-Chapter 40-

-Chapter 40-

-POV MC-

As I entered my chambers after an exhausting day spent watching nameless knights trying to face renowned ones in order to make a name for themselves and earn a place in the nobility, I found myself whistling with joy.

I had won the first battle and dealt a huge blow to Rhaenyra.

"Laena, as stunning as ever," I said, looking at my magnificent fiancée, who was watching me with a disappointed look.

"So you've decided to sail through the storm no matter the cost," she said in a small, defeated voice.

"I once heard your father say that any good sailor, once the storm is spotted, must either avoid it or sail straight into it," I said as I got comfortable, removing everything unnecessary and keeping only a loose shirt that didn't hinder my movements.

"I doubt my father said it quite like that, but I do recognize his spirit in the words you just spoke," Laena said, walking around me.

"For a long time, I believed that fleeing the capital would allow me to live a more peaceful life, with fewer troubles, but all my problems come from here. I could very well abandon the Vale today, but tomorrow, if war breaks out and I don't have enough dragons or soldiers to ensure the safety of my House, I will be the only one to blame," I said, moving closer to her as I spoke.

"And you're ready to go against the king, the future queen, and the most powerful lord in the realm for that?" she asked, pretending not to be troubled by my proximity, which was more intimate than what was generally considered proper.

"What can they do?" I asked, spreading my arms wide.

"I ordered Gunthor to kill Jasper Redfort, and everyone knows it. Do you see any chains on my wrists?" I asked, extending my wrists so she could check if any chains were attached.

"Aren't you afraid I'll tell what you just confessed to me?" she asked softly, her gaze tinged with a hint of challenge.

I raised an eyebrow and then said:

"It's your word against mine. And even if Viserys were to condemn me, Urrax is my guarantee of safety. I'd burn his court to the ground before fleeing far away, taking you with me, of course."

"Vhagar is much bigger than Urrax," said Laena, the challenge in her eyes growing deeper.

"True, but she's also much older than him," I said in a nonchalant tone, without the slightest fear of her dragon.

'Though Urrax can't compare to her in terms of flame power or size, he's much faster than she is,' I thought confidently, not to mention our spiritual connection, which gave me the advantage of being able to communicate almost instantly with Urrax.

A flame lit in Laena's eyes, and I said, as I pulled her close:

"No matter her ferocity, she's slow compared to Urrax, and you know it as well as I do. I'd make short work of both of you."

Little by little, we got closer until the door to my chambers was slammed open by none other than my mother and father.

'Okay, that's really strange,' I thought, surprised to see them together.

Laena quickly detached herself from my arms and whispered, "We're not finished," before swiftly leaving under the stunned gaze of my parents, whose anger had almost evaporated at the sight of their son about to "dip the biscuit."

As soon as Laena closed the doors behind her, the anger returned to my parents' faces as if by magic.

'Maybe I was too quick to think they weren't angry anymore.'

"Have you lost your mind?! You attacked Rhaenyra in front of the entire court! You've just exposed us to the…"

I stopped listening the moment my father started talking to me about the dangers of internal conflicts within House Targaryen, because I was the one who had lectured him about it when he used to provoke his brother for a bit of attention, until he realized what it was when Corlys positioned himself as the solution to Daemon's problem.

"Are you listening to me?" my father shouted, capturing my gaze, which had drifted off as I was thinking of something else.

"I find it quite bold of you to lecture me about internal strife when you're the primary cause of it," I said suddenly.

"Excuse me?" my father said.

"If you had managed to hold your tongue when you were younger, and simply kept your cock in your pants in public, I would be Prince Consort today, and Viserys wouldn't have had to kill Aemma to get sons. He wouldn't have had to marry Otto Hightower's daughter, and we wouldn't be facing a succession war."

"A succession war led by who? Alicent's brats?" Daemon said, completely ignoring the rest of my argument.

I didn't go back to it and said, "She's on her fourth child—four potential dragonriders and four potential royal marriages. You all think that because I don't bow down to worship the great goddess Rhaenyra, I'm her enemy, but you couldn't be more wrong."

"Explain yourself," Daemon said.

I looked my father straight in the eyes and said:

"I know you have some sort of special relationship with her, so tell her this: my problem only concerns Jeyne. If she agrees to let her go, then we'll have no more issues. But if not, make sure she knows that I'll turn at least half the realm against her, starting with the North and the Vale, and that I'll ally with the Hightowers to see her stripped of her title as heir. It's been done once before, and I was already the key player in the game. I don't see why I couldn't become that again. After all, like the previous king, Viserys will always prefer peace to war."