Chapter 298: Willemrys

He lived two lives at once, and for the first time, he felt rushed. An awkward moment filled the room, but fortunately, Viserys quickly broke the tension.

"In the future, the Targaryen succession law will follow the order established by the Great Council in the 101st year of the Aegon calendar. In addition, regardless of age, only our eldest son will be the first successor. And I've already chosen a name." Viserys looked at Dany and said, "It's settled. Let's call him Willemrys."

The name had come to Viserys when he returned to Tyrosh and saw the statue. Even before that, he had planned to give House Tully's Riverrun to House Darry, the family that had protected them, in the person of Ser Willem. "Willemrys, Willemrys," Dany murmured, repeating the name several times.

She liked it very much. Both "Willem" and "Rys" were syllables that made her heart sing when she heard them, and she was pleased with the name for her eldest son.

Aemon, too, favored the name, which combined elements of both Westeros and Valyria. Jaehaerys, Viserys, and Aerys—'Rys' was a suffix that the Targaryen royal family had a particular fondness for when naming their children. The name "Willem" also meant 'Warden' in the common tongue. The combination of the two felt perfect.

"But Dany is still too young. Let's wait until she comes of age at least," Viserys remarked. It was generally believed in those days that both men and women came of age at sixteen.

Dany thought for a moment. 'There are still three years... no, two and a half years,' she calculated silently.

Viserys had originally planned to wait until all seven dragons were able to carry people before going to Slaver's Bay. However, the growth rate of the other six dragons lagged far behind the yellow dragon. It would take at least half a year for them to be ready. With the countdown to the collapse of the Great Wall already underway, he considered letting Dany learn to ride a dragon. Once she had a degree of safety, they could set off for Slaver's Bay.

Since the news that the yellow dragon could already fly with a passenger hadn't spread, Viserys deliberately controlled the information. It would paralyze the slave owners when the time came. So, the two of them went to an uninhabited island for her dragon-riding lessons.

Viserys instructed her to ride on the yellow dragon's back with a parachute strapped on. "If you push hard to the left, Wealthbringer will fly left. Push hard to the right, and it will fly right."

"Brother, why do you still call it Wealthbringer? Give it a proper name."

"What's wrong with Wealthbringer? If that doesn't suit you, we could go with 'Full Barn.' Don't interrupt. Dragon riding isn't as easy as you think."

Finally, under Viserys's detailed guidance, Dany began her first test flight. She was much lighter than him and controlled the dragon's spine with a gentler touch. Dragon and rider moved in perfect harmony.

Excitement swelled in Dany as she watched the landscape below widen, and Viserys grew smaller beneath her. Her long silver hair streamed behind her, shimmering like a strand of silver silk, glowing with a pearlescent luster in the sunlight. The dragon hovered above Viserys's head for more than half an hour, yet still, it was not satisfied.

...

After some time resting in Tyrosh, the day finally came to set off for Slaver's Bay. Feles, who had received advance notice, sent his younger sister, Shinelli, along as well. Now that both Viserys and Feles had escaped the precarious life of commoners, Viserys found himself open to accepting Shinelli. He promised to make her his concubine in the future. The main reason was simple—he could now take a concubine, which he saw as a kind of reward. After all, she carried the bloodline of the Dragonlords.

'In the future, our descendants will be able to ride a dragon,' Viserys mused to himself. Feles wouldn't be disappointed when he saw his nephew soar through the sky on dragonback. It would ensure the prosperity of House Rogare for generations to come.

Though their outward purpose was presented as a shopping trip, in truth, they were heading to war. Naturally, Viserys didn't bring just women with him. Alongside trusted "elders" of the Windblown group like Jorah, Dick, and Gerrold, he brought newcomers such as Dyman and Milen, who had both been born slaves. Viserys informed them that there might be fighting in Slaver's Bay but did not disclose the full extent of their mission. Despite this, none of them were afraid. Seven dragons would be traveling with them, after all.

The largest of the dragons, the yellow one, was already bigger than an adult buffalo, while the smallest, the blue dragon named Vyrgion, had grown to the size of a warhorse.

"Viserys, you must be careful. I have already experienced the destruction of my house once, and I do not wish to endure that again," Aemon said solemnly as he bade them farewell. His voice was heavy with concern.

Aemon hadn't slept the night before. Even when he managed to doze off briefly, he was haunted by troubling dreams. He had seen visions of a dragon being shot down, and the heads of Viserys and Dany hanging from the battlements of Astapor. The Valyrian Empire, which had just begun to rise again, was falling apart in his nightmares.

"I promise you, when I return this time, I'll never take such risks again—and I'll try to have children!" Viserys teased with a playful grin. Dany and Shinelli exchanged glances, both feeling a bit embarrassed, though it was Shinelli who blushed the deepest. When she had first heard from Feles that Viserys had agreed to the marriage, she was so overjoyed that she couldn't sleep for two days. At 17, she no longer felt she had the luxury of time.

"You must protect His Grace!" Connington told his son, though he'd lost count of how many times he'd repeated it over the past few days.

"Don't worry, Father. If anyone dares to harm His Grace or the Princess, they'll have to get through me first," the younger Connington said confidently, patting his Valyrian steel armor.

"You must be ever watchful. His Grace is strong, but he only has two eyes. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" Connington nodded firmly, though there was something he hadn't mentioned to his father. Being young and having more free time during the day, he had been improving quickly in fire magic. He had now reached the point where he could manipulate fireballs to ignite targets up to 20 meters away. Recently, he had been experimenting with enchanting weapons with flame, and although he hadn't succeeded yet, he felt the breakthrough was close.

As the group prepared to board, Viserys, surrounded by guards, escorted Dany and Shinelli onto the flagship Profit. Despite the vast wealth flowing into the treasury from the Free Cities—nearly a million golden dragons a year in taxes, plus profits from soap, tobacco, and other ventures, totaling around 1.7 million gold dragons annually—Viserys had spent most of it on the people. The remaining several hundred thousand gold dragons had been used by Regis as a deposit for Slaver's Bay.

Viserys's usually healthy finances were now a bit strained. However, if this campaign succeeded, his wealth and military power would grow beyond his wildest expectations. The Dothraki cavalry, after their "labor and ideological transformation," would be ready for deployment. And then there were the more than 20,000 Unsullied, along with a vast fleet ready to sail.

Slaver's Bay! I'm coming on horseback! Viserys thought, his eyes gleaming with ambition.