Game of Thrones: The Road to Pirate King

Chapter 452 The Fallen Royal Family—Worse Than a Dog

After Euron Greyjoy arrived in Qarth aboard his Shadow Wyvern, he sank silently into Lisa's luxurious mansion in the city, like a boulder thrown into water, and never stepped out again. He didn't even wander around the wealthy city as usual.

Even the terrifying, shadowy winged dragon that carried him there let out a long howl that tore through the clouds after delivering him, then flapped its wings and flew away into the eastern horizon, as if it had completed its final mission.

The arrival of this sea monster lord was as if he hadn't come at all.

There was no grand welcoming ceremony, no public appearance, and no meddling in any affairs. Qarse's daily life continued amidst superficial extravagance and undercurrents.

But the atmosphere seemed a little different.

All the public affairs—final negotiations with various factions, exchanges with the royal family, and business negotiations—were handled by Lisa herself.

Within that secluded mansion, Euron seemed to treat this time as a long vacation. He would either savor the fine wines in the mansion's collection or peruse the books he had brought back from the shadows, occasionally exchanging a few brief words with his subordinates who brought him the latest news from Lisa.

He remained detached, observing the changes calmly, like the ultimate tranquility in the eye of a storm, watching everything proceed according to its predetermined course without making a sound.

His very existence is the most powerful deterrent and the ultimate trump card. No action is needed, no words are needed; his mere presence is enough.

On the terrace of Qarth Tower, Lisa gazed at the city lights in the distance and suddenly asked softly, "Those two mercenaries, did you hire them?"

Euron burst into a loud, hearty laugh, then shook his head. "No, that's not true." He walked over to Lisa, saw the trembling figure in the alley corner, and smiled. "Although I had considered it, since you said you'd handle it personally, I won't interfere."

The Shadowbinder Evelyn, lounging lazily on the soft couch, a wisp of shadow swirling around her fingertips, said in her distinctive tone, "From the moment Lisa returned to Qarth and began targeting him, he was plagued by misfortune."

The high priestess Gwendolyn said calmly, "Luck—when a person's luck hits rock bottom, they will be completely shrouded in darkness. No one needs to deliberately arrange it; all sorts of misfortunes will naturally come knocking, like rotting flesh attracting flies."

Euron nodded. "That makes sense!" He raised an eyebrow with interest, looking at Lisa. "And then what? Are we just going to let Orlando Zachary be displayed naked in the streets forever?"

Lisa's expression remained unchanged, and she said calmly, "Yes. I want him to live, to consciously experience every humiliation and despair. But I will not let him leave Qarth—this was once his paradise of wealth and status, and now it will be an eternal prison to confine him until he decays."

Upon hearing this, Euron was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter again, his laughter filled with admiration and approval: "Brilliant! This kind of revenge is indeed a thousand times more painful than killing him with a single blow!"

Euron gazed at the queen who was about to be crowned, his eyes revealing undisguised admiration and pride. He reached out and gently stroked Lisa's cheek, his deep voice filled with emotion: "I think that even if I hadn't come, you would have already taken care of everything yourself. The royal status, all the business partnerships, even the support of the Thirteen Giants—you had already laid out all the pieces."

Upon hearing this, Lisa took a small step forward and nestled into his embrace, pressing her cheek against his firm chest. Then she looked up at him, her wise blue eyes reflecting his image, her voice gentle yet resolute: "No, Euron. Even without your presence, your reputation, the swords you wielded on the Iron Islands, paved the way for me. The wealth brought by the Ice and Fire Merchant Guild's routes, and the information network established over a decade ago—these are the foundations that have allowed me to reach where I am today."

Lisa smiled and said, "Your strength is the solid warp, supporting the entire structure; my plans are the weft, weaving a beautiful pattern. Without the warp, the weft has nowhere to rest; without the weft, the warp is just an empty frame. We are both indispensable."

Euron held her tighter, letting out a satisfied sigh. He understood that this wasn't humility, but rather her most acute awareness of the powerful symbiotic relationship between them.

After a while, Euron turned his head with interest and asked, "I'm a little curious, how did you manage to get those deeply entrenched royal families to not only acknowledge your identity but also support you in becoming queen? That really surprised me."

Upon hearing this, Lisa's lips curled into a contemptuous smile, as if she were discussing a group of insignificant ants: "The royal family? They are actually the easiest link to deal with." She stood up and said coldly, "They are already a pile of useless trash."

She sneered and said, "The royal family has long since declined, and its real power has been completely usurped by the major merchant guilds. The city defenses that were originally the responsibility of the royal family, the once fearsome camel cavalry, and the powerful warship fleet that dominated the nearby seas have all been replaced by the merchant guilds."

She turned around, her face filled with disdain: "Now, besides that royal bloodline that has long since become almost non-existent, they have nothing. They even have to depend on the Merchants' Guild to maintain their current extravagant lifestyle."

Lisa's tone shifted to that of a hunter casting bait, and she laughed, "So, I told them directly that once I become king, the royal family will finally be able to hold their heads high. They will regain everything they've lost: power, dignity, and the ability to control their own destiny."

She walked back to Euron's side, her eyes sharp as knives, and uttered the most crucial sentence: "Besides, they have no other choice. I am their only hope for the continuation of their bloodline, and their only gamble for regaining their glory."

Euron raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his voice, and pressed on, "That sounds reasonable. But—you're not really going to give them those rights, are you?"

Lisa smiled, as if she'd heard an utterly ridiculous question. "Given them—yeah right!" Her eyes were filled with disdain for the group. "They're nothing but a bunch of good-for-nothings, living corpses. The promises made to them were nothing more than steps to the throne. I'll just treat them like pets. Giving them scraps to remind them who their masters are is enough."

Euron was taken aback for a moment, then burst into loud laughter.

He smiled as he looked at Lisa before him, her slightly raised chin, the confidence in her blue eyes that seemed to control everything, and the innate arrogance that made her regard the thousand-year-old royal family as pets.

At that moment, sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows, bathing her in a dazzling halo. Euron seemed to see, through this cunning queen before him, the legendary pirate empress who looked down upon all living beings and ruled the seas with beauty and power—beautiful, powerful, arrogant, and dangerous.

"Good! Very good! This is the woman who belongs to Euron Greyjoy!"

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