Subjugating the Game of Thrones

Chapter 3 green turtle

The delicacies prepared by the old scholar weren't really that exquisite: a small portion of barley bread, a corner of somewhat hard cheese, a withered green apple, a modest serving of butter-boiled turnips, and a bowl of thick broth that emitted a peculiar, faintly unpleasant odor.

"What kind of meat is this?" A loud voice came from the side. A chubby boy with a round face, dressed in a pale yellow thin shirt, was staring at the thick soup in front of him with his dark little eyes, shifting restlessly on the bench.

"Not rat meat again, right?"

The Slim boy with red-gold hair to Renly's right, who had been using his dining dagger to poke at a few peas floating in the soup, hesitated at these words, casting a doubtful glance at the elderly man seated opposite them at the long table.

"These are certainly not rat meats," within the small room, Maester Crayden said with a kindly look at the three chubby boys in front of him. "There are no more rats in the castle to catch."

The chubby boy in yellow, from the Islemont family of Greenstone Castle, was a distant relative since the mother of the late Baratheon brothers hailed from this family—due to their similar ages, he had been sent a year ago to be Renly's playmate.

The other thin boy with red-gold hair was from the Targaryen family of Blackport. He happened to be in the castle when Storm's End was besieged and naturally couldn't leave.

They were all children of the vassals of House Baratheon, the lords of the Stormlands, and Maester Crayden thought they were all quite good children. Due to Renly's peculiar "loneliness," the maester would create opportunities for them to play together whenever possible during the siege, and this was one such occasion.

However...

"If young Lord Renly requires it, I can arrange for an experienced septa to instruct you on the etiquette at the dining table."

The two children followed the old scholar's words and looked at the black-haired boy, noticing that he was just as if waking from a dream, retracting his gaze from the chubby boy beside him, and then blinking innocently.

"I apologize," he stuck his tongue out and said, "but it looked interesting."

The Islemont family's coat of arms was a green sea turtle on a green field, which usually caught his attention, but the reason was not so simple this time.

This could not be spoken of with others.

"I think so too!"

The chubby boy clapped his hands on the family crest embroidered on his chest and declared loudly, "They're not only good-looking, but they're also edible! You can't eat them all during high tide. My grandfather says that if we eat more, our sons will eventually swarm like them!"

After speaking, he suddenly thought of a question, so he leaned back, looking past Renly at the boy opposite, "Pest Berry, your Blackport surely doesn't thunder all the time, or why would you be the only one?"

The Targaryen family's coat of arms was a black field with a forked purple lightning bolt and a few twinkling four-pointed stars.

"That's because my father died early," the other party rolled his eyes but didn't pay much attention to him, instead staring at his own portion of thick soup, frowning and asking, "If this soup isn't made of rats, then what is it?"

"Cat meat."

Before the old man could speak, Renly, who was no longer distracted, casually replied, "The horses and mules in the castle have long been eaten, not to mention thea few hunting dogs and hawks my eldest brother kept. Master Crayden's ravens haven't been seen for a while, and those people outside won't even let a fly in for us. Considering everything, besides those black cats used to catch mice, there couldn't possibly be anything else."

"Clever," the scholar nodded in agreement, and the two children breathed a sigh of relief, and after getting the scholar's consent, they began to eat with gusto.

Only Renly refrained.

He hadn't forgotten that not long ago, he had personally touched those cats in the castle, and due to memories not from this world, he was naturally resistant to eating cat meat.

"Can I give my portion of the meat soup to Jommy?"

Jommy was Renly's personal servant, usually responsible for taking care of his daily needs.

The old scholar was taken aback by these words, "Why give it to him?"

"No matter how full I am, I can't help defend the castle, but Jommy has the ability to," Renly replied seriously. Only a child would admit to being picky.

Experience has proven that a hypocritical child can always easily achieve their goals, and this time was no exception. There was even some "extra gain."

The old man's face was filled with relief, and the red-haired Berry Targaryen next to him, upon hearing this, looked thoughtful. He then pushed away the thick soup in front of him, stood up, and even seemed to forgo the other food.

"I will give my portion to Lord Stannis as well, he will need it more than us!"

He declared this, as if he had comprehended some virtue from Renly's words, his face full of seriousness. The scholar had to persuade him for a long time before the boy reluctantly sat back down and began to nibble on the coarse bread with displeasure.

"Can I have yours if you don't want it?" The chubby boy asked hopefully, but no one paid attention to him.

...

Renly was hungry, so although some changes within him were deeply attracting him, it did not affect his ability to fill his stomach.

He successfully gave away the cat meat soup, but he accepted all the other food. The coarse barley bread, the sweet and bitter cheese, the butter-boiled turnips that tasted like soup...

The turnips were delicious; this r****h-like vegetable was commonly known as a turnip in memory, but after processing, it tasted like a potato—soft and palatable, with a lingering aftertaste. The faint milky flavor from the butter cooked into the turnips accompanied this lingering sensation, swirling around the nostrils and mouth, unwilling to dissipate for a long time.

It wasn't until he finished his withered apple that the lingering aroma slowly faded from his lips and teeth, leaving him to sigh wistfully.

Lunch didn't last long, but the old scholar had to leave in a hurry because he was summoned and didn't return for a long time. The three unsupervised children were at a loss after finishing their meal.

The lanky Berry suggested going to the courtyard to see if there were any knights training, while the chubby Erin thought it would be more attractive to play castle games in the godswood, but Berry believed there were ghost faces on the trees in the godswood, which was terrifying, so he insisted on not going.

Renly didn't comment on this but stared at the green sea turtle on the chubby boy's chest again.

In the eyes of others, the coat of arms embroidered on the robe was normal, just a dark green sea turtle lying on a green field, made of dyed thread. But in his eyes, the turtle could move!

It originally lay motionless with its limbs grabbing the "ground," but after the change, it struggled to shed the heavy shell on its back, squatted down like a n***d child, its turtle face flushed red, leaving a black mark on the green field, then crawled back into the "clothing" and returned to its original motionless posture.

In this way, the originally normal coat of arms became a dark green sea turtle lying on a green field, along with a provocative black dot next to it.

If the observation is stopped at this time, no new changes will occur, but when Renly continued to watch, everything that had just happened would magically repeat.

Crawling, shedding the shell, squatting, a second black dot appeared. Retreating into the shell, crawling, shedding...

The lines embroidered on the chest squirmed and rolled, like a short silent drama constructed from dye and lines, playing on repeat, making the viewer increasingly bewildered.

Until the little guy he was staring at became uncomfortable.

"I'll invite you to Islemont to eat sea turtles someday, I will!" The chubby boy loudly told Renly, but what he faced was the other party'sto seek out gaze.

"Did you... not wipe your bottom?"

This made the chubby boy stunned, and then his round face turned red rapidly, and his voice was no longer loud, instead becoming stammering.

"I... I did! Erin of the Islemont family always wipes after pooping, don't believe it, don't believe it, you can ask Pet!"

Pet was a servant who took care of Erin's daily life, but in a panic, the chubby boy obviously forgot that his servant was mute.

Anyone could tell he was lying, but Renly had no interest in exposing this guy because his mind had already drifted elsewhere.

Soulful Coat of Arms...

He thoughtfully considered his special ability, not speaking for a while.

The chubby boy saw this and let out a sigh of relief, but then he found the lanky Berry making faces at him, so he glared and shouted, "Pest Berry, what are you looking at!"

"Don't call me a pest, you are the pest."