Lynn watched this lioness backed into a corner, watching her bare her last claws in the most frantic posture.
Daring to threaten him?
It seemed his training hadn't been successful enough yet.
Lynn chuckled lightly, then picked up the goblet on the table, gently swirling the amber liquid inside.
He was angrier than anyone right now!
But he couldn't show it.
This indifferent attitude would infuriate Cersei more than any rebuttal.
Sure enough.
After seeing Lynn's nonchalant attitude, Cersei completely snapped.
"Do you really think I can't do it?"
Cersei's voice rose, carrying a hint of hysteria.
"Do you think Lannister anger is just empty roaring?"
"No, of course I believe you can do it."
Lynn finally spoke.
He put down the goblet, his gaze falling on Cersei's beautiful face twisted by anger.
"Because your trump card won't just burn me alone."
Cersei's breath hitched violently.
"Those 'little gifts' left by the Mad King Aerys are indeed a nice surprise."
The smile at the corner of Lynn's mouth made Cersei feel a penetrating chill.
"Those green clay pots hidden under the Great Sept of Baelor, in the ruins of the Dragonpit, in the filthy cellars of Flea Bottom..."
With every sentence Lynn spoke, Cersei's face paled a shade.
How did he know?!
This was her biggest secret!
It was the final trump card she dared to challenge everyone with, even daring to become an enemy of all Westeros after Robert's death!
This was the mad plan exclusive to her!
Wildfire!
A green, viscous liquid magical incendiary.
Ignites upon contact with fire, water cannot extinguish it, it can even burn on water.
Strong adherence, can penetrate clothes, wood, leather, even steel!
They were secretly made by the Alchemists' Guild using processes containing magic.
Usually stored in rough clay pots, kept in stone cellars filled with water or sand to ensure safety.
Even vibration or exposure to sunlight could cause wildfire to spontaneously ignite and explode!
Back then, the Mad King Aerys Targaryen II planned to use wildfire buried throughout the city to turn the entire city into ashes when King's Landing was about to fall.
And declared he would let Robert Baratheon be King of Ashes.
It was this mad act that prompted Jaime Lannister, a Kingsguard at the time, to kill him from behind, thus bearing the stain of "Kingslayer."
Lynn thought of Cersei Lannister later driven to a desperate situation by the High Sparrow and the Faith.
Cersei eventually used the wildfire buried under the Great Sept of Baelor.
The explosion destroyed the Great Sept along with powerful political enemies like the High Sparrow and Margaery Tyrell inside.
It also indirectly led to the suicide of her son, King Tommen Baratheon, and Cersei seized the opportunity to ascend the Iron Throne.
Cersei's trump card was indeed strong and did pose a threat to Lynn.
However, it was still lacking.
Lynn had Greensight; if he really let Cersei perish together with him, he would truly become a joke.
"Igniting them would indeed turn King's Landing into a sea of fire."
Lynn stood up, walking step by step toward Cersei.
The pressure on him forced Cersei to take an uncontrollable step back.
"But, my dear Queen, have you thought about it?"
"Wildfire has no eyes."
"It will burn the Red Keep, burn your Iron Throne, burn your gorgeous silk dress."
"It will also burn your precious son, Tommen, who is still asleep."
Lynn pinched Cersei's chin, his voice dropping very low.
Like the whisper of a devil, every word stabbed precisely at Cersei's softest weakness.
"By then, you will become the greatest woman in the history of the Seven Kingdoms."
"A Queen ruling over five hundred thousand charred corpses and a pile of ruins."
"Of course, provided you yourself haven't been burned by that green flame until not even bone dregs remain."
"You..."
Cersei opened her mouth, her eyes darting, not daring to look directly at Lynn.
Her last trump card, which she was proud of, was dismantled cleanly and lightly before Lynn.
Her weapon capable of destroying everything became a noose around her own neck instead.
Lynn held her lifeline firmly in his hand.
"So, stop threatening me in this laughable way, Cersei."
"You can control that wildfire, but I have plenty of people under me in King's Landing too; I can control those little toys just as well."
"We'll see who blows whom sky-high first then."
A trace of impatience finally appeared in Lynn's tone.
This farce should end.
"You are not qualified to negotiate terms with me."
"Now, the only thing you can do is pray."
"Pray that I can treat Myrcella well, pray that I can let your little Tommen and Joffrey live peacefully."
The words used to threaten Lynn were returned intact.
Cersei's mind went blank.
All pride, all madness, all calculations were thoroughly shattered at this moment.
Her spirit collapsed.
In those green eyes that were always high and mighty, an emotion she was most unwilling to admit surfaced.
Fear.
She was scared.
And she lost.
She was completely subdued again.
She looked at Lynn before her.
This young man from the North whom she hadn't taken seriously at first.
He was like the most brilliant hunter, setting up a dragnet without batting an eye.
Then... patiently waiting for her, this self-righteous lioness, to walk into the trap step by step.
Until she was completely locked, with no room to struggle...
However, amidst this extreme fear and despair...
A strange thought rose in her heart.
Robert's conquest was brutal, Jaime's conquest was tender.
But they never dared to trample her soul and dignity underfoot like this man before her.
Yes.
After learning Lynn returned, knowing clearly she couldn't threaten him.
