-Chapter 173-

-Chapter 173-

-POV Cersei Lannister-

Seeing the face of that bitch Bellegere change in the face of the accusation was a rare pleasure because since she arrived at the imperial court she had done everything perfectly to the point that some considered her more legitimate to be empress than Arianne Martell.

'Not to mention that damn dragon,' I said to myself inwardly, thinking about the dragon egg he had hatched.

'The dragon egg he should have kept for Maegor and not this foreign whore.'

The surprised whore stood up and said, "How dare you accuse me of treason? I remind you that I am the queen of your emperor and the rider of Syrax?"

Bryan looked at the emperor and the latter turned in another direction, the guards already in the know opened the doors and my heart stopped once I saw the person who entered, my heart made a small leap.

Connor, the emperor's armed hand, a man without faith or law, the brother of the late Queen Valeria.

This man was the devil for all the people of the court because every time someone threatened peace in the kingdom he captured the person and made them spill the truth by torturing them in every possible and unimaginable way.

'I thought he was absent from the court to take care of his family,' I thought as I turned to Aegon.

'If he is here, it means he already has proof of her guilt, she is already dead,' I thought.

Connor looked at the whore from Braavos for a long time and then threw the head of a person. Upon seeing the head, she recognized it, and even though she tried to hold on, it was now clear to everyone that her guilt was established.

"I do not understand..." she said, trying to lie.

'Hahaha, once she is dead my son will be the heir to the Iron Throne,' I thought, rejoicing at the successive news that fell one after the other, it was as if the sky itself wanted to see Maegor on his father's throne after him.

"Queen Bellegere, I advise you to stop denying, we all know what happened, he told us everything so I give you one last chance to confess everything, you know the emperor, his patience has limits and I think you have exceeded them for a long time," said Connor.

"I love you, I did not want to hurt you, I did not think he would have a poison that would work on you, you told me you were invulnerable to poison."

"So you gave them all the information about me."

"I just wanted Arianne to die, she was a problem."

"And my children with her."

"Our children will be real dragons, these half-dragons do not deserve to rule our empire, I just wanted to get rid of the Dornish threat."

"Yes, I understand," said Aegon, getting up and taking her in his arms.

I frowned because it was not his style to forgive, and Bellegere collapsed in his arms, screaming that she was pregnant and was going to give birth to his true heir.

I turned my head because I was furious that he forgave her so easily, then I saw everyone gasp in shock before hearing something roll to my feet.

I stifled the scream rising in my throat as I met the wide and shocked eyes of the decapitated head of the late queen, then I turned to see Aegon wielding Illumination, looking at everyone in the room.

"Treason is treason and it will be punished by fire and blood, whoever commits this heinous act," said Aegon before projecting green flames that burned the headless body of Queen Bellegere.

"Take the head and place it in a prominent place at the Red Keep, I want everyone to know what happened and that your emperor has rendered justice without regard to the status of the traitors because the emperor is just and before the emperor all are humble mortals."

"LONG LIVE THE EMPEROR," all the soldiers in the room shouted before I did the same, rising from my seat in a daze.

Although I wanted him to punish her, I did not expect him to decapitate her purely and simply in front of everyone while she was carrying a child.

'This proves that as long as I do something that he perceives as treason, I will be executed,' I thought, swallowing hard before smiling.

'Why am I thinking about this, Aegon is not Robert, he is the Silver Prince that was denied to me, no, he is better than that, he is an emperor, the greatest ruler this continent has ever had, a dragon lord capable of using magic, maybe even extending my lifespan and allowing me to keep my youth and beauty for many years.'

'Looking at Maegor, I thought it was the best idea I ever had to slip into his bed, whatever the dishonor perceived by the other great houses, he has thwarted the prophecy that announced the death of my children, I no longer have to live in fear.'

Once at the foot of his own throne, he stopped and held out an arm that I accepted with joy, and I could see the jealous looks of all those young girls from all over the kingdom, all those whores who thought they could take the place of the two whores who had just been repudiated.

'You are all too late, I have already won the race,' I thought, kissing the top of my son's head.

---

-POV Gendry Baratheon-

Hit, hit, hit and hit again, that's all I did since my father's death and Jon Snow had ascended to the Iron Throne, renaming himself Aegon Targaryen VI, then the first Emperor of Westeros.

Born a bastard, he had managed to rise so high that I could never hope to equal him one day, I still remember the day he gave me the opportunity to be part of his very close circle of friends and I refused it.

