Chapter 164: Swords, Armor, and Horns

"So, I followed the 'brave ones' into the castle."

"I must admit, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made."

Gillyan didn't elaborate on why he said that, but it made Viserys, the reader, shiver slightly.

He was now fully immersed in the story, even feeling a sense of empathy.

He had a feeling that those who turned back might have encountered something even more terrifying.

Whoosh...

In the silent room, the sound of turning pages filled the air as Viserys opened the next one.

At that moment.

Knock, knock, knock…

The door to the 'maester's' room was knocked upon, the sudden noise startling Viserys.

The silver-haired young man looked up from the book, his gaze towards the door. He nodded slightly without any annoyance, and someone nearby hurriedly went to open it.

"Your Grace."

A soldier entered from outside.

"The maester is dead."

He came to inform Viserys of the death of Gillyan Lannister, who had died bleeding from all orifices after drinking the poisoned wine.

"Alright."

Viserys, having anticipated this outcome, simply nodded.

However, the soldier didn't leave. He hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

"Your Grace, Princess Rhaenys... "

The soldier went on to tell Viserys that Rhaenys and Daenerys wanted to see him.

They had learned about the situation, but not the maester's death, and they didn't believe he had truly betrayed House Targaryen.

Now, Rhaenys was rushing over to plead for her teacher.

Viserys had anticipated this since Gillyan had once tutored the two girls. To spare Rhaenys and Daenerys any emotional turmoil, he had purposely sent them away when administering the poison.

However, upon hearing the soldier's words, Viserys hesitated for a moment before shaking his head and refusing Rhaenys's request.

"Never mind."

"Let them calm down."

Experiencing betrayal wasn't all that uncommon, especially when surrounded by influential people. After all, desire is one of the most difficult emotions for humans to control.

Viserys had seen his fair share of betrayals in his lifetime.

After all, when House Targaryen was on the brink of collapse, everyone sought to distance themselves, not wanting to go down with the sinking ship. It was a normal way of thinking.

Who would have thought that Viserys would later accomplish so much and turn the tide of fate?

What's more, the 'maester' had been an enemy from the start, seeking revenge for his brother, Kevan Lannister.

From the ambush on the Kingsroad six years ago, when Viserys drove his sword through Kevan's chest, to the Red Keep massacre, House Targaryen and House Lannister had been locked in a blood feud with no room for reconciliation.

Thus, Viserys didn't harbor much anger towards the maester's 'betrayal'; instead, it served as a wake-up call, reminding him that there were still debts of blood to be settled across the Narrow Sea.

Ever since fleeing King's Landing in a hurried escape by carriage, Viserys had been waiting for the day he could return to reclaim what was his.

Rhaenys was too young at the time to remember their father, Rhaegar Targaryen, and their mother, Elia Martell.

It goes without saying that their brother, Aegon Targaryen, who was widely believed to have died from falling off the wall, was not forgotten.

Rhaenys simply kept repeating the names of the three of them, remembering who she was supposed to hate.

But she didn't know where to channel this hatred.

Daenerys was even more detached from the so-called hatred.

Her father, mother, and elder brother were just code names for her. Throughout her entire life, Daenerys only had her brother Viserys and Rhaenys, who forced her to call her "sister."

Thus, the driving force of revenge for House Targaryen now rested solely on Viserys.

They knew nothing, which was why they were so naive.

"Yes, Your Grace."

Upon hearing Viserys' slightly weary voice, the guard's expression tightened, and he quickly responded before turning to leave.

Not far away, a brown-haired girl stood quietly in front of the tower, looking at the flickering lights. The guard who had left the room approached Rhaenys and shook his head slightly.

"Princess Rhaenys…"

Disappointment was clearly written on Rhaenys' face.

She hadn't seen the evidence, so she couldn't believe that her teacher had truly betrayed House Targaryen.

She hoped that Viserys was mistaken.

While Gillyan was plotting to eliminate Viserys, he had been a good and dedicated teacher to the two girls, perhaps to conceal his identity.

Even when investigating the castle's mole not long ago, Viserys had suspected many people, but it wasn't until the end that he noticed the maester because Gillyan's acting was nearly flawless.

…

Meanwhile, inside the maester's tower.

After rejecting Rhaenys' plea, Viserys continued to focus on Gillyan's memoir.

He had just reached the most crucial part when he was interrupted.

Next, Gillyan and a group of greedy sailors and slaves entered the castle shrouded in a hazy fog.

"Upon entering the castle, we encountered a garden that had long lost any trace of life. The flowers had withered, and the ground was littered with dead wood, broken pillars. We began searching the castle, starting with the servants' quarters."

"Sure enough, as soon as we entered the castle, looting began. A lowly slave drew his sword, killing a sailor named Kevin, and then took the candelabrum he had acquired first."

"Kevin... I remember him. He was one of the few who stood up and chose to believe in me during our most difficult times."

"Subsequently, a chaotic looting broke out. People fought and killed each other in a disorganized manner, completely forgetting that their greatest enemy wasn't their own kind."

"And this was just the servants' quarters."

Gillyan's handwriting was somewhat messy at this point, as his emotions seemed to be unstable while recalling these events.

He also emphasized the word 'own kind,' and Viserys wondered if there was a hidden meaning behind it.

"After paying a heavy price, people finally calmed down, and the candelabrum that started the bloodshed somehow ended up in my hands."

"I suggested that everyone put all the valuable items they found in a bronze chest, to be sold and divided equally when we returned to Volantis."

"After paying some necessary costs, we finally united and continued our search, arriving at the castle's great hall…"

"However, we didn't find treasure here, but we did find the monster that attacked us…"

"Its figure was shrouded in darkness, somewhat indistinct, looking like a strong but hunched man, who seemed to be savoring something."

"Later, I realized that he wasn't afraid of us; a single human was just enough to satiate his hunger."

"At that moment, I glimpsed through the gap outside the great hall and saw three objects next to the throne high above."

"A sword and a suit of armor hung on the wall behind the throne, and a massive horn lay on the table…"