-Chapter 6-
Once back in a quieter place, I felt a hand tapping my shoulder. I furiously looked at the owner of that hand, who quickly withdrew it, scared by my gaze, and I said, slightly amused:
"I do not need your pity, lions do not care about the opinions of sheep."
"I do not pity you, but you do not need to be ashamed. As you said, not only will Joffrey become king, but in addition to that, I will always be ready to fight for you. Therefore, he does not need to be as good a fighter as his uncle," he said seriously.
"Then why make such a big deal about this training story?" I asked, annoyed and confused, as I continued on my way.
"Because I would like him to become my squire," he said.
I turned my head in surprise because it was the first time he had made such a request.
"Why?" I asked, knowing he did not like Joffrey but tolerated him because he was my son.
"Because I would like him to stay on the throne as long as possible, and with his character, or should I say his character weakness, it will not take 5 years before he offends half of the great houses of Westeros, all this without taking into account the possible resurgence of the Targaryens in Essos and the Baratheon brothers," he said.
I nodded my head and then said, making a decision that I hope will improve our future:
"Starting tomorrow, he will be your squire...do not be too harsh on him."
"I will make a man you will be proud of," he said.
-3 moons later-
-12th day, 6th moon, 296 AC-
-POV MC-
"Run," I said in a cold tone.
"I can't take it anymore I order you to stop I am the prince...Aaaaaah," said Joffrey, exasperated by my orders before I struck him in the back with a small stick.
He stopped talking because I raised my arm ready to redden his little milky skin and I said, "I told you that every time you say such nonsense I will hit you with a stick, now take your legs to your neck and RUN."
He was about to start running again when I stopped him with a hand gesture and said, "Have you forgotten something?"
"Yes, Ser, I am sorry, Ser."
"Perfect, now run."
I put down the stick I had picked up and left the training ground of my manor because I had seen the queen watching us from afar with her hawk eyes.
As soon as I approached her closely enough, I knelt and said, "Good morning, my queen."
She extended the back of her hand, which I kissed before standing up, and she said in a cold tone:
"Are you having fun?"
I smiled slightly and said as I stood up, "Honestly, he is improving a little more every day."
She seemed pleased, but I squashed the budding pride by muttering, "But when you hit rock bottom, the only way is up."
She shot me a glare, but I just smiled. It was something entirely new, but I had learned the sense of humor of Cersei Lannister, during these last 6 moons I had become almost omnipresent at court and especially for the family of my liege lady.
I occasionally taught her youngest, Tommen, along with Ronald, and they had become very close playmates despite the two-year age difference between them.
Normally, Cersei would never have let a bastard approach one of her precious sons, but she made an exception, especially when I told her that Ronald would have few other opportunities in his life and that he might well become Tommen's sworn shield.
Over time, I gained more and more influence over Joffrey, even if I felt that it would take less than a moon away from me for him to revert to the good old Joffrey we all hate.
"I would like to take him with me so he can see the country and realize how many souls depend on him," I said.
"Why?" she asked, not understanding the purpose of my approach.
"Every lord must know his lands and its people, it's the same and, moreover, more important for a king," I said.
"How long?" she said.
"I'm not sure yet, maybe a year," I said.
"A whole year?!" she said, shocked by the duration of the hypothetical kingdom tour.
I nodded my head, and then she said, "We will talk about this another time."
I wanted to insist, but seeing that she was closed to the discussion, I did not push further and wisely continued to watch Joffrey run in the distance.
-3 moons later-
-18th day, 9th moon, 296 AC-
"Perfect, keep attacking Joffrey, but don't forget your shield," I said, seeing him neglect the use of his shield for a more aggressive style.
He followed my advice and used his shield to perform a charge that threw his opponent to the ground, giving him time to place his sword under the young squire's chin.
I applauded as I saw his opponent lose and said, "That's good, keep it up, but use your head more when you fight, you could have finished him 4 times since the start of this fight."
He said nothing, and even though I noticed he did not agree with me, he did not utter his usual nonsense but nodded his head, one of the rare things I taught him and that he integrated 'instead of saying nonsense, keep quiet and say it in your head.'
After 6 moons of training, I would not say Joffrey was an expert fighter or even that he was good, but at least he was no longer the weak, jittery twig I started training.
He possessed solid endurance and some muscles from lifting weights I had crafted for my own use in my youth before I discovered my cheat.
I continued to craft weights for my other knights; I had made him a proud member of the tribe of carnivores at every meal, which helped him gain some mass.
In terms of swordplay, he was not always at an acceptable level, but he was getting better and now had the same level as a normal squire.
So, I made him fight against my squires to improve almost every day, I did not tell the squires of the Order of the Bloody Griffin who Joffrey was because I did not want them to hold back and let him win I wanted them to always give their best.
Seeing Jaime arrive in the distance, I said, "That's enough for today, Joffrey."
Everyone bowed to his opponent, a trick I had stolen from the martial arts dojo, before bowing to me and putting all their weapons on the weapon bench and leaving the training field.
"He is improving," said Jaime, coming up to me.
I nodded and said, "Pain helps not to make the same mistakes again, every squire must go through that."
I could see him go through some kind of internal reminiscence before nodding his head; we remained silent for a while, and then they left together.
Today was my last lesson with Cersei's little sadistic asshole, and fortunately, because I could not take it anymore.
I really tried, but nothing worked, even if he improved with a sword, his character remained the same.
I did not take him under my wing so he could kill me one day when he was going through a little temper tantrum; I took him under my wing to change him, and even if to some extent it was the case, he was still the good old Joffrey who would decapitate Ned Stark at the first opportunity.