Chapter 2

 Theon had just finished describing his ideal sword sheath to the craftsman when Jon Snow appeared behind him.

"Why aren't you at the inner keep greeting the king? I heard the king has already arrived," Jon said.

Theon sheathed the *Sea Serpent* into its temporary scabbard and quietly asked, "Why aren't you?"

"I'm a Snow. Just being able to attend the evening banquet is already quite something," Jon replied. The surname Snow is a unifying surname for bastards in the North. In Westeros, the legitimate son has the right of inheritance, and others are likely to be sent away to become lesser nobles.

Bastards, sometimes, are treated worse than farmers; it's just that Ned Stark is relatively kind-hearted.

Theon hung the *Sea Serpent* at his waist and said, "You're a Snow. What about me? Stark?" He patted Jon on the shoulder and added, "One must see the essence of things and not be blinded by illusions."

Looking at Theon's back, Jon opened his mouth but didn't say anything. He always felt that Theon seemed a bit off lately; Theon usually looked down on him.

In House Stark, Catelyn despised both Theon and Jon, and Theon looked down on Jon as well, even though Ned treated them no differently.

However, everyone knew the importance of this. In the original story, Theon was swayed into choosing to ambush Winterfell.

In fact, if Theon had behaved honestly, even if he had stayed at the Iron Islands, there was a good chance he would have inherited Balon's position, if not for his uncle Euron...

But in the original story, Theon's eagerness to prove himself led him to lose his judgment. When Yara wanted to take him back to the Iron Islands, he insisted on staying at Winterfell.

Now Theon was waiting for Robb to rise, and then he would immediately return to the Iron Islands.

After all, according to Westerosi customs, he was Balon's only son, and the Duke of the Iron Islands was likely to be his.

Moreover, he was no longer the weak Theon of before; he was now an indestructible knockoff of the direwolf armor!

And he was not intimidated by Daenerys later on; Smaug was superior to those three dragons of the Mother of Dragons in every way.

But it was unclear whether the Smaug given by the system was the new version of the bipedal dragon or the original four-legged dragon.

Theon planned to stabilize his position on the Iron Islands before unleashing Smaug. If Smaug was discovered in the North, he would be immediately executed by Robert.

Although Theon now had the serum, facing thousands or even tens of thousands of people, it would be bad if he was captured alive.

As Daenerys encountered the Spice King in Qarth said, having dragons alone is not enough to rule the Seven Kingdoms.

Although Theon's situation was much better, the time was not yet right; chaos was the ladder to ascend.

Theon leisurely arrived at the inner keep of Winterfell. Looking at the stone-built castle, a familiar sense of strangeness arose.

But more than that, he felt a sense of nostalgia for these historic buildings, which were rare in his previous life.

After passing through layers of king's guards, Theon finally arrived at the inner keep, which was said to be built over a hot spring.

Ned and his three sons and two daughters lived inside, while Jon and Theon lived slightly off but still close enough to catch a bit of the hot spring's warmth.

At this moment, many maids were arranging the venue for the banquet, and King Robert and Ned were chatting amicably in the main seats.

Seeing the corpulent king in the distance, Theon felt a pang of regret thinking about his final death. Watching the show, Theon never thought Robert would die from a boar.

Robert Baratheon, the eldest son of House Baratheon, born in the Stormlands, was adopted by the old Hand of the King along with Ned.

Eventually, due to women and various reasons, he rose in rebellion, overthrowing the Targaryen family's three-hundred-year rule, which was also due to the extinction of the Targaryen dragons.

The previous king, known as the Mad King, was said to have his fate decided by the gods whenever a Targaryen child was born, with a coin toss deciding if they would be a mad king or a just king.

Theon didn't know much about the Mad King, but the "Boar King" before him was definitely quite different from the original story.

Although Robert was fat, he still looked quite robust overall, which was a noticeable difference from the pot-bellied figure in the original story.

