-Chapter 3-

-POV Cersei-

"Why are you taking this risk? The lords of the Stormlands do not like us, they all adore Robert as if he were a living god," said Jaime.

I frowned and shook my head and then said, "This one has written to me several times, and his House fought for Rhaegar when Robert rebelled."

"And?" he said, not seeing the potential gain I could derive from a friendship with this impressionable young lord.

'Like all men,' I thought to myself with a touch of disdain towards the gender.

"And I think I can turn him to be loyal to us and not to Renly, that little shit has been trying to oust me for too long, he will soon try to do the same once Joffrey becomes king and if they discover that..."

I stopped talking, thinking about what would happen to us if he ever learned what we had done behind his back, but Jaime grabbed my hands and said:

"They will never find out, and even if they do, no one will touch a single hair on your head. If any of them tries to do anything to you, I will kill them all, I will thrust my sword into their bodies like I did with the mad king; killing a king does not scare me..."

I smiled upon hearing his words, it touched my heart. Jaime was the only one who could make me feel love outside of my children, but what he said next cooled all the ardor and passion he had just awakened in me: "...but taking the risk of trying to win over one of the Stormlands lords might not please Robert."

'Of course, he won't be happy, idiot,' I thought.

Even though Jaime was born with unparalleled talent with the sword, he was not as intelligent as me or our father.

'Everyone has their talent,' I told myself, though I was disappointed that my twin did not share the same worldview as me.

"I would have agreed with you before, but House Connington has risen from its downfall, and it is reborn from its ashes. Today, few of us are able to see the potential of this House, but fortunately for us, I can see it," I said, trying to explain my vision to Jaime.

He raised an eyebrow without saying anything, giving me time to develop my thought, so I said:

"The head of House Connington is a seasoned warrior who has been fighting since his youth and is clearly one of the best fighters in the realm."

"I can easily beat him," he rolled his eyes and said.

I ignored what he said because even if he was capable of beating him, he was currently the best fighter in the realm, so his opinion was not objective, and I continued, saying: "He has regained all his former lands..."

"He was extorted 350,000 gold dragons for lands barely worth a quarter," Jaime continued to say in a mocking and bad-faith tone.

"And every year he earns more than a million gold dragons," I said.

"By being extorted 300,000 gold dragons by that idiot Renly," he mocked.

I frowned, slightly vexed because by belittling Ronnet Connington, he was belittling me, and he realized he had made a mistake. He leaned forward to kiss me, but I turned my head; he had angered me.

This tense moment was broken by a servant knocking on the door, and I pushed him away while saying:

"Enter."

The man who entered was a tall, red-haired man with piercing blue eyes. I observed him from head to toe, taking the time to admire his somewhat wild beauty before nodding to Jaime to leave.

---

-POV MC-

The Kingslayer passed me, giving me a dark look. I said nothing but gave him a cold stare, not taking my eyes off him until he left the room, and then I advanced until I was less than a meter from the queen.

I looked her straight in the eyes and knelt on one knee before her and said in a heavy and solemn voice: "Your Majesty the Queen."

The corners of her mouth lifted, and she extended her hand, which I lightly kissed before standing up and saying: "It is a joy to see you in good health, my queen."

She smiled and said, a bit confused: "This is our first meeting if I am not mistaken."

"Indeed, but I have already seen you at the Lannisport tournament once the Greyjoy rebellion was over; it is impossible to forget the most beautiful woman in Westeros," I said, keeping a serious and closed face to not let slip anything inappropriate.

She smiled and said: "You are also very handsome, and I have heard that you are single; I have some nieces who would be delighted to have you for a husband."

I smiled and said: "Unfortunately, none of them could ever reach a fraction of what you are."

She said nothing for a few seconds, and I quickly said: "I meant no offense, just the truth, please forgive me if I have offended you."

"I understand, Lord Connington," said the queen with a polite smile.

"Call me Ronnet; I am lord of almost nothing, a simple landed knight," I said in a bitter tone.

"I have heard of the injustice your house has suffered," she said, inviting me to take a seat.

I sat down and shook my head, saying: "My uncle has put us all in an uncomfortable position, but fortunately, I am glad that my father regained all his lands before he died; it was his last wish."

"Not all," she said, pouring herself a cup of wine.

I said nothing, and she continued, saying: "If I understand correctly, Renly refused to return the lands Robert annexed to Storm End even when you offered him 50,000 gold dragons for lands not even worth a tenth of that."

I nodded and said: "He asked me for 200,000 gold dragons; I have some lucrative businesses, but even with that, I could not spend such a sum for that because I did not have that much money to spare at the moment, and there is also the fact that my father would never have accepted such a trade."

The queen nodded and then said: "You have talked a lot about the castellan of Storm End in your letters."

"Cortnay Penrose," I said with a dripping hatred that was not feigned.

I hated this greedy man with all my guts; he was excellent at his job, but he was too greedy.

"House Penrose fought for King Robert, and as this...animal is the castellan of Storm End, he has the final say in all matters concerning House Baratheon affairs. The first time I dealt with him was when he asked for 200,000 gold dragons so he could return my ancestral lands to me," I said, recalling the way he made it clear that without paying this tax, he would make sure I could never recover my family's lands and their previous status.

"Why would he do that? Did Renly order him to embarrass you?" she said, trying to steer me in the direction she wanted.

I smiled inwardly, knowing that I had managed to make her believe she had caught me in her nets, and said:

"I do not think it was Lord Renly who ordered this dog to humiliate me in this way, but I think Lord Renly ordered him to take as much gold as possible while promising him a small percentage on the sale once the task was completed."

I pulled out the letter that bastard Penrose had sent me, unfolded it, and said as I handed it to the queen:

"Here is a letter he sent me; you can see the outrageous share they take in my business while offering me nothing more than the right of passage over..."

"Why do you accept such things?" she said, interrupting me while continuing to read.

"Because Renly is currently the master of laws," I said in a sullen tone.

"Why do you say currently?" she said, looking up.

I said as if it were obvious: "Because I have only been in the capital for less than a week, but it seems more than obvious to me that the city is riddled with poverty and corruption; the best examples are the gold cloaks who are supposed to be under the responsibility of the master of laws. The gold cloaks are supposed to maintain order and justice; they are supposed to be an incorruptible order, but now they are just a band of old mercenaries willing to do anything for a few pieces of gold."

"You wrote to me, so I imagine you do not just want to talk about an insignificant character like Cortnay Penrose; you know I do not care about a matter as small as this, even if what is happening to you is a deep injustice," said the queen