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At first light, King's Landing, the Red Keep.
Today, every guard and servant in the Red Keep wore red. Since early morning, they had been busy replacing old ribbons with new red silk ribbons embroidered with the direwolf sigil.
They worked without pause, but smiles hung on their faces. The whole castle had taken on the bright, bustling air of a festival.
Today was the wedding day of King Robb and Queen Margaery, and the guards and servants had all received generous rewards counted in silver stags.
No one knew why King Robb liked the Lannister red so much, but no one dared go against his will. Before long, the Red Keep had been fully dressed for the wedding.
When the sun rose high enough to spill light over the city, the Red Keep's gates were opened by Gold Cloaks whose clothing, cloaks aside, had also been changed to red.
"Long live King Robb! Long live Queen Margaery!"
The moment the gates opened, the dense crowd outside rose into waves of cheering.
A small part of the crowd consisted of important nobles who had come early from across the Seven Kingdoms with guards and servants, hoping to enter the Red Keep for the king's wedding. Most of them, however, were commoners of King's Landing hoping to gain some small favor from the royal celebration.
Because the commoners were packed tightly in front of the Red Keep, the nobles had no way to enter.
The arrangements had clearly been made in advance. A large group of male servants, protected by guards, carried great amounts of food to the left side of the Red Keep.
After a leading steward loudly announced that this was the mercy of King Robb and Queen Margaery, the food began to be distributed under the guards' supervision.
The commoners followed the guards' instructions and formed long lines on the left side to receive food. The nobles who had been waiting at last passed through on the right and entered the Red Keep.
"King Robb is truly merciful and generous," one waiting noble said when he saw the oat bread being handed out to the commoners. "Bread this good, given free to peasants. My own knights barely live at that standard."
"Heh, look at the queen's own house," another well-informed noble replied. "House Tyrell holds the Reach. How could they lack food?
"And according to the latest word I received, in the last two months or so, Lord Mace's three sons have opened the hills around Goldengrove into good fields.
"This autumn, with all those new fields, the Reach's grain yield may double."
"Gods! Those abandoned hills can be turned into good fields? How did they do it? If that is true, Lord Mace's sons have done the realm a great service."
"No. The plan for opening the hills was made by King Robb. They merely carried it out.
"Even so, this work greatly strengthens the Seven Kingdoms. They suffered plenty to do it, so His Grace should reward them later."
"Tch. Everyone used to look down on that puffed-up lord. Now his daughter is queen, and his sons are going to be put to good use.
"We had better flatter him properly later and try to bring more grain home this autumn. After this long summer beyond memory, the winter will be long as well."
"Aye, aye."
The nobles' talk reached Auren Estermont, who was waiting farther back in line. He could not help turning to look at the Stormlands nobles behind him.
In the month since Robb had returned to King's Landing, the main remnants of the Brotherhood Without Banners in the northern Riverlands had been defeated by Lord Randyll, Smalljon, Edd, and the others.
Large numbers of captured rebels had been sent to the Reach to open the hills. Apart from the Vale, which was difficult to attack, the Stormlands had become the only remaining target for Robb's armies.
Auren, who had submitted to Robb more than half a year ago, had originally been providing intelligence as a hidden agent. He had never expected that his identity had long since been exposed.
Some time earlier, the Stormlands nobles had come to him together, laid the matter bare, and forced him to come with them to King's Landing to present wedding gifts to Robb.
After a short identity check, Auren and the Stormlands nobles entered the Red Keep in order. Behind them followed many servants carrying gift boxes large and small.
One servant, who had kept his head low while holding a gift box, carefully lifted his gaze. He glanced at the direwolf banners flying over the Red Keep, and hatred flashed in his eyes.
The king's wedding was being held in the royal garden to the right of the inner gate. Once the nobles entered the Red Keep, guards and servants led them toward it.
On such an important day, security inside the Red Keep was extremely tight. Every few yards along the way stood a direwolf banner, with two fully armed Gold Cloaks posted on either side.
