The Mountain of Ice and Fire

Jeyne Westerling looked at the holy woman from Ghiscari and smiled appreciatively at her natural, unadorned beauty.

Arianne Martell withdrew her gaze from the holy woman and focused on the Mountain.

The Mountain stood as still as a mountain, dignified and respectful.

Arianne couldn't discern any impure thoughts in the Mountain's expression.

Many men in the palace hall had shown 'disrespect' with their 'lustful gazes' towards the holy woman, which filled Arianne with contempt for these nobles.

Daenerys looked at Gina Bella. She herself was a stunning beauty, capable of captivating crowds, yet she was also drawn to Gina's beauty. Gina's beauty was as pure as snow. If the world were a mire of filth, then Gina was a lotus flower that had grown out of it, unstained by the mud.

Beauty could purify the heart and calm restlessness.

Of course, except for those beasts.

Daenerys also noticed the various displays of impropriety shown by the Dothraki soldiers and noble generals towards Gina's beauty, but her Unsullied soldiers showed iron discipline. Although the Unsullied were eunuchs, they still felt the same attraction to the opposite sex, a longing that came from the depths of their hearts.

Gina Bella stood in the King's Hall like a beam of pure white light.

And Count Horas Redwyne, standing beside Gina Bella, was as ugly as a toad.

A toad paired with a white swan!

Count Horas Redwyne had narrowly escaped death in the naval battle, relying on two cannons to break through the Qartheen naval encirclement. For a long time, Horas Redwyne was considered a fallen hero of Westeros. When he miraculously reappeared in the Qarth Sea, bringing with him the holy woman from the eastern island of Ghiscari, he was no longer the fallen hero of Westeros in the mouths of the soldiers. He had become the ugly man who married the holy woman, a shameful loser, an unacceptable, lucky fool.

"Count Horas, how did you manage to marry such a beauty?" Queen Jeyne asked publicly.

The Mountain had also wondered about this question, but he hadn't asked it as directly as Jeyne. A woman's gossip was far greater than a man's, and the Queen was no exception.

Horas Redwyne glanced at his wife, Gina Bella, his face full of proud glory. Gina's beauty and pure, fairy-like aura satisfied his greatest vanity, and her beauty also fulfilled all his most beautiful fantasies about women.

"Gina, may I speak?" Horas asked with his eyes.

Gina's smile was as sweet and moving as golden, transparent honey. Her eyes said, "Horas, I am already your wife. The customs and beliefs of Ghiscari have been changed by you. Say whatever you wish."

Horas Redwyne took Gina's small hand and squeezed it gently in gratitude.

On the island of Ghiscari, Horas had learned that some things could not be said casually. Some taboos on the island were different from those in Westeros. The customs and beliefs of Ghiscari were inviolable, and violating them would cause serious problems.

Horas Redwyne decided to tell Queen Jeyne the truth after obtaining his wife Gina's consent. Horas was a noble young man without great abilities, but his love and respect for his wife Gina were exemplary among all men.

"Your Majesty, on the island of Ghiscari, every fifteen years in July, the people would gather around the holy woman and come to the seaside to worship the Sea God, and on this day, any foreigner who appeared on the seaside would be regarded as a divine son sent by the Sea God. After our family's soldiers were defeated in the Qarth Sea, we fled east and entered the eye of the storm, losing our way. When the storm subsided and we were fortunate enough to survive, we saw the black shadow of land appearing in the distance, which was the small outline of the Ghiscari Islands in the sea."

"Our two warships cautiously approached the island and found that the people on the island were dressed in finery and sailing out to greet us. We saw that there were no warriors on the approaching ships, mostly young men and women in finery, and they had no weapons in their hands, so we lowered our guard. When the warships docked, I, as the leading commander, went ashore to ask them for food and water, but I was pressed to the ground by the men and women among them, my sword and armor were removed, my clothes were taken off, and amidst the soldiers' laughter, I was dressed in finery and sent to a stone house by the sea decorated with flowers, spices, and pearls. That night, I married the holy woman, whose face was always covered with a white veil, in a daze. The next morning, the holy woman removed her veil, and I knew that I had married the most beautiful bride in the world."

