Chapter 558: Operation Black Sweep

Within the Red Keep, secret plots unfolded, unbeknownst to the public.

After Viserys ascended the throne, a complete overhaul of the personnel took place. The Unsullied, loyal to the core, replaced the former guards. Wet nurses and serving maids from the other side of the Narrow Sea, from places like Andalos and the Hightower, filled in the vacancies.

Sofia, an elderly servant who had served multiple Targaryen kings and had been a personal maid to Viserys's mother, returned to the Red Keep to assist Queen Arianne in caring for Princess Daenerys.

Today's Red Keep was not the same as during Robert's era, where information would leak like a sieve. Now, the common folk in King's Landing were in the dark, but they had grown accustomed to the shifts in political power.

Prince Aegon, the son of King Rhaegar, shocked all by announcing his allegiance to the Faith of the Seven. He abandoned his family name, devoting himself wholly to the Seven and becoming a prominent figure within the Faith.

On the other side, the City Watch, now in golden cloaks, and a mysterious group dressed in black were out in force.

"Quick, quick, quick!"

"Don't let them escape!"

Their actions were surgical. They kicked down doors, apprehending those involved in the Red Keep insurrection.

These individuals had returned home, thinking they had escaped doom. Little did they know they had been watched all along, bringing calamity upon their own families.

Thud—

Agents from the Master of Whisperers and the City Watch soldiers burst in. Any resistance was futile.

"You heretical scum!"

An old man, his hair peppered with gray, trembled in anger at the sight of the soldiers, conveniently forgetting his own role in the chaos.

He had helped destroy shops that supported the king, set a brothel ablaze, and two young girls had perished in the flames.

He lunged at an agent from the Master of Whisperers with a kitchen knife.

"Hmph—"

"Old man, you're seeking your own death."

The agent, dressed in black and masked, narrowed his icy eyes.

I've seen many rebellious citizens, he thought, but none survive the Master of Whisperers' interrogations.

"Kill him!"

The leader of the agents commanded.

Crossbows lifted in unison, and in an instant, the old man was pinned to the wall, blood spattering.

"Father!"

The old man's son charged in a fit of rage and sorrow, but what could he do against armored soldiers? His fists met metal, ineffective, scraping his palms.

A spear thrust through his chest, and he collapsed in a pool of blood.

"By the King's command!"

"Arrest all rioters!"

The soldiers, in gleaming armor and blood-stained spears, roared.

"Anyone who resists, dies!"

The golden cloaks, now trained by the Unsullied, were a new force—disciplined, formidable, unlike their corrupt predecessors.

"Gods will punish you all!"

The old man's last words were a curse, his eyes widened, blood frothing from his mouth.

The same scene played out across King's Landing.

"City Watch! Open the door!"

The citizens were too terrified to comply. Soldiers kicked down doors and stormed in.

And so, in disciplined rows, the City Watch swept through the streets of King's Landing, causing panic among the commoners.

They apprehended numerous rioters, many of whom were summarily executed or imprisoned.

But the ring leader, known as 'Big Sparrow,' was nowhere to be found. It seemed he had information that allowed him to flee King's Landing just in time.