-Chapter 43-
-Chapter 43-
-6 days later-
-3rd POV-
The capital, bustling with the finals of all the competitions that were about to begin, stood in stark contrast to the atmosphere of the palace in recent days.
Although the tournament held in honor of the weddings of Prince Aemon and Princess Rhaenyra had started with a bang, marked by the death of Jasper Redfort's heir, brother to a friend of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, killed by the Bronze Giant, uncle and right hand of Prince Aemon Targaryen, the electric atmosphere had quickly settled.
The protagonists of this affair were no longer speaking to each other, and Princess Rhaenyra spent a lot of time alone, ensuring she had no other company except that of her cousin, Laena Velaryon, with whom she had grown unexpectedly close.
Though there was nothing suspicious about the two ladies speaking together, since they would soon become both sisters-in-law and cousins-in-law, some sharp minds noted this sudden friendship and paid attention to it, as not everyone would be pleased to see House Velaryon gain more power, or to see Rhaenyra, the legitimate heir to King Viserys, ascend the throne with Aemon Targaryen as her protector, thanks to a reconciliation initiated by House Velaryon.
The calm in the Red Keep had all the signs of a calm before the storm.
---
-MC POV-
"I heard you reconciled with my daughter," my uncle asked me, watching the axe-throwing finals begin.
"Who told you that?" I asked, as far as I knew, Viserys didn't have a Master of Whisperers, so whatever he knew was what his courtiers had reported to him.
'Or what members of his family directly told him, and in this case, it could only be Daemon or Rhaenyra,' I thought, leaning more toward my father but not entirely ruling out my cousin.
"Is it true?" he asked without answering my question.
I shrugged somewhat nonchalantly before saying:
"I'm not sure. We reached some kind of agreement, but to say we're reconciled…"
"I see. And what brought about this change?" my uncle asked.
"We just acted like adults, set our pride aside, talked, and realized we didn't need to oppose each other because we could cooperate to achieve our common goals," I said, trying to explain our pseudo-reconciliation without really doing so.
"I'm glad you've cleared things up," my uncle said.
I nodded, still paying attention to the competitions, as an idea had formed in my mind from watching these useless contests unfold one after another.
---
-Rhaenyra Targaryen POV-
I frowned slightly as I watched my father and cousin whispering constantly, wondering what they were discussing.
"Don't worry, Princess. Whatever he's planning, we'll stop him," Jeyne said, her face expressionless, maintaining a cold and indifferent front.
'Something I admire about her,' I thought, as I normally struggled to control my emotions and not let them show on my face.
I forced a small smile at my cousin, whom I knew I would be forced to betray, and refocused on the competition to avoid facing her, but that was without counting Jessamyn's whispered intervention:
"He will pay for it, he will pay for my brother's murder with his life."
I pretended not to hear her, but I glanced at Ser Harwin, who immediately understood what I wanted to convey.
He waited a few minutes, then stood and said, "I'll be back."
"Where are you going?" I asked, playing the part to hide my lie.
"To talk to my brother; he's been bothering Lord Selwyn's daughter for too long," he said, looking at his brother in the distance, who was indeed talking to a woman with nearly platinum blonde hair like ours.
I nodded to give him permission to leave, which he did, and I prayed.
'Let's hope the situation doesn't escalate.'
---
-Gunthor Royce POV-
"Follow me," said Ser Harwin Fort, commander of the gold cloaks, as he passed by, bumping my shoulder and giving me a venomous look.
I frowned, not understanding what had just happened, but I caught Aemon's gaze and realized he had heard everything and wanted me to follow, which I eventually did.
Once alone, I asked, "What was that about?"
"Sorry for bumping into you. I came to warn you on behalf of the Princess. It seems something is being plotted against Prince Aemon."
"What kind of thing?"
"An assassination attempt or something else," Ser Harwin said, uncertain of what exactly was being planned.
Faced with his lack of certainty, I asked:
"How can I trust you?"
"I simply overheard Jessamyn Redfort muttering that your prince would pay with his life. It wasn't a threat; she said it in a way that suggested it was imminent, as if she was impatient for it to happen," Ser Harwin replied.
I was about to say something more, but he left, concluding:
"I've told you what we know. Now it's up to you to take action. The Princess has done her duty toward the Prince."
I nodded, my head filled with countless questions.
Feeling my temper rising, I took a deep breath before returning to Aemon's side.
Aemon didn't ask me anything, so I stayed silent until cheers erupted in the stadium for the winner of the axe-throwing competition.
The king stood to applaud the champion like everyone else, and it was then that Aemon asked me, "What did he say?"
"You're potentially targeted," I said, observing his face, which didn't change in the slightest.
"I figured it was too quiet," Aemon said with a smile, continuing to applaud the champion before sitting back down, not showing the slightest sign of panic.
'Blood will be spilled,' I thought, recognizing that kind of smile on my nephew's face.