The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Chapter 1 Ilyn Payne

In the 287th year of Aegon's Conquest, Renly Baratheon was born at Storm's End. He is exactly twenty years old this year.

Within the royal court, Renly was publicly acknowledged as the most elegant man, skilled in dressing and grooming himself. Even noble ladies would seek his advice on clothing techniques and color coordination for makeup.

Renly was the first to enter the hall, his captivating smile drawing all eyes from the nobles and ladies. Tall, handsome, and charismatic, he had a cascade of black hair that fell to his shoulders, immaculate and gleaming. His chin was clean-shaven, his face radiant and charming. He was a young man who never sported a beard.

A suit of enameled green armor adorned Duke Renly Baratheon's frame, complete with a helmet bearing a pair of golden antlers. His entrance instantly made him the focal point of the entire hall, eclipsing even King Robert and Queen Cersei.

However, the moment Renly opened his mouth, he became less endearing.

“Nephew Joffrey, I heard that you were beaten by a little girl and a butcher’s son, and even had Lion's Tooth taken from you by a little girl? Is that true?” Renly burst into laughter.

Joffrey's face flushed crimson.

Cersei's complexion turned green as she coldly retorted, “Duke Renly, do you find such amusement in mocking your nephew? That little wolf girl and that damned lowborn ambushed Joffrey, along with an direwolf the size of a hound.”

“Oh, that sounds absolutely dreadful,” Renly chuckled. “Was the little fellow who attacked the prince the one caught by the Hound? Wow, he's filthy. Get him out of here at once.”

“Get him out? I want his head!” Joffrey declared resolutely.

“Oh, oh, oh, no need for our prince to get his hands dirty with beheadings,” Renly jested. “Ser Ilyn Payne, the King's Justice, is here. He's a man who knows nothing but how to chop off heads.”

King Robert roared, “Renly, another word out of you and I'll have you thrown out!”

“Oh, apologies, Your Majesty…” Renly showed no fear toward his most affectionate older brother. He was about to make another jest when King Robert sternly commanded, “Ser Barristan Selmy.”

The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Barristan, who had just entered, quickly stepped forward and knelt on one knee. Ser Mandon Moore and Ser Maelor Hightower who accompanied him immediately knelt to pay respects to the King.

The Kingsguard's sole allegiance is to the King and the Royal Family. It is the highest honor a knight can achieve. In addition to exceptional martial prowess, they must remain unmarried for life. Because they are privy to the Royal Family's private affairs and secrets, the demand for loyalty surpasses even the selection of martial skills.

The King's Justice, Ilyn Payne, entered but did not kneel before the King. He merely gave a half bow, and then stood behind the King, looking down on everyone in the hall with an arrogant expression.

The King shouted, “Ser Barristan, Ser Mandon, Ser Maelor, escort Duke Renly out!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The three Kingsguard acted like wolves and tigers, immediately seizing Duke Renly and forcibly dragging him out.

The Mountain paid no attention to Renly Baratheon; he stared at Ilyn Payne.

Ilyn Payne was the King's sword, the executioner responsible for beheading nobles who defied the King and the laws of the realm.

But this man in charge of killing was a Westerlander, under the banner of Lord Tywin, the Payne family being one of the many minor houses nestled between Clegane lands and the Swyft family.

He appeared gaunt, with a stern expression and a face full of black pockmarks, devoid of any facial hair on his face and chin. Unlike Duke Renly, who shaved his beard off, Ilyn Payne never grew one.

His eyes had hardly any color in the irises, appearing to be all whites—a pair of chilling dead fish eyes. His cheeks were sunken, and he was balding, somewhat resembling Polliver, one of the Mountain's men, but not entirely. He wasn't completely bald; around his ears, below the crown of his head and above his neck, he had a half-circle of hair, grown as long as a woman's, draped over his iron-gray chainmail.

His chainmail was filthy and damaged, but he didn't care. A dirty leather hilt protruded from his left shoulder, because his greatsword was too long to be worn at the waist, so he carried it on his back.

During Lord Tywin Lannister's tenure as Hand to King Aerys II, Ser Ilyn served as Tywin's captain of the guard. He had his tongue ripped out by the Mad King Aerys when someone informed on him for allegedly saying, “Lord Tywin is the true ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.”

