Viserys looked at the undisguised gratitude and admiration in Sansa's eyes. His gaze remained calm, yet carried a reassuring look as he spoke, "There's no need to be so polite, Miss Sansa. You and Miss Jeyne probably didn't rest well last night. You can go and rest now. When news from the North arrives, I will arrange for someone to tell you."
After saying this, Viserys arranged for two Valyrian guards to take Sansa and the other girl to the rooms that had been prepared.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Sansa replied respectfully, her heart filled with longing for the future. Perhaps Viserys's appearance would truly bring her a different fate.
The two guards quickly stepped forward and said to Sansa and Jeyne, "Miss Sansa, Miss Jeyne, please come with us."
Sansa led Jeyne in another bow to Viserys, though this time she was not as stiff as before. Then, they followed the guards out of the reception room.
The moment she stepped out of the room, Sansa felt as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Her whole body felt much lighter, and she couldn't help but take a deep breath of the long-lost, slightly warm air of Red Keep.
She turned her head to look at Jeyne, who was still somewhat worried, and gently patted the back of her hand, signaling her to be at ease with her eyes.
However, Jeyne still used her peripheral vision to glance at the guards leading the way before leaning in close to Sansa's ear and whispering, "Sansa, do you really think he... His Majesty Viserys won't treat us like the Lannisters did?"
Sansa turned her head and looked at Jeyne seriously, saying in a firm tone, "Viserys certainly won't treat us like that, Jeyne. I believe him; I can feel that he is a good person. Moreover, he just promised me that he would let me see Arya soon. By then, we can also learn about Viserys's character from Arya."
After saying that, Sansa couldn't help but feel a bit excited, though she wasn't sure if it was because she would soon see her sister or for some other reason.
She now felt that the light in the corridor no longer seemed so dim, and the soldiers wearing armor with the Targaryen sigil were no longer so fearsome in her eyes.
Soon, the guards brought them to a room on a high floor of the Kings Tower. The room was spacious and bright, exquisitely and luxuriously decorated, and offered a view of all of King's Landing.
There were expensive carpets and gauze curtains, as well as a large bed that looked very comfortable. It was clearly a room used to host the great nobles of the Seven Kingdoms, much better than their previous room.
Seeing the satisfied looks on Sansa and Jeyne's faces, one of the guards spoke up, "Miss Sansa, if you need anything else, you can tell the maids outside at any time. We won't disturb your rest and will take our leave now."
After the guards left, Sansa couldn't help but lie down on the large bed. The corner of her heart that had been shrouded in gloom for so long was now illuminated by the light radiating from Viserys.
She even began to imagine the scene of her reunion with Arya, and the expressions on her mother's and brothers' faces when they learned she was safe and sound.
And then there was Viserys—how would this Dragon King of House Targaryen change the chaotic Seven Kingdoms, and how would he change her life?
Inside the reception room, once Sansa had left, Rhaenys quickly walked over to Viserys's side. Raising an eyebrow, she spoke in a teasing tone, "Brother, your charm is truly great. Have you already enchanted the lady of House Stark so quickly?"
Viserys turned around and looked at Rhaenys with a soft expression, saying, "I just think she plays an important role in stabilizing the North. I have no other thoughts; after all, she is even younger than Dany."
Rhaenys turned her face away and gave a soft huff, the look she shot at Viserys seemingly saying that she didn't believe him for a second.
Viserys ignored her little thoughts and walked over to Varys. Staring at The Spider, whose appearance seemed to have never changed over the years, he said, "Lord Varys, although there have been many letters between us over the years, this is the first time we've met since I left King's Landing."
Varys bowed slightly toward Viserys. On that face that always wore a smile, a trace of hard-to-detect complex emotion now seemed to appear.
"Yes, Your Majesty Viserys," his voice remained soft, with its habitual rasp. He continued, "I didn't expect that when we met again, you would be so tall and majestic. When we parted at Red Keep all those years ago, you were still a young boy in need of protection."
"Time changes many things, Lord Varys," Viserys's voice was calm and steady, but his gaze was very sharp, as if trying to see through the mask Varys always wore.
He paused, his tone carrying a sense of scrutiny as he continued, "So, how have you found things in King's Landing all these years?"
Varys's smile seemed to stiffen for a moment, but it quickly returned to normal. He lowered his head slightly, his tone carrying a fitting amount of humility, "Thanks to Your Majesty's blessing, I have managed to scrape by in King's Landing. Although the Lannister and Baratheon families had some suspicions, they ultimately needed someone to manage the dark corners for them."
He looked up to meet Viserys's gaze, his eyes shining with a shrewd light as he continued, "As Your Majesty has seen today, I have also been working hard to pave the way for you all these years."
"Paving the way for me?" The corners of Viserys's mouth curled into a meaningful arc as he said with a smile, "I would very much like to know when you paved the way for me. Did I not achieve all of this myself?"
The smile on Varys's face remained unchanged as he replied, "Your Majesty must be joking. Your illustrious military achievements were created by your dragons, your army, and yourself; I certainly would not take credit for them."
He paused, seemingly organizing his words, before finally saying, "But King's Landing is a maze of unpredictable hearts and surging undercurrents. What I did was merely to let those forces already dissatisfied with the Lannister tyranny see your existence at the appropriate time. I also ensured the smooth flow of important information and cleared some insignificant obstacles for you."
"You certainly have a way with words," Rhaenys interjected coldly from the side. She had never had a good impression of this slippery eunuch. "The Spider's web is always entangled with too many secrets and corpses. Lord Varys, you must have gained quite a few benefits from paving the way for us, haven't you?"
Varys turned his gaze toward Rhaenys, his smile still gentle. "The Princess is wise. I am but a eunuch; all external things are meaningless to me. What I have sought from beginning to end is the peace of the Seven Kingdoms on the continent of Westeros. And the return of the House Targaryen is the only hope I see to end all the chaos."
Viserys's tone carried a hint of amusement. "Varys, you are a clever man; I have always known that. But clever people are often the most unreliable. You served my father, you served Robert, and you served Joffrey and Cersei, yet you have always managed to stay alive. Now you want to come to me, so I wonder—where exactly does your loyalty lie?"
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