"Seven hells!" Dany jumped up, exasperated as Lady Stoneheart glared at her with fiery eyes. "Can you people be reasonable? I'm just analyzing how you all failed—I didn't do anything wrong."
"I still don't understand," said Barristan, puzzled. "Since Bolton had already allied with Tywin, why would he cut off the Kingslayer's right hand—that's his sword hand. Without it, Jaime is practically crippled."
"The one who cut off his hand was the Bloody Mummer?" Dany looked toward Brienne.
"Mm. Vargo Hoat, leader of the Brave Companions."
"The Brave Companions were originally hired by Tywin from across the Narrow Sea. But when they saw the North gaining the upper hand, they betrayed the Lannisters and defected to Roose Bolton. In the Free Cities, such behavior is typical for mercenary groups, but it greatly offended Tywin."
Dany rubbed her chin and gave a bitter smile. "Looks like even the Bloody Mummers suspected that Bolton was secretly aligning with Tywin. Vargo most likely cut off Jaime's hand to ruin Bolton's chances of switching sides."
"Huh huh huh…" Lady Stoneheart clawed frantically at her own face, blood streaking across her scarred cheeks.
Watching her pitiful appearance, full of pain and regret, Dany sighed and tried to comfort her. "My lady, don't blame yourself. Your love for your daughter is a mother's instinct. A mother's love for her child should never be considered a sin."
Though she also thought Catelyn had acted foolishly, at this point, what good would regret and self-recrimination do?And it wasn't just her who had acted foolishly—Robb Stark, the self-proclaimed King in the North, had made even more mistakes.
When they returned to Riverrun and found that their only bargaining chip had been squandered by his mother, Robb actually breathed a sigh of relief and comforted her: I understand you—it was all out of love. We both made mistakes. I, too, broke a sacred vow and married Jeyne, all because of love.
Then mother and son shared a "relieved" glance—you forgave me, I forgave you—and just like that, they brushed both matters aside. Meanwhile, the Northern and Riverland lords surrounding them had twisted expressions, their rage barely contained, and their hope for the future completely gone.
In that despair, Karstark killed two Lannister cousins. And what did Robb and Catelyn do? Righteously declared he had made a mistake, and mistakes must be punished.
What the fuck!
"Besides Brienne—like giving a blacksmith a carpenter's task—you also trusted the wrong person."
"Who?" Catelyn asked hoarsely.
"Your own sister!"
"Lady Lysa?" Barristan exclaimed. "But she didn't do anything to betray House Stark!"
The others looked equally confused, though Catelyn's expression darkened. She didn't seem surprised—apparently, she knew something Dany didn't.
"During the War of the Five Kings, the fact that she did nothing was her greatest mistake!"
Barristan shook his head and sighed. "You weren't in Westeros, so you may not be familiar with the people. Lady Lysa is delicate and overly sensitive. She dotes on her only son, Robert, to an extreme. Most likely, she stayed out of the war out of fear for his safety."
The Eyrie has maesters too, and the Citadel once tried to inquire into why the Vale remained so "slow to respond."
Dany looked around at everyone with a strange expression. Were they all under some kind of intelligence-lowering aura?"Her sister's house was destroyed. Her brother's house was destroyed. And she remained untouched, sitting steady as a mountain. You think that's normal?"
"Fine, even if she loves her son above all else, even an idiot can see the logic: if the lords of Tully, Stark, and Arryn joined forces, they'd be the strongest power in Westeros.
Dorne wouldn't ally with the Lannisters. Baratheons wouldn't either. Highgarden and Dorne are mortal enemies.
In short, the remaining four kingdoms are riddled with conflict—almost impossible to unite.
More terrifyingly, on the Young Wolf's side, the territories of the three houses were interconnected and controlled by his siblings—no chance of internal strife like what happened with Robb and the Freys.
Lady Lysa and Lord Edmure didn't seem ambitious for the Iron Throne either—no repeat of Stannis and Renly's squabble.
As long as the three families were willing to cooperate, they would be close-knit and united.
Even if Robb had squandered everything in the Riverlands, the Neck guarded the north, and the Bloody Gate guarded the east. The most impregnable natural defenses in Westeros were in your hands—how could you possibly lose?
With Robb's talent on the battlefield, forget just avenging his father—he was actually the strongest contender for the Iron Throne!"
"In truth, the Young Wolf never suffered a real defeat in direct combat. If Lysa truly feared for her son's safety, she could've waited and watched for a while. After seeing the great victory at Whispering Wood, any concern should've been eased.
At the very least, she could've sent a few thousand cavalry through the Bloody Gate to garrison Harrenhal—Bolton wouldn't have dared to rebel even if he had ten times the courage!
Even if Lady Lysa was the most cowardly woman alive and scared to death of Lord Tywin, she still could've sent troops by sea to the North—White Harbor is right next to the Vale. Help her nephew retake Winterfell and guard the family home. Surely that wouldn't have been dangerous, right?"
"This…" The group looked at one another, at a complete loss.
"If someone truly wants to help, they'll always find a way; if they don't, they'll find ten thousand excuses." Dany tapped her chest. "The key is right here. It's obvious your sister never had the heart to help."
"Why, Lysa, why?" Lady Stoneheart clutched her throat and rasped in a voice barely human, "The letter—Lysa sent me a letter. She said Jon Arryn was poisoned… poisoned by the Lannisters. She begged us to get justice for her. That's why Ned went to King's Landing… Why? She's my own… sister!"
