As Stannis finished speaking, Ser Davos, though puzzled, quickly knelt.
King Stannis's voice rang out: "Fifteen years ago, for salted fish and onions, I made you a knight. Today, fifteen years later, for my kingdom, I intend to elevate you to Earl, Davos Seaworth."
For the kingdom? The Onion Knight couldn't guess why King Stannis said that.
Ser Davos raised his bowed head and said, "King Stannis, I am already content to be your knight. Please allow me to speak frankly, I come from a smuggler's background, and I cannot adapt to a noble status."
"Very well."
King Stannis rose from his chair and stood before the Onion Knight, saying, "If one sits in a higher position, one must first become hypocritical; I have personally experienced this."
With a clang, King Stannis drew his longsword, rested it on the Onion Knight's shoulder, and said, "Davos of House Selly, are you my loyal knight, from this day until forever?"
Ser Davos lowered his head and respectfully said, "Yes, My King."
"Are you willing to swear to serve me all your life, to give me honest counsel and absolute obedience, to protect my rights and my kingdom, to stand by me through all perils, to care for my people, and to punish my enemies?"
"I am willing, My King."
"Then rise, Davos Seaworth, my Earl of Rainwood, my Kings Hand."
Rainwood, it is a vast forest located on Cape Wrath in the Stormlands. This area is humid and rainy, but the soil is very fertile.
Davos looked up in shock; he had just been worried about facing severe punishment for secretly plotting to kill Melisandre.
Earl of Rainwood?!
Kings Hand?!
Davos's lips trembled several times before he managed to say, "King Stannis, you cannot... I am not suitable to be Prime Minister."
"Davos, there is no one more suitable than you." King Stannis sheathed his sword and personally helped his new Prime Minister to his feet.
Prime Minister Davos advised again, "King Stannis, I am of humble birth, elevated from a smuggler. Your lords will not be pleased."
King Stannis said coldly, "Then depose them, and let suitable people take their places."
Prime Minister Davos opened his mouth and said, "I am illiterate; I... cannot read or write."
Stannis sat back in his chair and said, "Maesters, stewards, squires—they can all read and write for you. What I value is what you have always given me: honesty, loyalty, and service."
His "God" had shown a hint of impatience. After a pause, Davos tried to continue persuading, "King Stannis, there must be better candidates, some noble lord..."
King Stannis's cold snort interrupted Prime Minister Davos's advice.
"Noble? At least I haven't felt that quality from them. They don't care who their King is, much less the laws of the kingdom; they only care about their own interests."
After speaking, King Stannis gestured angrily.
After a moment of silence, he added, "You will be my Prime Minister, my Earl of Rainwood... Enough, this is a King's command."
Riverlands, Longtable Hall.
Oh, people are saying, come see the beauty! Beauty? He understands, but I am a bear! All black and brown, covered in fur!
Hopping and spinning, slowly approaching the beauty! Beauty! Beauty!
Oh, she is so sweet, pure, beautiful! Honey in the maiden's hair!
Hair! Hair! Honey in the maiden's hair!
Oh, I am a girl, pure and beautiful! I won't dance with a furry bear! Bear! Bear! I won't dance with a furry bear!
Lift her into the air! Bear! Bear!
Oh, I call for a knight, but you are a bear! Bear! Bear! All black and brown, covered in fur!
Kicking and shouting, the maiden is frightened, but he licks the honeyed hair, hair! Hair! He licks the honeyed hair!
Inside the tavern, Greene Kleber leaned back in his chair, enjoying the songs of the Riverlands.
To be honest, the first time Greene heard the song called "The Bear and the Maiden Fair," he thought it was quite good.
But... he had been listening to it for three consecutive days.
At this moment, Greene's gaze was on the Dwarf on the small stage, but his thoughts had long drifted away, to the Riverlands.
Last night, a beautiful handmaiden brought him intelligence about the war in the Riverlands on behalf of Little Rose.
After reading the intelligence, Lord Green couldn't help but worry about the Lannister Army in the Riverlands.