Now Ilyn Payne could no longer speak. Of course, if he could befriend Bronn, the Mountain's wine server, Bronn could teach him the skill of speaking from the belly.

During the War of the Usurper, Tywin made a choice at the last moment, helping Robert take King's Landing. Robert ascended to the Iron Throne and became King. After he married Cersei as Queen, in order to show goodwill to Tywin, he appointed Ilyn Payne as the King's Justice, as compensation for the tongue Ilyn Payne had lost while loyally serving the Lannister family.

Ser Ilyn was an extremely competent executioner, clean and efficient, finishing the job with one strike, never allowing an execution to descend into a messy situation. His silence, enforced by the loss of his tongue, only added to his imposing presence, and the realm was fortunate to have found such a fitting Justice.

Ilyn Payne's residence within the Red Keep was notoriously filthy and disordered. He was a bachelor, uninterested in women, and had been devoted to Tywin since childhood. His usual pastime was to sharpen his greatsword in his small cottage. The Mountain knew that Ilyn Payne's sword was exceptionally sharp.

In the entire realm, there were two people who dared not to kneel before His Majesty the King: the Mountain and Ilyn Payne.

The Mountain suddenly felt a pang of sorrow for King Robert. This 'nice guy' had terrible vigilance and political acumen. Even the sword that did his killing was from the Westerlands. Those closest to him were almost all Lannisters. Even if he wasn't killed by a boar soon, he would be killed by the Lannisters easily.

Bronn beside the Mountain also paid special attention to Ilyn Payne. The nobles present were all speaking, but Ilyn Payne remained silent. From the moment he entered until he stood behind the King, he didn't say a word. This presented a problem for Bronn, because the Mountain wanted him to listen to the voices of everyone present and remember them, which was his task this time.

From the King to the Queen, from the prince to the courtiers, Bronn carefully listened to their voices and made a point of memorizing them. Even without trying, Bronn had a perfect memory, but he had quickly developed a miraculous sense of closeness and admiration—almost infatuation—for the Mountain. He had quickly become one of the Mountain's devoted fans, carrying out the Mountain's orders meticulously.

Those ruthless and eccentric individuals who followed the Mountain would soon admire him and become his devoted fans, because they could unleash their 'madness' without restraint. The Mountain had become the catalyst for their 'liberation of nature', and he had successfully transformed these people into his most loyal subordinates! This was probably the Mountain's inherent Great Demon King attribute. When the little devils found their Demon King, the growth of devoted fans became unstoppable.

Bronn nudged the Mountain's giant hand, signaling that he couldn't identify Ilyn Payne's voice. Bronn was being careful and discreet, but the Mountain spoke without reservation: “Bronn, Ilyn Payne has no tongue. He can't speak!”

Ilyn Payne's 'dead fish eyes' snapped towards the Mountain upon hearing this. The Mountain returned the gaze with disdain. Their eyes locked, neither willing to look away.

This visual confrontation was like a clash of swords, full of menace.

Finally, Ilyn Payne slowly averted his gaze. He was cruel, but the Mountain was even more ruthless and possessed an overwhelming aura.

Renly Baratheon, who had been forcibly escorted out by the Kingsguard, reappeared at the doorway: “Your Majesty, I won't say another word, not a single one. May I come in?”

Robert grunted.

And so, Renly entered with great elegance and courtesy.

Cersei said, “When Joffrey was attacked by the little wolf girl and the butcher's son, there was someone else present, Sansa Stark. Hound, bring Sansa Stark here. Question her in front of all these nobles, and the truth will be clear. I have no patience to wait for the Starks to arrive before starting the interrogation.”

Ilyn Payne immediately stepped forward, gave a half bow to Her Majesty the Queen, and then strode out.

He was even more enthusiastic than the Hound to seize Sansa Stark!

In the original timeline, it was Ilyn Payne who beheaded Eddard Stark.

King Robert shouted, “Ser Ilyn, don't frighten the little girl!”

The Mountain knew that Sansa would be scared half to death just by seeing Ilyn's appearance! Tormenting and intimidating the weak and beheading others were Ilyn's two great pleasures, just as King Robert's two great pleasures were wine and women.

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