House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Daemon looked at Maekar with a calm expression, but behind that calm gaze, a flame burned in search of vengeance. He felt a sharp pain where his right arm used to be, almost as if he could feel the pain of the arm being severed all over again.

At the same time, with Maekar’s arrival, Daemon knew everything happening at this moment was his brother’s fault. There was no way Maekar didn’t know what had happened in his own castle. His late arrival showed he had already spent some time on it.

"My prince, we would never break the sacred right of the guest, though I cannot speak for some rebellious people." Boremund replied in a calm tone, though his gaze remained fixed on Daemon, making his intentions clear.

He looked at Prince Maekar with a deep, knowing look.

Maekar looked at Boremund; there was a touch of amusement in his eyes. Boremund was trying to accuse Daemon of murdering Matthos, suspicion be damned. The Lord of Storm’s End was more pragmatic and cold than expected, trying to profit from his friend’s death.

Yet this was exactly what Maekar wanted. Boremund was aiming at Daemon because Viserys was too strong, so strong that even with the support of House Baratheon and Tyrell, Rhaenys still had little chance of winning and becoming queen.

"We will cease hostilities for now; I will investigate the incident with the utmost urgency." Maekar said in a calm tone, his eyes sweeping over everyone present. As for whether he actually intended to investigate, he had not the slightest intention of doing so.

At that moment, these people didn’t truly want the real culprit; they wanted a culprit who could inflict the most damage on their enemy. And for Maekar and Boremund, that culprit was precisely Daemon.

Daemon, as though understanding something, looked at Maekar and Boremund. He looked calmly at both of them and stepped closer.

Clarisse, behind Maekar, rested her hand on the hilt of the sword Dawn, her eyes fixed on Daemon as he approached Maekar. At the slightest suspicious movement from the prince, she would not hesitate to strike.

Daemon didn’t attack; he stopped ten centimeters from Maekar and looked directly into his eyes; a dangerous smile appeared on his lips. He leaned in even closer and, mere centimeters from Maekar, whispered with a cold look.

"I know what game you’re playing, but I have to tell you. That paranoid old man’s influence runs far deeper than you expect."

"This little game you and Boremund are playing is nothing more than an amusing diversion in his eyes. You will lose, and when that happens, I will watch with a smile as you remain stuck in that hole you call a castle for the rest of your life."

Maekar smiled and looked at Daemon with the same icy gaze. He leaned toward his half-brother’s ear and whispered. "If you’re so confident, what are you doing in this room? Why are you playing this game, you crippled piece of shit?"

"I enjoy playing this dangerous game, you filthy bastard." Daemon replied with a dangerous look.

Maekar and Daemon stared at each other, both laughing, though only an icy feeling was reflected in each other’s eyes.

Daemon smiled and turned away, not even bothering to try to convince the others of his innocence. Perhaps before, he would have, but now that he knew it was Maekar’s plan, he no longer cared. If there was one thing he had learned about this half-brother of his, it was that he was a cunning, cold, and intelligent bastard.

Watching Daemon disappear, Maekar turned to Boremund and spoke in a calm tone. "You may go, Lord Baratheon; I will see to all the arrangements for sending Lord Matthos’s body back to Highgarden."

Boremund looked at Maekar with a deep, searching gaze. Without saying a word, he left the room, accompanied by his vassals.

"Just as expected from the son of Rogar Baratheon, who dared try to control Jaehaerys. Like father, like son," Maekar said with a smile. Though Boremund had a reputation for being a bold, even reckless warrior, he was anything but stupid. Which was only natural.

Given Jaehaerys’s lingering resentment toward Rogar, if Boremund were a fool, he would have been dead long ago.

"My prince." Robert Redwyne approached Maekar and greeted him in a sorrowful tone. Matthos’s death had genuinely saddened him. Matthos may not have been the best lord, but he certainly wasn’t the worst.

"My condolences, Lord Robert." Seeing that the man was genuinely grieving Matthos’s death, Maekar spoke in a gentler tone.

Robert looked at Maekar and opened his mouth, but closed it again the next moment. He seemed hesitant to ask something. After all, what he was about to ask was, at the very least, insulting.

"Everyone leave." Noticing this, Maekar looked at the Lords of the Reach and spoke in a calm tone. Everyone left the room without hesitation, fearing they might overhear something they shouldn’t.

"You may speak, Lord Robert," Maekar said in a calm tone.

"Did you kill Matthos?" Robert, seeing that they were alone, save for the female knight behind Maekar, didn’t hesitate to ask in a firm tone.

"No." Maekar lied without the slightest hesitation; his heart didn’t even beat faster as he lied so brazenly.

A look of relief flashed across Robert’s face. He looked at the young man before him and said in an emotional tone. "My brother said Prince Maekar is an honorable man, and I will trust his word."

Maekar couldn’t help wanting to laugh at those words, but he held himself back and put on a serious expression. An honorable man? He was no Eddard Stark, much less any honorable fool. If there was one thing he had learned in this world, it was that good people die young and bad people live a long time.

"Thank you for your trust, Lord Robert," Maekar said, his expression softening into a look of genuine appreciation. That look wasn’t a lie; he had never expected Ryam’s brother to be such an honorable fool. It made him realize there was a chance to bring the Reach over to his side.

Looking at Matthos’s corpse on the bed and the strange smile on the corpse’s lips, Robert felt a chill. He looked at Maekar and said with a solemn expression. "Prince, it was likely Boremund who killed my Lord Paramount. He may seem like a brave and loyal man, but he thinks only of his own interests."

"I know, but there is no way for me to stand against Daemon without Boremund’s help." Maekar said, putting on an expression full of helplessness and sorrow.

"Don’t worry, my prince, we will avenge Lord Matthos together. You have all of House Redwyne behind you, and with it, nearly every noble house in the Reach." Robert said, looking at Maekar with a more serious expression than ever before.

The death of the Lord Paramount of the Mander could not, under any circumstances, go without consequence. And having already intended to support Maekar from the start, Robert didn’t hesitate to ally himself with Maekar in that moment.

Maekar had never felt that an old man’s words could sound so beautiful as they did in that moment. Before deciding to kill Matthos, he had never expected the head of House Redwyne to be such an honorable, emotional fool. Still, Maekar would rather stand beside this kind of person than beside cunning, vulture-like schemers.

"Lord Matthos’s death will not be forgotten. Whoever the killer was, we will make him pay tenfold, Lord Robert," Maekar said those words with a solemn, determined expression.

Inside, Maekar was suppressing the urge to burst out laughing like never before.

Robert showed an emotional expression and placed a hand on Maekar’s shoulder, genuinely moved by Maekar’s determination to bring the killer to justice.

"Thank you, my prince," Robert said softly. "I will stay and help with Lord Matthos’s funeral rites."

Maekar nodded and did not refuse Robert’s help. He certainly didn’t want to waste time dealing with the corpse of someone he himself had ordered killed. After all, that would be so hypocritical that even Maekar felt a twinge of shame at the thought of doing such a thing.

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Note: If you can figure out which fanfics you think I’m translating, please let me know so I can post ten Chapters a day. Instead of posting just one a day and leaving many without Chapters during the week.

(This is a response to some idiots who don’t have enough brain cells.)

Read the advanced Chapters on my Patreon!/GOTSW

Read my other books:

House of The Dragon:The Rise of the Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms

Game Of Thrones: The God-Emperor of Planetos

Percy Jackson: Godwyn the Golden.

Game Of Thrones: The King’s Court Wizard