Cersei swatted Kai's hand off her face.
Her eyes moved from Jon Arryn's finger to Kai, and then back to the finger. "Have you killed him?" asked the queen.
She recognized the gem, Kai could tell. He could see the slightest hint of a smile and victory on her face. He loathed to destroy that smile, but this had to be done, he knew.
"No, your grace," said Kai, shaking his head. "He is still alive."
The queen frowned. "Tell me then," she demanded. "What is this favor you speak of? And put this thing away for Mother's sake."
Kai did as he was told.
"May I?" he held the brush and went behind Cersei. The queen narrowed her eyes at Kai but didn't reject the offer. The brush had soft hair. Kai nuzzled Cersei's back, making the queen feel she was still in power.
"I have come from far, your grace," Kai told her. "I had no desire to see King's Landing. Nor did I lack work and skills to come here, seeking opportunities."
"Oh, then why did you come?" asked Cersei, playing her part.
There was amusement in her tone. A touch of impatience too. Kai ignored that.
"For you." A silence followed Kai's answer. He rubbed her shoulders, his fingers brushing off her skin, leaving white trails over red. "I am a man almost grown, your grace. But even when they called me a child, I had made up my mind to see you. I am not of noble birth, and my prospects of becoming a knight were close to null. So there was only one way to come to King's Landing for a skillful warrior like me."
"Sellsword," echoed the queen. "What does this all have to do with the Hand?"
"I am coming to that, your grace," Kai replied, caressing her neck with the brush. He brought down his mouth to her ear. He could smell her now. Kai remembered the fragrance of many flowers. But Cersei had her own scent. He took a whiff of her wet hair, making the queen shiver.
Then he whispered.
Kai told the queen everything. Whatever he could tell her, revealing nothing about the Primordial Tower and the Chaos, he did.
He told her about Big Waldo, the other sellswords, and the minor fights. When Kai mentioned the Hand and how the old man had hired Kai to save him from assassinations, the queen turned her head and looked at him.
She fears the truth, Kai realized, and she will kill me for it.
"Then why did you betray him?" Cersei asked, turning back as if nothing had happened.
Kai replied again, as calmly as he had before. A touch of warmth and adoration in his voice, some fake but most real.
"For you."
"For me?" asked Cersei, not letting the silence linger unlike before. "How?"
A complete lie can never fool a half-cunning mind, Kai reminded himself. So Kai told her what he had guessed by himself.
He said, "… and that's how from all the facts I had concluded that the Hand knows some secret. This secret must be related to someone who can easily kill him to prevent it from ever coming out."
The queen shuddered. "So… you know it then? The secret…"
"No," Kai replied immediately, not letting the suspicion take root in her mind. "I just mentioned random names to lord Hand. When I mentioned yours, I saw sweat on his brows even when the chamber was cool enough. So I thought it must be related to the queen."
The lie was ridiculous. But Kai could afford it. All the tales he had told Cersei, showing her his emotions, and mixing truth with lies, were enough to make her see some reason in Kai's actions.
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"Humph!" the queen snorted. "Do you take me for a fool, sellsword? You want me to believe that you kidnapped him just because of a drop of sweat?"
"Just?!" said Kai, feigning a shocked and pained voice. "This Just was enough for me, your grace. I can do much more for less than that if it concerns you."
The queen looked back at Kai. The steam had made her eyes misty.
Kai's heart pounded, looking into those emerald green eyes, full of innocence and cunning. His hand reached for a lock of hair, curling it behind her ear. When her breath entered him, only then did Kai realize he was too close to her.
It was too late to back away then.
Their lips touched, their breath melting into each other like honey in the milk.
Kai kissed the water drops before sucking on her lips. His tongue tasted the sweetness, and it reached for hers, parting her mouth effortlessly.
The shove came suddenly. Cersei pushed Kai off, her eyes reddening in anger. But Kai also saw a desire behind that rage, and he just knew what it would take to bring that forward.
"I have one more gift for you, my queen," Kai said, licking his lips. "I know there is some bad blood between you and Lysa Arryn."
"You…" Cersei muttered in disbelief. "You heard us."
Kai nodded. "I was just outside your window," he said, standing up, and ignoring the dip of about 30% in his Abnormality Limiter. "Haven't you wondered where Lady Arryn was when Jon Arryn disappeared?"
Cersei too stood up at the mention of Lysa Arryn and Kai knew he had her then. "Where?" she asked, covering herself with the towel.
Kai took in her curves, the soaked silk playing a cruel game around her body. "To Petyr Baelish," he said slyly.
In the hours he spent with the Hand in the sewers, Kai had already forced the old man to share great many things about major Characters of this world.
After learning about Lysa Arryn and Petyr’s past, he had already been having doubts. Then he remembered the tight security he had seen outside Petyr Baelish’s chambers on the evening when Jon Arryn had brought him to the Red Keep. The Hand itself had arranged the guards for him to show him around the various parts of the castle. Moreover, Lady Arryn hadn’t been in her chambers that evening.
It didn’t take Kai much to connect the rest of the dots.
Cersei's eyes widened. For the first time, Kai saw her permitting herself a full smile. "I hope you are not lying to me," she said, taking a step out of the bathtub. "Do you have any proof of this fornication?"
"Not right now," Kai said, taking a step towards her. "I know you want to send her to the dungeons. I can find enough reasons with proof against her, if you so desire, my queen."
Cersei brought herself to Kai's face, standing on her toes. Her breast brushed against his chest as she planted a kiss on his cheek. "Do it then," the queen whispered. "Do it, and you will be rewarded."
"I want no gold, your grace," Kai said, caressing her smooth cheek. "I only want you."
Cersei chuckled. She went back to the bathtub, tip-toeing, and leaving behind a word. "After."
The dull-gray notification appeared like a ghost in Kai’s eyes.
…
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn
You have triggered a Hidden Mission
…
Main Mission: Thwart the Assassination of Jon Arryn
Hidden Mission: Incriminate Lysa Arryn
Hidden Mission Grade: E+
Hidden Mission Summary: With Jon Arryn's disappearance, it makes Lysa Arryn the only person in Cersei's eyes who may know about her secret. The queen doesn't want to take any chances regarding it. You must gather enough proof that can incriminate her.
Hidden Mission Objective: Give irrefutable proof against Lysa Arryn to Cersei
Hidden Mission Time Limit: 2 days
Do you accept the Hidden Mission?
]
…
Kai couldn’t believe it.
After his visit to the Primordial Tower, he had already learned more about these from Roland.
Hidden Missions were not only abnormal, but incredibly rare to trigger. One could ascend through all three floors of a Set and never trigger one. However, all Contestants desired to trigger them.
First, a Hidden Mission’s Grade remained equal or higher than Main Mission’s, promising not only better Rewards, but also Skills.
Second, a Hidden Mission boosted the Main Mission’s Completion Rate heavily, increasing the Main Mission’s Rewards, too, in case one didn’t attempt enough Side Missions.
For Kai, getting a Hidden Mission now was like finding a cherry on top of the cream.
Kai looked at Cersei’s bare back and bowed, grinning vilely. “I will find the proof for you, my lady,” he said, backing away with hushed steps. “One way or another… I really want to see what you have in store for me in your… After…”
Lying leisurely in her bath tub, the corners of Cersei’s lips curved up ever so slightly.