Chapter 270: Borro

The old man was dumbfounded. In all his years of life, he had never felt such shock, excitement, and confusion as he did in that moment.

"This kind of move..." he murmured, then suddenly looked up at Dany and asked in confusion, "Your Grace, what do you gain from doing this?"

"I can save many lives," Dany said calmly.

"But that's fifty million gold dragons!"

"Heh, you might not believe me, but I've always thought I had too much gold. I even once considered dumping it all into the sea. Now I can save millions of lives with it—I think it's absolutely worth it," Dany said with a cheerful smile.

"But what do those people have to do with you?" the old man still couldn't understand.

The gold was hers. The lives of people from another country meant nothing to her. So what did the Dragon Queen stand to gain?

"They have nothing to do with me. But they're people—living beings! Old and young, babies and mothers, girls and boys—each one a living, breathing person. If you saw them die miserably before your eyes, would you feel no pity at all?"

The old man from Oldtown pouted and said with grievance, "There's nothing in front of me to pity."

Seeing the old man still daring to talk back, Dany grew a little annoyed. "Hmph, can't you use your imagination? Go down to the poorest neighborhoods in Oldtown, see how those people live. Then imagine millions of them starving or freezing to death right before your eyes."

To be honest, even if that mob died one by one in front of me, my old heart wouldn't be moved in the slightest.

The old man grumbled inwardly but didn't dare talk back anymore.

"Don't worry, Your Grace. I understand your plan now. But..."

"But what?"

"Buying grain with three million gold dragons is a big move. How do I explain it to others?" he asked.

"Explain what? Send people to buy grain from across the Narrow Sea and have it shipped straight to Dragonstone. The Seven Kingdoms are in chaos right now, and power struggles in King's Landing are fierce. Who has time to care about your grain fleet?"

"This..." The old man thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. "Your Grace must take Dragonstone as soon as possible. At dawn tomorrow, I'll send a fleet to buy the grain."

"Good."

The old man then cautiously asked, "What about my son, Gars?"

"Fine, let him join my Queen's Guard. He can help with the grain transport first. Once we reach Dragonstone, I'll accept his oath in person."

"Thank you, Your Grace!" The old man let out a long breath of relief. "I'll go call Archmaester Marwyn."

Five minutes later, Marwyn and Rhaella came to see Dany, while the old man and his daughter remained downstairs.

"Sigh... I never imagined you were the Dragon Queen," Marwyn said with a complex expression. "Maesters, because of their talents and their inability to see a future in magic, have long tried to create a 'real world' without magic or gods.

And dragons bring magical tides, bringing magic back to the world. That's something they cannot tolerate. It's the real reason they tried to assassinate you."

"I know."

"You... know?"

"Archmaester Perestan is still alive. I captured him," Dany said, omitting the matter of the vault beneath the Citadel.

"What does Your Grace plan to do with the Citadel?" Marwyn asked nervously.

"The Citadel still serves a purpose. The maesters who plotted against me don't need to die—but they will don black cloaks and serve on the Wall."

"Your Grace is merciful!" Marwyn, with his bull neck, breathed a sigh of relief. Then he asked, "Your Grace, if you need a maester, I am willing to swear my service to you."

Dany thought for a moment and said, "Very well. Go with Gars to Dragonstone. Lord Leyton will explain the details to you."

Marwyn nodded thoughtfully—so the Hightower family had already pledged themselves to the Dragon Queen.

The conversation didn't go on much longer. They agreed to stay in touch using glass candles. Dany also promised Rhaella that she would take her on as a magic apprentice and part-time maid. Then, the long-distance communication came to an end.

When she pulled back the tent flap, the beef and barley stew in the iron pot was already done. The red-nosed old maester was enjoying a bowl, eating heartily.

"How did it go?" Ser White Knight asked as he ladled soup for her.

Dany glanced at the old maester, who was eavesdropping with pricked ears, then smiled and said, "Unexpectedly fruitful."

"Grraaah—" Suddenly, Blackfyre, who had been chewing on a beef leg behind the tent, raised his head and growled lowly toward the northwest.

"Someone's coming," Dany said, standing and walking over to the dragon.

"Woof woof woof!" In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the urgent barking of dogs came from beyond the forest, filled with unease and fear. Several men were shouting, trying to stop the hounds from rushing forward.

Soon, a man came within a hundred meters of the campfire and shouted to his companions, "There's a fire over there! That's where the poachers are!"

"What bad luck—to run into patrols in the middle of the night?" Dany muttered quietly.

In Westeros, most forests on noble lands are off-limits to common hunters. Poachers, if caught, would either lose a hand or be sent to the Wall.

"Your Grace, allow me to speak with them," the White Knight offered, donned his helm, and walked to the edge of the firelight, calling out loudly, "Are you foresters from Stokeworth?"

A voice came from the darkness: "We are guards of Lord Stokeworth. Who are you?"

The White Knight slapped his armor and sword loudly. "See this? We're not poachers. Night fell, and we had no choice but to camp in the forest."

Poachers couldn't afford full suits of armor.

The guards muttered among themselves. Footsteps rustled closer, and then suddenly a man shouted, "Roast beef! My lord, these are the ones who stole your cow!"

