Game of Thrones: Viserys the Three-Headed Dragon.

Chapter 4 You are right, but

"elder brother."

When they arrived at the bathing room, Dany could not help but call out to Viserys as she saw the servants leading the way were about to take the two away separately.

Viserys turned back. "What is it, Daenerys?"

Dany shrank her neck but said nothing.

At this point in time, the "Mother of Dragons" was just a timid and self-deprecating little girl who was very dependent on her brother Viserys, even though her brother was cruel and abused violence against her.

In the novel, she gradually grew into a strong and confident woman only after she realized that Viserys had cruelly sold her and that everything was irreversible and she married Khal Drogo.

Viserys roughly knew that Daenerys was worried and afraid, but the current situation did not allow him to have a deep communication with Daenerys, nor could he immediately correct his brother's attitude.

Viserys now needs Daenerys to continue to be timid and cowardly.

With Daenerys' beauty, if it weren't for her timidity and thin stature, she would be no less than a child carrying gold through a busy market. You know, even Illyrio, a man who has seen and experienced and is very shrewd, would think of taking Dany for himself the first time he sees her.

"Don't embarrass me, Daenerys!" Viserys had no comfort, only a tough attitude. He said to Dany in a cold voice, "Are you afraid to even wash? Go with the maid."

So Dany lowered her head, didn't try to say anything, and followed the maid to another bathroom.

Viserys washed up in the mansion bath provided by Illyrio without any psychological burden, and did not even refuse the silk clothes offered by the servants for change.

After washing and making themselves look fresh, the eunuchs and maids led Viserys and Daenerys to the dining room where they sat down.

After washing and grooming, Daenerys's beauty became more and more apparent. Fortunately, Viserys maintained his stern attitude towards her, which made her timid, sad and unable to smile.

Although Dany was only thirteen or fourteen years old and had not fully grown yet, in this world, a girl became a woman after her menarche.

Viserys didn't want Illyrio to be trapped by beauty and give up his conspiracy with him.

At the main seat in the restaurant, Illyrio, who had changed into casual clothes, was already sitting and waiting.

Viserys gave the first sign of honor as a Braavos guest. "Thank you for your hospitality, Magister Illyrio. Your generosity and courtesy are impressive."

Illyrio smiled and tried to correct him, "Your Majesty, you don't need to praise me. This is what I should do."

"Oh," Viserys paused. "I wonder when your banquet will begin. My sister and I are looking forward to it."

Dany sat quietly in her seat with her head down, feeling very strange in her heart. She had seen Viserys fawning on the powerful and wealthy before, but hadn't they called each other king and subject before?

The polite greeting used by Viserys came from the greetings between guests at a banquet between nobles of the Free Cities. The reason for the stuck seemed to be that Illyrio did not respond according to the polite greeting of the host of the Free Cities banquet, but he still showed his grace and cleverly covered up the embarrassment.

At least that's what it seems.

Dany felt it was absurd. She was very aware that something had changed in Viserys since he was struck by lightning, and his behavior had become unpredictable to her.

"No, there was no feast, Lord Viserys." Illyrio said solemnly. "If there was, it was only to welcome you and Lady Daenerys. I thought we made that clear in Lys. Was all that we said in the presence of the gods, Lord, a lie?"

"Of course not," Viserys smiled and responded appropriately, "I understand your needs very well. I just hope..." He paused, as if he had just realized what Illyrio had just said, and asked in shock, "Wait, you just said, there will be no banquet?"

Dany glanced up quickly, then back down again, and saw Viserys staring across from her with eyes wide open and an exaggerated expression of disbelief.

Illyrio said solemnly, "Your Majesty, I need an explanation."

"Oh" Viserys still had an expression of disbelief. He licked his lips, as if his mouth was dry and he couldn't calm down.

"Oh, by the Seven Gods!" Viserys began to mutter incoherently, as if he could not form any words. "Mr. Illyrio, what do you mean?" he asked carefully, "Do you mean that?" He asked repeatedly, "Do you really mean that?!"

Illyrio tried to see something in Viserys's exaggerated expression. He narrowed his eyes and stared at him. "Excuse me, your majesty, but did you think so?"

"Oh, sorry," Viserys said, almost automatically responding, "I thought..."

