A brief silence fell over the hall.
Tyrion stood as if pinned to the spot by that soul-piercing interrogation, his lips trembling slightly, yet unable to make a sound.
He found that the sharp wit and negotiation skills he had always been proud of suddenly became pale and powerless before this man.
However, Corleone had no intention of letting him off; instead, he took another step forward to continue his verbal assault.
"You keep saying that in your father's eyes, you are no different from a bastard, Tyrion Lannister. Yes, that is indeed painful and frustrating; I can empathize with that."
"But..." He changed his tone: "You have never truly experienced what it means to have nothing."
"You were born in Casterly Rock, wrapped in gold from birth. Every sip of wine you drink, every piece of silk you wear, every breath of air you take is infused with the scent of power. Perhaps you are unwilling to admit it, but the respect and fear people show you have always been because you carry the Lannister name."
"In your subconscious, you still believe you are nobler than me, nobler than everyone in Flea Bottom. This makes you feel you can wantonly trample on my sincerity and treat me like a beggar who can be dismissed with a few copper coins."
"I did not!"
These sharp words seemed to point directly at Tyrion's heart. He looked up, trying to argue: "I just... I just..."
"You are just unwilling to admit it."
Corleone interrupted him, spreading his hands as if displaying an obvious fact.
"Look, how natural it seems to you."
"My father was a Farmer, so I must be a Farmer. If I wish to establish order, it is seen as audacity; the fair trade I desire is considered an overstepping of bounds. You won't even fulfill that saying which echoes through the Seven Kingdoms: 'A Lannister always pays his debts'."
"You are too narrow-minded, Lord Tyrion. In this regard, you are not even the equal of your father."
"At least he has spent his life practicing what it means to have a 'fair trade' and an 'exchange of interests'."
These words struck Tyrion's heart like a whip, precisely hitting the place he was most unwilling to acknowledge.
Yes, he was the dwarf, born that way.
But because of this, he craved pride more than any normal person and was far more sensitive.
He self-deprecatingly mocked himself countless times in public, even spending his days in brothels getting dead drunk, but it was all just to hide that fragile, sensitive inferiority complex.
That was why, when making love to Shae, her calling him "my lion" was something Tyrion could not resist.
"I am in no mood to listen to your nonsense right now, Corleone!"
He had been completely seen through, but this only made him more ashamed and angry. He questioned in a low voice: "Tell me, the owner of this necklace—where is she?"
He gripped the pearl necklace tightly, as if it were the only piece of driftwood a drowning man could catch in the ocean.
Looking at his distorted face, a trace of something near pity curled at the corner of Corleone's mouth. He slowly sat back in his chair, still looking down at Tyrion from above.
"Look, you are still habitually questioning my character, still believing that someone like me will always be despicable and shameless."
As he spoke, he tilted his head slightly, his tone becoming full of majesty: "We are all hypocrites, rolling in this mire of power."
"But unlike you, and unlike the vast majority in King's Landing, I do not rely on insulting women as leverage."
Just as he finished speaking, a set of footsteps happened to sound from downstairs.
Then, Bronn's figure appeared at the top of the stairs, his leather armor still damp with morning dew, breathing slightly hard.
His gaze first swept over Corleone, then he stepped toward the little dwarf, leaning down to whisper: "Starkworth Castle. She's back."
"I watched her go inside with my own eyes, safe and sound, not a single part missing."
Hearing this, Tyrion instantly breathed a sigh of relief. The release of immense pressure made him almost lose his footing, and he took a step back to steady himself.
Loosening his grip on the necklace, the pearls were already covered in cold sweat from his palm.
Every sentence of the conversation with Corleone had consumed a great deal of energy; he had never felt this way even in front of Tywin.
This man...
After calming down, although his feet hadn't left the ground, his reason reclaimed the intellectual high ground.
He looked up, truly scrutinizing Corleone for the first time.
He waved a hand, signaling Bronn to wait aside. When he spoke again, his tone was no longer flippant, but rather held a few hints of exhaustion and caution.