When Auren and the Stormlands nobles entered the lush royal garden, the festive noise struck them at once.
In the wide, level center of the garden, colored ribbons had been drawn into rows of connected wedding canopies. Beneath them stood long tables and benches wrapped in red cloth.
The tables held dishes of meat, vegetables, and fruit, along with red candlesticks, flowers, feathers, and other ornaments.
Puff. Hah.
Some of the nobles who had arrived earlier were already seated at the long tables and speaking quietly about the grand wedding. Around them, performers from a troupe breathed fire, juggled colored balls, and performed little feats of balance.
After servants led Auren and the Stormlands nobles to one canopy and seated them, he looked toward the high platform ahead.
The two seats in the center of the platform remained empty. On the left sat the Stark family, led by Lady Catelyn. Many nobles from the Seven Kingdoms were lining up to greet her.
On the right sat the Tyrell family, led by Lady Olenna. Lord Mace was speaking with his mother.
"Mother, this lavish wedding and all the food being given to the peasants were paid for by House Tyrell. Yet I cannot see even one sigil of our house.
"Those people are lining up to flatter Lady Catelyn and barely pay us any mind. Does that not anger you?"
Looking at the nobles flocking to the left, and thinking of how his own house had paid for the wedding, Lord Mace could not stop himself from complaining to Olenna.
"Mace, I think you are quite right," Olenna said, pursing her lips before nodding. "Perhaps I should go tell His Grace that we must stick a golden rose into every beef pie on the tables."
"Would that anger King Robb?
"Ah. Mother, were you being sarcastic just now?"
Mace thought about it rather seriously, then looked up and asked.
"Well, well. It seems you have improved a little. You can even hear sarcasm now."
Olenna smiled as she praised him. Then she leaned closer, her expression darkening at once.
"Mace, either become a little cleverer or a little stupider. Do not stay as you are now, speaking nonsense and making trouble for House Tyrell."
"Yes, yes, Mother. I promise I will not speak carelessly again."
Hearing Olenna's tone, Mace knew she was truly angry. He trembled and nodded at once.
"See that you understand."
Olenna nodded in satisfaction. Then her eyes caught someone who, by all rights, should not have appeared there.
"Hm? Why is he here?"
Petyr Baelish, dressed in his own unmistakable style, had entered the wedding grounds with Robin Arryn.
He first spoke attentively with Lady Catelyn, who remained cold, then came to Lady Olenna and paid his respects.
Because she did not know Robb's view of Littlefinger, Olenna did not speak with him for long. Petyr understood at once. After greeting her, he returned to his seat.
As time passed, the canopies in the royal garden filled with nobles great and small from the Seven Kingdoms.
Crackle. Crackle.
Fireworks formed by Leaf's Fireflies magic burst to life on the right side of the royal garden, drawing every eye.
A huge direwolf suddenly leapt down from the wall above the throne room on the garden's right side. After landing, its already massive body swelled as if inflated, soon filling the empty space on that side of the garden.
Only then did everyone understand why the right side of the royal garden had been kept clear.
Awooo!
When the terrifying direwolf had grown to its full size, it raised its head and gave a short howl. Then it stood upright on its two hind legs.
Gasps rose everywhere.
Facing the giant wolf standing like a man, large enough to blot out the sky, the nobles could not stop themselves from crying out in awe and terror.
That was the instinctive reverence humans felt before something enormous.
The giant wolf stretched its right paw, broad as a round table, toward the roof of the throne room. Two figures leaning close together stepped onto the center of its palm.
Then the wolf turned, steadily supporting them on its right paw, and slowly lowered them before the high platform in the royal garden.
Tap.
After guiding Bloodwind through those movements, Robb's eyes regained their focus. Holding the radiant Margaery by the hand, he stepped onto the high platform.
Clap, clap, clap.
The nobles of the Seven Kingdoms, stunned by their king and queen's unprecedented entrance, burst into thunderous applause once they recovered.
"Quiet," Robb said, pressing his hands gently downward. When the royal garden fell silent, he announced in a clear voice, "I declare the wedding begun."
