The Mountain of Ice and Fire

To have the Queen and King sit at the same level on the Iron Throne dais in the Throne Room was unprecedented in the history of Westeros.

Only a Regent could sit at the same level as a King who hadn't come of age on the Iron Throne dais. Previously, any royal family member would sit to the King's right on a slightly lower chair.

Jeyne Westerling sat in the Queen's seat, but she didn't yet have a Queen's crown on her head.

Crafting an elaborate crown would take master jewelers more than ten days.

Jeyne gestured, and the Mountain leaned toward his wife. He heard Jeyne's cold voice: "Mountain, I know your intentions!"

The Mountain gave an awkward smile: "You saw it all?"

"I saw the prophecy."

"Did you see the later prophecies?"

In the Throne Room, packed with courtiers and military officers, the Queen and King were whispering secrets that only they could hear, right in front of everyone.

"Later prophecies?"

"Did you see a new generation of the Unburnt emerge?"

"…I…didn't see…"

"You hesitated! Are you lying to me?"

"I didn't see it."

"You didn't see it, but the blood of the Unburnt will remain. Maybe it will skip a generation, or two, but no matter what, the blood of the Unburnt will eventually awaken. Do you understand what I mean?"

"…Hmph…"

"If I go to conquer Essos, you will be the King on this Iron Throne, not Jon Connington."

When the King is away, the Hand sits on the Iron Throne.

"…Hmph…"

"When I'm here, you and I will jointly rule the kingdom, the Westeros kingdom, including the even larger Essos continent in the future. You and I will both be Kings. You will have supreme glory, Jeyne."

"…Hmph…"

"I will also hand the most prosperous Reach of Westeros over to House Westerling, making House Westerling the rulers of the Reach, generation after generation. This is my gift to my wife."

"I know the purpose of your constant attempts to appease me. You want my blood magic to help you obtain Daenerys Targaryen? You want me to turn a blind eye to your depravity, just like you made Arianne Martell your lover."

"Not obtain, conquer, for the blood of the Unburnt." The Mountain's gentle gaze turned serious and firm.

"…Hmph…"

"Thank you, my lady."

"I didn't agree to anything."

"I know you've already agreed in your heart. Thank you, my lady," the Mountain said decisively.

"No!" The Mountain's arbitrariness aroused Jeyne's anger, and her tone became exceptionally firm.

"I promise, this is the last one. To give House Clegane the blood of the Unburnt. After Daenerys, I will not have any other woman, in the name of the Old Gods and the New."

"…Pah…"

However, the Mountain believed that a consensus had been fully reached between husband and wife. He straightened up and surveyed the courtiers and military officers in the hall, who were looking at each other.

Everyone in the hall saw the Queen and King arguing about something on the high throne. The Queen looked displeased, but the King looked exceptionally firm. In the end, it seemed that their opinions still diverged. The Queen's expression turned to resentment.

In such a solemn and dignified occasion, what were the King and Queen arguing about?

This… was… a little… laughable! It was too rude, not how a well-bred noble should behave; however, the Mountain's upbringing had never been truly refined.

One person in the hall felt happy: Princess Arianne Martell. Seeing the Mountain and Jeyne at odds filled her with malicious joy that she couldn't suppress. Her eyes shone, and a beautiful smile bloomed on her face. She enjoyed seeing Jeyne seemingly thwarted by the Mountain.

The Mountain's voice rang out calmly: "Lord Gendry Baratheon."

"Yes, Your Grace," Lord Gendry stood in the front row of the noble's ranks.

Gendry stepped forward.

"In the name of the Old Gods and the New, in the name of the King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, I announce the appointment of Lord Gendry as the Lord of Laws of this kingdom."

Gendry Baratheon: "…"

Wasn't the Lord of Laws the Queen's position? Could it be that the couple had been arguing about the change of the Lord of Laws position just now?!

"Rest assured, child, I will send the best judges to assist you in judging evil. Please always uphold your kindness, integrity, and honesty, for that is the greatest wisdom and justice," the Mountain said.

"Lord Gendry, your status, integrity, honesty, and kindness are most suitable for this position. I will be assisting His Grace in handling government affairs from now on and can no longer spare the time to serve as Lord of Laws," Queen Jeyne said.

"Yes, Your Grace, Your Majesty," Gendry Baratheon knelt on one knee to pay his respects to the King. Then, he rose and knelt again to pay his respects to Queen Jeyne. Queen Jeyne was both his mother and the Queen, worthy of Gendry's individual respects. After the pious Gendry finished paying his respects, he rose and stood in the ranks of the small council.

Actually, this was a bit… careless! At least His Grace should have announced the removal of Her Majesty as the Lord of Laws before announcing the new successor. But, facing the Mountain, it seemed that this really didn't matter. As long as he thought it was appropriate, and no one in the small council objected, then it was passed.

