|Edmure Tully - Heir of House of Tully|
Lunaria is the richest and most powerful kingdom in Essos. That is the rumor going around the world, and I cannot blame them for spreading that rumor. When I arrive at the port, I can see the city is even grander than King's Landing.
Maybe if King's Landing was not full of shit on the street and dead people had been taken care of before it started to rot, King's Landing would be grander than Lunaria.
When my company and I walk out of the ship, I can see a group of five people greeting us.
"Greetings, Heir of Riverland, Edmure Tully. We welcome you to Lunaria. My name is Bakir and I'm the advisor of the king."
"Greetings, Advisor Bakir. Will you lead us to King Viserys?"
"Of course, please follow me. The king has already prepared a carriage for you. I hope that your company can ride a horse?"
"Of course!"
I scoffed when he thought that my men could not ride a horse. Riverland has one of the finest knights in the entire Westeros. To be an escort to the heir of Riverland, they need to be a powerful knight.
Bakir gave my men the horse, and I got inside the carriage with Bakir. A few seconds later, we went to the palace in the distance.
"What do you think of my proposal, Advisor Bakir?"
"Your proposal, my lord?"
"Aye."
"What makes you think I can read your letter, my lord? Reading letter directed to the king is punishable by dead, you know?"
"You are the advisor of the king. the king will go to you after reading the letter and your words carry weight to the king."
To my surprise, Bakir laughs and says.
"I will not spoil the surprise, my lord. You will hear it after you present your project to his highness."
"Very well."
Does that mean my project is rejected? Or is it accepted? I need to know, but it looks like I will not get my answer in a moment.
~Sometimes later~
I kneel in front of the young king and hear him saying.
"Please get up and tell me about your project."
It was rather odd not to prepare a feast for your guest, but it must be a tradition for these people. I will respect it. I nod my head and start to explain to him about my project. I told him about the route I would take and how it would make Riverland prosper and, in turn, will make Lunaria get even richer.
I also told them that with the help of Lunaria, the project would only take a few years and not a couple of generations.
After I'm done, the king nods his head and thinks for a few seconds.
"What do you think, your highness?"
"Hmmm, truthfully? This project did not give us any benefit."
"Pardon me? This canal will give you access to an inner part of Westeros and access to the western part of the continent!"
"Yes. However, we did not have any trading agreement with any lords in the western part of Westeros. Lannister is our enemy because of our tie with Dorne. Lord Tyrell blames us for the burning of Oldtown. Ironborn? They swear in their ancestor name that they will attack us if we meet each other."
I can only look at him with my mouth wide open. I-I did not think about that. Lunaria did not have any trading partners with the western part of Westeros.
"But! You can still have access to the inner part of Westeros!"
"That's true but we can go to King's Landing and have the same access. We still need to pass the Stepstones and risk our goods to the pirate."
Ah. I see. I now understand why my father looks at me as if I'm an idiot. How could I be blinded by the prosperity the canal will give us but not see that my sponsor will not see any benefit from this project?
I release a sigh and say.
"Then you are rejecting my offer, huh? I'm sorry for taking your time, your highness."
I prepare to walk away, but before I can do that, I hear King Viserys say.
"And where do you think you are going? I'm not finished, you know?"
I look at him in confusion. What does he mean by that? He already told me that my project would not benefit him and would not give me the money for the project.
"The project will not benefit us if we stay in this place."
"What?"
"If Lord Tully is willing to give us the land in this area."
King Viserys pointed his finger at the land right in the middle of the canal.
"We will provide you with the money and manpower to build this canal."
"But we cannot just give land to another country, your highness."
"We will not take that land away from you, Lord Edmure. That land still belongs to the House of Tully but it will be managed by us. Think of it as a vassal system. You give us the land and we will pay you in the form of taxes. However, I want you not to think of us as your vassals, but more of a partner. We will not help you in any military and political struggle. We want to be a neutral entity within Westeros."
I think about it for a few seconds and say.
"You need permission from the king to be able to do that."
"Don't worry. I have my way to convince the king about this proposal."
I can think of a few ways to convince the king or the Lord of Hand to sign this contract. First, a lot of money would do and add a steady income from the tax; Lord Hand will accept it. With the increasing debt of the Iron Throne to the Iron Bank, a lot of money will make Lord Hand sign it.
"Then I will ask my Lord Father about this proposal. If you can write it on the paper, it would be appreciated."
"Bakir."
The advisor walked toward me and gave me a scroll of paper. I take it out from the tube and start to read it. It was a detailed plan that King Viserys told me about and some suggestions that I know my father would approve of.
A dual tax to the House of Tully and the Iron Throne is weird. Lunaria will give thirty-five percent tax to the House of Tully and fifteen percent to the Iron Throne, while they only take fifty percent of the tax they get.
They are willing to cut their profit to control this area, huh? If not for their promise not to build an army other than to keep the peace in their area, I would have thought that they wanted to invade Westeros.
I put back the piece of paper inside the tube and nod my head.
"I will give this to my father and I know that he will agree with this contract."
"Good. I will make sure to get that agreement from Lord Hand and give it to you."
King Viserys got up from his throne and walked toward me.
"Anyway, the business is done; we should go to the dining area. We need to feast!"
I smile a little and walk to the dining area, where I can see a lot of food and drink.