After a moment of silence, Varys said in his shrill voice, "Everything I've done has been for this country, for the common people.
In your games of power among princes and nobles, it is always the innocent who suffer the most. I want to end all of this completely, to change everything."
Tyrion looked at him as if he were an alien. "Are you out of your mind? You're from Lys!
A foreigner caring about the lives of Westerosi commoners? What do you think you are, the slaves' Mhysa, Saint Dany?
Even Saint Dany isn't as selfless as you. She only does what she can and never takes on responsibility beyond her ability."
"I was born in Lys, but I've spent most of my life in Westeros," Varys argued.
"You're lying!" Jaime stared at the fat eunuch. "Tyrion may be young and not remember what you did to Rhaegar.
But I know. Barristan and the other old men all know what happened in the Red Keep back then.
Everyone understood that Aerys was a mad king, while Rhaegar was a rare figure in Targaryen history, both kind and wise.
The people of the Seven Kingdoms all looked forward to the day he would take power himself.
It was you. You whispered slander into King Aerys's ear, sowing discord between the king and the prince, which led to Prince Rhaegar withdrawing from governance.
If you truly cared about the people of the Seven Kingdoms, you would never have done that."
"Was Rhaegar truly such a wise and virtuous ruler? Look at what he did afterward," the eunuch sneered.
"You're reversing cause and effect. No matter what he did later, before you targeted him, he hadn't made a single mistake," Jaime said in a deep voice.
"I didn't target him. I merely informed the king that the nobles were secretly supporting Rhaegar to replace Aerys. Wasn't that precisely why King Aerys invited me to serve as Master of Whisperers?" Varys replied.
"Drop the act in front of me. Even a fool wouldn't believe you love Westeros. Look at the Seven Kingdoms now, what a rotten state they're in.
You bear half the responsibility.
It was because of you and Littlefinger scheming in the shadows that the War of the Four Kings happened, that Aegon's True Dragon alliance came into being.
Littlefinger did it for power, to get closer and closer to that Iron Throne. What about you?"
"Give me a reasonable explanation, or else—"
The dwarf raised his right hand. His two-finger technique extended and warped again, the tip splitting open into a grotesque mouth filled with fine, jagged teeth.
"Seven hells!" Varys staggered back a few steps. "I'm not lying! Only a prince raised among commoners can become a truly good king.
Before Aegon even learned to walk, he had already begun learning how to become an excellent ruler.
He received martial training from knights, and maesters taught him reading, writing, history, law, and poetry.
From the time he could remember, a septa instructed him in the mysteries of faith.
When he grew older, he lived among fishermen, relying on his own hands to survive.
He can fish, cook, mend nets, treat wounds, and wash his own clothes. He knows the taste of hunger and the fear of being hunted.
To him, the crown is responsibility. He understands that a true king must put his people first and devote his life to them."
Tyrion stared at the fat eunuch blankly. "Are you sure your brain is fine?"
"What did I say wrong?" the eunuch snapped.
"Is the Aegon you're talking about really the same one I met? Honestly, he's a decent person, but he's always been carefully sheltered by you all. He's no different from the talented sons of other noble families.
Putting the people first, considering them in everything…"
The dwarf shook his head mockingly. "That statement exposes one undeniable fact. You're lying.
As the saying goes, you can tell a child's future from an early age.
Aegon is far older than three. With someone as shrewd as you, can't you see his character?
The one who truly puts the people first isn't Aegon, but the Dragon Queen.
When she first freed the slaves in Astapor, you should have realized this.
Yet your first choice remained Aegon. The slaves' 'Mhysa' was nothing more than expendable cannon fodder to you.
Isn't that ridiculous? On one hand you claim to choose a benevolent ruler who understands the suffering of the people, yet on the other you discard such a ruler like worn-out shoes."
Varys's expression shifted several times. Then he suddenly turned and ran deeper into the cave.
Though missing a leg, he was still as fast as a rabbit. In the blink of an eye, he had darted seven or eight meters away.
Decades as a water dancer were not for nothing.
But while he was fast, Tyrion reacted just as quickly. He drew the small crossbow at his waist. With a sharp twang, the bolt struck Varys squarely in the thigh.
"Ah—!" The eunuch collapsed to the ground, and Jaime immediately rushed forward to pin him down.
"Why are you running? You've already admitted to plotting against my father, and we're not even pursuing that. We're just asking why you support Aegon. Was that worth risking your life?" Jaime said irritably.
"I'm getting more and more curious. What secret makes you so unwilling to yield, even in the face of death?" The dwarf walked over, crouched beside Varys, and began undoing his belt with a sinister grin.
"Tyrion, what are you doing?" Varys cried in alarm.
"What am I doing? What do you think? Jaime, stop standing there and help me hold him down."
"Damn it, if you dare do that in front of me, I swear I'll cut off your manhood," Jaime's face turned green.
"I don't need that. I only need my hands." The dwarf winked at him, signaling that he was just scaring the eunuch.
"Varys, you'd better tell the truth. Tyrion isn't human. There's nothing he wouldn't do," Jaime sighed.
Varys shut his eyes and lay stiffly.