"Kill those cattle thieves!" another deep male voice said coldly.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" The next moment, a volley of arrows rained down on the White Knight. In the darkness, the Count's guards let out a wild cry, drew their longswords, and charged toward the campfire.

"Clang, clang, clang!" Sparks flew off the old knight's armor as he retreated toward Dany, shouting, "Let's talk this out! We've got gold dragons! Don't throw your lives away over two cows!"

"Arrogant fool!" shouted a group of two or three dozen swordsmen clad in chainmail and leather armor, charging under the lead of a man in silver plate armor.

"Sigh..." The old knight sighed and stepped aside.

"Screeech—Boom!"

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Dahei and Xiaobai poked their heads out and suddenly unleashed two streams of blood-red dragonfire. The pitch-black night was torn apart, and the blaze lit up the area for hundreds of meters. The old knight clearly saw the group of warriors freeze in place, the fierceness on their faces vanishing instantly, replaced by confusion and sheer terror.

"D-Dragon?" Feeling the heat of the dragonfire overhead, the armored man leading the charge managed to choke out a word.

"Ahhh! A dragon! A dragon!" The soldiers snapped out of it, dropped their swords, and fled wildly toward the woods.

"Come back here!" Dany called out crisply. Her hands swept through the night sky, and the dragonfire that had shot diagonally upward twisted and stretched as if alive. The two streams of flame turned into fiery serpents slithering through the forest, weaving around ginkgo trunks and forming a massive ring of fire that surrounded the soldiers.

"Mercy, Dragon Queen!" The armored man dropped to his knees with a thud and cried out, "Please don't kill me! I'm Ser Bronn of Stokeworth, Count of Stokeworth. I'm willing to pay ransom!"

"Mercy, Dragon Queen!" the soldiers echoed, kneeling behind him and wailing.

"Bronn? Never heard of you. What about Lady Tanda Stokeworth?" the old knight asked.

"The lady fell off her horse and died. I'm Lollys' husband," Bronn explained.

"Heh, 'fell off her horse and died'?" Dr. Perestan hobbled over with a sneer, exposing Bronn's dark past. "This Bronn is quite the ruthless one. He rose up by running errands for the Imp, then betrayed Tyrion after the Purple Wedding and joined Cersei.

Because of that, Queen Mother Cersei arranged a 'fine' marriage for him—he married Lady Tanda's second daughter, Lollys. Then he tampered with Lady Tanda's horse, causing her to fall and shatter her pelvis.

After that, he used underhanded tricks during a trial by combat to kill the rightful heir of House Stokeworth—Lady Tanda's elder daughter's husband, Ser Balman Byrch.

Finally, he drove out Lady Falyse, the eldest daughter, and declared himself Lord of Stokeworth."

Bronn frowned and eyed the old scholar carefully. When he saw the long chain around his neck, his pupils shrank. "You're a maester?"

"Hmph. I'm from the Citadel. Doctor of History. I know all your dirty secrets."

Bronn's face darkened, and he cursed, "That old bastard Qyburn sold me out? He swore loyalty to me. Damn it, I knew you maesters couldn't be trusted."

"Maester Qyburn swore loyalty to the true lord of Stokeworth. You think King's Landing would let you off after what you've done?" the old scholar sneered.

Bronn glanced at Dany standing before Dahei and defended himself: "First of all, I didn't betray Lord Tyrion. I just refused to fight in his trial by combat. Look at the Red Viper's tragic end—that proves I made the right choice.

Second, Lady Tanda fell off her horse on her own. She was old and insisted on hunting. Her fall had nothing to do with me. Maester Qyburn is slandering me.

Finally, Ser Balman and Lady Falyse were acting on Queen Cersei's orders. They tried to eliminate me through a duel, but Balman lacked skill and got himself killed."

"You broke the rules in the joust. You deliberately speared Balman's horse to death."

"Enough with all this nonsense," Dany waved her hand, interrupting their squabble. She dispelled the ring of fire and said to Bronn, "It was my dragon that ate your cows—we were at fault first. But you also offended me. I won't kill you today. Take your men and leave."

Bronn stood up but didn't leave immediately. He cautiously asked, "Your Grace, may I know your name?"

"Heh, mercenaries will be mercenaries. No sense of history at all," Dr. Perestan mocked. "You don't even recognize a Targaryen. Go read a book or two."

"Targaryen?" Bronn still looked confused.

A red-haired soldier behind him whispered, "Boss, she's probably Princess Rhaenys, Prince Rhaegar's sister."

"Jack, you idiot. Prince Rhaegar's sister was smashed against a wall by Tywin long ago," another soldier retorted.

Dany:

Am I really that unknown in Westeros...?

The White Knight couldn't stand it anymore. He stepped forward and said, "This is Queen Daenerys, daughter of King Aerys."

He then couldn't help but ask, "Haven't you heard of the Dragon Queen of Slaver's Bay?"

"Oh, so that's it..." Bronn finally understood and gave an awkward smile. "Your Grace, please forgive me. I haven't left my lands in a long time. The maester isn't helpful either. News is scarce. I didn't know you had returned to Westeros."

(End of Chapter)

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