Chapter 104: It's All Your Fault!
"By the Seven, the King is far too cruel!"
"Poor Jim is so pitiful; he spent all his family's money to treat his son's illness and is now drowning in debt!"
Just as Meryn Trant's sword was about to fall, a chorus of exclamations immediately erupted from the crowd.
"His child is sick; who wouldn't be desperate?"
"Exactly! Even a King can't just kill people as he pleases!"
Hearing these remarks, Meryn Trant's face turned incredibly ugly. He brandished his sword and roared at the crowd, "Shut up!"
"You bunch of commoners!"
"Don't you know that offending the King is a capital offense? That is the law! Do you scum even know what law is?"
Ser Meryn felt quite majestic, seemingly forgetting entirely what had caused the last riot in King's Landing.
However, his arrogant display immediately incited public fury.
"He called us commoners!"
"Listen to that! The King's dog is barking!"
"They don't treat us like human beings at all!"
"Kill him! Kill him!"
The denunciations started from nowhere, but by the time Meryn Trant realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
The crowd surged; the men looked grim, brandishing an assortment of weapons from unknown sources—hammers, sickles, wooden clubs...
The women pulled their children behind them, their eyes burning with rage.
Oh no!
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Meryn Trant's forehead. This scene... why did it feel so familiar!
It was exactly like the last time!
He wanted to explain, but the enraged people began to riot.
The first stone flew out and struck Meryn's breastplate with a "clang."
Then came a second, a third...
Rotten cabbage leaves, stinking eggs, and even a worn-out shoe.
The tide of people began to surge; from every alleyway and behind every broken door, commoners poured out from all directions like a black flood.
They came too quickly and too orderly, almost as if they had been waiting here all along.
"Protect the King!"
A Kingsguard roared, and four white-cloaked knights immediately surrounded the carriage.
But they soon discovered that this time seemed a bit different from the last.
People poured out from a dozen alleys simultaneously, like a black torrent, instantly swallowing the twelve Gold Cloaks.
The soldiers of the City Watch were split up, surrounded, and pinned to the ground.
Their weapons were seized, their armor stripped off, and screams rose one after another.
But if Meryn Trant and the others had time to look closely, they would have noticed that these Gold Cloaks were merely being stripped of their clothes; very few were actually injured.
The King's guard, originally over a dozen strong, was instantly reduced to just four Kingsguard.
"Fall back! Retreat behind the carriage!"
Ser Balon Sven of the Kingsguard bellowed, using his body to shield one side of the carriage along with two of his sworn brothers.
Though he had cursed Meryn Trant ten thousand times in his heart, the most important thing now was to protect the King's safety.
Moreover...
Meryn Trant had been a moment slow in closing ranks and was swallowed by the tide of commoners.
Five or six people pinned him to the ground, and a burly man raised a hammer found from who-knows-where.
"No!"
Margaery happened to witness this scene and let out a scream.
Immediately after...
Bang!
The hammer fell, and blood splattered.
Meryn Trant stopped moving entirely.
Not just Margaery; Joffrey, beside her, also saw the entire process.
Meryn's eyes were wide and bulging at the final moment, filled with terror and regret. Blood gushed from his shattered helmet, soaking the cobblestones as he stared fixedly at the King he was sworn to defend.
In a sense, at least, he could be said to have fulfilled his oath.
Unfortunately, the King had no time to mourn Meryn Trant's death, for he had already wet his pants.
Warm liquid flowed down his thighs, soaking the expensive silk. Margaery glanced at him with some disdain, but soon she too shrunk back, startled by a flying brick.
"The carriage won't hold!"
Ser Balon Sven roared again. He was also having a hard time; his visor had been torn off by someone, and there was a bloody scratch on his face.
"Your Majesty! The wood is about to splinter; you must get out!"
"Get out?"
At those words, Joffrey cowered inside the carriage, refusing without hesitation. Clutching his head, he cried out with a sob, "I'm not fucking getting out! It's a mob out there!"