Then, as if he had thought of something, he stopped talking and began to repeat "Oh, Seven Gods!" to show that he was shocked and mentally shaken at the moment and was trying hard to calm down.

In personal summary, Viserys believes that being a riddle maker is very useful in the process of intrigue, because for those lies that you cannot make up, smart people or people who think they are smart will fill in the missing parts themselves, and you just need to guide them to think in that direction.

Viserys's behavior at this moment was very inconsistent with the information Illyrio had obtained and the conclusions drawn from his observations over the past few days, but it seemed to make sense.

Viserys and his sister had been wandering among the free cities as guests of powerful people for many years, seeking refuge and plotting to restore their country. However, the enthusiasm of these powerful people soon faded, and the two descendants of Targaryen had been living in poverty and insecurity for many years.

After Viserys gained the reputation of "Beggar King", he was treated as a clown and a laughing stock by the dignitaries. It was rumored that he would often yell at the clowns, jesters, and maids around the dignitaries at banquets because people called him "Beggar King". Occasionally, he would be kicked out because of conflicts with dignitaries, and then he would sell his property and go hungry to find the next person to take shelter with.

If he had already regarded this kind of life as a means of making a living, then his performance in the past few days at the invitation of Illyrio was just a performance, a tacit way of getting along between a fun-seeking big shot and a self-aware joke. After arriving here, the attitude that Viserys began to show was a conscious willingness to cooperate, just like an actor who was invited to perform for a living and was then shocked by Illyrio's "unexpected" attitude.

But is this really the case?
Illyrio didn't believe it. At least, Viserys's exaggerated performance was not enough to convince him. He asked: "Your Majesty, do you have any concerns about our previous communication, or do you have any new ideas? As you can see, I am a businessman. You might as well speak frankly?"

"By the Seven Gods!" Viserys seemed to have not yet recovered from the shock. "Lord Illyrio, I want to confirm that you are indeed willing to be loyal to me?"

"No," Illyrio narrowed his eyes at Viserys. "Your Highness, I will support you. We have discussed this before, before the gods."

"Oh, sorry, it's funding." Viserys seemed to have just remembered, and soon his expression was excited, and he said eagerly, "You are the most visionary businessman I have ever met." Viserys seemed a little impatient, "I didn't have time to ask before, I wonder how much money you are willing to give to support me, Magister Illyrio?"

It's funny to say that there was not a single real political promise between Illyrio and Viserys. Illyrio only said that he was willing to provide asylum and support Viserys's cause of restoration, on the condition that he would be the seat of the Minister of Finance in front of the king after the success. Viserys was invited to Pentos to discuss major issues with Illyrio.

Illyrio did not answer, but looked at Daenerys, who was sitting at the table with her head bowed and silent. Viserys knew what he meant, but he did not care. He urged impatiently: "You can pretend that she does not exist, Magister Illyrio."

"Excuse me, sire," Illyrio said, taking advantage of this to lead the conversation, "but do you think that money alone can restore the kingdom?"

Viserys pretended to think, then replied, "Well, can't I?"

"." Illyrio paused. This was not the answer he wanted, but it didn't matter. "In my opinion, money alone will not help you restore your kingdom. Your Majesty, you need an army."

Hearing this, Viserys said excitedly: "Yes, the army. Do you have an army to support me?"

Although he looked excited, Viserys' heart suddenly lost interest. The answer came too quickly. Although Illyrio's words were roundabout, they were not roundabout enough. Instead, they were too straightforward, which made Viserys's prepared words of persuasion useless.

"I have no army, but I know where there are," Illyrio said enthusiastically. "Have you heard of the Dothraki?"

The peace treaty between Pentos and Braavos stipulates that the Pentos may not own more than 20 warships, hire sellswords, contract free mercenaries, or maintain any army beyond the city guard. So despite its massive walls, Pentos is still considered the most vulnerable of the Free Cities. For this reason, the governors of Pentos have maintained a friendly attitude towards the Dothraki horselords, cultivating relationships with a series of powerful 'khaos' (tribal leaders) over the years, giving them gifts and gold and silver to ensure that their 'khalasar' (tribes) operate east of the River Rhoyne, the natural boundary of Pentos.

In other words, commercial cities provided annual tribute to nomadic tribes to ensure peace.

