Since the end of the Tyrosh War, the demand for escorts along the eastern coast of Westeros and to the Nine free cities has grown increasingly higher. In recent years, Stannis has been working closely with the royal fleet on escort missions.
The royal fleet is directly under the king's control, and it often takes a few months to half a year for Robert to allocate the military funds. If they don't take on a large number of escort missions to earn enough money for ship maintenance and troop pay, the royal fleet, whose soldiers mainly come from the Iron Islands, would have already rebelled.
After retiring from the navy, soldiers return to their homes across the continent with their severance pay. Managing the Ironborn is never easy, but joining Stannis in this line of work suits their character well.
The second floor of the shop is a small private room, comfortable for four to five people to entertain, while the large private room on the third floor can accommodate more people for gambling activities. There's one room specifically for Stannis, usually used for business by his subordinates, but when Stannis is here, it's his private space.
When the group entered the luxurious room, Wright spotted a few familiar faces. They were organizing accounts on a table.
"Lord Davos! Long time no see, you still look as energetic as ever!"
The Onion Knight looked up and saw Wright's group, immediately standing up. "Thank you, Lord Wright, for your concern."
Davos continued to watch Wright, seeing him hesitate to speak. Wright said, "If you have something to say, just speak it."
"There are rumors of vampires in Tyrosh. How's Allard doing?" Davos hadn't seen his second son in a while.
Wright replied, "Your son's Stormport has suffered no losses, but his planned wedding has been delayed."
Davos nodded in response. Now, with a stable position and ample wealth, the "Onion Knight" spent most of his time thinking about his grandchildren.
Davos had seven sons in total. His eldest son, Ser Dale, had been married for many years but still had no children. His second son, who had been living with Wright on the Stepstones, had been doing well. He had recently written to Davos saying he was about to marry a blonde noblewoman from Lys. They had planned to set sail for the wedding, but then the vampire issue in Tyrosh arose.
Davos, a man of few words, began to sort the account books. Wright greeted the other two at the table. "Maester Cressen, Maester Pylos, you're here too?"
This was a gambling establishment, and scholars like them usually wouldn't come.
Maester Cressen had served Lord Stannis in Dragonstone for many years. As he grew older, various ailments began to trouble him, especially joint pain that made it difficult to walk. At Stannis' request, the Citadel sent Maester Pylos to assist Cressen, with plans for Pylos to take over his duties when Cressen was no longer able to work.
Cressen, with his wrinkled face, smiled widely at Wright. "Lord Wright, we're here in our capacity as advisors, helping Lord Stannis with the accounts. If we didn't come to help organize them, that would be a violation of the Citadel's vows, a dereliction of duty."
Wright gave him a thumbs-up. Unlike other Maesters, Cressen was very flexible in serving Stannis. He had even dared to poison Melisandre in the old world!
"Margaery, Ser Loras, you two rest here. I have some things to discuss with Renly and Wright," Stannis said, and without waiting for their approval, he opened a small door beside the private room.
"We'll take a look around the first and second floors," Margaery said, sensing the importance of the conversation. She pulled her brother Loras away to give the three men some privacy.
Margaery always made sure her actions were flawless, though in this case, it wasn't really necessary. As soon as Wright entered the inner room, he cast a silencing spell. He lightly tapped his foot on the floor, and purple magic began to spread from his toes, transforming into intricate magical runes before vanishing.
The inner room was still lavish, though it lacked any office furniture. There were only a few cabinets, a bed for resting, and a large sofa for receiving guests.
"Your sweet red wine, your golden arbor," Stannis said, pouring two glasses of wine for Wright and Renly.
Wright took a golden cup and drank the sweet wine in one gulp. "You still remember that I love sweet red wine!"
"Back in Storm's End, no one drank the sweet wine. All the empty bottles were in your room," Stannis replied, setting the bottle of wine in front of Wright.
"How is Shireen doing?"
Wright replied, "She's been receiving education in the castle, but every day she runs around the city following Arya."
Stannis paused, then looked up at Wright. "Arya? Lord Eddard's youngest daughter? She and Shireen are both twelve this year. Running around the city, is that okay?"
Wright placed his wine glass on the coffee table. "Don't worry, the vampire incident was an unexpected event. Both mages and common people have ways to deal with them. My castle is the safest place. Before I left, Shireen said she wanted to learn how to fight with a sword from Ashara."
