Louis kept his head low after taking the throne.
Although he tried to act like the usual Joffrey, he refused to become a sadistic and foolish king in the eyes of others.
Even so, his decision regarding the execution of Ned Stark was not reckless. Instead of killing him, Louis ordered Ned to be imprisoned for further investigation.
Thanks to his knowledge of how the plot was supposed to go, he also succeeded in capturing both Stark sisters, Sansa and Arya, before Arya managed to escape. He ordered both of them to be detained as well.
This decision angered Cersei Lannister, who wanted Ned Stark dead as quickly as possible in order to protect her secret.
She shouted, objected, warned of conspiracies, and feared betrayal, but Louis ignored her completely. To him, she was nothing more than emotional noise with no strategic value.
Cersei did not know what to do in this situation. She believed she could fully control Joffrey, but his behavior changed completely after Robert Baratheon's death. This pushed her to send a message and wait for her father, Tywin Lannister, to come and deal with this loss of control.
As events moved quickly, Louis did not even realize when Tyrion Lannister had taken the seat of Hand of the King. When he finally noticed, he understood that a storm was coming.
From Tyrion's point of view, the boy king was still sitting on the throne… but something about him had changed.
Joffrey was no longer the wild child who enjoyed shouting and acting foolishly. Despite some arrogance in his behavior, he was far calmer than expected. Tyrion did not know that the person sitting before him was no longer the real Joffrey, yet this did not stop him from trying to control him.
He reminded him of his position, the limits of his power, and the danger of a king ruled by anger and pride. He spoke carefully, testing his reactions.
But what surprised him was that Joffrey did not explode.
Louis looked at him with steady eyes and simply said,
"You are the Hand of the King now. Act like one."
At that moment, Tyrion realized that this child had somehow grown since taking power.
Without waiting for Cersei's approval, Louis granted Tyrion full authority to organize the city's defenses. He acted as if it were obvious, because he knew what was coming.
It did not take long before confirmed news arrived.
Stannis Baratheon was on the move.
His fleet was cutting through the sea, heading straight for King's Landing.
In the eyes of everyone, Stannis was the rightful king.
In Louis's eyes, he was a direct enemy who had to be crushed quickly.
Tyrion stood on the walls, watching the horizon while fear suffocated the city. Thanks to his full control over the soldiers, the preparations this time were far more complete.
In addition, wildfire... that merciless, insane weapon, was ready.
When Stannis's fleet entered the bay, the order was given.
The sea exploded.
The water turned into a green hell. Ships burned, screams filled the sky, and the army that seemed unstoppable just moments before became chaos of fire and ash.
Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf mocked by everyone, stood in the heart of hell and smiled bitterly.
He had won the first battle.
But Stannis did not retreat.
He personally led his forces onto the shore, broke through the defenses, and approached the city gates. It seemed as if all of Tyrion's preparations were not enough.
In the middle of this chaos, Louis made his move.
It was not truly necessary, but...
It is known that the conspiracy to assassinate "Joffrey" was planned by Olenna Tyrell and Petyr Baelish. It happened in the heart of the capital, during the royal wedding, in front of everyone. Is it reasonable that such a conspiracy could pass without being detected by Tywin's vast intelligence network? And if he knew, did he choose to stay silent on purpose?
There was no direct proof, but his suspicious silence raised many questions. He did not demand deep investigations, nor did he show great grief. On the contrary, he immediately began reorganizing the rule and preparing for a new king.
With Joffrey's death, his younger brother Tommen ascended the throne. Tommen was a quiet boy, easy to control, which made Tywin the true ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. Politically, this transition was perfect for House Lannister.
During the chaos, Louis successfully sneaked his way to his younger brother Tommen's room.
Tommen was surprised by Joffrey's visit. Although they were brothers, they were not close.
"What? You won't welcome your brother?" Louis said.
"I'm sorry, but I was a little surprised!!" Tommen replied.
Louis ignored it and entered the room.
Tommen looked at him strangely but could not stop him.
"Hmmm, are you watching the battle from this window?" Louis asked as he approached one of the open windows.
"Yes!!" Tommen said as he walked closer. "The explosions were loud, so I wanted to take a look."
Silence filled the room for a few seconds while Louis's mind worked at high speed.
"Hmmm, you're too short, so you can't see clearly, right?" Louis asked.
"Th-this… I…" Tommen stuttered.
Before he could say anything, Louis suddenly bent down.
"Come, I'll carry you on my back so you can see better."
For a moment, Tommen did not know what to do. He knew his brother's nature... at least before Louis took over. Joffrey would never do something like this, so refusing was his natural response.
But Louis did not allow refusal.
"This is an order, not a request. Come."
With hesitation, Tommen stepped forward and finally climbed onto his brother's back.
"See? That was easy, right?" Louis said.
"Y-yes…" Tommen replied nervously.
Louis moved closer to the window until his legs touched the wall beneath it.
After a few seconds of watching, when the gates were about to fall and despair was spreading, horns sounded.
New banners appeared on the horizon.
Tywin Lannister.
House Tyrell.
They arrived like a storm, crushing Stannis's forces from behind and turning his attack into a complete defeat. It was not salvation driven by honor, but cold calculation... exactly the kind Louis appreciated.
"And… grandfather saved us from this chaos. He is a true hero for us," Louis said.
Tommen was amazed by the scene and forgot his earlier hesitation.
"Yes! Grandfather is a true hero!!" he said in a childish voice.
Louis smiled coldly as he tightened his grip on Tommen's arms around his neck.
"But do you know who the real hero truly is, Tommen?"
Tommen was shocked by the change in his brother's tone and tried to pull his arms away.
"B-brother…"
"Answer me," Louis ordered. "Who is the real hero?"
"The… the real hero is…" Tommen stuttered, not knowing how to answer, especially as his arms were starting to hurt.
Louis finally replied,
"The real hero is the one who can fly."
"Huh?" Tommen said in confusion.
Before he could think further, Louis leaned forward so that his upper body was outside the window, then forcefully pulled Tommen's arms off his back.
For Tommen, everything happened too fast. He could not react or even scream before hitting the tiles below the palace wall and stopping completely.
Louis looked down at the scene without changing his expression.
"Sorry. If you kept living, you would become one of the obstacles on my path to a perfect evaluation."
Then he turned and sneaked back to his room the same way.
The Battle of Blackwater finally ended.
And the capital survived... this time.