"What? Saint Matthew became a eunuch?" Cersei cried out in shock.
Alanting glared angrily at the sinner and shouted, "Silence! You are blaspheming the angel Matthew!"
"Cutting off his little thing, isn't that a eunuch? I'm just stating facts. How is that blasphemy?
If we're talking about blasphemy, that demon Euron is the real one committing sacrilege.
Hurry and go outside the castle to rally the Sparrows to storm the Red Keep and slaughter Euron's faction." The smile and delight on Cersei's face were almost impossible to hide.
Well, she never bothered to hide her true thoughts anyway.
The three old septas were furious, yet had no way to refute her. They turned to leave the sinner's cell.
"Oh my, don't go! I'm guilty, I admit I'm guilty. I blasphemed Saint Matthew's… uh, no, I blasphemed Saint Matthew's reputation. I have wronged the teachings of the Mother."
Cersei still wanted to hear what came next. Moreover, this negotiation between Saint Matthew and Euron concerned her future, so she hurriedly grabbed one of the tall, sturdy old women with each hand.
She failed to hold them and was instead dragged three or four meters across the floor.
However, the three old septas stopped moving toward the exit.
Septa Moller asked her companion, "Why did that demon Euron mutilate… blaspheme Saint Matthew?"
Septa Mesent pointed at Cersei and said, "Sigh, it's all because of her. Originally, after being stabbed once, Saint Matthew should have left. But he pitied Euron's corruption and could not bear to abandon Cersei—"
"Hey, that's enough!" Cersei shouted, interrupting the old septa. "You can give Stannis the nickname 'Red Heart Demon' and call Euron 'Euron Demon,' fine. But what do you mean by labeling me 'Cersei Demon'?
I am a devout follower of the Mother. Even if I was led astray by evil forces and made some mistakes on life's journey, that doesn't make me a demon, right? I think I can still go to heaven."
"Your crimes rival those of a demon. 'Cersei Demon' will be used to describe anyone in the future who commits the same sins as you," a septa said.
Cersei's face flushed red with anger. "I committed incest, but isn't your Pope also the product of sibling incest?
I murdered my husband, but didn't your Pope also cause her husband's death? Either way, the husband is dead. Does it matter how he died?"
"Blasphemy!"
"Sinner!"
"Cersei Demon!"
The three septas pointed at her and shouted angrily.
"Thud, thud, thud…"
While the three old women and Cersei were arguing, the sound of many footsteps echoed from the stairway outside.
They fell silent in unison, listening carefully and looking toward the entrance.
The weary-looking Lord Tarly led the way, followed by Lancel of the Warrior's Sons. Behind them came the old septa Unia and several knights.
"Cousin, you've come to save me!" Cersei cried with tearful eyes.
The one-armed knight looked at his former lover, cousin, queen, now a captive sinner, with pity and asked, "Cersei, I come on behalf of Archbishop Matthew to ask you: are you willing to give up all secular power, annul your marriage with Euron, and devote yourself to the Faith from now on?"
Cersei wiped away her tears and asked in confusion, "Of course I'm willing to annul my marriage with Euron. But what do you mean by devoting myself to the Faith and giving up secular power?"
Lancel said, "After much effort, Saint Matthew finally moved Euron and made him agree to annul your marriage.
But Euron has one condition: you must hand over the crown, formally acknowledge him as King Euron, abandon the Lannister name, and never step outside the sept again. You will become a Silent Sister."
Cersei jumped up like a dog that had been kicked. "Let the Others take Euron! What is he, a mere ironborn, daring to become king of the Seven Kingdoms? What kind of effort did Saint Matthew make? His 'effort' ended up costing me the Iron Throne!"
"You are unwilling?" Randyll Tarly frowned.
Cersei spat at his face and cursed, "You bastard! Have you forgotten who made you Hand of the King? You ungrateful dog!"
Randyll Tarly pressed his lips tightly together. Veins throbbed on his forehead, yet he only glared at her without replying or wiping the saliva that trickled down his temple.
"Cersei, stop making trouble. If not for Lord Tarly holding things together, Euron would have quietly had you killed long ago," Lancel stepped forward and rebuked her in a low voice.
That was the truth.
Randyll Tarly had never stood on Euron's side.
But before Euron schemed against Cersei, he had constantly urged her to suppress the Reach forces in King's Landing.
In the battle on the south bank of the Blackwater, the lions suffered the greatest losses, followed by the Reach. They had faced the "True Dragon Alliance" head-on, while the ironborn attacked from behind and cleared the battlefield with almost no losses.
At the time, when Cersei learned of Tarly's losses, she had laughed heartily and opened a bottle of fine summer red wine to celebrate with Euron.
Because of this, within King's Landing, the Reach's military strength was even weaker than that of the lions.
The lions still controlled five thousand gold cloaks.
Even so, after Cersei imprisoned herself, Randyll Tarly had shown her no disloyalty. Her confinement in the Queen Dowager's Tower had been her own idea.
Euron had not truly replaced Cersei for three reasons: the Faith, Randyll Tarly, and the Lannisters of the Westerlands.
The Faith needed no explanation. No matter how many crimes Cersei had committed, she was still a believer in the Seven. While the Great Sept of Baelor disliked her, the Starry Sept had crowned her. Euron, on the other hand, was a true heathen.