---

-Beginning of Flashback-

Coming out of my father's room who had just died, tortured by his inner demons, the milk of the poppy that made him delirious, and the wound that was killing him slowly, I did not know what to feel, I was furious against that bastard and against myself for that, but I found he deserved it too because all my life, never, not once, did he care about me or any of the bastards he had fathered.

'If he had educated me and allowed me to train with a weapon, never would the Lannisters have been able to reach him this way, never would I have allowed that Targaryen bastard to torment him and take the capital hostage.'

"I have an offer for you," said now the man who claimed to be the last legitimate heir of Prince Rhaegar.

"As I said, I will make you a lord, but only if you agree to swear a magical blood oath."

"I'd like to think about it," I said after a few seconds.

"It's either yes or no, a lack of response equals a no," he said, pressing me to accept.

'He wants to use you, nobles are all like that.'

"I'm sorry but I prefer my current life."

-End of Flashback-

'And now look at you all alone in your workshop having to lick the ass of all these nobles every day when you could have been one of the greatest lords of this damn empire.'

"Bastard," said someone, pulling me out of my thoughts.

'I am no longer a bastard, he legitimized me for my service,' I wanted to shout before finally executing quickly and bowing my head while bowing my back to look at my feet.

"Hello Viscount Redwyne," I said humbly.

"So, is the order my brother placed two moons ago finally ready?" the latter asked.

"No Viscount, we had a bit of a delay because we had to customize 500 armors for the Duchess Lannister but we…"

I didn't even have time to finish my sentence when I felt a punch hit me right in the lower abdomen and violently cut my breath.

I folded in on myself, spitting my bile on the Viscount's shoes who, disgusted, kicked me in the jaw.

"You promised us the armor in a moon and a half and it's already been over two weeks of delay, I want to see my men's armor during the day or…"

"Or what? you're going to kill me, drag me through the streets to beat me, you can't do that because if it comes to the emperor's ears he'll have you flayed alive," I said, trying to seem like I really meant what I was saying.

"For a bastard like you, your father is dead and even alive he would never have cared about a bastard like you," said Horas Redwyne looking at me as if I had gone mad.

Maybe I was because I said, "Then go ahead, kill a blacksmith from the imperial forges and let's see what happens to you and your arrogance."

Horas Redwyne looked around and saw that my screams had attracted many blacksmiths who glared at him, all with a huge hammer in their hands and then he said, laughing:

"You have a week, otherwise I will go directly to the Emperor and we will see what punishment he gives you."

I watched him leave, breathing quickly and heavily, and then I let myself fall to the ground, full of regrets, tears of frustration and anger running down my face.

I regretted so much, so much for refusing the offer… no, the opportunity from the emperor that I wanted to hit my head with my hammer.

"Get up," said a woman's voice.

I looked up and then I said, "Who are you?"

"My name is Melisandre and I am going to help you get what you want," said the beautiful woman dressed

 in red.

"What do you know about my desires?" I said bitterly.

"I don't know anything, but my lord does and he asked me to lead you to Azor Ahai," she said.

"The emperor," I said in a daze.

She said nothing, then I immediately took my hammer and said, "When do we leave?"

"Right now," she said before leaving the forge.

'This time, I will never let go of the opportunity and the hand that will be extended to me, I will crush those bastards who treated me like shit.'

---

-POV Benjen Stark-

"Did you see him? He beheaded his pregnant wife without the slightest blink," I said, looking at my brother.

Eddard looked at me and then said, "She betrayed him."

"And so he had to kill her, was that the only solution?" I asked, not convinced that execution was the only solution.

"Benjen, don't mix everything up, you have to separate things. Your position is complicated but what he did wasn't... bad, he rendered justice and he did it as I taught him, the one who passes the sentence must wield the sword," he said, looking at me, and although I saw that he did not entirely agree, he was right in essence. Aegon only rendered 'justice'.

"Something bothers me, I'm afraid…" I began before being interrupted by Ned.

"I know very well what you are afraid of, I have been afraid of it since his birth, but having seen him grow up, I know that although he is quick to anger, he values revenge and that a certain cruelty inhabits him, Aegon is a Stark, a large part of him is Stark and it shows in his way of governing, he will never become his grandfather… never," said Ned, convinced of his words.

I shook my head and said, "I know, I know, but I have trouble…"

"Recognizing Jon in Aegon," said Ned, cutting me off but perfectly expressing my internal thoughts.

"Yes," I said, sighing.

"He was a smart boy who always told others what they wanted to hear, but thinking back on it, I know perfectly well that he has always been like that. Power did not corrupt him, it simply revealed to everyone what he is and always has been… a dragon," said Ned.