Everyone froze in place, even their breathing growing cautious.
Ned Stark's face went from red to green, then green to white.
He looked at Joffrey, who had been slapped to the floor, bleeding from the corner of his mouth but still shielding the girl, and then at Cersei, who was shaking with rage.
Finally, his gaze landed on the furious Robert.
He wanted to say something.
He wanted to demand justice for his daughter, to question why the King allowed the Prince to humiliate House Stark so.
But all his words eventually turned into a heavy sigh.
In any case, the engagement would certainly be broken.
His precious daughter Sansa finally didn't have to marry this moody, cruel, violent madman.
Wasn't this a release for him, for Sansa, for all of House Stark?
"Your Grace, please calm down."
In the end, it was Jaime Lannister who stepped forward.
He supported his sister, who was teetering with rage, cast a complex look at Joffrey on the floor, and spoke steadily to Robert.
"Joffrey is still just a child, he..."
"Child?"
Robert looked as if he'd heard the world's biggest joke.
He pointed a finger at Joffrey's nose, spittle spraying Jaime's face.
"A fucking child? He's a child?"
"When I was fifteen, I was already smashing enemies' heads with a war hammer!"
"And him?"
"He only knows how to publicly humiliate his future Queen!"
Cersei's body jerked, her green eyes instantly filling with humiliation.
"Robert! Watch your words!"
Cersei warned.
"Joffrey is your son! The Crown Prince!"
"I'd rather fucking not have this son!"
Robert roared back mercilessly.
His cloudy eyes were filled with undisguised disgust.
He turned around, no longer looking at the Lannister mother and son who sickened him.
He strode up to Ned, his fan-sized hand slapping heavily onto Ned's shoulder.
"Ned, my best brother."
Robert's voice was full of guilt and sincerity.
"I have wronged you."
"I will definitely give you an explanation for this!"
Robert took a deep breath, turning to face all the nobles in the hall who were silent as cicadas in winter.
His voice, loud as a bell, resounded through the banquet hall once more.
"I, Robert Baratheon, King of the Seven Kingdoms, hereby declare!"
"The engagement between Joffrey Baratheon and Sansa Stark is hereby formally dissolved!"
The final word!
A suppressed gasp went through the hall.
Cersei's face turned somewhat ugly.
And Joffrey looked as if all his strength had been drained, sitting blankly on the floor.
He looked at Liana, who was pinned down by the Kingsguard, looking at him with "terrified despair," and the flame of rebellion that had just ignited in his heart was instantly doused by half.
The engagement was broken...
He was free!
But why wasn't he happy at all?
He felt like he had lost a toy that, while annoying, was incredibly important.
"As for you..."
Robert's gaze fell on Joffrey.
"Get the hell back to your room!"
"For a month, you are not to step one foot out the door!"
"And that woman!"
Robert pointed at Liana, his eyes full of disgust.
"For Joffrey's sake, I spare her life."
"From today on, she is a maid of the Red Keep, never to leave this castle, and never..."
Robert's voice rose sharply, full of warning.
"...to have any possibility of marriage with the Prince!"
"A future King absolutely cannot marry her as Queen!"
"This is the final line for House Baratheon!"
The King's will was law.
These words completely cut off all of Joffrey's fantasies.
He could keep Liana, but he could never give her a title.
She could only be his lover hidden in the shadows, a plaything unworthy of the high table...
"No..."
"Why is it like this?"
Joffrey shook his head in despair.
However, the Kingsguard had already hauled him up, forcibly dragging him out of the banquet hall.
"Let go of me!"
"You running dogs! I am your Prince!"
"Believe it or not, I'll whip you with steel!"
"Damn it!"
Joffrey's frantic roaring grew distant, finally disappearing at the end of the corridor.
Liana was roughly pulled up from the floor by two guards, her tear-stained face written with terror and helplessness.
A farce seemed to have ended.
But everyone knew this was just the beginning.
The alliance between Baratheon and Stark had shown its first crack.
Robert clearly realized this too.
He scratched his messy beard irritably, his gaze sweeping the hall.
Finally, it landed on the man who had been drinking wine calmly like an outsider from beginning to end.
The Earl of the Gift, Lynn.
"Lynn!"
Robert waved at him.
"Come here!"
Lynn put down his goblet and walked slowly to the throne under everyone's complex gaze.
"Your Grace."
"Now, the Stark engagement is off."
Robert's tone carried an unquestionable command.
"Your marriage to Myrcella cannot be delayed any longer!"
"Send someone immediately to bring Myrcella back to me!"
"I want to see a grand wedding within half a month!"
"I want everyone in the Seven Kingdoms to know that the alliance between my House Baratheon and the North is unbreakable!"
He needed a new marriage alliance to patch the crack just made, to continue stabilizing his throne.
And Lynn, this upstart holding heavy troops and possessing a dragon, was undoubtedly the best choice.
"As you command, Your Grace."