"Protect me, you useless fools! Once I get back to the Red Keep, I'll kill all these damn commoners... all of them!"
This cowardly behavior made the Kingsguard curse him inwardly.
Bound by their oaths, one of them still raised a foot and kicked open the precarious carriage door.
"Staying in the carriage is more dangerous!"
"Your Majesty, Queen Mother, Lady Tyrell, stay close to me!"
Now Joffrey had no choice at all, as he was crudely dragged out of the carriage by his hair.
Cersei followed closely behind, and Margaery was the last to come out. Her hem got caught in the broken carriage door and tore open in the panic.
The street now seemed to have turned into a literal hell.
There were people everywhere!
Angry, distorted faces, waving clubs, rotten cabbage leaves and stones flying through the air; the Kingsguard struggled to maintain a small defensive circle.
"Head north!" Balon shouted. "There are fewer people that way!"
At his word, the three Kingsguard began to move in unison. Balon cleared the way in front, two sworn brothers guarded the flanks, Joffrey was sandwiched in the middle, Cersei gripped his arm tightly, and Margaery followed at the rear.
Just then, a stone struck the shoulder of the last knight. He stumbled, and a gap immediately appeared in the circle.
Cersei, who had been moving with her head down, had her eyes light up. She suddenly let go of Joffrey's arm and gave a subtle shove backward!
The movement was very fast and discreet; in the chaos, almost no one noticed.
Margaery was looking back at the pursuers and was completely unguarded.
The push was forceful. She pitched forward and fell directly into the crowd surging from the side.
"Ah!!!" The poor Rose of Highgarden only had time to let out a single scream before she vanished into the tide of people.
Joffrey looked back and saw her brown hair flash for an instant in the crowd. Several filthy hands seemed to have grabbed her arms, tearing at her pale blue gown.
"Margaery!" he shouted instinctively.
But Cersei had already grabbed his arm again, her grip so tight that Joffrey felt his bones ache.
"Go, quickly!"
The Queen Mother screamed in his ear, her voice carrying a strange excitement: "She can't be saved! Move!"
Joffrey was dragged forward.
He glanced back, catching a glimpse of Margaery being dragged into an alleyway, vanishing into the darkness.
The crowd closed like a tide, as if she had never existed.
Just like that fool from House Stokeworth back then.
"This way! Fast!"
Ser Balon Sven roared, charging into a relatively empty street.
But just when they thought they could finally catch their breath, the pursuers quickly caught up.
At the end of the street, dozens of men suddenly appeared aggressively, blocking the entire road.
Schwing!!!
Balon was the first to draw his longsword. In the previous chaos, he hadn't even had the chance to draw.
Seeing this, the two Kingsguard also drew their swords, glaring fiercely at the crowd closing in on them.
"There are too many of them..."
One of them whispered. Balon Sven heard him, but his eyes were full of determination.
"We swore an oath."
As the crowd gradually approached, the space for the three Kingsguard was slowly squeezed and compressed.
Joffrey was terrified; he could even smell the sweat on those people and see their angry, bloodshot eyes.
Schwing~~~
Cersei shielded Joffrey behind her and pulled a small dagger from her bosom.
Her hands were shaking, but her gaze was as fierce as a lioness: "Anyone who dares touch my son, I'll gouge their eyes out!"
Inside, however, her heart was pounding frantically.
That damn fellow... he wouldn't be planning to turn this act into reality, would he!
The people pressed closer, and just as the man in the lead raised a wooden club to strike...
Hooo—
—ooo—
A low, deep horn blast, sounding as if it came from the depths of the earth, made everyone freeze for a moment.
Then, at the other end of the street, the crowd automatically parted, and the sound of clopping hooves rang out.
The first thing to come into view was a banner: a clean white field with a giant black hand, fingers slightly spread, embroidered in the center.
The banner snapped in the afternoon wind, carrying a savage and majestic aura.
