The Wind of Change. book 1. Part 1.1

Only two of the seven houses are genuinely loyal, not counting their own lords and knights residing on Royal Lands.

However, there are still Freys. Most recently, they staged the Red Wedding at the instigation of Tywin Lannister, killed Robb Stark, his mother Catelyn and many northerners.

And then there is the house of Arryn, as tall as honor, to whom Petyr Baelish, nicknamed Littlefinger, was recently sent with the task of attracting this great house to his side. However, the Guardians of the East are only biding their time, and they can march against King's Landing at any moment.

Well, in the very east, on another continent, Daenerys Stormborn begins her heroic path of ascension to power. If everything goes as it goes, in a few years her dragons will grow up, she will solve all economic, human and other problems, gather significant forces and cross over to Westeros to recapture the throne of her ancestors.

This is about external affairs. Now it's time to look at your own family and the family of your future wife.

The Lannisters are now ruled by Tywin, the Guardian of the West. He's my grandfather and treats me with disdain. Joffrey has done nothing over the years to win not even the respect, but at least the family affection of such a person. Tywin is just supporting Joffrey for lack of anything better. In his eyes, I'm completely insignificant, and the best thing, from his point of view, is that I don't be stupid, mind my own business, and prevent serious people from doing difficult work.

Tywin is the hand of the king. He is supported in everything by his younger brother, Kivan, a master of the laws. Kivan has a lot of children, but I'll come back to this topic later. There is also another Tywin's brother, Geryon, who went missing in the Smoky Sea. Daiwen, my second cousin, is kind of fighting in the Riverlands.

My official mother, Cersei, Tywin's daughter, holds the title of Queen Regent. She is an evil, domineering woman, whose main drawback is that she clearly overestimates her mental abilities and believes that she has a gift for intrigue. If everything goes as it goes, and Tywin dies, then Cersei will get unlimited power and everything will start to fall apart quickly. Cersei loves Joffrey, and therefore spoils him, and all her actions did not help the guy grow into a normal person.

There's also Uncle Jaime, who's actually the father. In the past, before he lost his arm, he was a great warrior. His leadership abilities are somewhat weaker, and there is no gift for intrigue at all. He was used to solving problems from a position of strength, name, and sword.

The smartest of the Lannisters is Tyrion. The trouble is, everyone else except Jaime either underestimates him, or tries to ignore him, or just despises him, like Cersei and Joffrey himself. Tyrion is smart, cunning, and funny, but he's used to Joff hating him.

My younger brother Tommen is in the Red Castle, and my sister Myrcella is in Dorne, and I'm pretty sure Joffrey didn't give a damn about them.

The Lannisters are the richest house in Westeros. And the most numerous are Tyrells. And it is with them that I must become related.

In fact, the Tyrells are led by Lady Olenna, Queen of Thorns, Margaery's grandmother. Her son, Mace, runs it officially. This is a not very smart, conceited fat man who currently sits on the Small Council as master of the ships. Mace has four children. Three sons: Willas, Garlan, Loras and daughter Margaery. And these people want (in their own interests, of course) to support both the Lannisters and Joffrey.

I shifted my position and broke away from my strategic thoughts. The sun has already risen, the city has woken up. The smell of fresh bread wafted up to me-it looked like baking had begun in the kitchen. The noise grew louder. Not far away, most likely in the kennel, a dog barked. A second and another answered her.

"Bitch! Shut up!" there was a rough mat, a thud, a squeal, and everything went quiet.

They have fun living here! I went to the table, poured more wine, and climbed onto the bed.

So, what are the plans, King Joffrey?

To begin with, do not die and live this day safely. And the next one. And a couple more. They're going to try to kill me today. And then, if it doesn't work out, they won't give up in the future.

Who wants to kill? There are plenty of applicants, they will soon be queuing up. So, the first priority is to survive. Then try to establish relations with the inner circle of people — Tywin, Tyrion, Jaime and Margaery. Nothing needs to be fixed with Cersei. She loves me anyway. She just needs to get used to the idea that her son has begun to change, and at the same time has suddenly matured and become wiser.

I also need to protect Grandfather Tywin with all my strength — everything will collapse without him. And it is also necessary to prevent Tyrion from being convicted (although if I stay alive, then there is nothing to judge him for), and then he fled, and eventually joined Daenerys Targaryen. Such a cynical and cunning head is needed here. If I stay alive, I will do my best to improve our relationship.

With the help of such people, it is quite possible to sit on the throne for the first time and acquire minimal skills. And then we'll see. Of course, there are plans. But everything is in general terms and there is no point in voicing them yet.

My new body was full of emotions, I was very nervous and still couldn't calm the nervous itch. I couldn't sit still. On the contrary, I wanted to go somewhere, start doing something and not waste time.

After thinking about it, I still stayed in my chambers. I'm not going to do anything useful yet anyway.

Instead, I took the sword and practiced with it for a while. To be honest, I didn't really know how to use a sword. Participation in historical tournaments does not count. But I knew how to hold it properly, and I could land a couple of slashes and thrusts. I chopped the air a little, moved around, and even broke out in a sweat at the end — my body was clearly not ready for prolonged exertion.

If I survive, I'll find a teacher. I will not become a good warrior anymore, since such a thing must be done from early childhood, and for a king this is not the main advantage. But at least I'll get fit a little bit.