Chapter 90: Duke of Casterly Rock

Jaime felt he had gritted his teeth too many times today. What could possibly be in that pretty head?

He listened silently to Cersei's words. He felt his left hand had nowhere to go.

"Find the queen!" He released his left hand, turned, and shouted at the guards behind him.

The two guards received the order and left from behind him.

"She's in the Maiden's Tower!" Cersei quickly added.

The guards stopped, awaiting orders. After Jaime nodded, they ran off.

"There's still plenty to wrap up here," he swallowed, "wait for me in the palace."

He didn't hear her following words, turned, and shouted at the guards behind him, "Guards, escort the queen dowager back to the palace!"

Those still behind him were all Lannister Red Keep guards; he believed they could accomplish the task perfectly.

After giving the order, he took off his gold‑red cloak with one hand.

"Old sis, damn it, I only have one hand," he forced a smile, "please, just put it on yourself."

"It's all blood," Cersei said, touching the gold‑red cloak, "you're hurt?"

Jaime felt she had reverted to her former gentle self, as if the ruthless queen dowager who had ordered him to leave King's Landing and attack Riverrun were not this woman before him, and their earlier conflict had completely dissipated.

She always had the ability to make you unable to hold a grudge against her.

"No, it's all the blood of the Sparrows."

After she put on the cloak, she looked more like a queen on a progress. Damn, is Jenny from Stone City just like that? Jaime oddly felt that, compared to her, her head only lacked a wreath of wildflowers.

"Help me kill all the grannies and nuns here!" she whispered in his ear before leaving, then lifted her head and went away.

The guards followed closely behind her, making her look as if she were inspecting the place.

What a beautiful yet cruel woman!

After Cersei vanished from sight, he immediately took the guards to the Maiden's Tower. The search there went more smoothly; the guards had already released Queen Margaery and her sisters.

"Ser Jaime!" Upon seeing Jaime, Queen Margaery immediately released her cousin's hand and walked toward him.

The queen likewise wore a roughspun robe, barefoot, with her two cousins behind her; the youngest was sniffling, already shivering from the cold.

"Queen Margaery!" Jaime replied.

"Thank you for saving us!" she bowed to Jaime.

Jaime felt that if a queen were truly rescued in such circumstances, no one could behave better than she did.

"It's only right," Jaime said.

If he now followed Cersei's order and killed her, he could indeed achieve a no‑witnesses outcome, but what Randyll Tarly or Mace Tyrell would think at that point is unimaginable.

But he could easily imagine what the result would be for Tommen's kingdom.

The kingdom would collapse completely.

With the Riverlands' support lost, the Iron Throne's finances would surely go bankrupt, the city would surely fall into chaos, and by then he could only bring Tommen back to Casterly Rock. Would the king who fled back to Casterly Rock still be king of the Seven Kingdoms?

If it ever came to that, Stannis would take the Iron Throne without losing a single man, and the Stormlands, Crownlands, or Vale might change hands again; by then he would constantly face Stannis's attacks in the West.

"Ser, where is my brother?" she asked calmly, with a hint of unease and tension that Jaime could sense, though she hid it well, "and my father?"

All around were lion‑bearing soldiers, none wearing a rose sigil. If she could sense the queen dowager's malice, she was clearly more than a match for her.

"Your Grace, Lord Tyrell has withdrawn from Storm's End and is returning to King's Landing; I believe you will see the duke soon." Jaime said, "Ser Loras is clearing the rebels around Dragonstone; if he receives our ravens, I believe he will return quickly as well."

"That's wonderful," Queen Margaery immediately beamed, saying happily, "Ser, I and Elora and Mega thank you for your rescue. You are truly brave; we in the tower have already heard the sound of your march on the sept."

She is worthy to be Tommen's king's queen, Jaime thought.

After a slight nod, he did not wish to say more.

"Jerlo, take the guards and the gold cloaks and escort Her Grace the queen and her cousins back to the Red Keep," Jaime instructed one of the guards, "also, if you see Mervyn, have him send out mounted archers to escort along the way. Remember, he is to obey only my orders. Furthermore, after returning to the palace, summon Master Myles."

He wanted to prevent Cersei from doing something stupid.

"Yes, my lord," the guard replied respectfully.

After seeing the queen and her cousins off, Jaime felt his pressure ease considerably, but after just two steps he felt it grow again.

He might be the first to lead soldiers into the Great Sept. How many fanatics would see him and the Lannisters as targets for revenge? Unimaginable!

The organization of the poor and the sons of warriors had been banned for centuries; now, banning it again, what consequences would arise cannot be precisely predicted, but if it must be eradicated, now is absolutely the best time, and he firmly believed he had done no wrong.

He took the remaining garrison soldiers through every part of the Great Sept.

They did not clear the Great Sept completely until afternoon, cutting down every resisting worshipper. In the end, corpses filled every open space of the sept, numbering nearly a thousand; if Merlon was right and what he saw outside the city was accurate, the worshippers outside might be several times, even ten times, those inside.

