In the Neptune Palace in Braavos, a short and thin young man was standing in the garden, admiring the green and pink scenery in front of him.
Winter is coming.
Now King Robert has been forced to give up his plan to expedition to Essos, and the entire Seven Kingdoms except Dorne are busy preparing how to survive this winter.
However, in Braavos on the other side of the Narrow Sea, there is still a scene as prosperous as spring. According to locals, it is just that the temperature has dropped a bit recently.
The young man looked at the beautiful garden in front of him and was moved by the scene. He couldn't help but think of his hometown and the girl with maroon hair.
He once even fought with someone with tears in his eyes and wanted to fight to the death, but it was a pity that the other party went to the far north, and I am afraid it will be difficult to meet him again in the future.
"Lord Petyr Baelish."
At this moment, a voice came from behind the young man.
A man in a simple gray robe walked over, and then the two briefly exchanged a few polite words. The mayor of Braavos raised his hand and made a 'please' gesture.
The young man named Petyr Baelish also nodded politely, with a normal smile on his face, and then the two of them walked towards the depths of the Neptune Palace.
After twisting and turning in the corridors of the Neptune's Palace, the two of them soon arrived at the Neptune's bedroom in Braavos.
Bang bang...
The mayor gently knocked on the door twice, and there were two coughs in the room, followed by a vague "Please come in."
Squeak.
The gray-robed alderman opened the door, and then made the 'please' gesture again. Petyr nodded and walked in.
The current Sea King of Braavos, Ferregor Antharion, is in much worse physical condition than when Viserys met him.
Today he is thin and has a head full of gray hair in his early forties.
If he hadn't been the Sea King of Braavos, he might have died long ago due to illness, but now he has a lot of precious and precious medicine hanging on his life, and he is still lingering.
Standing in front of his bed was a tall and burly swordsman, wearing heavy armor, with piercing eyes, looking up and down at the short man who represented the Iron Throne from Westeros.
The chief swordsman of Braavos has been replaced.
The former chief swordsman Syrio Forel was expelled from the Neptune Palace by Lord Neptune for unknown reasons, and was asked to never return to Braavos.
But now the new chief swordsman of Braavos has nothing like Braavos.
Instead, he looks like a traditional knight from Westeros, whose beauty is based on his tallness and strength, rather than his agile and swift water dance.
His name is Quiro Valentine.
"Dear Lord Ferregor Anttalion, I would like to send my greetings to you on behalf of His Majesty Robert Baratheon I."
The young man from King's Landing saw the current appearance of the Sea King of Braavos, and a pair of gray-green eyes silently revealed a hint of surprise.
However, he still bowed slightly and saluted calmly.
He did not expect that a man who was rumored to have the most wealth in the world and the most powerful 'Armada' in the world would actually be lying on a hospital bed terminally ill.
Petyr Baelish did not understand the specific political system of Braavos, but he knew that once elected, the Sea King held office for life.
But no one in Braavos wants to... replace such a sick man?
He doesn't understand.
Neptune was lying on the hospital bed, looking at the messenger of the Iron Throne with a pair of tired eyes. He was about to say something but was interrupted by a series of violent coughs.
"Lord Neptune, would you like to drink some more medicine?"
His chief swordsman Quiro was a little worried, but Ferrego, who had coughed violently, waved his hand and refused.
"No need, Quiro, it's not time to take medicine yet."
Then the man lay on the hospital bed and his eyes fell on Petyr Baelish again.
"Lord Baelish, is that so?"
Ferrego's voice was a little weak, but he still managed to maintain his energy.
"If King Robert wanted a loan, I think he should go to the manager of the Iron Bank instead of me."
He heard that the Iron Bank had just rejected the loan request from the King's Finance Minister last month. The reason was that winter was approaching and the seven countries had no ability to repay the loan, so they asked for minerals and land to be used as collateral.
However, I didn't expect that not too long had passed before the Iron Throne actually sent out another envoy, and this time he wanted to ask for an audience with him.
"King Robert is not sending me as envoy to Braavos this time to seek a loan."
"But I want to cooperate with Braavos in other aspects, Lord Neptune."
When he got down to business, Petyr straightened his expression slightly and spoke seriously.
"I just came from Pentos."
"oh?"
There was no surprise in Ferregor's eyes when he heard the words of the representative of the Iron Throne. It seemed that he had already known that Petyr Baelish was coming from Pentos.
"cooperate."
"I don't know what kind of cooperation King Robert wants to start with Braavos."
Neptune was lying on the hospital bed, his voice was still weak, but it carried an inexplicable pressure, which made 'Little Finger', who was not a lobbyist for the first time, feel his heartbeat speed up.
Convincing an outstanding figure like the Sea King of Braavos is much more difficult than that of the governors of Pentos.
During this trip, Petyr Baelish was recommended by the Queen's Prime Minister Jon Arryn. The old Duke discovered this young man's outstanding abilities very early. It was his wife Lysa who recommended him at that time.
Although Petyr was born into a small and uninfluential family, his father formed a friendship with the Tully family during the War of the Nine Copper Kings, so Petyr has lived in Riverrun and Tully as an adopted son since he was a child.
The two sisters in the family became good friends.
Therefore, the old Duke did not doubt anything, especially during the period when Petyr was the tax collector of Seagull Town, the local tax revenue increased more than ten times, which made Jon Arryn recognize the other party's ability.
So on this extremely important trip, Petyr Baelish was recommended to give it a try.
"Of course it is to cooperate to solve the biggest threat to Braavos and the Iron Throne, Lord Neptune."
Petyr carefully considered his words and looked at the Sea King of Braavos lying on the hospital bed.
Constantly remind yourself that the other person is one of the most powerful people in the world.
"The Mad King's Son."
"Viserys Targaryen."
"His presence has gone far beyond Braavos' expectations, hasn't it?"
"He has a dragon, and the blocking mountains are not enough to stop the dragon."