Chapter 46: The Traitor

Viserys held Daenerys's small hand, and the sense of kinship from their shared blood surged forth.

Blood is thicker than water.

The infant girl in her swaddling clothes revealed a happy smile on her wrinkled little face, giggling incessantly.

Although she couldn't understand who the boy in front of her was, the closeness hidden in her blood told Daenerys that this person would be one of the closest to her in her life.

Viserys stood by the baby's crib and playfully teased his little sister for a moment before letting out a small yawn.

Exhausted from the long journey, he stopped teasing Daenerys and regained his composure, standing straight.

Standing by the crib, looking somewhat at a loss, was a young woman with freckles on her face and an ample bosom full of milk.

She was the wet nurse the guards had found to care for Daenerys.

The wet nurse was a bit flustered at the moment. This was the first important person she had seen since arriving at the castle, and the acting lord and knights in armor all stood obediently behind the young boy.

Viserys's gaze then turned to the wet nurse who was caring for his sister. His light purple eyes held a scrutinizing look as he sized her up.

As Viserys's mental strength surpassed twenty, his gaze seemed to carry an oppressive force, causing those who met his eyes to feel an inexplicable urge to retreat.

The well-endowed wet nurse swallowed nervously, never imagining she would be intimidated by a young boy's gaze.

The room fell silent, and an air of stillness hung for a moment.

Then, the boy's pre-adolescent, spring-like pleasant voice rang out.

"Reward!"

Viserys reached into his pocket, trying to find a few silver stags to reward her, as a token of encouragement, and to thank the wet nurse for nursing his child while also sharing her milk with Daenerys.

However, to Viserys's embarrassment, he patted and searched, certain that he should have a few silver stags in his pocket. He had played with them before falling asleep in the ship's cabin the night before.

Could it be that he had dropped them while being too tired and falling asleep, and they had ended up under the bed?

That would be too unfortunate – losing his money in the ship's cabin.

Viserys secretly resolved to find the money the next day.

However, the more pressing matter at hand was how to alleviate the awkward situation...

With Viserys's crisp voice, the people in the room shivered slightly. No one expected Viserys to be so generous.

However, as Viserys rummaged through his clothes, he never found what he was looking for, and the gazes of the people in the room began to change.

"This..."

The people in the room exchanged glances, and the atmosphere became extremely awkward for a moment.

Viserys's little face remained tense, appearing surprisingly composed.

While he continued to search meaninglessly in his empty pocket, his mind was racing, trying to figure out how to defuse the awkward situation.

"Your Majesty."

"Your wallet seems to be with me."

At that moment, Sir William, standing behind Viserys, could no longer bear to watch.

He knew his disciple all too well and was the first to realize that Viserys must have run out of money in his pocket.

The instructor then took a gold dragon from his pocket and handed it to Viserys.

Viserys sighed with relief and gave Sir William a grateful glance.

He then cleared his throat, caressed the carving on the surface of the gold dragon, and, suppressing the reluctance in his heart, handed the gleaming gold coin to the wet nurse as a reward.

The wet nurse was naturally taken aback by the gift, knowing that the value of a single gold dragon was enough to buy her services and send her to work in Shataya's manse in King's Landing.

After rewarding the wet nurse, Viserys turned to the people behind him and abruptly addressed Sir William.

"Sir William."

"I'm a bit concerned about Daenerys's safety after what happened before."

Viserys was referring to the incident a few months ago when mercenaries from across the Narrow Sea secretly infiltrated Dragonstone and attempted an assassination.

"Why don't you stay here tonight?"

Daenerys and the wet nurse were staying in the former room of Queen Rhaella. There were enough rooms here to spare one for Sir William, while Viserys remained in his old bedroom.

He hoped the master-at-arms could protect his sister's safety.

The curly-haired, middle-aged master-at-arms hesitated briefly after hearing the young king's words, but eventually nodded in agreement.

"Alright."

He was unsure why Viserys had suddenly made this decision, but he had a feeling there might be more to it than met the eye.

...

Later.

The night was deep.

After visiting his sister, Viserys finally returned to his own bedroom to rest.

The entire castle had fallen silent, seemingly fast asleep.

However, in the distance...

At the port of Dragonstone, Ser Joffrey donned his armor and took a longsword from a soldier, fastening it to his waist.

A group of strong and elite soldiers from the fleet followed the old knight, but instead of riding warhorses, they walked towards Dragonstone castle on foot, extinguishing all torches.

Dozens of soldiers, led by the old knight, approached the castle silently under the cover of night.

Within the castle...

Viserys returned to his bedroom, not bothering to remove his armor, only covering himself with a blanket. He blew out the candle with a huff and fell into a deep sleep.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

In the distance, the church bell rang, signaling the time.

A faint hint of dawn appeared on the horizon, the time when people were most tired and weary.

A guard who had been on duty all night yawned. However, at that moment, a figure emerged from the darkness, holding a dagger in one hand and covering the guard's mouth with the other. The dagger was thrust viciously into the guard's throat.

The sharp dagger penetrated without resistance.

The guard's eyes widened in terror, staring in disbelief at the person who had killed him.

He never expected that this person would suddenly strike him down.

Before he could comprehend what had happened, his vision went black, and his body collapsed to the ground.

The acting lord of Dragonstone, a bastard from Dorne, wiped the blood from his face, looking somewhat sinister. A few Targaryen guards followed behind him.

As the fleet achieved a major victory in Shipbreaker Bay, they realized that they couldn't delay any longer, or they would eventually be exposed.

Their sense of crisis deepened, and finally, on the eve of dawn, they made up their minds to execute their plan.

"Follow me!"

"Kill the vile spawn of the dragon!"