He could only be glad that the High Sparrow had not made adequate preparations against his move, and that he had already readied King's Landing's defenses.

In the still‑intact little garden of the Great Sept, Jaime gathered all the surviving monks and nuns, who quietly recited their prayers, paying no heed to the surrounding soldiers or to Jaime himself.

Jaime didn't care about that; after confirming that all the living were present, he silently nodded to the master.

"The false high septon of the Faith, High Sparrow, obtained the office of high septon through violence and evil means, deceiving the gods and the Iron Throne, and deliberately concealing his true name; by the Iron Throne's decree, his election is invalid.

After High Sparrow illegally assumed office, he refused to obey the Iron Throne's commands, chose to resist by force, and upon failure did not hesitate to use blood magic to assassinate the prince regent, witnessed by the City Watch soldiers, the palace guard, and the citizens; therefore he is a traitor to the kingdom and a demon of the Faith. His evil deeds are his alone to bear, and concern none of you.

The Iron Throne will soon summon the Southern Arch bishop and the High Septon of the Starry Sept to reopen the election of the high septon, and after the election will pass sentence upon him.

Until the high septon election is complete, you may still pray and wait in the Great Sept, offering blessings for the departed innocent folk, monks, nuns, and soldiers. Further arrangements will be made upon awaiting the new high septon and the Iron Throne's orders. This is the statement."

The master recited the statement to this group of monks and nuns verbatim.

Afterwards Jaime had the monks elect a temporary high septon for this period, and once they had made their choice, he could not wait to leave the Great Sept.

At this moment the streets outside the Great Sept were already crowded with onlookers from King's Landing who did not yet know what had happened.

"Lord Horas," Jaime rode to the City Watch Commander who was maintaining public order, "please station troops to guard the Great Sept; I really worry that civilians will rush in, loot, or do something even more disgusting. Damn, seeing no soldiers here taking off their pants, I'd truly thank heaven and earth!"

Anyway, everyone will charge the Great Sept's losses to his account.

"Of course, my lord, I had the same thought," Horas replied with a wry smile, "if you are willing to close half the city gates, perhaps I can free up a few more hands to protect the Church's property and the nuns' chastity."

"Well, I suppose there's no other way—close them! We're always short of men and short of gold dragons," Jaime said with a weary laugh, during this operation he fully acknowledged the man's ability, "but this won't last long; the Tyrells have plenty of people and plenty of gold dragons, and once Lord Randyll Tarly and Lord Mace Tyrell arrive in King's Landing, to safeguard their jewel they'll certainly stuff more men into the City Watch." Jaime gave a bright smile, "Lord Horas, you'd better clean up your forces in this time, lest the Tyrells take your post, for I fear the queen dowager will unleash a lion's roar on you!"

"Prince Regent," Horas turned to face Jaime, locking eyes, "if speaking of a lion's roar, after hearing today's, who would still fear anything else? Moreover, should I fear the queen dowager?"

Jamie laughed heartily, without answering.

"Regent Prince, in my opinion, there's nothing unexpected; the Rose cannot take the gold robe—you can rest assured!" He said with a confident smile.

Jamie indeed felt reassured, laughing as he mounted his horse, feeling he needn't say anything more to him.

After completing the task at the Great Cathedral, Jamie transferred nearly nine hundred participants of this operation to the square, and had them turn in all the "spoils" taken from the Great Cathedral, promising to buy them back at a price of nearly twenty thousand gold dragons from the Iron Throne, to be distributed among the officers and soldiers who participated, with the scholars recording each name individually. Afterwards, Jamie again ordered the guards to seal the spoils and send them to the Red Keep.

After handling these, Jamie already felt exhausted, but he still had many matters to attend to.

Upon returning to the Red Keep's council chamber, he immediately summoned the scholars.

"Scholar Weyman, please immediately send the documents concerning the Patriarch election and the relocation of the Faith of the Seven's seat to Highgarden, Oldtown, and Gulltown." The city's public opinion remains unclear for now, but if the believers outside the city and the sparrows gathering around the capital are organized, it could likely create a turmoil like that of the Meereen period.

"Scholar Calvin, please draft a document in the name of the Iron Throne, informing the Archbishop of the Starry Hall of what happened today in the capital, and ask him to immediately announce to the faithful the resumption of the Patriarch election, informing him that he must declare to the faithful a ban on all gatherings of the poor and the organization of warriors' sons. Furthermore, inform the Iron Throne of its opinion on the new church tax, the seat, and the Great Sept of Baelor." Jamie paced in the council chamber, feeling extremely anxious.

"Scholar Mullin, please draft a document in my personal capacity as Duke of Casterly Rock, informing the Archbishop of the South that I am willing to support his candidacy for Patriarch, and willing to discuss with him opinions on church tax rates, the regranting of the Great Sept of Baelor, and the seat."