But she stupidly delivered herself to his door and tried to provoke him deliberately.
What was this if not cheap?
Did she deliberately want to be pressed onto the table and humiliated ruthlessly by Lynn?
Cersei shook her head, throwing this thought she was unwilling to admit out of her mind.
No, it was all for Myrcella!
But none of this mattered anymore.
Now that she had attacked Lynn on impulse and reached this point.
What should she do now?
Beg for mercy?
No!
She was Cersei Lannister, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms!
She would never beg for mercy!
But... Myrcella... Tommen... Joffrey...
She didn't want them to suffer because of her recklessness.
The problem had to be solved eventually.
It wasn't possible to point at Lynn's nose and scold him, then expect him to forgive her.
Lynn wasn't a fool, and she knew Lynn never suffered a loss.
In this suffocating silence, Cersei slowly bent her noble knees.
Yes.
She accepted her fate.
Since she couldn't resist, then... admit her mistake obediently...
The long black silk skirt spread on the cold, hard stone floor like withered rose petals.
Cersei knelt before Lynn again.
Last time she knelt, it seemed to drain all her strength and dignity.
But this time, she felt it wasn't a big deal.
She was just compromising for the greater good.
This thought made her feel a bit better.
Cersei took a deep breath, her head hanging low.
Golden hair cascaded down like a waterfall, covering her bloodless face.
Lynn didn't speak, just watched quietly.
He watched this proudest woman in Westeros kneeling at his feet like a devout believer.
Cersei looked up.
She could accurately capture the flash of anger in Lynn's eyes.
Those green eyes once filled with pride and contempt now held only humiliated submission.
It would be a lie to say Lynn wasn't angry.
Being sought out and threatened right to his face by this crazy woman in the middle of the night.
Anyone would be in a bad mood.
Lynn wasn't made of clay; who didn't have a temper?
"My dear Queen."
Lynn looked down at Cersei before him.
"Do you think kneeling can quell my anger?"
"I'm not Joffrey, to be dismissed with a few words."
"I am... really fired up right now!"
Cersei looked at Lynn, lips moving.
"Then tell me what to do."
Lynn chuckled lightly, pinching Cersei's chin.
"Very simple, the Queen should be able to do it easily."
"Then please, my most respected Queen, personally..."
"Calm my anger."
Finally, under Lynn's indifferent gaze.
Cersei extended those slender hands, well-maintained, once only used to hold golden cups and sign orders.
The crisp sound of metal buckles seemed particularly piercing in this silent room.
It also thoroughly shattered her last dignity.
Golden hair, like the most gorgeous silk.
In the room, there was no other sound.
Lynn could smell the expensive rose balm from Cersei's hair.
Could also see the roots of her ears turning red from humiliation.
Conquering a woman's body was far less interesting than conquering her soul.
Especially when this soul was the proud Cersei Lannister.
Every time he saw Cersei's high-and-mighty, arrogant bitchy look, the thought of destroying her completely rose in Lynn's heart for no reason.
Thinking of this, Lynn roughly grabbed Cersei's golden hair.
---
In the room next door.
Myrcella lay on the soft bed, unable to sleep for a long time.
She felt the things she experienced in these few short months were more than the past dozen years combined.
She was somewhat tired, yet felt an unprecedented clarity.
Just as she tossed and turned.
A strange sound.
Came faintly from next door.
That is, from Lynn's room.
The sound was very light, very blurry.
Like something rhythmically knocking on the floor.
Thump... thump... thump...
Like someone suppressing their throat, emitting some painful whimper.
Myrcella frowned.
Hmm?
Is Lynn feeling unwell?
She listened carefully, but the sound disappeared again.
Myrcella's heart rose uncontrollably.
She remembered those terrifying legends about the Red Keep she heard in Winterfell.
Saying the Mad King's ghost wandered here, and wronged maids cried.
Myrcella instinctively tightened the quilt around her, wanting to shut those sounds out.
But that sound seemed to have magic, stubbornly drilling into her ears.
The sound wasn't scary.
It sounded like someone vomiting.
Myrcella's curiosity finally overcame her fear.
She quietly lifted the quilt, barefoot, stepping on the cold floor.
Like a kitten, step by step, she moved silently to the hidden door connecting the two rooms.
She pressed her ear gently against the cold door panel.
This time, she heard more clearly.
That wasn't a ghost crying.
That was... Cersei's voice?
That voice was filled with... humiliation and pleading she had never heard before?
Myrcella's body froze.
She instinctively looked through the long-forgotten keyhole on the door.
The view inside was very dim.
But Myrcella saw a vaguely familiar figure kneeling on the ground.
She had waterfall-like golden hair?
Even in the dimness, it was strikingly eye-catching!
She would never mistake it!
This was definitely the noble and beautiful Queen Cersei.
And in front of her stood a tall man.
Myrcella couldn't see his face clearly.
Immediately after, she saw a scene she would never forget in her life.
Ah?
Myrcella's mind went blank instantly.
She clapped her hand over her mouth abruptly to stop the scream from escaping.
She was cold all over, as if falling into an ice cave.
What was she doing?
Who was that man?
Why was he in Lord Lynn's room?
What exactly were they doing?