The standard-bearer was a tall, burly man, bare-chested, his bronze skin covered in scars and his muscles looking as if carved from stone.
He rode a saddleless black stallion, its mane braided into countless small plaits that swayed with every step.
Clearly, this was a Dothraki.
The Dothraki Warrior said nothing, but as his gaze swept around, many people silently lowered their heads.
Next, he rested the flagpole on the ground. Beside him, flanked by a dozen men in pitch-black uniforms, a gentle grey mare paced forward slowly.
The man on horseback wore a simple but well-tailored dark grey outer robe, without any badges or jewelry.
He had short black hair and a face that wasn't exactly handsome but had resolute lines, especially those pitch-black eyes that seemed to hold one's gaze once met.
Sunlight bathed him, and an invisible aura seemed to unfold.
[Majesty Lv3]
"Vi... Vi..."
Seeing the newcomer, the King pointed at him and repeated, but for a moment, he couldn't remember his name at all.
Cersei, however, breathed a sigh of relief, and her tense nerves finally relaxed.
Corleone rode to the edge of the circle and stopped. His gaze swept over the "mob" holding clubs, the blood-stained Kingsguard, and finally landed on Joffrey and Cersei.
.
Then, he spoke.
"Drop your weapons."
His voice wasn't loud, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly. It wasn't a threatening tone, but those men who had been as fierce as beasts just moments ago actually began to retreat.
They exchanged glances, lowered their heads, and the clubs in their hands slowly dropped.
"Lord Corleone..."
"Lord Corleone!"
Then, the horse moved forward, and the crowd automatically parted to form a path wherever Corleone went.
Arriving before Joffrey, he flipped off his horse.
"Your Majesty, Queen Mother."
"Corleone!!"
Only then did Joffrey fully remember his name. He practically threw himself forward in tears, clutching Corleone's arm: "Vito Corleone, that's your name, isn't it!"
"This is wonderful! You're here! You've come to save me!"
"It's alright, it's alright. I'm here, Your Majesty." Corleone calmly patted Joffrey's head, offering comfort.
If an outsider saw this scene, they might have thought he was the King's father.
Even Cersei couldn't help but feel her heart flutter slightly.
To be honest, no one wanted to see Joffrey and Jaime share a tender father-son moment more than she did, but it was simply impossible.
At this moment, she felt inexplicably moved.
"Rest assured, with me here, no one will dare harm you."
Corleone glanced at his newly made robe, then at Joffrey's face covered in snot and tears, and discreetly pushed him away.
Then he looked at the retreating "mob" and said coldly, "I will deal with these people."
"To dare offend the King... they will pay the price for today's actions!"
"Exactly!"
Hearing this, Joffrey screamed excitedly, pointing at the crowd: "Kill! Kill them!"
"I want all of King's Landing to know the consequence of offending the King. I will punish everyone!"
"Indeed."
Watching this "emperor for the ages" in his hysterical state, Corleone didn't argue; he even nodded in agreement. "This is a grave crime; they will certainly be punished."
With that, he turned back and instructed Iggo, "Take them all away and lock them in the cellar. I'll determine their sentences once I've settled things here."
The Dothraki dismounted and tossed several coils of hemp rope from his saddle to his subordinates, appearing well-prepared.
To everyone's surprise, the "mob" offered no resistance at all, obediently holding out their hands to be bound. The entire process was eerily quiet.
Watching this, the fear in Joffrey's heart was slowly replaced by a profound sense of security.
Corleone had come, and everything was fine. Corleone had come, and he was safe!
Wait.
Just then, Joffrey seemed to suddenly remember something.
He looked around and immediately stepped forward to grab Corleone's collar, barking angrily, "Margaery... Lady Margaery is gone!"
"She was dragged away! Those commoners, they dragged her into an alley!"
"You... why didn't you come sooner? If you had come sooner, Lady Margaery wouldn't have been taken!"
"It's all your fault! It's all your fault!"
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