The Wind of Change. book 1

Below was a park with manicured trees and gravel paths. My bedroom is located high enough so that the castle wall does not block the view much. In the distance, I could see narrow streets running down to the water, houses, tiled roofs of various shades, and chimneys. And then the sea began, which was breathing quietly and preparing to meet the new day. The chatter of seagulls could be heard. From below, the noise of the waking capital could be heard from the city.

Leaning back against the side wall, he stretched one leg along the windowsill and thought.

So, the Seven didn't cheat. I got into the body of Joffrey Baratheon. That's how I imagined this guy, and Ser Boros's address as "your Majesty" implied that I was the king, not anyone else. So, we can also agree with the fact that it is the morning of the first day of the new year, three hundred and one years after the Conquest of Aegon Targaryen.

Let's take it for granted that I got to Westeros safely, which I still didn't believe until the last moment. Or rather, it wasn't that he didn't believe, rather, he doubted that everything would work out. Now the doubts are over and we need to think about what to do and how to be.

Of course, I've prepared well, but it doesn't hurt to go over everything in my head once again — I won't be able to sleep in this state anyway.

So, I am Joffrey Baratheon, the First of this name, ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, King of the Andals, the Roynar and the First People, Defender of the State. As they say, there are a lot of capital letters in names and titles.

However, now not all seven kingdoms are subordinate to Joffrey, but a little less. He is spoiled, cruel, and has a penchant for aggression and sadism. He's also cowardly and suspicious.

Of course, it's not really me, but my predecessor, so to speak. The bottom line is that most people consider him, and now me, to be just that. And at the moment, they are evaluating me based on my past, let's face it, actions that were not very worthy and intelligent. Joff is only a few years old, but he has already managed to form a certain opinion about himself. And this opinion has a rotten smell.

He ordered the execution of Ned Stark. For this, he is hated by the entire North and the Riverlands, where Ned's wife, Catelyn Tully, comes from. For the death of his father and the numerous humiliations, Sansa Stark is afraid of him, however, skillfully hiding it. The youngest girl, Arya, before falling asleep, each time lists all those who, in her opinion, deserved to die. Joffrey is on this list.

Stannis Baratheon, like half of Westeros, considers me the fruit of incest between Cersei and Jaime Lannister, despises and dreams of taking the throne.

The North is in hiding, and Winterfell is smoking in ruins. Lord Roose Bolton seems to remain loyal to the Lannisters, but things are very difficult there.

House Martell, the Princes of Dorne, genuinely hates the Lannisters and me as well. A mere trifle keeps them from openly rebelling.

The Greyjoys have declared an independent kingdom on their islands and are happily flooding Westeros with blood.

Of all the Great Houses, only the Lannisters certainly support Joffrey. And the Tyrells, the lords of the Reach, whose daughter, Margaery, I'm supposed to marry today.

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.

Chapter 1.2 Tywin Lannister

The day began like a normal day of the right hand. Lord Tywin probably got up earlier than all the other noble lords and knights, drank a glass of wine, ate a piece of peppery cheese, threw a light robe over his nightgown, sat down at the table and began sorting through papers.

Many cases required his attention, approval, or prohibition. The war in the Riverlands was progressing successfully. Ser Gregor Clegane repeatedly defeated the minor lords and their troops, and his cousin Daven the Noisy led the army that besieged Riverrun. The Freys and their men helped him in this. And, although the siege threatened to drag on, everything went according to plan.

The Brotherhood without Banners was a significant problem in the Riverlands. Lord Dondarrion and his men have somehow imperceptibly become a minor but unpleasant and annoying pain in the ass.

Another problem was old Lord Frey, who was getting arrogant day by day and wanted more than he deserved. Over time, he needs to be put in his place, but right now he is still needed and it is not worth offending the old man ahead of time.

Lord Tywin finished writing the letter, sprinkled sand on it, sealed it with the seal of the right hand, and leaned back in his chair, thoughtfully biting his pen.

He assessed all the problems of the outside world, family enemies, allies, and those who could become the first or second without unnecessary emotions and treated them as inevitable evil. Lord Tywin was well aware that the world did not revolve around him and his ambitions. But he did his best to make other people think that way.

Over the years, he had gotten used to such tasks and such a state of affairs. It became a part of his life and did not cause unnecessary emotions. But what was upsetting, not surprisingly, was in his own home, in his children and grandchildren.

Tywin Lannister did not suffer from excessive modesty and was well aware that Westeros does not often give birth to people like him. He was good in many ways— as a commander, as the hand of the king, as the head of the house. In addition, he possessed the gift of intrigue, was well-read, knew several languages and, most importantly, was able to separate thoughts from feelings, important from secondary. The Lord understood what was achievable and what was not.

His father, Titos, also read a lot and was a hospitable and cheerful lord. It didn't do him any good. The standard-bearers and vassals openly laughed at him, while behind his back they jeered and ignored his orders.

Tywin was molded from a different mold. In the short time after his father's death, he instilled unconditional respect for House Lannister among his people, and then throughout Westeros. Someone felt his rage in full. Then it was the turn to propel Casterly Rock to true greatness.

It's hard to carry such a burden alone. Assistants are needed in every case. And the more serious and global the tasks, the more competent people should surround you.

He used to rely on his children, hoping that they would inherit not only his ambitions, but also his abilities.

But the children failed... Jaime, the one he had hoped for in the first place, turned down the role of Lord of the Cliff, and it seems he never grew up, never got enough of playing soldiers. He only wanted to be the lord commander of King's Landing and lead the troops on campaigns.

Cersei is not stupid, but she lacked grace and caution. And she is used to solving all issues only with the help of money or force. In addition, she began to change a lot — and not for the better. Under King Robert, she was still quite sane, but now, having become Queen Regent, she began to annoy more and more with her complacency and political shortsightedness. Lately, Lord Tywin had been seriously considering sending her to Casterly Rock so she wouldn't get in the way.

And another headache is that Cersei is sleeping with Jaime. Tywin was never naive. He found out long ago and with absolute accuracy that all these rumors are true. But until his children crossed a certain threshold, until this story came out, this state of affairs was tolerable. And the rumors? They are always there. They are inevitable. And you can benefit from everything.

Joffrey was not Robert's son, but he bore his name and was technically Baratheon. And Tommen is also a Baratheon. This means that if Stannis and his daughter die, then there will be no other Baratheons except his grandchildren.

People will always believe the one with the power. The Lannisters have the power. Therefore, he can make people believe that Tommen is Baratheon again, and give his grandson Storm's End. This state of affairs offered dazzling prospects — he could unite Casterly Rock, Storm's End and the Royal Lands into one inheritance and create the foundation of the Lannister kingdom, which would stretch from the east coast to the west, and which could stand for centuries. He already had a long-term plan for this. The main thing is that your own children and grandchildren do not interfere with its implementation. And he can handle all the others. And let the Seven not be bloodthirsty and give him another ten years of life — he doesn't ask for more.