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The great feast

I apologize guys, I completely forgot about yesterday's chapter, if it was because someone asked I would still think that I should only translate Sunday's chapter, I hope this doesn't happen again.

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-Pov of Jon arryn eighth moon 286 AC

Our stay in Prussian territories has passed relatively quickly, but unfortunately, not with the same tranquility, especially due to a rumor that affected the honor of one of the great houses of the Seven Kingdoms. It seems that Lord Tywin had gone too far. Certainly, Lord Tywin has the right to punish his people as he sees fit, as long as he does not violate the laws of the Seven Kingdoms. However, the violation of a commoner was not something that could be ignored.

Robert's government was already stable thanks to politics, as six great lords of the Seven Kingdoms were loyal to the throne, either by marriage, friendship, or, in the case of our Prussian friend, due to the benefits of our bilateral relationship. But now we face a serious problem.

This rumor, which has been confirmed as true, is supported by several Lannister soldiers who participated in the event, who confirmed that they had received orders from Lord Tywin to carry out the terrible act. Therefore, justice had to be served, which meant almost destroying the Lannister-Baratheon alliance, as Lord Tywin would not be pleased to be punished by the man supposedly bound to his family by blood.

Moreover, selecting judges would be a problem since House Lannister doesn't have many friends, and choosing their bannermen would look very bad to the other nobles, as it would be evident that we are rigging the outcome.

But this would be a problem when we return to the capital. For now, we could only wait and enjoy the opulence with which we have been treated in recent days, so much so that Robert rarely left Lord Hohenzollern's castle, preferring to keep eating or participating in training sessions with some Prussians. And thank the gods that Lord Hohenzollern has servants with iron willpower, as I asked if it was possible to keep Robert to a maximum of wine, beer, or strong liquor cups per day, and so far, it has been achieved.

Even with Robert furious because he was denied what he considered basic, it seemed that neither Robert's insistence nor fury was enough to bend the will of the Prussian servants, who did not serve more than the allowed amount, no matter what.

Anyway, today the festivities officially begin, with an opening banquet and more daily banquets for three weeks to demonstrate the economic power of the Prussian lord.

As in King's Landing, I arrived early to the banquet preparations and found Robert being one of the first to arrive, though I certainly knew why he was the first to appear, well-dressed and accompanied by an influential Prussian noble, easily recognizable because he was missing an eye and always carried a dog everywhere.

The reason Robert was smiling was simple: today, he would have no limits on drinking after several days of restrictions, showing a smile he could barely contain while waiting for everything to begin.

The room where the banquet would take place was one of the newly constructed ones in Highgarden, with several levels in the hall from where the places of honor could be clearly observed, while the multiple floors were for lower-ranked nobles, yet with much more capacity than the Great Hall of King's Landing. Additionally, all the walls had been decorated with paintings, both on the walls and the ceiling, where much of the history of the Prussian kingdom and the Crusades seemed to be depicted.

"Ah, Jon, good to see you. Today is going to be a great day; there will be everything on the table. I can't wait for all this to start," said Robert, smiling as he petted the Prussian noble's dog.

"I'm surprised to see you being the first one here, Robert. Usually, you're the last to appear," I said with a smile.

"Ha, well, I can be diligent when I want to be," said Robert with a huge grin.

A knight wearing the colors of the Teutonic Order, but instead of bearing the Iron Cross on his cape, he bore the Prussian eagle, entered carrying three chalices, two bottles, and a jug of wine, which he placed in front of us.

"Maximum two cups, King Robert. My lord wishes you to be sober when the festivities begin. After that, you will be given access to the cellars, where you can drink to your heart's content… Herzog, as requested, Arbor sweet wine," said the knight with little emotion in his voice, then switching to a friendly tone as he addressed the Prussian noble.

"Sure, sure…" said Robert, opening the glass bottle.

"Thank you," said the one-eyed noble, pouring the wine.

Before Robert could uncork the glass bottle, Varys entered the room rather hurriedly.

"My king… Lord Arryn, I have news that needs to be heard," said Varys, somewhat agitated.

"What is it, Varys? Something that endangers the kingdom's stability?" I asked, concerned.

Varys stared for a few seconds at the knight and the Prussian noble, but apparently, it didn't matter to him.

"News from Essos. I had no little birds in the area, but a friend informed me that a complete change in the war in the disputed lands has just occurred… Tyrosh has defeated a coalition of Myr and Lys… Their new dictator, a Prussian named Lothar von Ruppin, has taken full control of the Free City and now has Lys isolated and under naval blockade, while he besieges the rest of the cities that have not yet changed their flag," said Varys, looking at the knight.

"Ah, Lothar… my cousin…" said the Prussian knight, looking at Varys.

The Prussian noble only made a worried face.

"The Prussian's presence is alerting all the Free Cities, especially due to the authoritarian tendencies of his government. It's only a matter of time before the other two Free Cities collapse, and the Prussian declares himself king," said Varys, keeping his gaze on the knight after mentioning his relation to the Prussian.

"Lothar would never do such a stupid thing," said the knight.

"Could you introduce yourself? It seems you know the man we're talking about," I said to the Prussian knight.

"August von Ruppin, knight of the Teutonic Order, knight of the Livonian Order of the Brothers of the Sword, knight of the Order of Hohenzollern, and personal knight of the Prussian kings," said the knight, resting both hands on the pommel of his sword.

"HA, Prussians sure do love their titles," said Robert as he poured his drink.

"Do you know anything else about him? Has he begun a… religious purge?" the Prussian noble asked, quite nervously, to Varys.

"Only that a city was destroyed to its foundations… But in the streets of Tyrosh, sounds or cries of 'TRUE TO LOTHAR' are heard, indicating that the people adore him," said Varys with a look of distrust.