Now, as a noble in the commercial city-state, Illyrio seems to want to take the opportunity to become a political broker and connect the last descendant of the Targaryen family and the Dothraki horse king.

Viserys replied, "I have heard a little."

Illyrio was very confident: "Your Majesty, you may be able to use the Dothraki to counterattack Westeros and regain the throne."

"The tribesmen of the Dothraki plains will also support me?" Viserys asked.

"Yes, my lord. I am acquainted with several powerful Dothraki khals. If your majesty is willing, perhaps we can borrow tens of thousands of soldiers." Illyrio casually drew a big cake for Viserys and sprinkled it with delicious sauce. "Cavalry!"

Unfortunately, unexpectedly, Viserys did not respond directly to Illyrio, nor did he ask what the "price" was. Instead, he asked strangely: "Mr. Governor, with all due respect, how much do you know about Westeros?"

Illyrio was confused for a moment. "Huh?"

Viserys gave him a more specific description: "That is, apart from the fact that the continent is called Westeros and the king there is now called Robert Baratheon, do you know anything about the political situation there?"

At first Illyrio thought Viserys was mocking him, but seeing Viserys' serious expression, it was hard to tell. He thought he was being diverted and was about to bring the subject back: "Uh"

But Viserys did not give Illyrio a chance to continue leading the conversation. "Let's assume, Magister Illyrio, that I can borrow troops. If, I mean if, I can borrow troops, how can I transport them to Westeros? Where should I land them?"

"Uh," Illyrio wanted to say, we were discussing borrowing soldiers, but we haven't borrowed them yet!

But Viserys was still asking: "Even if I land, and then fight and capture the city, but the Westeros people don't recognize the army I brought, or the Dothraki take the town and massacre it, how should I deal with it?"

"." Illyrio wanted to say, these are all imaginary things? Can we discuss whether there are soldiers first?

But Viserys kept talking. "Even if I regain the throne with the help of the Dothraki, what will happen to these horses?"

Seeing that Viserys seemed to be struggling, Illyrio quickly interrupted him and said, "Your Majesty, you are thinking too much. You don't even have troops now, and this may not happen."

"No, no, no," Viserys shook his head and said solemnly, "These are very serious questions, Lord Governor. The situation in Westeros is a thousand times more complicated than imagined. Restoring the country is by no means easy. I think about how to restore the country, return to my homeland, and ascend the Iron Throne every day and night. Believe me, these are very serious questions."

[So this is what you think about every day if you want to restore the country? ]

Illyrio was speechless for a moment.

"Cuckoo~"

Weselis wanted to continue talking, but his stomach started to growl, so he had to sit up straight and said in a very embarrassed and apologetic voice, "I'm sorry, Governor. I made you laugh."

Fortunately, Illyrio didn't want to hear him continue to dwell on those meaningless questions, so he quickly took over the topic: "It's my fault for being so slow. In that case, let's eat first."

Viserys stopped talking. "As you wish, Lord Governor."

From the looks of it, Illyrio knew that he would not be able to convince Viserys, who was entangled in a meaningless issue today - Viserys was clearly making excuses to oppose it. So he stopped discussing it.

Viserys was still not satisfied. His strategy was simple: no matter what Illyrio said, he just had to refuse to agree.

I prepared a lot of words.

for example:

When discussing a plan, talk about specific issues.
This strategy may be feasible, but there are various problems.
You are right, but.
This is a good strategy, but consider that.
Well, this plan is very good, but there are still some details to be improved. Why don't we go back and think about it more? There must be a better way.
If I do this and something like this happens, what should I do?
And so on.

Before Illyrio figured out what Viserys was thinking, Viserys could use all kinds of rhetoric to confuse him as long as Illyrio told him the plan.

Even so, it must be said that Illyrio was still a bit tricky. He did not fall into the trap of rhetoric and answer Viserys' questions that were meaningless to reality.

Since they couldn't talk about serious business, they could only chat during the meal. Viserys did not hesitate to praise the various dishes. While he and Illyrio were chatting and laughing, he kept eating, almost eating the amount for three people.

Of the three people at the table, Daenerys was the one who felt the most strange. She did not participate in the entire discussion, but she could feel that Viserys at the table was completely different from before.

In the past, Viserys would have traded anything for a plan like this.

(End of this chapter)