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

Suddenly, Maekar saw Viserys start walking toward him, with his wife accompanying him by his side. Aemma, like Viserys, wore a purple and golden dress, it looked extremely luxurious and elegant.

Maekar also saw Daemon approach, protecting his brother with a cold and indifferent look.

Showing a friendly and somewhat sad smile, Viserys gently placed his hand on Maekar’s shoulder and said in a genuine tone. "Congratulations on qualifying to inherit the throne, I hope there is no resentment between us against the winners."

Maekar was completely confused by what he had just heard, he looked at Viserys as if he were looking at someone with some mental illness. First of all, who was saintly enough to stay calm and not hold a grudge over having the throne stolen from him?

He definitely was not.

However, to maintain his image and decorum, Maekar just smiled and spoke in a gentle tone. "Don’t worry, let fate decide our future, brother."

Viserys seemed genuinely relieved by his half brother’s words. He let out a laugh and patted Maekar’s shoulder twice. There was a smile on his lips.

Seeing Viserys act this way, Maekar wondered if he was really naive or a high level actor. In the end, he chose to believe that Viserys was a man who trusted his own family excessively. Which was not really a bad thing. After all, if you don’t trust your own family, your life certainly hasn’t been a pleasant one.

"Aemma." Maekar greeted his cousin with a smile, but, unlike Viserys, she just nodded her head and continued smiling elegantly. However, it was exactly that elegance that showed distance and a slight feeling of indifference.

This made Maekar narrow his eyes, his smile only deepened as he marked Aemma as his enemy. The woman truly did not hide her dislike for him. Perhaps because of the duel with Daemon? Maekar did not know and also did not want to waste time thinking about the reason for Aemma not liking him.

Maekar would not lower himself to the point of wanting to please everyone, that was a completely impossible task. Jesus could not please everyone, much less he, a mere mortal with a few above average qualities.

"Did you enjoy the start of the Great Council?" Looking at Daemon, who had approached Viserys, Maekar greeted him with a gentle, almost soft smile. For Daemon, who was his mortal enemy, Maekar treated him more kindly than Viserys himself.

Daemon just showed his usual smug smile and replied in an indifferent tone. "Not all the bastards were discarded."

"Daemon!!!" Viserys looked at his brother with a reproachful look. It was more than obvious that Daemon was talking about Maekar and how he had not been rejected like Princess Saera’s bastard children.

"The cripples were also discarded from the list." Maekar did not mind the insult and replied in an amused tone.

The atmosphere between Daemon and Maekar seemed to freeze at those words. Maekar did not mind being called a bastard by his enemies, but Daemon minded very much being called a cripple.

"Angry? Why don’t you challenge me to a duel? Maybe I’ll win another castle and Dark Sister?" Maekar calmly drank his wine and added with a touch of amusement in his voice.

Viserys went pale at the mention of another duel, he quickly placed himself in front of Daemon and Maekar, trying to prevent anything that could lead to another duel.

"No fighting right now, our king will not like that." Viserys said in a hurried tone, his eyes wandering between Daemon and Maekar, fearing that either one might start a fight at any moment.

"No need to worry, brother." Maekar said with a smile. "I would not lower myself to fight someone defenseless, it would be the same as fighting a child."

A vein twitched on Daemon’s forehead. He put his hand on the hilt of his sword, but then released his grip again, just looking coldly at Maekar.

Maekar narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, he looked at Daemon with a bit of surprise. The old Daemon would have drawn Dark Sister at that very instant. But Daemon did not. This made the prince look at his half brother with a more cautious tone.

He preferred an impulsive, reckless and decisive Daemon over a cautious, cold and thoughtful Daemon.

"Darling, let’s go eat something, I’m starving." Gael approached and spoke with her hand on Maekar’s chest. She smiled friendlily at Viserys and, without waiting for her fiancé’s answer, dragged him off to sit at one of the tables where Maekar’s allies could be seen.

Viserys looked at Gael gratefully and looked at Daemon with a complex look. He wanted to scold Daemon, but, remembering the sacrifice Daemon had made to protect him, it stopped him from acting too harshly with his brother.

This put Viserys in a very difficult position. He wanted to scold Daemon, but he could not.

Silently, the dynamic between the brothers shifted into something more complex. Something that would lead to a troubled future.

From afar, seeing what had just happened, Jaehaerys narrowed his eyes, but felt that things were changing. Daemon was more dangerous than ever and Viserys more indecisive than ever.

The king felt he should do something regarding Viserys, or he would truly put another Aenys on the throne. Normally, this would not be a problem if there were not such a strong contender to the throne as Maekar. Unfortunately, Maekar existed.

Jaehaerys could not help but scold Baelon for not controlling his cock and, instead of marrying, falling into the seduction of a woman as dangerous as Cassandra Blackwood. Now, things had gotten completely out of control because of this.

If Jaehaerys had known that Viserys would be even worse, marrying again and producing even more heirs in a second marriage, perhaps he would not have found Baelon’s actions so bad after all. At least Baelon only made one child, Viserys made four children with Alicent.

"I wonder what our grandfather would think of what we’ve done with the house he raised to royalty." Alysanne, beside her husband, spoke in a calm tone full of amusement. "I think he would talk to us and then give us a spanking."

Jaehaerys scoffed, not finding Alysanne’s words funny. He did not want to be hit by the Conqueror of Westeros, the man was famous for being a great warrior, which meant an enormous palm to hold Blackfyre firmly.

"Do you remember how Viserys (son of Aenys I Targaryen, brother of Jaehaerys and Alysanne) used to talk about the stories our grandfather told him? The tone full of admiration and reverence?" Alysanne suddenly brought up this subject, remembering her sweet older brother.

Prince Viserys had been a young man loved by everyone, including the commoners and even the lords. Which was rare, given that House Targaryen had only ruled for mere decades. Alysanne remembered how Viserys used to tell the stories of the conquest of Westeros that he had heard from the conqueror himself.

A trace of pain appeared in Jaehaerys’s eyes. If there was something he regretted, it was fleeing without his brother. Because of his flight from Dragonstone, Maegor tortured him to death and did not even give him a proper burial, leaving him to rot in the courtyard to lure Aenys’s wife, Queen Alyssa, out of where she was hiding.

Noticing her husband’s expression, Alysanne held her husband’s skeletal hand and spoke in a soft tone. "You know Viserys would have forgiven us, he hated our uncle’s tyranny and cruelty more than anyone. He would be proud of the peace we have built over these six decades of reign."

Jaehaerys did not answer, squeezed tightly and imagined Viserys before him, smiling cheerfully as he always did.

"He would have been a better king than me." Jaehaerys whispered.

"That’s not true, you were a better king than any other." Alysanne replied with a smile.

Viserys had been too kind, so kind that he should not have been born into this world of wars and conspiracies. She knew her brother would never have been the right king to succeed the mess left by Maegor.

Jaehaerys had been the best choice and the only one they had. In the end, he did a good job consolidating what Aegon and Aenys had started. He laid the foundations for future kings to rule more peacefully.

"You always know how to praise me." Jaehaerys said in a powerless tone, but the look of sadness in the king’s eyes lessened.

Alysanne just laughed and looked at her husband with the same look she had given him for over sixty years. A gentle look full of tenderness, but somewhat playful.

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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