-Chapter 155-
-POV Olenna Tyrell-
"If the old lion were still alive, we would never have fallen so low," I said, watching the king, no, the emperor now, discussing with the nobles, explaining to them one by one all the measures he had taken to further restrict our power.
"Mother, let's not talk about that. The emperor holds us in high regard, no need to spoil that with unfounded rumors," said Mace, stuffing himself with cake.
"How could I have given birth to an idiot like you, it baffles me. Fortunately, your children are smarter, otherwise I would seriously doubt your parentage," I said, looking at my foolish son who had inherited far too much from his dolt of a father.
"Grandmother, for once, I agree with father. This time, we must not incur the emperor's wrath. What is done is done, and we can't do anything to change his decision," said Willas, my grandson and heir to Highgarden.
"As you wish, but I hope you realize that now the probability of Margaery becoming queen is practically nil."
"It's sad, but that's how it is. She'll have to accept it as quickly as possible, and we should try to find an arrangement with the Starks. They are the House with the most potential that we can hope to rally to our side in a short amount of time," said Willas.
"Why?" I asked, not understanding what those northern savages could bring us besides more gold to buy the surplus of our harvests.
"The king has started a trade that is extremely lucrative," said Willas.
"What kind of trade?" I asked, interested.
"The ice trade," said Willas with a small smile.
"Ice? It's impossible to transport, otherwise House Stark would have become the richest House thanks to this inexhaustible resource," I said, confused.
"I thought the same, but it seems the king has found a way to transport blocks of ice safely without them melting," said Willas.
"Do you know how he did that?" I asked, seeing Willas's smug look.
"I don't know all the details, but my position as Master of Constructions allows me to eavesdrop from time to time," he said without revealing what he had learned.
"And?" I asked in a more insistent tone.
He rolled his eyes before saying, "It seems the king and the Grand Master of the Royal Forges have developed a special metal capable of safely transporting ice blocks over long maritime journeys."
"Has he already started commercializing his product?"
"He is currently only selling this product to the City of Braavos. He probably doesn't have enough crates because the metal is difficult to make, but his industry is expected to develop rapidly in the coming months to reach the ports of King's Landing, Sunspear, Driftmark, Myr, Pentos, Lys, and Tyrosh in the near future."
"What are the numbers?" I asked.
Willas didn't respond but signaled with his eyes for me to turn around. Which I did, and just before seeing who was behind me, I heard a voice that made me shiver say:
"Dowager Duchess Olenna, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, so let me tell you about my husband's affairs."
'Why did it have to be her who overheard our conversation out of everyone,' I thought, filled with frustration.
"Your Majesty the Empress," said Willas, bowing.
I frowned at his docility and then said, "Forgive me for not bowing, I have back problems due to my advanced age."
The new empress smiled and said, "It doesn't matter, I heard you talking, and I couldn't resist wanting to help you."
"Help us, it's the first time I've seen a Dornish person come to our aid," I said, sniffing in amusement.
"Please remember that Dorne no longer exists, just like the Reach, the Stormlands, the Riverlands, the Crownlands, and all the other territories that made up the defective and disunited old kingdom that was the Seven Kingdoms," she said in a tone that would make more than one person shiver, but not me.
"Forgive my grandmother, the concept of an empire was announced so suddenly that it will surely take some time for her to get used to it," said Willas, trying to extinguish the fire threatening to rage between us.
"It's nothing, as I was trying to tell you before you interrupted me, I think I can help you because I can ensure you a share of this very lucrative trade," she said, resuming her smiling expression as if nothing had happened.
"And how? I think the king, excuse me, His Majesty the Emperor, was reluctant to offer shares of his businesses to his vassals," I said.
"Normally, he would be, but in this case, he is likely to ask for the help of his vassals," she said.
"What is different?" I asked.
"He needs ships ready to transport his merchandise," she said, even though I could feel she was still reluctant to express the whole truth.
"We don't have a fleet," I said.
"But House Redwyne has one," she said, finally understanding what she wanted.
