Chapter 114: The Infernal Hell

"Varys promised that as long as I completed the task, King Robert would issue a 'pardon' to absolve me of the crimes of slave trading and fleeing judgment.

At Your Majesty's wedding with the Khal, Prince Viserys readily accepted the allegiance of an exiled knight.

Your Majesty, you must understand that at the time, I had little true loyalty to the Targaryens.

Not only did I participate in the war to overthrow the Targaryen dynasty, but as the Lord of Bear Island, my allegiance was to the ruler of Winterfell.

And for any Northerner, hating the Targaryens was only natural—King Aerys brutally and disgracefully executed a King of the North and his heir.

Of course, I had no personal prejudice against you or Prince Viserys. The issue lay in Viserys conspiring with Illyrio.

When I received Varys' mission, I even felt a sense of duty. After all, no noble in the Seven Kingdoms would want to see the Dothraki ravaging Westeros.

As I once warned you, the invasion of an external force would compel the warring lords to set aside their differences and unite against the invaders—

Even if the one leading the foreign horde was a former royal, even if those nobles had once been bitter enemies, even if they had drawn swords against each other."

Knock, knock, knock.

The upper garden was eerily silent, the only sound being the light tapping of Daenerys' fingers against the book cover.

She wasn't furious, only solemn.

Jorah had spoken bluntly, fully exposing his state of mind at the time—because he understood Daenerys' temperament.

If this had been the old Daenerys, he would have only begged for her forgiveness, never daring to be so frank and sincere.

Such honesty would have backfired, making the delicate, sensitive, and fiercely devoted Daenerys despise him even more.

But this Daenerys was more reasonable, capable of considering matters from another's perspective. As long as the reasoning was sound, she could accept it.

A long silence followed. The northern sea breeze rustled the branches of a persimmon tree, and with a soft plop, a golden persimmon fell into the pool.

Daenerys seemed to awaken from her thoughts. Looking at Whitebeard, she asked, "Ser Barristan, do you believe Ser Jorah's choices were wrong?"

"This…" The old knight's face wrinkled in distress, his mind tangled in confusion.

—He actually found himself agreeing with Jorah.

"Sigh, I understand now," Daenerys exhaled, then turned to the anxious knight before her. "From your perspective, it wasn't entirely wrong.

The real issue now is whether your oath to me, your vow as a Queensguard, was merely part of your mission. Can I still trust you?"

"I—"

Daenerys raised a hand, cutting him off. "Don't force yourself. Speak from your heart. No matter what, I will not take your life.

It is natural to long for home. When you leave, I will give you a fortune—enough to live in luxury for the rest of your days in Westeros. You may even keep your Valyrian steel armor."

"Your Majesty, as far as I know, there isn't a single Valyrian dragonlord's armor left in all of Westeros." Barristan stepped forward urgently, interjecting, "A bit more gold should suffice. That armor, on the other hand, might bring disaster upon him. Duke Tywin might covet it and take action against him. He has already lost his title as a lord—how could he resist a duke?"

"You're just jealous!" Jorah glared at the old knight before turning back, his eyes red with emotion. "Your Majesty, I am not leaving. In the Red Waste, my oath to you was heartfelt.

Have you forgotten?

I repeatedly urged you to leave Essos, to flee to the Jade Sea city-states to escape the usurper's reach because I knew how perilous your situation was."

"Leave," Aggo said coldly. "Who knows if you are telling the truth? Khaleesi has us to protect her."

"I am Queensguard, just like you. I am also Her Highness' 'blood of my blood!'" Jorah argued.

"You are not 'blood of my blood.' You are an Andal who looks down on the horselords. You fear that Khaleesi will lead the Dothraki to sweep across Westeros and reclaim her Iron Throne—your own words just moments ago," Aggo countered sharply.

"I—" Jorah was momentarily speechless. Frustrated, he stomped his foot and shouted, "That was how I thought over a year ago! Now, I don't give a damn about Westeros. If Her Highness is Khaleesi, then I am willing to fight for her as a Khal's warrior!"

Jorah's declaration made Barristan raise an eyebrow, and even Aggo's mouth fell open in stunned silence.

Jorah took a deep breath, steadying himself. His previous agitation faded, and he looked at Daenerys with solemn resolve. "I am Queensguard. My life belongs to Your Majesty alone. Nothing else concerns me."

Daenerys met his gaze, her expression equally serious. "I hope you remember your words today."

The Game of Thrones prophecy had little relevance to Daenerys' future. Reality differed greatly from the show's plot, but the characters' personalities rarely deviated.

Jorah Mormont had never been cunning. In the original story, he was one of Daenerys' most loyal followers.

Realizing she had accepted him once more, Jorah was overjoyed. He knelt and swore, "By my father, Jeor Mormont's life, I, Jorah Mormont, pledge my undying loyalty to Daenerys Targaryen. I swear to fulfill my duty as Queensguard until death."

Daenerys' lips twitched—The Old Bear probably didn't have many days left to live.

"Your Majesty, please accept my oath. I wish to serve as your Queensguard," Whitebeard said solemnly, kneeling on one knee. He glanced briefly at Jorah before speaking.

"I accept your loyalty. Hmm… once I've recovered, we'll hold a proper ceremony," Daenerys nodded, her tone serious.

"And what about me, Your Grace?"

