Joffrey had lost his soul.
Though his body sat in the opulent dining hall of the Red Keep, using a silver knife to cut into a tender roasted quail, his mind had flown back to that warm suite on the Street of Silk from the night before.
The scent of ambiguity in the air, the fresh, rain-washed grass smell of the girl, the first taste of ecstasy...
And those eyes, filled with pure worship and adoration when they gazed at him...
"Joffrey."
Cersei's voice pulled him back from his floating fantasy.
Joffrey looked up to find his mother watching him with scrutiny.
"Where were you last night?"
"Learning how to be a true King with Lord Lynn."
Joffrey parroted the excuse Lynn had taught him without thinking.
His tone carried a hint of impatience, and a sense of superiority even he hadn't noticed.
He was no longer the little boy who hid behind his mother's skirts.
He was a man, a man who had tasted the true flavor of power!
Cersei frowned.
She didn't like Joffrey's attitude, and she disliked his closeness to Lynn even more.
But before she could reprimand him, Joffrey had already turned his gaze to the other end of the table.
Sansa Stark.
She was sipping her soup with small, graceful movements, her head bowed.
Her posture was impeccable.
But in Joffrey's eyes, she was like a statue devoid of emotion.
Beautiful, but lifeless.
Ever since he had ordered the Hound to kill that butcher's boy, the look in her eyes was no longer the worshipful adoration of before, which angered him.
Joffrey thought of Liana.
Of her soft body, her sweet voice, her tight warmth, and the passion that could melt a man.
Comparing the two...
One was heaven, the other earth!
Just then, the casual remark Lynn made when leaving last night stabbed into Joffrey's heart like a thorn dipped in the Tears of Lys.
"After all, she has other guests to receive."
Other guests?
Other guests!
A nauseating image instantly surfaced in Joffrey's mind.
A fat merchant with a beer belly, reeking of sweat, using his filthy, greasy hands to caress Liana's skin, which was as smooth as jade.
No!
Absolutely not!
She was so pitiful.
That girl was his!
She was the first, and only, woman in the world who truly understood, appreciated, and worshipped him!
Her pure eyes should only look at him!
Her sweet voice should only praise him!
Everything about her should belong to him!
Bang!
Joffrey slammed his knife and fork onto the table, making a jarring noise.
The dining hall fell silent instantly.
Cersei, Jaime, Robert, Ned, and even Sansa looked at Joffrey in astonishment.
"I'm full."
Without sparing them a glance, Joffrey stood up abruptly and strode out of the dining hall.
He couldn't wait a moment longer.
He had to find Lynn.
He had to go back.
He must see Liana again tonight!
---
The Hand's Solar.
Lynn was marking a large map of King's Landing with a quill.
Joffrey barged in like a storm, not even knocking.
"Lynn!"
His voice was shrill with urgency.
"Tonight, we go out again!"
Lynn looked up, feigning surprise that quickly turned into a knowing smile.
"Your Grace, it seems last night's experience was memorable."
Lynn's teasing tone made Joffrey's handsome face flush red.
"I... I just want to go... go understand the people again!"
Joffrey argued, fierce in appearance but weak inside.
"Is that so?"
Lynn put down the quill, walked around the desk, and stood before him.
"To understand the people, or to see the girl named Liana?"
He pierced through Joffrey's pathetic disguise with one sentence.
"I..."
Joffrey was speechless.
Before Lynn's eyes, which seemed to see everything, he felt like a naked child.
"I can't stand it!"
Joffrey finally dropped the pretense, growling like an enraged cub.
"I can't stand those filthy bastards touching her!"
"Liana shouldn't be there!"
"But that is her life, Your Grace."
Lynn's tone was calm to the point of cruelty.
"She is a commodity, a plaything bought for a night with gold dragons, no, silver stags."
"Today it's you, tomorrow it might be some spice merchant from Pentos."
"Even if you are in her heart, for survival, she must submit to others."
"Even... writhing under those filthy merchants."
"No!"
Joffrey roared.
Crazy flames ignited in his green eyes.
"She is not a commodity! She is mine!"
Lynn looked at Joffrey, at this mad dog whose possessiveness he had thoroughly ignited, his heart calm.
The fish had bitten the hook hard.
The effect was surprisingly good.
He was obsessed.
"Fine."
Lynn sighed, feigning reluctance.
"Since Your Grace insists, as your most loyal friend, I cannot refuse."
"However..."
Lynn changed the subject.
"Tonight, we can't be like last night."
"You are in the spotlight now. If people find out the Crown Prince is frequenting such a place, it will be bad for your reputation."
"Then what do we do?"
Joffrey asked urgently, completely led by the nose by Lynn now.
"We watch, but don't touch."
A mysterious curve appeared on Lynn's lips.
"I have some very interesting rooms in my place."
