-Chapter 96-
-POV Tywin Lannister-
"Why did Joffrey leave the capital?" Tyrion asked, storming into my office furiously.
I didn't look up from my desk and said, "He left the capital in his capacity as the heir to House Lannister, on the orders of His Majesty the King himself, to gather the army of the Westerlands."
"He's been named Earl?" he asked, with a hint of hope in his voice.
"Earl Joffrey Lannister, Lord of Castamere," I said, this time looking up from my work.
"Castamere?!"
He seemed shocked that I gave Joffrey the last stronghold of the Westerlands, but I knew that if I didn't do it, the king would find a reason to give it to Tyrion, who would end up turning against us, and that was unacceptable.
"Get out, I have more important things to do than deal with your fragile little bruised ego. You could have achieved your goals and become lord after me by keeping the king's trust and acting as a loyal hand, but as usual, and since the day you were born, you've ruined everything yourself. I didn't even have to lift a finger for that."
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-POV Tyrion Lannister-
After the discussion I had with my father, I returned to my room discouraged because I knew I had truly lost all my influence at court. I was no longer the heir to House Lannister, and my weight within this increasingly corrupt government was diminishing.
I got up from my chair and opened my wardrobe to take out a bottle of Dornish wine, which I opened and directly drank from the bottle. I gulped down the bottle in a few swigs and then, seeing that the bottle was empty, I opened another and another and yet another.
"You're seriously drinking at such an hour of the day," said a voice behind me.
I smiled bitterly and then said with open arms, "This is all I have left, the drink."
"I imagine you don't want to hear what I have to say," he said.
I smiled and then said, "Go fuck yourself, I might be a dwarf, but I'm not stupid."
"You need me to do something," I said, not playing into the game of this so-called friend who was clearly trying to manipulate me.
"Yes, I need you," he admitted, acknowledging he was not just a charitable soul seeking justice.
"Why?" I said indifferently.
"To kill your father," he said coldly.
The hand holding my bottle stiffened all of a sudden, and I turned towards Ydriss with wide eyes and said, "You're out of your mind. You want me to kill my own father who is also the Hand of the King and the Warden of the West?"
He said nothing, and then I said, "I am a Lannister. I will not be a kinslayer."
"I understand and respect your family loyalty, but I would like you to take a few seconds and ask yourself if your family deserves such loyalty," he said.
'Of course, they don't deserve it. The only one who does is Jaime,' I thought to myself.
"You probably think your brother is the only one worthy of your loyalty, don't you?"
I frowned when he burst into laughter and then said, "It's so sad to be lulled by illusions for nearly a decade without ever understanding."
"Understanding what?" I asked, curious about what my family could be hiding that was worse than this.
He shook his head and then said, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Tell me anyway," I said, even more curious about what he wanted to tell me.
He hesitated for a few moments before asking, "Do you remember your wife, Tysha?"
I frowned, and before I had time to answer, he said before jumping out the window, "She wasn't the whore that your brother and your father convinced you she was. In reality, she was just a young girl in love who was destroyed by her own hands."
I didn't even think he was lying because deep down, I knew it was the truth. I don't know how, but I felt it, yet I still had a small voice telling me,
'Jaime would never do that to you. You're his brother; he loves you.'
There's only one way to find out: ask the person involved, and since Jaime isn't here.