The towering eunuch Belwas, who had been enjoying the spectacle, tossed away the bone of a roasted pig's leg, wiped his greasy hands on his silk trousers, and grinned as he stepped forward. "My squire is now Queensguard. My status can't be beneath his!"

Dany raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Do you know what it means to be a Queen's Guard? Besides being the strongest knight, once you swear the oath, you must serve me for life. Are you sure you won't return to Pentos?"

"The strongest knight?" The fat eunuch sized up Jorah and shook his head. "He's definitely not as strong as me. As for Pentos, I was never that fat spice merchant's subordinate to begin with."

"Let me put it this way—I was originally a gladiator in Meereen, a slave. After being sold a few times, I ended up as your bodyguard, which makes me your slave as well. If you're willing to provide for me for life, ensuring I have food and drink without worry, that would be ideal."

So you just want to freeload off me forever? Then can I kick you out now?

"You can consider yourself a reserve member of the Queen's Guard," Dany said, pinching her nose as she accepted him.

She wasn't sure about his combat skills, but she found the fat eunuch's personality rather amusing.

As for whether he was Illyrio's spy?

Highly unlikely. A year ago, the fat eunuch was still a gladiator in Meereen. A slave had no reason to betray "Mhysa" for his former master. Besides, Illyrio's wealth wasn't even close to Dany's at this point.

When it came to future prospects, wealth, faith, ideals, or ambition—following Dany would bring him far more.

"Khaleesi, should I… become your Queen's Guard?" Aggo hesitated.

"Why would you think that?" Dany asked curiously.

Without a doubt, the bond between her bloodriders and her was far deeper than that of the Queen's Guard and their ruler.

The Queen's Guard were subordinates; her bloodriders were like blood brothers.

To put it in perspective, Zhao Yun was like Liu Bei's Queen's Guard, whereas Zhang Fei and Guan Yu were his sworn brothers.

Since the birth of the Dothraki people, not a single bloodrider had ever betrayed their khal.

Dany had always treated her bloodriders well. There was no need to mention the benefits—what she had, they had. They were always included in discussions of major decisions.

She had even considered marrying her handmaidens to her three bloodriders to keep them from constantly "grinding tofu" at night and trying to drag her into it.

The only reason she hadn't arranged their marriages yet was because Dothraki customs hadn't fully changed, and formal marriage was still a new concept.

If all six of them fell back into old habits and indulged in debauchery…

Aggo spoke seriously, "If I become a Queen's Guard, perhaps the Andals would stop opposing you."

"No need. You are my bloodriders. Don't concern yourself with Westerosi opinions," Dany said, touched by his words.

She never expected the usually rough and straightforward horsemen to have such sentimental moments.

She glanced at Jorah and Barristan before stating firmly, "Just as I would never send the Unsullied to play the game for the Iron Throne, the Dothraki are my people. They should live freely on the continent of Essos, not be hated and die miserably in a foreign land."

"Your Grace…" The two Westerosi men looked at Dany with complicated expressions. They wanted to say something but ultimately sighed with deep emotion and remained silent.

—Though they were ashamed to admit it, they did feel a sense of relief.

…A relief that came a bit too soon.

A few years later, when the Second Long Night descended and the White Walkers ravaged Westeros, the proud nobles of the Seven Kingdoms would most likely fall to their knees, wailing:

"Queen Dany! Unsullied fathers! Horsemen grandfathers! Save us!"

Thinking of the Long Night that would shroud the world in ice and darkness, Dany felt a growing sense of urgency. She wasn't sure if White Walkers would appear on Essos, but one thing was certain—crops would stop growing under the snow.

At least five years of winter lay ahead, which meant she had to prepare food for her people in advance.

She also had to consider the Dothraki in the Sea of Grass. Since they had no tradition of stockpiling grain, they might fare no better than the Westerosi.

She needed to restore production—fast.

She needed to resolve this "Infernal Affairs" incident quickly so her followers could unite and work toward a prosperous future.

With that in mind, she turned to Jorah and said, "Ser, now that we've laid everything out, tell me—how did you communicate with King's Landing, and what exactly did you do?"

Jorah avoided her gaze and said awkwardly, "The people who contacted me were all Varys' agents. I don't know their identities, but they all knew me.

Typically, if they needed intelligence about you or had orders from King's Landing, they would send me a signal when I was alone."

Fortunately, I've been cautious enough—none of the great secrets I've uncovered in this world are known to anyone but me.

Even the things I encountered in the House of the Undying, Valyria, and the divine realms—I never told them the full truth.

"When and where did you receive the Spider's signals? And what information did you send to King's Landing?" Dany asked again.

"There are Spider's agents in nearly every Free City—Pentos, Qohor, Vaes Dothrak, Lhazar villages, Qarth…"

Seeing Dany's expression darken and Aggo tightening his grip on his blade, Jorah hurriedly added, "By the time I reached Qarth, I began hesitating, and then—"

"Seven Hells!" Dany furiously pounded her fur cushion. "What is wrong with you?! In Vaes Dothrak, in the Red Waste, how many times did you save my life?

You rescue me, swear loyalty to me, then turn around and betray me, swearing loyalty to King's Landing—aren't you exhausted?!"

"So exhausted!" Jorah had the sudden urge to break down and weep now that someone finally understood him.

(End of Chapter)

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