"Did you know," Dany glanced at the old maester, "Lady Lysa loved Littlefinger deeply?"
She wasn't spoiling anything—records in the Citadel's library included letters from the maesters of major noble houses across the Seven Kingdoms.
The key point is, Lysa never hid her affair with Littlefinger—far from it. The two were formally married with a certificate, and everyone in the Seven Kingdoms knew Littlefinger lived in the bedroom of the lord of the Eyrie.
The old maester thought for a moment and said, "Indeed, Lady Lysa was deeply infatuated with Littlefinger. She couldn't even wait for him to come to the Eyrie to marry her. She eagerly traveled thousands of miles with a septon, crossing mountains and remote lands, just to marry him on the desolate Fingers peninsula."
"I have a question—why has none of you ever considered Littlefinger a major player in the game of thrones?" Daenerys asked curiously.
Barristan thought for a moment and replied, "Because he's physically small, not a knight, and lacks military knowledge; his family background is even weaker than his strength—he couldn't even afford to maintain a single household guard."
"Heh, you've never been to the Fingers. There's nothing there but rocks, cliffs, and sheep dung. The Baelish family's castle is just a three-story tower by the sea—the top floor is the master's quarters, the second floor is the living room and servant bedding area, and the first floor is a sheep pen.
It's said that on the wedding night of Lady Lysa and Littlefinger, the guests on the second floor could hear both her loud moans and the bleating of sheep below. They were so embarrassed they had nowhere to go—the tower was tiny, and there weren't even bedrooms for the guests."
Hmm, Lysa's moans were certainly the most enthusiastic in all of Game of Thrones.
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Some male guests listened to her cries for so long that they lost control—one of them even banged on the wall next to Sansa, trying to hold her hand.
Perestan gave Daenerys a mocking smile, as if to say "you're so naïve": "Not everyone qualifies to play the game of thrones. You, of all people, should understand that best."
The real condition of Littlefinger's house was even worse than what the maester described—only three servants: an old steward, an elderly nanny, and a guard captain.
Uh, the "captain" only had himself to command—he was the entire guard, and also served as the shepherd. When Littlefinger married Lysa, the household owned just 23 sheep.
To keep the lord fed, the old steward and the nanny had to forage by the river for seaweed, shellfish, and bird eggs. Every time Littlefinger returned home, the steward would nervously ask how long he planned to stay—worried he'd consume all the food if he lingered too long.
Even a decent meal befitting his rank was hard to come by—how miserable!
You could say, Littlefinger was the poorest, most shabby lord in all of Westeros.
Because Littlefinger came from such humble origins, although powerful figures like Tyrion, Tywin, Varys, and Lady Olenna of Highgarden knew of his talents and cunning nature, they never truly saw him as a threat.
Catelyn, who had grown up with Littlefinger as childhood sweethearts, once said: "He was clever from a young age—but cleverness isn't the same as wisdom."
And look what happened—she was ruined, her family destroyed, and became Lady Stoneheart. Yet even now, she looked at Daenerys with confusion and disapproval.
"Sigh, my lady, why don't you tell me—what is Littlefinger's current status?"
Before Catelyn could answer, Daenerys started counting on her fingers: "Lord of Harrenhal, the tenth duke of the Seven Kingdoms—that's one. Husband to Lady Lysa, guardian to Lord Robert Arryn, and regent of the Vale.
He also served as Master of Coin for over a decade. All the customs and treasury officers in the Seven Kingdoms are his men, and who knows how much wealth he's accumulated?
Oh, and more than half the brothels in King's Landing belong to him, with each prostitute serving as an informant.
Have you all noticed?
Right now, he has status, an army, money, and a complete intelligence network. Among all the dukes in the Seven Kingdoms, only two or three could match him—and that doesn't include the King in the North, Stark."
"When facing someone more powerful than you, where does your sense of superiority come from?" she asked, looking directly at Lady Stoneheart.
Seeing her face gradually darken, Daenerys sighed, glanced around the room, and asked, "Who profited most from the War of the Four Kings?
The Starks lost everything—ruled out. The Lannisters were just defending what they already had—ruled out. The Baratheons were the biggest losers—lost everything, even their underpants—also ruled out.
That leaves Highgarden, who gained the most. And Dorne? They stayed on the sidelines, possibly trying to stir the pot or seize a chance for revenge.
But everyone knows—Highgarden bet heavily on Renly and lost big. Dorne was too slow, reactive rather than proactive—just drifting along with the tide. Think of the Red Viper, who died so tragically at the hands of the Mountain—was that really the work of a true puppet master?
Now, Littlefinger—he started as a minor lord of just one 'finger' on the Fingers peninsula. Compared to what he has now, his fortunes have multiplied a hundredfold.
What's more important is this: the current chaos in the Seven Kingdoms, with kings falling one after another, seems almost orchestrated—like someone is pushing events toward greater instability.
Such turmoil is bad for the great houses, the ones already in power. But it's perfect for clever little men."
"No! That's not right!" the red-nosed old man pointed at Daenerys, his eyes suddenly wide with realization. "The chaos in the Seven Kingdoms benefits you the most! It's you! You're the mastermind behind it all, aren't you?!"
Daenerys
(To be continued)
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