Chapter 56: Relatives by Marriage

Viserys tore open the envelope, extracting the letter inside and unfolding it to read.

Ferrego Antaryon is the current Sealord of Braavos.

The Sealord of Braavos rules the free trading city-state of Braavos, and his personal guard is known as the First Swordsman of Braavos. The slightly disheveled Syrio Forel standing below is the one occupying this important position.

The current Sealord, Ferrego Antaryon, resides within the Sealord's Palace in the city.

The title of Sealord is not hereditary. When the previous Sealord dies, the new one is chosen by the keyholders and magisters of Braavos through a mysterious and perplexing process from among all the citizens.

Once chosen, the Sealord serves for life until death.

The letter in Viserys' hands is a personal one from Ferrego Antaryon.

The contents of the letter are not very long and convey a simple purpose.

Moreover, Viserys could tell that the letter seemed a bit 'outdated.'

Ferrego Antaryon had written it before Viserys and the Targaryen fleet set out to conquer Storm's End.

After all, Braavos is quite far from Dragonstone. By the time the Sealord received news of the naval battle, it was already too late to take back the letter.

And this letter was not written for Viserys, but in his name.

After his coronation, Viserys was in some sense a wandering king with a claim to the Iron Throne. His bloodline was pure, and his claim was legally impeccable.

In reality, the letter was meant for his mother, Queen Rhaella.

In the letter, the Sealord of Braavos urged Rhaella to take Viserys and abandon Dragonstone, to come and live in Braavos.

Braavos would actively protect and shelter the descendants of the Dragon King, essentially offering them 'political asylum' in more refined terms.

At the same time, the Sealord hinted in the letter that he might consider supporting the Targaryens' 'rightful claim' to the Iron Throne of Westeros at 'certain critical moments.'

The entire letter was written in High Valyrian, showing that the Sealord had more accurate information than the messenger.

However, Viserys read the whole letter without changing his expression, seeing through the flattery.

Braavos might indeed need the poor widowed mother and her son, but certainly not for the reasons of 'justice' and 'legality' written in the letter.

The first Hand of the King after the Conquest, Orys Baratheon, was rumored to be the illegitimate half-brother of Aegon I, sharing Targaryen blood.

However, these were only rumors, without solid evidence, and a bastard did not have legal inheritance rights.

The legal basis for Robert Baratheon's ascension to the Iron Throne was his grandmother's bloodline.

Robert's grandmother was Rhaelle Targaryen, the daughter of Aegon V. Thus, as a 'relative' of the Targaryens, Robert was eligible to ascend the Iron Throne.

Robert's claim was more legitimate than that of the members of House Arryn, House Tully, or House Stark.

Viserys paid no attention to the nonsense in the letter, but he did notice a person subtly mentioned at the end.

In the letter, Ferrego Antaryon invited Queen Rhaella and Prince Viserys to Braavos, where he would secretly arrange for a mysterious person to meet with Rhaella and Viserys.

The identity specified was a term in High Valyrian similar to 'relatives by marriage,' indicating a 'female relative from the bride's side.'

Viserys' High Valyrian was adequate for everyday conversation, but after leaving the Red Keep, the absence of a suitable environment for practice made his language skills somewhat rusty.

Viserys carefully pondered the meaning of the Sealord's words, reading them over and over again, feeling as if he had gained some understanding.

It was because he had been viewing the letter from a different perspective, always putting himself at the center of it, that he hadn't grasped its true meaning at first.

But now that he had awakened to the true intent, it became much clearer when he looked at the letter from Queen Rhaella's perspective.

Queen Rhaella's 'relatives by marriage'?

Queen Rhaella had three children, Viserys and Daenerys, one still a child and the other just an infant. Only her eldest son, Rhaegar, was already married.

Though many chaotic events followed, the relatives by marriage couldn't possibly refer to the Stark family of the North.

"Dorne."

Viserys' expression slightly cleared, and the furrow in his brow relaxed a bit.

"Dorne wants to contact my mother?"

Viserys knew that the Iron Throne was currently negotiating with Dorne. In fact, due to his father Aerys and brother Rhaegar's actions, Dorne had already distanced itself from House Targaryen.

But at this critical moment, Dorne contacted Braavos to play the role of a mediator.

And for some reason, Braavos agreed to secretly arrange a meeting between Dorne and House Targaryen.

"But...didn't their Iron Bank already loan money to the Iron Throne during this time?"

"Aren't they afraid they won't get their money back?

Or...

Do they want to use this situation to manipulate the war and make the Iron Throne owe them even more money?

Viserys carefully considered the entire situation.

Alternatively,

Braavos simply didn't want the Seven Kingdoms across the Narrow Sea to unite once more and wanted to cause them a bit of trouble.

"This has become quite delicate."

Viserys' brow relaxed, and he fell into deep thought, holding the letter in his hand.

He wasn't sure how far the negotiations between Dorne and the Iron Throne had progressed.

He was even more unsure about Dorne's true attitude, whether they genuinely wanted to reconcile with the Iron Throne or were merely pretending.

And whether it was Prince Doran's idea for Dorne to contact House Targaryen or just a secret move by a faction within House Martell that was dissatisfied with the negotiations.

He knew nothing about it.

Viserys could understand Dorne's caution. After all, they were in negotiations with the Iron Throne. If they sent a ship directly to Dragonstone, there would be no need for negotiations, and Westeros would erupt into war once again.

However...

The letter implied something more than just that.

If Viserys understood correctly, the letter's meaning was for Queen Rhaella to bring him to Braavos to meet with representatives from Dorne.

It specifically pointed out that House Targaryen and House Martell were still related.

Then it used an even closer term, indicating a 'female relative from the bride's side.'

Viserys held the letter in his hand, suddenly feeling a sense of foreboding.

"Does...House Martell have any daughters left?"

"They couldn't be targeting me again, could they?"