-Chapter 9-

-Chapter 9-

-10 Years Later-

After the death of my great-grandmother, I refocused on my goal, which was to survive the bloodiest war this continent would face during this century.

I stopped being foolish and fully revealed how intelligent I was, which increased my value in my father's eyes but did not please my uncle Viserys at all because 'the child blessed by the seven' overshadowed 'the delight of the kingdom' too much.

My uncle's jealousy caused some minor tensions, but given his kindness, he never took it out on me directly.

The relationships that my mother and I had with the rest of the family members quickly froze, but I did not let myself be restrained because I managed to avoid confining Urrax, which meant he watched over me at all times.

(since I can call on him with a thought)

One thing leading to another, I finally decided with my mother to visit my grandfather Yorbert Royce towards the end of the year 102, and we never left again.

Daemon indeed ordered me to return with him, but finally, under my categorical refusal to return to live in the capital, he left alone for the snake pit.

He was really very angry because, if I remember correctly, he called me a little bronze bastard.

I don't know if it was really supposed to hurt my feelings, but it didn't, and so, during the following nine years, I learned everything I could and trained to succeed my grandfather Yorbert Royce, and that day finally came in the year 105.

During the ten years following the death of my great-grandmother, nothing different happened in the capital, somewhat confirming my hypothesis that only my interference changed the original ASOIAF timeline.

My great-grandfather, King Jaehaerys, died in the year 103 after the conquest of my ancestor Aegon the Conqueror.

Then, my father was humiliated at the Maidenpool tournament by a young knight, Ser Criston Cole, the kingmaker himself.

The year 104 was quite calm, except that my father was appointed to all sorts of positions on the small council, messing up each time.

You can't blame him; the man is simply not good at anything other than wielding a sword. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.

Unfortunately for my father, he didn't manage to establish himself in his brother's small council, and he even had the audacity to mock his nephew's death, which inflamed his brother's anger, who stripped him of all his titles and prerogatives as the Prince Heir of House Targaryen.

My uncle, the king, of course, made his daughter his heir while marrying the daughter of his Hand of the King, a rookie mistake that would cost his daughter the throne.

Then, a period of calm ensued until the year 108, when my father Daemon Targaryen decided to make a name for himself by invading the Stepstones in the name of the crown that had 'unofficially' disavowed him because it would be an affront to the only dragon rider who truly supported King Viserys, as well as to me and House Royce, which practically ruled the Vale even after the death of my grandfather, who was Regent and Protector of the Vale in the year 105.

The crown remained silent during Daemon's entire campaign, neither approving nor disapproving, and finally, once the news that Daemon had been crowned King of the Narrow Sea spread, a chilling wind quickly swept across the continent.

Everyone wondered if my father was going to declare war on his brother to reclaim "his" place as heir.

Ultimately, nothing happened, and Daemon did absolutely nothing against his brother.

He simply secluded himself on his island to raise his bastard, whom he also named Baelon.

I don't know if he did it on purpose or not, but in any case, it didn't go down well with my dear uncle, with whom I frequently corresponded in High Valyrian for years.

From the tone of his letters, I sensed that he wanted me to marry Rhaenyra, but I was hesitant because I didn't want to take an active part in the Dance of the Dragons.

I simply wanted to reap the fruits of everyone's labor once they had all killed each other.

I remember that in my previous life, I had seen a quote on the internet that said: 'The best way to win the Game Of Thrones is not to play it.'

So I will try to put that into practice and play as little as possible in the Game Of Thrones while continuously strengthening my position to face any enemy.

"Still thinking about the best way to improve the lives of our serfs?" asked my mother, entering my solar with a small cheerful smile.

I responded with a soft smile and said: "The better their living conditions, the more soldiers and shepherds we will have to watch over our flocks."

My mother smiled and then said: "Some might really think that you don't care about them and that you do this simply out of necessity, but unfortunately for you, I know you by heart and I am your mother."

I rolled my eyes and then said: "Improving their lives is not a sin; they do so much for us that I just want them to really enjoy life and not die of exhaustion like a draft horse."

"You have a good heart, my son, but take care of this heart, otherwise, one day, malicious people might take advantage of your kindness to hurt it," she said, warning me.

I nodded and then said in a tone full of ridicule, holding my chest: "I promise to take care of my little heart."

"Don't mock your mother," she said.

"I'm not mocking," I said, resuming a fake solemn expression.

"I hope for your sake," she said before stopping when she saw the letter bearing the king's seal.

"The king has solicited you again?" my mother asked, knowing very well what the king wanted.

"Yes, he sends me more and more letters these days," I said, nodding.

"You know why he does it," said my mother in a no-nonsense tone.

"I know, and I don't agree. I committed myself to the Lady of the Vale, Jeyne Arryn," I said.

"Oh, don't talk to me about that…" she began before I interrupted her.

"Mother, whatever our strength, she remains above all our liege lady and the cousin of the heir to the Iron Throne," I said, preventing her from saying something she might regret in the future.

She sniffed, visibly not agreeing with me, but she finally kept her opinions to herself and said while looking out the window at the knights and squires in training:

"We have trained 500 knights since my father's death and recruited over 2,000 young squires who will become young knights in less than 5 years. With our vassals and levies, we could push our host to more than 15,000 or even 20,000 soldiers. That's more than enough to defend ourselves against that harlot who has dishonored you openly for far too long."

I smiled softly, noting the worry in her voice, and then I said: "We are her vassals, nothing more, nothing less. The training of knights is only in the interest of protecting our people and our vassals from an assault by the mountain clans."

My mother rolled her eyes and said: "If you say so."

A small silence settled, and after a few moments, my mother asked me: "Are you going to respond favorably this time?"

I gave her a look that said 'not even in your dreams,' and she knelt before me and said, grabbing my face with both hands:

"May the Seven bear witness, I am happy that you are loyal and respect the commitment your father made with your grandfather, but you are not obligated to keep it. You are so handsome and intelligent, not to mention the fact that you are a dragon rider. No one can force you to do what you don't want to do."

I smiled and said, holding my mother's hands: "I am grateful to you, but I am committed, and whatever our liege lady does, it is my duty to support her with all my being. House Royce is a proud and honorable house. I will not sacrifice thousands of years of dignity simply for such trivialities."

My mother sighed, stood up, and then said: "You are not a Royce, you are a Targaryen, you could become King, why do you refuse to see it?"

I remained silent, and then she sighed one last time before leaving my solar, discouraged.

'Forgive me, mother, but a secret is only a secret when it is known by only one person,' I thought, looking at my attribute sheet and Urrax's.

• [Name: Aemon Targaryen]

• [Age: 12 years]

• [Title: Prince of House Targaryen]

• [Allegiances: House Arryn: Lady Jeyne Arryn, House Targaryen: King Viserys Targaryen]

[Companion: Urrax]

• {Attributes}

[Constitution: 89]

[Strength: 76]

[Endurance: 81]

[Dexterity: 79]

[Agility: 77]

[Speed: 78]

[Intelligence: 130]

[Willpower: 72]

[Charisma: 70]

[Perception: 71]

[Wisdom: 80]

[Unassigned Points: 0]

{Passive Skill}

[Unburnt LVL 3: Your resistance to ordinary fire is 30%, and your dragon lineage is purified by 12%]

[Urrax]

[Physical: 13,982]

[Magic: 10,000]

[Attribute Points: 0]