Shireen had received the most traditional education on Dragonstone—learning to read and write, studying history, and how to be a proper lady. When she was a child, Wright had cured her of greyscale, and without the pain of illness, Shireen grew up healthy, though her personality remained overly introverted.
When she arrived in Tyrosh, it was like discovering a new world. There was the imposing Dornish princess, who commanded a large group of followers. Ashara, who could knock thugs into submission and would swing her fists without hesitation. Tyene, the alchemy Maester of the magical world, and the beautiful mage Sansa Stark, who was often so elusive that you could go days in the castle without seeing her. All these experiences opened Shireen's eyes to a whole new world.
Shireen is a girl, and both her education and life matters are managed by Nymeria, while Wright only teaches her knowledge. He has no idea what kind of personality Shireen will develop under Nymeria's guidance in the future.
"I hope she lives happily," Stannis said, having no objections to Wright's educational approach. There were countless people wanting to send their children to Wright for teaching or to a magic school, but they were all unqualified.
With his daughter secured, Stannis relaxed, rubbing his cheeks with both hands. Wright noticed that Stannis now had many white hairs at his temples. Stannis was only 37 years old, and there was no history of early graying in the Baratheon family. His hair had not been like this when Wright saw him last year.
"Are you troubled by a lot of things lately?" Wright asked, starting the conversation. The three of them knew exactly what he meant, but none of them could bring themselves to speak of it.
Stannis, who usually did not talk much, hesitated for a moment before finally sighing and slowly saying, "Someone is trying to take my wealth. My vassals think it's due to the issue of the king's inheritance. Wright, Renly, do either of you have anything to say?"
Renly was about to speak, but Wright straightened up and took the conversation: "Let's break it down one by one. Is someone trying to take your wealth because of the death compensation from the Dornish War?"
Stannis nodded, and once he started talking about his favorite subject, he couldn't stop: "Except for Lord Yronwood, who was doomed to die, they tampered with the people who should have died and those who shouldn't! Even the people you guaranteed wouldn't die, Wright, are now nothing but bones. Yronwood's daughter, Trystane, House Gargalen—they're all dead. The odds for their deaths were high, and I was supposed to make a profit, but I ended up losing a lot of money."
Renly asked, "How much?"
"They acted as if they knew the target would die soon. They rushed to place bets when the odds were highest, and before I could adjust the odds, the targets were already dead. They took all my profits for five years."
Stannis continued, "At the time, I opened a death betting market for both sides of the Dornish Civil War to suppress Yronwood's faction in public opinion and to keep the nobles of the Stormlands and the Reach from sending troops into the war. Now, I've been played, and I've lost money. Wright, you need to help me solve this."
Wright asked, "When you made the payments, did you trace the identities of those who took the money?"
"It was useless. They were all traveling merchants. We checked their backgrounds, and they were indeed well-known merchants," Stannis sighed.
When someone buys a lottery ticket "legally", you have to "legally" pay out the winnings. This was the foundation of Stannis' business, and he couldn't arrest people and interrogate them without a reason. Even if he did, there would be no results.
Traveling merchants were a special group in society. They did not swear allegiance to any lord or own land, and they traveled between towns with their goods. They could also take orders or deliver items. They were a combination of itinerant merchants and logistics carriers. After earning money, they would buy a big house in some city or countryside and enjoy life.
People who dared to work in this field were sharp-minded. Anyone could hire them to carry goods or handle tasks. It was possible that the person who gave them the task had already been silenced by someone higher up.
"This is really troublesome. Once the trail goes cold, even if Renly and I use magic to interrogate them, killing them won't lead to any answers," Wright said, tapping his fingers on the table. The anger of knowing there was a hidden mastermind but not being able to find the true culprit frustrated him.
Since Wright and Renly had magic and dragons, small conspiracies against the Baratheon family had been avoided, but once they occurred, the methods became more secretive, making it difficult to trace. If they blindly speculated and started interrogating the "mastermind", they would be falling right into the hands of whoever was pulling the strings.
Wright said, "The Dornish War dragged both of us into this. I think the root of the issue is your inheritance rights, Stannis. Someone doesn't want you to become king!"
Since Robert fell ill, everyone, including the Seven Kingdoms, had known about the issue, but now, for the first time, the people with inheritance rights were discussing the matter officially.
Hearing Wright's words, Stannis looked up and narrowed his eyes, staring at Renly: "A lot of people are saying you're the mastermind behind this."