"They allow you to see everything you want to see without being discovered."
Night fell again.
King's Landing became a sea of desire.
Lynn brought Joffrey back to the stone building with the red lanterns.
This time, they didn't use the main entrance but entered an adjacent room through a hidden back alley.
A huge Volantene tapestry hung on the wall.
But lifting a corner revealed a one-way mirror.
Lynn had specifically ordered this made.
To satisfy the peculiar tastes of certain other guests.
From here, everything in the suite next door could be seen clearly.
But the people next door wouldn't notice a thing.
Joffrey's breathing quickened instantly.
He was like a voyeur!
His heart pounded wildly as he stared fixedly at the room behind the glass.
It was the suite he had stayed in last night.
Liana was sitting by the bed, still wearing that sheer pale violet dress.
She looked distracted, holding a small wooden knight carving, lost in thought.
She looked so pitiful and lovable.
Joffrey's heart softened instantly.
Seeing the knight carving, which somewhat resembled him.
This let Joffrey know Liana must be thinking of him.
This thought greatly satisfied his vanity.
But just then, the door was kicked open violently.
A burly man with a face full of flesh barged in.
The man wore mercenary leather armor, a long knife stained with old blood at his waist, radiating a fierce and violent aura.
Liana screamed in fright, dropping the carving.
"Where's the money?"
The man walked up to Liana viciously, grabbing her slender wrist.
"That bitch Ros said you hooked a big shot yesterday and made a lot, right? Time to pay up!"
"I... I don't have it..."
Liana trembled, tears swirling in her eyes.
"That lord... he didn't give me money..."
"No money?"
The man grinned hideously, his other hand roughly grabbing Liana's chin, forcing her to look up.
"Do you take me for a fucking fool?"
"No money? Then pay with your body!"
With that, he began to tear at Liana's dress.
"No! Please! Let me go!"
Liana cried out in despair, struggling desperately.
But her meager strength was pitifully weak before the man, like a lamb to the slaughter.
"ROAR——!!!"
In the next room, Joffrey let out a beastly roar.
His eyes turned bloodshot instantly, his handsome face twisting with extreme rage, veins popping.
He drew the sword at his waist, ready to rush in and kill the man.
"I'll kill him! I'll rip his guts out and feed them to the dogs!"
"Your Grace! Calm down!"
Lynn grabbed his arm, his grip like an iron clamp.
"Let go of me!"
Joffrey struggled wildly, wanting only to hack the scum who dared touch his woman to pieces.
"A Prince drawing a sword in a brothel over a whore?"
"Is this what you call becoming a true King?"
Lynn's voice was like a bucket of ice water poured over Joffrey's burning reason.
"She is not a whore!"
Joffrey turned back, screaming hysterically at Lynn.
"Then prove it to me!"
Lynn looked straight at him, his gaze carrying a strange pressure.
"Don't solve problems with your fists like a street fool. That's too low."
"Use a King's way!"
"A King's way?"
Joffrey froze, panting heavily, his chest heaving.
"Exactly."
Lynn released his arm, his voice carrying a fatal temptation.
"That man, what does he want?"
"Money."
"That boss named Ros, what does she want?"
"Also money."
"In this world, there is nothing gold dragons cannot buy."
"If there is, use more gold dragons."
Lynn walked up to Joffrey, patting his shoulder, his voice lowered to a demon's whisper.
"A true King never fights for what he wants."
"He buys it."
"Go, Your Grace."
"Use your gold to buy her freedom, buy her everything."
"Take her away from this hell, make her your exclusive possession."
"Declare to everyone that she is your property, and anyone who dares touch her again is an enemy of the realm."
"This is what a King should do."
"This is a King's justice!"
Joffrey was stunned.
Lynn's words opened a brand new door for him.
The fire of anger still burned in his chest, but it transformed into something even more thrilling.
Power.
Yes, why should he fight like a brute with such trash?
He was a Prince!
A future King!
What he wanted, he just needed to buy with money, take with power!
That girl.
Her body, her soul, everything about her, should be his!
"Yes... you're right..."
Joffrey murmured, the light reigniting in his bloodshot eyes.
It was a mad light mixed with greed, possession, and cruelty.
He turned suddenly, grabbing Lynn's collar, his twisted face carrying an unquestionable command.
"Now! Immediately! Right now!"
"Go get Ros! I'm buying Liana!"
"No matter the cost!"
"Tonight, I'm taking her back to the Red Keep!"
"She will be my woman, forever belonging only to me!"
Looking at this lion cub who had fallen completely into madness and thought he controlled everything, Lynn smiled with satisfaction.
Very good.
This most crucial, most unstable piece was finally firmly pressed into the position he designated.
Next, the real show would begin.
Liana, the woman he had carefully cultivated, would teach Joffrey a good lesson.