, tell her to find the money herself!"
Startled by his gaze and tone, the maid hurriedly left the room.
Stannis irritably slammed the ledger documents onto the table, put his hands on his hips, and looked out at the night view, but all he saw was the grim future of the Kingdom.
Now, he had no money, insufficient military strength, and his proudest asset, the fleet, had suffered devastating losses in the Battle of the Blackwater Rush. Rebuilding would take at least three to five years, or even longer.
Worse still, it was already autumn. Soon, the Seven Kingdoms would face widespread crop failure, slowing population growth, and correspondingly, a great reduction in tax revenue.
Without money or an army, he, the King, had no deterrent power whatsoever.
Just thinking about Robb, Tywin entrenched in the Westerlands, and Balon of the Iron Islands gave him a massive headache.
However, soon, news arrived that gave him an even bigger headache. Just as Stannis decided to sleep in the Tower of the Hand for the night, bad news arrived—the Lord he had just bestowed a title upon had fled!
In Maegors Holdfast, lights were burning brightly. Sansa and Arya were brought to the Red Keep for strict protection almost immediately, and the two girls sat with Selyse.
"Tell me, when did Jon leave?" Selyse was not a gentle woman; on the contrary, her voice was often like a whip, and her words sounded as if she were accusing others.
"We do not know, Your Majesty," Sansa shook her head. "Arya couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and got up to look for Jon, only to find he was gone. He only left this behind."
Sansa handed a letter to Selyse. Selyse was about to take it and read it when Stannis suddenly appeared.
Selyse quickly rose to pay respects to her husband, but Stannis ignored her completely and snatched the letter away.
In the letter, Jon stated that Stannis was a King who upheld justice and law, and he would not hold the two girls hostage, assuring Sansa and Arya.
Jon then acknowledged that Stannis would surely see this letter. He apologized to Stannis, saying he was genuinely tempted by the title of Lord of Harrenhal and the Stark surname, but he did not wish to fight Robb. However, should Stannis face other enemies in the future, he would still be willing to heed the call.
After reading Jon's letter, Stannis unconsciously ground his teeth, and his face turned ashen.
Sansa was continuously twisting her handkerchief, and Selyse dared not breathe loudly. Only Arya was touching her sword hilt, looking around.
"Pursue him! Send men after him! Bring this Jon back to me!" No sooner had Stannis given the order than Melisandre walked in.
"Your Majesty, I have found Jon. He is heading toward Sow's Horn."
Stannis knew this was Melisandre's fire vision, so he looked toward Yassel. Yassel understood and quickly led his men toward Sow's Horn.
Yassel and Penny were in charge of leading the search party.
Conducting a military search late at night was certainly not good for anyone's mood. They had originally thought Jon was merely greedy, wanting more rewards, but they never expected him to actually leave.
"Jon!"
"Lord Jon!"
"My Lord!"
"Come back with us, My Lord! This is treason!" Penny, who had previously come to King's Landing with Davos, shouted loudly across the vast fields.
He knew clearly that if he failed to bring Jon back, his life would be ruined.
But Yassel, beside him, stopped him: "Don't shout like that. Jon isn't an idiot. He is determined to leave. Do you think talking will help?"
Yassel knew that after today, bards and singers across King's Landing and even the Seven Kingdoms would sing of Jon's deeds.
His good name would spread throughout Westeros, and even the Free Cities would know of this "stubborn" but noble bastard.
Wait, no one would dare call him a bastard anymore. With this spirit of abandoning a lordship and dedicating himself solely to serving humanity, even those who disagreed with his actions inwardly would publicly have to refer to him as "Ser Jon" or "Ser Stark."
Around noon, Melisandre sent someone again to tell them Jon's exact location. Yassel and Penny cornered Jon by a riverbank.
Jon was currently on horseback, with Ghost growling softly beside him, standing by the rushing river and watching the men who had come to "capture" him.
Although the men Stannis had sent this time were far more numerous than the group he had left the Wall with, and they had Melisandre providing the exact location...
...if Jon wanted to leave, no one could stop him.
However, the act was nearly over. Jon sat on his horse, watching the Gold Cloaks steadily approach him.
"Lord Jon, please come back with us. This is Your Majesty's command!" Yassel said loudly, his demeanor extremely respectful, even dismounting his horse to avoid appearing too superior.
"Ser Florent, please just let me go," Jon said in a pleading tone, as if he were terribly worried about the Wall, or perhaps, as he claimed, truly unwilling to fight his brother Robb.
However, he knew in his heart that neither Mance Rayder nor the wildlings were the real threat; the true threat came from the Others.
If Robb could be persuaded to return to the Wall, the wildling problem would not be difficult to solve. The issue of the Others would also temporarily not affect humanity for the next year or two.
Winter, the Long Night, the Others—among them, the winter would be the biggest problem Westeros would face in the future.
He had to find a way to make Stannis officially grant him the Westerlands. If he could control the Westerlands, he could mobilize more resources to stockpile materials for cold weather and fuel.
Yassel spoke again: "Lord Jon, if you go to the Wall, what about Robb? Your Majesty might send men to attack the North. If you go to the Wall, what about Tywin? Will he continue to seek vengeance? If you go to the Wall, what about Balon? After raiding the Westerlands, will they continue to raid the North? Lord Jon, only you, only you can stop all of this!"
Once personal interests were involved, a person's brain would start working at high speed.
Especially Yassel, who was capable of actions like "putting righteousness before Family," he knew perfectly well that only if Jon accepted the reward would House Florent not end up with nothing.
Jon hadn't really intended to leave, and seeing Yassel's sincerity, he agreed to return with them.
On the way, Yassel and Penny practically clung to Jon's waist, terrified that he would run off.
It wasn't until the afternoon that the group finally returned to the Red Keep and saw Stannis.
The King, who had encountered numerous problems immediately upon ascending the throne, was irritable and exhausted. Jon even felt that he had developed dark circles under his eyes, and the remaining hair at his temples seemed precarious.
"Does serving me truly humiliate you so much?" Stannis's voice was like freezing rain, but to Jon, it sounded as if there was a hint of grievance.
"It's not like that, Your Majesty, I just—"
"Do not wish to fight Robb!" Stannis interrupted Jon's defense. He had initially suspected that Jon might have been dissatisfied with the reward, but now that suspicion was completely gone.
He had now concluded that Jon was a man who was "more Eddard than Eddard."
"Jon, for the sake of the merits you have earned, I will not punish you," Stannis said. In reality, it wasn't just that Stannis was reluctant; more importantly, there was no law stating that a vassal must be punished for refusing a reward. Jon had violated no statutes, though he had certainly annoyed Stannis.
"But from now on, you will stay put in King's Landing! You are not permitted to leave without my command! Otherwise, it will be defiance of the King's order! And I will punish you! Do you understand!"
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn (Gk31)