Renly, however, stared right back at Stannis: "Haha, if it were me, that would be a good thing. At least your money would have ended up in my hands, and I could still supply you from other places. As for the throne, who cares about that broken iron chair!"
Wright said, "Stannis, if you don't become king, Renly will be the king. When Robert was seriously ill, Renly and I went to Highgarden. If that incident hadn't happened, I would have suspected Renly too, but now, neither of us are focused on that!"
After witnessing true demons and terrifying scenes that felt like hell, and knowing that there was an army of high-level mages and demons across the world, Renly had lost all interest in the throne of Westeros. After returning from Highgarden, he had to use illusions to hypnotize himself just to fall asleep. The thought of the throne, which seemed no more significant than an ant's nest, completely turned Renly off.
"House Tyrell?" Stannis asked again.
Stannis couldn't analyze that layer, so Wright replied, "Look, Stannis, your vassals have placed the greatest suspicion on House Tyrell—me too, and Renly as well. Everyone's on the same page! Lord Mace doesn't have the ability for such a thing, so do you think, with Lady Olenna's wisdom, she'd make such an obvious mistake?"
Everyone present knew Olenna Redwyne's sharp tongue—spending an afternoon with her could make you want to lock yourself in a room. Her intelligence was well acknowledged, and there were no rumors of her growing senile.
Stannis fell silent, looking down at his wine glass, seemingly lost in thought.
Renly had long since known he was the prime suspect. Seeing that Stannis hadn't gotten angry again, Renly relaxed. "When we were at Storm's End, I discussed it with Wright. Once the vampire parade in King's Landing is done, Wright will personally visit Highgarden and question Lady Olenna."
Stannis: "Aren't you going yourself?"
Wright explained on Renly's behalf, "Renly is the husband of Olenna's granddaughter, a son-in-law of Highgarden. He'd be looked down upon in terms of seniority, and if he handled things poorly, it could affect trade between the two regions. As for me, I deal with re-export trade and high-tech manufacturing in Tyrosh. Without me, they'd struggle to find someone else, so even if I had a fallout with Olenna, it would cause less damage."
Stannis nodded in agreement.
Renly: "Wright, you need to resolve this quickly in Highgarden. I feel like Margaery has gotten some information. If Tyrell isn't behind the scenes, we need to solve this riddle fast. The longer it drags on, the more the two families will drift apart."
"I know. The vampire issue is serious, it involves the lives and deaths of everyone on the continent," Wright said, referring to the vampire he had pinned with silver nails and placed in an iron cage wrapped in silver. It was still in the cabin of the Wave-Rider Knight at the port, not brought to the magic school due to the children there.
Renly: "Give me the plan for the vampire parade, and I'll handle it. You need to make time for Highgarden."
"This isn't a trade fair in Tyrosh; I don't have a plan," Wright chuckled bitterly. "Let me roughly outline the process. Find a carriage to parade the vampire through every street in King's Landing, make sure as many people as possible see it, then take it to Dragonpit Hill Square where the largest crowd can gather. Robert's execution order is with me on the ship; you just need to read it when it's time."
Renly: "That seems simple enough. It's like when I beheaded criminals in Storm's End."
Wright: "But the most important thing is that you need to announce that the vampire's ash can be used in medicine!" Wright took a crumpled note from his pocket and laid it on the table. It detailed what effects the vampire's ash could have, which was three times more than what he had read to Tyene before.
Renly took the paper and read it carefully, his face slowly changing to one of annoyance. He handed the paper to Stannis, then turned to Wright and said, "The vampire is very strong. I need to keep an eye on it so it doesn't lash out in desperation before it dies. Your apprentice, Jon Snow, is the youngest ever captain of the city guard in the Seven Kingdoms. This honor of declaring the medicinal uses of the vampire's ashes should go to him!"
Stannis, after reading the paper, remained expressionless and said indifferently, "Jon is more suitable."
The three of them finalized their plan: Wright would go to Highgarden for a direct conversation with Olenna. Stannis would have his men gather information in King's Landing. Renly would organize the vampire parade, and then after a few days, they would reconvene once Wright returned from Highgarden.
At this moment, there was a knock on the small door of the room.
"Come in!" Stannis immediately called out, knowing that anyone knocking at this time must have important news to report.
Ser Davos Seaworth, the Onion Knight, entered. His official title was Chief of Intelligence at Dragonstone.
"My lords, I've just received news. The forces of the Riverlands have gathered at the Twins, and the armies from the Westerlands have left Casterly Rock and are heading to the Riverlands!"