"What exactly do you want, Corleone?"
...Fairness."
Corleone's answer was simple and powerful: "And the golden dragons that belong to me."
However, looking at his calm and composed manner, as if he were forever in control of everything, Tyrion only felt an inexplicable surge of anger rising again.
He didn't know that it was an emotion called 'jealousy'.
Fortunately, Tyrion was still relatively calm at this moment. He did not continue to provoke, but instead endured his displeasure to try and negotiate: "The messengers from the Iron Bank are pressing me for repayment every day. The treasury is currently like an oyster that has been hollowed out."
"I need time."
He didn't refuse directly, but hoped to buy some time.
"Time?"
Corleone leaned forward, elbows propped on the table, then he shook his head slightly: "No, you have no more time."
"Before the sun sets tomorrow, I want to see ten thousand golden dragons placed before me."
"Ten thousand!!!"
This number made Tyrion lose his composure again, jumping up to argue: "We clearly agreed on half!"
"That was yesterday's price."
Corleone did not back down as he had before, but insisted as if it were only natural: "To friends, I am happy to show my generosity. But for those who bring soldiers into my home and attempt to put me in shackles, the price is naturally different."
Then, seeing that Tyrion wanted to argue further, he took a deep breath and spoke coldly: "Think carefully, Lord Tyrion."
"If the hand of the king were to learn that his son has turned The Red Keep into his own private brothel..."
"I cannot guarantee what will happen next."
"After all, not long ago, you were the hand of the king, and now you have become the master of coin. The next step... the Nights Watch?" he teased.
This blatant threat made Tyrion almost hear his teeth grinding.
He knew he had no room for bargaining. After all, before coming to King's Landing, Tywin had warned him not to bring any prostitutes, let alone hide one in The Red Keep for so long.
He hadn't forgotten the lesson of Tysha!
...Fine!"
Tyrion clenched his fists, forced to swallow this bitter pill, but he didn't forget to remind him: "Ten thousand golden dragons, but you must guarantee that this matter ends here."
"Shae will not be disturbed again, and this secret will rot in your stomach, or else..."
"Of course."
Corleone finally showed a sincere smile and answered calmly: "You have my word."
With that, he picked up his table knife and issued an order for them to leave: "Now, please excuse me, I haven't finished my breakfast."
Seeing this, Tyrion and Bronn turned to walk out, but then heard Corleone's voice from behind them: "Oh, right."
They turned their heads to see Corleone pointing his knife toward Bronn from a distance: "This friend of yours caused me some small trouble before. I can give him a chance to turn over a new leaf this time, but I don't want to see him in Flea Bottom again."
Hearing this, Bronn exaggeratedly covered his nose: "Perfect! This place stinks to high heaven. I'd rather go to Silk Street to smell seafood than stay here for another quarter hour!"
Starkworth Castle.
In a small underground secret chamber, as Varys slid open a hidden stone slab, the short Tyrion immediately squeezed inside impatiently.
"Shae!"
In the dim light of the oil lamp, he saw the dark-haired woman standing uneasily in the corner and rushed forward on his short legs.
He grabbed her slender shoulders, his eyes filled with lingering fear: "Look at me!"
"That Vito Corleone, did he hurt you? Tell me, where did he touch you?"
"Hurt me? Who? Lord Corleone?"
Shae was stunned for a moment, a flash of confusion crossing her face, then she shook her head: "He didn't hurt me. We... we just had dinner together."
"Dinner!"
At those words, Tyrion's voice instantly rose. He knew very well what a private dinner between a man and a woman implied.
"He didn't... you and him..."
He wanted to ask but didn't dare to directly, so he could only mutter hesitantly.
This suspicious attitude caused Shae to immediately change her expression, her large eyes professionally welling up with tears.
"Do you think I wanted to? Tyrion!"
She violently threw off Tyrion's hands, took half a step back, her voice trembling with a sob: "Do you think I wanted to be alone with a strange man in a place like that?"