"Allow me to add something," Margaery said beside him. "Our merciful and generous King Robb has decided that all remaining food from this feast will be given to the poor of King's Landing."
The nobles immediately answered with another round of praise for Robb.
After Robb led Margaery to their seats on the high platform, his favorite part of the wedding began: the offering of gifts.
By Westerosi custom, wedding gifts were opened in public. At a wedding of such scale, nobles large and small had prepared carefully, each hoping to distinguish himself before Robb.
One valuable gift after another entered Robb's hands, and the smile on his face grew visibly brighter.
That smile remained until Littlefinger led Robin Arryn before him.
"Your Grace, to congratulate you and Queen Margaery on your wedding, I present to you the whole Vale, as well as gifts worth one million gold dragons."
The moment Littlefinger spoke, nobles across the royal garden drew sharp breaths. The scale of such a wedding gift was frightening.
"Baelish," Robb said with a calm smile, unmoved by the gift, "when I heard you had come to King's Landing for my wedding, I was surprised.
"Now you offer me such a heavy gift. What do you want from me?"
"Your Grace, Lord Robin asks that you grant him once more the title Warden of the East."
"Ha. Baelish, you calculate well.
"During the war of the Five Kings, you leaned quietly toward Tywin Lannister. Now the realm is settled, so you send the Vale and rich gifts to preserve yourself.
"Grant it to Robin Arryn? I think you mean grant it to you."
"Heh. The Eyrie is a castle that cannot be taken. Even if an army surrounds it, the supplies inside are enough for us to live for several years.
"Your Grace, the Seven Kingdoms have only just begun to settle. There is no need for you to pour a great military expense into the Eyrie."
Since Robb had spoken plainly, Littlefinger answered with equal confidence.
"So this is the confidence that brought you to King's Landing?"
Robb laughed softly, then pointed toward Bloodwind, who had returned to all fours beside them.
"You are right. Under ordinary circumstances, there would be no need for me to break openly with you.
"But after seeing Bloodwind, are you still so certain?"
"I..."
"Say no more. House Royce was appointed Warden of the East by me personally. That will not change.
"From today onward, Gulltown will serve as my seat in the Vale, under Lord Andar Royce.
"For the sake of Lord Jon Arryn's friendship with my father, Robin Arryn will still rule the Eyrie, but he will hold only that castle and its lands.
"As for you, Petyr Baelish, your only path to life is to go to Castle Black and take the black.
"If you dislike my decision, leave King's Landing now and wait for me in the Eyrie."
Robb did not allow Littlefinger's clever tongue any room. He announced his decision before the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms.
Robb wanted Bloodwind to swallow the man who had indirectly caused his father's death.
But Littlefinger had come openly to the wedding and had fulfilled every courtesy. In front of so many nobles, Robb could not easily move against him.
So he deliberately offered conditions he believed Littlefinger, who valued power as much as life, would refuse.
"Thank you for your mercy, Your Grace. After I send Lord Robin back to the Vale, I will set out for Castle Black at once."
Littlefinger did not argue. He nodded and thanked Robb, accepting the decision obediently.
Robb's bright yellow eyes narrowed. After looking Littlefinger up and down, he nodded.
"Good. Then the matter is settled."
With little showing on his face, Littlefinger led the sickly, silent Robin Arryn away from the high platform.
After them, Auren and the Stormlands nobles came before Robb together.
Once they had bowed and offered greetings, they had a servant behind them present a gift box and open it.
In the startled cries of the nobles, the head of Daven Lannister, who had previously returned to the Stormlands with part of the defeated army, lay inside.
"Your Grace, to prove the good faith of the Stormlands nobles, we have killed this rebel.
"We will also offer you gifts worth four million gold dragons.
"Please forgive the foolishness with which we once opposed you."
"Very good. I..."
Robb, satisfied after solving the Vale and the Stormlands without spilling blood today, had just begun to speak when the servant who had presented the box suddenly drew a black dagger and threw himself at him with astonishing speed.
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