"What?!"
"Renly is dead?!"
The moment Karl arrived at Highgarden, Jon greeted him with shocking news.
Jon silently nodded and handed him a letter that had just arrived.
Karl frowned, pulled over a chair, and sat down before opening it.
Baelor Hightower, who had also heard the news, looked equally stunned. His expression turned increasingly strange.
Just that morning, he and the King had been discussing Stannis's surprise attack on Storm's End. They had both wondered where Stannis had found the confidence to challenge Renly with such a small force.
Yet before they had even settled into Highgarden, they were suddenly greeted with news of Renly's death.
It was almost unbelievable.
---
"Where did this news come from?"
Unable to contain his curiosity while Karl read the letter, Baelor turned to Jon.
Jon glanced at him. He didn't recognize the man and wasn't sure how to address him.
Before he could answer, Garlan Tyrell—who had just returned with Alex Oakheart after welcoming the King outside Highgarden—spoke first.
"It came from my brother..."
"Loras Tyrell."
His voice was heavy with grief.
Baelor immediately recognized the famous Gallant Garlan standing before him.
Seeing Garlan dressed in the white cloak of the Kingsguard momentarily left him speechless.
The fact that the letter had come from Loras Tyrell made the entire situation even more intriguing.
Baelor already knew about Garlan joining the Kingsguard. Ever since the Battle of Old Oak, that matter had been widely discussed throughout the Reach.
The Faith had also begun making subtle moves after remaining strangely silent for some time.
However, no respected representative of the Faith had publicly expressed a position.
Because of House Hightower's close ties to Oldtown and the Faith, the High Septon had visited Lord Leyton Hightower on several occasions.
Unfortunately, Baelor had no idea what had been discussed.
As for Loras...
Everyone knew about his relationship with Renly Baratheon.
That made the news all the more unbelievable.
---
"Then how did Renly die?"
"Was it illness?"
"Or some kind of accident?"
Since he couldn't question Loras directly, Baelor shifted his attention elsewhere.
Jon's expression darkened.
"It was Stannis."
"He murdered him."
The answer stunned everyone.
Jon sighed heavily.
"Lord Renly had already agreed to abandon his claim to the throne after being persuaded by..."
He paused briefly.
"...Lord Eddard Stark, the Hand of the King."
"I never imagined Stannis would actually kill him."
His voice was filled with anger and regret.
---
Baelor's eyes widened.
"Stannis?"
"Stannis Baratheon, Lord of Dragonstone?"
"He killed his own brother?"
That revelation shocked him even more than Renly's death itself.
He almost thought he had misheard.
Jon remained silent.
Instead, Garlan continued.
"He used some unknown form of sorcery."
"Loras said it was a shadow."
"He witnessed everything himself."
"When it happened..."
"Only Loras and Ser Barristan Selmy were inside Lord Renly's tent."
"The guards immediately believed the two of them had murdered Lord Renly."
"That misunderstanding caused the entire Storm's End army to collapse."
"Later..."
"Loras's Reach forces even clashed with the Stormlands army because of it."
Baelor listened in stunned silence.
His mouth slowly fell open.
---
Karl finally finished reading the letter.
"This happened because Storm's End was Stannis's objective from the very beginning."
"Killing Renly with shadow magic was simply the means to achieve that goal."
His calm words immediately drew everyone's attention.
Jon and the others looked at him in confusion.
Karl offered no further explanation.
Instead, he placed the letter aside and gently tapped the armrest of his chair while thinking.
Seeing him remain silent, Baelor cautiously asked,
"Your Majesty..."
"Are you saying Stannis murdered his own brother simply to seize Storm's End?"
Karl nodded.
"If we judge by the outcome..."
"Yes."
"His plan was to secure Storm's End as a stronghold against Robert... and against me."
"I suspect someone advised him to do exactly that."
He looked up.
"As for the shadow mentioned by Loras..."
"I know something about it."
"Stannis has a priestess from Asshai at his side."
"A Red Priestess who serves the Lord of Light."
"Melisandre."
"The one who killed Renly was her shadow assassin."
"So..."
"I believe she was also the one who convinced Stannis to seize Storm's End."
---
Baelor still couldn't accept it.
"But even so..."
"He shouldn't have killed his own brother!"
His faith in the Seven made the crime of kinslaying utterly unforgivable.
He simply couldn't understand it.
"Even if he wanted Storm's End..."
"He could have deceived Renly."
"Renly had already agreed to withdraw from the succession."
"If Stannis had pretended to do the same..."
"He could have gained Storm's End without spilling family blood."
Karl calmly shook his head.
"If Stannis were capable of doing that..."
"He wouldn't be Stannis Baratheon."
The room immediately fell silent.
Everyone present understood exactly what he meant.
House Tyrell and House Hightower knew Stannis better than most.
During the Siege of Storm's End years ago, Stannis had chosen starvation over surrender.
His rigid personality had never changed.
It was also why so many people across Westeros disliked him.
Baelor wanted to argue further.
Yet...
Renly was dead.
Nothing he said could change that.
---
Karl ignored the discussion and instead looked toward Jon.
"According to Loras's letter..."
"My Hand of the King..."
"Lord Eddard Stark..."
"Has most likely been captured by Stannis."
"I doubt he'll simply be treated as a hostage."
Jon's expression immediately changed.
A feeling of unease filled his heart.
"What..."
"What will he do to Father?"
Karl hadn't yet answered when Baelor spoke first.
"He believes himself to be the rightful king."
"If you were in his position..."
"What would you do?"
Baelor sneered.
