The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Varys knocked on the door with a peculiar rhythm.

The door opened, and Varys slipped inside.

He crossed the courtyard, entered the corridor, and hurried along.

The houses on both sides were inhabited by homeless orphans, all sound asleep in the deep night.

Varys was familiar with the place, winding east and west, pushing open a door and entering the backyard. In the backyard was a storage room. He lifted the wooden lid of the storage room, revealing a narrow staircase.

Varys pulled the staircase cover shut and walked down the stairs.

He found the basement of the storage room piled with a lot of grain, sack after sack. The orphanage had received another donation. Looking at the sacks, there was no symbol of the Great Sept of Baelor, meaning the grain was not donated by monks and nuns. Varys was slightly surprised, as he had not received any news of other great lords donating grain.

Varys examined the grain sacks and found that there were many kinds of grains, including wheat, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rice, and carrots. A tall bookcase was placed against the wall, filled with books, mainly on mathematics, writing, social history, customs, and geographical logs.

Varys pressed somewhere on the wooden cabinet, and with a light push, the cabinet moved away, revealing a very small door behind it. He ducked in, the bookcase returned to its place, and before him was a corridor lit with large red candles, followed by several rooms with tightly closed doors. One of them was lit with candles, and the sound of voices could be heard from inside.

This was where Varys trained his little birds.

The little birds did not train in martial arts. Varys trained them in mathematics, writing, history, noble family trees, customs, the Faith of the Seven. There were four teachers here, each teaching the children these subjects. These four teachers were Varys' followers, all orphans who had grown up here.

The little birds who went out to work had to be able to calculate and read, to understand letters, and each little bird had to have the skill to understand complex ledgers.

Varys felt relaxed when he returned here, much freer than in his chambers in the Red Keep of King's Landing.

Varys removed the hood covering his head and appeared in the light coming from the doorway, and then, the expression on his white, plump face suddenly froze.

"Lord Varys, hello!" A clear and polite voice. A girl stood up from among Varys' four teachers and greeted Varys.

Varys recognized this girl: Little Witch Julie.

Julie Clegane, who killed several knights lying on the ground with a short sword in the melee. Her ruthless killing was impressive, and the people of King's Landing gave her the nickname: Little Witch.

Varys was shocked, and had the urge to turn around and run away immediately, but he felt himself smiling, calm and composed, covered in a cold sweat.

This was Varys' nest, and the Mountain's Little Witch had found Varys' nest, which had forced Varys to avoid it.

Well, so be it, Varys hardened his heart and decided to see what tricks the Mountain was playing.

Who exactly was that blood mage who wanted Varys' blood through the Mountain's hand?

What did it mean that Little Witch suddenly appeared here?

The Mountain's trick was indeed very shocking to Varys. Or it wasn't the Mountain playing tricks, but the blood mage behind the Mountain.

Varys was also a man who had experienced great storms. Cold sweat was breaking out on his back, but a kind smile appeared on his face. The smile on his face was for others to see, and only he knew the cold sweat pouring down his back.

"Miss Julie, good evening!"

"My Lord, you're just arriving now. Miss Julie has been waiting for you for a long time. If we hadn't kept her, Miss Julie would have left already," the mathematics teacher said enthusiastically.

The mathematics teacher was a young man with a slightly pale face, weak and shy, honest and sincere. He was a child who Varys raised and taught mathematics.

The little birds' mathematics, the skill to understand the nobles' complex ledgers, were all taught by this introverted mathematics teacher.

The fact that the introverted mathematics teacher was the first to speak made Varys even more vigilant. Did this mean that Julie was very popular among these teachers? How was this possible? The mathematics teacher was introverted, but he would not be introverted with people he was familiar with and who had compatible personalities, and would become talkative.

The language teacher, who taught the children to read and write, stood up and bowed respectfully to Varys.

Varys was the biggest supporter of the orphanage. The orphanage could continue to operate and help many orphans from starving to death, all thanks to Lord Varys.

The language teacher was a middle-aged man, also an orphan, whom Varys had rescued from the dark sorcerers of Lys and taught him to read and write. He was now Varys' right-hand man, not only teaching language, but also taking the little birds out for practical training.

"Lord Varys, the first batch of food we promised to send has arrived, and the second batch will be delivered tomorrow," Julie said.

The teachers all nodded.

"Lord Varys, Miss Julie not only donated food, but also donated three hundred gold dragons," the history teacher said. The history teacher was an elderly woman, and Varys noticed that when he came in, the history teacher's hand was holding Julie's hand, as if a grandmother loved her granddaughter.

Varys' understanding of Julie also remained on her ruthless killing in the arena. Why could Julie gain the trust of these teachers? This was a place where Varys was very vigilant, as if this Little Witch had some kind of magical 'wizarding evil power'.

Varys had not come to the orphanage during the Tournament of the Hand. The news was sent to the Red Keep of King's Landing by the little birds, and the tasks were also issued in the Red Keep. In order to avoid suspicion and secrecy, Varys never openly entered or left the orphanage. The little birds' underground training nest in the Flea Bottom orphanage was a secret. Even if Julie donated money and food, the teachers should have received the guests in the living room on the ground. Why were they here?

Varys looked at the history teacher, the mathematics teacher, the language teacher, and the disguise teacher. These people's expressions were sincere, but after he calmed down from the shock of wanting to turn around and escape, he immediately noticed the strange atmosphere in the room, as if the ladies were warmly receiving guests they hated and showing polite fake smiles.

His four teachers' enthusiasm and humility were forced!

Varys felt another tightening in his heart!

Had the Mountain taken control of the orphanage?!

When?

Why hadn't he received any news?

He was the Master of Whisperers of King's Landing, and the little birds were raised by him, just like maesters and ravens. Ravens would only listen to maesters, not anyone else. The only difference was that ravens were feathered beasts and might not be threatened, but the little birds were all people, and so were the teachers. Could it be that the Mountain threatened to kill all the people in the orphanage, or captured some little birds to threaten the teachers?

"Miss Julie, where is the Mountain?" Varys asked bluntly.

He was conceitedly intelligent, but he didn't see the situation in front of him clearly, nor did he understand why the little birds hadn't warned him, nor did he understand why the teachers hadn't told him about the Mountain's donation of money and food.

How did the Mountain know that his little birds' training base was in the Flea Bottom orphanage?

The Mountain was a brute!

Was it the blood mage?

Varys' fat face showed a friendly smile, his expression calm and composed, but cold sweat broke out on his back again.

He hated wizards! And he feared wizards!