The current situation... many things had changed, and he was a little worried that the Old Lion would be directly overthrown by the Little Direwolf.
Greene's slender fingers gently tapped the table... If Lannister were defeated in the Riverlands, it was highly likely that the Golden Rose would monopolize King's Landing in the end.
This was not in Kleber's interest.
Greene's brown eyes flickered... To prevent any mishaps, he had to help Lannister.
How to help... and he couldn't help for free... Greene's fingers paused, he had to quickly forge an alliance between Red Keep and Golden Rose.
When would his beloved Duke Mace arrive at Longtable Hall?
Greene picked up his wine glass and took a sip. The sweet summer red helped calm his slightly anxious heart.
Greene put down the wine glass and turned his head to look at Brienne of Tarth. She was wearing Kleber's Blue Cloaks and silver armor, and her formerly messy hair was neatly combed back.
Brienne was very adaptable; she quickly became familiar with Kleber's military regulations within a few days and meticulously adhered to them.
It had to be admitted that she was a walking Kleber military regulation. This was a talent, a kind of incredibly serious talent.
Greene said, "Brienne, give him a gold dragon. I want to continue listening to 'The Bear and the Maiden Fair'."
Brienne nodded slightly and strode directly towards the small stage.
Not long after, the tavern was filled with collective complaints.
For three consecutive days, the same song had been played repeatedly in this tavern, and many regulars were almost sick of hearing it.
Several fierce-looking and strong men cursed, turning their heads to look back. They saw a large expanse of blue.
They instantly sobered up, then... nonchalantly sat back down and continued drinking happily with their companions.
Yes, keep listening to the song, keep drinking.
When Greene drank his sixth cup, Little Rose's guard came looking for him.
Margaery Tyrell invited him to dinner.
Greene's eyes flickered. He looked out the window; the sun outside was dazzling. He guessed that he might see Duke Mace Tyrell at the dinner table tonight.
After Greene left, surrounded by the Clebers Blue Cloaks, the tavern immediately became lively.
"Who is he?! Does he really like listening to bear songs that much?!"
"I almost drew my sword!"
"Yes, me too!"
"Me too!"
"Shhh, I heard he's an honored guest at Longtable Hall."
"Who exactly is he?!"
"I saw his sigil, that golden flower looks like the sigil of House Clebber of the The Crownlands."
"Kleber, I'm listening... it sounds so familiar..."
"Last year, yes, it was last year, a The Crownlands noble challenged a Riverlands swordsman in Highgarden!"
"I remember it wasn't said afterwards..."
"Shhh, shhh, stop discussing it. Are you trying to die?!"
"This is the Riverlands!"
"Shhh, he is the Blood Earl..."
"Blood Earl? The rumors... is he the Earl who will gouge out your eyes if you look at him directly?"
"Gouge eyes?! That's too cruel... then... why isn't he called the Eye-Gouging Earl?"
"Shhh... those are all rumors... I heard he eats a raw heart every meal, directly while the person is still alive... because the scene is too bloody, that's why..."
"Too cruel... then... why isn't he called the Heart-Eating Earl?"
"Shut your mouth! Why so many questions?!"
"I heard he every night..."
"Oh, gods preserve us..."
The sun gradually set below the horizon, and the sky's color slowly changed from bright blue to deep blue.
The attendant pushed open the door, and Greene entered the dining hall of Longtable Castle.
Flames flickered in the fireplace. Hearing the movement, Margaery, who was standing by the window, turned, her dark green skirt swaying around her slender hips.
Greene bowed, "Good evening, Lady Margaery, thank you for your invitation. It is an honor to dine with you."
Little Rose returned a slight bow, her smile gentle: "Thank you for coming, welcome, Earl Green."
The two exchanged a few pleasantries, then Little Rose suddenly chuckled softly and said, "Earl Green, I heard you've recently become obsessed with a song?"
Greene's eyes were full of smiles: "The Bear and the Maiden Fair?"
Margaery suppressed a laugh and nodded gently, her demeanor very charming. Lord Green, ever professional, paused in a daze... Hmm, the lines were also very charming.