"If it were me..."
"I would demand that Eddard Stark swear loyalty."
Jon immediately protested.
"That's impossible!"
"My father would never submit to a tyrant!"
Baelor merely smiled coldly.
"Don't be so certain."
"Remember Davos Seaworth?"
"He smuggled food into Storm's End during the siege and saved Stannis and his men from starvation."
"Stannis rewarded him with a knighthood."
"And then..."
"He cut off four of his fingers as punishment for smuggling."
"If that's how he treated his greatest benefactor..."
"Imagine what he'll do to someone who refuses to submit."
---
Karl sighed before speaking.
"He's referring to Davos Seaworth."
"The Onion Knight."
"A loyal man."
"Perhaps too loyal."
"I've never understood how he tolerates Stannis."
"Very few people in the Seven Kingdoms can."
He then looked reassuringly at Jon.
"Ser Barristan remained behind."
"He's trying to rescue your father."
"So don't worry."
"Now that I know what's happened..."
"I'll move ahead with Robert."
"At the very least..."
"I'll ensure Lord Eddard's safety."
Jon finally managed to calm down.
---
Karl waved away the subject.
"Enough."
"We'll discuss Storm's End later."
"Has anything else happened while I was away?"
There was little point discussing Storm's End further.
Stannis now controlled the castle.
Renly's assassination had occurred in secret.
Officially...
The only suspects were Barristan Selmy and Loras Tyrell.
Without evidence...
No one could openly accuse Stannis.
Even more uncertain was how the Stormlords who had followed Renly would react.
This situation had already diverged greatly from the original history.
Most importantly...
There was Melisandre.
And behind her...
The Lord of Light.
Karl understood better than anyone how formidable they could be.
Storm's End itself was another concern.
Like the Wall...
Legend claimed it possessed ancient enchantments capable of resisting magic itself.
The Wall had kept the Others beyond its borders for thousands of years.
Some even claimed dragons could not fly across it.
If Storm's End truly possessed similar protections...
Karl wasn't certain he could overcome them.
Then there was R'hllor.
Unlike many gods, the Lord of Light had repeatedly demonstrated genuine miracles.
Karl refused to believe such a power would simply ignore him.
For the first time...
He felt genuine pressure from the supernatural side of the world.
Even so...
He had to rescue his father-in-law.
If no one intervened...
Stannis might very well execute Eddard Stark without hesitation.
Karl silently began considering other options.
If he couldn't yet bring people out of the game world...
Then perhaps he could seek magical equipment.
He needed to visit either the Witch of the Terror Tower or the dragon Artex.
If he remembered correctly...
The game contained several anti-magic items.
The dragon armor crafted from eggshells...
And the enchanted rings used during the vampire quests...
Both proved such technology existed.
If magical defenses could be created...
Then magical barriers could also be overcome.
Otherwise...
Storm's End would become an impregnable fortress.
A simple siege would never defeat Stannis.
Especially not with Melisandre beside him.
Karl was convinced they had prepared countless backup plans.
---
Jon, of course, had no idea what the King was thinking.
Knowing only that Karl intended to personally rescue Eddard Stark...
His heart finally settled.
After gathering his thoughts, he nodded.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"There was another letter."
"It arrived yesterday."
"It's from Lord Tyrion Lannister."
Karl's eyes immediately lit up.
"The fleet?"
"Has it already been assembled?"
He had invested enormous resources into that project.
Most of the labor came from House Hightower.
House Hightower had also contributed considerable funds.
Karl himself had supplied the majority of the money, grain, and equipment using spoils captured after defeating House Tyrell.
His plan had always been simple.
The Redwyne fleet had already been shattered.
Many surviving sailors had been captured.
As long as experienced officers were replaced...
Those ordinary sailors could still crew new ships.
The fleet didn't need to be powerful.
It simply needed to be operational.
Jon, however, shook his head apologetically.
"Not yet."
"Lord Tyrion estimates another two months."
Karl couldn't hide his disappointment.
Still...
For a fleet of that size...
Tyrion's caution was understandable.
He nodded.
"Very well."
"What else?"
---
Jon continued.
"Lord Tyrion has confirmed movement from the Iron Islands."
"It actually began over a month ago."
"They spent all this time verifying the information."
"The Iron Fleet has definitely sailed north."
"They didn't depart together."
"They left in several separate groups."
"If multiple fleets hadn't eventually converged toward the same destination..."
"And if some ships hadn't remained away for nearly three months..."
"Their movements might never have been discovered."
"After all..."
"Ironborn ships constantly sail as merchants and pirates."
Karl frowned.
"So Balon has been quietly preparing for three months."
"He was more patient than I expected."
He thought for a moment.
"So they're heading north..."
"Yet no reports of Ironborn raids have reached us."
"Surely they didn't sail out merely to feed the whales."
He immediately asked another question.
"What about the Vale?"
"Don't tell me they're still preparing to leave."
Jon quickly answered.
"The Vale army has already departed."
"Their primary mission is defending the Wall and countering the Ironborn."
"Tywin Lannister is only a secondary concern."
"They divided into two forces."
"The smaller force has already reached White Harbor."
"They're preparing to continue north toward the Wall."
"They chose the sea route because transporting supplies overland would be impossible."
"The second army is marching overland."
"Based on current reports..."
"They should soon enter the Neck."
Karl slowly nodded.
That was enough.
His intention had never been to use the Vale as his main attacking force.
Their true purpose was defense...
Support...
And deterrence.
As long as they were moving...
Everything was proceeding according to plan.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)