Chapter 635: The Conflict in Dorne

Once, Lord Varys was indispensable within the walls of King's Landing, having served three kings. However, now that Viserys had established an internal audit agency, Varys realized that he was replaceable after all.

The intense battles between the little birds and the Internal Affairs Department escalated to a point where two or three people died daily.

Viserys was well aware of the situation but chose not to interfere directly.

Now, Varys had to be extra cautious and dared not withhold any piece of intelligence. His once masterful tactic of selectively reporting the information he gathered had lost its effectiveness due to the existence of a competitor.

"Oh?"

"Missandei rejected Euron. What's next? The Iron Islands cannot remain unpopulated forever. Where does Euron plan to find people?"

"Either by waging wars or capturing slaves. As you know, Lord Euron now holds a naval military position with the Iron Fleet still under his command."

Varys swayed his shiny head as he spoke.

"He might plunder some islands on the Sunset Sea. It's said that those barbarians are also descendants of the ironborn."

The routine royal council meeting ended swiftly. Many of the heavyweights participating left in jovial groups, except for one who returned.

"Lord Alistair Florent, I have other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

Varys bowed slightly to the tall and thin old man, the Minister of Agriculture, before departing with light steps.

"Spiders are often disliked creatures."

On the other hand, Tyrion, who was enjoying a lively conversation with Oberyn, remarked to Alistair.

"Oh, Lord Tyrion."

Alistair Florent, upon hearing the Imp's words, stood politely, offering a slight smile and a nod to the duo.

Although his tenure in the royal council was not short, compared to others, he was still a 'newbie.'

The old man knew he needed to build good relations with these 'seniors' to last long in the royal council. Moreover, the backing behind Alistair was not strong; his position as Minister of Agriculture was merely a result of political compromise.

However, Oberyn paid no heed to the old man's courtesy. He glanced at the retreating figure of the spider, Varys, his brows furrowing slightly.

He felt there was a different implication in Varys' gaze towards him today, followed by an inexplicable chill.

"This eunuch, could it be…"

Meanwhile, Viserys, accompanied by his attendant Robb Stark, was returning to the Tower of the Hand.

"Robb, what have you learned today?"

As they descended the steps, conversing, Robb, serving as his attendant, was learning governance and martial arts from Viserys. It was a customary practice among nobles to send attendants to each other as a form of apprenticeship.

Sometimes when Viserys held royal council meetings, he would have Robb sit by his side or stand guard outside. If necessary, Viserys would personally knight Robb.

"I learned the importance of population, Your Grace. I never realized how crucial it is."

The young man with auburn hair pondered, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword as he spoke.

He had never considered the significance of population before, falling into a thinking trap. He even believed that these commoners were a burden to the nobles, who had to protect them. This, he thought, was the honor and duty of the nobility, but now he saw it was the opposite.

The luxurious lives of the nobles were built upon the hard work of these commoners, bit by bit.

"Hmm."

"And?"

Viserys merely nodded, urging Robb to continue, but at this moment, they ran into Varys, who had quietly returned, at the turn of the corridor.

"Varys?"

"Your Grace, about Dorne, there's another matter I'd like to report."

Prince Oberyn of Dorne was present earlier, so Varys didn't bring up the matter in front of him. Instead, he waited until the royal council adjourned and came back to discuss it privately with Viserys.

"Oh?"

In the Tower of the Hand's study, after hearing Varys' report, Viserys interlocked his fingers on the table, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"So, such a thing has occurred."

In reality, Viserys had anticipated this event; it was merely a matter of time. It was like a bomb buried in a corner, neglected for years, yet bound to explode someday. He just didn't expect this bomb in Dorne to detonate at such a critical moment.

According to Varys' report, there had been conflicts between the nobles of the Riverland and Dorne. The reason being the frequent activities of Dorne cavalry near the Riverland, posing a great threat to the frontier nobles.

The two factions had been foes for generations, and a short period of peace couldn't dissolve the hatred. Their ancestors had died at the hands of each other, and now, without military power in their hands, the nobles of the Riverland felt a growing sense of crisis, banding together out of fear.

However, what ignited this powder keg was a squad of Dorne cavalry. They brutally stormed into a noble's domain in the Riverland, burnt down a village, and killed all its inhabitants.

Such incidents weren't rare in the past, with Dorne cavalry burning villages of frontier nobles, and vice versa.

But this time, taking advantage of the lack of military power among the frontier nobles, the Dorne cavalry demonstrated their might near a castle, causing a sense of crisis among the nobles within.

This act of Dorne cavalry instantly ignited the anger of Riverland nobles. Although their military power had been retracted, the frontier nobles still retained a not-so-small number of private soldiers. With the robust local martial traditions, it was easy to assemble an army.

The confrontation between the two sides near Nightfall Castle even led to bloodshed, with a knight from the Riverland being killed.

Dorne claimed that they weren't instigating a war or invading the Riverland, but chasing down peasants who had fled from Dorne. Recently, more and more people had left Dorne for the Riverland, with some villages nearly deserted.

The Dorne nobles realized the crisis late but issued orders to blockade ports and roads, forbidding anyone to leave their domains.

Yet, this couldn't stop the determination of the Dorne populace to leave, even sparking a fleeing frenzy. Infuriated, the Dorne nobles decided to act ruthlessly.

They chased the fleeing peasants all the way to the Riverland, causing this conflict.