The Westerlands and half the Riverlands were still under Lannister control. Tywin's cousin, Damion, remained in Casterly Rock. If relations completely broke down, Euron risked losing his homeland.
The Lannisters were indeed declining, but the ironborn were not in a much better situation. Their forces were too scattered. The Iron Islands, Highgarden in the Reach, and King's Landing spanned over ten thousand kilometers by land and sea, covering more than half of Westeros.
If the Lannisters gathered their remaining strength to strike the Iron Islands, Euron might truly lose his base.
The total area of the Iron Islands was not even as large as a typical county, and its population was small. They relied on universal conscription to qualify for the game of thrones. Now, one-third of their forces were in the Reach and two-thirds in King's Landing, leaving the islands nearly empty.
Randyll Tarly represented both the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms and the Reach. Even Euron could not ignore his opinion.
A king rules the nobles, and the nobles rule the people.
If the nobles no longer respected the king, then the king was no longer a king.
If Cersei had not murdered the High Sparrow and sworn her vow of penance, Euron would have had difficulty becoming regent.
Everyone in King's Landing who understood the situation in the Red Keep knew Tarly's importance to Cersei, except Cersei herself.
She continued to hurl abuse at him.
Since imprisoning herself in the Queen Dowager's Tower, she had not seen Randyll Tarly. Now she vented all her accumulated resentment.
His face seemed to have become her spittoon, covered in her saliva.
After a while, the Hand of the Queen said hoarsely, "When I accepted Duke Tywin's invitation to lead troops to quell the rebellion for the Iron Throne, it was to restore order to the Seven Kingdoms.
At some point, I myself became one of the sources of chaos.
I am guilty, but I do not know whom I have betrayed."
"You betrayed me," Cersei shouted.
Randyll Tarly's expression suddenly became strange.
"If I have fallen to this point because of you, then that is truly… shameful."
"What do you mean? Without me, could you have become Hand of the King?" Cersei snapped.
Randyll Tarly made a decision. His expression softened slightly. "Your Grace, what is your choice? According to the agreement between Regent Euron and Archbishop Matthew, only by giving up everything secular can your marriage be annulled. Once you leave the Red Keep, you must join the Silent Sisters."
"Let Euron shave his head and become a monk instead!" Cersei shouted.
"The Archbishop did propose that," Count Tarly said after a pause, sincerely advising her. "I think you should accept Euron's conditions. Before long, Stannis will attack King's Landing. The Red Keep will no longer be safe."
"Cersei, return to the Mother's embrace. You will find that the peace after spiritual redemption is far more fulfilling than illusory power," Lancel also urged.
"Look at my face, my hair, my clothes."
Cersei raised her head and turned in a circle, showing everyone her dry, brittle, tangled hair, her withered, wrinkled pale face, and her bloated, worn sheepskin coat that gave off a foul smell.
"This is what an ascetic looks like! Does this suit a queen of peerless beauty?" she cried bitterly.
"Don't tell me nuns should be like this. Daenerys of Dragonstone is surrounded by servants, dressed in fine clothes, enjoying delicacies, and admired by thousands, yet she is still favored by the Mother. Why can't I?"
Randyll Tarly and Lancel exchanged a glance. "So you choose to remain as you are?"
Cersei shook her head repeatedly and pleaded, "Can you let me out?"
"Have you forgotten your own sacred oath?" Lancel frowned.
"It was Euron. He tricked me into swearing the vow of penance," Cersei said.
"But you were the one who murdered the High Sparrow," Lancel said coldly.
"I…" Cersei fell silent.
"This opportunity was obtained by Archbishop Matthew at the risk of his life," Septa Moller reminded her.
"He's already a guardian angel now. Why didn't he fight for better terms for me?" Cersei complained.
Thinking of the Archbishop who had been pierced through the heart and mutilated by Euron, then looking at Cersei now, Lancel's heart completely chilled.
"In a few days, the Archbishop will lead the people of King's Landing south. All monks and nuns who are not priests will leave. There may no longer be any septas to supervise you," he said finally, hinting at something.
Without supervision from the septas, she would also lose the Faith's subtle protection.
Though Cersei did not fully understand his implication, she vaguely sensed the danger.
She shrank her neck, then suddenly had an idea. "Cousin, my poor uncle devoted his life to the Lannisters. For his sake, do me a favor. Call Ser Peck and the steward Tania here. I need to speak with them."
Ser Peck was the former castellan of Dragonstone captured by the Dragon Queen, the husband of Tywin's cousin. After the death of the talented Ser Davon, Cersei had appointed him commander of the Lannister forces and the gold cloaks, as well as castellan of the Red Keep.
Thinking of his father, who had died miserably at the hands of the Imp, Lancel sighed. He leaned aside and whispered a few words to Randyll Tarly. After a moment of hesitation, Tarly turned and ordered a knight to go downstairs and fetch them.
While waiting, Tarly could not help but warn her, "Trusting Titus Peck and Tania of Myr is the most foolish thing you can do."
Cersei responded with a mocking sneer.
"Has Jaime come to see you?" she asked her cousin.
Lancel nodded. "We met once before I went to Winterfell, but after the battle there, he disappeared again."
Cersei touched her rough, wrinkled, sallow face. Her hand trembled, and so did her voice. "He… he… where is Brienne, the 'Knight without a Cloak,' now?"
(End of Chapter)
Want to read the chapters in Advance? Join my Patreon
https://patreon.com/Glimmer09