"Bring in Horseman Thommann outside the gate!" the Mountain shouted.

Thommann—the biological father of Jory Clegane, who died in the Battle of Winterfell, the Mountain's old horseman, and also the earliest resident of Clegane's Keep.

Thommann quickly entered. He stood in the center of the hall, facing the Mountain and the many nobles. The old soldier was a little at a loss.

"Thommann, from today on, you are the castellan of Maegor's Holdfast."

Maegor's Holdfast was the castle where the King and Queen resided, surrounded by high walls. It was a city within the Red Keep. King Maegor, who built Maegor's Holdfast, built his palace as a military fortress. The walls were very high and thick, and one had to cross a drawbridge to enter Maegor's Holdfast.

Thommann was stunned. He had become the royal palace manager?! And his own experience was only that of a militiaman, miner, and horseman.

"Your Grace, I don't know anything," Thommann knelt down.

"War and life have taught you too much. You are exactly the manager we need, Thommann. Stand up. Stand next to me," the Mountain said.

"Yes, Your Grace!"

"Ser Davos Seaworth."

A relaxed smile appeared on the Mountain's face when he called out this name.

He had already discussed it with Waggener Gahl, and he was going to give the positions of Master of Ships and Lord Admiral to two people. No one knew the sea's character better than Davos Seaworth. Waggener was better at combat, but Davos Seaworth was the true master when it came to understanding the sea conditions in various places, pirate smuggling gangs, coastal city-states, and countless island nations in the sea.

Davos Seaworth stepped out of the ranks. He was the Lord of Storm's End, a territory granted to him by Stannis Baratheon I.

"Lord Davos Seaworth, in the name of the King of the Seven Kingdoms, in the name of the Old Gods and the New, I appoint you as the Master of Ships of the kingdom. You will work with Lord Admiral Waggener Gahl and Vice Admiral Asha Greyjoy to build the most powerful navy in Westeros. I want our navy to be the best in the world, both in terms of quantity and combat power, so that no one can match us in the sea."

Davos Seaworth blinked repeatedly. He was an ambitious smuggler, otherwise he wouldn't have risked his life to deliver onions and grain to Storm's End when it was besieged in 284 AC. At that time, the sea and land were heavily blockaded by House Tyrell. But at sea, Davos was a fish. Even the tightest naval blockade of the Redwyne fleet of House Tyrell was still full of loopholes in his eyes. He sailed through the blockade in the dark of night, and the onions he delivered saved Storm's End. This transformed him from a habitual smuggler on the sea into a noble.

"Your Grace, I will do my best," Davos Seaworth replied cautiously. Davos Seaworth's strengths were his ambition to do things and his prudence, which was also what the Mountain appreciated. Davos Seaworth was an absolute master at sea, but he never boasted about his greatest skill. He was even more accustomed to keeping silent about what he was not good at.

Ser Davos Seaworth joined the ranks of the small council.

"Lords, ladies, knights, ladies, and gentlemen, I have a new proposal today, and I hope everyone can discuss it openly. The final decision will be made by the small council after fully listening to everyone's opinions, and then a vote will be held," the Mountain said. "I want to amend a rule of the Kingsguard. I think that rule is fundamentally contrary to human nature and is a distorted mistake."

Lord Commander of the Kingsguard Barristan Selmy stepped forward: "Your Grace, may I ask which rule you want to amend?"

"Ser Barristan, have you ever had a girl you liked?"

Barristan was stunned!

"In the name of the Seven, tell the truth!"

"I have, Your Grace."

"Do you go to the brothels now?"

Barristan stammered. In the hall, there was laughter from the male animals.

"In the name of the gods, tell the truth!"

"…Uh, I have… Your Grace…"

"If you now have a woman you want in your heart, and that woman also wants you, what should you do? Be with her? Sneak around, then you violate the law and tarnish your knightly honor. Not be with her? Not go looking for her when you're lonely? I know you can't do that at all. Everyone knows that, an open and tacit secret."

Barristan's face turned red. He was an honest man, on par with Gendry the blacksmith in this regard.

"I hope to amend this law. The Kingsguard, the highest knightly honor, knights among knights, they have the right to marry, the right to pursue the woman they want. Who agrees, who disagrees? Raise your hand and let me see."

As he spoke, the shadow of Daenerys Targaryen's unparalleled beauty flashed before the Mountain's eyes.

For House Clegane, for the blood of the Unburnt! The Mountain decided—to make a sacrifice!—He might lose a little bit of honor and a harmonious atmosphere in the family!

The richest Reach, the co-equal Queen's seat, were the Mountain's preventative medicine and lubricant for easing family tensions.