If the Archbishop of the South, Orzi, and the Archbishop of the Starry Hall, Dols, could help him resolve this issue, Jamie would certainly wish to restore the situation to before Cersei's machinations. Those troubles he conjured out of thin air would all be smoothed over one by one by a willing-to-compromise Patriarch, but the Great Cathedral could only offset the church's debt at face value.

"Furthermore, Scholar Wenda, please send condolence letters separately to Philip Prism and, and, Baron Paibai of Pink City, respectively informing them of the deaths in battle of Pet Prism and Lynn Paibai. Tell them their sons died extremely bravely." Those six red eyes were originally supposed to take six people, but ultimately only killed five.

He had Humphrey leave behind the armor of those who died to the black shadow; this will be evidence that the Sparrows used blood magic.

Kelvin entered the council chamber at that moment with a smile; Jamie dismissed the others.

"Congratulations, Your Highness the Regent Prince, for so quickly resolving the threat of the Sparrows." Kelvin said with a smile.

"Abolish?" Jamie said testily, "The commoners of the capital still don't know the circumstances; the poor gatherings and warriors' sons outside the city also don't know that something happened to the Sparrows; the believers in the rural wild paths are even less aware. Do you think they won't reorganize later, cut off roads or seize the castle? You know they won't secretly open the capital's gates and incite civilian riots?"

"Of course it's possible, my lord," he still smiled, as if Jamie's concerns were utterly insignificant, "but once you take action, whether it's the poor gatherings or the warriors' sons, they won't be a match for the soldiers under the noble lords. They may be troublesome, but your swift action has already reduced the trouble considerably."

I wish I had your confidence.

"So why did you come here?" Jamie questioned, "Just to tell me they're not hard to handle?"

Jamie didn't like him.

Kelvin still kept his smile. He slightly lowered his head, turning his gaze downward, then slowly raised it to look at Jamie.

"Of course not, my lord." he said, "The queen mother still doesn't know that you have assumed the regency, nor that you have personally taken hold of the Duchy of Casterly Rock."

"She'll find out sooner or later," Jamie asked curiously, "Why are you telling me this?"

"My lord, she is the mother of King Tommen, and can at any time incite the young king to relieve you of your regency, and have herself assume the regency as queen mother." He gave a grin, still his nonchalant self, "My lord, the troubles you can now solve, including those you could solve in the future, may become unsolvable by that time, if you don't……"

"I am her brother; even if she does, what then?"

He began to dislike Kelvin even more, thinking he was trying to drive a wedge between him and Cersei—how ridiculous!

"My lord, I think the queen mother is too bound by prophecy."

His tone was gentle, but Jamie felt this man was very much like Roose Bolton—equally dangerous. He even came from Bolton's retinue.

"What exactly do you want to say?" Jamie said impatiently, "Could it be that I'm mistaken, and you aren't actually a favored minister trusted by the queen mother?"

"My lord, I am grateful for the queen mother's promotion," he said with a bitter smile, "It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but although I have been stripped of the scholar's chain, I still know whom I serve."

"So whom do you serve?" Jamie demanded.

"Of course it's the kingdom." He saw that Jamie didn't understand, so he added, "I admit there is a bias, but I serve the king and regent of the realm; my lord, the regent of this nation is you now, and I believe you can do far better than the queen mother."

"I don't trust you at all," Jamie said, "But that's not the point. Damn, my time is limited; you'd better spell out your intentions clearly!"

"Of course, my lord." He bowed, then said, "The queen mother is fixated on prophecy or something else—what exactly the prophecy is, she hasn't told me—this might also be why she hates Tyrion, for she places too much personal imagination ahead of realm politics."

Jamie could no longer tolerate it; he grabbed Kelvin's throat with his left hand, slamming him against the wall.

"Who do you think you are? You can casually discuss the queen mother and Tyrion in front of me—hah, don't you realize that the people you're talking about are also surnamed Lannister, or else my own maternal sister?" And my maternal brother. Jamie felt that if he used just a bit more force, the gray-haired old man before him would breathe his last, "Prophecy, imagination, realm politics—who comes before whom, what the hell does that have to do with me?"

Jamie suddenly released him, and he collapsed to the ground, coughing violently.

"Cough, I've always thought you, Sir, were someone who could listen to unpleasant facts or reason," he said, hand on his throat, staying calm, "or, now that you've become an adult, has all this changed?"

"Hmph, you've got guts," Jamie recalled his advice when he first returned to the capital, which had indeed been somewhat effective, "Tell me these 'unpleasant facts or reasons'; if they're not that unpleasant, get lost!"

"To maintain the kingdom's stability, you should control King Tommen before the queen mother notices." He said.

"Continue!" Is that it?

He cleared his throat.

"Furthermore, to separate the queen mother and the king," he said with a smile, "ah, my lord, since you are Duke of Casterly Rock, you could marry off the queen mother and secure allies for yourself."