"Brother, go to Grand Maester Pycelle and ask for a book titled The lineage and History of the Great Noble Families of the Seven Kingdoms. It contains the physical characteristics of every member of our House Baratheon. The male descendants of House Baratheon have always had black hair and black eyes. Even the numerous marriages with House Targaryen couldn't change this feature."
Hearing this, Robert began to have doubts and sank into deep thought.
"Also, think about your illegitimate children, brother. No matter what the mother looks like, they all have black eyes and black hair. But Joffrey looks exactly like a Lannister."
Robert thought for a moment and seemed to start believing it. "I'll investigate this matter. But how do you know? Does anyone else know?"
"It's the scent," Wright replied calmly. "At first, I smelled Cersei's perfume on Jaime, and then considering Joffrey's temperament... We Baratheons don't have any madmen in our bloodline. I started investigating, and sure enough, I was right."
Robert hesitated, still trying to resist. "But this is just your side of the story. This concerns the succession of the kingdom!"
Wright pulled out a small bottle and a glass candle from his robe. The bottle contained very fine powder. He sprinkled a tiny amount onto Robert's hand and clothing, which was invisible to the naked eye.
He then used magic to light the candle, and the powder on Robert's hand and clothing immediately began to glow with a purple light.
"Brother, touch my shoulder."
Robert, bewildered, touched Wright's shoulder with his glowing hand. The powder transferred to Wright's shoulder, which also began to glow purple under the light of the glass candle, leaving behind Robert's handprint.
"It's a magic-made substance. It has no odor, is harmless, and can't be washed off with water. It will only fade away after a week. Brother, if you sprinkle some on yourself and sleep with Cersei, then have Renly light the candle a few days later, we'll see if Jaime glows. That will prove everything."
Wright had spent several years researching and only recently created this powder.
Robert picked up the small bottle. "Does anyone else know about this?"
"I found it out on my own," Wright said. "But everyone is watching the Iron Throne. As Joffrey grows older, there are certainly others who are starting to notice. Sooner or later, it will be exposed."
Wright added, "Princess Myrcella and Prince Tommen are also Jaime and Cersei's children."
Robert's anger was suppressed by the calming magic, and his sorrow took over. Tears welled up in his eyes as he silently tucked the small bottle and glass candle into his cloak.
---
A few days later, news spread through the Red Keep that Queen Cersei and King Robert had a huge argument. She took Joffrey, 4-year-old Myrcella, and 3-year-old Tommen back to the Westerlands, with Kingsguard Jaime accompanying them for protection.
Wright knew that the situation had already spiraled and immediately headed to the Red Keep. Normally, with Robert's temper, he would have ordered the entire Lannister family executed, and even waged war, which would have been justified. But Renly used calming magic to help him regain control, and Robert called a council of his brothers to discuss their next steps.
In the king's chambers.
"That madwoman! I insulted her, and she had the audacity to admit it right in front of me! She even called me a pig! And then she had the nerve to escape from the dungeon! They've all committed treason! I'm going to cleanse the Westerlands in blood!"
Renly leaned in and whispered in Robert's ear, "After we discovered Jaime's secret, I brought him and Cersei to the dungeon and kept the three children alive."
"Who let them escape to the Westerlands?"
"We don't know. They were only in the dungeon for a short time before they disappeared."
"That can't have been Varys, he wasn't even in the Red Keep. He'd need to gather information and send someone to release them; it's too quick for that to be his doing. It must have been someone close to Cersei." Wright thought to himself.
"The royal treasury is already empty, relying entirely on loans to stay afloat! We still owe Tywin 800,000 golden dragons, and another 500,000 to Renly and me. If we want to eradicate the Westerlands, we'll need soldiers from at least three Kingdoms, but without funds, how are we supposed to fight?" These figures had been discussed several times at court, and Stannis had just brought them up again.
Wright looked at Robert, thinking, "If it weren't for Renly, Stannis, and me helping Robert make money, he'd owe Tywin 3 million gold dragons by now!"
"Kill Tywin and his family, and the Lannister wealth will be mine!" Robert said, his fury palpable. "Have the treasury secretary borrow from the Iron Bank!"
Wright responded, "And what about the king's reputation? What about House Baratheon's reputation? The Seven Kingdoms have a history spanning thousands of years, including the Targaryens, who married close relatives and were still recognized by the priests. At most, it would be a war over bastards, but this… this is the biggest scandal in millennia — an heir to the throne born of incest between the queen and her brother!"
"There have been rumors before, but they've never been proven," Stannis spoke plainly. "If Robert uses this as the excuse to go to war, he'll become the first king in history to do so."
"Shit!" Robert kicked the bedpost to pieces, and Renly quickly cast a healing spell on Robert's foot. "Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen, all of them aren't my children!"
"Robert's current state isn't going to come up with any good ideas. I'll have to handle this myself."
Wright poured Robert a drink and used another calming spell to help him regain composure.
"I have a suggestion," Wright said. "First, let's confirm the current rumors: the king and queen are at odds, and the queen has taken the children back to the Westerlands."
"Second, have Tywin secretly execute them. If he can't do it, I will. Robert, you'll find a new queen."
There was silence for a long while before Robert gestured for Wright to continue.
"Third, Tywin Lannister must cancel the 800,000-gold-dragon debt to the treasury and privately compensate you, Robert, with 500,000 gold dragons."
Robert thought for a moment, and for the sake of his reputation, not wanting to be known as the first cuckold king in history, he swallowed his anger.
"Compensate me with a million! If those three terms aren't met, I don't care about my reputation. I'll borrow from the Iron Bank and wipe out the Westerlands!" Robert demanded, the majority of the money going to himself, not the treasury.
Renly chimed in, "Negotiations can't be done using the maester birds. I'll personally speak with Tywin. Wright will stay in the Red Keep to ensure your safety, in case Tywin tries anything. Besides, Wright and I have our own private communication birds."
"Will you be safe?" Robert asked.
"No problem, Robert," Renly responded. "If you want Tywin's head, I may not be able to bring it to you, but if I want to come back, no one in the Westerlands can stop me. And once the war starts, Tywin will be facing the entire kingdom's wrath. He's in the wrong this time, and he won't dare harm me." Wright gave a reassuring nod and added, "And let's add a fourth condition — Tywin must hand over the Mountain. Almost forgot about the promise to Prince Doran."
---
Renly had already departed for Casterly Rock in the Westerlands.
Recently, the rumors of the king and queen fighting, with the queen angrily returning to her family, spread throughout King's Landing. The word was that Robert had sent his brother Renly to persuade the queen to return.
There was little news coming from the Westerlands, but whispers in King's Landing suggested that once the queen returned, she would live separately from Robert. There had been a similar situation in the past with the Targaryens, when the queen had stormed off to Dragonstone after a quarrel with the king. As a result, many nobles and courtiers advised Robert to stay calm.
The Kingsguard — Boros Blount, Maryn Trant, and Preston Greenfield —received orders from the king that said that Stannis had temporarily vacated Dragonstone, and Queen Cersei would stay there for the time being. The three Kingsguard members, along with the queen's handmaidens, were sent ahead to prepare for her arrival.