Tonight, Little Rose's dress color was still dark, but compared to their first meeting three days ago, it was clearly much more "lively," and the smile on her face had also become sweeter.
Lord Green felt the "words" Lady Little Rose was conveying. She wanted to tell him... she was moving past the grief of losing her "ex-husband," and it wouldn't take too long... perhaps she could even "recover" quickly.
Was this intentional or an unconscious revelation?
Greene shrugged: "Listening to that song, I feel like my fiancée is right by my side."
"Fiancée?"
Margaery was surprised, then paused and said, "Congratulations, may the gods bless you both, Earl Green."
Greene nodded in thanks.
"No wonder... she came back and told us you didn't even look at her, and just sent her away..."
Margaery sighed helplessly and said, "Aeliana was heartbroken all night. If I had known beforehand, I would have stopped her brave self-recommendation."
Lord Green couldn't possibly not have recognized that the handmaiden was Margaery's cousin, Elora Tyrell.
The Golden Rose Family had once proposed marrying her to him (Chapter 122), which was why he pretended not to see... Ahem, boys in Westeros need to learn to protect themselves outside.
Margaery seemed a little curious: "Earl Green, if you don't mind, could you introduce the family of your fiancée?"
"Of course."
Greene smiled and said, "Her name is Rhaella, and we met in Essos across the Narrow Sea. As for her identity..."
He shrugged: "She's said to be a princess living in exile."
Living in exile... a wandering princess? Little Rose didn't take the title of princess to heart, as she had heard that the continent of Essos had countless people claiming to be princes or princesses.
Margaery's eyebrows raised slightly; she seemed to have discovered Earl Green's weakness. When it came to matters of love between men and women, he seemed to lose his usual wisdom and become more impulsive.
Because, from Margaery's perspective, Earl Green had chosen a rather unsuitable fiancée. This marriage did not align with the family's interests.
The impression Greene left on her was that of an exceptionally intelligent noble, and his performance in Red Keep had proven this point.
Normally, Margaery felt that Earl Green would never choose a girl who was merely a princess in title as his spouse.
What kind of girl could make him make such a choice?
That girl must be very charming?
Or, was he under some kind of spell?
Margaery looked at Greene, whose smile was like a blooming flower. She thought... this matter was only because she was too cautious. If she had known about this "weakness" beforehand, she might have encouraged her cousin Aeliana to be more courageous.
It was a bit of a pity.
She said, "What a wonderful experience. It's like a sweet story heard in a song... coming to life before my eyes. It's truly marvelous."
Little Rose had a sweet tongue... Lord Green had to nod in thanks again.
The door suddenly pushed open, followed by the herald's chant: "Welcome, the Supreme Leader of the Riverlands, Warden of the South, Defender of the Marches, Duke of Highgarden, Lord Mace Tyrell!"
...Greene suddenly missed his Daenerys.
Soon, the burly figure of Duke Mace appeared. He was dressed in a dark green velvet robe and a golden cloak, and the sword at his waist gleamed golden.
Margaery curtsied, "Good evening, My Father."
Earl Green bowed, "Good evening, Duke Mace Tyrell."
Duke Mace surveyed his daughter and Greene with pleasure. He stroked his beard and said, "Margaery, my good daughter."
Saying this, he walked over and embraced his daughter with open arms.
Then, Duke Mace turned to Greene, stroked his beard, and said, "Oh, Greene, welcome."
After speaking, he reached out and patted Greene's arm.
Greene's voice was a little excited: "Respected Duke Mace, it is a great honor to meet you."
Duke Mace laughed and stroked his beard, saying, "Very, very good. I heard about what you did in the Vale. You did very well."
Greene smiled and respectfully said, "I owe that to your guidance, Duke Mace."
Duke Mace stroked his beard with a pleased expression and said, "Greene, you are a good boy. There isn't much more I can teach you... The challenge between Crab Claw Point and the Vale is known throughout the Seven Kingdoms. You must be cautious in this battle."
Greene said solemnly, "Thank you for your guidance. I will certainly keep it in mind, Duke Mace."
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