"It was you! You made me stay here, to be a lowly maid!"
"What is the difference between a maid and a prostitute? In the eyes of you great lords, we don't have the power to refuse!"
She sobbed hard, her shoulders twitching slightly: "I'm so stupid, really. I should never have met you from the beginning. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't have come to King's Landing. If I hadn't come to King's Landing, I wouldn't have become a plaything that is never truly trusted..."
She cried and accused incessantly, and Tyrion felt as if his heart were about to break.
He immediately panicked, his usual calm judgment vanishing, as if he had become a clumsy man trapped in a love trap.
"No, Shae, it's not like that!"
He hurried forward, trying to pull her back into his arms to comfort her: "I was just too worried about you. That Corleone, he is a very dangerous person, I was afraid he..."
However, the moment Tyrion's arms wrapped around her, his eyes inadvertently swept across her fair neck, only to find a necklace set with a black gemstone hanging there!
His movements stiffened, and a trace of doubt rose in his heart again. He couldn't help but ask: "This necklace..."
Shae's heart skipped a beat, but she reacted extremely quickly, immediately covering it with her hand: "This... this was given to me by Lady Falyse. She saw how hard I worked serving Lady Lollys, so she rewarded me..."
"You're still doubting me!"
Immediately after, she turned the tables and pointed at Tyrion angrily: "I knew it... I knew it... in your heart, I'm still just that prostitute from the military camp!"
"I'm leaving King's Landing right now, and I'll never appear before you again!"
As she spoke, she actually made a move to break free from Tyrion's hand and leave in a huff.
"No! Shae, I love you!"
Seeing her like this, Tyrion hurriedly hugged her tightly, refusing to let go no matter how she struggled.
"Remember? I am yours, and you are mine!"
Feeling the warm body in his arms, Tyrion kept whispering sweet nothings to comfort her, telling himself in his heart: "She loves me, she was just frightened."
"She won't betray me. I am her lion. I can protect her, I can give her everything!"
Fortunately, Shae didn't take it too far; she only struggled mockingly for a while before quieting down. After they shared a moment of tenderness, Tyrion turned his head and saw a bright, shiny forehead entering from the secret chamber's entrance.
It had always been this Spider, with his thorough knowledge of every secret passage and hidden door in The Red Keep and all of King's Landing, who could frequently arrange their meetings.
"You should have told me sooner, Lord Varys."
But the day's encounters made Tyrion unable to resist complaining: "That fellow has an appointment letter personally signed by my father, chief special agent of the small council!"
Hearing this, Varys folded his plump fingers in front of him, his face showing a perfect amount of helplessness and grievance: "My dear Lord Tyrion, I did warn you."
"Just last night, I told you that the evidence we had was simply not enough to make the Gold Cloaks arrest Vito Corleone."
"But you were only concerned with your anger then; I'm afraid you didn't fully listen to my nagging."
Tyrion was stunned, then recalled that this fellow did seem to have mentioned something of the sort last night.
But at the time, he was only thinking of Shae's safety and had treated those words as wind in his ears.
Shaking his head in annoyance, Tyrion didn't pursue Varys further. Instead, he said "sorry" and continued to enjoy the hard-won tenderness with Shae.
However, he didn't notice that when he mentioned the title "Chief Secret Service Officer," an excited light suddenly flashed in the eyes of Shae, who was leaning in his arms.
Soon, Tyrion and Shae disappeared into the deeper shadows of the secret chamber; it went without saying what would happen next.
At the empty entrance, only Varys remained.
Seeing the two go far away, he looked down at his groin, his mouth twitching, then he lightly twiddled his fingers, whispering softly like a sigh: "Littlefinger has not yet departed, yet King's Landing has welcomed another pair of hands from the darkness."
"A place of order..."
"Will you make this place even more chaotic like him, or will you bring order to the Seven Kingdoms?"
"Vito Corleone..."