Chapter 144: The Death of Mirri

"Very well."

"Then, rest in the castle for now."

Having made up her mind, Rhaenys dismissed the red-robed witch and had a servant prepare a room for her to stay in the castle temporarily.

Everything would be decided after Viserys returned.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Having been granted permission to meet the lord of Andalos, Melisandre slightly bowed to express her gratitude.

Afterward, she raised her head to look at the three people in the hall, with her gaze lingering on Mirri for a moment, and then she left the hall.

"Followers of the Lord of Light are skilled in fire magic."

After the red-robed witch had disappeared from the hall, Mirri, as a magical advisor, began to explain.

"The magic of this red-robed witch claiming to come from Asshai may be more powerful than mine."

The hideously faced sorceress didn't avoid the truth and directly admitted that the other party's power was far more unfathomable.

Later,

Everyone else had left the hall, leaving Rhaenys sitting alone on the throne.

She drove everyone away because she wanted some peace and quiet.

The young girl raised her hand to remove the crown from her head, gently holding it in both hands, her beautiful black eyes gazing at the sunlight streaming in from outside the hall, lost in thought for a rare moment.

During Viserys' expedition to expand their territory, Rhaenys had been under immense pressure.

In fact, perhaps no one had noticed, but Rhaenys' personality was gradually changing.

...

However, not too long had passed.

Sunset gave way to moonrise.

On the first night after Melisandre moved into the castle, an unexpected incident occurred.

"What happened?"

"My goodness, how could this be?"

The servants whispered and exclaimed in surprise.

Subsequently, chaotic footsteps sounded, and the castle's guards rushed over, sealing off the scene.

"Quick!"

"Check this side again."

Rhaenys, who had just gone to bed not long ago, arrived at the scene surrounded by soldiers.

This was the room where the three young dragons lived.

Because they were too noisy at night, Rhaenys had found a separate room for the dragons to live in.

However, an accident occurred on this night.

When the patrolling guards reached the room, they found a charred corpse lying outside, still emitting black smoke, with the body burnt to a crisp.

After inspection, the identity of the corpse was confirmed to be Mirri, the castle's magical advisor.

She was suspected to have been burned to death by the black dragon Balerion's dragonfire.

However, this was just speculation, as Balerion couldn't speak and naturally couldn't explain anything.

Even though it was just a guess, the guards in the castle looked at the black dragon, who had grown a little larger, with vigilance and fear in their eyes.

They were afraid that it would suddenly become violent again and harm those around it. Although it was a dragon, it didn't understand human nature and couldn't be measured by human reasoning.

"Balerion burned Mirri to death?"

Rhaenys, surrounded by soldiers, arrived at the scene and looked at Balerion incredulously after learning what had happened.

"This..."

The girl was currently wrapped in a velvet cloak, having rushed over without even having time to comb her hair.

"This... can't be possible."

She whispered in disbelief.

"There is nothing impossible in this world, Your Highness."

Maester Guncer also hurried over from the maester's tower, having heard the news.

A young dragon had burned someone to death. At first, the maester didn't believe it.

But after seeing the charred body of Mirri and the black dragon Balerion surrounded by soldiers, he had no choice but to accept the possibility.

Such a small dragon, barely able to fly, how could it have already mastered the art of breathing fire?

However, when he hurriedly approached, he discovered that it was all true, and the person burned to death was someone he knew well.

Mirri, who had served as a magical advisor in Andalos for five or six years, was an elder in the same way as the maester, and the two were very familiar with each other.

"After all, dragons are not humans."

"Perhaps it simply mistook Mirri for a piece of food."

Maester Guncer arrived at the scene, and his voice was filled with sorrow as he looked at Mirri's charred body.

Beside him, a child cried. Mirri's son had also come to the scene, sobbing uncontrollably at the sight of his mother's burned corpse.

The scene was immediately chaotic and disordered.

"How could this happen?"

Rhaenys felt a headache coming on, unsure of how to handle the situation.

She didn't want to believe that it was Balerion who had burned Mirri to death. She had watched the dragons hatch from their eggs, and they were like three innocent children, with plenty of food available.

Why would they burn Mirri without reason?

However, whether she wanted to believe it or not, the facts were right before her eyes: Balerion may have truly burned her.

"But..."

At that moment, the maester standing nearby suddenly spoke.

"Your Highness, where is the red-robed witch who arrived at the castle during the day?"

"Um?"

Rhaenys, who was at a loss for what to do, suddenly heard her teacher's words and hesitated for a moment.

"Maester Guncer, what do you want with her?"

In Rhaenys' view, the two events were completely unrelated.

However, the maester shook his head upon hearing Rhaenys' words, reminding her.

"Your Highness, do you remember what Mirri said this morning? Followers of the Lord of Light are proficient in fire magic."

"And that Lady... Melisandre, her sorcery is even more advanced than Mirri's."

"Today, she just moved into the castle, and then Mirri was burned to death. As a witch, who could easily burn her?"

As the words of Maester Guncer, dressed in a gray robe, fell, Rhaenys' eyes widened slightly.

"What?"

"Are you implying…"

The girl seemed to interpret the maester's words as suspecting the red priestess who had just arrived at the castle today, suspecting that she had used fire magic to murder the magical advisor, Mirri.

However, the maester still shook his head, speaking quietly.

"This is merely a reasonable suspicion, Your Highness."

"We have no concrete evidence to prove that the red-robed witch used magic to kill Mirri."

Upon hearing her teacher's words, Rhaenys finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She feared that Mirri's death had been caused by her allowing the red-robed witch into the castle, and she would feel guilty if that were the case.

However, just as Rhaenys sighed in relief, the question returned to the forefront.

Had the black dragon really killed someone?

"But… Your Highness."

Then, the maester standing nearby suddenly spoke in a faint voice.

"If we imprison this red-robed witch under the pretext of murdering Mirri…"

"Then people will believe…"

"That Balerion did not kill anyone."

The maester's voice was faint, and Rhaenys' body shuddered suddenly.

She turned her head, looking at her teacher in disbelief.

Under the bright lights surrounding them, the maester's hands were placed in front of him, and his face was a mix of light and shadow, showing no trace of a smile.

.