Chapter 49: Puppeteer

The soothing notes of a harp filled the air. In the center of the hall, elegantly dressed men and women whirled gracefully, showcasing their most refined dance steps.

Meanwhile, Samwell had returned to his dining spot, nibbling on his beloved goldtail shrimp while watching Lord Renly and Lady Margaery, who looked like a golden couple as they spun across the dance floor. A mysterious smile played across his lips.

He recalled the moment in the original story where Renly showed Eddard Stark a portrait of Margaery, asking him if she resembled his late sister, Lyanna Stark.

Lyanna—Robert Baratheon's first love and a spark that ignited an entire war.

Years ago, Lyanna was betrothed to Robert, but she was abducted by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. Driven by fury, Robert had rebelled against the throne, inciting the infamous Rebellion.

Though Robert eventually defeated Rhaegar and claimed the Iron Throne, Lyanna had perished during the conflict, leaving Robert with a wound that never healed.

By asking Ned if Margaery resembled Lyanna, Renly was clearly hinting at presenting her to King Robert as a replacement queen, perhaps to supplant Queen Cersei Lannister.

However, as the story later revealed, this plan did not come to fruition.

As careless as Robert could be on the throne, neglecting governance for indulgence in drinking and hunting, he was no fool. He wasn't about to dethrone Cersei, especially when she had the backing of the immensely wealthy and powerful House Lannister, led by her father, Tywin.

Removing her from the throne would require undeniable proof of her betrayal—namely, that her three children were not Robert's but were actually fathered by her twin brother, Jaime.

But that secret would be difficult to prove. Even though some already suspected or knew of it, no one held concrete evidence. Without a blatant scandal—like catching Cersei and Jaime in the act—conjecture alone wouldn't suffice.

As for the fact that all three of Robert's "children" bore Lannister's golden hair instead of Baratheon's dark locks, this was far from conclusive. It was normal enough for children to inherit their mother's traits.

In fact, many people thought it fitting for the king's children to have golden hair, considering how House Lannister's iconic gold hair had remained a feature for six millennia—practically a genetic miracle. With House Baratheon only around for a few centuries, it seemed almost inevitable that "the lion's gold would overpower the stag's black."

So it wasn't surprising that Robert never questioned the color of his children's hair.

Lacking proof, Lord Renly had apparently opted for this roundabout method to push for Cersei's removal. Of course, the truth of her children's parentage would only come to light later, once Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, uncovered clues in The Lineages and Histories of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms, sparking a chain of events orchestrated by a master manipulator and setting off the Game of Thrones.

But for now, Samwell simply observed Renly on the dance floor, trying to decode his motives.

It seemed clear from Renly's later actions during the War of the Five Kings that he harbored ambitions for the Iron Throne.

Yet as the king's younger brother, Renly's place in the line of succession was behind Cersei's three children and his elder brother Stannis.

Renly's attempts to have his brother dethrone Cersei now looked like a ploy to disinherit her children.

That would mean that only Stannis stood between Renly and the throne.

Renly knew well enough that Robert had never been fond of Stannis. Despite Stannis's valiant defense of Storm's End during Robert's Rebellion, Robert had appointed his much younger brother, Renly, as Lord of Storm's End, while sending Stannis to rule over Dragonstone.

Although Dragonstone traditionally served as a symbolic holding for the throne's heir, that had been a Targaryen practice, with little relevance in the Baratheon dynasty. Storm's End, the true Baratheon seat, had gone to Renly instead.

So in Renly's mind, if he could just see Cersei's children stripped of their legitimacy, he would become first in line for the Iron Throne, with Robert's approval.

Samwell set down his plate and considered another angle—what role did the Tyrells play in this scheme?

An amused smile tugged at his lips.

Back when he'd first read the books, he'd noticed that many apparent "main characters" often died abruptly, as if the author was eager to illustrate the brutal reality of political scheming.

Yet when he'd thought more carefully about it, he'd realized that there was always a reason behind each death, as if everything had been preordained.

In the grand scheme, these "main characters" were mere pawns to the true players, manipulated into action by hidden forces. The real players were never the ones at the center of attention, but lurked in the background, unseen.

Take Renly, for example—handsome, charismatic, and seemingly in control. But he was only another puppet, dancing to strings pulled by one of the true masterminds of this game: the "Queen of Thorns," Lady Olenna Tyrell.

How else could Renly have discovered that Margaery bore a resemblance to Robert's lost love?

Samwell surmised that it was likely her brother Loras who had "unintentionally" shared that information with Renly in a casual moment.

It was this knowledge that had driven Renly to Highgarden—or rather, to Oldtown.

The shrewd Lady Olenna would never have let Renly visit Highgarden directly; that would have made House Tyrell's involvement too obvious.

Instead, by arranging a "coincidental" encounter under the guise of a family visit to Oldtown, she kept their involvement discrete.

If the plot succeeded, House Tyrell could claim innocence, leaving Renly to face the fury of the Lannisters alone.

And if it failed, then… House Tyrell would have risked nothing. All they'd sacrificed was an offhand comment by Loras and a single portrait of Margaery—nothing too costly, while Renly, with his bright, bold ambitions, would do all the legwork, assuming all the risk.

Samwell couldn't help but admire the subtlety of the plan, a masterstroke of Olenna's characteristic style.

If Renly's gambit succeeded, Olenna would likely dispose of him without hesitation, casting him aside to appease House Lannister or perhaps even to clear the way for her grandchildren.

Poor Renly, unaware he was being used to serve House Tyrell's ambitions.

It reminded Samwell of the smith's scathing assessment of the Baratheon brothers: "Robert was true steel, unbreakable in the flames; Stannis was raw iron, too rigid and brittle; and Renly was polished brass—beautiful but hollow."

The dance came to an end, and the couples gradually dispersed. Renly, meanwhile, escorted Margaery into a side chamber.

Watching as his "future wife" left in Renly's company, Samwell felt no worry.

He knew that Renly's plan wouldn't work.

Were it anyone else, he might worry about what might happen behind closed doors, but with Renly? This man was… well, a man's man.

Samwell chuckled, then reached for his beloved goldtail shrimp, only to realize that the platter was empty.

Unbelievable—they'd eaten it all!

Should he request more from Lord Leyton? Or would that be excessive?

The all-knowing Ser Caesar found himself in a delightful quandary.

(End of Chapter)