"Gina only removed her veil the next morning?" Jeyne asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty. This is the custom on the island of Ghiscari."

"Is this the rule for all brides?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Only after the first wedding night has passed can the bride be truly considered the husband's, and only then can she remove her veil."

"Oh, what a novel custom."

"Your Majesty, there are many customs and habits on the island of Ghiscari that are different from our Westeros, but those customs and habits are nothing compared to what I found unacceptable later. Ten days later, when I was still immersed in the sweetness of the honeymoon, Gina Bella quietly told me that I had to leave the island of Ghiscari overnight, otherwise I and my soldiers would be killed."

"Oh?!" Jeyne widened her eyes in surprise.

In the throne hall, Arya Stark, Senior Sister Longface, and Junior Sister Little Shorty, the three core members of the Faceless Men organization, were all slightly moved.

This was the first time they had heard of this custom on the island of Ghiscari in the Eastern Sea.

Surely there were Qartheen sailors who knew about the customs of the island of Ghiscari, and these sailors would most likely tell the great nobles of Qarth about what they had seen. However, in the throne hall, the Qartheen nobles were standing on the left side of the hall, all as spectators and listeners.

Among the Mountain's courtiers on the right side, several new figures had been added: Count Tommen Lannister, Myrcella Lannister, Lady Conny, and Ser Jaime Lannister.

Tommen, Myrcella, and Conny were all listening with great interest, their faces filled with surprise and satisfaction.

Jaime had changed into a well-fitting scale armor, a long sword hanging from his waist, his golden hair was washed and combed neatly, and the beard on his face and chin was shaved clean. The elegant and handsome Ser Jaime had returned.

Jaime's expression was indifferent, seemingly unaffected by Gina Bella's beauty, and his reaction to Horas's 'legendary' story was also flat.

*

"Your Majesty, at that time, when I heard Gina say that if I didn't escape overnight, I and my soldiers would be killed, I was stunned. I didn't know why. Gina told me that this was the custom on the island, and the divine son who married the holy woman had to return to the sea after ten days. If the divine son did not leave, the people on the island would have to kill him and throw him into the sea."

"A foolish custom," Queen Jeyne thought. Of course, she didn't say it out loud.

In the hall, there were many others who shared the Queen's thoughts, but of course, no one said it out loud. The King was sitting here, and no one dared to interrupt casually.

"I didn't want to die, but I didn't want to lose Gina either, so I said to Gina, since I am the incarnation of the Sea God recognized by you, the son of the Sea God, then you must listen to me and not disobey my orders, otherwise you will incur the wrath of the Sea God. I want to stay and live with Gina, or when I leave, I must take Gina with me. I asked Gina to tell the high priest on the island what I had said, but I didn't convince the high priest. If I insisted on staying on the island, once it was dawn, on the morning of the eleventh day, I and my soldiers would be killed by the island soldiers led by the high priest. But before the morning of the eleventh day, I and my soldiers were absolutely safe."

"At that time, I believed that Gina had also fallen deeply in love with me in those ten days. In those ten days together, I let Gina learn about another completely new world, about the distant continent of Westeros, about the King and Queen I served, about the invincible dragons and the Clegane army, the Dothraki cavalry, the Unsullied, the Faith of the Seven, the Red God faith, the Faceless Men legends of the House of Black and White, and so on. Gina was full of curiosity and fantasy about the world I spoke of, and she longed to go to Westeros with me, to look up at the dragons flying in the sky together…"

"Count Horas, how did you finally convince the high priest?" Jeyne said.

"The Wrath of the Sea God." Horas laughed, quite proud. "Before I left, I wrote down 'The Wrath of the Sea God' in the Ghiscari language I had learned and left it for the high priest on the island. I told her that if she didn't let me and the holy woman Gina live happily ever after, Ghiscari would anger the Sea God, and if the Sea God was angry, Ghiscari would be destroyed and cease to exist. Thank you to His Majesty the King for inventing those amazing cannons."

