Chapter 151: Hazan's Purpose
"Great warrior, you've surprised me again. Jorah just killed a pit fighter I bought in Lys before; I had high hopes for him." Hazan joined the many noble youths in the pit in applause.
"He surprised me too," Ian thought to himself, then said matter-of-factly, "If he weren't a strong fighter, why would I recommend him to you?"
"All right," Ian shrugged, not giving Hazan a chance to continue the conversation. "Since my man has passed the test, please allow me to take my leave. I can't wait to persuade Magister Illyrio and formally wed your sister."
"Of course, please," Hazan said, handing Ian an invitation. "Take this; with it, you and your companions can freely enter and leave the Prince's Palace. The competition the day after tomorrow morning will be held in the Prince's Palace."
"I will arrive as scheduled." Ian nodded in agreement, then got up to leave.
"Wait, Ian," Celia, who had been silent for a while, called out to him unexpectedly. "Don't forget to come to the Red Temple to see me tomorrow. You promised."
"Yes, my lady." Ian took the small hand that Celia offered him and gently kissed the tips of her slender fingers.
Afterward, he left the underground pit with Daeren and the others.
"What do you think of his performance just now?" Hazan asked in a low voice after Ian left. "Will he side with us once our plan begins?"
"I'm never as good at judging people as you are, but no matter what, cooperating with us is in his best interest, as long as he's smart enough," Delilah smiled and said. "He has no reason to refuse us."
"That's my opinion," Hazan nodded, then said to Celia, "Just to be safe, try to secure him tomorrow."
"Okay, dear brother." Celia nodded obediently, then asked, "What if he tries to deny everything after he's had his way?"
"Then we'll detain him after the tournament. Once everything is settled, he'll have no choice," Hazan paused. "But I really don't want that to happen. After all, voluntary alliance and forced cooperation are always different."
Back in his room, Ian took out a piece of parchment and began to list in detail anyone and anything he could think of related to Hazan, then connected the relevant parts with lines.
He pondered what kind of scheme Hazan was plotting behind his unusual enthusiasm.
First and foremost, this conspiracy wasn't directed at him; at least, he wouldn't be put in danger because of it.
He had previously tested it using a loophole in the optional quest system, and Celia showed no hostility toward him. Since she was Hazan's sister, their plans should be aligned.
Suddenly, Ian looked up. Was it possible that Hazan hadn't told Celia about the part of his plan that targeted him, causing the system's calculation error?
Thinking this through, Ian, just to be safe, called in Rol and designed a "Hazan's Conspiracy" scenario using the exact same logic as the "Red Priestess's Conspiracy," and then tested it.
Originally, Ian wanted to use Hazan to try and complete "Hard" level quests, but Hazan's excessive enthusiasm and other factors prevented him from finding an opportunity.
The optional quest attempts he had saved this month came in handy now.
The test results came out quickly; as before, the quest was immediately completed, and the difficulty was still "Easy."
Ignoring the loss of the reward, Ian breathed a sigh of relief, as it meant Hazan truly harbored no hostility toward him.
The next question was: what value did Ian possess that made Hazan so eager to use him for a marriage alliance?
First, he ruled out the possibility that Hazan wanted to use him to win over Illyrio, as Hazan's attitude clearly showed he wasn't interested in such a thing.
In other words, even after eliminating Illyrio from consideration, Ian still held significant value for Hazan.
Had he demonstrated any strength that warranted Hazan's eagerness? Ian believed he had none. Before Viserys bestowed upon him his name, he was merely a bastard from a declining house wandering in foreign lands.
And now, although he was Viserys's so-called 'Hand of the King,' he held no real power.
Aside from a few loyal men and Viserys's trust, Ian was utterly destitute. But what use was Viserys's trust?
He would soon be killed by Khal Drogo with molten gold for offending Daenerys upon arriving in Vaes Dothrak. What value did his trust hold?
Thinking this, Ian suddenly paused, his hand holding the quill hovering in midair.
What if that beggar king hadn't died? Ian suddenly realized.
He couldn't stop Daenerys from marrying Khal Drogo, but he was perfectly capable of stopping Viserys from provoking Daenerys. As long as he kept this volatile fool in check, what would happen next?
As long as Viserys didn't do anything reckless, he would eventually receive Khal Drogo's 'return gift'—the Iron Throne across the Narrow Sea!
And where would be the most suitable forward base for the Dothraki to attack Westeros?
Pentos!