Lynn answered calmly.
"As for Sansa..."
Robert turned his gaze to Ned, guilt appearing on his face again.
"Ned, I know an apology is far from enough."
"I will compensate her."
Robert pondered for a moment, then waved his big hand.
"Tell Sansa, whatever she wants, as long as I can give it, I won't be stingy!"
A glimmer passed through Lynn's eyes.
The King's compensation...
This came just in time.
---
Night deepened.
Joffrey was confined to his room.
Like a beast trapped in a cage, he frantically smashed everything smashable in the room.
Porcelain, silver cups, statues...
The luxurious room was a mess in the blink of an eye.
But no matter how he vented, the humiliation and powerlessness in his heart grew stronger.
He hated Robert, hated the father he worshipped most for humiliating him in public!
He hated Cersei, hated her for only looking at him with that suffocating gaze!
He hated his own incompetence even more!
He couldn't even protect the woman he loved!
Just then, the door was gently pushed open.
A petite figure carrying a basin of warm water walked in carefully.
It was Liana.
She had changed into a plain maid's dress, the green-purple bruises on her face making her look even more pitiful.
"Your Grace..."
She spoke timidly.
"Get out!"
Joffrey roared without turning his head.
Liana trembled in fear, but she didn't leave.
She put down the basin, walked behind Joffrey, and wrapped her soft little hands gently around his waist.
"Your Grace, please don't be like this..."
"You can hit me, you can scold me, because it's all my fault that you're involved."
"But can you please not sulk? It hurts my heart to see you angry..."
Her voice was laced with sobs, warm tears soaking the shirt on Joffrey's back.
"It's all my fault... I brought you trouble... I don't deserve... I don't deserve your love..."
"If my death could let Your Grace regain the King's favor, then I would rather die!"
As she spoke, Liana reached for a small knife on the table, making a move to stab her own heart.
But Joffrey was quick, snatching the "suicide" knife from Liana's hand.
The more Liana acted like this, the hotter the fire of anger burned in Joffrey's heart.
This anger was no longer directed at others, but at this unfair world!
Why!
Why couldn't he, a Prince, marry the woman he loved?
Why could those sanctimonious nobles point fingers at his Liana?
"You are not wrong."
Joffrey pulled Liana tightly into his arms.
The force was so great it almost rubbed her into his own flesh and blood.
For a woman willing to die for him, Joffrey swore to treat her well!
"What's wrong is them! Is this world!"
Joffrey looked down at Liana's tearful face.
Even after experiencing this, her blue eyes still held that pure "worship and love" without any impurities.
A strong rebellious psychology exploded in Joffrey's heart.
You won't let me marry her?
You look down on her?
Then I will treat her well!
Better than anyone else!
I will give her the best things in the world!
I will let everyone know!
She, Liana, is the woman Joffrey Baratheon cherishes most!
"From today on, you don't need to do anything."
Joffrey's voice carried an unquestionable paranoia.
"You just need to stay by my side."
"I will protect you. Whoever dares bully you again, I will kill him!"
He cupped Liana's face and kissed her heavily.
It was no longer the gentleness and probing of last night, but a plunder full of possession and venting.
Liana closed her eyes obediently, letting him do as he pleased.
Only, under her lowered eyelids, an imperceptible glint flashed past.
---
The Hand's Solar.
Sansa was writing something on paper with a quill.
And Lynn stood by the window, looking out at the sleeping city of King's Landing, fingers gently rubbing a gold dragon.
Everything was playing out according to his script.
Joffrey, the little mad dog, had been thoroughly leashed with the collar named "Liana."
And King Robert's compensation had paved the last stretch of road for Sansa to sit on that seat.
Knock, knock, knock.
A light, rhythmic knocking sounded.
Sansa also looked up.
Lynn said directly.
"Come in."
The door was pushed open, and a figure in a maid's dress slipped in, quickly locking the door from the inside.
She turned around.
It was Liana, who had just been playing the weak white lotus in Joffrey's room.
At this moment, her face had shed all weakness and terror, even the pitiable tear tracks vanishing without a trace.
In those clear blue eyes, there was no longer worship and love, only cold calmness and efficiency.
She walked up to Lynn and dropped to one knee, her movement as standard as an elite Unsullied.
"My Lord."
Her voice was steady and clear.
"Mission accomplished."
"Good."
Lynn turned around, looking down at her.
"Your performance was splendid. I am very satisfied."
"You taught me well, my Lord."
There was no trace of smugness on Liana's face, as if the person with explosive acting skills in the banquet hall and Joffrey's room just now wasn't her at all.
Lynn took a purse from his tunic and threw it in front of her.
"This is your reward."
Liana glanced at the bulging purse but didn't pick it up.
She looked up, her blue eyes revealing her own emotion for the first time in the candlelight.
It was a flame mixed with ambition and desire.
"My Lord, I don't want gold dragons."
"Oh?"
Lynn raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Then what do you want?"