-67- Rose Road (2)

Breathing heavily, Lysa Tully lifted her skirt.

Petyr Baelish reached out to stop Lady Lysa's action.

"Lysa..."

Petyr's call seemed to awaken a trace of reason in Lysa.

Petyr curved his lips into a smile, his face filled with tender affection. "Lysa, come with me."

Deep within Petyr lay cold rationality; he played different roles in front of different people, always acting in his own best interest.

No matter how impulsive, Petyr would never conduct such matters near the stairs of the Tower of the Hand. He didn't tell Lysa it was an inappropriate place because he could never refuse her affection.

...

Petyr's elegance was still intoxicating. "There is a room over there that can barely match your beauty, my Lysa."

Lysa's cheeks flushed even more. In his heart, she would always be the Lady Lysa Tully of Riverrun. He loved her so deeply!

We will be together in the end!

Shyly, Lysa placed her chubby hand gently on Petyr's outstretched palm.

Petyr's gray-green eyes flickered subtly.

"Petyr, you haven't come to see me for several days."

Lysa's tone carried a hint of reproach, but mostly shyness.

Given her current age and appearance, Lysa's expressions, actions, and tone were all very incongruous. However, Petyr's face remained filled with unchanged affection.

Petyr tightened his grip on Lysa's hand. "It's all for the sake of our future. For you, I can endure anything."

Lysa thought of how Petyr had humbled himself and served her husband for over a decade, always submissive and attentive.

Lysa knew well that Petyr never liked such behavior; he endured it all for her sake.

Lysa's heart was filled with love, and she didn't know what she could do to repay Petyr's deep affection.

What she could do now was this: Lysa lowered herself again.

Petyr's smile grew a bit rigid.

...

After a long while, with a flick.

Lysa glanced down. "My little finger is quite lively today."

It was an intimate phrase, but hearing "little finger" from Lysa's mouth made Petyr's smile stiffen for a moment.

Petyr wrapped an arm around Lysa and started to walk. "My Lysa, you may not get any sleep tonight."

"Petyr, my knight, I do love to sleep in."

...

Red Keep, one of its chambers.

Varys stared at the note in his hand.

In the candlelight's shadow, Varys' expressionless face gave off a cold feeling.

"Lord Varys, Lady Arryn and Lord Baelish have entered the room together. Should we arrange for someone to eavesdrop?"

Varys put down the note and tapped his chin lightly, intertwining his hands out of habit. "Hmm, when men and women are lost in passion, they're most likely to reveal valuable information."

"As you command, Lord Varys."

Varys added, "Has the investigation report from the guard been delivered to Janos?"

"It's been sent over according to your wishes, everything went smoothly!"

"Don't be complacent; we must bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion. In the future, do not arrange for anyone to be present where Lord Crabb is."

"Understood, my lord."

Varys rose from his chair and walked slowly to the window. "No doubt; there are always some outstanding individuals in this world."

"Lord Varys, I'm worried that our presence..."

Varys' indifferent eyes gazed out into the darkness beyond the window. "Unless the entire Red Keep is torn down, no one can do it, my little bird. We... are everywhere."

...

King's Landing, Queen's District, constabulary.

Fori leaned against the wall, looking a bit listless.

Fori watched as Leyton approached, and spoke, "Leyton, has the Silver Stags been distributed to them?"

Leyton stretched lazily, leaning against the wall like Fori. "Yes, this time they cooperated with you, though it was easier without the Lannister's help."

Fori chuckled loudly. "I'd be more than willing to if I were in their place, wishing the Queen would pass by here every day!"

Leyton nodded with a smile. "The Queen has returned to the Red Keep. We don't know when she'll pass by again, but having something to look forward to is a good thing."

Leyton asked, "And you, how is their training going?"

Fori shook his head. "I can only say they're obedient."

"Fori, they're not from Crackclaw Point, and they'll be dealing with different people in the future."

Fori nodded helplessly. "Don't worry, Leyton! I just find it boring and miss Whispers a bit."

Leyton shrugged. "I miss it too. It's been a long time since I've been hunting. It's too calm here, and it's unsettling."

"Do you think Lord Crabb will run into trouble in the south?"

Leyton thought seriously for a moment before speaking, "I can only say there won't be major trouble, after all, Lord Crabb is traveling in the name of the Queen."

Fori leaned closer to Leyton, lowering his voice. "Heheh, that's hard to say."

Leyton looked at Fori with a puzzled expression.

"The trouble isn't about others, but about Lord Crabb..."

...

...

Riverlands, Rose Road.

Gallen and his group continued south along the Rose Road, encountering many patrols from the Reach as they neared Highgarden.

Gallen frowned slightly.

The heavily armored soldiers of the Reach caught Gallen's attention.

Each patrol from the Reach consisted of 12 to 15 cavalrymen, and Gallen had encountered over a dozen patrols, each soldier wearing full plate armor.

They were populous and quite wealthy.

This was Gallen's first impression of the Reach.

...

It was close to noon, and Gallen's group slowed their pace, preparing to find a place to rest.

Before long, Anguy, who was scouting ahead, returned to the group.

"Lord Gallen, there's a village up ahead, where a noble lady is distributing food to the villagers."

Free food? Anguy's words immediately caught Mordin's interest.

"Are there any banners, did you see what the noble lady looks like?"

"I didn't see any banners, because I was worried about causing misunderstandings, I only took a distant look. She's a lady with brown hair and a green dress."

Gallen raised an eyebrow and pulled on the reins.

"We won't enter the village. Is there a suitable place ahead for us to rest?"

Not entering the village? Was the lord doing this to avoid affecting the villagers' food distribution?

My lord is always so kind!...

Anguy immediately replied, "There's a small path to the right up ahead. If we follow it for a while, there's a small river where we can rest."

Gallen nodded slightly, waved his hand, and called out, "Then let's get moving."