But the moment his pale backside was exposed to the cold air, he could no longer endure it and wailed, "Stop, I'll talk! Tyrion, stop, I'll tell you everything!"
In truth, the dwarf was also in an awkward position and was nearly gagging at the sight of the eunuch. Hearing him beg for mercy, he quickly pulled his trousers back up and urged coldly, "Speak."
Face down on the muddy ground, two tears seeped from the corners of Varys's eyes, leaving damp spots as he said despairingly, "I am Serra's brother, which makes me Aegon's uncle!"
"Seven hells!" Tyrion and Jaime exclaimed at the same time.
After standing stunned for a while, Tyrion frowned. "That actually makes sense. But why run? Even if you're the Mad King's bastard, there's no need to run."
"I'm a eunuch, a Targaryen bastard without manhood!" Varys choked.
"So what if you're a eunuch? I'm a dwarf," Tyrion said more gently.
"I'd rather trade my height for what you have," Varys replied.
"No deal." Tyrion shook his head like a rattle drum.
The eunuch began sobbing softly.
Jaime released him, cleared his throat, and said, "It's getting late. Let's get to work."
"Help me bandage my leg," the eunuch said in a muffled, nasal voice.
After examining the wound, Jaime frowned. "It's deep. You'd better go to the sept and have a priest look at it. They may not be great at curing illnesses, but they're excellent at treating injuries."
"Let me." The dwarf raised his right hand, and a soft white light slowly glowed in his palm.
Jaime and the eunuch's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"How is this possible? Someone like you can become a priest?" Jaime said hoarsely.
As the dwarf used a dagger to cut open the wound and remove the bolt, he said casually, "You probably don't know this, but I'm the first paladin. My understanding of the Seven's teachings is no less than that of an ordinary High Septon."
In truth, the dwarf was glossing over the matter. With his level of devotion, he was nowhere near qualified to become a priest. It was only after much pleading that the Dragon Queen granted him a life-saving divine spell.
The healing spell was simply too effective at preserving life.
Later, Dany decided not to play favorites and upgraded the paladin's seal to version 2.0. In addition to its previous functions, it also granted the healing ability.
However, the 2.0 version of the paladin's seal was still in testing. Aside from the dwarf, only a few white knights on the anti-undead front line could use it.
"I remember you grew up as an apprentice in a circus, while Serra was a prostitute," Tyrion said doubtfully.
"Do slaves have the right to choose their lives?" Varys said with a bitter smile.
"Even fallen descendants of the Blackfyres shouldn't end up as slaves."
"Daenerys once begged for food too!"
Tyrion shook his head. "She just had nothing to eat. That doesn't mean she had to beg. If she heard you say that, she might breathe dragonfire at you.
You, me, and Aegon are not the same. We are innocents, and she can accept that. But you are the one responsible for her miserable life."
"And who is responsible for my miserable life? I would rather beg than lose my manhood," Varys demanded, his face twisted.
"You just had bad luck. Are you going to blame Daenerys or the Mad King? Her tragic fate exists entirely because of your and Illyrio's ambition," Tyrion sneered.
"If I hadn't secretly protected her and Viserys all these years, they would have been killed by Robert's assassins long ago," Varys said.
"When she catches you, you can try using that excuse to beg for mercy and see if she spares you," Tyrion mocked.
"Do you think I fear death?" Varys sneered.
"You don't fear death, but do you not fear being surrounded by ten burly men? If the queen wants to punish you, there's no method she wouldn't use," Tyrion laughed loudly.
"Have you ever been surrounded by ten burly men?" Jaime couldn't help asking.
The smile on the dwarf's face stiffened and soured like spoiled milk.
"No. No, nothing like that. Don't talk nonsense."
Jaime grew genuinely suspicious. "Looks like I'll have to ask around about what you went through in Slaver's Bay."
"Don't… fine, do as you wish." Tyrion waved weakly, then asked the eunuch, "Is Rhaegar's son really dead?"
Varys shook his head. "No one expected Lord Tywin to be so ruthless as to kill even an infant. The letter Elia sent to Ashara was forged. The substitute baby for Aegon was real, but that happened after Elia's son had already been killed.
At that time, Illyrio had just had a child. After hearing about the upheaval in King's Landing, he had a sudden idea to let Aegon replace Rhaegar's son. Only then did I begin arranging the letters and the substitute baby from the Blackwater Bay.
That baby was stillborn and never actually survived.
I deliberately told Jon Connington that I had the child's father deceive his family, claiming the baby was stillborn, when in truth he had secretly sold the child to me for a bottle of golden wine.
It's a lie no one can expose.
Because the baby really was stillborn, and the father really was a drunkard. Once he drinks himself to death in a ditch, no one will ever know whether he sold his son. But anyone would believe he would do it for a bottle of golden wine."
Varys looked pleased with himself. "As for the letters, that was even simpler. I had someone deliver them personally to Ashara instead of using ravens. The excuse was perfectly valid, to avoid leaking secrets.
And when someone travels thousands of miles to deliver a letter, a delay of several months is completely normal."
"Self-righteous fool. You failed to cover the biggest flaw, so what's the point of all these trivial details?" Tyrion said dismissively.
(End of Chapter)
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