Chapter 55 Stannis

"Legend has it that in the winter that lasted for a generation, in the long dark age called the Long Night, the White Walkers first descended on the earth." Cole slowly talked about the records of the White Walkers in the Great Wall. Even though the original intention of the Wall was to resist such monsters, the books about the White Walkers are now classified as biography, not history.

Apparently our little princess didn't have a nanny to tell her these horror stories. She showed a look of fear on her face and hugged the book tightly in her arms.

When Cole finished telling the story of the White Walkers, Shireen couldn't help but say, "Is the White Walker more powerful, or the dragon?"

"I don't know, but I think humans are more powerful."

Shireen looked at him in confusion.

"Think about it, the White Walkers and the dragons are so powerful, one was not beaten back to the eternal winter in the north by humans, and the other was also controlled by humans."

Shireen suddenly realized that, yes, it turns out that humans are so powerful. "Cole, you know a lot."

"It's far worse than the maester who raised me." Cole shook his head.

"Maester? Is he the same as Grandpa Cressen?" When talking about Cressen, Shireen's words were filled with sadness.

"Each maester has a different field of expertise, depending on the necklace they wear. Black iron represents raven learning, silver represents medicine, and Valyrian steel represents magic."

"Magic." Shireen murmured, and she seemed to be full of reverie about it.

"Shireen." Someone was calling her name, her father's voice.

Behind Aegon's Garden, Stannis was standing beside the thorn bush outside.

Shireen stood up from the swing and whispered, "Father"

Stannis forced a hard smile and strode over. He glanced at Cole and saw him kneeling on one knee to salute, saying "Your Majesty the King."

Stannis motioned Cole to stand up and asked his daughter, "What are you talking about?"

"It's magic, father. Cole told me that Valyrian steel represents magic. Do you think there is Valyrian steel in Grandpa Cressen's necklace?"

When mentioning Maester Cressen, Stannis flashed a strange look. "No, he doesn't know any magic at all."

Shireen seemed a little disappointed.

Stannis hesitated to speak, as a dignified king, he didn't know what to say to his daughter.

"Father, do you know Cole?" Shireen asked him.

Stannis looked at Cole again, standing upright and with a good appearance. He was thinking about where to put this person. Although Shireen was only nine years old, it would inevitably affect her reputation to have such a person around her.

"Cole has read all the books on the Great Wall. He knows a lot." Shireen praised.

"Are you a night watchman?"

"No, your majesty."

"Well, it seems that you are not the dumb and fool they say. You must explain why you are on the sea, which will determine whether you stay or go. If you are a smuggler, then prison will be your home."

Stannis's eyes are cold, and his fairness and clear rewards and punishments are well-known in the Seven Kingdoms.

"Your Majesty, according to the laws of the Seven Kingdoms, I should be a law-abiding person. Before drifting to the sea, Ser Brynden Tully knighted me in the Eyrie."

"Knight?" This surprised Stannis. Brynden Tully was also a famous figure in the Seven Kingdoms. The knight he personally knighted could not be unknown. Perhaps his maester Pylos could give him an answer.

"I hope what you said is true."

Stannis was not a friendly person. Even in front of his daughter, his expression was unusually cold. But Cole knew that as a father, he absolutely loved his daughter. When Princess Shireen got grayscale, he did not give up. Everyone suggested that he send the child with the infectious disease to the cursed land and let her fend for herself. But Stannis did not. He did not accept anyone's opinion, but asked the maester to try his best to treat Shireen.

Of course, it can also be explained that the law he believed in did not allow him to exile a child who had no sins, regardless of whether it was his daughter or not.

Thinking of Shireen being sacrificed to the Lord of Light by him in the flames, Cole was filled with confusion. Stannis is definitely not a fool, or a loyal believer of R'hllor, the Lord of Light.

From all his performances, it can be seen that he is a man who is devoted to the country, and he attaches great importance to the law, is upright and impartial, and clearly rewards and punishes. He is never lenient to those who violate the law, which makes him unpopular in the aristocratic circle.

If there is an explanation, it must be that he saw the White Walkers at the Wall. Stannis, who can put down his foundation and go to the North to drive away the wildlings, will never sacrifice his beloved to become king.

Thinking of the legend of Azor Ahai's sword forging that has been circulating in the castle recently, perhaps Stannis is as great as the son of prophecy, who can sacrifice everything for the kingdom and the people, including his life.

It's a pity that he is not the one who pulled out the Sword of Light in the legend, nor the one who led the Seven Kingdoms to the dawn, but the one who can resolutely take on such an important task is worthy of respect.

At this time, Cole suddenly thought badly that he was fighting for the Lannisters, and now in Stannis's eyes, the Lion family has probably been sentenced to a serious crime in his heart.

He felt a little uneasy in an instant. Should Cole escape? Where can he escape to in this place?

How strict Stannis's rewards and punishments are can be seen from the deeds of Sir Davos, who was the most loyal to him. In the war of Robert against the usurper of Mad King Aerys, Stannis was ordered to garrison Storm's End. According to records, he was besieged by the Reach Army of the Royalists for a whole year. They did not get any supplies during the year. In the end, even the rats in the city were eaten up by them, almost to the point of cannibalism.

At this time, the smuggler Davos used his smuggling ship to transport a ship of onions and salted fish, breaking through the siege to assist Storm's End. After this battle, he was canonized as a knight by Stannis, but he also had four thumbs cut off by Stannis for the crime of smuggling.

For Stannis, there is no possibility of offsetting merits and demerits.

Thinking of what he did in Riverrun, it is not impossible that no news will be spread.

Stannis didn't stay here for too long. As a king, he didn't have much free time. He only took time to come here because he promised his wife to come and see his daughter.

He didn't take Cole's matter too seriously. He just asked a maester casually. The maester was hesitant and couldn't answer. He searched in the letters for a long time before finding some information about the trial by combat in the Eyrie. It mentioned that Sir Blackfish canonized a child named Cole, and he defeated Sir Vardis Egan as a proxy knight.