Value! Ian suddenly understood his own worth, the value he had been suspecting and searching for, the value that Prince Hazan was eager to cultivate, and that value lay in Viserys.
Ian realized he had been prejudiced earlier; he had assumed Viserys had no value because he knew Viserys would do something reckless.
But Hazan didn't see it that way. From Hazan's perspective, Viserys gaining a powerful army was inevitable, and a counterattack on Westeros wasn't impossible.
Therefore, befriending him, Westeros's future power broker, beforehand would be incredibly meaningful.
In a way, this made sense.
But considering Hazan's attitude toward Illyrio... it didn't make sense anymore, Ian thought, shaking his head again.
Hazan's several subconscious actions showed he wasn't very interested in or had no hope of winning Illyrio over, but there was a paradox.
First, it was theoretically impossible for Hazan to be uninterested, because gaining Illyrio's support meant his uncle would be guaranteed victory in the next Sealord election—their core interest.
But having no hope was also problematic, because when Ian told Hazan, "I will wed your sister after I convince Illyrio," Hazan readily agreed.
If Hazan was certain he couldn't persuade Illyrio to join his side, wouldn't making this promise mean his marriage to Hazan's sister was off the table?
So why was he so eager to arrange a marriage alliance? Just for sport? Impossible.
This made all of Hazan's actions inexplicable, unless...
He wanted to deal with Illyrio! Even kill Illyrio! A thunderbolt exploded in Ian's mind.
If Illyrio was destined to be dead in Hazan's plan, then his lack of interest in winning him over made sense—who would be interested in a dead man?
At the same time, because Illyrio was gone, his promise to 'wed his sister after successfully winning him over' automatically became invalid, and this promise needed to expire before he left Pentos so he could marry his sister. In other words, Hazan's move might happen before Khal Drogo's wedding.
Crucially, this gave Hazan an even more important reason for trying to win him over—he needed someone to keep Daenerys calm after he killed Illyrio, thus preventing Daenerys from developing thoughts of revenge for Illyrio.
It's important to understand that if Daenerys were to marry Drogo, her will would possess terrifying destructive power over Pentos. Therefore, Hazan would need someone who could gain Daenerys's trust to curb her potential wrath.
For this reason, Hazan's willingness to wed his sister to gain Ian's understanding and support becomes even more logical. After all, he's currently Illyrio's man; if Hazan isn't willing to go to great lengths, how can he guarantee Ian's support?
Looking at the relationship diagram in his hand, Ian calmed himself.
This reasoning, though seemingly audacious, perfectly explained the logical chain from Hazan's purpose to his actions, forcing Ian to believe it might be the truth.
This truth, however, raises two series of questions.
First, regarding the player—Illyrio didn't cause any problems during Khal Drogo's wedding in the original story, so if Hazan truly planned to deal with Illyrio, then a player must have exerted influence.
Who is that player? How did they do it? What is their purpose? Since they can exert such significant influence over Hazan, why don't they use Hazan to eliminate him?
Second, how will Hazan deal with Illyrio?
Assassination is impossible; Illyrio's guards wouldn't leave such a loophole, unless it were a Faceless Man. But even Hazan's mother might not be able to afford to hire a Faceless Man to kill someone of Illyrio's standing.
A direct assault is also out of the question. As Steward Mills mentioned before, most of Pentos's city guard is under the control of a certain old magister who 'upholds order,' and that magister would not tolerate an open attack on another magister.
The remaining guards are roughly evenly divided in terms of officers among the Braavosi, Volantene, and Illyrio factions.
As for the two thousand sellswords Pentos hired to defend against the Dothraki, command was also evenly distributed among the three factions, meaning Hazan has no numerical advantage.
His only chance of success is an ambush or a surprise attack, but Illyrio is an intelligence operative.
Illyrio's little birds are everywhere in Pentos. If Hazan makes any move against Illyrio, Illyrio will immediately be informed, making ambushes and sneak attacks impossible.
More importantly, Hazan is currently facing a life-or-death battle with Suthra Tetrus, and their conflict with the Volantis faction has reached a fever pitch. What makes him think he could possibly target Illyrio?
This is a three-on-one situation; unless the Arsenal fleet lands directly at Pentos's harbor, Hazan's chances of winning are practically zero.
The problem is, in the Braavosi factional struggle, the Arsenal fleet is divided between the forces of the Sealord and the commander supported by Illyrio—both are Hazan's adversaries...
Ian thought for a long time before leaving the room.
He had a rough guess but needed to confirm some things.
(End of Chapter)
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