The two Prussians looked at each other.

"That doesn't sound like something Lothar would do," said the knight, shaking his head.

"I'm certain it's that man; he was seen massacring hundreds of men on the battlefield, where he killed the general of Lys and nearly all his bodyguards," Varys said in a more severe tone.

The two Prussians looked at each other again.

"That does sound like something Lothar would do," the Prussian noble said, nodding his head.

"Putting aside whether he would do it or not, would you kindly explain to us why a Prussian is in Essos, creating a new Prussian state that is causing chaos in the Free Cities?" Varys asked in a calm tone.

"The resilience of Lothar… He was sent to those lands with every intention that he would die there, to prevent him from causing chaos here… If he were here, there would already be a war between the Faith of the Seven and the fanatical Prussian nobles we sent to Essos. But we underestimated Lothar's will to live, as the plan was for him to die fighting in those lands. However, it seems the services of a veteran commander were very effective," the Prussian noble said, maintaining his composure.

"*Gasp*. Is it very bad, Varys?" I asked after a heavy sigh.

"It's only a matter of time before we start receiving complaints from the Free Cities, especially about our holdings in the Stepstones, as it has been seen that the reason Tyrosh, under the command of that Prussian, has been able to rise after the chaos is because they have access to Prussian steel and grain in large quantities," Varys said, looking at me.

"Prussians only sell their steel to other Prussians… Why to him?" I asked the noble, narrowing my eyes.

"And they don't care that the gold he pays with comes from the sale of slaves," Varys added, joining in the glares at the knight.

The knight moved his hands, reaching into a pouch that held several coins, and pulled out two gold coins.

"Do they look pretty to you? As you can see, this coin doesn't show the suffering of the slaves… Gold is gold, no matter the source. As long as Lothar fulfills the requirement of being Prussian… it doesn't matter how he gets the gold, as long as he pays… Besides, the crown doesn't seem to mind taxing us on it… Does it, treacherous vermin? Or can you distinguish where each coin comes from with absolute certainty?" the knight responded, playing with the coins between his fingers and glaring at Varys.

"I'll discuss this with Lord Hohenzollern later, Varys… Not now," I said, rubbing my forehead from the accumulating headaches and observing Robert, who was focused on savoring his drink, indifferent to our conversation.

After this, Varys updated us on what was happening in Essos, particularly the news of the Prussian's brutality. In a way, it was fortunate that what was happening in Essos was happening there and not here, for if Lord Hohenzollern hadn't exiled him...

Later, the hall began to fill with nobles who had arrived from all over the kingdom. At our table, the Tyrell family joined us, while each great lord invited had their own table, accompanied by their bannermen.

"And how has life treated you, Lady Tyrell?" I asked the future mother of the Prussian lord.

"Apart from being politically isolated, at least we have good investments that allow us to have quite generous incomes. Who could say things are going well for is… my son. He managed to befriend a high-ranking Prussian officer and secure a prestigious job," Lady Tyrell said, nodding her head toward Mace Tyrell, who was drinking with some Prussian naval officers and laughing heartily.

"Johan is known for being very friendly, but he greatly appreciates complete honesty. It seems your son inadvertently made a friend and, with that, became a friend of his children. Something similar happened with my new son; many of my friends are now his," said the one-eyed noble, looking at the group of nobles, then pointing to Lord Tarly, who was gathered with several high-ranking Prussian army officers.

"Lord Tarly?" I said, somewhat incredulous.

"That's right, adopted under the proper legal procedure. In the eyes of the law and men, he is my son… Or do we have a problem with that?" the Prussian noble said, staring at me intently with his one eye.

"No, no, no, it just seemed strange to me… Ha, ha, ha," I said, laughing nervously.

"Welcome to Prussian politics; it makes no sense," Lady Tyrell said, drinking the same sweet wine as the Prussian noble.

"Ha, ha, ha, if you need your son to be confirmed in the Seven Kingdoms, just say the word," Robert said with a big smile.

"Thank you, but why bother? What matters is that now that man is my son and has a bright future ahead of him," said the one-eyed noble with a smile, pouring himself more wine and serving wine to Lady Olenna Tyrell.

The honor doors opened, and a herald began to recite the long titles of Lord Hohenzollern and also introduced his betrothed.

The couple wore what seemed like garments worth a small kingdom. Lord Hohenzollern wore clothes made of fabric with gold, silver, and silk threads, as well as several pieces of velvet. Almost all the clothing pieces were adorned with jewels. His gloves were adorned with gold threads, and on each finger of the phalanges, he wore a ring that were works of craftsmanship. Additionally, he held in one hand a scepter made of gold, with an eagle at the top made entirely of jewels. In the other hand, he held a gold orb with a cross on top, completely encrusted with jewels. Behind him, a priest carried a crown made of gold covered with jewels with some sort of fabric inside.

Janna Tyrell wore similar clothes, without as many jewels, but she had difficulty walking; it seems everything was very heavy. Lord Hohenzollern, however, seemed to have no problem.

'Damn… Robert's coronation now looks like a peasant's coronation… It seems the Prussian lord forgot his austerity.'

I didn't realize that all the Prussians had risen from their seats to kneel, followed by some nobles from The Reach who followed the group.

'Wow, even the noble's dog is bowing to Lord Hohenzollern.'

Lord Hohenzollern sat on a more simply adorned throne, and Janna sat on a chair lower than her betrothed's.

And, fortunately, Lord Hohenzollern did not put on his crown, only placing it beside him as he looked at everyone with a face devoid of any emotion.

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Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.

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I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.

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Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.

Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.

Have some idea about my story? Comment it and let me know.

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