"Your Wrath of the Sea God is the cannon?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. In order to survive, I and my soldiers boarded the ship overnight and left the island of Ghiscari. The next day, our ship reappeared in the sea not far from the island, which was not allowed. The high priest gathered three hundred warships from the entire island to encircle us. On our two warships, there were only two cannonballs left. I fired the first cannonball, and in the deafening roar, the high priest's flagship was blown into two pieces, and the broken hull sank into the sea, leaving a huge whirlpool on the sea. I told the Ghiscari naval soldiers who were shocked that I was the son of the Sea God, and this was the Wrath of the Sea God. The holy woman Gina was your leader, and I was the son of the Sea God. I had to marry Gina or stay and spend my life with Gina, otherwise the Wrath of the Sea God would destroy the entire Ghiscari."

"My wife, Gina Bella, also stepped forward and, with the help of her family's soldiers who were guarding her, boarded my warship. She asked the Ghiscari naval warriors to lay down their weapons and accept Horas, the son of the Sea God. The rest happened naturally. We returned to the island, and the people accepted the marriage of the son of the Sea God and their holy woman. I asked Gina to send Ghiscari scouts to Qarth to inquire about the situation and learned that His Majesty the King had conquered Qarth. I persuaded Gina, and we sailed to Qarth to see His Majesty the King and report for duty. Horas Redwyne has always been a courtier of His Majesty the King, loyal, fearless, and never betraying."

"Count Horas Redwyne, your loyalty to His Majesty the King has been verified, and your legend and glory will be written into the history books by the royal scholar," Queen Jeyne said solemnly.

The Mountain nodded, indicating his agreement with Queen Jeyne's conclusion.

The Mountain said, "Count Horas, will you and Gina settle in Westeros in the future, or in Ghiscari?"

"Settle in Ghiscari, Your Majesty. But I will take Gina to Westeros, to King's Landing, to the North, to see the Wall, to Oldtown, to see the Citadel, to the Arbor, to see our vineyards."

"Good, but we will soon continue our eastern expedition, and I want you and the soldiers of Ghiscari to join our eastern expeditionary army."

"Your Majesty, I have not been idle during my days living in Ghiscari. I told Gina that our army will continue its eastern expedition, and Gina sent letters to Asshai, Tenebria, Volantis, Arslaan, Lys, Tyrosh, Stannis, and other places, hoping that they could send envoys to Qarth to submit to Your Majesty. The island nations near Ghiscari quickly sent envoys to see me and Gina. They were skeptical about Your Majesty's power and the appearance of dragons, but they said that if what I said was true, they would be willing to submit."

"This time, Gina Bella represents the other seven island nations to come to Qarth to pay homage to His Majesty the King, to see His Majesty's dragons, Dothraki cavalry, Unsullied warriors, and Qartheen navy. After Gina returns, she will tell the seven island nations' kings what she has seen. Next time, Gina will come with the seven island kings to pay homage to His Majesty the King, and those kings will express their submission to Your Majesty."

Horas Redwyne's words exceeded the Mountain's expectations.

Horas's words also surprised Asha, Theon, Jaime, Jorah Mormont, Daenerys, Jeyne, Arianne, and others.

Everyone had underestimated this freckled man who had earned the nickname 'Snotnose' when he was a courtier in the King's Landing palace.

The Mountain looked at Horas, looked at Gina, and said solemnly, "Count Horas Redwyne, when you and the holy woman Gina bring the kings of the seven island nations to submit, I will appoint you as the governor of the Eastern Sea, and appoint Gina as the holy woman of the Eastern Sea. You and Gina will be in charge of all the island nations east of Qarth."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Horas Redwyne was overjoyed and quickly knelt on one knee. He reached out and tugged at Gina Bella's small hand, and Gina understood, so she also knelt on one knee.

In their married life, Horas had trained the pure Gina, who had never left the island of Ghiscari, quite well, and Gina also understood many royal rules that were different from those of Ghiscari.

"Rise!" the Mountain said.

Horas Redwyne squeezed Gina's small hand, and Gina then said in the Westerosi common tongue with her unique exotic accent, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

Jaime watched coldly, believing that Horas might be stupid in combat, but he was very shrewd in dealing with people.

As long as His Majesty the King launches an eastern expedition, even if Horas wants to secretly live a peaceful life with the holy woman, it will be impossible. With His Majesty riding dragons in the sky and thousands of warships arriving, Ghiscari will either be destroyed or submit, so it is better to persuade Gina to submit sooner.