"Theon, what are you dazing about?" Arya's lively voice came.

Theon looked down to see the little wolf girl Arya, the woman who ultimately ended the Night King. Theon could only think, "The Night King's death was so hasty!"

At first, Theon liked Arya a lot, but as she gradually gained weight and got involved with Gendry in the later seasons, Theon lost interest in her.

"Why did you come out? Aren't you supposed to be with your mother greeting the queen?"

"It's too boring. This kind of situation suits Sansa better. Oh, her embroidery is simply perfect!" Arya said with a sarcastic tone.

"Hahaha, girls can't be running around with swords and daggers. Your embroidery teacher must be at his wit's end with you."

Arya huffed at hearing this and ran off to play.

After watching for a while, Theon also turned and left.

Stepping outside, a biting cold wind hit him immediately. "Damn it, why is this place so cold?"

An arrogant and disdainful voice sounded. Theon turned to see the "Eternal Emperor," Joffrey Baratheon.

Or should it be Joffrey Lannister?

As King Robert's eldest son, Joffrey was actually the illegitimate child of Cersei Lannister and her brother Jaime Lannister. The infamous golden siblings of House Lannister had three illegitimate children.

Joffrey Baratheon, as the first in line to the throne, was an unmitigated monster whose greatest pleasure was torturing others.

Yet he was also a person easily used as a pawn. As long as you flattered him and made him feel superior, he would do anything under your instigation.

Theon smiled and said, "My prince, I apologize for bringing you such a terrible experience, but you know the northern climate. How about coming with me to the side hall to rest for a while?"

"It would not only help you avoid tedious social engagements but also escape this damned winter. Besides, I met an interesting bard a few days ago who told me a fascinating story!"

Theon emphasized "Your Highness" with a perfect attitude, which greatly satisfied Joffrey.

To be honest, after arriving here, Joffrey had been wandering outside, and his incessantly complaining dwarf uncle kept lecturing him.

The Hound, Sandor Clegane, who followed Joffrey, asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Theon Greyjoy, adopted son of Duke Stark. Don't worry, I won't harm Prince Joffrey. His skills are certainly beyond mine," Theon replied.

Joffrey patted the sword at his waist and said, "Dog, go do what you need to do. Don't follow me around."

Joffrey then gestured for Theon to lead the way. Theon immediately guided Joffrey to his quarters, having already formulated a rough plan.

The Hound stayed behind, staring at Theon's back, muttering, "Hmph, what a disgusting smartass!"

However, the Hound didn't linger and went straight to report to Robert.

Theon led Joffrey to his quarters and opened the door, saying, "Please come in, Your Grace."

"Uh, sorry, I misspoke. Your Highness, please come in!" Theon quickly corrected his "mistake."

Joffrey smiled but still scolded, "My father is the king. I'm only a prince now. Don't get it wrong." Joffrey emphasized the word "now."

Theon picked up two wine glasses and poured for Joffrey first. "You're right, Your Highness. I was mistaken."

Theon almost laughed to death internally. In the ancient times of the Celestial Empire, this was a basic skill for servants, but in this *Game of Thrones* world, it could make a "prince" spin around in circles.

Theon raised his glass to toast with Joffrey and then, as if remembering something, looked "terrified" and said, "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I've overstepped."

Joffrey smiled and clinked glasses with Theon, signaling him not to worry.

"You are to my taste. Start telling your story. I'm so bored."

Theon took a sip of the wine, or rather, grape juice.

Damn it, the wine here was more like grape juice due to poor fermentation techniques, and its alcohol content was probably less than 10 degrees.

"Legend has it that in the eastern part of Essos, there was a legendary country surrounded by six other countries..."

Theon told Joffrey a slightly modified version of the story of the Seven Warring States.

Joffrey once said in the original story, "We should have a royal army instead of gathering various nobles only when war breaks out!"

All Theon needed to do is to encourage a little and plant a seed, and then the war will not stop.