GAME OF THRONES: AEGON THE AVENGER

"The King is but a shadow far away in King's Landing; family is the iron law that flows in one's blood. To protect the family and continue the Tully bloodline—this is the responsibility I was born with, and it has never changed."

He paused for a moment before adding one last sentence. His tone was flat, yet it carried a sense of finality, like a proclamation:

"As for the Targaryens... when you lose the qualification to rule, you naturally lose the right to demand the loyalty of your vassals."

He dismissively attributed what Aegon called betrayal to the laws of a chaotic era and the priority of the family, even implying that the Targaryens' own lack of virtue had led to their abandonment by all.

There was no defense, no repentance.

Only a sense of composure, born from countless battles and choices, convinced that his own logic was impeccable.

"Family. Bloodline. Birthright responsibility."

Aegon softly repeated those few words. The faint curve at the corner of his mouth seemed to deepen slightly, yet it still lacked any warmth associated with a smile; instead, it appeared even colder.

"A very interesting logic. So, in your view, loyalty has a price and can be weighed and traded."

"Loyalty to the King cannot outweigh the interests of the family; the adherence to ancient oaths can give way to the so-called laws of a chaotic era."

"The yardstick for every action ultimately returns to the word 'Family.' For its sake, any person, any oath, can be forsaken."

Brynden remained silent, straightening his back despite being bound by shackles.

He neither admitted nor denied it.

But that silence, that unflinching gaze, was the clearest answer in itself. This was exactly what he believed, and exactly how he acted.

"I understand."

Aegon nodded, his tone suddenly becoming dull, as if the conversation just now had merely confirmed something he had long expected and found quite uninteresting.

"A standard knight of the old era. Engraving the family name deep into your marrow, enshrining narrow blood responsibilities as your supreme creed."

"You can betray a king for the continuation of your family, and you can sacrifice yourself for the sake of its legacy."

"Every choice, every action, takes the name Tully as its center and its boundary," he evaluated, his voice calm and icy.

A low sound, somewhere between a scoff and a sigh, escaped Brynden's throat.

"And what about you, Targaryen?"

For the first time, he proactively raised his voice, his raspy tone echoing through the cavernous hall. "You speak incessantly of abolishing the old order, of smashing the hereditary power of the nobility, and of establishing your so-called new world, your new order."

He took a half-step forward, his eyes locking onto Aegon's.

"But what is it that you practice? It is leading soldiers to slaughter, using fear to crush all resistance! You sent Jaime Lannister's head back to the Westerlands; you had Amory Lorch flayed alive right here!"

"How much difference is there between your actions and those of your grandfather, whom the Seven Kingdoms denounced as the Mad King? You are merely using a different kind of madness, attempting to burn and cleanse the entire world to satisfy your own desires!"

His voice grew louder, carrying the weight of accumulated resentment and a total rejection of the ideology of the man before him:

"You abolish the old system? You only wish to use greater chaos and violence to cover the innate brutality and greed for absolute power in your bones!"

"No nobles, no vassals, no laws or rights and duties passed down for a thousand years—only you and the will of that monster of yours, reigning supreme over all living things..."

"Is this not just another, more extreme form of madness?! You think you are creating a new world? You are merely repeating the darkest, bloodiest cycle in the Targaryen bloodline!"

The roar-like questioning echoed in the hall. The generals on either side frowned slightly, but none moved, remaining as still as iron-cast statues.

Everyone's gaze was focused on the main seat.

Aegon listened quietly, showing no sign of being provoked; even that cold curve of his lips remained unchanged.

Only when the tail end of Brynden's voice faded among the stone walls did he slowly lift his eyelids, his purple eyes like two bottomless pools of freezing water.

"The difference lies in..." His voice was very light, yet it pierced through the lingering echoes of the previous roar with exceptional clarity, each word carving itself into everyone's ears.

"My sword is pointed at the stones that obstruct the birth of the new world. Whether those stones bear the name of Stark, Lannister, Baratheon..."

He paused slightly, his gaze falling on Brynden's face.

"...or the name of Tully."

Family, Duty, Honor.

Aegon once again slowly recited the words of House Tully. He spoke each word very slowly, as if chewing over all the meaning and absurdity contained within them.

"Since you can so flexibly swap the meanings of such high-sounding words, and since your bottom line can shift at will according to family interests, making loyalty and honor goods to be weighed and traded..."

He shook his head slightly, as if he had lost the last bit of interest in the conversation.

"Then, in my view, the so-called family that supports this logic no longer has any need to continue existing."

"After I take Riverrun, I will make the name Tully disappear from this world..."

The moment those words fell, the air in the hall seemed to freeze completely.

Brynden's pupils constricted sharply, and the last trace of color drained from his face.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he simply straightened his spine and closed his eyes.

It was a form of resignation, but also a final, silent persistence.

Aegon no longer looked at him, as if what stood before him was merely a useless old object about to be disposed of.

He casually raised his hand, gesturing to the two black-armored guards standing by the stone chair with a dismissive motion.

"Take him away."

"Behead him."

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