Chapter 766: Chestnut Hair and Purple Eyes

Diana dared not argue with her mother, silently hopping down from Viserys' embrace. She then ran to the side, pulling up her younger brother, a brown-haired little boy kneeling by the pool, quietly observing the goldfish swimming.

Her brother, Herlos, had a quiet temperament, lacking the lively and playful nature typical of children. Unlike his mischievous sister, he seemed to have a natural inclination towards solitude.

Kneeling there, he had no presence at all. Even the descent and departure of dragons failed to capture his attention. Herlos was engrossed in observing the activities of the goldfish. His focused nature was similar to Viserys. When deeply involved in something, he tended to ignore everything else.

This trait resembled Viserys, whose thoughts could unintentionally pass an entire day when engrossed in a matter. However, Herlos was nothing like his mother, Rhaenyra.

Rhaenyra, when young, was a troublemaker, only becoming more restrained as she grew older.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, Diana, watching the brown-haired boy by the pool with a hint of distraction, was unexpectedly pulled up by her sister.

"The bond between these siblings."

"Is truly wonderful."

On the other side, three adults watched as Diana played with the reluctantly engaged Herlos. After a brief silence, Rhaenyra couldn't help but smile.

Observing this scene, the olive-skinned, elegantly dressed Grand Queen had a subtle change in expression. The sight reminded her of the days when she and her brother Quentin Martell played in the flowing water garden outside Sunspear.

There too were fountains, pools, gardens, and their age difference was similar to Diana and Herlos.

It was a perfect childhood, free from desires, demands, or the machinations of adults. There existed only a profound affection between two siblings.

"They are like the moon and the sun."

Diana and Herlos' names were given by Viserys, representing the moon and sun gods in some civilization. Though Rhaenyra and Arianne did not know which civilization Viserys referred to, they understood his vast knowledge and photographic memory, refraining from questioning to avoid exposing their limited knowledge.

"Viserys, perhaps—"

Arianne, dressed in sandy yellow chiffon, accentuating her figure with a tight-fitting bodice, gold earrings dangling from her earlobes, appeared noble and mysterious under the setting sun. Her expression changed subtly at the scene, reminiscent of her and her brother Quentin Martell playing in the water garden outside Yronwood.

There, too, were fountains, pools, gardens, and the age gap between them was similar to Diana and Herlos.

It was also a perfect childhood, without desires, demands, or the intrigues of adults—only a deep bond between two siblings.

"Viserys, perhaps—"

Arianne's words were cut short as Viserys, hearing her, slightly furrowed his brows, then relaxed, and spoke.

"Alright."

"I understand."

On the other side, Arianne also realized that bringing up this matter at the moment might be too early. She nodded slightly and remained silent.

The two queens of Viserys had distinct personalities and appearances.

Princess Daenerys had a fiery temper, strict but emotional, more seductive and better-shaped than Rhaenyra.

The young queen's personality was lively and playful, with a slender and graceful figure. Rhaenyra was slightly taller than Arianne.

Both women were of noble lineage. Viserys, after marrying the two queens, treated them equally, without favoritism.

Spending a night with Rhaenyra would mean spending a night with Arianne. Favored or scorned, this had always been the root cause of harem disputes. Viserys did not want turmoil in his harem.

Fortunately, his two wives were sensible, not resorting to the various methods used by past queens to vie for the attention of their shared husband, or even resorting to harm each other.

The fact that the Emperor married two queens had caused a small-scale controversy within the Empire, mainly due to the dissatisfaction of the faithful of the Faith of the Seven.

According to the teachings of the Faith of the Seven, one should follow the monogamous system. Wives should be loyal to their husbands, and vice versa. Otherwise, it would be considered a sin of bigamy, and the traditional customs of the Targaryen family were also considered sinful in the eyes of the church.

In history, there have been several conflicts due to this issue, the most famous being the uprising of the Faith Militant in 41 AC.

This chaos and war caused turmoil in the country, rivers of blood flowed, three kings were replaced, and the final result was that the Targaryen family suppressed the uprising with blood and fire, permanently dissolving the Sons of the Warrior and the Poor Fellows.

Therefore, Viserys in recent years has become increasingly intolerant of the church's behavior, especially the fanatic Seven worshipers.

He suppressed the fanatical believers, such as the sparrows, without hesitation, dispatching the special agents of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to continuously hunt down these people until they were completely killed, killing them until they dared not resist.

The Red God Church in this regard appeared very clever. The red-robed monks, in accordance with the will of the Emperor, continuously extolled the benefits of marrying multiple queens, which made Viserys more satisfied.

In this traditional era, it was not unacceptable for men to be lustful, especially when they were kings and emperors. Few kings in history had only one queen, and most of them had several lovers privately.

For example, King Maekar I had six wives, and 'Fool King' Aegon IV claimed to have slept with nine hundred women, although he might not have the ability with his body. There were still nine public mistresses.

Viserys also admitted that he married Rhaenyra for desire. In addition to his two wives, he also had many lovers. It's just that outsiders rarely know.

As for the problem of the hair color of his son Herlos Targaryen, it was unexpected to Viserys.

He and Daenerys's daughter Diana perfectly inherited the blood characteristics of the Targaryen family—silver hair, purple eyes, and closeness to dragons.

However, the eldest son born to Rhaenyra, who possessed half of Rhaegar's blood, only inherited the characteristic of purple eyes, not the visible characteristic of the Targaryen family—silver-gold hair.