'She's afraid for her child, so she's already preparing the ground in case of a succession war. Unlike the foolish girl who arrived in the capital, our empress turns out to be a player of a rather decent level after all,' I thought, evaluating the heavily pregnant woman.
"I imagine you understand what I mean by my presence here, so let's not beat around the bush. I know full well that my child will have rivals for the crown, this child or the next one I have will inherit the imperial throne, and I intend to remove all obstacles in their path so that they win the crown."
'She is ambitious,' I thought, glancing at Cersei, who was chatting with a Lyseni, also heavily pregnant.
"He will need all of Dorne behind him, and for that, the Princely and Ducal Houses that previously had the management and duty of guarding their territories semi-independently must unite so that the loss of this territorial right does not affect their status as a whole."
'And can support your child in inheriting the throne when the time comes,' I thought with disdain without letting it show on my face.
Mace took advantage of this moment to interrupt: "But the emperor decided that…"
"Don't interrupt the empress, my son, she is giving us the solution to all our problems," I said, preventing Mace from opening his mouth to say something stupid.
"The emperor is my husband, and I would never go against his will. He has tacitly approved what I am explaining to you. As long as a suzerain house is capable of maintaining control over its territory, the emperor will turn a blind eye."
Seeing that I was confused by what she had just explained, she said:
"The fact that no more taxes will be collected except on your domain will hit your coffers hard as well as those of House Stark. So why not compete with my husband?"
"How?" I asked, intrigued.
"You can negotiate with House Stark from one ducal house to another, while House Redwyne will put its fleet at your disposal to transport the goods, and you will distribute it throughout the Reach, a region where summer is practically eternal," said Arianne Targaryen.
"I imagine then that you have a solution to transport the ice blocks?" I asked, looking at the empress, confident.
She nodded, and then I said, "Then tell me how we will proceed?"
"Nothing simpler. I will have coolers built from dragon steel produced by the imperial forges," she said.
I raised my eyebrows in surprise and then asked, "How will the profits from this business be divided?"
"I take 25%, House Tyrell will also take 25%, House Redwyne will take 5% of the profits, and the rest will go to the emperor. And we will pay 1 gold dragon for each block of ice to House Stark," she said.
'It was too easy. And I wondered how she had managed to convince the emperor; in fact, it's his plan, not hers. He wants to use us to squeeze House Stark dry without giving them a share of the profits, which he would be too embarrassed to do himself with the appointment of his uncle Benjen Stark as Hand of the King. At the same time, he creates a gap between House Stark and House Tyrell. What a fucking bastard, he surely understood that I planned to betroth her to Robb by not seeing her in the Capital upon his return,' I thought, looking at the Young Emperor joyfully conversing with the Black Pearl of Braavos.
"45% is a lot."
"A block of ice sells for a minimum of 45 gold dragons in Braavos. Each trip can transport 1,000 blocks of ice and can be used in various ways. Each moon, the ice fleet can make between 2 and 3 trips, which represents a turnover of 90,000 to 135,000 gold dragons per moon, and…"
"Ranging from 1,080,000 gold dragons to 1,620,000 gold dragons per year."
'And this is just the beginning. Once Pentos, Myr, Lys, Tyrosh, Driftmark, Gulltown, and Sunspear are added to the list, the turnover will explode absurdly. And in less than 5 years, the colossal loan that the crown took out will be repaid thanks to this single trade,' I thought.
"Very well, we are on board, we will do it," I said, glaring at Mace to get him to agree quickly.
He then said, "Since the emperor agrees, then we naturally do as well."
The empress, relieved, nodded and seemed about to leave before remembering something important and saying:
"Oh, and I hope Lady Margaery returns. I haven't seen her in a long time, we miss her terribly."
"She will return," I said, knowing that an alliance with House Stark was completely ruined and resigning myself to it.
'Who knows what the future holds? It may not be such a bad thing for her to return to become his mistress. The king's first son may be Margaery's. My great-grandson could even become a dragon rider if what he said at the ceremony is true,' I thought, imagining my great-grandson on the back of a dragon.